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Blackdirge's Vignette Vagabonds & Homeless Heroes (Updated 12/12/16 - "Phylactery")
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<blockquote data-quote="BLACKDIRGE" data-source="post: 6931412" data-attributes="member: 1953"><p><strong>For Abby</strong></p><p></p><p>This next piece is a bit of horror flash fiction I wrote for an exercise/competition where the participants were given a photo prompt and then asked to write a story under a thousand words in no more than one hour. Yeah, it's not D&D related, but I could see this fitting into a CoC game or another horror RPG. </p><p></p><p>Here's the photo prompt.</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH]77948[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p>And here's the story I came up with to go with it.</p><p></p><p>[HR][/HR]</p><p></p><p><strong>For Abby</strong></p><p></p><p>The shop smelled like rotten eggs, and Dale wrinkled his nose as the door shut behind him. The place wasn’t like any pet store he’d ever seen. There were no cages filled with frolicking puppies and kittens, no rows of aquariums sporting colorful exotic fish, and no soft screeches and chirps of parrots and finches. It was empty, really, just a square room with a bare concrete floor and a long counter against the far wall. The single note of color was a red door behind the counter. </p><p></p><p>Dale took a few steps into the shop and stopped. Something had been scrawled on the concrete floor in fading white chalk: a big circle with a five-pointed star in the middle. He found he really didn’t want to step in that circle. To his relief, there was enough room to move around it. </p><p></p><p>“Hello?” he said and approached the counter. </p><p></p><p>There was no answer. </p><p></p><p>The smell, the weird symbol on the floor, and the shop’s apparent emptiness were starting to unnerve him. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the post-it note Dr. Falders had given him. She’d written and address and two words on it: <em>For Abby</em>. This was the address. It had been difficult to find, and it was in an area of town he’d never visited, had never known existed. </p><p></p><p>“Is anyone here?” he said. This time, he heard muffled footsteps behind the red door and took a step back. The door opened, revealing darkness beyond, and disgorged a stink so revolting he slapped a hand over his mouth and turned away. </p><p></p><p>“Can I help you?” </p><p></p><p>Dale turned back to the counter. A very pretty woman in a white dress was now standing behind it. She had long black hair, pale skin, and dark, almond-shaped eyes. Her age was difficult to determine. She could be eighteen or thirty. </p><p></p><p>The smell had faded and Dale took his hand away from his mouth. He stepped up to the counter and set the post-it note on the faded wood. “Uh, yeah,” he said. “Dr. Falders sent me . . .” </p><p></p><p>The woman nodded and smiled. Her lips were very red. “Of course. She said you would be coming.” </p><p></p><p>“It’s about my daughter,” he said. “She needs a new pet. Something a little more . . . resilient than a dog or a cat.” </p><p></p><p>The woman cocked her head, and her smile brightened. “I understand completely, Mr. Richards.” </p><p></p><p>“She doesn’t mean to hurt them,” Dale said. “It’s just that puppies and kittens are so fragile.” </p><p></p><p>The woman placed one long-fingered hand on Dale’s forearm. Her skin was cold and smooth. “You don’t have to explain. Dr. Falders has told me all I need to know.” </p><p></p><p>Dale nodded. “Oh,” he said, surprised. What else had the doctor had told this woman about Abby? “So you’re a pet store?” </p><p></p><p>“Of sorts,” the woman said and removed her hand from Dale’s arm. “We cater to very special clients with very special children, like you and Abby.” </p><p></p><p>“I don’t see any cages,” Dale said. </p><p></p><p>“We keep a very limited stock,” the woman said. “But I have just the thing for Abby.” </p><p></p><p>Dale smiled. “Really? Oh, man, that would be great. Her fits are always better when she has something to play with.” He was afraid to hope, but Dr. Falders had been right about everything else. </p><p></p><p>“Step around the counter, Mr. Richards,” the woman said and opened the red door. The stink returned, but it didn’t bother him as much now. If this woman could really help Abby, he could put up with a little stench. He followed the woman into a small dark room that held a big cage, the kind you might keep a wild animal in, like a tiger or a bear. There was something in the cage, but it was too dark to see it clearly. </p><p></p><p>“Let me turn on the light,” the woman said. There was a slight pause, and then the room was bathed in white light from an overhead fixture. He sucked in a short, sharp breath at the sight of the thing in the cage. It was lying on its side, its massive head turned in his direction. At first, he thought it was a dog, but it was too big for that, plus the horns, the burning red eyes, and the shark-like teeth all added up to something very much <em>not </em>a dog. </p><p></p><p>“Jesus,” Dale said. He suddenly felt the shopkeeper’s icy grip on his arm, painfully tight. </p><p></p><p>“That is not a name I like to hear in my shop, Mr. Richards,” the woman said, frowning, her voice tight, angry. </p><p></p><p>“Uh, sorry,” he said. “Abby doesn’t like it either. What is that thing?” </p><p></p><p>“A pet for a girl like Abby,” she said. Her smile had returned. </p><p></p><p>“It’s a little big,” Dale said. </p><p></p><p>“Look closer, Mr. Richards,” the woman said. </p><p></p><p>He turned back to the cage and the thing within it. On closer inspection he saw there were several small, squirming shapes in the straw beneath the beast, nuzzling its belly. He realized with mingled disgust and delight the squirming things were the creature’s young. </p><p></p><p>“I can have one of the . . . puppies for Abby?” he asked. </p><p></p><p>“You can,” the woman said. “It will weather your daughter’s affections quite well, and when it is grown, it can protect her from those who might wish to harm her.” </p><p></p><p>Dale nodded, remembering the priest at the hospital when Abby was born. He’d thrown a fit about the birth mark on Abby’s arm, and the police had removed him. There had been others, doctors mostly, a few neighbors, too. They’d had to move several times. </p><p></p><p>“I’ll take it,” Dale said. “What do I owe you?” </p><p></p><p>He felt the woman’s cool touch on the back of his neck, and he shivered. Her voice was in his ear. “Nothing, Mr. Richards,” she said. “Just keep her safe. All that is owed will be repaid when she is ready.”