Welcome to the Wakefield Doctrine (the theory of clarks, scotts and rogers)
This is the Six Sentence Story bloghop.
It is hosted by Denise.
It has one-and-a-half Rules: using the prompt word, write a story consisting of precisely six sentences, then go and read and comment on the stories submitted by your fellow-sextuplets (and sextuplae).
This is a ‘Whitechapel Interlude‘ week and so, below, is the next installment in our serial story set in Victorian London. Just entering the thrall of a most famous of mass murderers, our tale includes a secret society dating back to Man’s expulsion from a certain Garden, mind (and body) controlling demons and, for good measure, a central character who happens to be a Time Traveler.
The prompt word:
MENU
I became aware of walking, a split second after discovering a missing step in the grand staircase connecting the St. Pancras Hotel to Euston Road and the rest of London.
The Order values physical conditioning in its members and places as much emphasis on training the body as it does the mind and soul; despite the darkness of night and the diminution of vision caused by nascent panic at the prospect of serious injury, I was able to maintain an awareness of my immediate surroundings.
Taught to trust my animal instinct in the face of serious physical injury, I gave little thought to the emotional cost of the awareness of being controlled in my intentions if not my immediate actions; a marionette needs not see the strings to feel the puppet master.
For the moment, and a split-second-of-a-moment following, I grabbed for the nearest handhold as my body, still in the grips of momentum and gravity, hurtled downward, I discovered a new appreciation for the absence of personal responsibility.
“Go on with ya!” by way of introduction, my savior’s late night contralto conveyed as much concern as I might ask of a soft and lively stanchion, appearing in my moment of need, saving me from a granite and cobblestone demise.
“Men! You! All after the same thing.”
About clarkscottroger
“a marionette needs not see the strings to feel the puppet master”
Shakespeare? No? Then good on ya. Another fun installment, the enfallment installment.
thankee, Miz ‘Vry
liked the line enough to include it, though I suspect my narrative thread is spinning thin at this point (the Time Traveller is now pulling Anselm’s strings..) seems like the two kids in our story are in a bit of a pickle … guess its up to Brother Abbott and Mother Superior to save the day
Clever way of sneaking in the prompt twice, once as the title and at the beginning of the last line
with “Men! You!”
All the world is a stage, right!
lol thanks, Pat. (this was a case of having the punchline before the story… )
Thank you! Hadn’t picked that up – too involved (me thinks) by the great 6!
Very slick. You do this well. Great double use of the cue.
Thanks, man
Intriguing scene, for certain–and I felt my breath catch, falling along with your character. Also intriguing: “a marionette needs not see the strings to feel the puppet master”.
An engrossing walk-through of the moment of a fall, taking us hand in hand on a brief but perilous journey. The ‘marionette’ line is just stellar.
I once took a nasty fall, and though I know it only lasted seconds time seemed to stop and the old cliché of “your life flashing before you” really did take on form. Plus after, I swear I saw stars twirling around my head like in a cartoon.
Here’s to keeping our legs and feet!
yeah, whats the deal with that time elongation effect! I have had occasion to experience it… damn! theys some kinds of under-utilized potential in the mind, no?
For sure about that time elongation… how can our brains process and image back to us so much information in so short a time? Like a search engine plucking out results at warp speed. Fascinating.
Hey! You surely have yourself a story hook… imagine living like that… no not all the time… intermittently …triggered by some mysterious cue
Oh, that falling feeling, and the joy when something intervenes.
falling is not particularly fun, especially have the rubber bones of childhood become porcelain
You clever, clever fella! You men, you are good at a turn of phrase….
Thankee, Miz Dyanne
Interesting line: “he emotional cost of the awareness of being controlled in my intentions if not my immediate actions” It is good to be in control of something.
hahaha. clever use of word sound.
thank you
Clever double use of the prompt with a twist!