Good morning and Happy Hump Day! If it's Wednesday, then it must be time for more flash fiction from the Wednesday Briefers! We're a group of authors who bring you our finest flash fiction every week, 500 to 1000 words, inspired by one of our prompts.
Turns out Uncle Benny doesn't have to testify after all. But that night, Vinnie has a bad dream. See what's happening in this week's chapter of Bad Karma and the Family Plan. Don't forget to visit the other Briefers and see what's up with them. Their links follow my tale! Enjoy!
That night I dreamed about Eva June. Probably the of
Chip, not to mention the baby gator, had brought everything to the forefront of
my mind in a jumbled cachopany of memories… with a little extra embellishment. In my dreams, Ethan and I were back where we’d
found her lifeless mangled body behind the restaurant where we’d been supposed
to meet her. But in my dream, when we threw open the car door, she floated out
from the driver’s seat, cackling in a most hideous manner.
“Are you happy now?” she said to me in an accusary
tone. “I know you never liked me, did you? You were always so mean to me. Can’t
a girl have a little fun without your making fun of her?”
I turned and tried to run, but she flew ahead of me
and blocked my path. “What, you leaving your boyfriend now too? That is so like
you, Vinny! Run away from everything like a whipped puppy!”
Her words stung, and though I tried to fight against
it, a whimper arose in my throat. I turned back to see Ethan standing by the
car, a sorrowful expression in his eyes. “Why are you leaving me, Vinny?” His
words were like a knife in the gut. “Don’t you love me, Vinny?”
I tried to rush back to him, to assure him that I
was his and only his, but suddenly he was gone, and I was back in Chip’s car,
and we were driving through Florida once again. But this time was worse. On the
road before us, I could see an inordinately large number of alligators milling
about, flashing their scarily large teeth. They seemed to cackle in the same
tone as Eva June. Did gators have the ability to cackle?
No time to worry about that. Chip stopped in the car
in the midst of the ferocious carnivores, reached across me and threw open my
door. Wth?
I turned toward him with an undoubtedly terrified
expression, but he answered my question before I had a chance to voice it.
“You’re getting out, that’s what. To have lunch with
your friends. I mean, they’re going to have you for lunch.” Then he began to
cackle in the same tone, causing the hairs on the back of my neck to stand at
attenion.
“No, please,” I begged. I searched for something to
hold onto, even as he began to boot me off the seat. I had never been so scared
in my life. To make matters worse, when I looked at the waiting alligators,
they seemed to be anticipating this culinary experience, bibs tied in place,
fork and knife in hand as they salivated.
I began to scream, crying out Ethan’s name, over and
over and over even as I was pushed from the car and directly into their
reptilian embrace. They surrounded me, encompassed me, and I could feel their
hot breath….
I awoke to soft kisses and soothing murmurs.
“Shh, baby, it’s all right. I’m right here. Shh,
shh…”
I gradually began to calm down once I realized it
had only been a dream. I wasn’t in Florida, I hadn’t seen either Chip or Eva
June, and I wasn’t about to become gator chow. I clung to Ethan tightly as he
continued to pacify me, tears beginning to fall. Eventually, I quieted enough
to tell him of my dream. He held me tight and swore he would never let anything
happen to me. Ever. Eventually, in Ethan’s arms I feel asleep once more and
slept the night through.
to be continued
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