The Wolf

Wow, this is two weeks in a row I wrote for #ThursThreads... but I won last week so I have to give it another try.

 

The Wolf

 

 

It was born at midnight, all teeth and fur… and hungry for blood. It climbed from its mother’s belly after having eaten through her womb. Even then it was hungry, so it picked her bones free. Watching the creature, Kylee reached out to pet it, but Nanna slapped her fingers back.

“Leave it alone.”

Kylee watched the creature feed and then studied its mother. Tara had been her sister. Kylee had been jealous when she’d been chosen for the Quickening. To be the mother of the wolf god was an honor. Tara hadn’t thought so. She’d screamed while its seed was planted.

When it was done eating, the creature looked at Kylee, growling slightly. Kylee felt something stir inside of her. It sniffed at her, sticking its nose close to her sex. Then Nanna shoed it away.

Kylee watched it leave, disappointed. “Will it come back?”

“When it reaches the end of its life it will return to choose a new vessel.”

“So he can be reborn.” Kylee felt the yearning again, a combination of fear, hope and desire. 

“By then you will be very old. You will be Nanna.

Kylee looked crestfallen. “Oh.”

“Don’t be so disappointed, child. The wolf only exists when the moon is full and then it must feed. You do not want him here those nights.”

“And the other nights?”

“He will take another form, one more pleasing than the wolf, though no more tame and sometimes more dangerous. Those nights he is a man.”

 

Word Count: 250

@jezri1

Lara's Secret

I haven't done one of these for a while but this is my entry for #ThursThreads.

 

Lara’s Secret

By Lisa McCourt Hollar

 

 

“Lara, was that Michael I saw driving away?

“Yes.”

Lara’s back was turned, but Stephanie thought her voice sounded strained, as though she’d been crying. She put her hand on her friends shoulder. “Well, he is coming back, right?”

“I don’t know.”

“What do you mean, you don’t know?”

Lara turned around and brushed past her friend. “I’m thirsty. You want a drink?”

“No. Was he cheating on you?”

Lara laughed. “Michael? No way. He’s a saint.”

“Then what happened?”

“He asked me about the basement.”

“So? I’ve wondered about it myself.  You’ve kept it locked tight, ever since David’s death…“

Lara flinched, but ignored the pain she felt at her son’s name. “You’ve never pushed me. Michael went down there. He tried to break the lock.”

“No secret’s worth keeping, not if you lose the one person you love most.”

“If he knew, I would lose him anyway.”

“I don’t understand. Lara, what’s in that room? A shrine? It’s been ten years, you need to move on.”

“Leave it alone Steph.”

Stephanie’s eyes fell on the crowbar by the basement steps. She waited until Lara reached into the fridge for a beer.

“Stephanie, please… you don’t understand.”

Lara chased her down the steps, but Stephanie was already prying at the weakened lock. It didn’t take much to finish what Michael’s started. The lock broke, the door opened and inside the room, a roar sounded.

“David never died,” Lara sobbed. “It would have been better if he had… Stephanie, run!”

 

Word Count: 250

@jezri1

A Necessary Evil

Written for #ThursThreads

 

A Necessary Evil

By Lisa McCourt Hollar

“Joshua, what are you doing?”

“You know what I’m doing dear, I’m culling the herd.”

“The herd? Joshua, they’re humans, not cattle.”

“They might as well be cattle, Elizabeth, for all the good they do. Pollution, global warming, wars… they even kill their own children.”

“We were sent here to watch, not interfere.”

“We’ve been watching for millennia. Free will… bah. He gives them free will and they throw it away. Blind and dumb, they’re sheep being led to slaughter. If they are so willing to walk blindly off the cliff, then I’m only too willing to help.”

“With that?” Elizabeth nodded at the pouch Joshua held in his hand. “I know where that came from. Lucifer has never had their best interest at heart. He set himself up as a god… and you see where that got him. Are you so willing to follow in his footsteps?”

Joshua looked at the pouch, opening it and sticking a finger inside. Pulling it out he sniffed at the powder. Black, it smelled of death. “As far as I’m concerned, we are God.” Opening the window, the angel emptied the contents into the wind. “It is done.”

The powder swirled in the air, carried by the currents to the four corners of the earth. Children breathed it in on the playgrounds, the elderly began to cough, feeling a strange tickle in their throats. That night, humanity slept, a sense of dread hanging in the air. The next morning the dead awoke.

 

Word Count: 249

 

Alien Convention

Written for #ThursThreads

Alien Convention

By Lisa McCourt Hollar

“You’ve got to be kidding me?” Thinking he had stepped into some weird version of The Twilight Zone Johnny Walker surveyed the room. Red, the color of crimson was splattered across the walls, mixed with a rainbow of green, blue and orange.

“I told you, they take this seriously.” Sean Franco shook his head, trying not to chuckle at his partners dazed look. It was his first year in town.

Before him, an alien with a large lobed head and sharp teeth sputtered indignantly.

“I want them arrested! This is NEVER going to come clean.” He gestured to his suit, an already gaudy color that even the most hardened pimp wouldn’t be caught dead in. A large collar rose up in the back, covering the back of his bald head. Johnny assumed he was referring to the red paintball splotches that  were soaking into the fabric. Behind him a bevy of women, dressed in costumes befitting Star Trek characters, giggled.

“You should thank me, Ferengi. I improved the look.” The woman leering down at the offended ‘Ferengi’, pointed a paint ball gun at him, shoving it into his chest.

“Did you see that officers, she threatened me.”

“Threatened you?” The woman laughed. “Ferengi, wait until tonight. You’ll see what threatened is.”

