Flash of Fiction

When I was young and stupid, I made a deal with the devil. Fast forward fifteen years, and he’s due to collect. But today’s not the day. I look him up and down. “To what do I owe the displeasure?” The devil holds something out. My contract. It bursts into flames. “I need a favor.”

Murder was never part of the plan, but sometimes, things just happen. “Oh, come on, Becca,” Chris whined. “We’re two minutes late. We didn’t have time to copy answers. You haven’t even finished going over it!” Becca shrugged. “Policy is policy. No late work, period. Sorry.” She turned her back on Chris and started scribbling on the white board. Chris and his friends slumped into seats on the last row. Karli put her head down on her desk in defeat, Sam stared blankly down at his perfect homework, and Chris sat back, glaring at Becca. They stayed like that for the rest of class, the trio barely taking in a word Becca said during her review. As the last minute ticked down, Becca muttered a curse. “I forgot to pass out homework again. I’ll hand it out as you leave.” She took up a post by the door as papers ruffled and bags zipped. Chris, Karli, and Sam were the last out. Chris bumped into Becca, hitting her with his shoulder, and ignored her as she yelped, “Hey!” ...

When I get home, there’s a box waiting for me on the front porch. A note’s been taped in place on the bottom. Great Oak Park, our usual place. 8 PM. At 8, I sit in the park. Someone walks up, his hood on. When he pulls it off, I gasp. “You’re supposed to be dead.”

“This is my life now. I’ve climbed this hill and now I will die upon it.” “Shut up. We’ve only been hiking for twenty minutes.” I plop down in the grass. My brother crosses his arms. “We haven’t even done the hard part yet.” “All the more reason to stop.” He grabs the back of my pack and yanks me to my feet. “Come on.” I eye the path in front of us. Steep, craggy, far too long. I turn on my heel and head back the way we came. My brother reaches out, grabs the handle on my pack. “Where do you think you’re going?” “Back to the car to wait for you.” “You said you’d come up to the top with me. You can’t back out now. It’s only a couple miles.” I sighed. “’And miles to go before I sleep.’” “Exactly. Now come on.” He marches down the path, carefully placing his feet so he doesn’t fall. Reluctantly, I follow him. Another thirty minutes passes, and we’ve crept closer to the top of the glorified hill. As I take my next step, the ground beneath me s...

“Help! Can anybody hear me? HELP ME!” A weak thumping sounded from inside the apartment. I pushed the door in, standing back in case the inferno exploded with the oxygen influx. When the crackling stayed steady, I stepped into the apartment. Flames licked up the sides of the wall, and a cross beam had fallen in front of a door, jamming it closed. Over the crackling and popping, I heard the thumping. It was coming from behind the blocked door. “Hey!” I yelled. “Are you in here?” I tapped the door, keeping my hand as far from the fire as I could. “Yes . . . there’s another . . . door,” the voice said, growing weaker. I stepped back, took a deep breath, and zipped up my sweatshirt. Then I raced forward and took a flying leap over the burning cross beam. I landed safely on the other side. The rest of the apartment was up in flames, and there was smoke everywhere. I could barely make out the bedroom doors, one right in front of me and one to my left. The one to my...

The sapphire sparkles on her necklace. I take of a sip of my drink and watch the girl make her rounds, showing off the necklace. She’s the fifth woman to do just that this month. The other four are dead. Some people say the necklace is cursed, the necklace version of the Hope Diamond. But, they say the curse only affects those who wear the necklace, which is good news for me because I’m not going to wear it. I’m here to steal it. I leave my full glass on the bar and head after the girl with the sapphire necklace. She’s talking to a man who thinks he’s more important than he is, a duke or an earl. I saunter up behind her, getting into position. As soon as I’m ready, the lights go out. Women shriek, and I pretend to bump into the girl with the necklace. “Oomph!” I knock her to the ground. “I’m so sorry, miss. Here, let me help you.” I offer her my hand. She takes it, and I pull her to her feet, more forcefully than necessary. She collides with my chest. “Oh,” she say...

I dropped another box on the table sitting in the driveway. It was the last box of Dad’s old stuff. I didn’t want to get rid of it, but I couldn’t stand to keep the house and there was no way all of this would fit in my apartment. I was keeping two boxes. The rest had to go. I started unpacking the box I’d just brought down. I pulled out several jars of nails, an assortment of tchotchkes, and an old baseball. My fingers felt along the seam, searching for where I’d tried to cut it open when I was six. Dad had caught me going at it with scissors, and he’d just about had a conniption. “Jared! What are you doing?” he’d yelled. “Stop!” When I kept trying to cut into it, he’d snatched the baseball out of my hands. I’d started to cry. “Hey, buddy,” he’d said, his voice softer. He’d sat down next to me and pried the scissors from my tiny fingers. “You can have it back.” It was my turn to snatch the baseball from him. I went for the scissors next. “Ah, ah, ah,” Da...