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  Kenneth Lawson
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October 25th, 2020

10/25/2020

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The flash of green at sunset was a sight he had always wished to view, but something told him that wasn’t a flash on the horizon. He considered a number of possibilities. None of them good. Guiding his ship closer to the point on the horizon where he’d seen the light appear.  He was surprised to see a ship floating just below the horizon line and far above the ground.  Pulling up as short as he could manage to maneuver his big plane.  He established a flight path that circled it what he hoped was far enough above it to keep him from harm’s reach if needed.
 His sensors begin the task of processing all the data they could from the ship below him. By the time he’d made a second complete circle above it, he had as much as he could get just by looking. 
 He had heard stories about them in his younger days. But the stories had died out. They hadn’t seen the telltale green flash of light in many years. 
But here he was circling one of the elusive ships again.
 Why had they come back?
 The sensors on his ship sprang back to life and a voice could be heard in his earpiece.
“Caption Buck Rogers?”
“Yes.” He responded surprised they knew his name.

“It’s time for you to come home.”
“Home?” he echoed into his mic.
“Yes.  We’ve learned all we can from this planet from you. Your next assignment awaits”
 The vail of blackness that came over him. 
Caption Buck Rogers awoke Laying on a small feather mattress in a log cabin.
The door to his right opened and an old man walked in carrying a Kentucky Long Rifle.
“Hey, Ma… We have a guest ..” His face Brightened in a toothy grin.

 


 



 


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October 18th, 2020

10/18/2020

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Highbridge House loomed above me, and all my doubts about returning flooded me with fear.  The small stone and wooden bridge that leads to the Keep looked almost as uninviting as the tall stone towers that cast their shadows over the valley. Just looking at it brought back the stories that I’d heard as a kid living in the small village that had once served the lord of the manor. The lords had long ago given way to a more civilized gentry and the lording was now done by a council of elders whose wisdom often made the originals lords look good.
 She had slipped out of the main gate unnoticed. The guards hadn’t been paying quite enough attention. The door behind her was closed. And there was no going back. There wasn’t for me either. Only I wouldn’t face the wrath of a powerful and angry father.  My father would be angry, too.  That was a scene that would eventually be played out. I pushed the thought from my mind and concentrated on the task at hand. 
While the business of governing had been related to the committee. There were still some Old School Lords who thought they still ran the country.  He had ruled the valley until the last few decades.  But he still acted like he was the overload.  To that end, he had demanded that his daughter get married to a suitable gentry and bear him a son to carry on the name and position. She had refused flatly to follow the ancient customs.  The fact that she wanted to run off and marry me made her father irritate beyond his years. I was a servant’s kid, a ner-do-well, and of the lowest social order. My people came in the side and back doors. 
Never the front door.And I was a girl too.

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October 11th, 2020

10/11/2020

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The photo she held in her hand spoke of simpler times, now long gone. She put the picture back in the old photo album.
“But you know he’s gone now?” She dried a tear from her eyes.
“ I know, but look you can’t blame yourself, You didn’t know.”
“I know, But still…”
“Still Nothing. He did what he wanted to do. And it cost him…”
“It cost us too.”
“Yes, it did. But way past time to move on. It’s been what?  Twenty years?
“At least.”
“So bury his memory.  He has been in the ground long enough to let go.”
“Yess… Your right. But I want to see him one more time..”

“You know you can’t do that?”
“Yes, I can. Meet me at this grave tonight. At midnight, I’m going to ask him one last question.”
“You… know how dangerous that is?”
“Yes. But Have to, or I’ll never be able to let him go and move on.”
At quarter midnight they were at his grave. The moon was in its full glory giving them plenty of light to see by. So they didn’t need the flashlights they’d brought.

 It had been decades since they’d raised a spirit from the dead. He’d almost forgotten how.
But it all came back to him.
  They stood over his grave and recited the chants that they’d swore they’d never use again. Soon cloud formed from the clear sky, and a bolt of light came from the south. It ran directly into the ground in front of them. And a voice was heard. It seemed to be coming from the stone at their feet.
 “You woke me up. Why?” They recognized that voice. It was him.
She spoke quietly. “I had to know… What did you do it?”
The headstone spoke again.
“It was either that or I kill you, Perhaps you should join me..”



 
 






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October 04th, 2020

10/4/2020

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I was uncertain if the bone-deep chill coursing through my body was from the frigid air or fear. But either way, The cold of the steel bars of the gate made my hands even colder as I pushed it open. The whistle of the wind through the undergrowth made the cold even worst.  Inside the stone wall, I tried to get my barring. But nothing looks the same as it did in the daylight. Come to think of it daylight hadn’t been that much brighter then it was now.  
I just needed to get in the old castle and back out again without dying. Not dying would be nice. I found the steps to the back door.   To my surprise, the key I’d stolen from the drawing-room fit the large cast-iron lock mounted to the door.  The key felt like it was going to break off inside the lock at any moment. But it held, and the works moved and I felt the tension release on the door as it loosened up. 
My heart was racing again as I pushed the door open. More cold air greeted me inside. 
Shining my flashlight around I found what I was looking for.
 On a small wooden table on the back wall of the room was a book. The large leather-bound tome was heavy.   I had to use both arms to cradle it to my chest to carry it. 
Just as I reached the door and was about to step back into the night air: I felt another presence.
 Turning around I looked back into the room. 
She was standing next to the stable where the book had been.
Hopefully, there was a spell in this book that would make her go away.

 

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    Picture


    500 Words
      The idea is to write a short story  about 500 max short based on a picture and an opening line.  
    ​From there one can go ANYWHERE..
    ​
    Please note: the images used are free-use images and do not require attribution.

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