Note: While authors are asked to place warnings on their stories for some moderated content, everyone has different thresholds, and it is your responsibility as a reader to avoid stories or stop reading if something bothers you.
Shorts and Prompts - 3. Mystery Machine
My two nouns were, airship and laughter..
Toby opened the front door and found an airship. Quinn stared, shocked, but then Toby remembered he had a laughter and he ran to his car. Finding what he needed, he raced back inside and switched it on.
In seconds, everything was at it should be. Heart pounding, he turned to face a glaring Quinn. Fitting response, since Toby was almost sure he knew why they had found themselves standing not in what should have been their living room, but in a space that resembled an open battlefield. The room had now been transformed back to its original state. Toby opened the front door back up and peered outside. The neighborhood remained undisturbed.
“Did this really just happen?” Toby asked, rocking forward trying hard to control the thrill he felt.
Quinn pointed to the shrunken airship. “It’s that creepy Zeppelin you just had to have from that convention. I knew something was off. I knew it.” He whispered harshly.
“I told you that the guy was shady. There was something not right about that whole Con. But you wouldn’t listen. How does a model airship morph into a battle ready, World War II Ghosts of War-like airship in our house? Our house Toby! A bomb-toting, hydrogen-filled airship!” Rubbing his hands over his face, Quinn took a quick breath before he started in again. “Do you even know what this thing is capable of? Oh god, Toby …”
Toby was in awe, regarding the beauty of airship’s cylindrical hulls and steel framework. He thought back to the day he had purchased the airship. He’d made several purchases in fact. He had talked to the seller about the urban legend of the deranged former soldier who’d manned the ship. There was a fervent conversation about unexplained occurrences on the battlefield, but nothing he recalled brought to mind any rationale for the alternate macrocosm he’d found himself in.
He was jarred back to the present by his normally calm husband, whose emotional response to their situation had him now giggling hysterically. Watching Quinn fall apart made Toby want to snicker, but he bit down on his cheek and held out his hand.
“Babe …”
He got no further than that because there was a sudden hiss and rumble from the airship. They both jumped back as the room began to distort.
“I got this.” Toby yelled excitedly to Quinn, lifting the device he was holding.
“What the hell is that anyway?”
“A Laser Activated Ultimate Gamma-Ray Handgun (for) Terminating Extraneous Relics. Or LAUGHTER.” he grinned.
Quinn gaped at Toby, until the relic in question began to shake.
“T-Toby…” Quinn started.
Nothing happened when Toby slammed his palm on the button as before.The walls around them started to warp and the airship vibrated violently once more. Just as suddenly, a crazed, howling laugh filled the room. Both men paled. They turned to each other and with an agreeing nod, ran panicked for the door only to find it vanishing from sight.
Hopefully, this very fun exercise wasn't too agonizing. Leave a comment, let me know. I won't feel bad, I promise.
- 12
Note: While authors are asked to place warnings on their stories for some moderated content, everyone has different thresholds, and it is your responsibility as a reader to avoid stories or stop reading if something bothers you.
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