- Petrichor (the scent of rain on dry earth) 2. Contempt3. Emaciate4. Monster5. Wall6. Scathe7. Dwelling8. Mutter9. Dearth (scarcity, famine)10. Starless11. Restraint12. Fleas
If you wish to catch up with the previous two parts to this story you can do so here:
https://summerstommy.com/2014/07/27/prompt-65-advice-the-grotto/
https://summerstommy.com/2014/07/28/wordle-19-the-day-after/
Phillis could never say that she had seen many monsters in her time. But now she was sure that before her was a monster like nothing she had ever imagined.
Despite the tell tale eyes of Jake the emaciated form before her bore little resemblance to anything human. It was pushed back against the wall, its eyes focused fully on her and from within it the rattles persisted.
Her immediate concern was how to escape unscathed from her current situation. The form before her was sitting there, though she wasn’t sure she could say it was sitting, as it resembled more of a blob of substance than anything identifiable.
It was the eyes that grabbed her attention. She muttered some sort of sound, which was supposed to be Jake’s name, then remembered that Jake’s body was now lying on the pavement outside.
It had been unseasonably dry this past month and had only rained for the first time on her way into work. When she did venture to look out the window the perichtor of the recent rain upon the dry earth had seemed strangely ironic considering the freshness of the scent and the gruesomeness of Jake’s crushed body on the wet concrete.
She could feel her powers of restraint beginning to weaken along with the strength in her knees, as they were feeling decidedly wobbly at that moment. The thing in the corner of the room was rattling more and more, it was clear that it was becoming more and more agitated.
The eyes were she reckoned looking at her with more of a contempt than anything that might be considered benevolent. The longer she stood there the more likely it was that the monster was going to act.
She knew the lay of Jake’s office, she knew where the door was, she knew that if she didn’t move soon then she may regret what might happen. The problem was she had a dearth of ideas of how to escape and what to do next.
Her attention was drawn to the small protrusion she noticed coming from the monster. To her it appeared that the monster was getting ready to strike and she knew she had to act first or it might not be a walk along the beach front tonight with her boyfriend, albeit a starless one considering the rain was falling in a much more persistent matter right now.
As she stared the protrusion was joined by what appeared to her as warty knobs, but the central protrusion was now dripping with what she assumed was some sort of venom it was intending to inject into her.
By now the rattling had become almost deafening as if the monster was working itself into a frenzy of excitement over the intended kill it was about to make.
Frozen in terror Phillis felt the sharp prick of a needle and in the seconds that followed it was as if a million fleas had suddenly descended upon her and were running over her body in gay abandon.
Before she blacked out she questioned why she hadn’t run. But more so she puzzled over the silence around her only to discover that dwelling within her was the distinct sound of the all-familiar rattle.
Written for: http://mindlovemiserysmenagerie.wordpress.com/2014/08/04/wordle-20/
Oh wow Michael this is creepy poor Phillis! I wonder if she’ll survive this ordeal
I’m thinking the same. Thanks Yves great choice of words this week. Oddly enough dwelling was the most difficult to fit in.
Great job using them dwelling was hard for me as well
Scarier ad scarier … hope Phillis finds an out! Great series Michael!
Thank you Georgia, so happy to see you reading my story.
A pleasure … and as you might have noticed … I’m still not constantly on-line
I can tell you that one thing I do not want is fleas running over my body in gay abandon–or any other kind of abandon! What a frightful situation for this poor soul.
http://dothedead.wordpress.com/2014/08/04/doubts-silhouette/
Thank you so much for reading and for following my blog. Drop by again when you can. Yes it is not a pleasant situation for anyone to be in.
Oh Lordy it’s Alien all over again! Being injected, excellent story Michael, nice and creepy too.
Thank you Jenny I think its the product of a lot of stories I’ve read and seen over the years.
I’m sure it is, you are welcome Michael
Poor thing froze in fear.
She did RoSy, thanks so much for reading.
Yikes. This has the feel of Stephen King’s “The Pet Semetary.” Good job.
Thanks Victoria for dropping by and reading.
Let’s hope the blog’s venom has an adverse reaction on itself because Phyllis is female. We can always hope that it’s only meant to attack males. Oh, I’ve always loved that smell of the rain on dry ground. Now I know what it’s called. Apparently, the word was coined by two Australian geologists, I.J. Bear and R.G. Thomas, for an article they published in the journal Nature in 1964.
You are a font of information Lyn. That’s an interesting observation you have made as I have been working on the mothers story. Thanks for following the story.
Ummm, that should be BLOB, not blog ~blush~
I think Phillis mother just might know a way out of the grotto that leaves the rattle behind! By the way, I’ve been thinking of the rattling like that of a rattle snake. Am I too caught up in one version of the sound!
The story just keeps getting better and better!!!
Thank you so much. The mothers story I am working on.