3 Deadly Drabbles - Love, Fear & Hate

Explore all the emotions, 100 words at a time

Brave Emily

Into the enchanted forest brave Emily strode. Mother was dying, but legends told of a magic flower that could cure all. The only problem was that the guardian stood in the way.

Emily felt guided by divine providence, marching quickly over gnarled roots and jutting rocks with nary a misstep. It was then she saw the red beast, all horns and scaly skin blocking the way.

Dropping to her knees, Emily bowed, waiting for the strike that would end her. It never came. Instead, a delicate purple flower came into view. Tears fell and the petals glistened. Mother would live.

Rats

They come at night, teeth bared and claws raking the baseboards, looking for a way out. Gill covers the holes in the daylight hours, an endless chore that he is happy to perform.

Gill does not believe in traps or extermination, but he also doesn’t want the creatures running loose by day. He needs then to feed when darkness falls and the other thing arrives.

From the closet it comes, like it has been since his childhood. Gill has protection now, and he likes to watch the monster bleed when the rats attack. He knows it will never ever end.

Hate

When they murdered his wife, Kyle felt nothing but pain and sorrow. It was a combination that felt like a persistent body blow, forcing him down to wallow in self-pity.

Soon enough, though, it all turned to hate.

The more he thought about the killers, the more that hate grew. With each outburst of rage, Kyle underwent a physical change. Muscles formed, teeth grew to points, and flesh hardened. Hate turned him into a killing machine, ready to purr when he put the pedal to the metal.

Kyle stood outside the house where the freed men lived, waiting for death.