Alexa ♥'s Stories

There is a Power [Simon story]

2008-05-26T04:29:35Z

Simon entered with an odd bird perched on his shoulder, a pulsing coral in his hand, a 2-foot-tall rodent with rabbit ears next to him, and a soulful eyed-raptor behind him.

“Dad,” the rodent spoke, “look at all these beautiful creatures.” His gaze followed to the Devil, still wearing a Simon suit. “You have done much wrong,” he said softly.

“A specialty.”

“I forgive you.”

I love you still, Xirm telepathed.

“Shut the fuck up!” The Devil screamed. “I reject your forgiveness!”

“I reject you,” Angela whispered. She was half-remembering something from Catholic school.

“What?” The Devil spun on his heel.

“I reject Satan,” her words became stronger, “and all of his works and all of his empty promises.”

His eyes glowered and a bit of flame shot at her. She ducked just in time.

“Only one reason it would’ve made you mad,” Blake mused. “Power of words.” Suddenly, he, Winters, Angela and Simon began at once: “I reject Satan -.”

Suddenly, each was grabbed by a fallen angel or a soldier.

Public Displays of Affection [Simon story]

2008-05-26T04:21:35Z

“What are you doing?” The Devil turned on them, eyes glaring in an unnatural way.

“Not much,” Blake’s calmness remained. “Just talking about how much I love my little sister,” he wrapped an arm around Angela and kissed the top of her head, “and this woman here,” and he kissed Winters full-on, careful to keep his repulsion completely inside.

“That is disgusting,” Lillith spit the word out.

“It is not working,” the Devil announced.

“Then why do you look like someone slapped you?” Angela asked. “I love you, Uncle Blake.” Raising her voice, she repeated, “I love you very much.”

“You call him ‘Uncle’ and he calls you ‘Sister’. Are you from some backwoods Southern town?”

“They’re terms of endearment,” Blake answered. “Your very favorite thing.”

“Blake, kiss me again,” Winters begged.

“Simon!” Angela shouted. “Simon, I love you!”

Blake looked up and saw the kid emerging. “Thank God,” he whispered. Then, remembering the mixed company, shouted, “Thank you, God.”

Adding Sin to Sin [Simon story]

2008-05-26T03:58:52Z

Angela was sure in that her shock she had misheard. “The Devil has a child?”

“More than one.” She had no idea what to make of the casual calmness of Blake’s voice.

“How come noone knows?”

“It is written,” Agent Winters said.

“It is?” Angela wasn’t sure what Winters was, so she had no idea how much faith to put in her.

“Isaiah 30:1, ‘Woe to the rebellious children,’ declares the Lord,” Blake said. ”’Who execute a plan, but not Mine, and make an alliance, but not of My Spirit, in order to add sin to sin.”

”’Anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor the one who does not love his brother,’ from 1 John 3:10,” Winters added.

“Don’t worry,” Blake said. “Simon is not Satan spawn.”

“Promise?” She wanted to believe him, but – Simon had had a bad week, and his reactions were frightening.

“Everyone who loves is born of God and knows God,” Blake said, “1 John 4:7.”

“Which means we are from God,” Winters batted her lashes at him.

“Exactly.” Blake felt sick.

A Reading from the Book of Lucas (1:1-13) [thebetweenspace Make Me Laugh Challenge]

2008-05-23T13:23:56Z

For Lucas so loved the world’s ticket sales that he put his Words on paper, that nerds everywhere might endlessly quote them. And the Word was made film, and Lucas declared it good. But the ungrateful audience despaired, and Lucas saw that he must lay down a Law, that they might buy tickets again.

So a Divine Website appeared with The Laws of Lucas:

I am Lucas thy Filmmaker, who saved you from the drudgery of 2001. You shall have no other filmmakers before me, for I am a jealous Filmmaker.

You shall not make anything that violates copyright laws.

Do not steal words, characters, or ideas from the Filmmaker.

You shall not use the name of the Filmmaker in harsh critiques.

Remember and keep holy the Opening Day. Do not do any work, but wait in endless lines.

Respect thy divine guru, you must.

Use the force wisely when you have a light saber. Kill only critics.

Do not covet sci-fi from any source outside of LucasFilms.

Do not covet thy neighbor’s LucasFilms; rather, buy your own.

A Life-Long Ache Begins Now [6-Word Story]

2008-05-06T15:25:38Z

would

have

been

boy . . .

Friend or Foe: Lies

2008-05-01T22:32:32Z

“Why?” Jen said, her face so covered with tears that I could’ve sworn her cheeks were made of water. “Why would I possibly make that up?”

