The Ladies of Horror
Picture-Prompt Writing Challenge!

Ants to a Hill Fire
by Melissa R. Mendelson

I hate the government.  I hate their lies.  They tell us that we are free to do what we want, but they watch our every move, record each word we say.  There is no freedom but only control, and things are getting worse.  The election was a joke, and the country is breaking apart.  Something must be done, and a flier was slid under my front door.

March on the Capitol.  The date and time was set.  Wear all black.  Don’t forget the white armband.  No weapons, but I knew others would bring them.  I tucked a pocketknife into my back pocket.  Who was going to search me during the protest?  I told my parents that I was staying at a friend’s house, and I was staying with a friend.  But he was the one driving me to the Capitol.

“We’re going to tell those fucks what’s real,” my friend said as he floored it.

“We’re going to be late,” I said.

“You’re never late for a protest,” and my friend flew like a bat out of hell, determined to have his fill of blood.

I made it just in time.  I launched out of the car, and so did my friend.  He did not care about a parking ticket.  He did not care about me because within minutes, he disappeared into the crowd.  I was left pushed and pulled with the others, and we stormed the Capitol, breaking down doors and shattering glass.

Someone moved past me.  I thought it was another protestor screaming for their rights, but they were not screaming.  They walked in-between the madness with the hood pulled down low.  Their face turned toward mine.  Large, black eyes jutted outward.  Their mandibles stretched into a hideous grin.  A femur reached for me, but another protestor slammed into them.  And that protestor was tossed aside as if they were nothing but a rag doll.

I backed into a nearby wall.  My eyes scanned the mob.  There was more than one of them.  Each one was strategically positioned, egging on the protestors.  This was what they wanted.  I screamed for everyone to stop.  No one did except for them, and they began to swarm towards me.  Just as they got close, everything went dark, silenced by a hail of bullets.

Fiction © Copyright Melissa R. Mendelson
Image courtesy of Pixabay.com

More from Melissa R. Mendelson:

Name’s Keeper

I got a one-way ticket out of hell. All I need to do is drive across country with a body in the trunk and run miscellaneous errands, but a lot of those errands come with a heavy price. And if I lose the body in the trunk, then I have to go back, and I’ll be damned if I return down there. I will fight to stay here, even if there is no rest for those wicked.

Available on Amazon!