FLASH FICTION TUESDAY: The Lost City of Alcavez

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Now on Tuesdays…at least for the foreseeable future…welcome to Flash Fiction Tuesday. In case you don’t know what flash fiction is, it is an extremely short story (sometimes created in 100 words or less) with a beginning, middle, and an ending.

But in my case, I write flash fiction with an open ending. I allow my readers to draw their own conclusion as to what happens next to the characters of each story.  The next time you hike a forest trail, keep a look out for the lost city of Alcavez….

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One…two…three…the steps seemed to go on and on, running into each other until he couldn’t see them any more. Where did they lead? As Sean shifted the backpack higher on his shoulder he felt a sharp stabbing pain shoot through his leg. Looking down, he saw blood slowly seeping again through the bandage on his upper thigh. At this pace, he would lose too much blood before he reached the summit. Pausing to catch his breath, Sean closed his eyes and slid to the ground.

When he awoke earlier this morning, he was confident the unmarked trail he stumbled upon lead to the lost city of Alcavez. He barely contained his excitement when he found a dusty map wedged in the corner of an old desk. Could the ancient map lead to the lost city of wonder he had heard so much about? Careful to make sure no one was following him, Sean set out with just a small backpack and a two liter bottle of water. To take more would have drawn suspicion from the other explorers.

Too late he realized someone had followed him, staying just outside his peripheral vision and now the bullet in his leg was slowing him down. What Sean left on the trail behind him only gave him an hour, maybe two, to find what lay hidden at the top of those steps before his secret was discovered. Leaning on a makeshift staff, Sean forced himself to his feet and stared at the steps ahead of him. One…two…three…all he had to do is just put one foot in front of the other and keep climbing…

What happens next? Share your imagination with others by leaving a comment below!

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donna

 

International best selling, award winning author, Donna L Martin, has been writing since she was eight years old. She is a 4th Degree Black Belt in TaeKwonDo by day and a ‘ninja’ writer of children’s picture books, chapter books, young adult novels and inspirational essays by night. Donna is a BOOK NOOK REVIEWS host providing the latest book reviews on all genres of children’s books, and the host of WRITERLY WISDOM, a resource series for writers. Donna is a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators and Children’s Book Insider. She is a lover of dark chocolate, going to the beach and adding to her growing book collection. Donna’s latest book, LUNADAR: Homeward Bound (a YA fantasy) is scheduled to be released in ebook edition by summer 2018 from Story Catcher Publishing, with the print edition hopefully coming out late fall 2018.

Donna L

Hybrid award winning author; aspiring sketch artist; and 4th Degree Senior Certified Taekwondo Instructor. Host of BOOK NOOK REVIEWS. Member of SCBWI. Mom to fabulous son and adventurer delving into the tricky world of indie-publishing.

4 thoughts on “FLASH FICTION TUESDAY: The Lost City of Alcavez

  • July 17, 2018 at 4:33 pm
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    I kind of like the idea of not knowing what happens next because you’ve done such a great job of creating a story I wanted to read. That said, it’ll probably haunt me and I’ll inadvertently finish the story in my head!

    Reply
    • July 17, 2018 at 6:02 pm
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      Hi Ivia and welcome to my blog! Thank you for your kind words and I’m glad my story captivated your imagination…

      Thanks for stopping by and come back any time!

      Reply
  • July 28, 2018 at 8:50 pm
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    “I’m right behind ya, Sean! I’m right behind ya!” Sorry, Donna, I channeled Jack Nicholson in The Shining. I hope one day you will finish all of these Flashes and publish them.

    Reply
    • July 29, 2018 at 1:34 am
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      Hi Janet!

      Ahhh, if ONLY I could write like the storyline of The Shining…then we’d BOTH be rich…lol…

      Thanks for stopping by and come back any time!

      Reply

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