Below you'll find my own addition to the Flash Fiction. it is more or less a continuation to Elaina's so I suggest you go and read that one first. You can find it through the link provided at the top of this post.
The rules:
Word limit: 1031 (to celebrate Halloween)
Forbidden word(s): child, statue
Required word(s): guard (any variation: guards, guarding, guarded, guardian)
Use the picture below: (courtesy of Elaina!)
FFF
Payback’s a bitch.
Lorelai was
gazing at her phone. She didn’t feel comfortable, a gut feeling nagging and
pushing her to contact her friend Trista. She promised! Trista promised to text
her once she’s was back home. The uneasiness that crept into her mind only grew
worse from the moment Trista told her she was going on a picture hunt down at THE
house. Locals warned everybody to stay away, especially at this time of year.
It was
almost midnight and she still hadn’t got word back from her friend. She dreaded
the outcome and wished things never had to get this far. If only people would
listen, they may perceive the warning as some local mumbo jumbo but it couldn’t
get more real.
Grabbing
her phone for the umpteenth time, she checked for an answer but still nothing
appeared. Sound was on, vibrating was on. Lorelai bit her nail, she knew what
was coming and she dreaded it. She sighed and resigned herself to her fate. It
had to stop. The uneasiness grew tenfold but she just had to suck it up. Collecting
herself, she got up and started packing a rug sack. A multitude of herbs
disappeared into it together with a vast collection of lidded jars, a pestle
and mortar and a tiny camp fire. The sacred book she kept on her person, she
couldn’t risk losing that.
Checking
the phone one last time, in vain hope of seeing a missed text or call, she
sighed. Time to roll and get this over with.
It only
took her about ten minutes to find the house and squeeze through the iron
gates. She’s seen her friend’s car parked down the street so she knew she had
to be here. The sight that greeted her didn’t really boost her confidence.
Broken pieces lay scattered all over the grounds. Some looking very human,
other looking like tiny cherubs. The one thing they all had in common was the
shear horror written on all of their faces, like they were all scared to death.
Shaking her head she couldn’t let it get to her, if she did she wouldn’t be
able to pull of her spell. She only got the one shot at it.
A sweet
sing song voice traveled towards her, the familiar words resounding like mantra
over and over:
“Ring-a-round the rosies. A pocket full of
posies.
Ashes! Ashes!
We all fall down!”
She knew
what would happen next and kept her eyes shut, knowing that the next few
moments were critical, literally life or death. Silently she repeated a mantra
to keep her safe and protected.
“In this place and in this hour
By the guardians
of the secrets of the night
Take the keys to my heart
And close the doors of my mind.”
Once the
voice trailed off and a few extra minutes, Lorelai was sure it was safe to open
her eyes again and go further onto the property. Behind some bushes was a scene
she’d been dreading even she since she knew her friend was going to come here.
A grey stone tripod lay on the ground with a smashed grey camera next to it. A
bit further were the scattered remains of her friend Trista, mouth open in a
dead scream, eyes looking right up into the sky.
Lorelai
gave herself a minute to mourn her friend before she was going to tackle to
hardest thing she’d ever done in her life. Looking around, all the other
“debris” was proof that whatever entity inhabited one of the sculptures was
close to gaining mortal status. That could not happen. If it did it was like
giving the whole town a death sentence.
Grabbing
her backpack, she emptied the contents on one of the slates scattered around
the secluded garden. The tiny camping stove, balancing precariously next to it,
her pestle and mortar on the other side. The copper pot made her prep work
complete. She started cooking water, while waiting for that to boil she tossed
several herbs together and started grinding them up until a thick gooey paste
was left. It looked disgusting but it was the only way to deal with these beings.
Checking the water she saw it was ready to be mixed with the other ingredients.
A drop here, a few drops there, a spoonful from this and a dash from something
else. At the last minute she added the herb mix. Now it was crucial she didn’t
mess up.
Either she
failed and the entity got free reign or she succeeded and hoped with abolishing
“it” she could return a few of the lost soul “it” had killed over the years.
Preparing
herself for a lengthy time or meditative talking, she got into a comfortable position.
Said a silent prayer to her Goddess Kali and started to hum the first one out
of one hundred and eight, each one marked with a dot from the paste she made.
“Om namo kali kapali
dahi dahi swaha ll”
The sing
song voice returned, first it sounded gentle, coaxing her but as she kept on
with her mantra, each time she’d spoke it marked with another herbal dot,
forming a firm circle around. Then the voice started screaming at her.
Fifty-four times and the circle would close around her, giving her an extra
layer of protection. Helping her keep her focus. All she had to do now was
repeat them fifty-four times more, doubling each dot already there.
She knew
she was succeeding and dared to open her eyes. The cherub-like being was
hovering over her, growing in size, the voice changing as well. Gone was the
sweet innocence, replaced with the dark and dangerous rumble fitting to a
creature that stood over her. Horns grew from its temples, the grey hue
changing to a deep red, wings sprouting from its back.
One hundred
times, eight more.
“Om namo kali kapali
dahi dahi swaha ll”
A portal
opened beneath the demon, swallowing it hole. Exhausted and drained, she fell
unconscious until a panicked but familiar voice tried to wake her.
More voices
started to penetrate her consciousness.
All she
could do was smile and hug Trista.
Rockstar Shifter: BBW Paranormal Bear Shifter Romance by Kim Fox
