It was 10:15 Monday night. It was also cold, and snowing. “Welcome to Buffalo,” I muttered as I sat at my computer, reading Slashdot.
My doorbell rang. I sat there a moment, not sure I’d heard it. It happened again. I looked at the time on my computer. “Someone better have a good reason for this.”
I got up, and headed to my front door. As I did, I heard Lilly’s voice, “Tommy! Let me in!” I quickly turned on the porch light, unlocked the dead bolt, and the lock, and pulled the door chain, and let her in.
He had on a hat, and big faux fur coat and high heels. “It’s a nasty night out there!” she shivered and stomped her feet.
“What are you doing here?”
“I came to visit you.” She turned her back to me, pulled off her hat, and started to unbutton her coat. I stared at my feet. “Here. Put these up.” Without looking up, I took her had ,and coat, and hung them on the coat rack. Then I looked back at her to ask what she was doing visiting that late at night.
Lilly was standing there, in my foyer, wearing nothing but high heels. My jaw bounced off the floor. “You’re…”
“Naked,” she finished my sentence for me. “And you’re not.” She stepped forward, and started unbuttoning my shirt. “We should fix that.”
I’ll never forget that night, even after I’m dead.
250 Words
@LurchMunster
I wrote this for Siobhan Muir‘s #ThursThreads, Week 60. Hope you enjoy it. Please go read all the entries in this week’s #ThursThreads. They are good reading.
The trail led into the forest. The sunlight filtered through the tree limbs and leaves, lending a surreal feel to everything. After six hours into the trees, I saw him. Dressed in red, with long hair, and a white beard. He looked at me, laughed, and then moved so fast, I couldn’t track him.
The train left the tunnel, running above ground. It stopped at a train station. Alice extended her hand, and smiled, “Please?” I could not resist the light in her eyes, so I took her hand. She led me from the train.
The door closed behind us, and Alice kept pulling me along. We were in another hall, that led to a train tunnel. A train was waiting. Alice pulled me into a car, and thought, “Please, sit where you wish.”
A standard guardian base of two brick buildings was on the village’s southern end. The buildings’ windows were broken. Something was wrong. I searched each building. Eight dead guardians were inside. Their guns had been fired. They died fighting something. Outside, I found tracks through the grass. I drew my gun, and followed them.
The fence marked the edge or our world. I walked along the fence, rifle ready. Nothing had come through the fence in years, but once, things had. We’d survived, standing against the chaos that engulfed the world when the fossil fuels ran out. Since then, we guarded the fence, the edge of our world.
As I walked along the fence one morning, I came to one of the gates, and checked its lock. The lock was broken. The chain it held the gate shut with hung loosely. Something had come in. I secured the gate with a new lock, then headed to the nearest village to sound the alarm.
When I reached the village, it was dark, the street lights were on. I entered quietly, hiding in the shadows, looking for signs of life. I jumped when the breeze blew the clothes on a clothes line.The church was empty, as were all the homes and shops. All I saw was my own shadow.
I made my way to the church, hoping I’d find someone. Its door opened silently. Its interior was lit only by moonlight. Everything was gone. No pews. No crosses. No altar. Just a very old book, sitting on a table. I opened it, and flipped through. It was written in the Ancient’s language.
My Soul's Tears 