Micro Flash Fiction – Submissions Closed

 

Ok, It looks like I’ve got enough stuff to fill the magazine. If you didn’t get in your submission, email me with a terrific sob story and I’ll think about adding your stuff, but no promises.

I’ll continue to post updates as to the progress and release date.

The Journey of St. Laurent, Chapter 29

Author’s note:

Hey, new theme today. I built it from scratch following (mostly) this tutorial and using the blueprint css framework. What do you think?

Thanks as always to those who leave comments. You guys are the best.

Work is moving right along on Micro Flash Fiction. I’ve designed the cover and started laying out the interior. It’s a ton more work than I thought, but just wait till you see the finished product. I think I’ve probably got enough 140 character submissions (unless you want to submit a couple of your classics, Al Bruno III), but there may be room to squeeze in a couple more of the other types.

For those of you who haven’t read any of the Journey Of St. Laurent before: You are now reading an online serial pulp novel. If you didn’t start at the beginning, you may want to do so. Chapter 1:  Down By The Bay. This serial is the sequel to my first novel, Oasis.

Chapter 29 – Meet the Parents

I woke up on the hard, crusty, narrow floor of the RV. Wow, I must have been hammered last night. I don’t even remember getting in the RV.

I opened my eyes and sat up.

It wasn’t really messy, but there was greasy dirt in most of the corners and everything hinted of mildew. London was asleep on a bench to my left, and Michael was laying with a woman I figured was his mom on the pop out bed to my right.

Leaning up against the wall to the bathroom was the grizzled old cowboy I had seen last night. He was still wearing the red and black checkered shirt. The lines in his face looked even deeper than they had before. His hair was gray with little flecks of red that appeared to be hanging on for dear life. He tightened his jaw, narrowed his eyes, and looked me over.

I yawned and tried to make it as friendly and quiet of a yawn as possible. After all, you never get a second chance at a first impression.

He nodded and pointed a thumb at the door. “Outside.”

I creaked to my feet and followed him out the skinny door and down the rusty step ladder.

We had definitely driven for a while, as the terrain was much different from what I remembered about the night before. Of course, all I could see around me was freeway and trees, so I couldn’t be too sure.

As to the RV, it looked far worse in the daytime than it had when it pulled up at night. It was rusty, dusty, and worn. Nothing looked like it was put together tightly. Patches of sheet metal had been stuck on the rougher spots. A car top carrier was lashed to the roof and a dirt bike was tied to the back.

I didn’t have much time to admire the beast, though.

London’s cowboy dad grabbed my shoulder, spun me around, and clutched my shirt with both hands. His breath smelled like old cigarettes.

“I’m going to give you one chance to tell me what the hell you’ve been doing with my kids. Michael’s been crying on his mom half the night, London mumbled something about shooting someone before she passed out, you were carrying a rifle and who knows what other weird crap. You somehow lost your Jeep after I talked to London- I just want to know what to think.”

He gave me a shove and I stumbled back a few steps.

I held my hands up, frowned, and took a deep breath. “That’s fine. You deserve some answers and-”

“Damn straight I do.”

“All right, here’s how it happened. One of those UFOs buzzed the freeway back outside of San Antonio and London got in a wreck. It ruined her car for driving and one of the other guys involved freaked out and was getting violent, so I gave her and Michael a ride. That’s how we ended up together.”

“Boy, that don’t even begin to explain everything.”

I stretched and scratched my head. The rest was pretty unbelievable, I knew. How could I possibly tell what happened in a way that wouldn’t make me sound insane? He was looking pretty upset, so I decided to give just the barest bones version I could.

“Basically, what happened is this.” I took another deep breath and pursed my lips. “My Jeep got hit by one of the UFOs.”

The cowboy raised one bushy eyebrow. “I still ain’t heard the part where London shot somebody.”

I shook my head and closed my eyes. No need to tell him that this is going to sound crazy. “Well, we knew the UFO was going to hit us, so London and Michael jumped out where it was safe, and I led it away a bit. I barely managed to get away from the blast in time. The UFO landed and an, well, an alien got out. He saw me and was going to shoot me, but London shot him instead.”

