Yes, even more Scifi/Fantasy Very Short Stories!

Yes, I wrote even more science fiction and fantasy Very Short Stories! These appeared on Twitter on the hashtags #scififri, #satsplat, and #vss365! I hope you enjoy them!

1. "WILLOW! Bring me that antidote!" His slave stumbled into the room, tripping over her feet. He poked her with his cane.

   "Hurry!" Her hands shook as she poured a drink into his mouth. He cursed.

   "Wrong one, stupid girl!" He fell, his mouth foaming.

   Willow smiled.

2. Water poured out of the sea caves and frothed at the bottom of the cavern, tearing at the rock with hungry force.

   "They call this place Charybdis," he said. "If someone fell down there, they'd be torn to pieces."

   Was that what had happened to her sister? she thought.

3. She dropped her eyes and blushed, looking pretty and demure. It gave her the opportunity to give surreptitious glance at their guests' weapons. The milk-faced boy carried a fine sword, Damascus steel. His fingers drifted to the hilt like he knew how to use it.

4. The cauldron boiled and seethed. Frothy black effervescence floated to the top. She sprinkled a couple of milky eyes into the brew. At last, when the smell burnt her nostrils, she poured him a tumbler full.

   "There," she said. "The strongest hangover cure I can make."

5. The delicate butterflies flit over the surface of the lake, their wings silver and blue in the moonlight. They float around the waterfall and vanish in the mist.

   "Where do they go?" I whisper.

   "No one knows," Gran says. "But mayhap the fairies."

Five SciFi/Fantasy Very Short Stories

I’ve been writing so many very short stories, I’ve decided to blog them by genre:). Here are some SciFi/Fantasy Very Short Stories that I wrote for either #vss365 or #satsplat on Twitter (I’m @TheWiseSerpent).

1. Her people had only a vestigial stinger, a tiny hooked nail that curled underneath her big toe. Mostly, it made shoe shopping annoying. But sometimes, she thought, easing one foot out of the rope they'd bound her with, it did come in handy. She wiggled off her socks and waited for her kidnapper to return.

2. He smiles wide enough that she can see his tongue drifting over teeth too sharp. Her hand trembles around the wooden cross she's holding.

   "It's not enough just to hold it," he says. "You have to be vehement."

   She plunges the sharpened end of the cross into his chest.

3. No wonder magic was so difficult, she thought. The spells were all horribly vague, completely unlike the clear scientific language she was used to. Twelve cattails? She squinted. The tails of actual cats, or the water plants? No way to tell. She sighed.

4. The veil parted to reveal his new-bought bride, still inactivated. He lifted her hand and pressed the button beneath her knuckle to enter the code. Her eyes began to flutter, and he leaned in to give her a kiss.

   "Husband?" she asked. "

   “Yes, something like that."

5. He eyed her food, his lip curled. "Are you actually eating that?"

   She smiled and licked the juices off her lips.

   "I thought you were a vegan."

   "Most of the time. But tonight is a full moon."

   "Well, I'm leaving."

   "If you were smarter," she said, "you'd run."

Five More Very Short Stories

Here are five more of my very short stories! I originally posted them to #vss365 on Twitter.

1. The snake curls around her arm, an old friend. Jen strokes its smooth scales, green and red. She has long been immune to her companion's venom, but it could stop the heart of an assassin in seconds. One reason why she has survived so many attempts on her life.

2. It was a pity to destroy such beauty. He brushed a curl of rosewood off his scraper. He could understand why the new queen wished to replace the veneers of the old queen with her own coat of arms. By why did she demand he destroy the little princess's arms as well?

3. A few extra pills, and she can float in the dreamless void. The voices don't bother her here, and she can't feel the pain anymore. Sometimes she wants to stay forever, but people need her. She just wishes she didn't have to listen to them screaming in her head.

4. Floating the frozen sea is not like drifting in a void, as many people think. Bio-luminescent corals light up the deep sea vents while jelly-flowers and tube-sharks churn the cold waters of the upper layers. They ignore her submersible if she stops the propulsion.

