“Mists” By Raymond Roy #writephoto

She leaned back into the tree hoping that her natural curves would blend in with the silhouette of the mature oak tree. She had run all night, her throat was parched. Torturously, a heavy mist hung thick in the morning air..she could feel the clay drawing all the moisture out of her feet. Sweat saturated her thin cotton work dress. Cotton, how she hated even the thinking of that word.

She could hear the dogs barking across the field, but she dare not look. As the fog began to dissipate, a curious squirrel stopped for a look, clacking it yellow teeth together emitting a territorial chirp. The trunk of the mighty oak was carpeted with a thick layer of moss it felt good against her scarred back. Subtly she turned and faced the moss. Like a butterfly gathering nectar, she pursed her lips and with a gentle flicking motion of her tongue, gathered the surface tension strained dew droplets from atop the many tiny moss rosettes.

She knew that moss primarily grew on the North side of a tree. She now had her bearings. North. To freedom.

-Goroyboy

Written for Sue Vincent’s #writephoto prompt fiction.

Society’s Tourniquet By Raymond Roy #FFFAW

Rattle Rattle, “spare change?” , “help a brother out”? 
Pan handling, it’s not so bad. You never have to worry about making eye contact with anybody. Although the concrete IS hot in the summer and sucks the life’s blood out of you in the winter. My knees ache, and butt gets numb at times. Don’t have to worry about feet getting cold since I left those back in Afghanistan. 

Hard concrete flashback: snapping in honing our marksmanship skills in the Marine Corps. The circle was asphalt, the rifle sling was tourniquet tight. We knelt facing a target, not firing, just developing muscle memory. Bam!! I saw stars as the DI slapped the rifle against my face, “tighten it up maggot”.

 Bam!! Back to reality, a car backfires. 

A long legged fur coat wearing high society type approaches the entrance to the high rise apartments with her fru-fru K9. She stops momentarily, takes out a tissue and wipes the dog’s arse. 

What’s wrong with this picture? 
Rattle Rattle, “spare change?” , “help a brother out”? 

Word count-174

Written for Flash Fiction for Aspiring Writers 

Semper Fidelis to all my Marine brethren. 

Fear No Evil by Raymond Roy. #writephoto

Shackled to a 4×4 beam.  Shoulders ached. 12 hours earlier, The Pharisees had returned a verdict of guilty. Guilty of not following doctrine. For daring to question ritualistic antiquited practices. Immediately, they strapped the timber behind my neck and across my shoulders sent me off into the desert. Feet raw, and head throbbing, I approached what seemed a porthole, I could see a green valley on the other side. You could hear the bubbling sound of a stream. Just to the left of the entryway, a prominent hieroglyph was etched. “With burdens of the world, no man shall pass and enter… “. 
There was no way the large timber would pass through the porthole. Digging deep, I proceeded to bang the beam against the granite walls. Skin rubbed raw, freshly burst blisters stinging from salty sweat and blood. One final thrust and I was free. Finding my balance, I reapproached the portal and dusted away the remaining portion of the hieroglyph.  “With burdens of the world, no man shall pass and enter into the valley of the shadow of death. “

Written for Sue Vincent’s  Photo prompt  #writephoto Special thanks to Sue for Hosting!