</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="BLACKDIRGE, post: 6931412, member: 1953"] [b]For Abby[/b] This next piece is a bit of horror flash fiction I wrote for an exercise/competition where the participants were given a photo prompt and then asked to write a story under a thousand words in no more than one hour. Yeah, it's not D&D related, but I could see this fitting into a CoC game or another horror RPG. Here's the photo prompt. [ATTACH=CONFIG]77948._xfImport[/ATTACH] And here's the story I came up with to go with it. [HR][/HR] [B]For Abby[/B] The shop smelled like rotten eggs, and Dale wrinkled his nose as the door shut behind him. The place wasn’t like any pet store he’d ever seen. There were no cages filled with frolicking puppies and kittens, no rows of aquariums sporting colorful exotic fish, and no soft screeches and chirps of parrots and finches. It was empty, really, just a square room with a bare concrete floor and a long counter against the far wall. The single note of color was a red door behind the counter. Dale took a few steps into the shop and stopped. Something had been scrawled on the concrete floor in fading white chalk: a big circle with a five-pointed star in the middle. He found he really didn’t want to step in that circle. To his relief, there was enough room to move around it. “Hello?” he said and approached the counter. There was no answer. The smell, the weird symbol on the floor, and the shop’s apparent emptiness were starting to unnerve him. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the post-it note Dr. Falders had given him. She’d written and address and two words on it: [I]For Abby[/I]. This was the address. It had been difficult to find, and it was in an area of town he’d never visited, had never known existed. “Is anyone here?” he said. This time, he heard muffled footsteps behind the red door and took a step back. The door opened, revealing darkness beyond, and disgorged a stink so revolting he slapped a hand over his mouth and turned away. “Can I help you?” Dale turned back to the counter. A very pretty woman in a white dress was now standing behind it. She had long black hair, pale skin, and dark, almond-shaped eyes. Her age was difficult to determine. She could be eighteen or thirty. The smell had faded and Dale took his hand away from his mouth. He stepped up to the counter and set the post-it note on the faded wood. “Uh, yeah,” he said. “Dr. Falders sent me . . .” The woman nodded and smiled. Her lips were very red. “Of course. She said you would be coming.” “It’s about my daughter,” he said. “She needs a new pet. Something a little more . . . resilient than a dog or a cat.” The woman cocked her head, and her smile brightened. “I understand completely, Mr. Richards.” “She doesn’t mean to hurt them,” Dale said. “It’s just that puppies and kittens are so fragile.” The woman placed one long-fingered hand on Dale’s forearm. Her skin was cold and smooth. “You don’t have to explain. Dr. Falders has told me all I need to know.” Dale nodded. “Oh,” he said, surprised. What else had the doctor had told this woman about Abby? “So you’re a pet store?” “Of sorts,” the woman said and removed her hand from Dale’s arm. “We cater to very special clients with very special children, like you and Abby.” “I don’t see any cages,” Dale said. “We keep a very limited stock,” the woman said. “But I have just the thing for Abby.” Dale smiled. “Really? Oh, man, that would be great. Her fits are always better when she has something to play with.” He was afraid to hope, but Dr. Falders had been right about everything else. “Step around the counter, Mr. Richards,” the woman said and opened the red door. The stink returned, but it didn’t bother him as much now. If this woman could really help Abby, he could put up with a little stench. He followed the woman into a small dark room that held a big cage, the kind you might keep a wild animal in, like a tiger or a bear. There was something in the cage, but it was too dark to see it clearly. “Let me turn on the light,” the woman said. There was a slight pause, and then the room was bathed in white light from an overhead fixture. He sucked in a short, sharp breath at the sight of the thing in the cage. It was lying on its side, its massive head turned in his direction. At first, he thought it was a dog, but it was too big for that, plus the horns, the burning red eyes, and the shark-like teeth all added up to something very much [I]not [/I]a dog. “Jesus,” Dale said. He suddenly felt the shopkeeper’s icy grip on his arm, painfully tight. “That is not a name I like to hear in my shop, Mr. Richards,” the woman said, frowning, her voice tight, angry. “Uh, sorry,” he said. “Abby doesn’t like it either. What is that thing?” “A pet for a girl like Abby,” she said. Her smile had returned. “It’s a little big,” Dale said. “Look closer, Mr. Richards,” the woman said. He turned back to the cage and the thing within it. On closer inspection he saw there were several small, squirming shapes in the straw beneath the beast, nuzzling its belly. He realized with mingled disgust and delight the squirming things were the creature’s young. “I can have one of the . . . puppies for Abby?” he asked. “You can,” the woman said. “It will weather your daughter’s affections quite well, and when it is grown, it can protect her from those who might wish to harm her.” Dale nodded, remembering the priest at the hospital when Abby was born. He’d thrown a fit about the birth mark on Abby’s arm, and the police had removed him. There had been others, doctors mostly, a few neighbors, too. They’d had to move several times. “I’ll take it,” Dale said. “What do I owe you?” He felt the woman’s cool touch on the back of his neck, and he shivered. Her voice was in his ear. “Nothing, Mr. Richards,” she said. “Just keep her safe. All that is owed will be repaid when she is ready.” [/QUOTE]
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