#NYR2020 – New Year’s Revolution Flash Fiction Event.

I have recently joined the #FabFlashFive - a team of flash fiction writers who host flash fiction contests and challenges throughout the year and who come together at different times of the year to host joint events, like this one, where there is a prize in the offing!

This New Year’s Revolution Flash Fiction Event is hosted by Cara Michaels (host of the weekly #MenageMonday writing contest)

It's running for two weeks - starting Monday 13th of Jan to Friday 24th of Jan - Midnight to Midnight (EST).

My entry is below - but my entry, along with my co-hosts, will be ineligible for the prize.

We will be hosting other events throughout the year too so look out for them:

Love Bites - Katheryn Avila (Feb) - host weekly #SwiftFicFriday

Midsummer Madness - Miranda Kate (June) - host of weekly #MidWeekFlash

Monster Mash - Siobhan Muir (Oct) - host of weekly #ThursThreads

Tipsy Santa - Ever Addams (Dec) - supporter & prompter of all!

(NB: All links on names lead to twitter accounts where you can search the hashtag)

So click on the picture below and check out submission details and write something for us!

Be careful what you wish for

Hayden had been told they’d been doing this ritual for centuries. He was hopeful it would open new opportunities for him, enable him to start the new year fresh with a clean slate, and also give him more freedom. He needed that freedom so he could get more creative.

The granite beneath him was cold and he could feel it seep through into his skin. It felt like part of the process and a kind of anaesthetic, so he would be numb for the next stage. There was something exciting about it. It reminded him of his last sin and how he hadn’t allowed them any relief; they’d had to feel everything. The thought titillated him as much now as it had then, and he shifted his hips trying to offset the pressure building in that area. But he was laid out on the slab, wrists and ankles restrained. There was no way he could hide what was growing.

The priest paused, glancing at it. It didn’t help Hayden’s predicament, only increased it. He saw the priest’s eyebrow raise and a smirk spread across his face. He made eye contact with Hayden. It seemed Hayden was not alone in his enjoyment. Hayden relaxed and released his shame, sighing deeply.

“Good,” the priest said. “Let yourself be in the moment. Embrace all while you still can.”

Hayden’s brow twitched in a frown. Did he hear that correctly?

He heard metal against stone in a swiping motion. The blades were being prepared. The sound moved closer as the two assistants brought them to the priest. The freshly sharpened long clip blade was passed to him. He wiped it off on a clean white cloth, turning it so the candle-light glinted off the steel.

Hayden braced himself.

The priest raised the blade slowly above his head, chanting words, while looking up at the blade. All the focus was on the knife in his hands. Hayden could see symbols engraved on the flat of the blade as well as the handle. He was mesmerised by its beauty, which was why, when a sharp sensation moved across his wrists, he cried out – as much in shock as in pain.

He turned his head left and right and saw that the assistants had opened up the arteries by his hands. They moved swiftly down to his feet as the priest continued with his diatribe, making slits behind his heels causing Hayden to take in another sharp breath.

Hayden could feel the heat of his body leaving him through his open extremities, and his mind swooned. He had understood they would be making the cuts, but he thought they would be small for a bloodletting; these were sacrificial.

The priest’s words were building, getting louder and louder until they abruptly stopped. All eyes fell on Hayden’s.

“Are you ready to receive absolution, my son?”

Although unsure if he truly was, Hayden replied, “Yes.”

“Then, I decree your soul absolved, released from this body.” The priest began the descent down with the blade.

“Wait? What?!” Hayden tried to sit up. His head swam at the movement, his vitality waning with the blood loss.

The priest paused. “You wish to be absolved of your sin, of your depraved ways in this world. The only way is for you to be removed from this world.”

“But you said, absolution would mean a clean slate!”

“On the other side, yes.” The priest’s arms were still raised.

“But ... I didn’t agree to that.”

“Did you answer in the affirmative when I asked?”

“Yes.”

“Then you did agree.”

The priest didn’t give time for further discussion. The blade came down swiftly, and Hayden remained conscious as it opened him from sternum to groin. He wished for his tolerance of pain to reduce so he could pass out, but it wasn’t until the removal of the third organ that he finally fell out of consciousness, never to return.

640 ineligible words