The Great Pretender

            Serena plonked down onto the couch next to me, “I think Greenhome Properties is going to love our pitch tomorrow. Have you got our storyboard ready?” I nodded as I was too engrossed in my design file to bother looking up. Ever since we started Morrel Corp., I had missed out on two seasons on ‘Stranger Things’, and I hadn’t been to my favorite diner, Pop’s, in weeks!

I sighed as I finished perfecting my winged eyeliner and admired in the mirror what I had been working on for the past hour. I was ready for the pitch. I checked my phone, and it was two hours’ away from showtime. I got into the car and revved my engine when I received a call from Stephanie, my best friend.

She sounded upset, like there was something terribly wrong. She blurted, “You don’t need to go for that pitch. Serena sold your idea to the Carrington Atlantic and she’s probably going to be joining them soon. It’s all over the news! I just saw her and Fallon Carrington on television announcing their idea of eco-friendly homes. We could still-” I interrupted her and began to defend Serena, trying to stay optimistic. Stephanie ended the call. A moment later, she texted me telling me to turn on the news.

I ran into our home office and turned on the television.

A lump formed in my throat and I watched as my dreams crumble. I should have known that she was the snake in the grass and Mom was right the whole time. I guess she was the Great Pretender after all.

Frobiz

            “The public is advised to keep safe. Lock your doors and make sure food items are kept in the house…” the TV announcer reported frantically from a place in the background which was in chaos. The image of an unidentified creature being nicknamed as ‘Frobiz’ was flashed on the screen. Frobiz was a little creature about six inches tall and its fur was as white as snow. It had huge piercing, blue eyes and a tiny triangular pink nose. It had an exceptionally large prickly ears.

            Malia couldn’t believe what they were saying about it. Apparently it is highly dangerous and public is advised to report the sighting immediately. Just as Malia was stunned about the news, she heard a rustling sound in her backyard. Unassuming, she casually stepped out to see if it was her cat. She saw something indistinct move in her garden.

            A strange calling sound came from behind the mango tree. At first she saw an ear peek out followed by cobalt blue eyes staring at her. She was perplexed for a moment but her heart melted once she saw those eyes. It stretched out one foot and drew back. It twitched its pink nose and that’s when Malia plucked a cherry from the tree and lay it close to the adorable creature. It started to investigate the cherry by sniffing it and eyeing it.

            Malia couldn’t restrain herself anymore and decided to carry it. She entered the house and quietly shut the door. She noticed the neighbor staring at her with a frown on her face.

            She grabbed the cookie jar and some strawberries, and plonked on the couch with Frobiz. It seemed to have a ferocious appetite and kept munching away. The sound of her favourite show was drowned by the police sirens she could hear pulling up in her driveway.  Malia knew that her neighbor must have reported about Frobiz. She opened the door and was greeted by a policeman in his forties.

            He and his team barged in and looked around. “Here!” one of the policemen shouted. They slowly grabbed it and put it in a transparent cage. They marched out and while Malia protested she noticed Frobiz eyes well up with tears.

The Massacre

            The cluster of Loblolly pines stood dignified as the roosting bluebirds struggled to settle on its branches. They chirped in a singsong tune. The juniors huddled on the lower branches whilst the elders fluttered their cobalt blue wings and hovered over the gushing river below. The chilly water cascaded and lapped against the rocks and boulders, gently polishing them. Yet somehow, the bottle green moss had managed to grip on and create a blanket over them.

            Millie watched the jovial family of squirrels chasing one after another, playing hide and seek. Meanwhile the white mice scuttled about the gooseberry bushes. Her attention was undivided until the pleasant smell of blueberry pie wafted into her nose from a nearby cottage. Her eyes were then glued to a clumsy duck with her brood on tow. Oh, how they reminded her of her own family.

            Sundays. Every Sunday, her mom would drag the whole family to church and her blueberry pie was the only reason she would drag herself out of bed. ‘How was I to know that would be the last words I would tell her?’ Millie tormented herself with remorse. Anyway, how was she to know? She was just being a nineteen year old brat who wanted to join her friends for a getaway.

            “I hate you!” Millie recalled her parting words to her mom, furious as she stepped out and slammed the front door. How she wished she could erase those words. She couldn’t understand it. She was barely gone for half an hour to ease her nerves by taking a walk around the neighborhood. How could it have happened so fast?

She still could remember hearing the sirens and walking back home. Amidst the flashing lights of the patrol car, policemen and the paramedics were rushing in and out. The gruesome sight of her whole family brutally murdered and scattered around the house was etched in her memory. If only she could turn back time.

She knew she had to be careful. Whoever did this would want to finish the job. For now, her best friend’s summer home was her only place of refuge.

Underneath the Surface- A Short Story

Below me, the water was cold and deep. Bravely, I took the plunge and sliced my way through the deep blue waters. As I descended lower, the final traces of light disappeared, leaving me momentarily in pitch darkness. Although I wanted to turn back, I couldn’t because a very reliable source had given me a tip on the exact coordinates of K8, the mysterious submarine that disappeared a century ago.

With my diving lights on, I surveyed the Kara Bay but there was no trace of any submarine. However, as I swam back to the surface, I realized that there were a few flickering lights and a strobe light that seemed to be sending signals. Curious, I headed for what seemed like a side entrance of the small, square metallic structure.

Once inside, I saw a room that was fitted with electronic gadgets and devices. Two lanky figures in lab coats were busy working on something. On closer inspection, I saw that the alien- like figures were actually dissecting a human and placing the organs into glass jars. My mouth gaped open as they inserted a chip into the human’s heart. There was a noise before the dissected human sat upright.

His eyes darted towards me, fixed for a brief moment and he rasped, “Oh look, we have another visitor.” The two aliens turn behind and waltzed towards me. At that point, I knew that I was doomed. The figure with an enormous head came to me and injected a green, thick liquid into my head. I felt my energy zapping away and I the last thing I remembered is that I was collapsing onto the floor.

The next thing I knew was that I was swimming back to the surface with my head throbbing.