Tag: kill

23. How Was Last Night For You: Rianne’s Mugged and Nina Disappears.


Please read Chapter 22 here.

Chapter 23:  Rianne’s Mugged and Nina  Disappears.

Rianne’s head ached badly, and so did her once broken arm. She had been lying on it for what felt like forever. The more Rianne tried to escape the tiredness that plagued her, the deeper she fell into nightmares

Rianne dreamed Nina had a fish tale. She dreamed Jasper and herself were visiting Nina on a beach. Nina kept the lower half of her body beneath the waves and refused to come any closer to shore. Behind Rianne, Jasper regarded Sam and Eric playing in the sand. They were building sand castles as Rianne had shown them how to do properly.

Sam and Eric adored Auntie Nina and wanted her to come play in the sand too, but Nina only smiled at John’s nephews sadly; she waved her hands at them blowing both boys air kisses which they pretended to catch with their hands. Rianne reached out for Nina but her hands only grasped lake water. Her best friend and childhood pal, swam away into the Sirene Lake, a mermaids tale flicking behind her.

Rianne recalled Nina had always stood up for her since the time they first met in primary school. Nina was the girl who despite being shorter and smaller, beat-up other girls for pushing Rianne around on the playground and calling Rianne names. Rianne had grown tall and sturdy, but not until high school when she began to workout and play basketball. Rianne had been nearly fifteen-years-old before she began to grow into maturity.

Rianne wrinkled her nose. It smelt like Chinese food in her dream, Chinese food that was stale. Something wet dripped on Rianne’s face and she abruptly awoke. A homeless man leaned over Rianne, his water bottle in hand. His weathered face showed concern.

“Lady, are you okay? Sorry about pouring water on you, but you looked passed-out and I didn’t know another way to wake you without involving the police. We’re you mugged? ”

Rianne gazed up at the man from the sidewalk where she lay on her bad arm. She forced her body into a more upright position and realized her savior could badly use some help of his own. His shoes had holes, his clothes dusty, ragged, and tattered.The man carried an old backpack and his face was covered with a straggly grey beard. Rianne tried to thank the man, but no words came out of her mouth. She was relieved this homeless man was no foe.

“There’s a bump, a red goose egg on your forehead. It looks as though someone knocked you out and robbed you.” The homeless man said to Rianne.

Rianne groaned and rose to her feet hanging onto the homeless man for balance. She felt dizzy but not all that bad considering the bump she saw on her forehead in her reflection on the glass of the Chinese food place. Rianne checked the time on her watch which hadn’t been stolen. It was early morning, around 1:00 am; how long had she been passed-out?

After a while, Rianne was able to walk without help leaning on the homelessman or the window of the Chinese restaurant. Rianne smiled at the man in gratitude.

“Thank you for waking me up and ensuring I’m alright,”  she told the homeless man with sincerity. Rianne’s voice sounded groggy. The man grinned, showing teeth that needed dental work she knew he couldn’t afford. “I wish I could give you something, some money for helping me, but my purse is gone. It’s lime colored, you would see it if it was here.” The man chuckled.

” Someone stole your purse when they knocked you out. I’ve seen it occur before. It happens to quite a few woman at night. Maybe buy a cheaper purse next time. I’m betting your purse was designer.” The homeless man said knowingly.

Then he looked at the bags of food  by Rianne’s feet and smiled. “Can I have your food?” Rianne looked at the man confused at first. “Your Chinese food, it’s probably still okay to eat. I felt the bag, it’s kind of warm yet.”

“Are you sure it might be dangerous to eat now?” Rianne asked the man. He smiled at her again.

” For me it’s fine, I’m used to eating food with recent expiration dates,” the homeless man said chuckling again. Rianne slowly, picked up the food with her good arm and gave it to the man. She was sorry that stale Chinese food was all she had to give.

“My watch,” Rianne said suddenly, “you could take it and pawn it. It’s worth a lot. I received it from my Mom for my twenty-first birthday?” She held out her precious watch to the man. He took it placed it in her hand and closed Rianne’s fingers around it, shaking his head. The man observed Rianne closely.

“Are you sure you’re feeling okay, Lady?” Rianne nodded slowly.

“I’m a tad dizzy and my head hurts but I’m alright. I need to get back to my friend. I told her I’d be back with food hours ago. She’ll be worried.”

The homeless man thanked Rianne for the food after Rianne had reassured him she didn’t need to go to a near by medical clinic.

Rianne thanked the man again, for caring enough to wake her up and they parted ways. She wished there was a way to help him more, to give the homeless man something better then old Chinese food. But he seemed happy and declined to give Rianne any information so she could find him again and give him money.

