Lightning Strikes Part 2

His dad uncurled the paper and held it up in the air, smiling at the paper. “Come stand beside me, Jeffery. Hurry, we don’t need to stay here long.”

He moved so he stood beside his dad, who lowered the paper down to waist height. “You need to study this and remember what it says. It is important to your history and your life. It will save it or . . .” Dad’s hand shook, causing the paper to waver. “This is what we’ve always taught you about your entire life.”

Jeffery rested his hand over the side of his Dad’s and took the paper from him. He stared down at the foolscap wondering where the fancy writing was. He’d been told day after day for ten years by his father and grandfather that their family history was written on some ancient sheet of an unusual-sized piece of paper. He never believed a word of their stories, it all seemed make-believe to him because they held no proof of such paper. Oh, he’d heard of the paper and saw them in books, but why would some Magical Beings family history be written on a foolscap? Dad swore to him only the Old Ones wrote on an 8 X 13 size paper with quill and ink. Okay, that part actually made sense. How else would someone back from George Washington’s time write? He guessed he was lucky and it wasn’t on a clay tablet in picture form. Still, there was nothing on the paper, so what was he supposed to be looking at? From what he’d been taught and what his dad just told him he was supposed to learn his family history and where he came from since the Orgs took out his entire family before his entire fifteenth. Birthday. 

“Can I help you with something, young man?”

Jeffery spun to find a crumbled-in-, on himself, long, whited-haired man leaning against a wooden walking stick that stuck a good foot above his head. A voice he’d not heard in over six years came to mind.

“Elder of Summar, you must kneel, boy. Now!”

Why had his dead father’s voice sprung to life inside his mind? He’d not heard it since the day before the Orgs attacked. It put an intense, deep ache in his bones, but he did as it said, yet he tucked the foolscap behind his back. Whatever his Dad had stolen, Jeffery was sure he wasn’t supposed to have it if his birth father, King Effery of the Effery Cove told him an Elder of the Elemental Gods stood in front of him.

Jeffery clenched the ancient sheet of paper, praying the Elemental God failed to notice how his hands were stashed behind his back. Luck was not on his side. The Elemental God pointed at him and crooked his long, hair-covered dart-tipped-like finger at him.

“Stand and extract the Futurity Teller the Stealer of Life’s Future has taken from its protective case.”

Jeffery took a huge breath and told himself to puzzle through what he’d been told to do by the old fool. Not that he’d even call an Elemental God an old fool to his face. The only paper he. Could extract was the one behind his. Back, which meant it had to be the Futurity Teller. The name itself led Jeffery to believe it had to tell the future of something, but what? And since his father took it from the case, he had to be what the old wisen man referred to as the Stealer of Life’s Future.

What was a Stealer of Life’s Future? Dad would steal nothing. He’d rather cut his hand off than do so. He wore my rear-end out when I stole a candy bar.  What was going on?

Free Write Story - Lighting Strikes

Lighting Strikes

Part 1

Jeffery crept through the hallway, holding his breath. The least bit of sound or air would set off the magical detectors placed around the Historical Sector of the All-American Supernatural Museum. His dad’s mission didn’t seem all that unheard of when they left the house, but the closer. The two of them got the worse the idea seemed. His dad had been in a hell of a lot of trouble lately and never explained what he’d been up to. Jeffery never pressed him for a reason either, nor did he ask for an explanation for this little excursion of theirs. He feared what his father might say. The guy was getting older and forgetful, as hard as that was for them both to admit.

His dad pointed ahead of them, grinning like a loon.

Jeffery’s stomach clinched soon as he took in the large glass case enclosed by felt red ropes like they use in theaters and casinos, as well as, well museums to rope off the secured areas. No way the two of them would get past them without setting off any kind of alarm. And the only thing his father made prevalent before they left is they’d be returning with an item of great value. Guess that should have clued him in on how tight security would be. Stupid him.

He grabbed his father’s shoulder, halting him before he reached out and grabbed the rope. He lifted both eyebrows at him.

