~ Pictue it & Write! - How Long Can You Hold Your Breath?

~Picture It & Write

It began with a simple childish dare. "How long can you hold your breath?" Art dared me.

I was holding my breath surrounded by the legs and arms of my blissfully unaware classmates of my swimming class. They didn't see the danger staring at me.

How had they gotten into the swimming pool in land locked desert country of Albuquerque, New Mexico, anyway? This wasn't the kind of thing you expected to see around here. Maybe at one of the City's Aquariums, but not here in our local pool.

The floor of the pool undulated as the crabs crawled over each other in order to find unclaimed square footage. There had to be hundreds, maybe thousands of them. Could they swim? Would they eat humans? How long had I stayed down?

It was enough. Art could have the pleasure of going next.

I surfaced. Something tickled my foot. I screamed.

© 2013 Kim Izzy

Hope you enjoyed!

Kim Izzy

~Picture it & Write! - Dark Alley

~picture it & Write

The recent rain clung to my clothes as I ducked into a dark alley.  Hungry, wet and tired made my job all the more miserable. Two weeks ago after school, my brother went missing. Mom says it's not my fault, but I must find him.

Short and sweet, this week-

Kim Izzy

~Picture it & Write! - Domed Judgment Excerpt UPDATED!!

Ermilia's ~Picture it & Write! writing prompt. Click picture to learn more.

 

The dome for the lack of a better description was off over to our left, our homes to the right. Maybe I, too, am letting popular TV science fiction influence me. I have never seen nor heard of anyone in real life having an electronic force shield. But all of Franklin, at least this side of it, was trapped behind it. Whatever "it" was!

At first we ran across the corn field thinking we could hide from the birds. Birds seemed driven to act crazy by the electronic field. When we came to an overgrown driveway, Landon and Darris turned to follow it. 

"Hoping to make better time and get away from the birds." Breathlessly, Darris yelled over his shoulder of the arm with which he was dragging me. I think Anna could hear because she and Landon were beside us.  

Behind me, I see Darris's older brother, Anthony falling back. The birds converged on him. Were the birds attracted to the scent of burning human hair? Anthony had taken a good shock when he had touched the electronic wall. Or was Anthony trying to give us a head start?

Darris yelled over my head, "Anthony, run. Catch up with us. You have nothing to fight with. You saw what they did to Gentry's injure cattle."

Anthony ran to the edge of the cornfield yanking several cornstalks out of the ground. He swung them at the diving crows, while we climb through the ditch up onto the road that had brought us to edge of our nightmares. Anthony connected with a couple of birds. They tumbled across the sky crashing into the waiting cornstalks as I watched waiting for my turn.  Our families were trapped.  

Where was the military? Ft. Campbell was only a couple of hours away. Where were the Blackhawk Helicopters that flew between Ft. Campbell and Florida? Their sound echoing throughout the Natchez Trace valley on Hwy 96. 

The birds gave up returning back to the direction of the dome. Anthony limped as we waited for him to catch up with us on the road.

"Where to now, Big Bro?" Darris asked Anthony.

(Note: I used the picture this week to inspire a passage in my current short story, Domed Judgment that I am writing to post at  http://www.wattpad.com/user/KimIzzy soon. I will post a notice of the downloads here at my blog and on my facebook page, Kim Izzy https://www.facebook.com/pages/Kim-Izzy/204505159561991)

Update: See this as the chapter(edited) in the bigger story. Chapter 6 posted 10/10/2013. Posting one chapter a week, nine weeks left. Domed Judgment chapter 6  If you want to start the story at the beginning use this link - Domed Judgment. Thanks for reading!

~Picture it & Write! - Future Unknown

Ermilia's Picture it & Write! Click on the picture to learn more.

Lavina hated her mom at this moment. Throwing herself to the sand, she couldn't care less that it was damp. She didn't hate her mom, not really, but she wished her mom would just try and listen to her side of the argument. They were arguing all the time these days. It was like she wanted Lavina to be "old and full of wisdom."

Laying her head down, it hit something very hard. Rubbing the back of her head, she said, "Really, people are pigs!" Someone had left trash on the beach. A glass bottle, no less. It could break and people could get nasty cuts, infections and could die. Great! Now, she sounded like mom. She hated that side of herself. 

Of course, no one heard her. The beach was deserted. With brilliant colors gracing the evening sky, Lavina was surprised that she was alone. 

