gallery – friday fictioneers zeds 22 zombies
This story is prompted for Friday Fictioneers – kindly hosted by Rochelle Wisoff-Fields Come try your hand at a 100 word story. Here is today’s photo prompt
Reaper moves toward the epicenter of the hive – and realizes how its power grows
Elastic flesh encapsulated the hallways. Reaper stepped toward the lobby, boot-prints weeping ichor in his wake. Alone, every opening draped with red-blue veined flesh glowed opaquely from the sun without. The atrium held grotesque figurines – exaggerated, contorted and densely grouped toward the center.
One moved, as if the still air animated it and Reaper knew. Understood the hive, living evil, absorbed human minds and souls. He maneuvered through this gallery of sorrows to the center, bloody footsteps behind him and dropped the bomb in the center. It landed without sound. Turning, Reaper beheld a sea of zombies studying him silently.
To read the previous adventures of Reaper, the girl, Madman and the hive and it’s zombies, select catagories and Zeds or zombies
bwfiction 
Very tense and scary. Great writing.
thank you very much Claire!
very tense and anxious. well done. consider in this line: “He weaved through this gallery of sorrows to the center, bloody footsteps behind him and dropped the bomb in the center.” putting a comma after “him.”
thanks — will do — I was looking for another word than weaved. Does any come to mind ?
maneuvered?
thanks – I like that.
This had me feeling anxious to read more…I read faster with each word. It’s a shame it’s over…I want another 1,000 words. LOVED IT!
Tom
wow Tom thanks a million!
Oh my! Having been following for a while, getting into the heart of the hive is fascinating. Looking forward to when you ‘flesh out’ (sorry) this story into a whole novel.
thanks Anne – -that’s a thought more scary than zombies!
No, don’t get scared Bill, just have fun with it. Remember it’s not supposed to be perfect the first time around. The saying is ‘A book is not written, it’s rewritten.’ You get it all down and then learn how to edit it, which is how you add polish.
Grim for Reaper, but at least he is not lost yet. My hope is still for the girl 🙂
Thanks — the clock is ticking – literally 🙂
I couldn’t stop reading. The Reaper pulled me in.
Denmother
thanks!
Not a huge fan of this genre, but you write this so well. Scary, graphic, so descriptive. Its 9am here and my coffee has gone cold and I don’t feel at all hungry now! Hope there is a happy ending for Reaper.
Well done Bill
Dee
thanks Dee – a thoughtful comment is such a fine reward. If you ever come to Chicago I owe you a coffee 🙂
You’re welcome and I love Chicago …
Dee
🙂
gallery of sorrows – sounds awesome. i hate anything that’s yellowish and weeping, gross! but so good. wanna see what happens next ^^
Thanks KZ, I believe if he stays ( and he knows ) there he will become the newest member of the gallery of sorrows, so as my old rugby friend used to say, a “bug tussle” is near.
Glad you stopped by to comment.
Yikes!!
I could feel the fear, the urgency and the blood and flesh of the gallery of sorrows.
Very gripping!
thanks Parul – what if evil absorbed us and corrupted all we were? That is a terrible thought.
Thanks so much for stopping by.
“this gallery of sorrows “– a favorite line. your descriptions are grossly wonderful.
thanks!
Gruesome, and good!
thanks for stopping by
I don’t know about eating when reading these descriptions, Bill–pretty graphic stuff here and very well done.With that bomb in place, and Reaper still in the center of the hive, it’s hard to imagine a happy ending for the old boy. I’ll tune in next week.
thanks VB, I am channeling my inner Robert E Howard, and like Bran Mac Morn from “Worms of the Earth”, Reaper may have a primordial snarl of two left.
I really appreciate your comments
Love “gallery of sorrows” and I agree, you do this well. (Maybe I should check around the house to be sure there are no zombies hiding somewhere.) I’m just thankful I’m not seeing this on the big screen (although if I were, we’d be laughing all the way to the bank, so that might be OK, too.)
janet
I agree with Sandra.
thanks! my inner little boy ( and the current me ) delight in a gross out monster story 🙂
Oh no, please tell me he makes it. I need him to.
I love how you wrote this. The horrors with in and his attempts to destroy it. “Boot-prints weeping ichor.” I love that line. You do good work.
Thanks CC – in my most tongue in cheek cliche I can only say it is always darkest before the dawn 🙂
Dear Bill,
I had to look up ichor. EEEW. Reaper seems to have gotten himself into quite a predicament. Can’t wait to see how he manages to escape this one. (He does escape, right?)
Shalom,
Rochelle
Thanks Rochelle – like that old song – “don’t fear ‘for’ the reaper’ 🙂
Eek, and this is why I had to peek between my fingers when we were watching ‘Fringe’. You write this genre so well. Can I hide behind a cushion now?
yes, hiding now is good – but I like happy endings too 🙂
Now might be a good time for ‘beam me up Scottie’. The descriptions here were not meant for breakfast time, Bill. Terrifyingly graphic,
Thanks Sandra – right you are. I recommend snuggled up on the couch in the evening with popcorn!
I’m always glad when you stop by