Flash - A Love Story
by Eric J. Krause
A zombie sneaks up on a group of unsuspecting campers. It's built for feasting on their brains, while they're built to die. Mayhem ensues as he breaks their camp. Maybe he kills them all in a gruesome scene of pornographic gore. Maybe one young kid escapes, humanity's last hope in the coming zombieocalypse.
Flash.
An older gentleman, surrounded by his family and friends, lays on his deathbed. He revels in their presence, but his mind wanders back to his youth. To that pretty girl he never had the courage to court. How different would life have been? He doesn't dream of this with any sort of longing, just curiosity. As he smiles at those around him, he knows he couldn't have asked for a better life. But that nagging voice, his last conscious thought, tells him life holds too many mysteries, too many choices, for just one go-around.
Flash.
The starship pilot pushes and prods the controls. That last laser torpedo destroyed his navigation, his steering, and even his communication capabilities. All that remains is the life-support system, and a hell of a lot of good that does him since all he can do is float aimlessly. A quick exploding death would be preferable. Not that all hope is lost. He could be picked up by a passing freighter, or maybe he'll hit the gravity field of a life-sustaining planet. Or maybe he'll just go crazy thinking of the options in his lonely isolation.
Flash.
The young boy crawls all around the ant hill, fascinated by the insects scurrying here and there, always busy. He wants to dig it up, see how far down it goes, but he promised Momma and Dad that he wouldn't. He pulls out a magnifying glass, and anyone passing by would have to wonder if it's to observe the ants up close or to bring fiery death from above.
Flash.
The young woman puts an extra kick in her stride, aware someone is following her. Of course this is late at night, the witching hour some might say, or she wouldn't be as frightened. How dumb is she for even being out here? The campus newspaper, all the campus websites, and even the local TV news have warned all co-eds to not travel alone after dark. This serial killer has left no clues. The footsteps behind her get louder, and she turns to face her pursuer. When she sees it's another girl, a woman her age, she loses it, balls her head off, and hugs this stranger. The twist? (Of course there's a twist.) The killer is a self-loathing, woman-hating lesbian. She won't take her own life, so she offs any pretty lady she sees. They turn her on and disgust her all at once. You better believe our heroine gets a knife in the back.
Flash. Flash. Flash.
The author sits back and smiles. That'll do for today. Tomorrow he can visit countless other places, be anyone he wants, do whatever catches his fancy. In short, he can be the master of the universe. All at under 1000 words a pop.
Are these synopses of past stories, future story ideas, a mix? Awesome! I'm going to have to crawl through the archives here and read up.
ReplyDeleteA brilliant insight into what makes us flash writers put fingers to keyboards. So many options and so many conclusions. My favourite is the boy, the anthill and the magnifying glass.
ReplyDeleteAdam B @revhappiness
An ode to flash, well deserved and well rendered.
ReplyDeleteA synopsis of a flash writer's mental process. Interesting. Could also be a look inside the mind of an ADHD sufferer. I'd analyze what that might mean but I'm distracted by an incoming email.
ReplyDeleteNice!! Very well done. I'm glad I'm not alone in the thought that writing and possible insanity go hand in hand. :-)
ReplyDeleteWOW! I enjoyed this a lot. And being a writer, I found myself looking at each synopsis and unraveling more of the stories in my head. I hope JMStro sees this one. This is really the ESCAPES of flashes and you've captured it beautifully.
ReplyDelete*should have been "essence" Stupid spellcheck
ReplyDeleteThat truly is the love story of a writer...we can delve into any universe we care to visit.
ReplyDeleteHuh, a flash about flash with flash.
ReplyDeleteGreat representation of the writing process that is also a collection of micro flash. Fine job.
ReplyDeleteI've always said, in any crime: the author done it.
ReplyDeleteBrilliant stuff, Eric. Sometimes as a flash writer, I get the feeling my mind is a train station with the stories whizzing through. You've caught that slightly insane thing. :)
ReplyDeleteExcellent!
Cool idea Eric. That's the fun part of flash - every week a new world, a new character, a new emotion. I think that's why I love it so much.
ReplyDeleteLike a crazy narrative roller coaster, good stuff.
ReplyDeleteCongrats on your 50th flash! What a great tribute to your own work and to the genre of flash fiction in general! I'm also curious-are these synopses from past stories?
ReplyDeleteOh I am SO envious that you could include so many mini flashes in one big flash - GENIUS!
ReplyDelete*hands you a cake* Happy 50th. :0)
ReplyDeleteFelt bad for the guy in the spaceship.
Thanks for dropping by first fridayflash. I like all the flashes you have here and know I have got a lot of catching up to do.
ReplyDeleteEric - Very well done - yes, this schizophrenic channeling process of writing can certainly lead you in directions you never imagined. That's why flash is so much fun. It's a whole different can of worms to work on a novel or novella - to keep visiting the same place and inhabitants over and over.
ReplyDeleteYou make flash look easy, Eric - which it ain't. A perfect numero 50.
ReplyDeleteEric, a great flash about flashes. Fascinating, popping off in all directions. Fun, fun, fun..:)
ReplyDeleteIt has been fun traveling with you thru many of your ideas above. Here's to another 50 cool ideas for the upcoming year!
ReplyDeleteGreat 50th piece! Some very cool snippets, and how true - the directions the writer's mind take are seemingly random!
ReplyDeleteFavourite: "anyone passing by would have to wonder if it's to observe the ants up close or to bring fiery death from above."
Brilliant. That was just like changing TV channels over and over. Create a picture in your mind and then whoosh - do it again and then again. Very quick and clever scene-building. Well done
ReplyDeleteSuperb stuff Eric! For some reason, (and hopefully this is a psychic vision), I can easily see this as an introduction to the second volume of The Best of Friday Flash - hint to John Strother. ;)
ReplyDeleteAbsolute brilliant, and somewhat spooky, insight into our looney minds!
You've summed up a writer's mind quite nicely there, Eric! I loved this!
ReplyDeletePerfect 50th flash. My mind kept trying to build connections between each piece (but then I was just talking about how memories of the past, present, future and other dimensions are all interconnected and can be accessed by the mind).
ReplyDeleteThanks for the great comments, everyone! I'm glad most of you agreed that this was a good one for my 50th flash--it just seemed like a great way to celebrate. As for the mini-flashes in the story, those are not based on anything I've written before; they just came to me as the story dictated what sort of form it wanted to take. I did write a flash based on one of the stories this week, though, and sometime in the near future I'll be putting it out for #FridayFlash. Hopefully it'll be well received.
ReplyDeleteSo funny, I see a common thread here. Even though the settings are all different, they are all about hope. :-)
ReplyDeleteI'm very jealous that you wrote this!
ReplyDeleteWhat marvelous fun, and what a tease! Just as I'm getting into a particular story - FLASH! Congrats also on your Dog Days story -- very nice! Peace...
ReplyDelete