PHOTO PROMPT © Rochelle Wisoff-Fields
He stood on the rocks, gazing out over the water as waves broke at his feet.
“She belongs to them now,” a withered voice spoke from behind.
He shook his head. “What right do they have?”
“That’s how it works. That’s how it’s always worked. We sacrifice one for the good of the many. It was your turn to offer the sacrifice. Simple as that,” the old woman replied.
“Will they kill her?” he asked, hopeful.
“You know better, James. They’ll turn her into one of them. She’ll be the monster that comes to take Peter’s little girl next cycle.”
—
I skipped last week because I was out of town having fun over the weekend and knew I wouldn’t be around to do any reading of the other stories. You can check out a bit of the fun I was having by visiting yesterday’s post.
Written for Friday Fictioneers.
Click here for stories from the other Fictioneers.
May 25th, 2016 at 11:18 AM
Oh! I do hope someone breaks the cycle.
May 29th, 2016 at 9:05 PM
Bad things will happen if someone breaks the cycle. Very. Bad. Things.
May 30th, 2016 at 2:32 AM
And you can write about them!
May 26th, 2016 at 5:25 AM
Scary to live in a society like that. Nice piece!
May 29th, 2016 at 9:06 PM
Sometimes I think its just as scary to live in a society like ours.
May 29th, 2016 at 10:09 PM
Wow! Creepy and leaves me so full of questions. What kind of monster? How long is the cycle? What becomes of her after she culls the next little girl? A quick read and fascinating world. Thanks for sharing!
May 30th, 2016 at 12:37 AM
How vicious! And now she won’t die either. Nice and dark.
May 30th, 2016 at 7:59 AM
Reads like a teaser to an episode of a science fiction show of some kind. Has promise! Nice job!
May 31st, 2016 at 6:04 AM
This is so good, it could be read in so many different ways. From mermaids or water-monsters over religion to politics…it could be anything. Great story.
May 31st, 2016 at 8:40 AM
Good story, well told. I’m longing to know who ‘they’ are.
May 31st, 2016 at 9:35 AM
This led me to the religions of the Stone Age, except for the name, James. The name James locates the period as rather resent. Then again I liked the term withered.
June 1st, 2016 at 4:37 AM
Poor people. Good but sad and creepy story, Adam. Well written as always.
—- Suzanne