For the IndieInk Writing Challenge this week, Sir challenged me with “‘When does the fun start?’, he asked, blood dripping slowly from the knife in his right hand.” and I challenged Cedar with “Write a narrative constructed out of a series of haiku.”
Note: You might have guessed from the prompt, but this post is going to have a bit of gore to it.
Nicholas tried to take a deep, calming breath, but choked on the stench of blood. It’s not that he was unfamiliar with the scent – it was his job to endure a whole host of unpleasant smells. But it was different this time. This was unlike any job he’d ever had to complete before.
“You – you said this was going to be fun,” Nicholas managed to choke out. Blood dripped from the knife he held in his right hand, forming a puddle on the top of his shoe.
Augustine shook his head. “Soon, my boy, you’ll learn to love the art of the kill. Don’t be discouraged by how much of a struggle this job was. I’m very proud of your first attempt.”
Nicholas swallowed against the convulsions of his stomach, grateful for once that he hadn’t been able to afford food that day.
“After your apprenticeship,” Augustine continued, “you won’t just be the best tanner in the country. You’ll be a superior slaughterer, too.”
“Just one question, Master. Cow and sheep hides are already a viable source for leather. What is the point in taking human skins?”
This time, it was Augustine’s laugh that made Nicholas’s stomach cramp.
“All in good time, my boy. There is still so much for you to learn.”
***
To read more about the piece, click below the fold.
IndieInk prompts are assigned randomly, so I didn’t pick this one. But I was amused to get it, because it dovetailed nicely with brainstorming for the novel I plan to write later this year. I’m not going to say more, because I don’t want to reveal a fresh idea too soon. But it will be more on the horror side of things. This story is not directly in line with what I plan to write, but it definitely got my creative juices going.
This sounds very intriguing, i will have to read the complete story….
Like this, just like painting it is sometimes what is not put on the canvas that sells the image.
definitely intriguing. What will they use those human skins for…
looking forward to more dribbles…hopefully the blood won’t splash too much 😉
You certainly paint a picture that makes me want to keep looking (though not right after eating, probably). A wonderful job in a short number of words.
I’m also glad to see that the future novel tangentially related to your response to the prompt will be ‘more on the horror side of things’. As opposed to a really dark children’s book, I mean.