#TwitterTales January 2019

Welcome to another month of #TwitterTales. Have you heard of it?

I write a short story based on an image every month. I post it every Thursday and Friday on Twitter with the #TwitterTales. By the end of the month, I have a complete story. Here is January 2019 based on this image:

"You need to leave. I'll stay behind and work the lighthouse," Merv said.

"But the storm," his boss said. The sky darkened and the ocean churned. If the boat didn't leave soon, those on there wouldn't get out alive.

"Don't worry. I got this."

The boat became a speck on the horizon. His friends would be safe, and now he had a job to do.

Merv hurried inside and flipped the switch. No light came on. He ran to turn the generator on and slid over the ledge and into the ocean.

The ocean pulled him out further. Merv didn't dare fight against her since she was strong and vast but could be gentle when she wanted to be.

His lungs burned with need for oxygen. He couldn't do anything until the right moment. His moment never came. Instead, his vision faded to black. He awoke sometime later on the beach. The storm was rampaging.

"The lighthouse," he said after his scrambled thoughts collected. He needed to turn on the light for the ships.

Merv ran and slid his way to the generator. When he got to it, the tank was empty. He had filled it up earlier today after the shipment. The tank for the extra diesel was missing too. He didn't have time to think what the missing fuel meant either.

Merv climbed the five flights to the top of the lighthouse. His breathing was ragged, and his sides hurt. He bent over to try and catch his breath. Once he could move, he grabbed the crank, turning it. No light shined out. He turned it faster.

The light flickered. Merv turned the crank faster, and panic flowed through his body. If he couldn't get the beacon started, a lot of lives would be lost tonight.

Sweat beaded his forehead and dripped into his eyes. He ignored the sting. And cranked.

His arm started to hurt, but he refused to stop cranking. When a beam of light shined into the night. He whooped for joy.

"Why is the lighthouse light on?" a man asked. He and the crew he was with were on a ship at the edge of the storm, monitoring it.

"Years ago when the lighthouse was operational, one of the workers died. Every time there is a storm, the guy turns on the light," the captain said.

"Is the US government claiming ghosts exist?"

"Never. We marked the island as radioactive."

And that is the end of the tale for this month. I do enjoy my twist endings. You can also find other tales by a few authors just search for #TwitterTales and then pick an author and search for their account and #TwitterTales. I've numbered mine.

Here is the preview for February 2019:

Rob stared at his monitor and sipped his black coffee. Real men drank the tar this way. None of the creamer or junk added.

His job was simple, watch the track and make sure the blips (the trains) didn't run into each other. One disappeared.

-Have a great day. K.A.

#Twitter #TwitterTales

#TwitterTales December 2018

Welcome to another TwitterTales. The rules are simple. I post a short tale with parts from it every Thursday and Friday for a whole month. This is December 2018:

The sound of hoofbeats echoed in the field, coming from behind me. I turned to find nothing there, no rider, no horse. I must be hearing things.

My car had broken down, and I was in the middle of nowhere with zippo cell reception. At least the moon gave off some light. The next town was only a mile or two away. I could walk there.

Hooves pounded the frozen ground. They were getting closer. I ran until I hit the edge of a line of trees. Something had to be after me.

My heart pounded, and I bent over to catch my breath. The dense foliage would be hard for any animal to travel fast in especially a horse. I could rest for a minute and continue without worrying if the beast was following me.

A neigh filled the air. My eyes grew larger, and I turned around. A jet-black horse stood at the edge of the forest. Smoke billowed from its nostrils, and the eyes were the color of blood. The rider was a shadow.

“Run,” my mind yelled. “Run.”

My thoughts took a second to seep into my brain. After it did, I stumbled and took off, running at full speed. I step sided the trees in my path and jumped over a fallen log. The horse couldn't follow me in here, right?

Nothing was behind me. I was safe. A sigh of relief escaped my lips. The horse and the thing it carried wasn't following me.

I turned around. The horse was there, and the rider reached for me.

"Your turn," it said.

"No way," I said. I scurried away, running blindly. I needed to hide. But where? Flowing water roared nearby. If I could get there, I could swim. I would escape. I ran until the clearing.

"Your turn," the rider said behind me. It pulled me onto the horse's back. The rider climbed off the horse, and his body transformed into a man.