5. "My family starved to death, and you didn't care about them. Do you expect me to cry over one rich brat?" Spit flew from his mouth as the rope tightened on his neck. "You call me a villain? To you, that's just another peasant!" The rope jerked, and his feet dangled.

Seven More Very Short Stories

I’ve mentioned my very short stories earlier, which I’ve been posting on Twitter, usually under the hashtag #vss365. Here are a few more I wrote, including a couple of my favorites I’ve done so far. A couple of them are related and form a somewhat connected story!

1.There are caution tapes draped around the playground, and a quick outline scrawled in white chalk. A very small outline.

2."Mama?" says a voice that melts my heart. He's less than two years old, sweet-faced and baby soft. I pick him up and cuddle him, pressing my cheek to his.

"Not Mama!" He struggles against me, straining away. I keep holding him tight. He'll learn soon enough.

3.She swims along the reef, allowing the detritus of human occupation to collect in her yawning maw. Her scrubbers sifted plastics, cans, even harmful chemicals from the water, leaving it clean and pure. At least until the next holiday.

4. She dusted the keyhole for fingerprints, carefully collecting the smeared marks and recording them in her log. Only then did she unlock the door. The inside of his shed was spotless, and smelled of bleach. There was a rusted chain bolted to the floor.

5.The glass was shattered and the wood so splintered it took her a second to realize she held the remains of a picture frame.

"Who is this?" she asked. A gentle faced woman smiled at her through torn paper.

"His mother. She's dead. Suicide," the officer said.

6. The blue-green ink shimmered on her tentacles, the pattern of dots indicating her lineage and the proximity of her estrus cycle. One of the males danced above her, his red dot pulsating to show his interest. She floated up to join his dance.

7. Kerta turned off the propeller of her submersible, letting it float along in the currents above the sea vents. Above her, the amorphous shapes of the Europan jelly-flowers began their swirling mating dance, the epitome of grace.

Seven of My Very Short Stories

There are many ways to spend time on social media, and I’m afraid I’ve become a bit addicted to them! I’m trying, however, to at least limit myself to being creative when I’m social media, especially Twitter. So instead of just mindless skimming, I’ve been writing very short stories. These are found on a couple of hashtags: #vss, #vss365, #satsplat, and a couple of others. I’ve been very happy with how some of these tiny stories turned out, and I think overall writing them has been a great writing exercise. Here are seven I’ve written recently!

1. I knew I was in trouble when I saw the broken vase.

"I'm sorry, mama, please don't be angry!"

She looks right through me, shoulders slumped and eyes glazed. She glances at the broken glass on the floor and shuffles back upstairs. I clean up the mess in silence.

2. She pressed a trembling palm to the scanner, hoping the extensive modification she'd endured would be enough to get her passed the security.

"Verified," chirped a robotic voice. The door slid open. The room had three terminals and shelves of samples.

3. Her heart ached as though it had been wrapped in thorns.

"I made it just for you," she said, clutching the soft cotton to her chest. She'd stitched her granddaughter's name in the center.

"It's stupid. I told you I wanted a new phone."

"I'm sorry."

4. When I bought the robe, it was thick and lush, softness you could bury your hands in and wrap around you when you needed comfort. Now it sagged around her shoulders, grey and faded, plush worn away. "What day is it?" she asks. "Who are you?"

5. "Who is it? Who could have known the invasion plans?"

"Their profile identifies them as s human claiming to have psychic powers."

"Nonsense. It must be a pseudonym. The humans we've tested have shown no psychic or clairvoyant resonances. We must have a traitor."

6. There. Aren't you so pretty? Mr. Levine is going to love you! Just be nice and sweet, and he'll make our career. Your career, I mean. And remember to smile!

7. She peered into the microscope. The synthetic molecules seemed to destroy the virus, but they also surrounded the host cell's DNA. Would the treatment inhibit cell function and kill the patients she wanted to save? Did she has time to find out?