My friend J. Whitworth Hazzard is running a snazzy 250 word flash fiction contest. It is even sponsored by Big Fish Games. The grand prize is a choice of 3 of their zombie games. You might recall my post touting the virtues of Plants vs. Zombies.
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| The Game Over Screen for Plants Vs. Zombies |
I am a wild fan of flash fiction contests, zombie games, and also my friend J. Whitworth Hazzard (@zombiemechanics on Twitter).
I am well-known for my love of fairy tales. I have never written a zombie-inflected tale before, but I hope you enjoy this one.
Embry nestled further into her concave of damp earth, rotting leaves crusting off the surface like sad strips of old wallpaper.
First they’d eaten her mother, then her brother. They ate her neighbor, Mr. Sanders, and the boy who brought the newspaper. She didn’t mind that last so much – he’d kicked her shin once.
She’d run for three nights now, but could run no further. So she dug, through black earth oozing with worms and chill decay. She tried to keep her tunnel entrance tiny, packing the dirt in around her, bricking herself up into the darkest place.
“They know we’re in here now, Gus. “
A mahogany curl feathered over her cheek, a slash of red in the dimness. She pillowed her head against a knobby root.
Gus’ nose burrowed into her hand, his tongue giving sandpaper comfort but no warmth.
“I’m glad I’ve got you,” Embry said to the deer, charcoal eyes slitting to tiny half-crescents as they drooped.
Gus started following her on the second day, a silent shadow to her steps. The woods were empty; the birds and squirrels were the first to go.
As it darkened, the embers of her hair muted to faintly glowing ash.
Footsteps shuffled closer, thumping over her pitifully thin layer of dirt. In the world above, they were coming. She was too tired to care.
“Stay with me till the end, Gus?”
Everyone needs an imaginary friend at the end of the world.
Wordcount: 249
Art by Barbara Bargiggia
Gorgeous closing line.
This is just wonderful!! And that closing line, as Daniel said, is glorious!! Where is the LOVE button?! 🙂
I think it’s great… Terrific visual imagery and a wonderful voice.
WONDERFUL zombie tale! So glad you shared with us. 🙂
A wonderful zombie tale. Really enjoyed the imagery and that last line was terrific.
You don’t expect whimsical zombie stories! That was gorgeous, but so terribly dark…with a heartbreaking end. Wonderful!
Aaaaah! Where was this two and a half days ago for EOW? 🙂
Emmie Mears is right, this certainly fit into both flash fiction contests. Very nice. The art is lovely, as well.
I enjoyed that very much, Thank you.
Beautiful. I didn’t expect that.
Louise Sorensen
louise3anne twitter
Beautiful, Anna. Really lovely. I’m not much of a zombie fan, but you pulled me in with this one. Way to give it a fairy tale, child-like twist. 🙂 Write on, talented lady.
LOVE THIS. Your imagery is fantastic, and I particularly loved “the embers of her hair muted to faintly glowing ash.” I think you have a new calling, Fairy Queen: Zombie Fairy Queen? 🙂
Great article about zombie.I’m big fan of zombie.I like this article.