so i wrote the below for a contest but got the entry deadline wrong and i posted it on FB but no one read it so i figure if i post it here maybe at least Stealth will read it. anyway, i'm struggling with a title for it so any ideas/ suggestions are appreciated. And as this is my first legitimate short story please feel free to critique. >kudos to you if you can guess what the guy is! (kudos might= prize)<
Title: >WIP<
Story:
There they were, all around her. They were not happy.
*Joe cowered in between a bench and a trash bin.*
Joe sat cowering in a niche she had found in the great room where they had summoned her to.
“we told you it would be pointless Josephine.” Joe whimpered something completely unintelligeble. They stood above her in their grey-toned clothes, embroidered finely with jewel-toned thread. Still more ignored the whole scene. There was no escaping their menacing, flaming, red and orange eyes as they shuffled in on her.
*The wind blew leaves across the paved path as a figure on the bench sat, throwing breadcrumbs.*
“P-pointless?” Joe’s false question barely made it out of her mouth before one of the women let out a coo of laughter.
“the police won’t believe you, no one will, not when you’re dressed like that.” another picked up the reel of speech, taking up where the other had left off as the first took a dainty bite from the bread on the plate she carried. “we’ve told you Josephine, we are not known to those whom we do not wish to know of us.”
Several of the people were cooing in their odd mocking laughter and Joe was scared. Even with the great room filled with people she was alone.
“Josephine, dear, is it really so bad?”
“Would you rather those rats had gotten hold of you first?”
“You’re quite lucky you know. All we’ve done for you.”
Joe still cowered as the conversation seemed to jump seamlessly from one creature to the next. She tried to, wanted to, shrink in on herself. Maybe she was lucky that the rats hadn’t gotten her first but these rats with wings as they were so aptly called were hardly the grandest replacement.
It seemed even her thoughts were not beyond their reach and, as if she had spoken the insulting thought aloud, the group crowded forward suddenly in a tide of fury.
* “Hey! Shoo! Shoo you stupid pigeons! Get!” The figure scattering breadcrumbs stood and revealed himself to be a man in a business suit, a tweed coat over it for warmth. He waved his arms at the pigeons seeming to attack a bag of trash left beside the bin. “don’t go strewing trash all over the place, i was feeding you and everything. oh!”
Joe peered out at him from under her ratty sleeve. The man seemed to hesitate before speaking again.
“I... didn’t see you there.” Joe said nothing. “right, well then goodbye...” Joe shifted around and raised herself to her feet still wary of the man, he had seemed to freeze when she stood.
“thank you.” she curtsied to him and he paused for a moment before answering.
“uhm, right, like i said i didn’t....but well......just shoo them away you know, you don’t need to take crap from them, they’re....they’re just pigeons.” Joe stared at him and the man shifted uncomfortably. “well, you should get somewhere warm for the night, before all the shelters are full.” the man turned and walked away. *
As Joe watched the man who had startled the creatures from the great room walked smoothly across the marbled floor his tail swishing lazily. As she watched him walk away he turned back, the same nervous look on his face but with a grin now.
“I meant what i said, they’re just pigeons you know.” the pigeons were slowly returning and lithely the man reached out and gently grasped one of the women’s necks. She struggled as he tightened his grip and started to bend her head back. His hat fell to the ground and landed as a crack echoed through the hall sending the pigeons that had returned rushing away in a swirl of panicked cooing.
The man tossed something small to her feet and looking down she stared at the small broken form of the bird that was once a pidgeon. Joe returned her gaze to the man and watched as he bent and retrieved his hat from where it had fallen and once more covered his abnormal ears.
* “Are you human?” The man frowned at her and she thought he wouldn’t answer.
“I was like you, so....are you?” Joe watched the man walk down the paved path of the park and turning, silently walked the other way. ***
DB15
Deathberry15 Community Member 
|
|
Community Member