Writing Challenge #1

Okay, so I'm doing a writing challenge to test my skills and get my writing juices flowing. This is new for me, and I'm super excited. I'm going to TRY to post once a week, unless real life gets in the way. This is the first of many to come, so let me know what you think. Oh, and if there are any you'd like me to continue, send me a message!

Writing Challenge #1 – An object with a magical property

Forever Changed

I don’t know how I got here, but I’m suddenly very cold…and wet. When I open my eyes I’m lying in a puddle in the alley behind the night club. I don’t know what time it is, but I can hear muted music forcing its way through the back door and into the darkness. My arms and legs protest as I push myself up to stand, and though I’m alone I feel as if I’m being watched.

My head is pounding, and I don’t remember if I passed out or if I was thrown out of the club, but I do remember Marcy. I remember her arms around me, and I remember Brian approaching with his sleeves pulled up his arms and his fists ready to fly.

Marcy. I never should have hooked up with her tonight – not after Brian had warned me to stay away.

I rub the back of my head and wince. My fingers come back wet, but there’s no blood. That’s a good thing. I think.

I hear my name, a whisper, like a ghost calling out to me.

“Brandon…”

I glance around, but I’m definitely alone.

Again, I hear my name.

“Brandon…”

It sounds as if the voice is coming from the garbage bin just feet away. As I approach the bin, something deep within urges me to peek behind it, and when I do I’m met with a pair of glowing yellow eyes.

With a yowl, a cat jumps out and I feel my heart leap into my throat. I take a moment to catch my breath, and that’s when I see the twinkling of something silver where the cat had been. There’s a chain sticking out just a bit, and I would never have seen it if the light in the alleyway was not just overhead. I kneel down and stretch my arm out as far as it will go, barely touching the chain with the tip of my finger.

The foul stench of rot wafts up my nose and I gag. Something slimy covers my fingers as I reach again for the chain, shoving my shoulder as far as I can between the brick wall and the bin. My face presses against the side of the bin, and I feel whatever I ate for dinner start to make its way up my throat. Just as I’m about to give up, my finger manages to wrap around the chain and I yank it out.

With it comes some sort of pendant. It’s nothing fancy. In fact, it’s a silver loop with what looks like the end of a kaleidoscope in its center. I laugh, because it looks like a cheap toy and I got something slimy all over my hand just to get it.

My ribs hurt, and at first I think it’s because I was tossed out of the club, but then a flash of memory comes back to me - Brian’s foot kicking me while I’m lying on the ground.

Yup, I was in a fight.

I guess I lost.

I slide down against the wall and hold the pendant between two fingers. It looks so much like a cheap kaleidoscope, but as I hold it to the light an array of colors dance across the alley.

Just beside me, where the cat had been, I hear another whisper, and it sends me to my feet.

“Take a look.”

I spin around to find the source of the voice, but I am utterly alone.

Then I think about the words.

Take a look.

I hold the pendant up and sigh. It’s stupid that I should entertain something so childish.

I’m about to put the pendant in my pocket when I see the cat sitting across the alley. It’s completely black with piercing yellow eyes, and it seems to be waiting.

So I do it.

I hold the pendant up to my eye, and the cat is gone. In its place is a beautiful girl with long dark locks and deep yellow eyes. She’s wearing a tight black dress and doesn’t appear to have any shoes.

“I’ve been waiting for you,” she says.

I drop the pendant, and the cat is still there.

“What the – ”

The cat steps across the alley to stand before me. She places her paw on the pendant and looks up at me.

“This is crazy,” I say, and I can’t believe I’m talking to a cat.

The cat just stares up at me, paw on the pendant.

Expectant.

With a sigh, I pick it up and look through it again.

The cat is gone, and the girl stands in her place. She is so close I can feel her breath as she says, “Trust me.”

And in that moment, the moment her hand grabs mine, I know my life is forever changed.

#writing #helenemontalvo