My body turned into a shadow.

"Your turn," he said before flames consumed him.

I knew. I needed to turn 1000 bad souls into riders for the rape I did. The next car had one.

I so wanted to do more with this one, but ran out of words. After the tale is done, I always share a peek of next months:

"You need to leave. I'll stay behind and work the lighthouse," Merv said.

"But the storm," his boss said. The sky darkened and the ocean churned. If the boat didn't leave soon, those on there wouldn't get out alive.

"Don't worry. I got this."

To read the rest of the lighthouse tale search for #TwitterTales and @kamengauthor on Twitter. You can also find more tales from other writers by searching #TwitterTales.

Thanks for stopping by. -K.A.

#Twitter #Game #TwitterTales

#TwitterTales November 2018

Like I have doing before. Here is the complete TwitterTale for November 2018. I post part of this tale every Thursday and Friday in November.

I brought the ax above my head and swiftly down, letting gravity split a log in half. The pieces fell to the side. I stuck a new one in place. I had a little more than a hundred to go. When I lifted the ax the second time smoke wafted into my nose.

My heart pounded, and my mouth ran dry. A forest fire would be dangerous. A trail of smoke lifted into the air, not enough for a blaze. Someone had to be using the cabin a few miles away. Bobby wasn’t going to like that. I’d rather deal with a fire.

I contemplated continuing my work with splitting the logs in half and ignoring the neighbors. I could distract Bobby for a few hours, but he’d eventually find out. If I was careful, he wouldn’t try and visit anyone tonight.

“Bobby?” I called when I entered the cabin.

“Jolene is the wood done? Do you want any help? I was putting our clothes away. He came to my side and gave me a quick kiss on the lips.

“Before I tell you something, you have to promise me you won’t hurt anyone.”

“I haven’t killed anyone in five years. What’s going on?” His eyebrows furrowed together.

“You didn’t murder anybody because I did.” I feared if he did again, he wouldn’t stop. I shuddered at the memory of killing the cop to steal a boat. A few more people who recognized us died too because of me. Bobby would have dropped more bodies if I let him.

“Just tell me,” he said.

“We have neighbors,” I said.

“I’ll grab our guns.” Bobby turned away from me and headed into the kitchen.

“Can’t we wait to see what they do?” I placed my hand on his arm, stopping him from pulling a weapon out of a box.

“What if they recognize us? Do you want them to disturb our peace?” We’d been here for little over a year, our longest time in one spot.

“What if they don’t know us? We haven’t been on the news for months now. You killing them will get the cops involved. Someone will miss them. I don’t want—” I stopped myself from saying more and pressed my lips into a tight line. I hadn’t told him something yet.

“Don’t want what?”

“Never mind. Not important.”

“Why are other people in our woods?” Bobby ran a hand through his black hair.

“This weekend is opening season. I heard when I went to town last,” I answered.

“What’s the big deal? It isn’t a holiday.” He swept my hair away from my neck and gave me a kiss at the base there.

“Opening season is a holiday to hunters.” I had grown up with them. My dad tried to take me several times, but I had no interest in hurting animals that couldn’t defend themselves. He gave up after a while. We both knew he wished to have a son and not me. I was an only child.

“How long will they stay?”

“Through the weekend. They’ll keep on coming back though if they don’t fill their tags.”

“What do we do?” Bobby asked. He wrapped his arms around my waist.

“We wait until tomorrow and go talk to them. If they recognize us or we suspect they do, we can kill them. We’ll have to leave right after they die,” I said after taking a minute to decide.

“What should we do now? I need a distraction or I’m killing our neighbors.”

“I have an idea.” I pressed my lips against his. I wouldn’t let anything disturb him and me. We deserved happiness like any normal couple.

As I always do, here is a teaser for next months:

The sound of hoofbeats echoed in the field, coming from behind me. I turned to find nothing there, no rider, no horse. I must be hearing things.

My car had broken down, and I was in the middle of nowhere with zippo cell reception.

Come back next month to check out the post or search for #TwitterTales @kamengauthor on Twitter if you can't wait. I post part of the story every Thursday and Friday, and to make them easier, I have numbered them #Part1, #Part2, and etc. You can also find many more authors participating from my publisher. It's lots of fun.

#TwitterTales #Game #Twitter #Horror