Sabotage!
Friday Fictioneers is a weekly photo prompt-inspired flash fiction challenge hosted by the talented Rochelle. This week’s photo was supplied by Marie Gail Stratford, and close to 100 of us write somewhere around 100 words on a weekly basis!
To read the other stories for this week, click on the blue froggie fellow below. Why not give it a go yourself?
My first thought when I saw this week’s photo was “nuclear rods in a reactor”.
Jed trembled as he approached the reactor, the words of the resistance leader echoing in his mind.
“Pull the pink rods. The reactor will reset and drop the security grid. We don’t have a radiation suit for you. I’m sorry.”
He carefully slid the rods from the reactor core. The nuclear glare, brighter than the sun, melted his eyeballs. His insides liquefied as the radiation bombarded his body, the remains of his organs dribbling through every orifice, his brain trickling…
“Jed, where’s that bloody wine, we’re gasping!”
His imaginings interrupted, Jed returned to the dinner party, a bottle of Pinot Grigio Rosé in each hand.
Can’t blame him. I’m not much for dinner party chit-chat, I would rather have faced the first scenario 🙂
LikeLike
Dinner party, nuclear meltdown. Dinner party, nuclear meltdown.
Nuclear meltdown, please!
LikeLike
Ali, I think Jed has as big an imagination as you do. 😀 I was very relieved that Jed didn’t actually melt. If he drinks enough he may feel as though he has however. Funny and well written. 🙂 —Susan
LikeLike
Thanks!
He’ll certainly need to watch the wine if he doesn’t want a meltdown going on in his head tomorrow 🙂
LikeLike
Thank you. I’m glad no one died horribly today. I appreciate it. I hope the wine didn’t go bad!
LikeLike
You’re welcome! Jed seemed liked a nice enough fellow, I didn’t have the heart to liquefy his 🙂
I’m sure the wine was delicious.
LikeLike
LOL I had to laugh, because this would be me! I would rather write a story in my head, then have a dinner party. 🙂
LikeLike
I think many of us would 🙂
LikeLike
I agree that it looks like a nuclear reactor… I wonder if this was not the 10th bottle Jed fetched though.. 🙂
LikeLike
It does sound like he’s starting to “drift”, doesn’t it? I wonder if it’s “one bottle for Jed, one for the party”!
LikeLike
Delightful end. Although you had me worried for Jed. Sounds like he, too, has a wonderful imagination.
LikeLike
It did look a bit rough for a second there. I expect the more he drinks, the more outrageous his stories will become 🙂
LikeLike
Very enjoyable Ali, you completely threw me with your opening comment, so I really wasn’t expecting the daydreaming. Clever use of the prompt. 🙂
LikeLike
Thanks! The photo reminded me a bit of that reactor in one of the James Bond films, it was in a submarine I think.
LikeLike
HAHAHA! If I had to go to a dinner party I’d want to go with Jed. 😀
LikeLike
Forget charades, he’ll keep us occupied with fun tales 🙂
LikeLike
LOL I think you must have had a Pinot Grigio Rosé in each hand when you thought this one up. Well done, your imagination really went into meltdown with this one 😀
LikeLike
I’m glad you enjoyed it! Jed and I are peas in a pod 🙂
LikeLike
Whether wine-fueled or not, he had quite an imagination and so do you. This was lots of fun.
janet
LikeLike
I’m glad you liked it! I hope he can keep his mind on the dinner party while he’s actually up there. I expect they’re all wondering why he keeps volunteering to get the wine 🙂
LikeLike
Grief! That was some imaginary scenario. Time to give up the booze, I’d think.
LikeLike
Judging by the fact that he’s started killing himself off, I think he’s definitely had a couple of glasses too many!
LikeLike
Tee hee. A great twist.
LikeLike
Thanks! I thought actually melting him horribly away was a little bit too much 🙂
LikeLike
i think he already had too much to drink. 🙂
LikeLike
I think he’s consuming most of the wine before he even gets it back upstairs 🙂
LikeLike
Great story, sort of. Two story’s in a row that I don’t agree with comments. First saving spiders and now dinner parties. I love a great dinner party. Mine are probably a bit rustic but I have a blast. Great stories, good food and big laughs. Someone always drinks to much and acts stupid, always a wife/husband getting upset and lusty jokes. Love them.
LikeLike
I’m with them, I’m afraid. Probably. I’m trying to remember if I’ve ever been to an actual dinner party.