“I don’t know – you just are!” I stomped my foot as a visual exclamation mark. “You have to be.”

“Have I ever once lied to you?” She asked. I shook my head. “In an entire decade?” I shook my head again. “Why would I start now?”

“Because my heart is breaking.”

“That’s why I didn’t want to tell you,” she whispered. “I was doing some report for school, and I found this old newspaper clipping -. I didn’t want to tell you. I knew how much it would hurt.”

I suddenly realized how much it hurt. How much it must have hurt for her to find out, all on her own. How it must have burned inside her, not being able to share it with anyone, not even especially not even the best friend she’d told everything else to. All the emotions bubbled up inside me until I couldn’t contain them. I needed my best friend, and she needed me. I ran across the room and embraced her.

Friend or Foe: Secrets

2008-05-01T22:25:41Z

“Well, I demand to know!”

“Don’t,” she begged through her tears. “Don’t make me tell you.”

“Tough,” I said without pity, “Why did you steal my necklace?”

“I had to.”

“Why?”

“So you wouldn’t find out,” she whispered.

“Tell me!”

“It was my picture!” She screamed. “The baby was me!”

“That’s stupid. Why would your picture be in my locket?”

“You moved next door when we were six,” she said softly. I nodded. “Do you remember why?”

“No.”

“Our parents had found out the year before, and the lawsuit had just been settled. My parents wanted you near them -.”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“We were switched at birth,” she whispered. I felt her words reverberating throughout my body, sending shockwaves into every aspect of my life. “You were supposed to be Bob and Priscilla’s only daughter,” she sniffled, “but there was a mix-up, and – they didn’t find out til you fell when you were five and your parents couldn’t donate blood for the transfusion.”

“You’re lying,” I said.

Friend or Foe: Broken Things

2008-05-01T22:15:35Z

The events of my misery unfolded quickly: my father dying in an accident, his last lingering breaths witnessed only by the drunken stranger who’d collided with him. The next week, the solid gold chain he’d given me with pictures of each of us, taken on the day I was born, went inexplicably missing.

And then the next day, I came home from Drama Club to find my best friend, alone in my room, putting a solid gold chain on the jewelry box’s hanger, its small gold heart swinging like a pendulum, so much lying in its balance.

“Jen? What are you doing with my necklace? Did you steal it?”

“I had to,” she whispered.

“Why? What could you need it for? You have your own.” Jen’s father made a lot of money. Her mother didn’t even need to work. Both of my parents worked, and they barely scraped by as it was.

“You don’t want to know,” she said.

“I’ll decide what -.”

“It was an accident that I found out. I wish I hadn’t.” She was crying, but she had my necklace and I had no sympathy.

The Devil Wears a Simon Suit

2008-04-08T03:04:04Z

Angela and Blake gasped as one when Simon emerged, slightly torn, but otherwise just the same as when he left them.

“Thought I smelled something foul,” Lilith said.

There was a rush of mythological and extinct creatures, all surging to the rescue of their Lord. “Fucking shithead,” Angela whispered. Blake wasn’t sure if that astonished him more than the creatures, but he agreed nonetheless.

“At least he didn’t summon Lucifer,” Blake said.

“We have not yet seen the end of the parade,” Winters spoke.

“You think it’ll be Satan instead of Santa?” Blake asked. Unnervingly, she licked her lips in response.

“Uncle,” Angela said, “that is not Simon.”

“What?”

“Look in its eyes.”

Blake did look, and there, among the darkness, he saw Them. Pride, Envy, Wrath, Sloth, Avarice, Gluttony, and Lust. The Seven Deadly were embodied inside of Simon.

The chill in his bones, tingling of every single tattoo, and the blood in his veins all told Blake that the Devil had once again pretended innocence.

All Creatures Great and Small

2008-04-08T02:41:52Z

In the world-within-a-world, Simon felt the rush as his creatures heard his call. And they came. All things bright and beautiful, great and small, wise and wonderful surged toward Him. They soared through skies, crawled over lands, and swam through seas.

As they reached each world, they left the old one behind in shambles, an avalanche of lost dreams caving in on itself. Any creatures who had not dared to meet their Master perished in the Great Fall. Entire inner-world species were lost forever.

With a crashing thud, the final world imploded. Simon and His creatures emerged into the netherworld, face-to-face with Lucifer himself.

Who they completely recognized, clothed as he was in a Simon suit.

“My Lord and Master,” they fell as one, saluting Him in their own ways. “Command me as you will.”

