Once they’d reached the apparently unguarded exit from the dungeon, Mr Eyre and Bryony introduced themselves to their fellow prisoner. Hildebrand explained that she’d been arrested for Word Singing, something she did every afternoon to entertain her husband’s elves while they plugged away assisting him in his shoemaking business, ‘Without my singing, all concentration will be lost and production will cease,’ she lamented, rubbing her red-rimmed eye sockets.
Peering around the door, they surveyed the empty yard and beyond it, the entrance gate which swung on its hinges as though someone had just departed. Mr Eyre beamed at his two companions then, taking their hands, he propelled them across the open space and through the gate.
Soon they were standing in a grove of slender poplar trees which led to the Owl-King’s palace; the ground began to shake to the rhythm of marching feet and a few moments later the palace’s emerald-green lawn was filled by an army of assorted brightly-coloured insects.
‘Perhaps you were thinking I did wrong in letting them go? said Captain Stinger to his lieutenant as they emerged from behind the dungeon’s walls, ‘but now we’ll take all the dissenters by surprise and exterminate the lot!’
Written in response to two challenges:
Di of Pensitivity 101’s Wednesday’s Three Things Challenge: PLUG, SOCKET, INLET
Denise Farley of GirlieOnTheEdge’s Sunday’s Six Sentence Story Word Prompt: LOST
Bryony, Bethany and Mr Eyre first appeared in my historical fantasy fiction novel, Following the Green Rabbit. They’ve been begging to go on another adventure and now they’ve got their wish!
MORE SIX SENTENCE STORIES HERE
Exterminate the lot?! Gasp!!
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I know!! 😨
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Oh, that wicked Owl-King . . .
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Great use of inlet!!!!
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😊But oh! That’s led me somewhere I didn’t expect to go…
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So clever Chris!!
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Thanks, Di! I make need to fetching my shovel to dig myself out! 🕳
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Oh no! A trap.
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We have confidence in Mr Eyre talking his way out of it, don’t we??
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Yes, he has proved to be reliable in a crisis. 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼
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😁😉
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😍☺️
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Wow, there was a trap and they stepped right into it, or did they? This is getting so exciting, loving it.
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I’m so pleased you’re enjoying the story, Deb!
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Great use of some inventive prompts here! Love how the plot’s thickening 🙂
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Thanks. Tom! Sometimes it feels like playing Scrabble. The prompts make for some interesting plot twists, or might that be plot holes? I shall keep digging 🙂
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Captain Stinger is ace.
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…and maybe due for his comeuppance! 😂
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Like in the illustration painting- ah, there is no black in it.
Wrong! Put them colors altogether and you will get black alright!!
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Or maybe a muddy brown!
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Chris, in light of the new mutation ravaging South Africa, just wanted to tell you that you are in my thoughts and I am certain in the thoughts of the rest fellow Sixarians.
And I am saying this not from a position of a perceived safety, cause that doesn’t exist.
We are in this together – and the later the realization produces meaningful action, the worst will be for everyone .
Take care Chris and keep your spirits focused and bright ,as much as possible.
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Thanks so much for your kind consideration, Spira. I really appreciate it.
I was listening to the news here just an hour ago, and from what I hear inside the country, is that although the new strain may be more transmissible and may not be held at bay so well by current immunity levels, there is no immediate cause for alarm. Fewer than 100 cases have so far been detected, but obviously the situation can change rapidly. Maybe the travel ban is premature.
Your words hearten me, and I shall continue to write and read from the safety of home, losing myself in everyone’s imaginary worlds! You stay safe too, Spira.
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Eegads! Our heroes have fallen into the Captain’s trap! The impending confrontation could have significant import for the future of the Owl-King’s kingdom. I’m surmising 😉
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You surmise correctly, Denise! – unless the prompt words have some strange ideas of their own.
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HAPPY THANKSGIVING! GOOD JOB! SPIRA IS RIGHT, BLACK IS THE PRESENCE OF ALL COLOR
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And to you, too Paul (for yesterday)! 🦃
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“ruh roe”
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Indeed!!!
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That Stinger fellow is a nasty and calculating bit of work… “exterminate the lot!” 😨😬 He has some Dalek about him! (or Davros?)
Lovely visuals of the poplar trees and the emerald grounds full of the marching insects!
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Now you come to mention it Ford, the weapons carried by the Stingers are reminiscent of a Dalek’s gunstick. Mr Eyre’s character was inspired by David Tennant’s Doctor Who. Could something subliminal be happening in my story??
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Interesting, Chris. The Doctor’s reach is far and wide, and that of his greatest enemies too!
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I love the insects talking about “exterminating the lot”! That was not lost on someone whose husband did pest control for 30 years! 😂🐜🦟🕷
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Ah, of course! I’d better pay attention to any pest-controlling references in the next episode.
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🤣🤣
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Another exciting chapter! I really like the flow of this and quick pace. Flash fiction novels should start becoming the next wave of novels with the way our society works. This is really well done.
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Thanks very much, Benjamin! You make an interesting observation about the future of flash fiction.
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Welcome! Keep writing and striving!
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With encouragement such as yours, Benjamin, I surely will! 😊
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Uh oh!
Seems like the light at the end of the tunnel is a big train a-coming!
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It certainly seems so from where I’m standing!
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Ah, but then where would the kingdom get shoes? Eliminate all the opposition at once, indeed. Those who think to do so only harm themselves.
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Two excellent points, Mimi! Especially the latter, because Captain Stinger and his troops bear a distinct resemblance to insects…
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Yet again, one door opens and another one closes!
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Such is life, eh?!
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So they let them escape on purpose. I hope they come to realize that in time.
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Trusting that they will!
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Can I just say, your writing gets better and better each day Chris?😭😭
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What a lovely thing to say, Celine! Thank you.😊
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Oh noooo! I want to shout ‘Yes, I believe’ as loud as i can to make everything better! I’m right in there, Chris, and hanging off the cliff! Great writing.
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I love your reaction to the story, Jenne! Thanks for the lovely compliment.
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Yes, death to all micro-managing, it has ruined work.
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Very true, Paul!
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Ah, I thought their escape seemed a bit to easy, Chris.
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As an author, you know the characters will have to struggle. Let’s see what happens later today. 😉
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[…] Previously […]
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Sneaky, Captain Stinger, very sneaky! It’s really hotting up, Chris 👍
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Thanks, Susan!
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