Friday Fictioneers – The Storm

Every week, Rochelle Wisoff-Fields (thank you, Rochelle!) hosts a flash fiction challenge, to write a complete story, based on a photoprompt, with a beginning, middle and end, in 100 words or less. Post it on your blog, and include the Photoprompt and Inlinkz (the blue frog) on your page. Link your story URL. Then the fun starts as you read other peoples’ stories and comment on them!

PHOTO PROMPT © Douglas M. MacIlroy

The storm

Sunrise gave the distant hills sharp outlines.

Gaffer Lawrence shook his head.

“Gonna rain buckets,” he said.

The heaven was lacquered blue at noon. The pigs lay still in their pen, panting. The farmer tasted the air, whistled up his dogs and brought his stock under cover.

The horizon steamed. Clouds came out of nowhere. The light faded and the darkness was stifling. Sounds were distorted, submarine. The sweet smell of the cattle cloyed.

Then, as flames of pink lightning flickered on the hills, the first heavy drops fell.

By midnight, the bridge down the valley had been swept away.

What Pegman Saw – The rains have come

“What Pegman saw” is a weekly challenge based on Google Streetview. Using the location provided, you must write a piece of flash fiction of no more than 150 words. You can read the rules here. You can find today’s location on this page,  from where you can also get the Inlinkz code. This week’s prompt is Gurara Waterfalls, Nigeria.

Gurara Waterfalls © Samson Rohan Google Maps

The rains have come

When the storm clouds mass, when the rains come, the river rises. The pure, clear water that chuckles between the rocks becomes a milky brown torrent, sweeping boulders out of its path.

It’s been twelve months since terrorists snatched our daughters. The government has done nothing. We have waited long enough.

“Come, Numilekunoluwa! We must arm the villages. We must find our children and bring them back before it is too late!”

“There are many terrorists. We wouldn’t stand a chance.”

“There are many? We could be more! We must at least try.”

And Numilekunoluwa spoke to Abidugun, and Abidugun spoke to Mobo, and Mobo went to the next village and spoke to them.

And the villages armed themselves, for defence, and to seek for our girls.

Two hundred of us are going into the forest tomorrow.

The storm clouds have massed. The rains have come. The river is rising.