Oh Thank Heaven
Author: MB
Challenge: Strawberry #12 - wheel; Cream Puff #30 - cream puff; Flavor of the Day - exordium (the beginning of something)
Rating: R
Reasons: Violence
Word Count: 690
Chapters: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Liesl hid by an abandoned pickup in the parking lot of the 7-Eleven. She leaned against its wheel, gasping to catch her breath. Her lungs burned from the four-block run, and her chest heaved painfully. Her mouth was so dry that she couldn't swallow, and she needed water and electrolytes. That was where the store came in; it looked abandoned, and she could easily take what she needed. Normally, her morals prohibited her from looting, but she had to survive.
All around her, she heard those damned bird-men squawking. Everywhere they were, people were screaming, running...dying. She'd seen enough blood in the last twenty minutes to last a lifetime. "Don't be such a cream puff, Liesl," she said, trying to steel herself. She peered over the hood of the truck to see if the coast was clear. She didn't see anybody, so she turned and ran for the door.
She was grateful to find the store unlocked and abandoned. The backup generator had switched on, and the refrigerators were all working. She took a bottle of Gatorade and drank it as quickly as she could, spilling a good deal of it. She took two more bottles and put them in her purse, along with several energy bars and a couple of Snickers. She was about to slip out the back door when her conscience got the better of her. She ducked behind the counter and powered on the register, logging on with her teenage sister's employee ID, which was easy enough to guess.
As she started scanning the items, she heard the sound of wings outside, and she hit the ground. "Anybody home?" asked a sinister voice. "I'll find you; don't worry." She heard the bird-man's claws clacking on the floor with each step, and she tried to calm herself by controlling her breath like she'd learned doing yoga. But it didn't work once he started knocking things off the shelves and shattering refrigerator doors. Liesl reached up and felt for the silent alarm button. When she found it, she pressed it firmly, not that it would do any good, were she to be found.
"I can hear you breathing," said the bird-man as he approached the counter. "Where are you, my pet?"
She sidled to the right, away from the cash register, and she bumped into a drawer, which slid open. Inside was a large pistol, probably owned illegally. Liesl had never touched a gun in her life, but there are things one must do to survive. She scrambled for the gun as the bird-man vaulted over the counter. She pointed it at him and tried to squeeze the trigger, but it didn't budge. She checked the gun and found a switch that said, "Safe". She flipped it to "Ready" and tried to shoot again, but she learned quickly that there wasn't a bullet in the chamber.
The bird-man took a talonful of her hair and lifted her off the ground. She swatted at his talon, beating it with the butt of the handle, but to no effect. He laughed, shaking her back and forth. She steeled herself against the pain and yanked back the gun's slide, aiming the pistol in the bird-man's general direction. She pulled the trigger and missed, but her assailant's mood changed. He took her by the throat with his other talon and began choking her. Her hands instinctively went to her throat, but she knew that she had one more opportunity to save herself. As her vision faded, she put the pistol to the bird-man's head and pulled the trigger as many times as she could.
Her assailant crumpled to the ground, releasing her throat. She hit her head as she landed, and after the stars cleared she dragged herself to her feet and took the things she'd put on the counter, in addition to some bottled water and a few cold packs and some ibuprofen from the first-aid section. She took a spare, loaded magazine from the drawer and stuffed the pistol into her waistband and headed out the back door. This would be the beginning of the longest night of her life.
Challenge: Strawberry #12 - wheel; Cream Puff #30 - cream puff; Flavor of the Day - exordium (the beginning of something)
Rating: R
Reasons: Violence
Word Count: 690
Chapters: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Liesl hid by an abandoned pickup in the parking lot of the 7-Eleven. She leaned against its wheel, gasping to catch her breath. Her lungs burned from the four-block run, and her chest heaved painfully. Her mouth was so dry that she couldn't swallow, and she needed water and electrolytes. That was where the store came in; it looked abandoned, and she could easily take what she needed. Normally, her morals prohibited her from looting, but she had to survive.
All around her, she heard those damned bird-men squawking. Everywhere they were, people were screaming, running...dying. She'd seen enough blood in the last twenty minutes to last a lifetime. "Don't be such a cream puff, Liesl," she said, trying to steel herself. She peered over the hood of the truck to see if the coast was clear. She didn't see anybody, so she turned and ran for the door.
She was grateful to find the store unlocked and abandoned. The backup generator had switched on, and the refrigerators were all working. She took a bottle of Gatorade and drank it as quickly as she could, spilling a good deal of it. She took two more bottles and put them in her purse, along with several energy bars and a couple of Snickers. She was about to slip out the back door when her conscience got the better of her. She ducked behind the counter and powered on the register, logging on with her teenage sister's employee ID, which was easy enough to guess.
As she started scanning the items, she heard the sound of wings outside, and she hit the ground. "Anybody home?" asked a sinister voice. "I'll find you; don't worry." She heard the bird-man's claws clacking on the floor with each step, and she tried to calm herself by controlling her breath like she'd learned doing yoga. But it didn't work once he started knocking things off the shelves and shattering refrigerator doors. Liesl reached up and felt for the silent alarm button. When she found it, she pressed it firmly, not that it would do any good, were she to be found.
"I can hear you breathing," said the bird-man as he approached the counter. "Where are you, my pet?"
She sidled to the right, away from the cash register, and she bumped into a drawer, which slid open. Inside was a large pistol, probably owned illegally. Liesl had never touched a gun in her life, but there are things one must do to survive. She scrambled for the gun as the bird-man vaulted over the counter. She pointed it at him and tried to squeeze the trigger, but it didn't budge. She checked the gun and found a switch that said, "Safe". She flipped it to "Ready" and tried to shoot again, but she learned quickly that there wasn't a bullet in the chamber.
The bird-man took a talonful of her hair and lifted her off the ground. She swatted at his talon, beating it with the butt of the handle, but to no effect. He laughed, shaking her back and forth. She steeled herself against the pain and yanked back the gun's slide, aiming the pistol in the bird-man's general direction. She pulled the trigger and missed, but her assailant's mood changed. He took her by the throat with his other talon and began choking her. Her hands instinctively went to her throat, but she knew that she had one more opportunity to save herself. As her vision faded, she put the pistol to the bird-man's head and pulled the trigger as many times as she could.
Her assailant crumpled to the ground, releasing her throat. She hit her head as she landed, and after the stars cleared she dragged herself to her feet and took the things she'd put on the counter, in addition to some bottled water and a few cold packs and some ibuprofen from the first-aid section. She took a spare, loaded magazine from the drawer and stuffed the pistol into her waistband and headed out the back door. This would be the beginning of the longest night of her life.