Flash Fiction: Blackouts Finale

          “I have to do this.”
           “Are you sure?”
Allison nodded and Richard Blake let her be. It was the last day of a nerve wrecking two weeks trial. Allison walked forward, knelt down and mouthed the words “thank you”. A tear trickled down her cheeks onto the cemented slab.

Anna Michaelson (1984-2015) was imprinted in stone. Allison wondered how a person, who didn’t know her, never even met her, could give her life up for her. She had read of guardian angels and fairy god mothers in fantasies, now, she knew it was actually a reality. They are real and Anna is hers.

Anna kept her promise to Richard. The evidence she gave him were enough to put H in jail for life. Allison’s cheeks dampened as she recalled how Richard together with Anna’s evidence made her case. She felt a pang of guilt, knowing Anna died for her. Sure there was no evidence to indicate foul play, but Allison knew in the depth of her heart, Anna’s drowning was no accident.

“It’s almost time”, Richard whispered, placing a hand on his daughter’s shoulder.
“So what’s next?” He asked, as they made their way out of the cemetery.
“For a start, to get as far away from this town”, Allison declared.

“Still wary about me?” Richard questioned after a pause. Her silence tugged at him but then he noticed the way her lips curved upward. Not one to accept defeat, he continued,
                  “I love you too.”
“Sorry?” Allison questioned, one brow raised with a confused expression on her face.
“Well, it’s just… you can love someone even though you don’t trust them. That is part of true love , loving someone even though you don’t trust them.“
            Allison laughed… “Let’s go nail this trial!“

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Its been a long run, 16 weeks to be precise but it’s about time for Blackouts to come to an end. I want to say a big THANK YOU to Priceless Joy for hosting this flash fiction challenge and also to everyone who read and liked and commented and most importantly, criticized. Only so much details can be put into a flash fiction piece, but I hope this kinda wraps it up. Let’s see if I can join the pieces together into a more compact story with developed characters. But for now, looking forward to next week’s non-serial flash fiction. Here’s a link to the other Blackout Series.    THANK YOU!

Flash Fiction: Blackouts (15)

 He was a golden brown marian breed with long black mane. A white patch ran across the medial section of his face, making him stand out among the other horses.

“His name’s Spirit”, Anna said as she noticed Richard’s gaze fixated on her horse. Richard turned to face a smallish young lady standing at many feet below him. He noticed her oval face and blond hair cut into a shoulder length bob. She had sky-blue eyes which was enhanced by a winged eyeliner.

Richard shied his gaze away lest she caught him staring and Anna got down to bussiness. She narrated in a matter of fact manner, her ordeal with H, how she escaped and her belief that Richard’s daughter, was H’s present target. She explained to Richard the scene she met at H’s place and the implicating details on his computer.

“I’ll get them to you tomorrow”, Anna promised. She led Richard to his car, parked at the pavement of the stable’s lake. Unknown to either, a pair of eyes at the lake had seen them.

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Word count: 177. This post is in response to the Flash Fiction for Aspiring Writers photo prompt challenge hosted by Priceless Joy. Thanks to everyone who has stuck with me right from the 1st part and welcome to all new readers :). P.S- there is no “Marian” horse breed (i made that up 🙈). You can find all the previous parts of Blackouts: HERE A little tip, Part 9 may or may not be intertwined with this 🙂 

Blackouts (14)

The shouts of school kids in the background awoke Allison from her light slumber. She turned around to find a couple of boys dressed in cream and brown uniforms, posing excitedly for a picture. The smiles on their faces was magical. For a moment, Allison wished she could go back in time.

She rose from the spot she’d been lying and offered the group some money to get candy. They jumped excitedly, hugging and thanking her- It was an overwhelming feeling.

The boys departed to get their treat leaving Allison wondering where Richard was. After all, it was his idea to spend the day at the beach after their nerve wrecking interview with the detectives the previous day.

Richard Blake had left while Allison was sleeping, to answer a call from his secretary. She knew he wasn’t taking any new cases so it had to be an urgent business. Turns out, a woman named Anna had called needing to speak to Richard. All she said was that it was about his daughter, Allison Blake

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This post is in response to Flash fiction for Aspiring writers photo prompt challenge. The beautiful picture of the jolly boys above was lent to us by Ellespeth (Thank You). You can find the previous blackouts series HERE . Thanks for Reading. Word Count: 175.