 

She walked as fast as she could, back to Nina’s condo building, passing The Manhattan which was full of people having a good time before last call.

Rianne didn’t have her key, but luckily a neighbour was coming out the door and recognized Rianne as Nina’s friend. Delighted to see her and asking Rianne about the bump on her head, the kindly woman waved Rianne through the condo door entrance.

Rianne rode the elevator up to Nina’s condo on the seventeenth floor. She had a sick feeling in her stomach, as if something was wrong. Not only had Rianne been mugged two blocks from Nina’s condo, but she had had a weird dream about Nina being a mermaid.

Rianne contemplated her dream, wondering why she remembered it with such clarity. The dream about Nina being a mermaid seemed awfully coincidental considering curses, magic, and sea witches had become real to Rianne in the past few months. She pondered if her dream was as John’s dreams, a premonition of what could be.

Rianne’s head was pounding out a study rhythm when she entered the condo. Nina’s front door had opened without Rianne having a key. Rianne prayed this meant Nina was home safe. Instead, when Rianne walked into the condo she could immediately tell the condo was empty; something wasn’t right.

A messy scrawled note from Nina read that Nina was staying at Heather’s tonight. Nina hated staying at Heather’s place. Heather was a nice lady, but lately, she had had a lot of male company. Company Nina more then a few times, had run into as they were half-naked. Heather would later tell Nina: ” Oh he’s no one.” But Nina had preferred not to stay over at her Mom’s after running into her Mothers various lovers.

All these thoughts sprang to Rianne’s mind in an instant. She needed to talk to Jasper but she didn’t think she had a phone. Nina had no landline, only her cell and Nina’s cell was in Rianne’s purse. Amazingly, Rianne found her own cell half-charged in her pocket. It’s lime leather cover matched her stolen purse.

Rianne sat down at Nina’s kitchen table. Her arms were suddenly wet, there was water all over Nina’s table from a water pitcher. But the pitcher wasn’t leaking so how did the water get there?

Rianne dialed Jasper on her phone; her head throbbed painfully.

” Jasper, sorry to wake you but it’s me. I was mugged on the street picking-up Chinese food for Nina and I. It should’ve taken me fifteen-minutes but someone knocked me out. I have this horrible bump on my head.They took my purse. When I arrived back to Nina’s condo, her door was unlocked and she isn’t here. Her condo is empty.” Rianne said as quickly as she could manage.

” Huh, what?”  Jasper said sleepily but concerned, “Are you okay? Do you need to go to a hospital? You could have a concussion you know. Did Nina leave a note? Maybe give her a call on her phone?”

“Her phone was in my purse Jasper. I took it away from her because she kept looking at her phone to see if John had answered her messages to him. I was so stupid. I shouldn’t have taken it from her.” Rianne said.

“And there was this note. It was really weird it was on the kitchen table which was sopping wet. There is water all over the table and that is unlike Nina to leave water all over her table. The water pitcher wasn’t even broken.” Rianne was getting tears in her eyes. She was usually self-contained.

” What did the note say Ri?” Jasper asked her gently.

“It said she was staying at her Mom’s tonight. But Nina hates staying at her Mom’s house. She would’ve told me if she was going to be sleeping there earlier. I called Heather’s cell but she’s not answering. I’ve left several messages. What if Talise has Nina? What if she took Nina away and wants to kill her like John said?” Rianne was full-out crying now.

“What do we Jasper?” Rianne said fatigued.”John is out at Talise’s cave and Nina is mysteriously gone from her condo. Somethings wrong Jasper.”

“Call Heather again right now,” Jasper ordered Rianne. “I’ll be over soon. Maybe, I can reach John on his phone. He should be back from the cave by now, depending how things went. I should’ve never let him go alone, but he insisted. . .”

“It’s not your fault Jasper. John’s headstrong, especially where Talise is concerned. I’ll try calling Heather again but I don’t think she’s picking up the phone. Maybe she’s out with one of her boyfriends? Come quick and bring ice for my head.” Jasper sighed. She could tell he was exasperated with the entire situation.

” A homeless guy woke me up in time Jasper.” Rianne said trying to stop him for worrying. ” I’ll be okay. It’s Nina I’m worried about.”

“Alright, stay there at Nina’s don’t move.” Jasper told Rianne. “I’ll buy you a new purse and we’ll figure out where Nina is…What did the homeless guy say? I hope Nina is safe, John’s going to kill me. ..”