LikeLike
Dinner parties are the best if you are the sober one. Drunks can be so entertaining, I don’t drink much if at all.
LikeLike
There is that. I don’t drink at all and it can be fun watching other people’s drunken antics.
LikeLike
I think that guy’s been reading too many of your short stories! What an imagination he has! 😉
BTW, my first thought when I saw that picture was that it looked like a Lite Brite set. I don’t know if you had them in the UK or not, but look them up on Google and you’ll see where that visual came from!
LikeLike
I looked it up – it could be one of those! I also thought they could be flashing on and off, like that light show they tried to use to communicate with the aliens in “Independence Day”.
LikeLike
What kind of a party would push one to dream about the nuclear meltdown? Nicely put together.
LikeLike
Thanks! Possibly the conversation is a bit boring, though it must be very bad to dream about liquefying 🙂
LikeLike
I attended a party with 26 attendees, and 27 wine bottles gave their all. Where’s a good reactor when you really need one?
Well presented – but it’s all fiction – right? 😆
LikeLike
Of course it’s all fiction 😉
Glad you enjoyed it!
LikeLike
Dear Ali
Surely you’re familiar with The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. If not, you should be. Great imagination this guy has as does the writer of this story. You made me laugh.
Shalom,
Rochelle
LikeLike
Dear Rochelle,
Thanks!
I’ve heard of The Secret Life of Walter Mitty but haven’t seen it – maybe I should!
I’m glad you enjoyed my story 🙂
Ali
LikeLike
Dear Draliman,
Had me going right from the start. Good switch at the end.
Aloha,
Doug
LikeLike
Dear Doug,
Thank you! I like little switches and surprise endings.
Ali
LikeLike
Great story. Have you used some of it before? It rings a bell.
LikeLike
Thanks! Obviously many of my characters have received hideous deaths 🙂 I did do a story a while ago which implied that the action was actually happening but it turned out to be on the TV – that may be what you are remembering.
LikeLike
perhaps Jed is a writer 🙂 gross descriptions! (and by that, i mean well done) 🙂
LikeLike
If he is a writer I hope he’s not too drunk to remember his great ideas the next day!
I thought you’d appreciate the gross descriptions 🙂
LikeLike
Don’t you just hate interruptions when your in the middle of an enticing daydream?
Loved it! Your descriptions are so real, almost like one can reach out and feeeeelll the creepiness!
LikeLike
It really interrupted his chain of thought there!
I tried to make it as creepily real as possible, I’m glad you enjoyed it 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes, I’m with Rochelle – Walter Mitty rides again. I’m so glad Jed was rescued before he really got sucked into a horrible death. There’s something to be said for the pull of reality, in this case a table full of thirsty guests. Good story.
Marg
LikeLike
Quite why he was imagining his own horrible demise I don’t know but as you say, saved by reality!
LikeLike
Wow, he has quite an imagination. I’m glad he could return to a comforting glass of wine. Well written. You certainly had me believing it. 🙂
LikeLike
I bet he’s glad too, considering what was happening to him 🙂
I’m glad you enjoyed it!
LikeLike
“We don’t have a radiation suit for you. I’m sorry.”…Now that was funny, doc! That’s some wild imagination going on there:)
Ellespeth
LikeLike
If it had been me I definitely would have imagined a radiation suit for myself 🙂
LikeLike
Dear Draliman, Please donate your brain to science – you have an unbelievable imagination and it’s awesome! I started laughing when I realized it was a “time-out” day dream. You really did a bang up job on this one! Excellent!!! Nan 🙂
LikeLike
Maybe I’ll donate my brain, but only once I’ve finished with it 🙂
I’m glad you enjoyed it, and thank you for such a lovely comment!
LikeLike
This. WAS AWESOME! My favorite story I’ve read so far this week. I know a guy quite like him…maybe next time his friends won’t send him after the wine. Well done!
LikeLike
Thanks very much!
When you need wine, you need wine, and this guy seems to get distracted all too easily 🙂
LikeLike
You’re welcome!
Indeed. Or maybe this guy had just had a little too much wine already…
LikeLike
Dear Draliman,
This was so fun and clever!
LHN
LikeLike
Dear LHN,
Thanks, glad you enjoyed it!
Ali
LikeLiked by 1 person
Even your daydreams are gross, 😉 great job 🙂
LikeLike
We aim to please 🙂
Thanks!
LikeLike