He got a shake of the head back in return and his father shook his hold off only to snatch the rope and unhook it from its clip.

Jeffery held his breath, but no blaring filled the room. No flashing lights cut through the air. He all but released a huge breath, but halted before he did. Such an act would have indeed set off an alarm of some kind. Father gave him that warning.

Father snatched his arm and dragged him closer to the glass case, tapping the edges of it. He mimed lifting the lid and setting it aside. Jeffery nodded at his dad and then helped him remove the lid. His dad snatched the item and rolled it up tucking it under his shirt then rushed back the way they came.

They were back outside the museum before Jeffery blinked. His dad walked them over to a well-lit area and extracted the stolen piece of paper.

“What is it, dad?”

Last Free Write Scene for 2023

Hi all,

Hope all had a wonderful Christmas and an amazing time with their families and friends. I sure did. I had a healthy meal with my Mom and Dad and some fun times. Now, onto our last Free Scene of the year. Doesn’t seem possible does it, but it is. I’m unsure if I will start the year off with a Free Write Story or more Free Write Scenes yet, but we will find out next week.

The large beast sat on the edge of the porch whinning with his head between its paws and ears hunkered down. Not a single sign of aggression towards me. Al doubted the extremely large wolf would attack him, but he wasn’t going to take the change.

“You stay there while I walk inside and call animal control.” I held my hands out in front of me, while walking back inside the house, but before I could reach the counter where the phone rested a mist formed around the beast, freezing me in place.

The mist grew thicker and thicker until the animal was out of view. My mind told me to run and slam the door shut, but my body was frozen in place.

Before I knew it, the mist faded away leaving behind a naked man I knew all too well.

“Daven?”

Free Write Scene

Hi all,

I all but forgot to post something today, so I borrowed from a short scene I wrote for a exercise I did for a community post for the definition of the word Foolscap. I don’t think they will mind me borrowing my own work. I hope you all enjoy the short work. It’s not my usual style of writing, but it does give you a brief insight into the style of my side project I’m working on.

Let your imagination soar as you read this short scene.

Have a great day

Julia

Jeffery stared down at the foolscap wondering where the fancy writing was. He'd been told day after day for ten years by his father and grandfather that their family history was written on the ancient sheet of an unusual-sized piece of paper. Only the old ones would write on an 8 X 13 size piece of paper. Quil and ink aspect made sense, how else would they write back when George Washington was President? Guess I was lucky it wasn't on a clay tablet in picture form. Still, there was nothing here, so what was he supposed to do? How was he supposed to learn where he came from since the Orgs took out his entire family before his fifteenth birthday?

"Can I help you with something, young man?"

Jeffery spun to find a crumbled-in on himself, long, white-haired man leaning against a wooden walking stick that stuck a good foot above his head. A voice he'd not heard in over six years came to life in his mind.

"Elder of Summar. Kneel, boy. Now."

He had no idea why his father's voice sprang to life in his mind, but he did just what his father did. Yet, he tucked the foolscap behind his back. Something inside him told him he wasn't supposed to have that sheet of paper.

Free Write Scene

They sat in the recliners, asleep like every other night, except tonight neither slept. Hanks’ eyes met his, but Hanks’ outstretched hands failed short of reaching his thanks to the lifelessness shining back at him from those once sexy, baby blue round eyes that normally carried love and joy at all times.

What was he to do without the man who saved his life some forty years ago? He had not taken a breath or made a decision without Hank since that day. What would become of him? How would he survive this world? Not that he would begrudge Hank for his decision to leave the pain filled life that had plagued him since the cancer caught hold of him. Nope. He grasped the concept of what a life full of pure pain, even when full of love and happiness was life. He’d seen it with his mother when she suffered through breast cancer when he was fourteen. Watching it with his lover was a thousand times worse in his opinion. That might be cruel to think, but . . .

How else was he supposed to feel in that moment? His heart had been ripped from his chest, leaving behind a gaping hole that could not be stitched back together by the best of surgeons.