Agonies of a Young Author

Ahhhhhhh! It feels good to finally submit again to the Deadline Dames' ROD (Readers on Demand) art-inspired flash fiction contest. I've missed the past few months, and that was a big part of my casual writing routine. I've been serious about getting poems out for publication, etc. but I haven't really sat down just to write and goof of in my writing for a while. It's nice to just to enjoy yourself, without a purpose or a goal to fulfill. Just to play with words and plots and characters and possibilities.

I really need to build in a little more time for fun in my writing schedule. I didn't start off 6 years ago to get published, so I shouldn't act that way for the next half century or so.

Anyways, enjoy! I certainly did. =)

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(Inspired by a photo with mountains and red, flame-like ground coloring)

"Shaya..."

Ignoring the voice, she continued to yell at the men scrambling on the fortress walls. "Hurry with those bags! Pack them tight!"

"Shaya, it's no use."

She wretched away from the sympathetic weight of the hand on her shoulder. "Have they tried--"

"They're tried everything. It's no use. Please, Shaya, come away now."

"We've got another one here!"

Shaya stared at the man facedown in the street, his companion tugging uselessly at the limp weight.

Dammit. "Leave him," she barked out. "He's dead already."

The man glanced at the Commander at her shoulder before glancing down one last time.

Shaya turned away. "Call it," she said.

"My liege," the Commander said, bowing.

"Retreat! Retreat! Head for the hills!" he bellowed at the last of her people. They might be able to make it to safety before the volcano caused utter destruction; some, inevitably, would not.

Dammit. Shaya glared through her tears at the abandoned shell of her home and cursed with every last reserve.

"Damn you brother! Damn you for eternity, leaving this place and bringing the wrath of the gods here!"

She watched as hot magma crawled ever closer to the barricaded gate. The normal defenses were meant for the might of man. Nothing was adequate against the gods.

"Just damn you."

Right Now:

What I'm listening to: "So Contagiously" by Acceptance

What I want most: mac and cheese....