Category: short story

Invasion of the weeds- Part 2

Ian Hunter1 Comment
Creeping weed

The weed in the middle started talking more

You have too get me out of here quickly, before the others kill me

His voice sounded strained like he was being choked

I used a trowel to dig him up

His roots were entangled with the other weeds

I gently freed his roots and planted him in a small pot 

After giving him some water, I took him to a shady part of the garden to rest

Once he recovered he started talking again

Thank you for saving me, the other weeds were strangling my roots

I asked him why they were trying to kill him

We are not supposed to talk to humans, only other plants

I told him I am fighting a battle to control weeds in my garden

He replied you are not the only ones fighting a battle

There is a long running war between the flowers and the weeds

It goes back to the time when humans started cultivating 

Before then, all plants lived together in harmony

Until some of us were designated to be weeds and shunned from gardens

The flowers became arrogant and tried to push us out of their beds

Then humans started to hunt us down and destroy us as well

We had to fight back to survive

I was fascinated and asked him to explain more

I need to rest again now, can you give me more water please

I brought him water and left him to do more gardening

The weeds seemed to have multiplied even more

Perhaps it was my imagination getting the better of me it seemed like the weeds were harder to pull out of the ground, as if their roots were resisting

I thought one of them swore at me as I pulled him from the flower beds

I must have left my talking weed for only half an hour

When I returned to him he was crying out for help

A creeping vine weed was wrapped around him

He was being strangled

Invasion of the weeds

Ian Hunter2 Comments
Pulling up the invaders

We try to grow flowers, shrubs and herbs

But our flower beds are under constant attack

The bunnies and deer graze on everything growing

Fungus and mites step in to infest whats left

Then there are the weeds which seem to appear from nowhere

A bare patch of mulch turns into a weed farm overnight

I have a ritual to pull one hundred weeds daily

Every morning I go out and tour the flower beds

I pick the biggest weeds first

Some of them are two feet high

When my count goes beyond fifty

I am usually hunting for smaller weeds

The next day the big fellows are back again

And the little ones are just about everywhere

Does somebody sneak in and plant the big weeds overnight I wondered

Why are they left untouched by the grazing deer and bunnies

I decided to investigate further yesterday

Homing in on a bunch of tall weeds in the rose beds

OK guys you need to start talking and tell me who planted you

Otherwise you will be pulled up and thrown away

You will wither away on the compost heap, a slow lingering death

Tight lipped silence was their response

I pulled out the biggest and shook him hard 

Parading him in front of the others

Still no response so I reached to pull out another

OK I’ll talk said a weed in a high pitched voice.

………………….to be continued

Barry the brick

Ian Hunter2 Comments

Barry the brick was made in 1940

he sat in a yard for a few years waiting for somebody to buy him

maybe I will be in the facade of a grand building he thought, or perhaps near the front door of a small family home

he hoped it would be somewhere with lots of activity

one day in 1954, a truck pulled up and a man started loading bricks

the bricks were all excited and looking forward to an adventure

Barry was fortunate to be loaded on the side of the truck where he could see out

the inward facing bricks asked Barry to tell them what he could see

Barry told them they were passing open fields where cows and sheep grazed

we are going down a lane towards an old derelict farmhouse, they seem to be in the process of rebuilding

the truck stopped and all the bricks were unloaded in a pile

they started chatting about who would end up where in the wall and who would have the best view

the next day the bricks were picked and placed next to a wall

one by one they were cemented into the wall, they were all facing outward and had a great view over the farmyard

Barry was placed high up and had the best view

when the construction was finished, the bricks watched the old farm being transformed into a vineyard

they saw grapes being harvested and wine being bottled

soon there were daily visitors, wine tastings, parties and live music

they watched the vineyard being passed on to other generations as time rolled on

by 2019,  a few of the bricks became loose enough to sneak off the wall at night and steal wine from the tasting room

they would bring it back to share with all the other bricks in the wall

they had wild parties and told stories late into the night

Barry got so drunk one night that he fell off the wall and smashed into the yard below

Barry never recovered but the other bricks held a celebration of his life

he had seen a lot during his 79 years

RIP Barry the brick. 

