Molly Leasure

“Sweet Dorin” by Molly Leasure

Submitted to Contest #61

I’m alive. Whir.But I don’t want to be.Whir.Not like this. Every inhale. Every exhale. The sound persists. It’s stained on my mind, never relenting. The cruel brain that operated on me should listen. He should be tortured by the vibration that dominates me now. But he won’t know. He’s long since dead, leaving his punishment to sweet Dorin.Whir.Just stop breathing. My lips clamp together. “Lea?” Dorin’s voice is the only thing that keeps me here. I strain to see him, my body stiff, broken, planted. As he enters my room, I ...

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“Marbles” by Molly Leasure

Submitted to Contest #61

She’s been in labor for hours. The screaming, the fatigue, the fear. It’s all strangling me with brutish fingers. I can’t be in there.This is her second, our second. I’m just waiting for it to end the same as our first. I’m waiting for those fingers to tear my heart from my chest. Just crush it. It hasn’t been mangled enough.That’s why I’m here in the hall, instead of at her side. Because when she needs me most, I’m not there. Like my father before me. He never saw my birth, didn’t witness me growing up, wasn’t there when I became him. ...

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“Lou (Part 3)” by Molly Leasure

Remind me never to speculate the ‘worst thing’ again. What I speculate gets topped more often than I’d like, because there’s always something worse than what I think is the worst. But, I really am the luckiest degenerate alive. That’s something that only ripples once in a while. “You’re not getting out of my sight again,” Ace hisses at me. I nod. That’s a promise I plan to keep. He yanks me over the edge of the platform, hooking the tether back on my waist. We lock gazes. His eyes are burning with fury. I suppose I deserve it. But ...

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“Lou (Part 2)” by Molly Leasure

Nothing could be worse than marching to your own death.I clutch my helmet under my arm as we enter the loading bay. Wrench is already seated inside the transport ship, looking blue. That’s a preferable color when it comes to feeling ill. Although, it could also mean she’s experiencing frostbite. I reach my hand into the air of the ship. Nope, we’re in luck. We won’t freeze to death. Well…“Go on,” Ace coaxes me, “the faster we start our mission, the faster it ends.”“Oh yeah, I’m really looking forward to running to my death,” I mutter. Even s...

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“Lou (Part 1)” by Molly Leasure

Welcome to Hell.Degenerate louse reporting for duty. Need a fire put out? I’ll be smoking in the back. Need rescued from a burning building? I--are weighted blankets fireproof? Did anyone check that recently? Because honestly I’d love to know. I’d be fighting fires one blanket at a time. If I was still fighting fires...Are weighted blankets fireproof? Okay, it’s written down. Answer coming to you shortly. That is, if I can get my hands on the internet. I haven’t been there in three years now. Maybe I’ll just ask the Commander. On s...

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“Night of the Wolf” by Molly Leasure

Submitted to Contest #60

So much for the Gods.Years of enduring have left her marble creased, two dried rivers meeting at the height of her throat. That’s where I begin. Careful fingertips caress her jaw, promising one final act of servitude. A hymn, a prayer trailed to the base, pursuing her tender swallow. On her exposed flesh, the words rest with my straining breath. And as I inhale, I lean into a bow at her breast.Smash! “Ha!” His howls of laughter resound through her hall. “Pray now, Syco.” My beloved Goddess. I needn’t demand to know. Her fate was se...

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“The Sheep, the Gator, and a Rotting Plover” by Molly Leasure

Submitted to Contest #59

(Set your story in a small town where everyone is suspicious of newcomers.)The morning dew tastes of death. It might be imagination, or the thinly veiled disgust felt upon arrival. But it’s there--in the mist, in the water. I promise.No one speaks of Gregham’s Gulch. Why would they? It’s dreadful. One rotting gate opens to the town, because the other has taken root in the marshy ground. Even if it hadn’t, it’s secured by sickly rose bushes, which are long since dead, withered. But still the last semblance of life. The gate’s j...

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“The Bloats ” by Molly Leasure

Submitted to Contest #59

(Set your story in a place with extreme weather, but don't use any weather-related words to describe it.)“A swashing bassinet ye're” the booming voice welcomes me. He’s cackling behind the bar. “Join them then. Yous’ll wither up nice.” With a wild gesture, he nods me towards a radiator in the corner. I’d already halfway sputtered a ‘what?’ before I could reel in my tongue. But if he heard me, he ignored it. Good.I peel my sopping jacket from my shoulders, slapping it once.“Oy, this ain’t no fish barrel,” he snaps at me, towel in hand. “You'd...

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“Mud, Mud, Mud” by Molly Leasure

Submitted to Contest #59

(Write about a character arriving in a place unlike anywhere they've ever been.)Squelch.The soil sinks beneath my foot as I step out of the ship. My other foot follows. It’s also swallowed by the mud. Moisture soaks through, seeping from my boots into my socks. I’ll be drying those for weeks. Or tossing them.Ignoring the disgust brewing in my stomach, I trek forward. This is what I’d said I wanted. I’d signed up for this. Oh yeah, I love soil. It’s the best part of botany! My own stupidity reverberates through my head, mocking me for being s...

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“This Isn't the City” by Molly Leasure

Submitted to Contest #59

(Write about a couple who have just moved to a place that one person loves, and the other hates.)I demanded change. Monthly, weekly, daily. Every time I walked through our front door I was convinced our house would fall apart. If I so much as pressed the door closed too tightly, the entire complex rattled. So I told him we had to find a new home. It didn’t matter to me where we were in the city, it just needed to be new.  Now, I’m finally receiving that change. And to say I'm nervous is an understatement. He hadn’t even shown me th...

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“The One” by Molly Leasure

Submitted to Contest #58

There’s one too many. And of course I’m the one.I step back out of the elevator. The passengers stare out at me, haughty annoyance riddling their expressions. As far as I’m concerned, I would have fit, but they thought otherwise.The doors clamp shut. Now I’m alone in the hallway, probably the last employee left on the floor. And since it’s the 25th floor, I’m sure I’ll be here a while waiting for the elevator to return. There’s usually more than one elevator, but somehow they’d all taken their last breath on the same hour: noon.Taking just o...

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