I entered a short story competition that required me to write a 1000 word short story in 48 hours. The story needed to meet three things, a genre (Crime Caper), a location (A shrine) and an object (A cash register). It took me a while to find the right idea and to get it to work in a way I was happy with. But like the last time I entered something similar, I enjoyed the desire to find the story that sparked the right way for me. So, for the sake of creativity, here is 1 of the 24 rejected stories in a 100 word format..

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A Rebellious Religious Moment

“Just place the money from the register into the bag, and no one needs to get hurt!” He says with a suave wisp of his tongue.

“B-B-But, I-I-I, I can’t.” The old woman stammers nervously.

He smiles wryly and takes a deep breath. “Do you want to die here sister?”

“N-N-No,” she replies quickly.

His smile broadens, “Good, then we have an understanding. Now, empty the register into the bag, and I’ll make sure you don’t see your lord today, okay?”

“B-B-But you don’t understand. I….” She doesn’t get to finish her words as he grabs her by the throat.