Friday, August 06, 2010

Do You Ever...?

“Are you one of the fortunate kind, alone but not lonely?”

Jessie tapped her thumb on her knee in time to the music as she drove through the night. The window was open and a hot prairie breeze blew her hair into tangles, but her mind was already on the town ahead. The hunt and the feasting. She had let the hunger grow too strong again.

She knew that others of her kind grew to hate the dark or found the solitary existence too desolate. They sought relief in depraved societies of their own creation. She had seen bright, garish lights in an underground city filled with cows who willingly gave away what should rightly be hunted on dark streets or in fragrant, damp forests.

She wasn’t ashamed of what she was. She didn’t resist it. But her two strongest desires were ultimately at odds. The need for solitude. The need to feed. What drove her away from the cities always, inexorably, brought her back. People. An enchanting, intoxicating smorgasbord of people.

Soon she would be in Broken Bow. And she would feed.


"Do You Ever...?" was a Lyric Challenge ficlet originally published at 01:22AM on Sunday, October 28, 2007. Thanks to the ficlet memorial I was able to find it again. Memorial story link. The lyric is from “Alone But Not Lonely” by Mary Ann Redmond (Album: Here I Am). I picked the song randomly but think it worked well. Had only listened 40 seconds in when I picked the lyric and wrote up the Ficlet, so was surprised when I went back to listen to the rest of the song and caught the line “Which one are you tonight? Do you change with the morning light?” How perfect for a little vampire story.

15 comments:

  1. Oooh, I like this! Especially "An enchanting, intoxicating smorgasbord of people." Love that image.

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  2. I like the glimpse of the unnamed vampire city underground!

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  3. I'm no fan of vampire stories. But this isn't really a vampire story, it's just a vignette of someone's life - who happens to be a vampire. Nice.

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  4. Good stuff! Nice use of language. I shall re-tweet!

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  5. "what should rightly be hunted on dark streets or in fragrant, damp forests." -- nice!
    Cows can't quite compare to the thrill of the chase, can they!

    Cool vignette, as Ed R put it.

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  6. Feed thoroughly and you'll be back to solitude in a minute. I'm so rarely lonely - am I so evil?

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  7. Like Ed, I'm not a huge van of the modern vampire tale (although I have written one) but yours is different and chilling. No glitter here. Your Jessie is a dark creature with an insatiable hunger for that "enchanting, intoxicating smorgasbord of people." That's my kind of vampire. One that will tear your effing throat out! I get the feeling Jessie is just such a creature. Nicely done.

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  8. I liked this take on the vampire... not brooding, but knowing who she is.

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  9. Wow guys! Thanks so much for your comments. This is the first chance that I've had to get to the website today.

    @Linda G - it must have been a good line because I got a bunch of tweets about it, too. People are so yummy.

    @Lydia - they only let me see the underground vampire city for a second. Would love to spend more time checking it out.

    @Ed R - pretty sure Jessie sees it that way, too.

    @Jason Beymer - thanks! Mama told me I would talk pretty one day.

    @mazzz - some just like to do their own huntin', you know? :)

    @John Wiswell - ha! I don't know, will have to go find out if you're so evil...

    @Maria A. Kelly - Jessie definitely has a, um, let's say "different moral compass" than I do.

    @T.S. Bazelli - thanks! It's time for a non-brooding vampire, don't you think?

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  10. Nice! She not only embraces what she is, but also feels good in her own company, which is enough. Yup, I'm tired of brooding vamps, heh.

    I'm popping in through the fantasy blog hop. Good to meet you! :)

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  11. Great flash story!

    I found you through the Blog Hop. I took a look around and thought that your blog is great! So I decided to follow you. Anyway, check out my blog as well: http://johnsmithbooks.blogspot.com/

    You could follow me too if you like it.

    Warmest regards,
    John Smith (pen name)

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  12. Always nice to see a vampire who's not ashamed of what they are. As well as one who dosen't sparkle. ;) Great job!

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