Early Works - Flash Fiction Sample

Last week I talked about how I wrote a piece for my friend's newsletter while in High School and in that, I wrote my first flash fiction piece. This piece, called Tricks and Games, was one of my first, and one of my only, flash fiction pieces.

Enjoy!

Tricks and Games

            The moon was bright in the sky; the hunters had come out to play. Vampires walked the streets killing their victims, or turning them, which ever they wished. The hunters came out to stop the vampires, or lose their lives if they lost. The hunters came out looking for a fight, to capture a few to try and save those thought to be lost. What they found… was something they least expected to find – the one they didn’t have to hunt and capture, the one that found them.

            Gabriele walked the streets, his gun strapped to his side. He and his partner had split up, no reason for them to hunt for vampires in such a small area together. It was Gabriele’s idea to search alone, but now he was questioning his choice: “Stay in the car Matt, I don’t mind looking around by myself, if I need you I’ll phone you.”

            “Are you sure Gabriele, if you run into one of them they could –”

            “I know, don’t worry. I’ll be safe.” Gabriele pulled the jacket tighter. What was he thinking? He stopped walking, spotting another person. The guy was leaning against a car, smiling and watching Gabriele. Unsure of what was going on, Gabriele reached for his gun.

            “There is no need for that Gabriele.” The man’s voice was soft, sweet sounding.

            “Who are you? How do you know my name?”

            “I know a lot about you. You’re looking for vampires.” The man smiled and took a few steps towards him. “I am one of those you hunt.”

On instinct, Gabriele pulled his gun and aimed it at the vampire. “Stay back or I’ll shoot you.” The man stopped a foot away from Gabriele and held up his hands, then put them out in front of him, empty palms up.

            “You’re looking to capture, to try and find a cure to this ‘disease’. You wouldn’t dare kill me.”

            “If you try anything stupid I will kill you,” Gabriele growled.

            “I’m going willingly. I am a vampire, so tie me up and take me back to your place.” The vampire smiled. Gabriele pulled a set of cuffs from his pocket and stepped forward to cuff one of his new captive’s hands, pulling it behind his back before cuffing the other. He kept the gun trained on the man’s head.

            “Walk.”

*** 

"He just let you cuff him? Doesn’t that seem odd?” Matt asked cleaning out his weapons.

            “A bit I guess.” They were back at the base, the man locked in one of the cages. “We’ll start experiments on him tomorrow alright?”

            “Sure, night Gabriele.” Matt walked out of the room, heading home to his wife and kids. Before following, Gabriele checked the cage to make sure it was closed, eyeing the man in the cage. The man was smiling at him. “Sweet dreams Gabriele, and many pleasant thoughts.” Gabriele shivered and flicked off the lights, anxious to be home with his girlfriend.

***

Still smiling, Ryan stood in one fluid motion and dropped the spell around him, returning him to a sense witch once more. “They always fall for the same trick: Ah yes, I’m a vampire, please capture me.” He laughed, walked over to the cage door and inspected the lock. “Too easy,” he thought, pulling a set of picks from his pocket amused the two ‘hunters’ hadn’t searched him before locking him up. He began to work on the lock, humming to himself. After a few moments the lock clicked and he pushed the cage door open. “Very nice,” he mocked the lock. He glanced around the room as he stepped out of the cage, closing it behind him. “Now, let’s see.” He walked over to the door, unlocked it and opened it, looking out into the hallway. “No security system.” He nodded, smiling to himself. He went back into the room and searched through drawers until he found a piece of paper and a pen. He scribbled a note on the paper and placed it on the wall of the cell before leaving the office.

***

Gabriele stared at the message in the cage, eyes large with disbelief.

‘Dear Gabriele and Matt,

Thank you for the lovely way you captured me and put me in the cage, and, though I found this cage one of the easier ones to get out of, I enjoyed the way you treated me. You should make a point to add a security system to the outside of the office, just to make it a bit harder. Don’t worry I didn’t steal anything, and I’m sure you’ll find everything where it was. Thank you for the enjoyable time, and I wish you the best in capturing a vampire. Yours Truly,

 Your witch friend Ryan’

 ***

Later that night, Steven walked down the street, eyes traveling around the dark park. It was late and his partner had wondered off. He saw a man sitting on a bench and walked over to him. “Isn’t it a bit late to be out alone sir? There are creatures out here that will kill you.” Ryan looked up, smiling.

            “Like vampires Steven?”

Steven pulled his weapon, aiming it at Ryan

            “How do you know my name?”

            “I know everything about you Steven.” Ryan stood, putting his hands out, empty palms up, “I’m a vampire.” Steven scowled, and pulled a length of rope from his pocket to tie Ryan’s hands behind his back. He pushed the willing Ryan towards the car.

Ryan grinned, licking his lips, thinking, “Another game, another night, I really hope this cage is harder to get out of. I need a challenge.”