MaryLei Barclay
Bio
Stories (6/0)
Fight or Run
You open the door to decipher the buzzing sound just in time to see the black drone take off. You look down at the package, confused that such a thing even happened in your small town. You try to examine the package without touching it because you've seen too many movies and tv shows of what an unexpected package could bring. Squatting down to get a better look, all you see is your name scrawled across the top with no other markings. The package begins to ring, and you fall back on your butt at being startled. As it continues to ring like an old-fashioned telephone, you take a gulp and rip open the brown paper. The ringing intensifies as you tear open the box. You pull out a flip phone and answer it, "Hello?"
By MaryLei Barclayabout a year ago in Fiction
This isn't possible
Nobody can hear a scream in the vacuum of space, or so they say. The mind doesn't always listen to facts though. Will heard the screams as the ship exploded around them. He heard the screams as escape hatches were shut and people pounded on the door to be let in. They still echoed in his mind as he opened his eyes to nothing but endless space. Trying to focus on anything but the memories of suffering, Will looked around to figure out where he was. He turned his head to the right and saw the planet that was to be his home. He was looking at it on the observation deck when the fighter ships flew into view. He remembered the murmurs of confusion and fears from the small gathering of the others who traveled to call the planet home. The screams started as soon as the first shot was made. Will squeezed his eyes shut again as the screams echoed in his mind. He attempted to turn and leave the observation deck, but reality took a hold of his mind and shook it awake. There was no floor beneath. No ship surrounding him. He was floating in space. This time the scream he heard in his mind was his own. He opened his mouth to let it escape, but nothing emerged. His first thoughts were on how he would be rescued. He moved his hands to search his pockets when he noticed the impossible. He wasn't just floating in space with no ship, he wasn't wearing a space suit.
By MaryLei Barclay2 years ago in Fiction
Ten
The cabin in the woods had been abandoned for years, but one night, a candle burned in the window. The last time that candle burned was twenty years ago when the first little boy went missing. The family was only vacationing in the cabin for two weeks. By the end of the first week, the boy was gone. The mother did everything to search the woods. The father worked with the authorities for the search party. As the stay at the cabin increased, the number of people helping search diminished. All that was found was a jacket with blood on the second day. The father decided to return home, but the wife refused. As the lack of sleep and fear consumed her, paranoia began to set in. She would see her boy, but he'd disappear. When her husband returned for a weekend in the fifth month of searching, he found her sitting at the table with two bowls of soup. As she beamed that her boy had finally come home, her husband tried to convince her no one was there. The husband grabbed her to drag her to the car, but she scrambled to the kitchenette. The coroner determined he was killed by a blow to the head. Her death was determined suicide.
By MaryLei Barclay2 years ago in Fiction
Gateway Hotel
It had been a glorious hotel when it was built in 1850 during Queen Victoria’s reign, even though it resided in the United States. The Civil War took its toll on the structure as it was converted to a hospital for the Yankees in Columbus, Ohio. The ballroom was filled to capacity with wounded, hotel rooms were converted to different wards for surgery, quarantining, officers, and enemy. When the war was finished, the damage to the hotel physically and mentally was astounding. It changed owners so many times, that repairs were neglected and wildlife found sanctuary in the guest rooms instead of humans.
By MaryLei Barclay2 years ago in Fiction
They aren't perfect
Dads aren't perfect. Dads don't always know the solution. Most importantly they don't always know what they're doing. In August it will be fifty years since my dad started his journey as husband. He's at forty-seven years since starting the journey of fatherhood with my oldest sister. In those years, he has made many mistakes. Found many times to be troubled by having three daughters. Struggled to find the best path for his family.
By MaryLei Barclay2 years ago in Humans
Dragon Valley
There weren’t always dragons in the Valley. A curse had been inflicted upon them long ago. A curse that also affected the residents of the Valley. Dragons that tried to enter turned to stone and humans that tried to leave suffered the same fate. Once a human entered the Valley, they were never allowed to leave. The Valley was encircled by statues that taught all the fate the hard way. Only one woman carried the capability of inflicting such a curse. Medusa's anger at the people and dragons of the Valley could not be contained by a simple death or even a simple time period. The statues had surrounded the Valley for centuries, long after her death of seeing that fateful mirror. She got her revenge on him though, he tried to leave the Valley, now a sign hangs on him, tossed from the cursed border, “Savior and victim.” That was only within the first five years of the curse, and it prevailed. Many tried to find other solutions to break the curse, but resources were limited. Medusa’s library was immense and written in languages that were unknown to many. Time passed and generations soon accepted their fate of never leaving the Valley. Signs were posted to warn the weary traveler to not venture on. Most heeded the warning, some ventured too close to the signs. They would take a step across the invisible line only to step back and turn to stone.
By MaryLei Barclay2 years ago in Fiction