Posted by Leif G.S. in Amott's Hearth Series, Fiction, Flash Fiction, Sci Fi, Short Short Story | 0 Comments
Sci Fi Flash Fiction: Amott’s Hearth (Mob)
The 24th entry in the Sci Fi Flash Fiction series Amott’s Hearth continues with Craig fleeing a mob bent on his destruction and a revelation on my opinion on gods old and new. Thanks for reading and enjoy!
The tension was palpable as Craig skirted around another corner and pressed against the wall, attempting to blend with the dark alley. He hurried down to the warehouse district, skirting past gathered people who watched the large monitors built into the walls along the street telling them their hero was a mass murderer. Some of the onlookers couldn’t believe what they were seeing, but most could and started to mount their efforts to stop him.
He waited as the latest group tracking him passed without incident, releasing his breath in a low, long whistle. He never thought he would get away from this group; they brought tracking bots and laser weapons. The last alley he ran down was also a dead-end, barely giving him time to escape from his death. He bent forward and placed his hands on his knees as he tried to calm his heart. For the first time, he could feel Tiamt afraid and trembling around his core. “Hey, how are you holding up?”
“You tell me how I should feel, kid. I watched three of my beloved angels die, two of my agents fighting to save our lives, and a mob tried to kill us four times on our way here. I can’t begin to tell you how these things never happened while I was a goddess on Earth.”
Craig shook his head and straightened up as he glanced over his shoulder to spot two of the mob return with their tracking devices. “We aren’t on Earth any longer. You aren’t a goddess; you are more of a passenger. I wish you could get out of this, but we are stuck here until we can figure out what we can do next.”
“You ain’t whistlin’ Dixie, kid. Where are we going next?”
He looked down the alleyway and nodded as he saw it turned to the right and disappeared behind two buildings. He turned his head back to see more aliens returning to the two stragglers, pointing at each opening and determining what to do next. “We can’t go out there and get into a fight; we’ll make things worse if we do. No, we have to explore this alley and figure out where it goes.”
He placed his hand on the cold metal wall and walked down the alley as quietly as he could. His eyes adjusted to the darkness, though he felt he could see clearer thanks to the goddess now pressing her head against the windows to his soul. “We have to hurry; we can’t let them catch us here.”
“Trust me; I understand what is going on. There is no need to panic.”
“I am not worried about us; I am concerned about them. If you don’t think I’ll fight my way out. . .”
He sighed as they approached the ninety degree turn, stopping for a moment to glance behind him. He saw the group disperse, though the two aliens seemed to argue over who would walk into the dark expanse first. “You know I can’t let you harm these people. They did nothing other than believe the propaganda they were fed.”
“I don’t care; you haven’t existed for more than ten-thousand years. You don’t get to tell me what I can and cannot do.”
“I can because I am the only person left who believes in you.”
The silence echoed as he walked down the next leg of the alley. He could feel the goddess writhe inside of him, leaving him in silence for a heartbeat. When they reached another dog leg, he stopped and looked around at the alien signs hanging from the doors nearby. As he struggled with the words, he heard his forced companion ask a meek question. “How did you know?”
“It wasn’t that hard to find out. It started when I was struggling to believe in anything during the fight in the arena. You could have taken over at any time you wanted, but the fight was rigged, and you weren’t sure you could trust the Wildman clan. When I started to waiver in whether or not this was reality, your strength started to fade. You couldn’t hurt them if you wanted to because it would mean you would disappear or worse, be stuck inside my fading shell.”
The goddess grew quiet once more as he felt her stir and wrap around his core, as though she were an old pet trying to stay warm in a cold winter. He would have chuckled at the situation, but he heard the footsteps from down the alleyway. His eyes shot from the sings to the walls nearby. He started to feel against the wall, seeing if he could open any of the doors that he could see. No matter what he tried, the doors blended in with the walls seamlessly, leaving only smooth metal in its wake.
The footsteps grew closer. He heard the beeping form the tracking devices. The clicks and chirps echoed down the alley. He felt his heart race. His eyes darted from wall to wall, trying to find some place to hide. The steps were close. He could smell their fear as well as his own. His hands clawed at the walls now. His pulse hammered in his ears. He tasted blood in his mouth. His eyes whited over as Tiamat took over for him. “You really should let me do this; there is no reason why we can’t fight our way out right now.”
“No, there is a seam on the wall to our left. We can fit our fingers and pry it open wide enough to slip in, but we don’t have much time.”
“If you want me to do it, you are going to start believing that I know what’s best. I hate it when my followers challenge me, there is no excuse for insufferabl –”
“I believe in you, I always have. Just start pulling the seam and let’s get this over with, you overgrown lizard.”
He felt his fingers slip into the seam as the the sounds grew closer. The door groaned as his muscles strained and quaked from the effort. The door slid open wide enough for him to slip inside as the first alien turned the corner. The creature yelled to its companions as the door slammed closed behind them, forcing him to tumble into the dark-red hallway. He propped himself against the wall and dusted his clothes off. As Craig took control of his body, he heard his passenger grumbling at him deep inside. “You should watch what you call a woman, Craig. I might be a dragon, but that doesn’t mean you can call me fat.”
If you’d like to read more Sci Fi Flash Fiction: Amott’s Hearth, click on the picture above to start from the beginning or click the link provided.
