Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Trifecta Challenge: Appear



“You’ve never made any promises to me and I don’t expect one now, especially if it’s one you’re going to break.” There was emotion in Ariana’s voice he’d never heard before. Sadness was not an emotion that would appear on her face much if at all and he didn’t know how to react. “But if I mean anything to you, stand your ground, or at least try to.”

“What does that even mean?” Ben’s anger at the situation kept him from saying anything further. Finally, they’d made it to the gravel drive his car’s GPS had indicated, which meant the end of the long journey but, he was starting to suspect, the beginning of another one. He threw the car in park a few yards from her childhood home, a dusty ranch house in the middle of nowhere as the sun set, casting the sky in cinematic violets and pinks.

“Please, if you love me, stand your ground.” The tears came streaming down her face again as she left. He was a violent mixture of emotions as he exited the car, trailing after her.

“Well, there you are,” a lilting voice he’d recognized from phone conversations with Ariana’s mother rang through the air. He was at once comforted and unsettled by the voice. He came to find her streaming out of the door, slow for a split second and then coming at him at a dead run. A glint of something long and shiny in her hands caught his eye. She lifted it above her head and let out a primal scream, her face a contortion of fury and anger. His whole body tensed as if to sprint but then he felt it, Ariana’s hand on the back of his arm, her fingers echoing her voice, stand your ground. He didn’t budge an inch. If this was his death, he could think of worse ways to go and if it was a test, it was some damn test.

******************************

The above story is for the Weekly Trifecta Challenge:

This week's word is:

APPEAR
1a : to be or come in sight
  b : to show up
2: to come formally before an authoritative body
3: to have an outward aspect : seem

This is from a larger story I'm working on and I might use for more prompts. I took me awhile to whittle it down to under 333 words, but I'm pretty happy with the result. Enjoy! This part of the story is actually part of a much bigger conversation, so you didn't get to read the beginning, but I think it still stands on its own.

11 comments:

MOV said...

oh, did not see that coming! and neither did the character apparently.....

best,
MOV

The Bloody Munchkin said...

Yeah, that's what I was hoping for. Thanks, MOV.

Jennifer said...

I thought this was probably from a larger story (and see that it was). I read through it a few times because I kept feeling like I was missing something. Looks like you are off to a good start. I definitely want to know why this happened/what happens next.

Unknown said...

Wait... what...? Blimey. Some test indeed, and shackled to the ground with "if you love me" which is stronger and crueller than an adamantium spike through the foot. This packs a punch - thank you.

k~ said...

Hmmm... and why would she want to kill him?

The Bloody Munchkin said...

November Rain - I'll put it this way; Don't get in between an over-protective mother bear and her cub no matter how old that cub becomes.

Anonymous said...

I don't think that was fair of her to take him to her mother and play the "if you love me card." It's like leading a lamb to slaughter.

The Bloody Munchkin said...

I could see that, JannaTWrites. But, I do some more exposition later on that tells you it would be leading a lamb to slaughter no matter what. I just couldn't bring that through to the first installment.

Draug said...

Screw love, I'd be hauling ass lol This is so intense!

Trifecta said...

Love has many forms. I suppose. (Yikes! Run for it!)

Thank you for linking up!

kymm said...

Side-stepping that oncoming trainwreck!