” Hurry Jasper, don’t worry about the purse right now. I love you.” Rianne told Jasper, hanging up on him before she started to bawl. Rianne didn’t say anything to Jasper, but she knew she was the person supposed to be watching Nina for John. This was her fault, Rianne told herself sternly.

Her head hurt painfully. She got up from the table and took two Advil from Nina’s medicine cupboard. Rianne changed out of her sweater with wet sleeves from the pool of water on Nina’s table, before soaking up the water with paper towel.

Exhausted and frustrated that Jasper was taking so long getting to Nina’s Condo, Rianne lay on Nina’s soft suede couch. She drifted in and out of a sleep of nightmares, none as clear as the one she had when she was unconscious earlier. Rianne knew she shouldn’t be sleeping after being hit on her head so hard, but she couldn’t help it; she passed out.

Suddenly, Rianne awoke. She heard the door knob turn on Nina’s front door and it startled her. The room was dark except for a lamp Rianne had turned on earlier. She arose carefully, and went to meet Jasper at the condo door. He hugged Rianne hard when he saw her, towering over her and giving her security.

” Are you okay? You shouldn’t be sleeping with a bump like that on your head.” Jasper shouted at Rianne. She glimpsed past Jasper’s shoulder and was relieved to see he hadn’t come alone, he had brought Jordan with him.

“Thank God your both here,” Rianne said tears sliding down her freckled cheeks. “I’m worried about Nina, we need to find her. Did you hear from John, either of you?”

“I talked to him briefly,” Jordan said curtly. He was trying to not upset Rianne and she could tell.

“Sit down both of you,” she commanded, “are Sam and Eric alright?” Rianne asked Jasper, slamming the front door and sitting beside Jasper.

“Yep,” Jasper said his arm around Rianne as he gently felt the bump on her head and reached down to a grocery bag for an ice pack. The ice stung Rianne’s bump but after a minute or two her head felt better. Jasper continued:

“Mom is watching the boys. They’ll be okay. Super thrilled to have Grandma take them for swim lessons tomorrow. How are you feeling Ri? That bump is nasty. I want Mom to look at it tomorrow.” Jasper seemed to be stalling and Rianne who was usually calm began to panic. She looked at Jordan:

” What did John say? Does he know where Nina is? Is she with him?” Jordan looked uncomfortable but began to talk anyways.

“John’s phone wasn’t working too well. Too much water got in it. He ran into Talise on her piece of paradise. She tried to trap him in the cave, but he managed to steal her dagger. She took my boat to shore and she was coming after Nina. But um, John injured Talise when they fought for the dagger, it effected her magic; she’s not as strong as she was and her barrier trapping John in the cave broke. John had to swim to shore. . . he’s so afraid for Nina. Then, John’s phone went dead . . .” Jordan let out a breath.

Rianne’s eyes were as big as saucers. “No, Talise can’t have gotten to land so fast could she Jordan?”

Jordan swallowed afraid. “John was at the harbor when I called him. We need to go there, I think. If Talise has Nina, that’s the first place she’ll be. And we need to find John, he must be exhausted and freezing.”

” I agree,” Jasper said. His voice was firm and he looked angry as Rianne had never seen him before.

“Let’s go guys,” Rianne said, “Damn it, my keys were in my purse.”

“You hurt your head,” Jasper said tenderly, ” I’ll drive.”

All three of them ran down the stairs as it was faster then taking the elevator. They sped off in Jasper’s car towards the harbor, to the Sirene. All of them were afraid of what had become of John and Nina.

Please Read Chapter 24 here.

©Mandibelle16. (2016) All Rights Reserved.

Sunday Photo Fiction: “The Undead”


Darren glances behind him. He has to be sure those mummies aren’t following them.”Katie, do you see any of them?” She peers around the side of the large red double-decker bus. 

” I – I don’t think so, I think you blew them up when we were running,” Katie gasps. Their colleague, Todd , hurriedly gets on the double-decker and hot wires it; he is the only one of them able to drive a bus.

“Quickly,” Katie shouts, “On the bus! We’ve got to outrun these beasts. They’re the undead. Darren and Todd may have blasted a few of them, but they’re relentless.” Darren steps on the bus grasping his machine gun, a fearful feeling in the pit of his stomach. 

Todd’s girlfriend Mimi, is in the back of the bus, her own machine gun pointed out a back window. Todd drives the bus, as fast he can maneuver it. The double-decker interrupts the flow of traffic and the bus is nearly hit.

The landing of heavy bodies on the top level of the double-decker makes Katie scream. Darren reloads the ammo in his machine gun and soon he is blowing the undead a part. More undead keep landing on the roof. ” Mimi, where are you?” Darren calls, overwhelmed.