Simon, dazed from his own emergence, shook the astonishment away. “I am your lord!” Simon shouted, only to feel his own Creators’ disappointment when His creatures failed to listen.

Peachy-Keen Apocalyptic Times

2008-04-01T03:28:39Z

“If he doesn’t bring my beloved back to me, I’ll kill everyone,” Lillith snarled. The minions shared a menacing grin.

“What is it with you idiots, anyway?” Angela asked.

“What are you talking about?”

“You’re always getting these truly terrible characters together, thinking everything will be peachy-keen, and then, for some reason, you’re surprised when it isn’t!”

“Is it so wrong to hope for the best in all situations, Little Sister?”

“In the middle of an Apocalypse?” Angela rolled her eyes, “Um, yes, yes, it is.”

“Apocalypses are so common-placed,” Blake brushed aside her concerns. “With your future husband around, they’re as common as a sneeze.”

“And ‘God bless you’ is about as useful,” Winters muttered.

Blake felt his skin cringe. “Uh-oh,” he muttered.

“Yes, my love,” Winters said, “I felt it too.”

“Uncle Blake?”

“Something just happened.”

“What?”

“A shift. A seismic shift.”

“And it will not be peachy,” Winters added.

“Nor at all keen,” Blake grumbled.

Blake's Discomfort

2008-04-01T03:14:17Z

Blake was wedged between Agent Winters and Angela. Lillith had bound them all together, with two minions keeping a special eye on them. But Blake was uncomfortable for other reasons.

Angela’s body had been vacated, filled with Lillith, and then vacated again, before her soul returned. Blake loved her like family (either as a niece or a sister; his feelings on that seemed to fluctuate), but the girl was – not right. She was not 100% Angela, though he couldn’t be certain whether or not she was aware of that.

On his other side, Winters (an oddly fitting name for so cold a creature) was still looking at him with desire, as under his spell as when he’d first allowed the eye tattooed to his skull to pour magical wisdom from his body to hers. Can hardly blame her, he mused. When I kiss, I really kiss.

“What do you think he’s doing?” Angela whispered.

“Dunno, but if he comes back with Satan -.”

“I’ll kill him,” she finished, more ferociously than he’d have thought. Maybe she was family.

Please Vote!

2008-02-17T23:11:51Z

This challenge is surely in need of some votes.

Please don’t make me choose a favorite all on my own!

Anyone with ideas on award names (ala Stovohobo), please also submit them.

Thank you all very much.

I hope to publish the winners on Saturday.

Here’s the main link to the challenge: http://ficlets.com/stories/9880

Hungry? {Mock Pop Culture Challenge}

2008-02-17T21:44:06Z

“Last night, I had four grapes,” Mary sighed, “and three of them were sour.”

“I had some cereal that had fallen out of the bag and just inside the box,” Ann moaned. “I didn’t even know they were there until I had that cereal for breakfast. And lunch.”

“I had a dish of delicate ravioli stuffed with Ricotta, Mozzarella, Parmesan and Romano cheeses,” Cindy said, fondly remembering, “and topped with a robust tomato sauce accented with basil, onion and garlic.” She gave a deep sigh of satisfaction. “It was delicious.”

Her two best friends positively glared at her.

“What?” She asked innocently. “It’s a one-dish favorite from Lean Cuisine.”

“Lean what?” Ann asked.

“Lean Cuisine,” Cindy replied. “You know, the TV dinners from Stouffers?”

“You get dinners from your TV?” Mary asked.

“No,” Cindy laughed. “They’re in the frozen foods section of the grocery store.”

“Wait,” Ann stopped her suddenly, “What’s a grocery store?”

“Oh, this is going to be a long day,” Cindy sighed reluctantly.

Alexa Speaks at a Meeting

2008-02-13T20:30:46Z

Hi, I’m a Ficletholic. I’m here because for an hour, I know I won’t check my account for comments or wonder why I didn’t get more stars. I know there’s no cure for Ficlets – but some are able to live without wondering about Challenges, Prequels & Sequels.

I tried not writing, but still had to find out if the Insane Knight got out of the Boring Forest or if Simon & Blake defeated the Apocalypse. I know this is a sign I’m not Ficleting “socially.”

I read on the bus, maniacally laughing at something only I can see on my phone. In conversations, I often think about what I’ve read. At home, I slink off to private corners to read the next installment in a series. My boss told me in hushed tones that it is unacceptable workplace behavior.

But I can’t stay away. I envy people who can type something & never check on it again, but I must accept I’m not like that.

I am writing to live and living to write. I have yet to work the steps. I was hoping for a sponsor. Does anyone know someone with a Broken Pen?