Collector

Reading Time: < 1 minute


“The very last one,” Meredith whispered as she pinned the treasure to a small square of cardboard and lowered it carefully into the box.

She’d tracked the Solar Locust, Eater of Worlds, through six systems and two light-years. A mottled brown with only a hint of the yellow that adorned the female, he wasn’t the prettiest prize. But the end of a line. “Priceless.”

*

She watched the shadow through the doorway, felt the life drain from her mate. The thief had stolen her post-coital meal, sealing her fate. Her brood would make a delightful parting gift.

 


A World Eater tale.
My first contribution to Friday Fictioneers  organized by Rochelle Wisoff-Fields. 100 words. Photo prompt. To see other’s responses to the prompt go here.
Photo Copyright – Shaktiki Sharma

24 thoughts on “Collector

  1. Dear Carl,

    There are two ways of seeing things aren’t there? I like the way you divided the story between the human and then insect. Well done. Welcome to Friday Fictioneers. 😀

    Shalom,

    Rochelle

    1. Thank YOU, Rochelle. Great fun – I love the challenge of hitting 100 on the nose! I’m really enjoying reading everyone’s unique path from the prompt.

  2. Carl! Welcome to our clan.
    As Rochelle said, your contrast between the human and the insect is spot on. I truly enjoyed this piece. Stick with us. Friday Fictioneers is a great weekly challenge. Alicia

  3. Nicely done Carl. Great use of perspective. Like a lot of these short stories, there’s another tale to be told about her hunting through the universe to capture her prize – and then the aftermath. Well done.

    1. Thank you. I actually found this character in a prompt earlier this week (A Pleasure to Burn). She definitely has more stories to tell.

  4. And what a parting gift – a swarm of Solar Locusts. The collector will wish she’d never tracked them down. Great take on the prompt and very nicely written

  5. Excellent first contribution, but now you’ve set the bar high for your later stories! Nicely done; I appreciated the two different perspectives.

  6. And in a wicked irony she will provide the meal to ensure her specimen’s offspring make his remains a lot less valuable to a collector.

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