Here it is. My entry into this weeks challenge for Finish the Story Contest hosted by 
Kayla
by 
Kayla’s boots hit the ground. The dry earth scattered into dust clouds as she strode across the front of the house. Manny was late again.
The harsh sun beat down against her brown skin. She looked off into the distance, the heat haze sat above the plain, rippling the sight of the far off mountains.
She lifted her arm, checking her watch. The sun reflected across the scratched screen. She ran her finger over the deepest scratch. It had still worked after her accident.
A young boy came hurtling out of the front door and blindly ran straight into her. The force knocked them both to the ground.
She fell hard. Her limbs scraped against loose stones and the scorched dirt.
“What in the devil are you playing at?”
She got up quickly, patting herself off in the process.
The young boy sat still. Tears rolling down his dirty cheeks. He coughed as he struggled to breathe, the fine dust getting into his lungs.
Manny stepped onto the veranda and placed his hands on his hips. His shirt hung open and his hat tilted on his head.
Kayla shook her head at the sight of him. She had known Manny her entire life but she was always surprised to see him so relaxed at his home.
“This your boy Manny?”
“Aye, that be Thomas.”
“He make yer’ late then?”
Manny walked down the front steps and helped his son up. Thomas took the offered hand reluctantly.
Kayla chuckled to herself.
“Better bring him with us. ‘Bout time he learned the family trade.”
Manny and Thomas followed Kalya towards her truck. The truck smelled of licorice and sawdust. The engine rattled into life. Thomas slid into the centre. His eyes still pooling with tears.
Manny opened up a hip flask, taking a sip. He growled as the harsh liquid hit his throat. He passed it to Kayla, she drank as she drove across the open land.
“What them tears about then?”
She asked as she passed the flask back.
Manny laughed. “He got a clip round the ear for talking cheek to his mother, didn’t ya’ boy?”
Kayla gripped the wheel tighter as the truck bounced over the rough terrain.
“Well, that seems rightly deserved then. Ya’ don’t talk like that to your ma kid, ya’ just don’t.”
The truck swayed as the tires followed the grooves and tracks of the land. Thomas was the most affected by the force, having spent very little time in vehicles of any kind. He watched as the truck traveled through a river, unaffected by the water.
Manny lit up a cigarette and tilted his head back as he exhaled. The smoke filled the air quickly, Thomas started coughing.
“Quit it will ya manny. The kid got weak lungs or summit’?”
“He’s a weaklin’ alright.”
Manny laughed as he clapped his son on the back.
Flicking the cigarette out of the truck, Manny took another swig from the flask. The liquor went down more smoothly.
Kayla pulled into the back of the house they just arrived at and shuts of the engine.
Manny handed Kayla the flask and got out of the car. His boots sunk into soft mud. He looked over toward the house spotting the busted spigot. He picked up Thomas and set him down on the dry dirt.
"Watch yer step, boy. Track mud in the house means a switch for you when we get home."
Thomas looked down at the ground.
"I didn't hear ya, boy."
"Yes, pop."
Kayla grabbed a shovel, a pick axe, and a bag from the back of the cab.
"Do ya have to be so hard on 'im, Manny?'
"It's the only way he'll learn."
Kayla led the way. The place is littered with inflatable beach balls from a party a few nights ago. She kicked them left and right.
When they step on the porch, Kayla sets the bag on the table and sifts through it. She pulled out three masks.
One she handed to Manny. He put his on.
One she handed to Thomas. "You need to keep this on the entire time. Your pop's name is Roof. Mine is Vega. Yours is Scramble. Got it?"
Thomas nodded his head to affirm he understood. He coughed behind the mask and scratched his head.
"What's my name, Scramble?" asked Manny.
"Roof."
"Good boy."
The three entered the house. Kayla led them up a stair case to the second story, passed two doors on her right, and entered the third door she came to on her left.
There, in the middle of the room, was a man tied to a chair with ropes, chains, and locks holding him in place. There was no food or water laid out for him. He had piss and shit himself.
Manny pushed Thomas into the room when he froze after seeing the man had black duck tape wrapped around his head covering his mouth.
Kayla dropped the tools to the floor. She shrugged her shoulders and wrinkled her face. "Oops. I know how much you hate scuffed floors."
The man tied-up grunted.
"Stop messing around, Vega."
"All seriousness and no play makes for a dull afternoon."
Manny placed Thomas next to the bed and squeezed his shoulder to let him know to stay put. Manny then opened a window to let the air filter through.
Manny addressed the tied-up man. "Are you ready to play ball?"
The man grumbled something inaudible.
"Oh, right. Forgive me." Kayla pulled out the small knife strapped to her side. She cut a hole in the duck tape for him to talk through.
The dust in the air looked like snowflakes falling in winter. The man sneezed.
"Thanks for letting in all the dust." he said. His eyes looked up and to the left. "You win. It's better than being buried."
"I knew you'd come to your senses sooner rather than later," Manny said. "You won't miss this place after you've sign the papers. You'll be enjoying a life with your family. And here I thought we were going to have to do some digging."
Kayla and Manny chuckled.
THE END
| Previous | Finish the Story Contest | Entries | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Town That Changed | Even the Clouds Smile | The Border | Horror Vacui | |
| Black Star | Quitting Life | LER | It Awakens | |
| Apocalypse and Pretzels | Metallic Kisses | Curie upvoted The Battle of Bloodneck Valley | Awakening | |
| Curie Upvoted Obstinancy | The Last Will and Testament of Geralda Connors | Curie Upvoted Pirate Hunters | Spoon-fed Memories | Lucid Dream |
| The Taste of Chicken | Curie upvoted Hunt More Precious Than a Green Stone |
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Ongoing Contests
twenty-four hour short story - You gotta be quick to get this one posted in time. He posts the contest on Sunday (usually) and ends it about 48 hours later. This contest has a 2000 word limit.
Finish the Story Contest - The contest begins on Wednesday (usually) and end 5 days later. This contest will test your write skills with something a little different each week. Pletty of time to write something around the 500 word mark.
Steem Monsters Common Card Fantasy Story Contest! - Coming out roughly every week. If you enjoy card games like Magic, Yugio, and others like it, you might like this game. Write a fictional tale about the card they present in the contest and your entry just might be the one they choose to showcase.
Tell A Story To Me, And Win 5 SBD! Writing Contest - Kind of random when it comes out but don't worry. You will have two weeks to complete your work of art from the given prompt. Have fun!
Haiku - These are coming out every couple days or so. If you stuggle with rhymes, no worries. Haikus don't have to rhyme. All you need to make a haiku is five syllable on the first, seven syllables in the second line, and again back to five syllable for the last line. So easy it makes me think I'm being super product. LOL
Mizu No Oto - Every Image Has Its Haiku Contest - By reading the title, you should be able to guess how this haiku contest works. You're given an image and you write. I've really enjoy this contest because there are people here who've actually gone to classes to learn how to write haiku's; so if you want, you also can learn how to write quality haikus from reading the comments and critiques they and others give.
50-word Challenge - This is an interesting challenge and very challenging to say the least. You only get fifty words to tell a story or a vignettes. Here is a great post that will explain the difference between the two concepts. Here is another post explanation of what a story is. Good luck, Brave Story Writer!
Vocab-Ability 1x1 - What happens is you are given a list of roots and the words they can be found in. You create sentence using those words and post in the comment section of the post. Your upvote for your creative work will come soon. One of the best way to increase your vocabulary is by doing these 10-15 minute exercises almost daily. What craziness will you create?
