A Story A Day Challenge 2024 – Mistakes Were Made

“Do you think it’ll work?”

Dan glanced over his shoulder at his wife. “Good question.”

“I’m serious.”

“So am I.”

He stepped back and eyed his handiwork. He followed the instructions, more or less. All they had to do was add batteries and see if the mobile worked.

“Crossing my fingers,” his wife said as she put the batteries in the compartment and switched it on.

At first nothing happened, then smoke started to leak out from the motor.

Switching it off, Dan shrugged. “Well, we did buy it second hand.”

“You just had to fiddle with it, didn’t you?”

A Story A Day Challenge 2024 – The Treasure Part 7

“HOLD!” Stu spoke the simple word, but the force behind it was commanding and full of unimagined power and Jake and the boss halted in mid step.

Not even a hair on their heads moved in the breeze coming in from across the valley.

Stu looked at his hand, and the object was gone. It infused into him on its own and he knew the process even if not what to call it.

The object was his ancestors, their consciousnesses and strengths placed inside it to be reunited, reborn through him.

This world was now his to command and rule.

The End?

A Story A Day Challenge 2024 – The Treasure Part 6

“That fool! It should be mine! I’m the one that claimed it!”

The boss’ thought came to Stu as easily as if the man had spoken them. He hadn’t told them what they were digging for, and if he had it wouldn’t have mattered.

He was the one to find it by design. It was part of him, part of his heritage, his family rite.

Even with his understanding, it was still hard to understand how something so… alien was his by rite, but it did explain why he never knew his parents. Why no record of him ever existed.

To be continued…

A Story A Day Challenge 2024 – The Treasure Part 5

Somewhere in the distance Stu thought he heard Jake and the boss call out to him, but they sounded like they were underwater. The only thing that matter was the urge to touch the object, to claim it as his.

He didn’t know why and he didn’t care. He just needed to have it.

Crouching, he reached out; his fingers twitching in mid air as if being tickled though he didn’t feel anything.

The object seemed to leap into his hand and he went rigid, his senses on fire. He could suddenly see everything, knew everything.

Especially his boss’ thoughts.

To be continued…

A Story A Day Challenge 2024 – The Treasure Part 4

Stu glanced around. No sign of Jake or their boss yet. Given how much they were being paid just to dig, he knew it was best to leave whatever it was alone. He may have already seen too much.

But he couldn’t walk away. Not now.

The object was a oblong sphere shape, like a football, but it was solid metal and shown like it was freshly polished under the sun.

Everything told him it couldn’t be metal or that polished, but as he pried it out the dirt fell away, like it was being repulsed.

If he touched it…

To be continued…

A Story A Day Challenge 2024 – The Treasure Part 3

“Well, now things are going to get interesting, ain’t they?” he mumbled as he carefully dug around whatever was buried there. It didn’t make a clang or thunk when he hit it like he thought a metal or wooden box would’ve.

That only brought more questions to the fore and he didn’t like questions. He liked things simple. Like he dug his hole and should be paid. Easy as pie.

As he dug, he angled the shovel to see if he could get under it and was pleased to find he could.

Prying it out, he let out a whistle.

To be continued…

A Story A Day Challenge 2024 – The Treasure Part 2

Luke stopped and came over next to Stu and crouched down. He pulled out his knife and stabbed it into the loose soil, seeing if he could find an edge.

It only took a few seconds, but he was sure he knew where to dig and used his knife to carve a small outline. “Dig here and we’ll find out. I’ll get the boss.”

“You got it.” Stu rolled his eyes, but he was grateful their dig — his dig — was almost over.

Using his shovel, he scrapped out the outline, making it wider so it wouldn’t accidentally be filled in.

To be continued…

A Story A Day Challenge 2024 – The Treasure Part 1

Stu stuck the blade of his shovel into the loose soil and rested his head on his gloved hand, sweat poured off his face.

“Tell me something, Luke. Why in the hell are we out here digging this hole in this heat? Even the animals are smart enough to not be moving.”

Luke paused and shrugged. “’Cause some rich guy wants this hole dug and he’s paying us handsomely. Good enough for you?”

Stu shook his head. “Guess I just want it to make sense.” He dug in and his shovel struck something hard. “Think we just found out why?”

To be continued…

A Story A Day Challenge 2024 – Surprise Return

The sky darkened slightly as rain started to fall, but it was light and would clear up in a minute. It’d been raining like that all day and Winnie wasn’t going to let it chase her indoors.

Besides, there was something soothing about the rain. It was comforting.

She let out a sigh and closed her eyes, thinking of what it’d be like to be in his arms again.

It’d been so long since he moved, she was starting to wonder if he’d forgotten, or worse, found someone else!

Someone sat next to her. “Hey you.”

“Stan? Oh, my God!”

A Story A Day Challenge 2024 – A Leg Up

“Come on, Jake! The water’s great!” Alice splashed at her boyfriend as he remained on the dock fully dressed and a book in his hand.

“Hey!” He shook the book to clear off any water before it ruined the pages. “Don’t do that, please. Haven’t you watched any of those shows? Don’t you know there are creatures in there that’ll eat you?”

She laughed as she backstroked away from the dock. “Nothing will eat you if you don’t get in here and relax!’

He said something, but before she could understand something wrapped around her leg and pulled her under.