#fff215 mall at night

[nopoodles]

Or die trying

Mall at night - #fff215 @flashfictionfridayofficial

This is set in my Claretbury Chronicles universe (no, it's not out or even announced officially yet. Yes it is what I've been writing most recently. No it won't be out for at least a year and a half, possibly longer). No spoilers though. Anyway enjoy.

Billie clutched the daggers tightly in their fists, keeping their hands low and hidden in the open edges of their jacket — almost but not quite in their pockets.

Vampires went down better with wood — ash specifically, which the Hunters Guild had been good enough to supply Billie with. Problem was, the ash had about a 43.5% chance of disintegrating with the vampire. Problem was, the last time Billie had been sent on a mission that was "definitely vampires" they'd ended up taking a Llea demon in the chest. Said Llea demon had morphed the wood back into living form and used it to restrain Billie.

Wooden stakes only really worked on vampires. Silver coated daggers with runic enchantment carved into the blades worked on pretty much everything. Everything Billie could reasonably be expected to fight anyway.

Billie had spent more time in malls than most of their fellows, having not been picked up by the Guild until puberty had hit and their powers had manifested. Puberty would have been hard enough, but no, chance saw fit to equip Billie with magical powers to fight monsters too.

A dark and silent mall, though, was freaky as fuck. The last time Billie had been in a mall their mum had been taking them for new school supplies — supplies that had never come to be used, though Billie still had the keyring from the edge of the pencil case. It had been bright, the fluorescent lights blasting off the white marble-like floors, each shop front shedding its own choice of light out of the huge glass windows. It had been noisy, a thousand people or more all going about their lives in that chaotic way people behaved. Now Billie expected there had been more than humans in the mix, but they hadn't even thought to wonder that at the time. The scents of body odour and too much perfume mixed into a cloying concoction with the food and drink stalls — Billie's increased senses running rampant to categorise everything. Their mum had held their hand when Billie had pulled sunglasses down to cover their eyes, they could practically feel her warm, safe, solid grip now.

They shook it off. This mall was dark. The sting of cleaning fluid the only scent. And it was silent. But for the soft jingle of mayhem.

Billie had been sent out because the Guild didn't know what was here. They suspected vampires, but Billie knew by now that "suspected" was the same as "guessed". Just because they moved around at night didn't necessarily mean vampires.

But Billie's handler, Myles, had also pointed out the security guards drained of blood and the fact that these creatures — whatever they turned out to be — were throwing their party in the kind of place vamps would be naturally drawn to. A mirror shop.

Vampires and reflections. A complex consideration.

Still, as Billie neared the shop their heart pounded, knocking against their rib cage like an instant visitor. Whether it was vampires or something else, Billie was here to dispatch them. However many there happened to be.

Or Billie was here to die trying.

They slipped through the open glass door and into the shop.

Creatures buzzed about inside, too fast for even Billie to track. Could still be vamps. Vamps could move fast. But the noise like bee wings wasn't one Billie was used to vamps making when they buzzed about.

They gripped the handles of their daggers a little tighter.

Kill the beasties or die trying. That was the order. Billie's job. And Billie really didn't want to die.

© Will Soulsby-McCreath, feel absolutely free to reblog but you need my active written permission to share it anywhere else (and I'm not currently giving that)

#flash fiction friday #flash fiction friday 215 #fff215 #fff215 mall at night #claretbury chronicles

[renee-writer]

Black Friday

Written for @flashfictionfridayofficial #215 prompt Mall at Night

“I swore I would never do one of these. Why am I here?”

 

Her sister laughs, pulling at her hand. “Because it is the first time the mall has been open all night. You don’t have to shop. You can just watch me.”

 

She shakes her head, a smile spreading across her face. “You and everyone else. This might be better then Walmart.”

 

“That’s the spirit.”

 

They are in a group of people waiting on the doors to open. The Black Friday sale will be across the whole mall. The crowd is huge.

 

“Alright ladies and gentlemen. There will be no shoving, no pushing. You will enter in an orderly fashion. Anyone who doesn’t , will be escorted out of the building. Understood?”

 

Nods and yes’ all around. No one there wants to miss the mega sale. The rules will be followed.

 

The security guard looks to his counterpart on the inside. He gets a nod and the doors swing open.

 

Christmas music fills the air. A giant Christmas tree stands in the center of the lobby. It’s star is inches away from the ceiling. Christmas lights and a few other dimmed ones are the only source of illumination.

 

The reluctant shopper stands, taken it all in. She feels a sense of awe. Her sister grins at her. “Now aren’t you glad you came.

