This is a short story I wrote in the last two or three hours for the submission to: http://theartificialselectionproject.com/2013/05/10/quasi-blog/
They are a small group planning on publishing an E-book. The deadline is November 1st. I figured it’d be another way to get my name out there if they accept this. 🙂
The Seed
Jack watched the lightening in the distance and felt the wind increasing. It was gonna be a good night of sleeping once the storm got there. He took another pull from his tobacco pipe and let the smoke out slowly. “I could use a good nights sleep..” He said to himself. Jack dumped the ashes from his pipe and stepped back into his trailer.
He returned to his vacant recliner and resumed watching the History channel. He could hear the rain starting to fall on the roof heavier and heavier as the time passed.
At the end of his show, a knock came at the front door. It was hard and rapid and screamed of Urgency.
Jack quickly got up and opened the door to a soaking wet young woman. She looked frail and beaten with thin strands of black hair clinging to her thin face.
“Help,” was all she said as she barged into Jack’s home.
“Wha…what’s wrong? who are you?” Jack stammered not really knowing what to do.
The woman sat down on the small couch next to Jack’s recliner. She was holding her left side which Jack could now see was bleeding.
“Oh shit, okay, I can call an ambulance. Don’t worry, okay?”
“No!” she screamed, “Can’t you see there’s no time. You have to help me Now!”
Jack froze in uncertainty, “What..do you want me to do?”
“Come here..” she calmly said looking up at him with emerald eyes.
Jack’s legs moved on their own bringing him to the kneeling position next to her.
She smelled of smoke with a light hint of death which was almost nauseating.
The woman grabbed his plaid shirt and pulled him into a kiss.
The smell seemed to disappear along with the fact that she was freezing cold, wet, and bleeding on his new couch.
Her lips were soft and full. Once her tongue slipped into Jack’s mouth to meet his, it felt like she breathed something sweet into his lungs.
“We’re both going to die.” she whispered to him after she pulled away.
Jack was speechless. The whole thing confused him so much that he had no idea what he would even try to ask if something had even popped into his head.
That’s when it began.
The woman with emerald eyes fell back with a blank stare and mouth slightly open. She was dead.
“What the fuuuuck!? Hey! Lady! Say something for Christ’s sake!” Jack tried shaking her but she was limp.
“Okay…Okay..I’ll call 9-1-1 and..we’ll get this sorted out.,” Jack said to himself as he began to shake slightly from uncertain fear.
He stood up hearing the cracks in his knees which always made him feel older than what he really was.
Jack never got to his cell phone which was laying on the counter next to the sink. Fortunately for him, his living room had thick carpet which somewhat cushioned his fall to unconsciousness.
When he opened his eyes, a black pair of soulless eyes stared back at him. No words spoken, only a hatred growing on the face of the man that stood over Jack. The Man was clean shaven with a dark gray bowler hat which matched his suit. He had a thin frame with boney fingers.
The man in the dark gray suit reached behind his back and produced a black wicked looking curved dagger which he prepared to bring down on Jack.
On instinct, Jack kicked upwards sending the stranger stumbling forward and over Jack.
Jack sprang up and turned around. “Who are you!? What do you want!? I don’t know that woman or what happened to her!” Jack yelled out desperately trying to find out what this psychotic man wanted.
“I want the Mana Seed.” The man in the dark gray suit sneered as he charged Jack.
Jack grabbed the man’s wrists and tried holding him off.
“I…don’t..have any seeds!” Jack said struggling.
There was no arguing with the man. He had a rage in his black eyes and an unstoppable death in his hand.
It was the most frightening experiences of Jack’s life. Watching slowly as his strength left him to fatigue and the knife inched slowly to his chest. He watched his demise in slow motion. Jack couldn’t fight any longer, the man with the black eyes was stronger than he looked.
The knife pierced his chest and into his heart.
The man in the dark gray suit watched the curved dagger waiting for it to extract the Mana Seed, but there was nothing. No reaction, No glow; This pathetic vessel was actually empty.
Jack’s body went limp and slumped down to the ground.
The ‘Suit’ pulled out his cell phone and began calling his superior.
“The womans dead, the seed is gone…Yes…I tried to extract from both bodies…Nothing…I’ll keep looking.” He hit the “End” button on his cell while stepping out into the rain and disappeared into the darkness.
Jack’s body lay there motionless for some time before anything happened. Slowly, a blue glow began to illuminate where the knife had penetrated. Jack’s flesh began to weave itself back together. His lungs filled and he exhaled slowly; opening his eyes which were finally full of understanding.
Jack stood up in silence and looked over at Alicia who was the Seed’s previous vessel. Tears crept down his smooth face which he caught on his finger tips.
He walked over to Alicia and placed a tear on each of her wounds.
“Life,” He whispered and watched a faint glow engulf her body.
Alicia gasped deeply and began coughing.
“About damn time! Being dead isn’t any fun you know!”
Jack smirked, “I know how it feels.”
Alicia stood up wiping the strands of hair from her face and looking Jack over. The slight wrinkles in his face had vanished and the gray in his brown hair was gone. He looked ten or fifteen years younger now. He could pass for someone being in their late twenties.
“Lets get out of here. There’s much to discuss,” Alicia said heading towards the back door, “Let’s bring Magic back to this barren world.”
Daniel Michaleski 