Chuck’s 200×5 Challenge

Decided what to do with the snippet of story I posted earlier. Over on Chuck Wendig’s Terribleminds site he’s running a unique kind of Flash Fiction Challenge. Post 200 words this week. Next five weeks someone else will (hopefully) add 200 words to your work. When the five weeks are through five authors have collaborated on a 1k flash story.

So, I give you my 200 words (whittle down from the original 393.) I can’t wait to see what direction this story takes. I’ll leave it untitled because, well, 200 words.

 

“Casey’s Jersey City crew got careless,” Says Bossman. “Zombies flooded three sites. Two  held them back but we blew the third. Horde made it up four flights and we couldn’t risk it. All told, probably lost fifty people.”

 

Bossman looks at me, gin blossoms reddening. The skin around his eyes draws tight, his hands, resting on the desk between us, clench, unclench. “Go find Casey. You ask him how he nearly lost three buildings. Then, once he answers, you make certain it doesn’t happen again.”

 

“Yes, sir,” I say.

 

Boss nods, quick, but the tears never leave his eyes. I turn and make for the stairs. How do I make fifty deaths count for something? These weren’t soldiers or made-men. These were men, women, and children, each under the protection of the Poverelli family. Fifty dead. And I gotta go make it fifty-one.

 

Name’s Blaylock, but everybody calls me Block. The name suits me. I’m muscle for the Family. It’s my job to make sure none of these mooks foul up and let the dead run riot over our rooftop paradise.

 

Here, it ain’t the zombies on the streets you gotta worry about. It’s the guy beside ya still breathing.