Monthly Archives for May 2013

The Senseless Challenge: Taste Round Up

Senseless ChallengeThe celebrations for National Short Story Month continue with even more #flashsense stories this week.

Missed previous weeks? Check out Sight (May 3rd), Sound (May 10th), and Smell (May 17th).

The second to last Friday of the month, May 24th, was dedicated to taste.

Here’s a round up of week four’s stories.

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THE SENSELESS CHALLENGE: TASTE

Hunger by Deanna Schrayer
I swiped above my lips with the back of my hand and tasted dirt.

Lollipops In The Snow by Laura Besley
Danny from down the road said they taste like lollipops.

Taste by Christopher Munroe
A letter to local Viet restaurants.

Life, on the Tip of my Tongue by Tim VanSant
Metallic. That’s the only way I can describe it.

Of bubble gums and other cravings by Brinda Banerjee
Within five seconds the flower was gone.

Best Served Cold by A.M. Harte
Beneath the decay, he tasted of guilt.

The Taste of Water by Lee-Ann Khoh
Water wasn’t supposed to taste like anything.

Leila by Laura Amos
You know you can’t have your cake and eat it too.

With Syrup by Shelli Proffitt Howells
The smell of bacon pulled Kaylie from a restless sleep.

Taste Test by Peggy McFarland
Not that she expected a free meal, but dating involved food.

Homecooked by N.M. Martinez
Salt mixed with her saliva.

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Did I forget to include your story? Drop me a link in the comments.

This Friday 31st is dedicated to touch – it’s your LAST chance to join in and tweet your story with #flashsense!

It’s not too late to get involved – just tweet your story on Friday using #flashsense.

The Senseless Challenge: Smell Round Up

Senseless ChallengeThe celebrations for National Short Story Month continue with even more #flashsense stories this week.

Missed previous weeks? Check out Sight (May 3rd) and Sound (May 10th).

The third Friday of the month, May 17th, was dedicated to smell.

Here’s a round up of week three’s stories.

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THE SENSELESS CHALLENGE: SMELL

Private Nose by Peggy McFarland
It’s going to rain today, mark my words. I can smell it.

Smell by Christopher Munroe
A month after you quit smoking, you get your sense of smell back.

Sweet by N.M. Martinez
Blanca’s nose burned as if being licked by a little flame.

Mouse by Shelly Proffitt Howells
You are such a mouse, Harold.

StorySkippers Anonymous by Laura Amos
Bars didn’t smell like cigarettes anymore.

Making Sense by Chuck Allen
She loved the smell of being clean.

Bottled Shame by Kelly Stapleton
I smelled Missy before I saw her.

Oh, Nose! by Tim VanSant
There was something rotten in the state of Denmark.

A Great Story by Laura Besley
The only smell in the tiny dark room was her own.

Fumes of Love by Brinda Banerjee
It was dank, reminiscent of the garbage landfill nearby.

The Hunter by A.M. Harte
The air was sweet and cold, moonlight-sharp.

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Did I forget to include your story? Drop me a link in the comments.

This Friday 24th is dedicated to taste – join in and tweet your story with #flashsense!

It’s not too late to get involved – just drop me a comment on the challenge post or tweet your story using #flashsense.

THE HUNTER

It smelled dark.

The air was sweet and cold, moonlight-sharp. The flowers had closed their blooms, their scent gone pale without sunlight.

The hunter slid through the shadows, head tilted, her tongue flickering in and out of her mouth. Great battles had robbed her of both eyes and riddled her fur with scars, but she – the last of her kind – remained the greatest killer of man.

The leaves beneath her paws were damp with decay, their cloying scent all-but masking the sweet earthiness of the insects wriggling in their midst.

She had bigger prey to catch.

There! A gust of stale breath on the air, the sour stench of sweat.

She stopped, lifted her head into the breeze to triangulate her quarry. The trail was faint but as she crept forwards it grew stronger.

Soon she was close. All but masked beneath the richness of deer excrement was the scent of man.

“How much longer do we have to wait?” a boy whispered in the darkness.

She couldn’t hear him, but his stale breath was enough.

“Patience,” a woman replied. Her breath was fainter, laced with mint.

The hunter breathed slowly, mapping the clearing.

“I’m scared, momma,” the boy whispered. “I want to go home.”