Twirling the bottle around, Lavina notice the magnifying effect the bottle had on the gorgeous sunset that had drawn her to the beach tonight. Hoping it would relax her. She had been so uptight lately. With senior pictures around the corner and her senior year starting in a few weeks, the pressure was mounting. 

What was she going to do with her future? She needed a magnifier to help her see her far away future. But where did one get such a thing? Even mom couldn't predict the future.

I love sunsets! Hope you enjoyed the short story.

Blessings,

Kim Izzy

~Picture it & Write! - Who am I?

Picture from Ermilia's ~Picture it & Write!

Author's Notes: Inspired by this photo, I wrote this piece from my memories of my teen years.

~Picture it & write! - Do you see what I see?

Picture from Ermilia's  ~Picture it & Write!

Two girls came skipping out of the forest. Barely, they stopped before landing in a concrete pond full of lily pads.

"Do you see what I see?" Georgina asked Alyssa, while rubbing her eyes.

"Isn't it beautiful?" Alyssa said. Her eyes glazed over.

"What? Why would you think a bed in a pond is beautiful?"

"The frilly teal shimmering curtains hanging from the canopy. The gold tassels all along the top." Alyssa sighed.

"Yuck, look at the muddy mess where the pond water has been absorbed up the curtains. The mattress is just inches above the water. There's got to be bugs, spiders and other nasty things in that bed." Georgina vibrated with horror.

Alyssa shook her head, "Put a few lit floating candles in the water. After dark, they would look like fireflies."

"Don't even get me started on the mosquitoes!" Georgina continued on.

"Who would do something like this?" Alyssa asked.

"Someone crazy, of course. To ruin a perfectly good bed that way, what a waste!" Georgina said.

"No, not a crazy person. Someone romantic, artistic. It's not a waste! It's beautiful!" Alyssa stared at the bed.

"I can't see what you see." Georgina said rubbing her eyes, focusing and un-focusing them. "Nope, just can't see it."

Alyssa turned and stared at her friends, shaking her head, "Agree to disagree?" She held out her hand to Georgina, "But we can still be friends, right?"

Georgina looked back at the bed, shook her head. She reached for Alyssa's hand. "Friends!"

The girls turned back and skipped down the path. Alyssa looked back over shoulder at the unusual sight.

Hope you enjoy my short story.

Blessings,

Kim Izzy

 

~Picture it & Write! - Alban's Brother

 

"Wake up, Alban! You're having a nightmare." Mom shook me hard.

I wiped wetness from my eyes. "What?" I asked, "What's going on, Mom?"

"You were screaming in your sleep. That wetness was your tears. What happened to you today?" Mom's hand shook as she stroked my damp hair away from my face. She sat on the edge of the sofa beside me. "Do you know where your brother is? Your father is out looking for him."


The last time I saw Darvades, my older brother, he was holding a molotov cocktail cocked and ready to release. Our sister, Ola, pulled me down the nearest alley. I hadn't seen him since. What should I tell mom? I searched the room for any distractions I could find.

Mom took my chin in her hand and pulled my face close to hers. "Tell me. Tell me, now. You were screaming his name. There is no out."

On her breath, I smelled the garlic bread from supper last night. I sighed and I began, "Ola and I were taking Darvades his lunch."

Darvades worked at the local refinery, where the riots started. The rioters chased the enforcers down the street to the business district or so the local gossip reported.

Mom's head shook from side to side, trying to deny what I was saying. "You two told me that you missed all that nonsense. Those riots are stupid!"

Ola stood framed in the door of her room, only she and our parents had bedrooms. It took all the money we had to afford this ratty two bedroom ground floor apartment. Tears streamed down her face. She rushed over putting her arms around mom and me kneeling on the rag rug on the floor beside the sofa on which I slept .

"You're only thirteen, Alban." Mom turned to Ola, "You're only fourteen."

"I'll be fifteen in a few weeks, Ma." Ola said, "We got out okay. And the riots are not stupid. Darvades is fighting for better pay and safer working conditions. You know three boys were maimed last month alone."

"But Darvades still isn't home safe. Where can he be? I am scared." Mom's body shook. Tears rolled down her checks falling on to my blankets.

The front door swung open. Dad half carried Darvades who was covered in soot and blisters. But very much alive!

Hoped you enjoyed!

Kim Izzy