is Finally Here!
The day has finally come! We held a contest for the best flash fiction idea, we chose a winner, and we sent five authors out to spin the fabulous idea in their own direction. What was the winning idea? An awesome one from Aeicha Matteson:
The characters:
Ryder - female, human, teenager, short in height, long brown hair w/blue streaks, bright green eyes, smart, sassy, tough.
Ax - (short for Aximander), male, demon (but was once human before being sent to hell), as a demon he has no permanent form, thus he possesses humans. He's cunning, vindictive, but incredibly charismatic.
The conflict: Ryder is a supernatural hunter (she hunts demons, monsters, evil baddies), but she has been possessed by the demon Ax, who has essentially bound himself to her...meaning no simple exorcism will release him. Ryder must find a way to break free of Ax while fighting for control of her own mind, body, and actions.
Their abilities:
Ryder - as a hunter she is skilled in weapons, fighting, and supernatural knowledge/lore but does not have "supernatural or magical" abilities of her own.
Ax - can shift/shimmer (teleport anywhere, including hell) and has enhanced/heightened abilities (strength, speed, hearing)...when possessing someone these abilities are transferred into them while Ax resides within them.
She pulled back her hair, the edgy blue streaks peeking through and tapped on the mirror with her fingernail. “I hope you’re ready for this.” The voice inside her head laughed maniacally, making her grit her teeth. She hated the sound of his laugh. As a matter-of-fact she hated everything about him, which is why she had tried to kill him. It wasn’t just her job to rid the world of evil baddies, she enjoyed it. He was just one loose end that needed tying up.
“It’s not going to work,” Ax said in an evil sing-song voice. She had tried dozens of methods to banish him and failed miserably. He was enjoying his new home, possessing her. It was turning out to be a pretty decent gig.
Before, he did everything he could to avoid people like her. No demon wanted to blink on the radar of a hunter. He had never imagined how thrilling it would be to experience, first-hand, the life that they lived. Not to mention, harassing her the entire time was intoxicating.
Ryder reached for her black duffel bag, ready to start the night’s hunt, when her body suddenly shimmered. The air was ripped from her lungs and she teleported to the other side of the room. “Ax!” she shrieked. She hated it when he did that. Her stomach flip-flopped. His shenanigans were getting old. If she hadn’t thought of a way to get rid of him, she might have decided to quick hunting altogether. Maybe living a normal life would be too boring for him, but the thought of giving up the hunt was just something she couldn’t stand.
“Off to slay that ghoul who is killing teenagers? Maybe if you were a little quicker, it wouldn’t have gotten away last time.”
“It wouldn’t have gotten away if you hadn’t teleported me just as I was about to vanquish it.” Ryder threw her bag into the Jeep and jumped in. She liked riding in it. The sound of the loud motor was almost enough to drown out Ax’s voice.
“Maybe you shouldn’t expect things to be so easy. That’s the problem with you hunters, you all think you are so untouchable.” Disdain dripped from Ax’s voice.
“It is that easy and it could have been. This world would have been one ghoul less if it weren’t for you. I can kill anything, anytime. Just give me a shotgun and a silver blade.”
“You couldn’t kill me,” Ax mocked. “Some badass Huntress you are.”
“All in good time.” Ryder smiled wickedly, slamming her foot on the gas. She focused her mind on the hunt, allowing Ax to think they were up to her usual night’s work. Little did he know, her target would be his demise. Maybe hers too, but that was the price she was willing to pay. One last demon in the world. Seemed worth it.
As soon as she turned onto the dirt road that led into the heart of a dense forest, he knew something was awry. This wasn’t just any forest. No, it belonged to someone. Or, more accurately, some thing.
“What are you doing?” A hint of panic tweaked his voice.
Ryder felt her guts twist in knots as Ax tried to teleport them away. It was too late. She was going too fast, and they were in too deep. His powers wouldn’t work here.
Ax may have believed he had complete control of her, but no one could control a Gate Keeper. They were beings caught in the rift between reality and the paranormal, judging all who stood before them.
Ryder laughed hysterically as she felt Ax’s fear rippling inside her. He should have known that a Huntress always gets her demon, one way or another.
“Are you insane?” he shrieked inside her mind.
“You should know by now,” Ryder knocked the side of her head like a door. “Let’s just see what the Gate Keeper has to say about your newest hobby.”
“You’re going to get us both killed!” He was probably right. She felt the tingling sensation again as he tried to use his powers.
“It’s your choice, Ax! Either you get outta my head or the Gate Keeper sends us somewhere we can’t come back from.” She knew she had him by the jugular.
A heavy sigh echoed in her head. “I was just having a little fun.” Her body shivered and with a shimmer of light he was gone. Ryder revved the engine with a triumphant smile.
“Silly demon. A Huntress always wins.”
The authors have plotted and toiled for many hours to create their unique flash fiction version of Ryder and Ax’s tale. Now you’ll all get to read them! Each author is hosted on one of the below blogger sites:
Two Chicks on Books - hosting G.P. Ching
A Life Bound By Books - hosting K.A.Tucker
HERE!!! Read her story above! - hosting Megan Duncan
Taking It One Book At A Time - hosting S.M.Reine
So, go visit each site above and VOTE for your favorite! Why vote? Because on October 24th, a Grand Prize winner will be drawn. What could you win? A pile of signed print copies of the authors’ books and some swag. Check out the official page here for a list (grand prize winner contest open to U.S. residents only but anyone can vote; one vote per person and you can vote on any of the blogs.)
Want to earn an extra entry into the grand prize? Tweet the following and paste the link into the form with your vote!:
So… GO check out the 5 fabulous versions of 1 amazing idea and GO VOTE for your favorite one!
Ended
I just love where you took this idea! Ryder is just as clever and feisty as I imagined her to be. I'm totally fascinated by the Gate Keeper idea and so wanna know more ;)
ReplyDelete:) Aeicha
Great idea Aeicha!
ReplyDeleteI was sad when I got to the end of this story. I would definitely read more. Very compelling, great characters and awesome story!
ReplyDeleteI know right??? She did a fab job at creating that story! All of the authors did!
ReplyDeleteThe best part is how she tricked him! Fabulous!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much everyone! I totally wanted to make this story a lot longer! :o)
ReplyDelete