 

“I am. This is magical.”

 

“Good. Let’s do some shopping.”

 

They enter JC Penney ‘s hand in hand.

#fff215 #flashficfridayoffical #my writing #mall at night #black friday

[polizwrites]

Somewhere to Turn

This is a fill for today's @flashfictionfridayofficial prompt [FFF215 Mall at Night] as well as my @bingowinteriron FREE square

Fandom: MCU/Marvel Pairing: Bucky Barnes & Tony Stark Rating: General Tags: No Powers AU, young Tony Stark, runaway, friendship Word Count: 845

Bucky was definitely beginning to regret watching Dawn of the Dead with Clint before starting his first shift as a night watchman at the mall. It was all too easy to look down a darkened hallway and imagine that there were zombies shambling towards him out of the shadows, inexorable in their hunger for human flesh. That and the winter wind howling across the parking lot sounded positively eerie. But a job was a job, and Bucky would be damned if he was quitting before he even started.

Ms. Hill had informed him that he needed to walk the entire building at least three times during his shift, checking in through a series of QR codes, posted on the wall at the end of each wing. At least he’d be getting some exercise, he supposed.

Bucky realized he actually missed the background music that played through the speakers overhead during the day, and wondered briefly if he had the ability to turn it back on. Sure, it was all instrumental cover versions of songs that were at least as old as he was, but at least then he wouldn’t hear the echoes of his own footsteps.

As Bucky turned the corner to enter the food court, a flash of movement caught his eye. There was something - or someone - behind the counter of Luca’s Pizza, trying to open the door to the kitchen area.

“Hey!” Bucky fumbled his flashlight from its holster and turned it on; realizing belatedly that if the intruder had been armed, he’d made quite a target of himself.

But instead, the figure froze, put its hands up and turned around. “Don’t shoot! Please!”

Bucky approached cautiously - even though part of him knew he should be calling the police, the voice had sounded young and scared.

“What are you doing here?” he called out instead, making his way over through the cluster of tables in the middle of the room. “How’d you get in?”

“I hid in the bathroom when the mall closed. You know, like in that book? Admittedly this isn’t the Metropolitan Museum of Art, but…” The guy - no, more of a kid, probably somewhere in his late teens, if Bucky had to guess – shrugged.

He was dressed in a dark long sleeved shirt with a band tee over it, jeans and sneakers - just like any other teen that had walked through the doors earlier in the day. But he was wearing a facemask and the backpack on his shoulder was nearly bursting at the seams.

“Okay,” Bucky replied, not ready to let down his guard quite yet, “but I still want to know what you’re doing here.”

The guy met Bucky’s gaze, the bags under his whiskey brown eyes proof of lost sleep and sorrow. “For what it’s worth, I was going to leave money on the counter to cover the cost of the repairs, and the food. I just needed somewhere warm to stay tonight.”

Bucky’s heart went out to him; yes, he was technically trespassing, and had been in the process of breaking and entering, but Bucky knew a little something about being forced to be on your own too young. “Listen, if you’re homeless, there’s a shelter about a half a mile from here.”

The guy shook his head. “I can’t. They’d turn me in.”

“What do you mean?”

The guy sighed and took his mask off. “I’m Tony Stark.”

“Well, shit.” The disappearance of the heir to the Stark fortune had been all over the news; with the death of his parents the month before, rumors were flying about a potential kidnapping and ransom scenario. “So, you’re, what? A runaway?”

“Something like that, I guess.” He shrugged again, a haunted look briefly flashing across his face. “I know what you’re thinking, ‘Poor little rich kid. Born with a silver spoon in his mouth. Never had to work a day in his life - what in the hell could he be running from?” He spat the words out bitterly.

“No, no, I wasn’t.” Bucky replied, making a decision that would probably bite him in the ass at some point. “Listen - how about you come hang out with me in the security office til the end of my shift?” he offered. “I’ve got leftovers stashed in the fridge - enough to split. I’ll call my roommate and let him know someone needs to use our couch for awhile. He’ll be cool with it.”

“Huh? What… why would you do all that for someone you don’t even know?” The mix of confusion and wariness on Tony’s face made Bucky’s heart go out to him.

“Because my step dad kicked me out of the house when I was sixteen because he found out I was gay,” Bucky explained. “I don’t know what you’re dealing with, but I figure it’s got to be pretty serious if you’re scrounging for mall pizza.”