The cowboy rolled his eyes and turned back toward the RV. “Good luck on the road, boy.”

I just stared after him. Don’t know how I expected him to react.

He put one foot on the little step ladder and looked over his shoulder. “What are your intentions with my little girl now, anyway?”

I hadn’t really thought about it. Things had been too crazy. But now that he mentions it, she is really cute, great body, red hair which is always a bonus…

The door to the RV flew open and smacked the cowboy in the arm.

“Dad, what are you doing?”

“London, this isn’t your business.”

“Like hell it isn’t. You get in here a minute.”

He dropped his shoulders just a little and climbed the steps.

A heartbeat later, London’s head popped out of the door. “Wait right there, this won’t take but a second.”

The door clanged shut.

I paced back and forth in the roadside dirt.

Within a minute or two, there was a whole lot of yelling inside. I couldn’t tell exactly what was being said, but without a doubt London was going to bat for me.

The screaming continued for a good long while, and I wasn’t too sure that things were going my way.

A second female voice joined in, but only for a moment.

I was just about to give up, find my cooler, and start hitchhiking when the rusty door creaked open.

The cowboy came out first. His fists were clenched and he gave me a look like weathered steel. Close behind him was London with her arms folded. Muddy tear trails marked her face.

He walked up to me and looked me in the eye.

I met his gaze and didn’t back away.

He glanced back at London and nodded.

I swear I could hear his leathery right hand unclench before he extended it to me. “I’m Dan.”

I took his hand. “Corbin.”

“Come on, then. Let’s get back on the road.”

I got the feeling that this was probably the closest he had ever come to apologizing to someone who wasn’t his daughter or his wife.

He entered the RV first and I took the opportunity to ask London the question of the hour.

“How did you convince him?”

“It wasn’t going so well.” She shrugged. “I may have lied to move things along.”

“So what did you tell him.”

She blushed and looked over my shoulder. “It doesn’t matter.”

“No, really.”

She smiled and pointed at the door. “Just get in there.”

I got inside, and pulled up the little step ladder.

Dan got the pop out section pulled back in and made everything else ready to go.

With five minutes we were back on the road.

I sat on the bench next to London. “What happened to your, uh-”

“You mean Turleen?” She nodded. “Bathroom, doing her morning ritual.”

London rested a hand on mine.

I stared out the window.

Twenty minutes later, London’s step mom came out of the bathroom, apparently finally ready for the day. Her hair was big. I know of no other way to describe it. She had lathered bright blue makeup above her eyes. She wore a grayish tank top that might as well had the caption “born and raised in a trailer park.” The tank top barely contained the bulging work of an over-excited yet not-so-highly-skilled plastic surgeon.

As to her age, she appeared to be somewhere close to halfway between London and her father. In other words, not old enough to be her mom, but too old to be her sister.

“Hi, I’m Corbin.” I extended my hand.

She looked me up and down. “Well if London didn’t bring herself home a regular catch.”

She scowled, smirked, then went up and plopped herself in the passenger’s seat next to Dan, who reached over and fiddled with her knee.

I wasn’t exactly sure what to think about all that.

London leaned over. “Don’t worry, she’s not always that well behaved.”

It occurred to me that I still didn’t know where I was supposed to be headed.

“Hey, London, what happened to that radio?”

---

Keep reading! Chapter 30 is here.

Some Fiction Promotion Links

I recently came across this post over at ErgoFiction: What is web fiction?

It mentions a few directories where you can submit submit links to fiction you’ve posted on the web.

Anyway, if you’re looking for a little more exposure to your work, check these out.

1. WebFictionGuide – First sign up for an account, then sign in, then go to the submissions page.
2. Muse’s Success – First sign up for an account, then visit the contribute page.
3. Web Fiction Directory – Register here, then login, then submit madly away by going to the category page for your submission and clicking “Add your listing here”. This one has categories for flash fiction, short stories, novelettes, and novels.

Also, I’m still in need of at least a couple more 140 word stories for Micro Flash Fiction. And I suppose a couple more 1140 worders wouldn’t be too bad. And I still have room for some 140 character ones, too.

