A. Medlin

 Hello, and welcome to my newest blog hop contribution! Thanks for reading if you do <3 ----- “Will the first two Puppeteers please step forward!” The games began quickly, with the first two Puppeteers stepping up to their gaming screens so they could better watch their Puppets. The two Puppets then stepped out into the center ring. First round would be knives, second round would be guns, and the last round would be specialized. Whether all three rounds would be needed was anyone’s guess. Allen wasn’t first. In fact, he would be one of the last to go. But that gave him a lot of time to get the lay of the land and figure out the best strategies for playing this game. Hours of gaming at home would come in handy here, he knew that. But it didn’t hurt having an edge in this specific game, especially when his life was on the line. He’d never lost. Four rounds later, and it was his turn. Allen took a deep breath from behind the mask and stepped up to his screen. He could see his...

  Hello, and welcome to my third blog hop contribution! Thanks for reading if you do <3 ----- “Remember, twenty years. Twenty years, and I come and collect my dues.” With that, the crossroads demon was gone, leaving Diana alone on the dusty, country road she’d stumbled onto. It seemed so much like a dream that she ended up writing the whole thing off.   Twenty years later, Diana Rothbert was a household name. Her image flew on banners, was stuck to the sides of buildings, was featured across commercials on skincare to military spending. She was on her way to the presidency. But when the demon showed up, Diana wanted to buy herself more time. “What if…what if I could promise you something?” she asked. The demon was intrigued. “What could you possibly promise me?” Diana thought hard. “Let me win the presidency. I can promise you as many souls as you’d ever want.” The demon laughed. “With your platform?” Diana winced. Despite her deal with the devil, her platform...

Hello! Welcome to my first blog hop contribution! I will hopefully be uploading at least one free flash piece here every month or so, along with updates about upcoming projects and publications! Let me know what you think, thanks for reading! ----- Pookie was a good dog. She liked to play coy when called, understood spilling her kibble on the floor was the superior way to eat, and was convinced slippers were simply the enemy. She loved the word “no” when she wanted to say hello to people, knew the food off mama’s plate was much tastier, and sometimes, when she was extra excited, she couldn’t help but pee a little on the floor. But Pookie was a good dog. The night the loud noises came, Pookie hid under mama’s arm, the two huddled in the empty tub of the upstairs bathroom. Bang after bang shook the walls, noises that were much louder than the moving pictures Pookie saw on TV downstairs. She could hear voices, trembling and inaudible, and the overwhelming smell of something dead, but coul...