The Challenge is:
Write a short story/flash fiction story in 200 words or less, excluding the title. It can be in any format, including a poem. Begin the story with the words, “Shadows crept across the wall”. These five words will be included in the word count.
If you want to give yourself an added challenge (optional), do one or more of these:
- end the story with the words: "everything faded." (also included in the word count)
- include the word "orange" in the story
- write in the same genre you normally write
- make your story 200 words exactly!
I'm posting my story below. If you read it and you like it, please click here and vote for #89. Thanks!
Darkness Comes
Shadows crept across the
wall behind her. They shifted and churned, vying with each other, edging irresistably
forwards like the tide.
She felt them, even though
she could not see them. She could almost hear them, whispering on the edges of
her consciousness. They were always there, always creeping behind her. Some
days they grew closer than others.
The two women were seated
across from her, talking. Sometimes they glanced in her direction. They did not
meet her gaze. Were they talking to her, or about her? She didn’t care. It was so
hard to hear them when the shadows were whispering.
She watched them
contemptuously, their nervous chatter grating against her hearing. They were
pretending not to hear their own shadows, trying to drown them out with meaningless
noise. The desperate undertones in their conversation both amused and annoyed
her at the same time.
The shadows surged closer,
clouding the edges of her vision. She could hear them clearly now, their
seductive voices stroking her thoughts.
The women stopped talking
as she began to smile.
She stood up. They had
taken her weapons, but that did not matter. She would make them face the
darkness.
The shadows danced.
Don't forget to comment! Want to vote for this story? Please click here. I'm #89, thanks!
