Halo

Tap-tap-tap-tap-tap…

The weight of the pen flopped back and forth between my pointer and middle finger. At this point, I wasn’t aware it was making any noise on the counter at all. Engrossed in my own thoughts, I stared at the piece of paper in front of me. I had to narrow this list down. Some lines were crossed out and not as important anymore. Others were circled and needed to be dealt with. All in due time.

I circled one more name and handed the inked-up paper to my companion. Her shoulder length, startling red hair curtained her face as she peered down at the list. Studying it for a moment, she slid her hand out of her pocket. No emotion came through her features as she sparked the wheel on her lighter and the flame came to life. Dragging the flame across the bottom edge of the paper, it quickly ate away at the list and turned it to ash. She allowed the last piece of it to fall into the metal trash bin next to the counter.

“I’ll start from the top and work my way down. But it doesn’t mean I can do it in order.” My companion explains to me. I nod in response. Too many variables to guarantee anything right now. It will all have to work on the fly.

“I’ll be satisfied as long as it can even be done.” My voice comes out more confident than I feel. I discreetly reach behind my back to tug on my fingers, alleviating my growing nerves as the reality of what we’re about to do settles in.

“Oh, it’ll get done. As long as you don’t ask for the details, this should go off without a hitch.” My companion crosses her toned arms over her chest as she shifts her weight to her other foot. I can’t help it but I think I believe her. Which gives me the tiniest bit of hope.

“By the time this is all over, no one is going to remember a thing… not even you.” She casually taps her finger twice to her temple with a knowing smirk. I have absolutely no response to that and she must know the conversation is over because she turns and leaves without another word.

Left standing alone now in the quiet of the pole barn, my thoughts loop back to the same hopeful statement that has been on repeat for me as of late…

Please let this work.

Author's Note to Readers:

This is the prologue of a woman's revenge story in a familiar world but with advanced technology just beginning to emerge in her time. The premise of the story is the female main character (FMC) befriends a strange woman who is willing to help the FMC kidnap her ex's who have wronged her. With this new advanced technology, they will mentally "torture" the FMC's ex's to admit their wrongs and get them to grovel with apologies. The FMC is seeking to overcome her past traumas from these relationships this way and give a little payback at the same time. As the story goes on, the encounters become harder for her because she has to face the truth about what really happened in the past and face the fact that she is not perfect herself.

I have plans to incorporate a love interest throughout the revenge plot to thicken the suspense and add passion. With a cliffhanger ending for a sequel.

As a writer sharing with other writers, I'd love to hear if this would be interesting to you and if this prologue was enough to catch your eye. I appreciate any and all feedback. Thank you!