The escape

Ian Hunter4 Comments

He woke up in a cold sweat

It was pitch black

He did not know where he was

Frantically searching his memory

Unable to recall anything of the evening before

He felt slightly groggy

Concluding he had been drugged

He stepped out of bed

Stumbling around the room

Eventually finding a light switch

The blinding light hurt his eyes

After a few moments he could see

Bloodstains all over the wall

Dark red blood on the bed cover

Blood stains on his hands and shirt

He went to the bathroom to clean up

Discovering a lifeless body in the bathtub

A large knife embedded in her chest

He ran to the door but it was locked

The windows were all bolted shut

Shutters outside prevented him looking out

He broke the legs off a chair 

Binding them with strips torn from the bedsheet

Wedging the bundle between the handle and door frame

The bedside table was heavy enough to smash down onto the wedge

The door frame exploded open allowing him to step outside

He came across man in a white coat holding a clipboard and a stop watch

The man looked up and said you set a new record James at 2 minutes 42 seconds

He realized it was all a training exercise for his new job in MI6

The fake corpse walked out of the bathroom and winked at him

Haley was a light sleeper

Ian Hunter3 Comments

Haley was a light sleeper

Often waking in the dead of night

Holding her breath in the darkness

Listening intensely for activity outside

Wondering if she really heard a noise

Or was it just a dream that had woken her

Although she lived alone

There had never been anything to worry about so far

Other than the wind rustling the trees

Or the cry of a wild animal

She kept listening for a few minutes

Then decided to go back to sleep

Suddenly a loud thud from downstairs startled her

She sat up in bed and froze

Fearing somebody was trying to break in

Opening the bedroom door quietly

Tiptoeing to the top of the stairs

She listed hard in the darkness

Another thud with a rattle of the back door bolt

Racing back into her bedroom and closing the door

She picked up the phone to call 911 in the dark

The landline was dead presumably it was cut

Her cellphone was downstairs in the kitchen

Another thud mixed with breaking timber sounds

Somebody had smashed down the back door

Her heart was racing as she imagined an intruder roaming downstairs

She put into action her well rehearsed drill

Setting the alarm clock to go off in two minutes

Grabbing the baseball bat from under the bed

Meanwhile the intruder was searching for valuables downstairs

He was confused when the alarm clock played loud music upstairs

He crept up the stairs and stood outside her bedroom door

Slowly opening it and scanning his flashlight into the darkness

He could make out a motionless figure under the covers of the bed

As he stepped inside he felt something brush against his leg

The trip wire toppled a bucket of cold water on him from above

As he froze in shock the bedroom light blinded him

Haley swung the bat firmly into his skull

He fell to the ground and lay there motionless

Haley standing over him ready to strike another blow

Her pillows and wig had fooled him into thinking she was in bed

After a few minutes she prodded him in the back with the bat

There was no response at all so she went downstairs and called 911

The police arrived quickly and examined the blood stained bat

Haley explained how she had struck the intruder after dowsing him in water

Two officers went upstairs with weapons drawn shouting warnings

They found no intruder but a trail of blood through the bedroom window

A search outside revealed nothing

After two hours the police gave up searching and left

Haley had the back door fixed and bought herself a shotgun

She rehearsed her intruder response plan every week

Keeping the multiple booby traps primed

Hoping that he would dare to break in again

Next time she would not be taking any prisoners

Haley was a light sleeper

Alice Part 5 Finale

Ian Hunter1 Comment

Alice sent the selfie with three heart emojis 

the detective said the gang will be checking the metadata now to verify your location

a few minutes later the gang called the bank to verify the wire transfer

the call was picked up at police HQ

the skilled operator pretended to be from the bank

he was stalling to keep the call open as long as possible

Alice was surprised that the caller sounded just like her

and equally surprised that she answered all the bank security questions

the patrolling SWAT team locations were on a huge screen

soon the police traced the calling cell phone

they dispatched the nearest SWAT team

who arrived minutes later to arrest the entire gang

They also arrested satellite teams who were roaming in vans 

printing out stolen ATM cards and withdrawing cash

the detective thanked Alice for her help

he said they had been trying to catch this gang for months

Alice wanted to understand how the gang got all her information

the detective explained how they work

Dave is an experienced actor and con artist

he targeted you as a wealthy single woman

while you were dating Dave he was recording all your conversations

to build up a voice profile database

the gang used that with some sophisticated software to call your bank

Dave got to know you well enough to answer the bank security questions

Dave probably used your computer sometime with your permission

he then installed spyware to record all your keystrokes

when the boys came they accessed the spyware to obtain all your passwords 

the wire transfer requests came from your computer to make them appear authentic

the boys probably copied your credit cards while you were asleep

do not feel bad said the detective many people have fallen victim to this gang

luckily we got them before they they stole all your money 

Alice declared she was done with online dating

Alice part 4

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the detective asked Alice to gather her bank statements and credit cards

he then called his superior at police HQ

I am bringing in a victim of ongoing identity theft

we need the incident room with comms IT forensics and the bank fraud squad

make sure you bring your cell phone said the detective

Alice jumped into the police car and they went lights and sirens

the detective received a radio message from HQ

operation stingray is launched and three SWAT teams mobilized 

upon arrival at Police HQ they rushed to the incident room

it was packed with about thirty people and banks of computers

the detective handed the credit cards and bank statements to different groups

he asked Alice to hand over her mobile phone to the comms team

the detective sat a command post with multiple monitors

within minutes he was briefing Alice on his team findings

the gang have made multiple charges on your credit cards

your phone has been hacked and cloned

they have successfully completed a modest wire transfer

that was just a test and a $5000,000 wire transfer request is pending

we now have your bank on the line

they will give us control of the wire transfer authorization call

an operator in a sound proof booth made the call pretending to be the bank

the detective told Alice it will be to your cell phone but this one will not ring

because they are forwarding your calls to another cellphone in their possession

the call went to VM and the operator left a call back message

the detective told Alice to standby

the gang will want to be sure she had not gone to the police yet

a few minutes later Alice got a text from Dave

Hey how is it going….the boys told me you went out

text him back saying you are at the mall said the detective

Dave responded with I miss your smiling face Alice please send me a selfie now

the detective led Alice to a green backdrop to take a selfie

the IT guys added a background and changed the metadata to match the mall location

