Holographic Deception #flashfiction #newcago #noir

… and this is where the clues of my two friends have led me? A stronghold guarded by an elite host.

“Perhaps, the old guard has come to the rescue.”

I grapple with my thoughts  and my hope that someone can help me defeat the foes in Newcago

I focus on his handsome, stoic face. After a long, reflective moment, I realize he is but a holographic image- Another form of deception.

What lies behind the barricaded door?  Ah a portal, a portent of sorts. But where will it lead?

I instinctively know it’s neither safe to enter nor to turn away.

*****

What can you do in 100 words? Write a story? Surely not! Check out the creative mastery of the folks that write for Friday Fictioneers and our hostess Rochell Wisoff- Fields. The excellent photo prompt is by Managua Gunn.

NewCago is a noir, metropolitan area that is plagued with a string of perhaps para normal bad guys. Sam (a private detective) seems to be the only one who can stay alive long enough to protect the citizens. How long can his luck last???

Here’s a list of the previous stories (the clues were week 11 & 12)

Week 10 in Newcago Serial No Dial Tone

Week 9 in Newcago serial Gathering Bodies

Week 8 in Newcago serial No place to hide

Week 7 in Newcago serial They were Pink

Week 6 In Newcago Serial You poison filled wasps

Week 5 in Newcago Serial The Doom Cycle

Week 4 in Newcago Serial Helpless

Week 3 in Newcago Serial When the Lights Go On

week 2 in Newcago Serial  Can’t Kill The Thirst

Week 1 in Newcago Serial Secret Weapon

No Place to Hide #flashfiction #newcago #noir

icon-grill-ted-strutz

Just for clarity as this is a serial. This is a flashback for Sam before he became the detective of New Cago. Sam’s girlfriend, Lily, died; the cause is yet to be revealed.

Today’s setting is a New Cago bar.

***

“Night Howie” I waved to the on-duty cop stumbling out of the bar.

“Get out of the bottle, Sam,” Lily scowled.

“”What and remember the slime and filth that killed my family?”

“Do some good against the vermin of New Cago,” I could see sadness brewing in Lily’s blue eyes.

***

The only thing I remember was a woman with a deep voice and a vine that was tattooed up her right calf. She suffocated the twins. When mom attacked her with a butcher knife…

Even at 12, I knew who was behind the killing.

***

I’m trying Lily. I’m trying…

***

Each week we wait patiently (impatiently) for Rochelle to post the week’s  Friday Fictioneers’ picture to prompt us once again to write flash fiction. The picture today is from Ted Strutz. Today I continue with a serial that is staged in the sleepy town of New Cago where the police hide behind bars ( perhaps in bars) and Sam is the only one who can protect the good citizens while they sleep.

Week 7 in Newcago serial They were Pink

Week 6 In Newcago Serial You poison filled wasps

Week 5 in Newcago Serial The Doom Cycle

Week 4 in Newcago Serial Helpless

Week 3 in Newcago Serial When the Lights Go On

week 2 in Newcago Serial  Can’t Kill The Thirst

Week 1 in Newcago Serial Secret Weapon

My First Ride #Flashfiction #gas #car

Seems like yesterday

March 1st 2025 when I bought

my first two-seater shopping cart vehicle for $5000

It sure beat traditional automobiles;

gas had gotten up to $1200 for a fill up. My parents parked our SUV and lived in it.

shucks a bag of groceries was $1000 for bread,, milk, cheese, and a pound of hamburger

you had to economize back then.

my best girl loved getting tangled in the wire baskets in the back seat.

oh the memories of being young and in love

now we have a family sedan with heated handlebars. Dog gone if they didn’t convert fuel from corn oil to turkey manure.

The prompt of the shopping cart vehicles comes from Friday Fictioneers

Learn From the Past #americana #microfiction #poetry

White wash will cover

mute it away

hide the reminder

agedness and decay

*

 an old wizened face

 all knowing eyes

there is life and history

no paint can disguise

**

more things than saw

behind the facade

a life, a story

so much had gone on

*

if you try to separate

life from this place

you will miss what has happened

it will be a disgrace

*

for when it was young

a beauty you’d see

a family, animals

 life-giving trees

*

Now listen and learn

from vine-covered wood

a tale, antiquity

where history stoically stood

Check out  the group of  Micro-Fiction writers at Friday Fictioners and the wonderful weekly picture prompts like this fantastic barn shot!

Leaving Home #artist #phone #microfiction

He knew I’d find the message…

The phone had become my solace after my husband died.

Listening in to the daily chatter about town  kept the tears away.

I was devastated, ” gone without a final goodbye.?”

Leaving the menorah a precious gift from his grandfather meant he had given up his faith.

“What are you going to follow?

What will be your guiding light?

Certainly you must have taken something with you on this journey.”

Then I noticed his plain brown box of paints,  an easel, and a silly felt hat were gone.

At least he’d outgrown the crayons…

Join the fun at Rochelle’s and  Friday Fictioners . This was a great picture prompt.