This week’s photo prompt is by Ron Pruitt, and I must say, for me, it has been one of the most challenging. But sometimes challenges bear new fruit, and my story this week is outside of my typical fare. And I must say I rather enjoyed this trip to the dark side. 🙂
Perhaps darkness struck me because this is Madison Woods‘ last week as our leader. As the creator of the Friday Fictioneers, she has given us all another reason to look forward to Fridays, as well as a means of inviting new visitors to read our works. Thank you, Madison. We’ll miss you, but I also know your future ventures will be every bit as successful!
And best wishes to our new leader, Rochelle Wishoff-Fields. With the combination of her writing talent and witty, enthusiastic personality, I know she’ll be a huge success!
If you have posted a flash fiction this week, please feel free to leave your links with your comments.
- Copyright Ron Pruitt
Nuggets
The man in the cowboy hat snickered, listening to folks in line complain about the baby about to be swallowed by the bus.
“Nothing worse than a crying baby on a long road trip.”
“I have a headache just thinking about it.”
Heh-heh. Cowboy laughed to himself.
Them folks for dang sure don’t know what they’s getting themselves into on this trip. Baby’s just the appetizer. Buster’s appetite will be well-whetted and ready to swallow the main course by the time them folks board. And dessert? Well, that’ll be the fine, young filly buying cherry Chapstick in the bus station.
Jan Morrill Writes 
Yuk, human McNuggets. 😦 My trip to the dark side was a bit different.
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Yuck is right, sustainabilitea. I enjoyed yours–powerfully dark.
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My story (and I’m sticking to it) is that I was very positive and upbeat until I joined Friday Fictioneers, where too many happy endings are frowned upon!! 🙂
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do you really think there have been expressions that happy ending are frowned upon? i haven’t noticed, but then again i don’t write happy endings, so maybe that’s why i wouldn’t notice.
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No, I’m just kidding. A lot of the stories don’t have happy endings, that’s all. I think sci-fi and horror tend to be that way. Happy stories often don’t have the same impact, either.
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oh, okay. thanks. i think short stories don’t lend well to happy endings probably because of what motivates us to write them. speaking of which, currently working on a short story about a serial killer.
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If it’s too short, you won’t have time for much serial! 🙂 If you want someone to read it when you’re done, let me know.
I think often people write to get rid of or work on feelings that are painful. I used to write poetry for that reason (and wrote a post on it.) Better to write than act out!!
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it was going to be a novel, but i don’t think it needs to be that long, nor that i could be a full novel. also, i’m working on a short story collection that i want to reach about 50,000 words total. so changing this idea from novel to short story will help. thanks for offering to read. i accept!
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Haven’t seen “displeasure” with happy endings. Good thing, mine are rarely happy either.
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remember the tv show “miami vice”? the only reason i liked it was because most of the time, the bad guys got away.
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Very sinister!
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Thanks, Sandra. I’m not quite comfortable with sinister yet, but I guess we all have to step outside of our comfort zones, awkward as that may be. 🙂 I loved your story this week!
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This sounds suspiciously like that incident in Seattle on the city bus with the pregnant mom and her 4 year old child. ridiculous.
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I hadn’t even heard that story, Kathy. I did a google search and found it. People don’t have a lot of patience these days. Buster would probably spit them out anyway. 🙂
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Hi Jan,
Very appropriate to find your dark side this close to Halloween. I’m afraid bus travelers might be tough old birds, and not very clean, but it doesn’t look lilke that cowboy is very discriminating. Ever heard the expression, “I could eat a horse.” I think he did. Ron
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I don’t know, Ron. I was kind of embarrassed at how silly mine was after reading yours. 🙂 Very well done, and thanks for the great photo prompt!
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I hope it doesn’t get indigestion. What would you give a bus with a tummy ache? Or even worse, develope a bad case of gas and go tooting down the road.
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“Tooting down the road…” You always manage to crack me up, Russell. 🙂
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Is there a ‘groan smiley face’?
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I know, Ted. Pretty bad, huh? Oh well, like Ron said, at least we’re close to Halloween. 🙂 (Groan)
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There should be, Ted. There really should be.
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i’ve been looking for an “eyes rolling” kind of thing but can’t figure one out.
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🙄
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but what did you type to get that?
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i can’t type it without it happening… but here is what you type… without spaces between the colons and word. Also… when you do these, you leave a space on each side of the word. : roll :
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I meant each side of the code… 🙄 😯
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That cowboy needs to eat a salad or something….nuggets are just plain wrong! Nice job. Thanks for the laugh!
Tom
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Ohhh and here is mine…..http://blog.tompoet.com/?p=554
Thanks.
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Yours was absolutely perfect, Tom. My favorite so far!
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Jan that has to be the best thing I heard all day! Thank you so much!
Tom
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Quite literally swallowed, eh? Welcome to the dark side, sweet thing.
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Ha! I was tempted to turn around and run, Keli. 🙂 Kind of scary out there.
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Cherry Chapstick… perfect description! Love you new avatar on the FF page, btw…
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I’m glad you liked that, Ted. I think that was my favorite part, too. 🙂 Thanks for the compliment!
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That is some picture: a bus “swallowing” its passengers–good one.
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This gives a whole new meaning to “take out!” I’ll pass on a bus ride thank you.
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What does a cannibalistic bus say? CHOMP!
Although dark, this was fun, Jan. (Some of us are more warped than others.)
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but if everyone is getting eaten, and the cowboy knows it, why is he getting on too? is the cherry chapstick an allusion to katy perry? hope so. something needs to chew her up and spit her out.
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Two words…Creepy and Chilling.
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Sorry I haven’t been participating in the conversation in the last day–I’m at the hospital with my mom. Been enjoying reading it on my iPhone, but I’m not very good at typing on it. 🙂
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You are a scary, scary woman. And HAHA! Me and my iPhone have the same relationship. Text? Are you kidding me? 🙂
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Is Buster the Cowboy, or someone/something else who will consume the riders ?
I think when I read something and have a need to know more that means it worked.
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LOL, I like the western combined with your sinister influence in this one Jan. As for Fictioneer stories trending toward the macabre and sinister… well, what can I say? I love them like that!
(Not sure if anyone pointed it out yet, but there’s no ‘h’ in “Wisoff”….my spell check automatically puts one I think or my fingers automatically do it, but more often than not there ends up being one in the name when I spell it, lol, even when I’m trying not to.)
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😉
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Yikes!
I hope it’s just the cowboy’s crazy mind and there is nothing more to it!
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