“Let’s go,” Sean said, turning towards the brothel door.

“Aren’t we going to arrest her? She did threaten him…I think.”

“Foreplay,” Sean said. “Get used to it. You should see Vegas when the Beany Baby convention comes to town.”

Word Count: 250

@jezri1

A Fair Trade

I originally wrote this for a weekly competition. 

A Fair Trade

By Lisa McCourt Hollar

“That didn’t take long…” George’s voice trailed off as I slipped off my coat.

Blood soaked my white blouse, the crimson spreading like a flower in violent bloom. I let the coat fall. My knees gave way. He caught me before I hit the floor.

“My God,” he whispered, easing me onto the couch. “What happened?”

“I killed her.”

“Killed who?” His hands hovered over me, searching for a wound. “Were you in a car accident?”

“No.”

“Then what happened? You said you were going to the store.”

“I lied. I went to see Sheila.”

“Tom’s wife? Why?”

“She called. She told me about the two of you.”

His face changed, just slightly. Enough.

“Linda, I would never.”

“She was pregnant.”

The color drained from him.

“Oh,” I said softly. “You didn’t know? She was going to leave Tom. She said you would leave me too.”

“That’s insane.”

“I told her you wouldn’t. I told her about the pre-nup you signed.” I held his gaze. “And then I realized something. The brakes. The gas leak. The broken basement step.”

I leaned forward. “They were not accidents.”

“You’ve lost your mind.”

“Maybe.”

I picked up my coat and reached into the pocket. The knife slid free, still wet and dark.

“But I think it’s a fair trade,” I said, lunging toward him, “for your life.”

The Hounds of Hell

My entry for #ThursThread

The Hounds of Hell

By Lisa McCourt Hollar

Demons surrounded me, their fingers clutching, nails digging into my flesh in their attempt to devour me. I fight, but there are too many. One creature leans towards me, his mouth opened, saliva dripping from his teeth which were razor sharp. The air from the thing’s maw is hot and sour and I know I am about to be dinner. I close my eyes, waiting for the end to come. Instead, the creature jumps onto my chest, raking its tongue across my face.

“What the hell!” Opening my eyes, I find that I am in my room. Sitting on top of me, drool dangling from his jowls, like long strings of snot, is Lord Rutherford, my St. Bernard, or more accurately, Sally’s St. Bernard.  I only inherited him when she decided she needed to find herself and left the two of us to do so.

Shoving the dog off my chest, I use the sleeve of my pajamas to wipe the beasts drool from my face. “How many times do I have to tell you,” I growl, “I can wash myself!”

Lord Ruthie just looks at me, not impressed. Silently he turns and walks into the kitchen and sits by his bowl. The message is clear, if you don’t want me to eat you, then feed me.

“You know, I can always trade you in for a cat.”

Still not impressed, Ruthie yawns, sending more bad breath my way.

“They have better hygiene, you know.”

“Woof.”

“Well, okay, but I’m getting you a toothbrush.”

Word Count: 249

@jezri1

Marriage Vows

Marriage Vows

By Lisa McCourt Hollar

He stared in horror at the body. His chest tightening, Mark shifted his attention to Regina, who now was pointing the gun at him. Where the hell did she get a gun, he thought, then, how the hell did she end up here?

Only a few minutes before, he and Kate had been tangled together on the couch. Then the doorbell rang and his girlfriend had  excused herself, saying something about her neighbor checking up on her. A loud blast had sent him running for the door.

“Regina…” Mark stammered, trying to piece together what had happened.

“Interesting poker game you have going here,” his wife said, shutting the door behind her.

“What…” He wondered if he was going into shock. His mind was thick with fog.

“You’re wondering how I found you.” It wasn’t a question. “Tom told me.”

His brother? Mark shook his head. “Tom wouldn’t have told you…”

“Not at first,” Regina agreed, tossing a white handkerchief at him. It was stained with something red.  “Eventually he saw things my way.”

Unwrapping  the material, Mark gagged, bile coating his throat and mouth. Two of his brother’s fingers were wrapped in the cloth.

“What did I tell you when we married?”

“Regina…”

“What did I tell you?”

“That you didn’t believe in divorce.”

“And?”

“That if I ever cheated, you would make sure it would never happen again.”

“Not would, could never happen again.” Lowering the gun, Regina smiled.” If you don’t have it, you can’t use it.”

Word Count: 250

@jezri1

Prism

Prism

By Lisa McCourt Hollar

“Let’s get this over with.” Even as I said the words, I couldn’t believe they had come out of my mouth. Stealing myself, I said a prayer and then opened the door to my daughter’s room. My husband followed me, my support and my rock. Kylie was where we had left her, tied to the bed, with tears running down her face, catching the light, like crystal prisms.

 “Honey, are you sure?”

 So much for my rock.  “Crocodile tears. You’ve seen what she can do.”

 “Mommy, please, I’m sorry. I won’t do it again.”

 “No, you won’t.” My voice cracked. How  could I do this? She was only seven.

“What if we’re wrong?” Even after what she had done, Kyle was only too willing to accept her excuses. I wanted to believe her too, but when we found her floating above her bed, I’d called a priest. The poor man lay dead in the corner of the room, his blood pooling around him.

“Mommy, I didn’t mean to. He scared me.”

 “I know sweetie, but…this has to be done.”

Suddenly her face changed and the tears dried up.  “He’ll come for you, just as he came for me,” she hissed, revealing her new teeth. “What will you do then, bitch? What will he do?” Kylie nodded to her dad. She knew he wouldn’t have the strength.

 “We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it.”  Then before I could change my mind, I slammed the stake through her heart.

Word Count: 249