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I'm very pleased to introduce Future; Nostalgic's first ever guest post, a debut piece of flash fiction from my good friend Aislinn O'Connor (whom you can find at: @Aislinnye24 on Twitter). Hope you enjoy it.
The Dark Assassin
by
Aislinn O'Connor
by
Aislinn O'Connor
With his dark clothing and equally dark thoughts, he waited in the shadows of the night. Some called him a hero and some a vigilante - some almost worshipped him, while others thought he was the devil's child. It didn't matter. Secure in his identity, he needed no-one's approbation but his own.
His victim would, he knew, arrive at any moment. Already his sharp ears had picked up footsteps, getting closer. Quick, light footsteps that betokened hurry.
Their owner was, of course, no match for him - his strength, his agility, his lightning-fast reactions... or his absolute determination to rid the world of yet another enemy. He poised himself to strike.
It only took a moment, and the deed was done. Not a sound escaped his victim - just the lightest of thuds as the mouse's tiny body hit the pavement. The pure-black cat, almost invisible in the shadow of the wall, licked his lips in anticipation and settled down to wait for his next kill.
Thank you for reading. Let's hear it for Aislinn everybody!
You can find the rest of this week's #FridayFlash stories in the usual place, and please follow the #fridayflash hashtag on Twitter for all the latest, up-to-the-Tweet news of #FridayFlash.
The UCF Stories will return next week.
38 comments:
Nice story! Here I am thinking vamp or ghoul or something. Way to go.
Excellent! Welcome to #fridayflash, Aislinn. Hopefully, you'll be a regular contributor. It's addicting, as Sam will attest.
Excellent guest posting!
Of course, I was thinking that a creature of the night was waiting for human prey.
Imagine the surprise...and delight...that it was a creature of the feline persuasion. A cute one. :)
What a clever idea! I must do this once. Cute story.
Thanks, ganymeder - I must admit I wasn't too sure WHAT he was going to turn out to be when I started it, only that it mustn't be anything too immediately obvious. Was quite pleased when he kind of morphed into a cat!
Thanks, Laura - and yes, I think I'm hooked already. Yesterday I was telling Sam I didn't think I could write one, and this morning I woke up with another one in my mind! Think #fridayflash should probably come equipped with an addiction warning :--)
Thanks, Marisa - glad you like it. I had actually seen a black cat earlier in the day, and the thought crossed my mind that it really DID look like some kind of creature of the night, so I think that may have unconsciously had something to do with it :--)
Thanks, Carrie - my mind was a total blank till I read a #storystarter by @MelissaMurphy2 and started wondering who (or what!) the person in it might be... and this was what took shape :--)
A great first guest post Sam. I had a mental picture of a Ninja lurking in the shadows.
Brilliant story Aislinn! Welcome to #FridayFlash. I too had visions of some shady human assassin to begin with, your reveal at the end was very, very good.
Yes, as Laura quite rightly said, #FridayFlash is very addictive, it should come with a warning as you will most certainly be back for more; I just know you will. Won't she, Laura? ;)
Okay, so here's where you lost me:
"...and settled down to wait for his next kill."
Um, unlikely. Kitty would take that dead mouse home to show its owner. Probably drop it on their face while they're sleeping. Cats like to share.
Thanks very much, Sam, and especially for persuading me to have a go after I said I didn't think I could do it!
I think it's a very fair bet I WILL be back for more - am beginning to be haunted by a ghost story...
That first paragraph is a knockout. Wonderfully self-assured and dark. I assumed it was a human, then you flipped it and totally caught me unawares. Excellent stuff.
marc nash
Lithe, confident fiction Aislinn, with a wonderful flick in its feline tail (did Sam insist on a cat?!). What a great debut. Welcome to #fridayflash, thanks for the intro, too Sam.
Simon.
Welcome to Friday Flash Aislinn
Great story - well done :)
Nicely done. Good twist.
So nice of you to lend a friend your #fridayflash spot! Miss O'Connor made vicious use of it.
John Wiswell - It was most definitely a pleasure to gift my #FridayFlash spot to Aislinn this week.
Very well told. Lovely story Aislinn. Fix up your own blogspot so we can read you every week. I'll follow.
I wouldn't argue with that, Anton - think it could be why so many folks I know are terrified of cats! I can only plead dramatic licence :--)
Thanks, Marc - that's very kind of you! The credit for the first sentence-and-a-half rightly belongs to Melissa Murphy (@melissamurphy2 on Twitter), who very kindly submitted it to #storystarters and sparked the whole thing off.
I'm glad you didn't recognise who he was until the end - I was a bit concerned that the "worship" reference might give the game away too soon!
Thanks for the comment, Simon - absolutely love the description!!
No, Sam didn't insist on a cat - in fact when I start writing it I'd no idea who or what the character was going to be! It was only after I'd written the first paragraph I realised I'd described a cat, & took it from there :--)
Thanks very much for your welcome, Michelle - glad you like it :--)
Thanks very much for your comment, Eric - was hoping the twist would work well :--)
Your generosity is very much appreciated, Sam - when my new blog's up and running I'll be very happy to return the favour by hosting a #FridayFlash for another newcomer who's not yet got a place to put one :--)
LOL - never thought I'd be delighted to be described as vicious! Thanks, John :--)
Oooh! That took me by surprise. Good one. Tightly and effectively written :-)
Thanks, Josie - glad the ending wasn't obvious in advance! Had the nagging fear it might be :--)
Nice descriptions. Welcome to FF.
Thank goodness my tabby's ginger colored! Fun story, and welcome to #FF. Peace...
Ah, stealth assassins don't come much better than cats! Welcome to fridayflash :)
Nice little story.
N
Thanks, Tim, for your comment and your welcome to #FridayFlash. I'm beginning to appreciate the warnings I've been getting about how addictive it is... :--)
Hi, Linda - yes, there's something particularly awe-inspiring about a black one, isn't there? Glad you liked it; thanks for your welcome, and peace to you, too :--)
Thanks, Neil - very glad you like it :--)
Hi, Mazz - yes, for stealth and speed I think a killer cat can beat a human any day! And then they curl up by the fire and purr as if they're absolutely innocent... :--) Thanks for your welcome - I'm very glad to be a member of this great community!
Welcome to #fridayflash. So sorry I missed this last week. A fun story with a nice little twist. (assassin... fun... I wonder about me sometimes)
Great idea to have someone guest post a flash, Sam. I'm putting you in charge of recruitment. ;)
~jon
Thanks for your kind comment, Jon - very glad you like it!
(Assassin... fun... sounds worryingly like an infusion of feline DNA - or the basis for another story!)
:D
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