The Journey of St. Laurent, Chapter 28

Author’s notes:

Ok, I’ve start laying out some things for Micro Flash Fiction. I could use some more 140 word entries though (actually any entries would be great.), if you’re inclined. Thanks to everybody that’s submitted something so far.

As usual, I’ve appreciated everybody’s comments from the last chapter and from the flash fiction piece I posted. You folks keep me going.

For those of you who haven’t read any of the Journey Of St. Laurent before: You are now reading an online serial pulp novel. If you didn’t start at the beginning, you may want to do so. Chapter 1:  Down By The Bay. This serial is the sequel to my first novel, Oasis.

Also, I’m getting the itch to whip up a new theme for the blog. I guess you’ll find out soon enough how that goes.

Chapter 28 – Time to Die

The green skinned bastard from space opened its thin lips and spoke in a language I didn’t understand.

I clenched my jaw and gave the alien the most loathing stare I could muster. I scowled with such hateful focus that I half expected heat rays to shoot out of my eyes and fry the smug look right off its face.

The extraterrestrial murderer wrapped up whatever it was yammering about. I didn’t understand a single word of it, but from the look on its face and the tone of its voice, I was pretty sure the speech went something like, “I am going to kill you, you pathetic weakling. And then my friends and I are going to kill every member of your puny, cretinous race. And there’s nothing you and your stupid, fragile kind can do to stop us.”

Every piece of me just wanted to tear the alien apart.

It made that strained laugh sound again and then I can’t be sure, but I could have sworn it said, “Good bye.”

I pushed back onto my hands and knees, all the while glaring at the alien.

It raised it’s mitten gun thing a bit higher.

I braced for the impact and hoped it would kill me quick. _The longer I have to deal with my failure the better._

The alien narrowed its huge eyes and twisted violently to the right a quarter turn.

The jerky motion was chased by a crack of thunder.

_No, not thunder._

The alien let out a high-pitched wail and grabbed at its right shoulder. Its eyes widened.

I turned to see what the alien was looking at.

A light flashed. Quickly on its heels was another thundering rifle report. I couldn’t see much, but I could tell the shooter was lying down and had red hair.

The alien’s wailing cut short. It stumbled back a couple of steps, then turned and staggered for the UFO.

_I’m not letting you go._

I brought a knee up under my chest. The craft wasn’t far, but I could catch the alien if I got a move on.

I hadn’t even stood up completely when the side of the alien’s neck exploded in a spray of purplish red blood and alien parts. Before the alien could fall to the ground, a second hole ripped open in the side of its green head.

The alien collapsed like a sack of potatoes. A very messy sack of potatoes.

I shuffled over to the alien corpse.

It was definitely dead, but blood was still flowing from the head and neck wounds in little spurts. It didn’t look like the shot to the chest or the shoulder had penetrated the black jumpsuit.

_Weird._

For I heartbeat, I was a little hesitant to move the corpse around. I half expected it to spontaneously heal, jump up, and grab me by the throat. On top of that I didn’t know if it had buddies inside the ship.

A few seconds later no new aliens poured from the UFO door, nor did the ship take off. _It must have been alone. That’s weird, too._

With the alien dead at my feet, I considered desecrating it’s body. Maybe kick it around a little. Or maybe a lot.

The spurting had stopped and the blood was quickly drying on the hot sand glass.

I nudged it with my foot. _Sure enough, the first two shots didn’t penetrate._

A female voice boomed behind me. “That’s right, Bitch!”

My heart skipped a beat. In the sheer weirdness of the moment, I had forgotten the shooter.

London’s breathing was labored, like she’d been running. “Didn’t see that coming, did ya?”

“I can honestly say I don’t think that thing or I expected you to swoop in to my rescue.”

“So what do we do now? Kick it around a little?” She looked down at the dead extraterrestrial.

“You know, that was my first thought too?”

London was pretty had a pretty light complexion anyway, but the gory sight made her go even more pale. She turned away and looked back toward the freeway. “Shouldn’t we at least take some of its stuff?”

“Do you know how to use it?”

