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..

***

Within The Darkness Of Yesterday

He runs a careful eye across the top of the counter and studies the dried blood on the cash registers keys.

“There was four of them, and they came in from the south entrance. He knew them all, they were his friends. An argument flared up over a girl and a book, some relic they’d found in the library of the local church. He disagreed with what they wanted to do, and that’s when they saw something new in him, something otherworldly.” Jarvis says as he removes his face mask, and frowns profoundly.

“Can we save him?”

“We will try!”