Cindy Young-Turner is the Readers’ Choice in this week’s Indies Unlimited Flash Fiction Challenge. The winning entry is decided by the popular vote and rewarded with a special feature here today. (In the case of a tie, the writer who submitted an entry first is the winner per our rules.) Without further ado, here’s the winning entry:
Solo
by Cindy Young-Turner
First mate’s log, the former Trident
Day 1 adrift. I spot a ship in the distance but I do not think they can see me. Time runs short. Those deadly, spiteful creatures continue to torment me.
Day 2 adrift. The ship is closer but they still cannot see me. The white devils surround me now. If you read these words, I beg you not to be deceived by them. The white dolphins. Captain said they were good luck when we spotted them leaping near the ship’s bow. They seemed to like it when the cabin boy played his drum.
Day 3 adrift. I fear this will be my last day. The ship is still too far away and my voice only croaks out a call for help. The dolphins circle closer. I thought I glimpsed a drum around the neck of one of them. I keep imagining those last hours on deck, the white beasts flinging themselves at the ship, ramming holes and leaping so high they tore down the mast. The screams of my shipmates as they were flung into the sea and the red waters churning about me as I clung to a piece of wreckage. Their teeth gleam in the night.
First mate’s log, the Pequod
Found the wreckage of the Trident. The lone survivor died not long after we pulled him on board. Something about the white devils. Ahab is certain he meant the white whale. Have only spotted a pod of white dolphins.
Nice job, Cindy.