Week 312 of #ThursThreads had many fantastic tales. I'm honored to see all the writers come to tie a tale in our sixth year. If you’ve been doing it a while, thank you. If you’ve just found us, welcome! May you come back again and write more great flash. Thousand thanks to George Varhalmi for judging this week. Check out the #ThursThreads #flashfiction group on Facebook or the #ThursThreads Community on Google Plus to keep up with news, etc.

Entries:

• Bill Engleson | @billmelaterplea
  
• Keturah Lamb | @KeturahAbigail
  
• Silver James | @SilverJames_
• Mileva Anastasiadou | @happymil_
• Siobhan Muir | @SiobhanMuir
• Eric Martell | @drmag00
• Sheilagh Lee | @SweetSheil
• Barbe Crabtree
• Kelly Heinen | @Aightball
• Vivian Boukouvala
• Lauren Grinder
• Cara Michaels | @caramichaels
• Mark A. Morris
• Mary Decker | @mishmhem

Winners Announcement:

Honorable Mentions

Lauren Grinder
George says: I loved the intensity of the piece nice effect of saving her although I could see it happen earlier in tale.

Mark A. Morris
George says: great detail. I could see the ship & how they were making their way out. Very entertaining.

Barbe Crabtree
George says: Talk about two people coming at the situation from two different directions. One is panicking and the other is like "hey, check this out!" Cracked me up.

“Well, it’s a marvelous night for a moondance…” Daya’s pretty alto voice drifted up from the dark manhole opening in the middle of the alley. “A fantabulous night to make romance…”

“The only visible moon tonight involves bare asses.” I huddled in my jacket, a misty rain slowly soaking into my hair and clothes. “Are you even doing anything down there?”

“Getting skyclad so I can show off my moondance.” An oddly delicate snort rose from the depths below the manhole. “This is where the trail leads. Doubting me already, Detective Mills?”

My ears twitched. She sounded like she was right next to me. Half inside my head even. How did she do that?

“I doubt plenty of things.” Partnering with a freakily supernatural cat burglar, for instance.

“An occupational hazard, I imagine.”

“Don’t take it personally.”

“Hurt feelings are for a different sort of woman, in a very different line of work.” She swore softly, a susurration of sound growing into a heartfelt grunting litany. I winced as metal ground against metal. “Ha. Got you.”

I had no idea what she had, but I hoped it was worth the amount of Xanax I’d need to take to calm down after tonight. She made a sound that had the hairs on my arms standing on end.

“Daya?” I crouched down. “You okay down there?”

“Mills.” I could swear she whispered my name, even though I heard her plain as day.

“I’m here.”

“Get backup. We aren’t chasing a thief anymore.”

Congratulations TWENTY-FOUR TIME WINNER Cara, and Honorable Mentions Lauren, Mark, and Barbe! Don't forget to claim your badges and display them with pride. You certainly earned it!

Pass on the great news on Twitter, Facebook, Google Plus, shiny mirrors, Morse Code, and signal flags. Check out all the original tales HERE. Thanks for stopping by and happy reading! :)

Welcome back to the Weird, the Wild, & the Wicked. Today is Thursday and that means it’s time to start flashing. We’ve reached our Sixth year of weekly prompts and today is our 6th Anniversary! Woohoo! This is Week 312 of #ThursThreads, the challenge that ties tales together. Want to keep up each week? Check out the #ThursThreads #flashfiction group on Facebook and the Community on Google Plus.

Need the rules? Read on.

Here's how it works:

• The prompt is a line from the previous week's winning tale.
• The prompt can appear ANYWHERE in your story and is included in your word count.
• The prompt must be used as is. It can be split, but no intervening words can be inserted or tenses changed.

 
Rules to the Game:

• This is a Flash Fiction challenge, which means your story must be a minimum of 100 words, maximum of 250.
• The story must be new writing, not a snippet from something published elsewhere with the prompt added.
• Incorporate the prompt anywhere into your story (included in your word count).
• Post your story in the comments section of this post
• Include your word count in the post (or be excluded from judging)
• Include your Twitter handle or email in the post (so we don’t have to look for you)
• The challenge is open 7 AM to 8 PM Mountain Time
• The winner will be announced on Friday, depending on how early the judge gets up.

