Weekly Challenge #540 – Flash

Welcome to the 100 Word Stories podcast at oneadayuntilthedayidie.com.

This is the Weekly Challenge, where I post a topic and then challenge you to come up with a 100 word story based on that topic.

Sorry that it’s a day late, but I was in a WiFi dead zone with no connection, and just got back to civilization.

We’ve got stories by:

Derp

MUNSI

No Story This Week…
By Christopher Munroe

Instead, I’ll complain: Barry Allen’s basically terrible!

I mean, he’s the Flash-est man alive, but I’m watching season two and he’s the worst.

He goes to Earth Two, immediately gets his own surrogate father killed, travels back in time, reveals himself to Evil Flash, and when Other Evil Flash is finally banished to another dimension, he helps return him to this one.

For some reason…

AND he gives up his speed to save Wally, in spite of Wally already having BEEN RELEASED!!!

What? Why? The hostage has already been released, dummy!!!

Sorry, I get angry, when Barry Allen’s total trash…

JEFFREY

Night Hunt
by Jeffrey Fischer

I raised the night-vision scope to my eye, aimed, and pulled the trigger. The muzzle flash briefly illuminated the woods. I thought I heard a cry and wondered if my shot had hit its mark, but the woods went quiet again. My prey was stealthy, which always enhanced the enjoyment of the hunt.

Moving as quietly as I could, I advanced toward the last sighting and looked around. Nothing… nothing… aha! Another quick shot, this one true. The hunt was over. You were a worthy opponent, Mr. Kreuger, certainly above average. Now I bid you good night. In the morning, I’ll have someone bury your body with the others.

Theft Protection
by Jeffrey Fischer

Arthur wondered if he should leave his laptop at his table when he got a coffee refill. He observed an older man leave his computer behind, even when the man left the shop to have a smoke, so Arthur concluded the place was safe.

As he stood in line, Arthur saw a kid swoop in and grab the laptop, then disappear in a flash. Frustrated, Arthur asked the older man why he felt sure that no one would take his machine. “I have theft protection.” He turned his screen around. The orange gas plasma display showed a DOS version of Microsoft Word with its monospaced font. A sticker on the keyboard proudly boasted that the computer sported a 386 processor. “The kids have no idea what this is.”

RICHARD

#1 – Flash!

If there’s one thing that winds me up, it’s the proliferation of the selfie.

If I had my way, it would be against the law to have any sort of photographic device portable enough to fit inside a mobile phone. In fact, I’d outlaw any camera that didn’t require a major exercise in logistics to transport.

In my perfect world, cameras would be the sort requiring a man hiding beneath a dark cloth, with the scene lit by a large pile of flash powder.

Perfect.

And, with that problem sorted, I could turn my attention to those damned mobiles!

#2 – Brilliance

Why is it that whenever I get a flash of inspiration, it’s never at a convenient time?

I worry how many world changing ideas, fantastic inventions and inspiring words of wisdom I’ve had that have been lost forever, thanks to my inability to record them at that crucial moment.

I’ve tried keeping a notepad next to the bed along with just about every memory trick known to mankind, but when it comes to recalling those critical moments… I fail every time.

Than yesterday, I had a brilliant idea for capturing my brilliant ideas…

Unfortunately, I’ve now forgotten what it was!

TOM

Flash

Many years ago while my mother-in-law was still alive she was on her last
litter as a kitten mill. All the Siamese save one had been purchased. He
was the last not because of any defects, he was last because he could
disappear at will. He moved so fast Gail name him Flash. Before you got
the door fully open he was between your feet and out. Same thing on the
way in. Just a blur. One day something seriously spook him. I saw him
striking up the hill, cross the road and out across the meadow. And he was
gone.

SERENDIPITY

The flash from the explosion burned their eyes out, leaving them blind and screaming in agony.

That was only the beginning.

Within hours, their skin was blistering and coming away in sheets; their hair was coming out in clumps, whilst teeth began to fall from rotting gums. Nausea, vomiting and excruciating pain soon followed.

Nothing beats a healthy dose of good old fashioned radiation!

I smiled, sealing the box with a ‘Tested – Quality assured’ sticker.

I reckon they were the best fireworks I’d ever made, and boy was I looking forward to seeing them on the fourth of July!

LIZZIE

Perched on a tree branch, the model posed dramatically, one hand holding her hair away from her face, the strong wind insisting on contradicting her.
The hairdresser went up and down the steps of a ladder, frantically trying to help her. The assistants snickered. The photographer yelled at everybody.
When they finished and everyone was ready to leave, the photographer broke the news. They’d have to redo everything, quickly. They were losing the light.
Eyes flashed dangerously and, after much deliberation, the photographer ended up on the tree branch, posing dramatically, one hand holding his hair away from his face.

TODD

The time node flashed as the time traveler was excreted. She started the countdown timer, powering her exoskeleton, and sprinted toward the event horizon. She had 10 minutes to cover the two miles and return for extraction. She hoped the old maps were accurate. Most had been lost in The Incident. She rounded the corner and noticed a flash of red as The Toy hit the driveway. She diverted, grabbed The Toy and placed it in The Baby’s arms. Giggles replaced anguish as she sprinted off.

The node flashed as she dove through. “Status!” she yelled.

“North American Genocide avoided”

Thank you!

NORVAL JOE

The woman was only gone for a moment. When she returned she said, “Okay. I’ve found a hospital gown, a girl’s pinafore, and a pair of smelly sweat pants, all in your size.”
Mickey pointed a small hairy monkey finger at the sweat pants.
She cut the duct tape holding his arms to his chest and threw the sweat pants across him.
She turned her back and in a flash, Mickey was human again.
“What do you want with me?” Mickey asked.
“You don’t remember me?” she asked. “I’m hurt.”
In a flash, he recognized her. “Wanda, the circus master.”

TURA

Flash
———
In Ormanya, there is but one law: all are guilty. Justice is secret, even from the accused. Only punishment is public, enacted by the Society of Flashing Blades.

They discreetly, invisibly gather in some public place. On a hidden sign, they draw their swords and brandish them fiercely aloft. It is then death to flee. They dance through the crowd until at the peak of its terror, one of them is cut down, by simple decapitation or the death of a thousand cuts.

“Justice has been done,” those standing tell each other, “for it was done, and is therefore just.”

PLANET Z

Ted took a few too many tackles as a high school quarterback, and he ended up working as a sacker at his father’s grocery store.
Now and then, he’d unlock the public customer bathroom and expose himself to whoever was in there.
Ted would spend some time in jail, get released early as a non-violent offender, and end up back at the grocery.
Where he’d expose himself again, and keep the cycle going.
Eventually, Ted got medication that made him behave, but now he puts bread and chips on the bottom of bags.
Customers hate that nonsense a lot worse.