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Picture-Prompt Writing Challenge!
The Only Option
by A.F. Stewart
Sarah hated puzzles.
No, more than that, she feared them.
Who sent it? Why?
She scowled at this wooden thing with interlocking parts.
Did he send it? How?
Shivering, she stepped back, studying the puzzle box from a different angle.
If I had known, I would have refused delivery.
Sarah reached out, hesitating, but finally touched it. Nothing happened.
Is it harmless? Maybe, but his puzzles were never harmless.
Inhaling, she snatched up the box; her palm tingled. Examining it, dread infused her bones.
Oh, god, it is one of his puzzles. Even now, from beyond the grave, he can’t leave me alone.
Closing her eyes, she repressed the memories. Her father’s obsession with the occult. Sitting through his lessons, forced to study his books, play his twisted games, solve intricate, arcane puzzle boxes, and answer complex riddles. She hated all of it.
I was a pawn to you, in your games. Never good enough. Always sacrificed. Punished when I failed. And I always failed.
Anger welled inside her, and her fingers gripped the box tighter. “No. You can’t make me play anymore.”
Impulsively, she flung the hated puzzle into the fireplace, watching the flames lick at the wood, slowly consuming it, burning it to ash. A shiver of delight raced down her spine, and Sarah smiled.
“It’s over. I won.”
“Not quite.”
At the sound of her father’s voice, Sarah spun, catching a whiff of familiar cologne. A phantom hand brushed a lock of her hair and then her cheek. Her skin felt his touch.
The ghost of her father stood before her.
“Hello, Sarah.”
She trembled. “How are you here?”
“You didn’t solve the puzzle. What happened? Did you take another shortcut?”
She dug her fingernails into her palms to control her panic, her throat dry as she answered, “I burned it. I didn’t want to play. Not again.”
“Ah. Too bad that wasn’t an option, but then you only had one, if you wanted to win. Solve the puzzle.”
This can’t be happening. I won’t let it happen.
Sarah raised her chin slightly; a tiny inch of defiance. “What puzzle? It’s gone.”
“But I’m not, silly girl. Thanks to you. Deciphering the puzzle would have saved you, yet you failed, as I knew you would.” He chuckled. “I counted on that failure. Counted on you to set me free. Now we’ll be together, forever.”
Sarah stepped back, her stomach in knots. She knew what was coming.
“I should be grateful, but failure must be punished.”
Suppressing a whimper, Sarah braced herself for the pain.
.
Fiction © Copyright A.F. Stewart
Image courtesy of Pixabay.com
More from A.F. Stewart:
Visions and Nightmares
Tragedy spares no one… and takes no prisoners.
In the twilight shadows, secrets are revealed past the whispers of madness.
Wander into the realm of the old gods with Elenora, where humanity and marriage are a prison.
Step through a looking glass of dark horrors with an Alice you never knew.
Join with Zenna to seek the truth as her death by magic grows closer.
Journey with Olivia as she crosses paths with a monster of the forest and runs for her life.
Watch Isobel summon the faerie to solve her problem of an unwanted husband.
Shiver as Doctor Killbride experiments with corpses to create life from death.
All that and more await within the pages.
Ten stories. Ten women.
Who will survive? Who will fall? And who will succumb to their inner evil?
Find out in Visions and Nightmares.
Warning: This book contains disturbing scenes that may be upsetting to some readers.
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