Tony huffed out a soft laugh. “You may have a point there.” He lifted his eyes again, and this time Bucky saw a bit of hope shining there.

#writing stuff #fanficlet #Flash Fiction Friday #mcu/marvel #winteriron #Tony & Bucky #shameless self promo

[queenfisher1]

(#FFF215 Mall at Night) A Mall?

This is part of my wip, Aspen's Wings. All the characters belong to me. The prompt kind of lit a lightbulb in my brain for what to write so here it is.

@flashfictionfridayofficial

She carefully stepped through the portal. The delicate sand texture of the bright swirling light slid gently off her shoulders. The tingling sensation in her fingers calmed down as the portal grew smaller. The moment it disappeared, Aspen found herself in a pitch black room.

“Shoot, where am I?” She slowly took a few steps forward, at first feeling nothing but an empty space in front of her. The sound of her boots tapping the ground slightly echoed about the space. I finally got out of that darn cave only to end up in another dark enclosed space, she sighed.

“Hopefully there isn’t anything in the darkness with you,” the mysterious voice muttered.

“You’re not helping!” Aspen scolded under her breath.

“Sorry,” they squeakily whispered. She reached out with her hand and felt a strange glass. It was uneven, but smooth as a fine silk. Carefully walking along the side of it, she feels the sill of what seems to be a window. Her eyes slowly began to adjust to the darkness. It was blurry, but she could see it. A door handle. It turned out to be locked and rattled noisily when she wiggled it.

“Well, at least I know I’m not in another cave,” she shrugged. Aspen slowly backed away from the door. Suddenly something underneath her heel bent and crashed onto the hard floor. She quickly lifted her foot away and froze. “What was that?!”

"¡¿Quién está ahí?!" a voice called out. Aspen frantically looked back and forth before seeing a dim light appear from behind a wall far. She could hear their footsteps come closer.

“That can’t be good,” the mysterious voice whimpered. I know! I’m not stupid. Her heart began to quicken as she took several steps back. Everything seemed to freeze in place when her foot slipped into a large hole in the floor. She held her breath as she felt the sensation of falling. A frozen shock of fear paralyzed her if only for a moment. She felt a sudden sharp pain in her wings, landing on a stiff carpet.

“GYAH!! My back!” she shouted.

"¡Hay un intruso en el centro comercial!" Aspen couldn’t understand what they shouted but she had a feeling it meant that she was in big trouble. She stumbled to her feet and rushed onward, still not being able to see all that well. The person above began to run. Their heavy footsteps echoed loudly against the walls. Something warm and wet began to drip from her back.

“Aspen! You’re bleeding!”

“Not helping!!” The person chasing her jumped down and landed with a large thunk. 

“Oh great-!” She suddenly hit her head against a wall and stumbled backward. “Ow!”

"¡Manos donde puedo verlas!" Aspen froze and slowly turned around. She stared into a blinding light that shone bright, hiding the source behind it. They hissed out a small gasp. She stood there awkwardly as she tried to think of something. I can only guess that they speak Spanish, but I don’t know Spanish. Panic rose in her head as the person in front of her continued to be silent in shock.

“Uhh . . . hola?” she shrugged as she nervously put her hands up. Her wings quickly crunched up tightly behind her back. The person let out a startled shout and dropped the flashlight pointing at her frightfully with their claw. The flashlight’s light shone against their green reptile body fitted with a cop outfit.

"¡¡DEMONIO!!" they screamed. Aspen jumped and started screaming bloody murder.

“MONSTER!!” she cried. She clenched her fists and flinched away from them.

"¡No me mates, solo soy un guardia nocturno!" they whimpered squeakily as they ran away from the scene. Aspen stood there, back against the wall. Her breathing began to quiet down as the lizard’s footsteps faded away. The muscles in her fingers began to relax. It became silent, and everything went still.

“What was that?” Aspen whimpered.

“That’s weird.”

“What’s weird?!”

“I thought that would work, but I guess those berries you’ve collected work differently.”

“What do you mean?! This isn’t my home world?!”

“It seems sooo,” they hummed. I wish I could punch you.

“I can hear your thoughts, you know.” Aspen flinched subtly and clenched her head.

“Why couldn’t you have said that earlier?!”

“I thought that it would be obvious after I said I only existed in your head.” Of course, Aspen sighed. She took a quick deep breath in and slowly let her hands down. “Well, are you going to just stand here or try doing something other than being a sitting duck?”

“You’re right, I can’t stay here.” Her back suddenly began to tingle and sting in pain. “Oh, ow! That hurts! Where did that come from-?!”