She shook a little and did not turn back to the body.”No. Can they track it?”

“I don’t know. Probably.”

“Then let’s just get back to the freeway before more of them show up.”

Despite the mess, she was taking the whole episode really well. After all, when she shot that thug called D she checked out mentally a while. This time she was visibly shaken, especially after seeing the kill, but she was putting up a brave face and pushing on.

I was amazed at how well she was stepping up to do what needed to be done. Plus, I was kind of grateful she had pulled my fat from the fire again.

We walked about half way back before all the emotion and adrenaline caught up to her. She doubled over and vomited.

I slipped the gun from where it was slung on her shoulder and laid my free hand on her back.

She heaved quite a bit but not much other than stomach juices came up.

“Its alright, London. You’re doing fine. That was just the adrenaline and excitement talking.”

I noticed her hands shaking as she straightened back up.

She wiped her mouth with the back of her arm. “So gross.”

“You know that’s the second time you’ve shot someone before they could shoot me.”

“Yeah, but it was a lot easier this time.”

“And remind me again where you learned to shoot like that?”

“I don’t think I ever told you the first time.”

“Still-”

She shrugged. “Before the divorce, my Dad owned a ranch. I was raised shooting varmints.”

I gave her a smirk. “And did you always do it while lying with your face in the dirt?”

She was still shaking, but she seemed to be getting control. “It’s called shooting prone. And it’s actually the easiest way to shoot accurately. I didn’t want to chance hitting you, but maybe you would have liked to try out your bullet catching skills.”

“Well, I suppose thanks are in order then. For not shooting me.”

“You know. Anytime.”

We found Michael staring at the horizon and sitting on the edge of the blacktop.

He did not look well. His eyes had dark circles under them and tear stains marred his cheeks.

I couldn’t say that I blamed him. This was a lot for a kid to take in. Plus, we weren’t exactly prepared with food and drink. We were dehydrated, dirty, sunburned, and flat out exhausted.

Still, we were supposed to meet with their father a ways down the road, and we didn’t want to stick around to see if the aliens came back.

London gave Michael the most encouraging speech she could dredge up and we took to the road.

We walked next to the oncoming traffic side so that we wouldn’t be missed by London’s father if he came looking.

I don’t know how long or far we walked. At some point I picked up Michael and let him ride piggy-back. The sun finally gave up and set. The air cooled significantly. It felt good to be out of the heat.

A few cars and trucks passed by, but all of them sped up and flew by when they saw us.

London and I talked and joked as best we could, hoping to keep our own spirits up and to keep Michael from giving up entirely.

Up ahead, we heard the bouncing of a heavy vehicle.

London elbowed me, which was all she could manage, as she was carrying what was left of our stuff. “You know, yesterday already seems like another lifetime.”

The bouncing noise came closer became bouncing and squeaking and headlights. Well, headlight actually. And that one headlight was pretty dim.

As soon as it saw us, it screeched and skidded to a stop. It was dark and I could not see the whole vehicle. Still, from what I could see, it had to be the most hideous RV on the planet.

Michael screamed “Daddy!” and wriggled down.

The door popped open and a grizzled old cowboy with a thick mustache, a big hat, and a checkered shirt jumped out.

Michael ran over and the cowboy scooped him up.

“Another lifetime.” I let out a sigh. “And I can’t wait to see what tomorrow brings.”

---

Keep Reading! Chapter 29 is here.

Micro Flash Fiction Update

Thanks to everybody that had sent in a submission or two so far. I’ve got enough to get started on putting the thing together, but I’ve still got plenty of space I’d like to fill. So if you’d like to submit something, just get it in as soon as you can. I’ll keep you posted as to the hard submission cutoff date.

If you don’t know what this is about, see this post.

Micro Flash Submissions Extended.

Ok, so last week I announced that I want to do a little print on demand magazine project. I’m interested in seeing how the system works and how good the quality of the printing is.

I do not have enough stuff to fill a magazine yet, so I’m going to leave the submissions open for another week. If I still don’t get enough bites, then I’ll come up with a different project to meet my goals.

Anyway, if you are at all interested in helping me out, check out the above link.