Extraction Specialist

You are a spy who completes every mission with an old paperclip, some silly putty, and one of those shelf-grabber things. Retell your last sortie.

 

London – Expensive Hotel Suite Somewhere
     I ran the paperclip tip under my nail, forcing gunk and dirt to fall carelessly to the ground as I waited for my subject to wake up. Sitting across from her in a comfortable chair, I eyed her over my upraised hands. The older woman’s diamond necklace moved slightly with each deep intake of breath. Her sedative would be wearing off at any point now, and I had to consider how I was going to handle my next move.
     As the top extraction specialist in my organization, I’d been sent to this room for a very specific job. This woman had information that we needed, and I had limited time to get it from her. I eyed her designer dress and well primped hair, slightly messed from slumping over after I’d drugged her cup of tea. Looking past her carefully applied makeup, age spots emerged, wrinkles breaking the flow of porcelain illusion. I scoffed as I considered if the woman before me had ever had to work a day in her life, or if she’d clung to her husband’s overly expensive coattails and merely enjoyed the limelight. 

A Promise to Keep

Writing Prompt

Every night of your childhood, your parents set a trap outside your home. Nothing was ever caught, until the morning of your 18th birthday.

 

Unbearable Craving

[Prompt: Write a dark and gritty remake of your favorite kids show. Wait as long as possible to reveal what show you’re referencing ]

     The hulking beast lifted its snout into the air, sniffing with purpose. It was feeding time. When his hunger emerged, his benevolent demeanor receded, a controlling need for food claimed all reason. Looking around the woods once more, the bear set its paws into pace towards his prey.
     A set of eyes watched from the hovel beneath one of the great trees, the small creature within gripped with fear and anticipation. The bear didn’t even look twice towards the rabbit’s den, he knew his hunger was greater than what was within. He continued down the path towards the meadow.

Untraceable

[Prompt: The year is 2050. Everyone has a chip in their body. You are a nurse at an ER. Someone comes in without one. ]

     Chaos didn’t quite meet the level of disfunction that currently surrounded me. Crying and moans of pain came from every direction, doctors and nurses barked orders at one another, moving equipment, beds, body parts. I stared at the flow of insanity pouring in through the Emergency Room doors, unable to command my body. Like a deer in the headlights, I stood still and unmoving, not sure of what was about to hit me.
     A hand gripped my shoulder and shook me, ripping me free of the daze. I nearly dropped my MedPad as I jumped in response. My eyes shot to Ann’s face.

The Old Man

[Prompt: One day at home you are dusting off your pictures on the wall and you notice in all of the pictures there is a tall elderly man in a black button down suit standing in all of them but you’ve never noticed it before ]

     “Mark? Mark, are you listening to me?”
     I was sitting on a couch. I looked around the room, confused about my location. A large landscape painting dominated the wall above a desk. I looked to my right at the woman sitting in the chair. Her legs were crossed, skirt stopping just above the knees, grey blazer over a white blouse. She looked professional. Oh. She was professional. My doctor. Dr…
     “Mark? Are you here?”
     “Y-yes,” my throat felt dry. I cleared it, my voice was more steady as I spoke again, “Yes, sorry, I’m here Dr. Lima.”
     I’m sure the smile she directed at me was meant to be polite, maybe even encouraging. But to me, it just seemed sad. It seemed like she was pitying me.

From Our Dreams

[Prompt: It came from our dreams ]

     Sasha felt the warmth of the morning sun kissing her cheek before she reluctantly opened her eyes. Blinking slowly, she let out a deep sigh and stretched the sleepiness from her limbs. It took a moment for her mind to transition from the fuzzy dream state and into reality.  She was a slow riser, minimal responsibilities lent her the precious extra time required. Rolling to her side she glanced at the digital display on her night stand. 
     “Shi-“ she didn’t finish the profanity, too distracted by the realization that she was late. She didn’t typically have to be anywhere in the morning, but today was different. It was her eighteenth naming day.

From Our Dreams – WriteSemper

[Prompt: It came from our dreams ]

    They called us dreamers. They meant it as an insult, but we took it to heart and adopted the name. When we gained in numbers and began to build our own society, they started to question if dismissing us as a non-threat was the right decision. In truth we were never a threat. Not then. We wanted only the best for the world. Peace began to replace war, food found it way to the hungry, and cures healed the damned. The cautious had the right idea to not fully trust the dawning of what the optimistic were deeming the Golden Age. It was too good to be true, they said among themselves, and they were right. The world had to strike a balance, for there to be good, there had to be an equal amount of bad. Thus they appeared among us, the dreamers, and like one rotten apple spoils a bunch, they brought ruin to our good intentions.

Rise of the Cows -WriteSemper

[Prompt: The Mad cow disease outbreak of 1986 never happens. Instead, Rational Cow Disease spreads rapidly, significantly increasing bovine intelligence ]

    My feet scrambled for purchase as we rounded another corner in our attempt to escape from the facility. Grevoir had already made this trip three times before so we trusted him, but I couldn’t help but feel that the sound of our panicked steps over the polished concrete made too much noise. The dead of night helped to mask our movements but the tension in the air and the silence from Grevoir told us that something had not gone to plan.

Chosen Last – WriteSemper

[Prompt: A mysterious race of beings has appeared on Earth.  They’ve come with the promise of granting super-human abilities to a limited number of people.  You are the last person chosen, and find that all they have left are the “not-so-super-human” abilities. ]

    Picked Last. It was all Kayla could think about as she stood among a group of her peers that were selected from all around the world. When the benevolent beings, known as the Alovians (originating from the planet Alovia), appeared on Earth promoting peace with a sweetening deal of gifting powers to a limited number of people, Kayla had never thought she would be chosen. She stood on the line of average as a whole, neither standing out or falling behind in comparison to other humans. The odds of being selected by the Alovians were higher than winning the lottery so in retrospect, Kayla had no room to complain. Yet her annoyed grew as the room began to empty and she was the last among three to still remain.

The Call – WriteSemper

[Prompt: Thinking you’re just playing along, you take a  toy phone offered by a two year old. To your surprise, a voice from the phone says “Thank goodness! Listen, here’s what you have to do.. ]

    I never liked Gina’s backyard barbecue parties. The only reason I accepted her invitation and bothered showing up, was because in High School we had been best friends. Back then we were inseparable. We knew each others secrets and we lived to spend every day in each other’s company. Some people thought we were sisters, others thought we were secretly dating, but mostly people just didn’t understand the deeper connect shared between me and Gina.