Mimi arrives on the top of the bus and begins her own rampage, decimating their enemy. Finally, the lethal Prince of the undead arrives. He was mummified alive thousands of years ago and is nicknamed the Poison Asp. He is not a large man, but deadly nonetheless. 

Darren and Mimi go flying back as he appeares, falling on the top floor of the bus. The Asp is headed for Katie; he has chosen her as his new bride. 

The Prince heads for the stairs, but Darren fires his machine gun at him, distracting the Asp. Mimi stealthily tapes an explosive to the Asp’s long robes. The Prince is furious and while Darren struggles with him, Mimi rushes downstairs and yells to Todd and Katie: “Evacuate the bus.”

 Katie screams as there is an explosion atop the bus, she is sure her lover Darren is dead.

Suddenly, Darren appears running from the flaming bus.”I think the Asp is dead …” 

 The group watches the bus, driverless, headed into a dead-end street. An even more terrifying explosion, has the entire bus blown into flaming wreckage.

“He’s gotta be dead,” Mimi pants. It is then that they realize Katie is gone. A piece of parchment with the Asp’s Egyptian symbol lays where Katie last stood.

“My God,” Darren says furiously. “I’m going to kill that mummy, if it’s the last thing I do.”

——-

 

A Mixed Bag
 
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My inspiration today comes from the movie “The Mummy 2” with Brendon Frazier and Rachel Weizs. I have to say, I can watch the first two Mummy movies over and over again 🙂

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Thanks to Alistair Forbes for hosting SPF.

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©Mandibelle16. (2016) All Rights Reserved.

3Line Tales – The Luxury of Colour


Thanks to Sonya from Only 100 Words for hosting the 3LineTales Challenge.

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Liam Desic
 
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1.Flags fluttering multicolour and multicultural in the breeze; there is a feeling of hope in the air for refugees coming to this country to escape terrorism and a terrible life in their home countries; so many have come seeking a new life and to escape the horror that was life back where they were from; many people wonder at the luxuries afforded in the western world, even the multicoloured flags seem extravagent, yet strangely exciting.

2. Jas looks at all the colourful bright flags with ecstatic joy; wearing bright colours where he lives means you are more likely to get shot; Jas feels the warm fleece of his red sweatshirt and grins, he loves the colour red, the colour of hope, life, and love; Jas loves all the colours of the flags, he wants clothing in every colour because in this country he is free — no one will kill him for his love of freedom and vibrancy.

3. A woman with a hijab stares up at the flags, all in primary and secondary colours. Where she is from the women wear black, the coloured flags are bright for her eyes but she is quickly growing used to their beautiful rainbow look as they flap like clothing on a clothes line; the woman fingers her hijab wondering if Allah would be upset if she wore a hijab in a jewel blue, or lapis luzia blue; she doesn’t say her thought aloud but the amount  of colour in this new country is making her dream and hope, if only for the luxury to wear blue.

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©Mandibelle16. (2016) All Rights Reserved.

Sunday Photo Fiction: A Terrible Beauty


On an acre of land behind my Grandparents acreage and Church, was a decrepit house. My Grandpa swore it was deserted.
One day when my Grandparents were both napping inside, I crept towards the decrepit house behind our land. 

I tiptoed slowly to the door of the ramshackle house and the door creaked loudly as I opened it. I saw a fireplace burning and in the corner a dirty bed with worn blankets. I noticed off to the side an ancient brass stove. It was hot when I touched it burning my finger. 

Suddenly, I bumped into a filthy old woman with pale eyes. She smiled at me with menace.” Just what I needed” she said, “God has granted me new life, he has given me you. I needed the heart of a young girl so I could be young again.”

I began to cry and back away but the old woman, a witch, was behind me fast.  I felt myself falling into a deep sleep. But I could see what was happening to my body. The witch reached in my chest and pulled out my glimmering heart and pressed it into her own chest. 

Instantly, I could see she was both terrible and magnificently gorgeose. She kissed my face, “Dear one,” she murmured and my body disappeared into thin air. She had a cursed beauty.

I awoke suddenly. I was in a tranquil place. My Great Grandmother, Molly, was brushing my hair.” She’ll kill again,” I murmered. Molly looked at me and grabbed my chubby cheeks in her hand.

 “Anna, she will receive her punishment in the end. Remember she is darkness, and light always drives out the darkness.”

Alistair Forbes
 
Thanks to Alistair Forbes for hosting SPF.

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“…though truth and falsehood be / [n]ear twins, yet truth a little elder is… (72-73)” – “Satire 3” John Donne.