Flash fiction: Blackouts (13)

Three dream catchers on the porch, three laptops, three pairs of pictures, threes’ of everything and Anna knew she was in the right place. This was undoubtedly “Harrison” aka “H”‘s house. For a genius, he paid little attention to his passwords; he was still the same man after all.

Images of a beautiful brunette woman were plastered all around the messy apartment. Most of them, disturbing. Anna gaped at the somewhat hundreds of images of Allison Blake. This wasn’t going to be the re-union she had hoped for.

A particular isolated picture captured her attention. It was of a stone walled, ancient looking church with one of those rare tower bells. She remembered how she had first met H coming home from a church. Her adrenalin kicked in. She realised what was happening, H was stalking his new prey just as he had stalked her. Anna made a resolve there in, if it was the last thing she did, she would save this woman, she would save Allison Blake. She got to work, beginning with H’s laptop.

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This post is in response to Flash fiction for aspiring writers photo prompt challenge hosted by priceless Joy. Word count: 177, slightly over. This is also a continuation of my flash fiction series “Blackouts”. I’ve created a new sub category at the top of my page titled “blackout series” in order to make it easier to find all the other past episodes. Here’s the link: Blackouts Series

Blackouts: Anna’s story

Anna was a blonde doll-like figure of a lady. Small in statue and dainty in appearance, two of her many traits which fooled onlookers. Beneath all the frills and fuss, was someone who had spent the past ten years living and making it on her own. She was an event planner and the proud owner of a beautiful wooden tent located in heart of fairville grounds.

Her life was going smoothly until she met Harry- an eccentric IT guy. Their meeting, she thought was by chance and after a whirlwind romance, I do’s were exchanged in the heart of fairville. 

Anna soon found herself entangled in the web of a prolific stalker and psychopath with a nudge for violence, and a blinding charm. Harrison crumbled Anna’s world and left her, the shell of her old self. After years of therapy, Anna decided it was about time she faced her predator. Despite knowing well enough that psychos don’t change overnight, she took the chance and paid Harrison a visit. That was when she saw it.

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word count: 174. This is my response to the flash fiction for aspiring writers photo prompt challenge where a picture is given for a story to be written. This is also a continuation of my flash fiction series “Blackouts”. I recommend re-reading part6 and part9 and part10 in order to better understand how Harrison and Anna fit into Allison and Richard Blake’s world.

Flash Fiction: Blackouts (11)

   

                  “Detective Dave called”
                   “What did he want?”
                “To let you know that he’s got this eyes on you, just incase you decide to do something drastic.”
Richard expected an outburst from Allison but all he got was a barely audible “oh”. Allison had worked herself day and night trying to find a way to get out of the fix she was In.

She had interviewed every person on duty, the week the artifact was stolen. She had contacted hackers to trace down the origin of the alleged payment money. The best answer she got- the person who did the job was a genius; the slight awe in their voices when they said it, did little to numb her pain.

She sat, trying to process the latest shock when a memory surfaced. A while ago, she was at the park feeding the ducks when she noticed someone staring at her. What struck her was his eyes. She remembered noting “he had the coldest eyes”, and for a brief moment, Richard Blake was the least of her worries.

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Word count: 170-ish ( I forgot to note down after editing). In response to Flash fiction For Aspiring Writers photo prompt challenge. Hosted by priceless Joy who is also the owner of the wonderful pic lent to us for the challenge. This is also the 11th part of the Flash Fiction series Blackout. After this part, I think it’s safe to say Allison loves the outdoor and parks 😉

part1 part2 part3 part4 part5 part6 part7 part8 part9 part10

Flash Fiction: Blackouts (10)

The color drained from Allison’s face as she stared unblinking at the image fixated on the screen. “Woman found drowned”– the caption read. It wasn’t as much that a woman was found dead by a couple of teens gone fishing which unbalanced her; it was the “woman” who was found. The tumbler in Allison’s hand trembled, her heart beat an irregular rhythm.

Only yesterday, she caught a glimpse of “the woman” whose name now appeared to be Anna talking to Richard Blake at the lake and now, she was dead. Allison didn’t need any special calculator to fit two plus two. Her mind was racing at a million to one, what if?

