The First Thing I Saw – A 100 Word Story

storytime.pngYup, it’s flash fiction time again! As always, this is based around Laurence Simon’s weekly challenge for the 100 word-stories podcast. It’s a great exercise for writers – writing a good drabble is a lot harder than it appears, but is still a "small" task so you can get around that idea of it being too much work. And then you get a random (and often bizarre) writing prompt to shoehorn you out of writer’s block! Go read the rules for the Weekly Challenge and participate!

The player below should have the audio for this week; if it doesn’t, you can find the audio here to download. You can also read and hear the rest of the entries at the 100 Word Stories podcast site!

Grading dog is gradingI can tell it is still dark outside, even though my eyes are closed. I lay still, keep my breathing regular, so they won’t know I’m awake.

They’re near. I hear them breathing, smell their unwashed bodies. I don’t know how I will escape them, but I must try.

Slowly, I work my hands free from the restraining cloth. I tense, ready to move and –

  • they notice.

    I open my eyes with the blast of rancid breath, and can only see my dog’s rough tongues descending to lick my face clean.

    What a way to start the day.