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©Mandibelle. All Rights Reserved.

Poem: ” Wishful Thinking.”


Some celebrate the season with their loved —

Ones, Some celebrate with their dogs and cats.

Others seek solace in a church and they pray and they —

Sing, of a child born Christmas Day and they,

Remember that child died on a cross when–

He became a man and preached to the poor.

He healed the blind and the lame and he even,

Let Pharisees accuse Him of crimes he never,

Committed because he knew there was more,

Meaning in his death; as there was such joy,

At his birth. Where wisemen followed a star,

And Angels sang his glory, while his Young,

Mother Mary, treasured everything in,

Her heart and rejoiced that her baby would,

Save the human race and defeat death and,

The devil, so that we can all go to heaven.

And be free and eternal, finally perfect,

And praise God for that little baby forever. 

But some don’t know that story, some only– 

Know they have nothing to eat and that they,

Are spiritually weak because they can’t think,

Much beyond each day because they cannot,

See the light in the tunnel, they are suffering.

And thinking to far in advance would make,

Their eyes tear up with sorrows and they can’t,

Be weak if they are to survive the pain.

Some people are alone having lost their loved,

Ones, or they are living far away while,

Their family lives somewhere else and I hurt,

For the people who can’t celebrate with–

Utmost Joy, the birth of a Saviour and have,

The blessing of their family to support them. 

It is Christmas time and as much as we,

Are all together, some people are close,

To falling apart because they cannot,

Be happy at Christmas, they have lost their,

Holiday cheer because bad things happen,

At Christmas too and it’s hard to be full–

Of joy, when you are hurting more then is,

Obvious to other people even;

Though you wish you could be a person,

With only thoughts of laughter and cheer.
Music Video: Hallelujah – Jeff Buckley

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©Mandibelle16. All Rights Reserved

Writing, Mockingjay 2, and Christmas



My week has slowed down considerably since my course is done. I was happy with the way the course went even though it was frustrating to get notes throughout the course. The frustration was worth it in the end. I have taken basic Creative Writing or fiction courses before so I was looking for maybe an art course I could take in the afternoon but all the courses I’m interested in are at night and like with academic courses, it is even more difficult to draw or paint at night. I’m not sure why because it use to be so relaxing but I end up doing most of the work in the day because I’m not able to do art for long at night. Thus, I have opted for a writing course, a general course on fiction online through Simon Frasier University. There is a course in spring about finishing your works of fiction when you have your manuscript, which looks informative too. I don’t have a full manuscript though it has been a long time since I have felt like I could work on my book. I have some revisions to do first on the chapters I have, due to some critiques from a course I submitted it for. As well, I have been stuck at this one section where my main character is going to her boyfriend’s office party. I have to work out some aspects about setting too. I was picturing a Vancouver like place but I have never been to Vancouver besides in the airport. I am building up some Airmiles so maybe I will have to take a week trip there this year. Perhaps, one of my brothers would come with me or my Mom. Anyways, I am getting ideas for my book so Christmas maybe a good time to begin work on the revisions to start.

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Yesterday, I met my brother and his girlfriend for a movie. We went to see Mockingjay 2 from the Hunger Games movie series. I had seen part 1 with both my brother and his girlfriend and she immediately went home and read the books and saw the earlier movies.

SPOILER ALERT: if you haven’t seen the last movie or read the last book don’t read on.

I loved Mockingjay Part 1 and I was anxious to see how in the movies they would complete the process of war against President Snow and the Capitol. I think Katniss is aware that she is being used by President Coin, District 13’s leader. But I don’t think she realizes to what degree until it is too late. Katniss is the figurehead, the face the citizens of each district rally for. She is the Mockingjay and Coin effectively uses her to distract President Snow, Katniss, citizens from each district, and any other people supporting the districts emancipation from the Capitol. Coin uses Katniss, and swoops in to be President of the Capitol, saying she will hold elections later, when the state of Panem has calmed down.

Ironically, President Snow knows he is facing defeat when he calls all the people of the Capitol city to come and be safe at his home where he will provide shelter and food. The worst part of the movie is when you think President Snow directs the peacekeepers to put all the children ahead of everyone else seeking shelter, in barricaded areas. Then little packages come floating down. The children think they are presents but they are much worse. They are bombs and it appears as if in a last act of tyranny, Snow has blown the children of the Capitol to pieces.