“Aspen, you fell, remember?”

“Oh.” She looked at the flashlight the lizard left for a moment, entering a daze. Quickly shaking her head, she crouches down and picks it up. It had a strange texture, but it still felt familiar to her. It seemed almost like a normal flashlight from her realm. She held it for a while, playing around with it in her hand. It was large and had a very rough texture. She looked around and observed the ceiling above her head. How did I not break a bone falling from that? Did my wings break my fall somehow? Looking around a bit more, she began to realize what kind of place she had ended up. She looked at a few of the storefronts, all either seeming like some kind of clothing outlet or food court. A lot of them were themed with some kind of reptile or bird.

“I should probably check on my back before doing anything else,” Aspen mumbled. “One of the clothing stores should have a mirror. Hopefully I can find one that isn't locked.”

#writing prompt #my writing #writing prompts #fantasy #lizard #mall cop #night guard #intruder #spanish speaking character #my characters #original characters #my ocs #my oc story #Aspen's Wings

[starlightswitch]

Writer's Month 2023 Masterpost

I finished @writersmonth again, and I'm honestly kind of surprised I managed to since this year I was visiting family (or traveling to or from) for eight days of the month. Always good to impress yourself.

Everything is G rated, and everything is contemporary except Optional Excursion, The Girl in the Woods, Coming Back, A Beer and a Band and a Breakthrough, and The Quest to Collect Them All.

#1 – blossom + on an island – Where It's Planted (standalone)

#2 – camping AU – On Top of Everything (AU for my Flash Fiction Friday piece The Missing Cousins Return)

#3 – seashell + festival setting – The Story Behind the Promise (standalone)

#4 – memories + underwater – Engaged to Someone Else (for a work I never wrote, Remake)

#5 – sun + poolside – The Possibility of a Relationship (standalone)

#6 – backpacking AU – What the Cameras Didn't See (AU for my WIP Real Love)

#7 – vacation + in the mountains – When Storms Arrive (standalone)

#8 – fishing – Someone to Go Fishing With (sequel for my WIP Not As An Us)

#9 – warmth + home for the summer x FFF213 Ten Years Later – The Same Kind of Weird (sequel for my WIP The Best Best Friend)

#10 – lifeguard AU – When the Storm Hit (AU for my WIP Snowbound)

#11 – sweat + roadtrip – An Unexpected Stop (standalone)

#12 – lemonade + band AU – Live and In Person (AU for my WIP That One Night)

#13 – fan + cruise ship – Sing It With Me (standalone)

#14 – bonfire + vacation fling – Single for the Summer (standalone)

#15 – blue x FFF214 Broken Mirror – Something Stressful, Something Silly (sequel for my WIP Close for Comfort)

#16 – energy + tourist – Optional Excursion (standalone)

#17 – waves + wedding – Ruined on Purpose (standalone)

#18 – free + restaurant – Four Years in the Making (standalone)

#19 – party – First of Many (prequel for my WIP Not As An Us)

#20 – different first meeting – Brandon's Girlfriend (AU for my WIP Close for Comfort)

#21 – at a bar – A Night Out – (standalone)

#22 – human/non-human – The Girl in the Woods (AU for my WIP The Best Best Friend)

#23 – storm + in the woods – Coming Back (prequel for my old work Karyn's Knife)

#24 – summer x FFF215 Mall At Night – A Place to Be Alone (standalone)

#25 – relax + at a concert – A Beer and a Band and a Breakthrough (standalone)

#26 – found + online dating – Easier Than Face-to-Face (AU for my WIP Not As An Us)

#27 – volleyball – A New Sport (standalone)

#28 – mythological AU – If You Say Something Impressive (AU for my WIP Not As An Us)

#29 – fireflies + at a cabin – The Quest to Collect Them All (standalone)

#30 – children AU – To Always Remember (AU for my WIP Not As An Us)

#31 – at a hotel x FFF216 Found Family – Someone On Her Side (AU for my WIP Real Love)

My favorite AU: On Top of Everything, Brandon's Girlfriend, and Easier Than Face-to-Face

My favorite prequel/sequel/interquel: Something Stressful, Something Silly and Coming Back

My favorite standalone: The Story Behind the Promise, Four Years in the Making, and A Beer and a Band and a Breakthrough

My favorite title: On Top of Everything, Sing It With Me, Something Stressful Something Silly, If You Say Something Impressive, and The Quest to Collect Them All

Reader's Choice (based on reblogs): A Place to Be Alone

#writersmonth2023