“The beast has found our home before. Do you want that to happen again?”

A pause. “No.” The boy barely exhaled as he spoke, and the hunter didn’t smell it.

“We’ll get it, son. We’ll make it pay for what it did.”

“It wouldn’t have done it if we hadn’t–”

The woman raised an arm, sending a wave of deer scent through the air, tinged with fear. The hunter froze.

“It’s coming,” the woman breathed.

The hunter padded through the trees, circling her prey, using the earthiness of tree moss to guide her.

Then, when the scents were right, she stopped. She gathered her legs beneath her, took one last deep sniff, and leaped.

Her jaws collided with a bundle of straw and cloth that smelled human but had none of the salty richness of blood beneath.

The sweet pile of damp leaves that should have softened her fall crumbled beneath her. She fell deep into the earth, past the sweet worms and the musty soil. Upon impact, the scent of blood and fear overtook everything else.

Far above, tainting the fresh air, was the woman. She stood at the edge of the pit, reeking with satisfaction.

“I told you she’d come back for her eyes.”

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To celebrate National Short Story Month, I’m running the Senseless Challenge throughout May. Each Friday is dedicated to a different sense – the challenge is to write a piece of flash fiction inspired by that sense. The third week was dedicated to smell.

The Senseless Challenge: Sound Round Up

Senseless ChallengeThe celebrations for National Short Story Month continue with even more #flashsense stories this week.

Check out the May 3rd round up if you missed any stories about our sense of sight.

The second Friday of the month, May 10th, was dedicated to sound.

Here’s a round up of week two’s stories.

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THE SENSELESS CHALLENGE: SOUND

Beyond The Thin Blue Line by Laura Besley
I wish I could tell my children not to fear death.

Deaf Ears by Peggy McFarland
In a few short hours, Jack should hear again.

Fireworks by The Lord by Deanna Schrayer
Buying a new car has never been louder.

Noise by Chuck Allen
Memories can be loud, too.

Noise by N.M. Martinez
The cheerful daytime music made the hairs in her inner ear quake.

Thub-thub, Thub-thub by Tim VanSant
The underground bunker smelled like a sewer.

Stephanie by Laura Amos
There were other voices in the background.

Antichrist, Interrupted by Kelly Stapleton
The voice has been with me since I was 13.

Silence, Sound by JP West
I’m telling you, Amanda, he’s not the same.

Silenced by Shelly Proffitt Howells
I hear it, faintly, while I’m rinsing the shampoo out of my hair.

Bunty hears a snake by Brinda Banerjee
There it was again, a soft, scraping sound.

Sound By Christopher Munrow
There’s no greater joy than listening to your favorite band.

War On Noise by A.M. Harte
The crackle of gunfire has long since lost its meaning.

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Did I forget to include your story? Drop me a link in the comments.

It’s not too late to get involved – just drop me a comment on the challenge post.

The Senseless Challenge: Sight Round Up

Senseless ChallengeI must admit I was a little nervous that no one would join me in my senseless idea… but I’m so pleased that I am not the only one out there wanting to celebrate National Short Story Month!

The first Friday of the month, May 3rd, was dedicated to our sense of sight.

Here’s a round up of week one’s stories.

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THE SENSELESS CHALLENGE: SIGHT

Amber’s Unseeable Eyes by Laura Besley
A young girl can see what others cannot.

Eye Contact by Peggy McFarland
“A watery blue tear bounced off her cheek, rolled onto the floor board and disappeared into a crack.”

Vision by Christopher Munroe
The pros of the graveyard shift.

Gold by N.M. Martinez
All that glitters is not gold…

Fun Is Not Blind by Kelly Stapleton
Would you go dancing in the dark?

Rita by Laura Amos
“How was it possible a person could exist in this world for nineteen years and leave behind so few imprints?”

Eye Spy by Tim VanSant
Size matters.

Aura of Gold by Brinda Banerjee
A kitchen maid has eyes like none other.

Sight by JP West
To see is to know.

Sights Unseen by Shelli Proffitt Howells
Can you see the truth behind the words?

City of Ghosts by A.M. Harte
London is slowly turning into a city of ghosts.

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Did I forget to include your story? Drop me a link in the comments.

It’s not too late to get involved – just drop me a comment on the challenge post.