But Katniss discovers something when she talks to Snow in his rose garden after Coin and the Districts have taken over. Snow reminds Katniss even though he has few morals he wouldn’t kill all those children because it would be unnecessary. He was already defeated. It was Coin who bombed all the children, killing Katniss’s sister and making President Snow appear supremely tyrannical even to his own guards and citizens of the Capitol. What is more painful for Katniss is the fact Gale was apart of Coin’s plan, on purpose? I don’t know. Gale apologizes to Katniss for not taking care of Katniss’s family as he promised he would. But it is too late, the idea of bombing civilians who were powerless had been his idea to begin with.

I liked Gale and wanted him to end up with Katniss. But once Gale saw how the Capitol treated the people of District 12 and destroyed the District, he developed a kill or be killed view Katniss didn’t agree with. He believes it is okay to have civilian casualities if they are the enemy. But he sees how terrible his thinking is when he looses Katniss, his bestfriend and the girl he loves. Not to mention, the relationship between Katniss and Peta becomes apparent as Katniss and her military team fight their way to Snow so Katniss can kill Snow.

When Katniss finds out what President Coin has done she waits for her moment to strike. When Coin calls for a meeting of all the remaining Hunger Game participants to have one last Hunger Games with children of the Capitol’s citizens, instead of executing everyone involved with Snow’s government, Katniss agrees. Her and Haymitch sway the vote. But Katniss only agrees because she is allowed the honour of killing Snow.

Katniss is particularly brilliant in her actions. But little does she find out that she and even Coin are being used by the second Game maker of the Hunger Games, Plutarch. Plutarch is aware of the moves people will make even before they will make them; he is the ultimate game maker. So, everything goes according to plan when Katiness directs her arrow at  Coin instead of Snow. Snow is dying anyways, and a mob of people finish the job. Coin lies dead, no better then Snow.


But as Plutarch planned the 75th Hunger Games, he directs Katniss and Coin in their actions, as if he is directing a larger Hunger Games, the freedom of Panem. Katiness’s killing of Coin is pardoned by a new elected leader of Panem, one of the other District leaders. Her death makes elections a definite event that will continue to occur in Panem for the future. With Katniss, Plutarch directs the forming of a new government for Panem and a better life for all its citizens. He writes Katniss a letter admitting to using her, and not regretting it.

In the end, Katniss having lost Gale — her bestfriend, her little sister Prim, and a great part of herself, goes home to live in the victor’s houses with Haymitch in District 12. She is overjoyed to find Peta there one day planting prime roses in honour of Prim. The end of this series is wonderful because we see two people broken by the awful Hunger Games, war, and lost loved ones, be at peace in Disrict 12.

Katiness hunts again. She lives with Peta and they have two children together. How does she sort through all the tragedy she’s experienced? She makes lists of all the good things people have done in her head and these lists get her through her nightmares. The good in people make her journey worth all the people who have died in the Hunger Games. It makes it worth the people she killed, were killed for her, and because of her, all since she volunteered for The Hunger Games. Lists about the good things people do make Katiness able to live with herself and create a life for her family.

I loved the whole series. It was one of my favourite book to film adaptations I have seen. And I loved the vivid and creative costumes worn by the people in the Capitol. They were indeed lavish and vein, as they were beautiful. If you haven’t seen or read the series, I urge you to check out The Hunger Games. The first time I received the intial novel I thought what weird book did my friend give me. But I was hooked once I started reading and you will be too. Whether or not you read, or watch, or do both.

Mockingjay Part 2 Trailer:

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Christmas is close, I’m looking forward to our family traditions of snacks and church on Christmas Eve and Christmas Dinner on Christmas Day. I’m trying to visit and talk to many friends who have some time off. I have lots planned. I am looking forward to getting my haircut and nails done next week and to getting my final shopping items. I am hoping everyone likes their presents and I’m looking to getting myself a nice tablet. My old one has had it! I want to do baking still and I would like to see a couple more movies. There are some good ones that are out besides Mockingjay 2 and Spectre which I wrote about in an earlier post. Joy with Jennifer Lawrence, Bradley Cooper, and Robert Deniro looks great. Reminds me I have to watch a couple old Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper movies that came after Silver Lining’s Playbook. There is a great sequal to the Tim Burton directed Alice in Wonderland. If you’ve read the book you’ll know that the sequal is Alice Through The Looking Glass. Johnny Depp returns as the mad-hatter and Sasha Baron- Cohan an actor I never would have thought would go much of anywhere, shows his versatility by playing ‘time’ in this movie.

Anyways, that’s all for now.

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©Mandibelle16. All Rights Reserved.

Two Sentence Horror Challenge: The Hunt.


Her clawed hands ran over her face and body as she touched the textures of fur, sinew, and teeth. Sensitive hearing caught the echoes of humans hiking near by and she salivated, while razor sharp fangs and her muscled wolf body prepared to gorge on throats.

