Horror Bites #11 The Dance

Her fiery red dress twirled in a blaze as Miranda danced, spinning around the circle, lit only by the meekest appearance of the moon and the fire lit torches. On occasion, Miranda spun so wildly, her dress nearly caught the flame. Her bare feet bled from the rough ground but still she danced. Her olive skin glistened as her ebony hair plastered her face as her wild, dark eyes shone like black diamonds.

Finally, at the first glimpse of dawn, Miranda collapsed at the feet of a young man. Grinning madly, he cradled her in his arms as the crowd dispersed, some with relief etched over their wisened faces.

Looking anxiously up at the approaching day, Miranda knew time was short. And hunger raged deep within her.

“Come, I have a nice room,” Carlos said, trying to lift her.

“No, here,” Miranda replied, rooted to the spot. If Carlos had taken time to look upon Miranda, he would have seen her feet disappear into the earth, her legs become a brittle stem of thorns. She wrapped her arms around him, pressing her mouth to his, stifling his cry as her body stiffened. Thick thorns tore through her dress, stabbing into Carlos like he was a pincushion. His blood flowed through the thorns, feeding her as she grew. Her tendrils entwined him in a vice, devouring his soft skin and flesh to a pulp. Carlos could do nothing but watch his body slowly dissolve as her hair enveloped his face, before turning into tendrils of thorns, seeking out the soft flesh inside his skull

As the sun rose, it looked down upon a parched earth where the only moisture surrounded what looked like a decaying tree stump and its branches of plump, crimson thorns.

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Written for Horror Bites hosted by http://www.officemango.com/ .

MWBB In The Dark

The Easter Ball was in full swing when the guests were plunged into darkness.  Those brave enough, stayed on the dance floor as the band slowed down but the majority pooled around the bar where a couple of candles staved off the darkness, as far as knowing what the revellers were drinking. Ellie swayed to the music, enjoying the feel and the space, the freedom darkness brought. 

 She thought she was alone until a hand skimmed down her bare arm. She felt warm breath on her face as an arm wrapped around her waist, pulling her in tight, feeling his athletic body against hers. His hand reached for hers; smooth, gentle but firm, clasping Ellie’s as he lead her across the dance floor without protest or question.

    No words were uttered. Even the band seemed to disappear as Ellie sank into the arms of the stranger.  His stubble brushed against her cheek as a finger trailed down her bare back. Shivers of excitement travelled through her body, giving her goosebumps.

   “What’s your name?” Ellie whispered.

    “Shhh,” came the reply as a finger pressed against her lips. Under the blanket of darkness, he stopped whirling her around. They both stood silently, motionless before he cupped Ellie's face in his hands. Her beating heart was the only sound as his lips grazed hers, a barely there touch before caressing her neck. She pressed her hands against his chest, feeling the definition under the silk shirt, moving up to his broad shoulders. Her fingers combed through his thick, soft hair, wondering what colour it was, wondering how he sounded, the colour of his eyes.  

    Darkness brought intimacy in a room filled with people, took away inhibitions and made Ellie feel she was the only woman in the world. Usually, Ellie was the last to be invited to dance, people feeling awkward around her but the darkness put Ellie on the same level. She wished, whilst her stranger held her, the lights would blaze and people would see her, Ellie with this tall, handsome man, hoping he would gaze down upon her with just as much affection as he had shown in darkness.

     “I must go, thanks for the dance,” he said in a deep, brooding voice that Ellie had already imagined.

     “But, I don’t know your name.”

     “You don’t need a name,” he replied, crushing his lips on hers as his arms enveloped her. “I’ll see you soon,” he said.

    “But-”

    “You’ll know it’s me,” he replied. Ellie stood alone. She heard footsteps and chatter around her. Her heart felt heavy. He’d seen her in the cold, naked light and left her.

   “Oh my God! Who was that you were snogging?” Marie’s voice shrilled.

    “You saw?” Ellie asked.

     “Everyone saw! Everyone! He’s the hottest guy here!”

     “You mean he stayed when the lights went up?” Ellie asked.

      “Of course he did! What, you thought he’d take one look at you and run a mile?” Ellie shrugged. “Oh Ellie! When will you learn! You’re blind! Not a monster! He liked you for you not because you can’t see.”

      “Hey,” the deep, brooding voice said, “I noticed you needed a drink before the power cut.” He handed Ellie a flute of champagne, guiding it into her hand.

      “You did?” He reached up her spare hand, pressing it to his face.

       “You have a lovely smile,” Ellie said.

        “So do you Ellie, so do you,”

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  Written for Jeff Tsuruoka's MWBB over at The Tsuruoka Files.  

     

5 Sentence Fiction Fiction Words

Lauren stared at the page, trying to follow the story as her classmates read aloud but dreading her name being called next to read. She loved the words and the stories they created, taking her to wonderful lands where dragons roamed, witches caused trouble and a prince won the hand of a fair princess; but these were only words she could access as an audio through the beautiful tones of someone’s carefully chosen voice.  

She loved the feel of a book but once opened was scared as the words danced a jig across the page, letters jumbling themselves up, making no sense at all. She wished the words would just stay still; long enough for her to be able to make some sense of them, read them, enjoy them and understand them without fear, ridicule or apprehension.

She turned over the page just as her classmates did, her eyes adjusting to the page as the words tumbled and jumbled again and again only for the class teacher to call her name for her turn to read aloud; words that wouldn't stop moving, words that roamed and teased, words that were unreadable to Lauren, words that were fated to remain forever a mystery, wrapped in an invisible blanket of anxiety.    

For more 5 sentence fiction, please visit http://lilliemcferrin.com/five-sentence-fiction-words/  where you can read other fab stories based on 'words' and only 5 sentences. xx