FLASH FICTION:-- HORROR, SCI-FI, HUMOUR, CRIME, SLICE OF LIFE, ETC.

Saturday, 7 September 2013

The giggles



I had the giggles, overwhelmed by the ridiculousness of the situation. I was chuckling so hard I could barely catch my breath.

The heist had gone perfectly. The escape through the sewers too... almost.

Here I was, in the pitch black, the stench of human waste clogging my nostrils, the squeaks of rats like tinnitus in my ears, the slither of fur brushing my legs, the Chinese water torture drip-dripping in the background.

I hefted the loot bag in my hand and thought of all that it could buy, could have bought, probably now never will buy.

The blueprint of the labyrinthine tunnels crinkled between my fingertips, unreadable, priceless,useless.

From somewhere in my head came the thought, “A torch battery, a torch battery... My kingdom for a torch battery!”

That just set me off again, my maniacal laughter echoed through the dark, things just couldn't get any worse.

From close by came a low, throaty snarl...



©2013 Stephen. J. Green.
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18 comments:

  1. Helen A. Howell9 September 2013 at 01:15

    Oooh things just took a turn for the worse me thinks! Nice to see you back Steve! ^_^

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    1. Steve Green9 September 2013 at 21:43

      Hiya Helen. Yeah, whatever it is, it doesn't sound cute and cuddly, does it? :-)

      Delete
  2. Tim VanSant Writes10 September 2013 at 19:10

    Maybe he's lucky. Whatever the snarling thing is might be irritated by the light.... ;-)

    Hiya Steve!

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    1. Steve Green10 September 2013 at 21:34

      Heheh, yeah, now if he could just get the goddam torch to work. :-)

      Hiya Tim, hope all is good with you. :-)

      Delete
  3. Katherine Hajer11 September 2013 at 03:48

    Steve! Were your ears burning? Pete and I were just trying to figure out where you disappeared to.

    I hope this story isn't indicative of how you've been occupied -- the details are awfully detailed. Loved the ending.

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    1. Steve Green11 September 2013 at 22:55

      Steve Green11 September 2013 10:17

      Hiya Katherine, it's lovely to hear from you, it's really touching that I have been missed on #fridayflash, thank you.

      I am fine but for various reasons I haven't been on the scene for a while. I shall be posting again, but as yet I'm not sure how often, but I will try to read and comment on other flashes whether I post each week or not. :-)

      As for the story? Well, it's all fiction... Honest! Well, all except the bit about the heist... and the sewers...

      (Heheh!! only kidding of course.)

      Delete
  4. Cindy Vaskova13 September 2013 at 08:42

    Never be too happy too early eh?

    This is a nice draw of madness overwhelming in the midst of a reeking, terrifying crisis. And there's the emerging unknown... Feeling good to be reading your words again, Steve!

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    1. Steve Green13 September 2013 at 10:20

      Hiya Cindy, and thank you.

      I'll bet this guy was feeling rather pleased with himself... until the torch failed. :-)

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  5. Deanna Schrayer13 September 2013 at 19:30

    Oh, so that's where you've been! *snort* :) I've missed you Steve and am so glad you're back, and with a crazy-fun story!

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    1. Steve Green13 September 2013 at 20:57

      Heheh! Hiya Deanna, it's good to hear from you, thanks for the lovely welcome back. :-)

      So glad you could see the dark humorous touch in the story too. :-)

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  6. Larry Kollar14 September 2013 at 02:55

    Yay, good to see you back! I hit your blog a couple weeks ago, wondering if you'd awoke from your long writing slumber, and missed you by a few days. :-P

    It wasn't so dire, up to the last paragraph… all he would have had to do was wait for morning and follow the light to a drain. But then things got just a weeeeee bit worse…

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    1. Steve Green14 September 2013 at 10:27

      Hiya Larry, and thanks for the cheer, it's good to be hear from you, and it's good to be back too. :-D

      As for our protag? if he manages to survive until morning it'll be such a dull day there will be no sunlight seeping through drain covers, (I'm not gonna cut him that much slack! Bwuhahahahahaha!!)

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  7. liminalfiction14 September 2013 at 14:13

    Poor guy nearly pulled it off. Welcome back, Steve! I asked around with others in the FridayFlash community to see if anyone had heard from you, we missed you!

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    1. Steve Green14 September 2013 at 14:50

      Hiya Richard, and thank you for the welcome, it's really heartwarming to return to comments like these, it's good to be back too. :-)

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  8. Cat Russell15 September 2013 at 15:38

    Don't these characters know that thinking things couldn't get worse pretty much GUARANTEES that they will? *shakes head*

    Very cool flash!

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    1. Steve Green15 September 2013 at 16:04

      Hiya Catherine, and thank you.

      Haha! Yeah, I have to agree with you on that one. How many times have we said "Well, at least it's not raining." Just before the first wet blobs hit the top of our head? :-)


      Delete
  9. Icy Sedgwick15 September 2013 at 17:19

    Glad you're back!

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    Replies
    1. Steve Green15 September 2013 at 19:56

      Thanks Icy, it's good to be back, I hope things are good with you too. :-)

      Delete

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