Thanks to Amirhosein  for hosting.

Sunday Photo Fiction: A Sordid Affair


Apology: I’m sorry, this is way too long for Flashfiction but the story just developed and formed. I tried to cut it down and it’s still too long 😦

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I am sitting by a government building and admiring its interesting architectural elements. I am waiting for my contact to arrive. 

It’s fall and I can feel the nip in the air as winter approaches. It’s why I have chosen to wear my new coat. It’s long, hits me mid-calf, and is made of a silk-lined pink-wool with black buttons.  My makeup is flawless down to the lipstick that matches my coat and my hair is curled artfully. I’m anxious, but I need to appear in control. 

My contact ‘Winston’arrives. He is dressed impeccably in a tailored suit and expensive shoes. He could be any government businessman. Winston looks at me and  I can tell from his calm expressionless demeaner he knows about ‘intrigue’ well.

“Do you have it?” I ask him curtly “you’ve had plenty of time.” He looks at me sternly, “time is money” Winston says and I hand him a small bag filled with twenty-thousand dollars. 

I stare up at Winston and hold out my gloved hand. He places a small memory stick in the leather of my palm and passes me a hard copy in an envelope. “It’s pretty obvious” Winston murmers matter-of-factly, ” Senator Smith’s wife is cheating on him. She has been for seven years. Two years after he found out, he began his own affair.”

“And before?” I  question.

 “He was faithful for the five years they dated. Since the day he meant her, he never slept with another woman until five years ago. Before Ashley, um you…  he was miserable. He channeled his energy into his work and became a young Senator.” I shook Winston’s hand,”anytime, Ms. Taylor.”

I stare at the memory stick with the evidence of Linda’s affair. I knew about the affair of course. Jamie’s wife Linda was the one who first cheated. He had loved her deeply. She had wounded him and he hadn’t recovered until he meant me. But Jamie was still married to Linda. A piece of his heart hung onto her, even though she was always with Daniel (Jamie’s cousin) and hardly spoke to Jamie. 

Slowly, I walked away from the ornate government building, walked down the street past some trendy shops, and into a restaurant called Linguini, where I met Daniel, Linda’s boyfriend. 

“She gets a divorce or she disappears,” I tell Daniel. Daniel’s face turns pale when I present him with the envelope Winston gave me.”Why does she string Jamie along Daniel? You and I could both be free to be with who we love, if only Linda would sign the divorce papers.”

Daniel sighs, “she won’t sign the papers because she gets almost nothing. Just a million for twelve years of her life.”

“But she cheated first and she hates him now. Jamie didn’t start seeing me until two years after Linda first cheated. She had her chance.”

“It makes me angry too, Ashley. I have lots of money, but she gets hysterical when I ask her about signing the divorce papers.”

“If she doesn’t the media will know what a whore she was. How she ripped apart her marriage with the senator, cheating with you. If that’s not enough I’ll have her sent away. She’ll never see you again Daniel.”

A growl comes from Daniel, ” I’ll get her to sign the papers. I wish you would have came to me and we could have worked out a better situation for both our lives, Ashley. You didn’t have to play dirty.”

Daniel left the restaurant quickly and I sipped my Mascoto deep in thought. Jamie arrived soon after, his eyes sparkling at me  serenely.” I have missed you so much,” he tells me kissing me softly and then deeply as we get lost in each other. 

Jamie sits down beside me and puts his arm around me while we order food and drinks. “I have something to tell you,” I start talking nervously. I tell Jamie the whole story of me highering Winston to dig up proof of Linda’s indescretions. When I’m done talking a tear escapes my eye and Jamie wipes it away with his thumb. 

“Ash, I wish you’d told me sooner. We both would have felt better if I knew what you were doing.”

“Are you mad?” I manage.

“No, not mad at all. This proves to me what I know; you love me and are faithful to me. You’re also a smart and savvy woman. I told myself I’d never be fooled by a woman like Linda again. That’s why I sent her the divorce papers and that’s why she’ll go to trial and get the death penalty if she doesn’t sign the divorce papers.” I gasp. 

Jamie’s face has gone rigid and I can tell it is difficult for him to say the next words:”We did have a child once. A little girl named Amber. She was sweet and only two when Linda strangled her for crying loudly when they were home alone one night. Linda said the noise was driving her crazy. . .” I huddled into Jamie stunned. With a vacant look in his eyes Jamie whispers,”she was my wife. I kept her secret. I thought she was depressed. Then I found out she was cheating.” 