The next sound Allison heard was the thud of a fallen object. She turned to find Richard towering over her- it was his suitcase. Unaware that Allison had sighted him and Anna together, he masked his expression, appearing unnerved upon seeing Anna’s death. Allison noticed the sudden shift in expression and fear enveloped her heart. Who really is Richard Blake?

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In response to Flash fiction for aspiring writers photo prompt writing challenge. This is the 10th part of my flash fiction series “Blackouts”. I think it’s about time we end this right? 😉 hopefully,the next couple of pictures will help me wrap things up. Thanks for sticking with me all through.

part1 part 2 part3 part4 part5 part6 part7 part8 part9 

Do you think Richard Blake could go as far as to murder a person? If yes- for the motive of helping Allison or is she just a pawn in his game? And lastly- who is Anna? I’d love to hear your theories.

Flash Fiction: Blackouts (9)

 

Hey Katy, how’s the other side… Hope grandma’s doing okay over there. The past week has been a downward spiral for me with a corkscrew pattern. I lost the one thing I loved, my job. An antique that was put under my care for a gallery we were hosting is missing; I’m the main suspect.

It’s funny how i’ve racked my brains a billion times to see what went wrong, I’m getting nothing. My account’s frozen and I’ve had to live off of Richard. *laughs nervously* I know it’s such a cliche but, thankfully that father of ours has got more money than he can chew.
            I wish you were still here… I miss you.

Allison threw the last of the pebbles into the water, then rose up and smarted the dust off her skirt. Katy had aways loved the water; Allison used it as a medium to clear her head when things got complex.
Far off from the lake was a sight which caught Allison’s eye.
                  Her eyes narrowed, “Who’s that with Richard?”

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Word count: 173. This story is in response to Flash Fiction for Aspiring writers photo prompt challenge. This beautiful picture was taken by Dawn Miller, thank you very much. And I also apologize for not being able to participate last week.
Here are: part1 part2 part3 part4 part5 part6 part7 part8
Can’t wait to see you next week. 🙂 

Flash Fiction: Blackouts 8

 
                                    *After the interrogation*
Staring at a picture of the stolen Madame Trousoule painting, the detectives couldn’t help but gaze at it’s beauty.
“It’s a view of paradise on earth,” one of the two detectives exclaimed, “Miss Blake has a good taste when it comes to artifacts, I’ld give her that.” He appeared to be in his fifties with wrinkles and poorly managed gray hair.

His partner was a Hispanic young man of average height and slender built who looked not more than late-twenties. He in turn spoke, “Miss Blake did look bewildered towards the accusation, in fact, it was like she had no idea what the heck we were talking about.”

“Ah, don’t let her fool you boy, I say she’s just a great actress,” the older detective said. “When you hear the name Blake, trust me, it’s trouble.” Seeing the confused look on his young partner’s face, he added, “let’s just say, Richard Blake and I go way back and there’s no love lost between us.”

With that the older detective left the interrogation room, leaving the young Hispanic to ponder if Allison Blake really is more than meets the eyes.

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Flash Fiction For Aspiring Writers challenge. Word count: 188 sorry PJ, I had to go over on this one. This part is a direct continuation of part7. I felt the need to round up on this photo prompt seeing  as there’s going to be another next week. So, here it is, my second submission this week.

Flash Fiction: Blackouts 7

      “Allison, get dressed. We’re going to the station”, Richard ordered. She looked up to see her father, dressed in a black suit with a suitcase in hand, all ready for business.
“You mean police station?”, Allison questioned, wondering what on earth they were going to do at the precinct.

“Okay, I need you to be calm and listen to me carefully”. Richard said, wearing a grim expression.
“I just got a call from the precinct informing me that you’re wanted for questioning, regarding an art theft.” He paused for a moment to let the bombshell he had just dropped sink in. Allison glared at him and before she could open her mouth to retort, he continued.

“That’s not all. It’s not just any art, but the antique Madame Trousoule painting of the tropical kabaski Island and they’ve got evidence supporting their claim”.

“But- That’s ridiculous!” Allison exclaimed. She could feel her pulse rising and her heart pounding in her chest.

“I know, and that’s why we are going to clear your name. I just need you to trust me.”

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word count: 173 word. My response to Flash Fiction For Aspiring Writers photo prompt challenge. Thank you Pixabay for the stunning photo above. part 1 part 2 part 3 part 4 part 5 part 6

UPDATE: blackouts 8 is out now based on the same photo prompt.