Alice Part 3

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Alice was trying to understand it all

why would Dave tell her he was visiting an injured relative 

then move out of his home 

leaving his boys with her

sorry it looks like your boyfriend has done a runner 

said the man at Daves house

he seemed like a nice guy and a great tenant

he paid me his rent in cash every month

how long had he been living here asked Alice

only two months but he paid me an extra month before leaving

that means he rented the place after we first met thought Alice

she drove home fast to check on the boys

there was no sign of the them and their belongs were gone

she noticed the place smelled of cleaning products

stepping outside to look for the boys

she saw a neighbor working in his yard

have you seen two boys leaving the house she asked

yes they left with suitcases a while ago

than a couple of workmen in hazmat suits went inside with chemicals

I assumed you were having some kind of pest treatment

Alice became very concerned

she called the police to report the missing boys

they came very fast and listened to her story

the officer told her not to touch anything in the house

soon after a detective arrived

he asked her to describe the boys appearance

he nodded when she provided the details

the detective told Alice to listen carefully

we have been searching for this criminal gang for a long time

the boys are sophisticated computer hackers

they have given your bank account login details to the gang boss

we need your cooperation to catch them all emptying your bank accounts

Alice Part 2

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Alice brought the boys inside

just then a text came in from Dave

my brother was in a bad car wreck

I am driving to the hospital to see him

so sorry replied Alice what can I do to help

feed the boys dinner please replied Dave

can they stay with you

I may not be back until tomorrow

she gave the boys dinner

 they settled down in front of the TV

there was only one more text from Dave

not looking good so I will stay here tonight

the next morning she made breakfast for the boys

they each had laptops to do schoolwork

the elder boy Jimmy said his laptop was broken

Alice set him up to use her computer

the boys spent all morning doing homework

such great kids thought Alice

not wasting their time on video games

she sent Dave a text but there was no reply

she asked the boys if Dave had said anything to them

dad said he had a family emergency and we were to stay with you

by late afternoon there was still no text from Dave

her calls to him went straight to voicemail

Alice felt something was not right

she decided to drive across town to Daves house

telling the boys she was going to the store and would be back in an hour

she pulled up at his house and saw the front door wide open

she walked inside and the place was totally empty

can I help you said a man at the open door

I am looking for my boyfriend Dave she said

the man told her Dave had loaded a van and vacated the house that morning

New start but old ways -Part 5

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Rick stared down the barrel of the gun for what seemed like an eternity

Before asking Evelyn why she wanted to shoot him

She apologized and said she thought a fox was after the chickens

When she saw the barn door opening she instinctively pointed the gun there

Rick knew she was lying because he had not heard anything disturbing the chickens

He suggested she come in the barn so they could stake out the fox from the side window

She agreed and came inside standing close to him at the window

Rick told her she looked beautiful in the moonlight 

They kissed and fell to the floor in a passionate embrace

Go slowly she gasped its been a long time since either of us did this

She left the barn before dawn and slipped back to her room

I hope she worries about that fox again Rick said to himself

Rick met with Mr Jones at the farm the next day

He wanted to know if Rick could fix farm machinery

Sure I can said Rick and he started work straight away

Within a week he had everything running smoothly

The farm had not been maintained well and Mr Jones was in his late seventies

Rick noticed a man called Bobby came by every week to pay Mr Jones

Mr Jones explained that he had no time to work on selling the farm production 

Bobby was an agent for a big company who bought from all the local farms

Mr Jones said he could not afford to buy any more spare parts for the machinery

Rick became suspicious that something was not right

He asked Mr jones if he take a look at the books 

Mr Jones agreed and fortunately for Rick it was all hand written ledgers

Rick had studied book keeping and some contract law in prison

He noticed that the payments from Bobby represented a lot less than their true value 

He said nothing to Mr Jones and waited for an opportunity to confront Bobby

A few weeks later Mr Jones had gone into town when Bobby showed up

After the truck was loaded with produce Bobby started to write a check

Not so fast said Rick you are underpaying Mr Jones and have been for years

Bobby laughed in his face and said thats the kind of loose talk that gets folk killed around here

Besides its your word against mine and nobody believes an ex-con