The Sale was an unplanned, episodic story I wrote for my blog over a six-month period. Following is a complete list of every episode, so you can read in order from the beginning. Enjoy! Steve 😊 Part 1 – The Door Part 2 – The Butler Part 3 – The Host Part 4 – TheContinue reading “The Sale. Every Episode!”
Category Archives: The Sale
The Sale. Part 20. The Final Instalment.
The police lights twirled, casting brightly coloured fireflies against the mansion walls. Police wandered back and forth from the house. Everywhere you looked was yellow crime scene tape, cordoning off the building and grounds into their own little worlds where masked crime scene investigators in loose overalls prodded, bagged and played. The rain had stoppedContinue reading “The Sale. Part 20. The Final Instalment.”
The Sale. Part 19.
The revolver was shaking in Silas’s hand as he pressed it against my skull. Water streamed down his face, mingling with his tears. I closed my eyes tightly. I could hear a rush of breath escape Aisha’s lips. The hammer clicked. Again. And again. Nothing. I opened my eyes. Silas was inspecting the weapon, hisContinue reading “The Sale. Part 19.”
The Sale. Part 18.
Junifer Vasilikov limped closer. In the moonlight we could make out a ghastly, bloody smear covering her features. Her hands were empty. “My mother was killed by a vacuum cleaner,” she said, wearily. Aisha leapt to her feet, knife at the ready. I stood up and we faced Crazy Junifer, together. I raised my handsContinue reading “The Sale. Part 18.”
The Sale. Part 17.
The climb down was a blur of motion and fear. The air was musty, mouldy and laced with the smell of our sweat-soaked and angst-ridden bodies. At the bottom of the ladder, we stood before the exit panel to the basement storeroom. Aisha gripped the knife tightly, ready to stab anyone who might be waitingContinue reading “The Sale. Part 17.”
The Sale. Part 16.
At the top of the stairs, another corridor: four sets of doors, two on each side. Aisha smiled grimly. “I know this part of the house. The bedroom I hid in is the last door on the left.” “The secret passage,” I said. “We can take the ladder down to the pantry and double backContinue reading “The Sale. Part 16.”
The Sale. Part 15.
Aisha and I swore simultaneously. Silas gestured to his slavering doberman, straining at the chain he held. “This is Goering,” he said. “I think he would like to make your acquaintance.” He unleashed the beast and it catapulted down the hallway, chain flailing behind. Aisha and I ran back through the doorway we had exited.Continue reading “The Sale. Part 15.”
The Sale. Part 14.
My fingertips were worn from scraping constantly against the inner wall, tracing our way through the maze. The electric bulbs in the stone and earth ceiling flickered dimly and our shadows gently danced on the surrounding walls as we stumbled on. My right shoulder lanced with pain every time I jarred it. Every thirty minutesContinue reading “The Sale. Part 14.”
The Sale. Part 13.
As Aisha and I ran down the underground corridor, squinting in the dim light, we heard a voice crackling from an old wooden speaker box on the wall. It was Silas. “You can’t escape you know.” We darted to the passage’s end. A blank wall. Backtracked to an intersection. Ran right. “I had the tunnelsContinue reading “The Sale. Part 13.”
The Sale. Part 12.
My hands were in the air and so was the rock-solid Maglite flashlight. Silas was watching the Mexican standoff in the store room where crazy woman Junifer had confronted Aisha. I threw the torch as hard as I could. It was a crappy throw. The flashlight hit Silas in the side, surprising him more thanContinue reading “The Sale. Part 12.”
The Sale. Part 11. A short series.
Aisha froze and dropped her phone. The screen cracked on the concrete floor as it bounced at her feet. Across the large, concrete-walled room was Silas, the aged and insensitively tall butler. He was no longer dressed in his servant togs, having changed to a white lab coat and matching trousers, and accessorising with a .38Continue reading “The Sale. Part 11. A short series.”
The Sale. Part 10. A short series.
Climbing down the ladder we came to the ground floor, with the passage leading to the pantry. “Should we stop here?” said Aisha, taking the iPhone out of her mouth and shining the torch light up the dingy corridor. “I really think we need to check out the basement.” I tapped my foot impatiently onContinue reading “The Sale. Part 10. A short series.”
The Sale. Part 9. A short series.
We made it to the floor access. The iPhone torch light reflected off the shiny ladder, floating dust motes and hanging cobwebs. “We’re going down there?” said Aisha. Her face wrinkled in dismay. “I don’t know. It’s bad enough I’m in a dark passage with some stranger…” I slapped my forehead. “Oh, sorry. I’m John.Continue reading “The Sale. Part 9. A short series.”
The Sale. Part 8. A short story.
I flung myself off the bed, seeking to extricate my lower leg from whatever was grabbing it. My effeminate scream echoed through the room. “Oh, shut up,” cried a female voice from below. My leg was released and I huddled against the wall under the shuttered window. An attractive African-American woman in her mid-20’s pulledContinue reading “The Sale. Part 8. A short story.”
The Sale. Part 7. A short story.
The musty corridor receded into the darkness. Silas, holding his lighter aloft, turned and beckoned me to follow. I trailed him as he crept forward, sweeping dusty cobwebs from the way as he went. Before long we came to a ladder marking the end of the passage. It led up into the dark and downContinue reading “The Sale. Part 7. A short story.”
The Sale. Part 6. A short story.
I pushed off the door and bolted to the pantry, glimpsing back briefly to see the flame-haired mistress of the blade standing in the frame as the door swung open and hit the wall. The pantry was bigger than I expected, a central corridor lined with shelves of food products—more like a mini-market than aContinue reading “The Sale. Part 6. A short story.”
The Sale. Part 5. A short story.
I ran. The old butler had a head start into the corridor, but he was shuffling at such an antiquated pace I easily overtook him. I glanced back at the mad woman approaching from the living room, knife flashing in time to each stride. “Where?” I yelled, manically. “The kitchen, sir,” he replied, pointing aContinue reading “The Sale. Part 5. A short story.”
The Sale. Part 4. A short story.
The crazy lady was right up in my face, spittle flicking onto my cheek as she voiced her objection. I backed up, hands raised. “Look, I’m really sorry,” I said. “I really didn’t know you had a tragedy related to…cleaning products.” As if from nowhere, she extracted a huge butcher’s knife from its hiding placeContinue reading “The Sale. Part 4. A short story.”
The Sale. Part 3. A short story.
The living room was immense, I almost needed binoculars to identify the furniture. This consisted of a few ornate and dusty lounges, chairs and a worn coffee table, all encircling a huge twenty-foot wide hearth, a fire burning briskly within. Exotic, cobweb-covered chandeliers shone dimly from the ceiling far above—the light they cast had veryContinue reading “The Sale. Part 3. A short story.”
The Sale. Part 2. A short story.
The rain was falling harder now. I raised my collar against the cold and turned to go, lifting the heavy vacuum kit awkwardly beside me. The door slowly opened with a long creak (it was like it had its own theme song, the patter of rain the accompanying percussion). I turned and jumped. The fellow in theContinue reading “The Sale. Part 2. A short story.”
The Sale. Part 1. A short series.
I’ve just started a new uni subject, and one of the threads on the discussion boards is about re-writing clichés. This is my first post from that thread (it’s not part of the marking process so I can post it here now, otherwise I would have to wait until the course was over). I’m goingContinue reading “The Sale. Part 1. A short series.”