“That’s terrible Jamie. I can’t believe you’ve been keeping this inside you all these years.” I whisper. 

He smiles at me, “two years later I met you and you made me feel whole again. I promised myself I would cut ties with Linda. She wants more money but I won’t give her a cent. She killed my innocent daughter, and I have all the evidence necessary to put her in jail on death row.”

The food arrived and Jamie and I ate hungrily keeping us from saying more about the situation. Although, I wanted Linda gone, apart of me wondered whether she had struggled with postpartum depression; maybe she was still dealing with a mental illness untreated. She did seem volatile.

One instant I was eating and the next I heard a commotion in the restaurant. Linda was standing at our table screaming at Jamie. Daniel was close behind her trying to calm her down. I guessed his discussion with her based on my threats hadn’t gone well. 

Linda threw the divorce papers on our table and shouted, “I want more money! If you don’t give me more, I’ll shoot the skank.” A handgun was pointed at my chest. Daniel and Jamie were carefully, attempting to settle Linda down and obtain the gun when Linda cracked and pulled the trigger. People screamed as the shot rang out. 

I felt a burning in my chest, then extreme pain. I saw the blood on my hands as I tried to stop the steady oozing with my thick wool coat. Everything was happening quickly. Then Linda held the gun to her own head and despite pleading from Daniel, and the sounds of horror others were making in the restaurant, the gun went off. I briefly thought about how many people at Linguini would be traumatized by this shooting;  not only Daniel, Jamie, and I. 

I shrieked, surprised I still had a voice. My head was cloudy and I ached in pain as Jamie was trying to stop the flow of blood on my chest and call 911. Daniel was a mess as he cried over Linda’s body. There was blood everywhere and I registered the noise and panic of the people around us from a distance. 

I slept fretfully for ages. I dreamt awful scenarios and I almost woke up before tumbling back into a nightmare. When I finally awake, I’m at a hospital and I can see out a window to the government building below. My memory is pricked but Jamie is asleep beside me, his head on the bed. I adjust my position on the bed as carefully as I can without hurting myself and waking Jamie. 

The funeral for Linda was weeks ago. Daniel was devastated, especially when Jamie told him about his past with Linda. He felt Daniel had a right to know the truth. 

I had been in the hospital a month in semi-consciousness. I almost died and Jamie had spent most of his time waiting for me, (while taking a leave of his senate responsibilities)to wake up and live the life we wanted together. “We’re free Jamie,” I tell him when I am allowed to leave the hospital. He grins and my pulse increases.

 “I thought I’d lost you Ashley. The doctors told me it was a long shot you’d recover. ” I held Jamie’s hand in solidarity. I was done with intrigue and blackmailing people, for now…

  
Thanks to Alistair Forbes for the prompt picture. 

Literary Lion: What makes a King?


What makes a king? A Cesar? A Czar? What makes you royalty? What gives you the birth right to rule the people with mercy or with grim authority? Who decided back in your lineage that you weren’t just a common person but someone to rule the kingdom? Someone to rule the battlefield? Someone to dispense justice to the common person? 

Do you believe that other people have a say in how you rule as king?Do you have a legislative assembly? Or a House of Lords? Do you believe in habeas corpus and the Magna Carta? Or are you like many kings living a life with swift and hard justice and treating anyone below you as a pawn? Can you sleep with whoever you decree? Do you murder the innocent and take out those who would take your place as king?

 Do you love your Queen or was it just an arranged marriage that begot you a huge dowry of money. Do you behead your Queens when they are not giving birth to sons or if you suddenly fall in lust with another woman of nobility. Does your Queen give you wise advice or would you kill her for saying her opinion. But there are some great Queens who ruled on their own Elizabeth the first and Queen Victoria. What King, do you say to that?

Do you want to be a King? Or was this birth right cast upon you as irons on a prisoner? Do you embody chivalry and rule the court with fashionable clothes and whatever you decree in fashion is in. Do you have many homes? Did you plot to kill your brothers? What makes a king? Who was a good King? It seems like Charlamagne was. But what’s history is textual and what’s textual is history so whoever wrote a book about Charlamagne perhaps left out the horrible things he did as King.

 What embodies a king? I think as It is said ‘Absolute power corrupts absolutely” so that is why our kings are a dying breed. That they have become figure heads and just a kind of celebrity. it’s too easy to be a bad leader, a corruptable King. So now we elect our Kings only for a few years. And the common man isn’t just common, he could be a modern King — a President or Primeminister. So if he is a corrupt elected official we impeach them or shame them into stepping down.

Thanks to I am Smith for the prompt King.