 
How it benefits you:

• You get a nifty cool badge to display on your blog or site (because we're all about promotion - you know you are!)
• You get instant recognition of your writing prowess on this blog!
• Your writing colleagues shall announce and proclaim your greatness on Facebook, Twitter, and Google Plus, etc.

Our Judge for Week 312:

Snarky Hungarian, mining geologist, and dead thing specialist, George Varhalmi.

And now your #ThursThreads Challenge, tying tales together.

The Prompt:

“You okay down there?”

All stories written herein are the property (both intellectual and physical) of the authors. Now, away with you, Flash Fiction Fanatics, and show us your #ThursThreads for Year 6! Good luck!

Week 260 of #ThursThreads, the 5th Anniversary of the challenge, had so many fantastic tales. Y'all brought out your best flash and I'm honored to see all of the writers come to tie a tale. Thank you all for tying your tales in our anniversary celebration. Great thanks to Eric Martell for judging this special challenge. Check out the #ThursThreads #flashfiction group on Facebook or the #ThursThreads Community on Google Plus to keep up with news, etc.

Entries:

• Bill Engleson | @billmelaterplea
• Sheilagh Lee | @SweetSheil
• Silver James | @SilverJames_
• Deelylah Mullin | @VampBard
• Nellie Batz | @solimond
• Kelly Heinen | @Aightball
• Daelyn Morgana
• Siren X Star | @sirenstar
• Siobhan Muir | @SiobhanMuir
• Mark Ethridge | @mysoulstears
• Tina Glasneck | @TinaGlasneck
• Kaylee Hamelink

Winners Announcement:

Honorable Mentions

Bill Engleson | @billmelaterplea
Eric says: There's real loss here, buried somewhere. Where's Celia? The kids? Is the narrator losing his mind, or is he consumed by grief? I'd like to know more.

Kaylee Hamelink
Eric says: A new take on a fairie tale - had a hint of dark at the end, but could be wonderful dark magic. Who can say?

Daelyn Morgana
Eric says: No, the narrator is not alright. Are any of us, knowing that scenes like that take place all over the world day after day? Sometimes we need to crawl into the darkness to understand the problem.

I sink onto the red couch in my office, the torn, stained cushion barely soft anymore. My cats, Ma and Pa, jump into my lap, nuzzling my face and hands. Their black and white tuxedo fur blurs as a fresh round of tears falls. Out of habit, I open the small fridge in my office.

"Son of a bitch!" I shout. The cats hiss.

I stalk out to the kitchen. The fridge door smacks the wall: empty. Cupboards, behind the stove and fridge, in the junk drawer, even the god damned mouth wash is gone.

"Fucking hell!" I shout.

"Are you alright?"

I whip around, breath heaving in my chest. Jacoby stands behind me, brushing dirt from his hands into the trash.

"Where's my stuff?" I tower over him, one inch taller and twice as mad.

"I saw you come home. Bit early in the day, isn't it?" he asks, his voice sharp, accusing. "Get fired?"

I rear my first back. The last of my whiskey got me home, but it wasn't enough and I begin to sober up.

"You going to divorce me if I did?"

He ducks when I swing. "Third damn DUI in the last three months and this one finally cost you your job. You either get your ass into some kind of AA or rehab or I walk."

He stomps away and I stand there a second. His truck tears down the gravel. That's the first time he's threatened to walk.

Congratulations Five Time Winner Kel, Bill, Kaylee, and Daelyn! Don't forget to claim your badges and display them with pride. You certainly earned it! Winners, please contact the host, Siobhan Muir, to choose your prizes. Because there are eight prizes, everyone gets to choose two.

Pass on the great news on Twitter, Facebook, Google Plus, shiny mirrors, Morse Code, and signal flags. Check out all the original tales HERE. Thanks for stopping by and happy reading! :)