Stone Quarry

He knew where he would leave the vehicle; and the dead body. He had quietly gone around that place a couple of times; it was a desolate place adjoining a deserted stone quarry.

Pip was in a bouncy mood.

They had never attempted such a big heist. All these years they had pilfered only petty things; occasionally they had robbed a lone stranger of his meagre belongings. But this time they had targeted a jewellery shop.

He had decided that he would he would shift somewhere else. But Pip was a problem. Pip was vapid and cruel; he had to end his relationship with Pip if he was to make a new beginning. He knew what he had to do; it was unavoidable.

Everything went as planned. In fact they were surprised at their own deftness.

As they were driving to their den, he suddenly took a detour. Pip looked at him and laughed; he was in a bouncy mood, ‘Everything must be worth fifty million, no?’

He casually glanced at Pip; he was waiting for the right moment. Suddenly he felt a searing pain under his left shoulder.

Pip had pierced his chest with a stiletto. Pip left the vehicle and the dead body in a desolate place adjoining a deserted stone quarry.

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A post for Three Word Wednesday; word prompts-adjoining, vapid, bouncy

and FFfAW on a photo prompt.

Word count 214

Missing

He pulled a curtain of his bedroom. His penthouse was on the fiftieth floor. Normally he could even see the farthest end of the city. But, today, he was shocked when he looked through the window.

It was completely dark and ghostly. A fear began to overpower him; he felt he was in a jungle. He felt he could even hear the howling of hyenas.

‘I wish I was with her; she must be terrified. It’s a jungle out there and she is too fragile.’

His hands were shaking; he had still not called Renee. He didn’t have the courage to tell her that their only child had gone missing. But he was certain that Renee’s call would come any time.

He almost trembled when the phone rang.

‘What would I tell her?’

He reluctantly picked up the phone.

‘We have your daughter.’

The phone slipped from his hand. A shadow pounced on him like a predator.

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A post for Sunday PhotoFiction

The Spoils

                                                                                         Photo prompt © Claire Fuller

Every house that the soldiers ransacked had a sad tale to tell.

“They lied to us.”

“They fooled us.”

“There’s nothing but misery everywhere.”

The soldiers had won a victory but now felt defeated. They had not found even a trinket in the ransacked town.

He was hardly seventeen but had chosen to volunteer; he too wanted the riches promised by the war-lords.

He diffidently entered a house. He found nothing but wretchedness and some worthless things in a cupboard. A tear dropped from his eye; cupboard reminded him of his grandfather who too had collected similar worthless things in his cupboard.

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A post for FridayFictioneers on a picture prompt

Word count 102

The Custom

As per the custom the flag should have been lowered, to honour the martyred soldier, when the news arrived. But she refused to believe and relent.

‘He could be missing. I know a case where a soldier came back after seven years. And when he saw his wife married to another man he was devastated.’

Many of them had heard that story.  But they could not tell the old women that they had witnessed his burial.

She was a mother and her faith was unshakeable, ‘He will come back.’

They all looked at the flag and silently filed past it.

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A post for Friday Fictioneers on a photo prompt.