Ellen Salkeld

“Consequences” by Ellen Salkeld

Submitted to Contest #99

Consequences Mile Marker 75 He waved the pistol at me like a pointer, urging me forward as I looked to him for direction and struggled to grasp the steering wheel, slick with sweat. “Which way? Straight?” “Yeah, keep going east till I say otherwise. Got it?” I nodded, shivering despite the June sun’s heat blazing through the windshield. My morning coffee sat untouched in its holder since I’d placed it there almost an hour ago when my carjacker jumped in the passenger seat. Shame on me I guess, for stopping at a deserted 24 hour convenience ...

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“Conscientious Objections ” by Ellen Salkeld

Submitted to Contest #79

Kate instinctively dodged the crumpled ball of paper as it sailed toward her head. “You are such a bitch,” Roger screamed at her “Just because Daddy is a big wig professor, you think you can dick around with peoples’ lives!” “I’m not the one who cooked the project’s books! You probably ruined Andre’s research.” She yelled over her shoulder as she slammed the door behind her. The way he shattered his buddy’s nose outside a nightclub after an argument, attested to his ugly temper. He had never turned on her but, starting today he was out of a...

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“As Told To Me By---” by Ellen Salkeld

[V.K.- session 3: 12/28/90, East Detroit] “When T.J. heard what I vowed to do, he told me on the phone ‘don’t be foolish’ but he isn’t in my shoes. ‘Ain’t nobody ever copped to doin drugs when they ain’t.’ I had to agree with him. Just living with reality  is bad enough which is why I ‘spose I left four years ago, but now I’m back and I won’t be leaving again. At least, not until they carry my outta the house. Last week, me and Drop Kick went into William’s Funeral Home on Woodward, and I picked out a mahogany casket with gold trim. It ...

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“An Indelicate Observation” by Ellen Salkeld

Submitted to Contest #74

Was I naked yet? I don’t think so, not at this point, not yet. That detail is lost in the fog of time, faded like words fingered onto a windshield when defrost finally kicks in. He faced away from me, inking in the spaces on the page in front of him. I brushed a long blonde hair from my double breasted, cerulean blue suit with the deeply pleated A skirt. It was one of my favorite outfits that helped to distill my meager courage. Garter and nylon stockings replaced pantyhose that were too painful to wear, but the navy and white pumps spo...

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“Lost in Lima” by Ellen Salkeld

Submitted to Contest #66

The sharp iron taste alerted her that continued nipping at her fingernails had ripped loose a hangnail. She returned the bleeding digit to her lap and continued to wait, staring at the beachscape painted on the wall as she bounced her sneakered foot on the floor. The big Kahuna had summoned her, and since she’d only met him once when she interviewed for the job, she figured it couldn’t be good news. His voice, thick with an unknown accent and pitched unusually high on the register, grated on her nerves as she listened to his muffled telephon...

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