Proceed At Your Own Risk
Warning: Before you read "He Made It", I need to let you know it's a bit of "cozy horror" rated PG-13. It suggests something unpleasant that might occur during an apocalypse. Some readers might feel queasy and others might recoil in disgust. Others have applauded me for the twist at the end with a hearty "Wow, I didn't expect that." Your mileage may vary, so if you feel any hesitation, feel free to skip this story.
Eddie and Sylvia survived the apocalypse in their bunker. Six months later, Eddie was in bad shape. His stomach clenched and growled with hunger. He needed more than rations. He knew what he had to do.
“Eddie, where’s the dog?”
He turned the filet on the grill. “I don’t know.”
© Copyright 2019—Present, Jenise Cook, All Rights Reserved Worldwide.
First Published: The Friday Fix on Medium.com (RIP), on 2019 July 26
Image Credit: Anatoly777 on Pixabay.com
About this Story
Note: This post is a part of my “push” to publish my older works on Substack. I’m now publishing new works in between the ones I’m archiving here.
I wrote this little story to practice the “twist” at the end that practitioners and readers of the 50-word micro flash style expect.
Believe me, nailing that twist is not as easy as you’d think. It can be painful for us writers. We work at it, writing, revising, and revising again and again until it all comes together. When a 50-word story seems to achieve that twisty goal, the reader’s “ah ha!” makes it all worth while.
I’m grateful to the members of Scribophile, an online writers community, who critiqued this story.
Note: We are 100% dog lovers, and were loved by one of the Best. Dogs. Ever. who lived a long life, spoiled, and died in her old age. And, it was tough on me to write this story’s ending. However, it was practice in a genre, and particularly to practice the “twisty” ending. (I don’t like writing horror, but I do enjoy writing crime stories.)
Your Turn
If you’ve ever experienced an “ah ha!” moment as a reader or a writer, please let me know in the Comments.
Thank you for reading “He Made It”. This post is public so feel free to share it with others (via social media, email, etc.)
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Read my Faith & Spirituality Substack, Night Owl Christian
So many dogs. So few recipes...
Okay, just kidding! But I imagine an apocalypse changes the rules...
Thanks for the recommendation, Jenise.
Thank you! I just posted a new prompt today for Friday, if interested!