Queer Sci Fi did a Flash Fiction contest. They gave us a word and you only had 300 words to get your story across. This was their 3rd annual and I decided to give it a go. After I wrote it, I talked to SJ Frost. I told her we should do some writing exercises using this format. We decided to make it 500 words and we would take turns picking a word. This time I picked the word Sound. I figured it would be fun to share them and SJ agreed. Here is our first attempt. These are unedited.
SJ went a little naughty. Here is hers.
His Voice
By S.J. Frost
Letting out a tired sigh, Brent closed the apartment door. Work had been exhausting, but now that he was home, the stress melted away. He stepped out of his shoes, leaving them beside Vic’s near the door. It used to be odd for Vic to be home on a Friday night. When they first moved in together, after Vic answered his ad for a roommate, he was out every Friday looking for his weekend lay. That had tapered off in the past couple of months to where Vic was home every night.
Double checking that the door was locked, Brent moved toward the hallway leading to their bedrooms. Neither of them had been sure how it was going to work out when they started rooming together. No problems were on his side, but Vic, while accepting, wasn’t the most comfortable with him at first. But he was also the first gay man Vic had ever hung out with. Now, though, they weren’t only roommates. They were best friends.
If only they could be more.
Brent stopped the thought. He’d had it too many times and lately, it’d plagued him more than usual. He fought it constantly, knowing it would never happen, but sometimes, the way Vic looked at him made him wonder…
Brent froze. A sound came to his ears, the rhythm undeniable. The bed creaked softly from Vic’s room…too soft for him to have company. Above the creaking came voices, moaning, filled with pleasure. He’d heard Vic jerking off and watching porn before, but there was something distinctly different. The deep male groans weren’t accompanied by higher female moans this time. Rather, both voices coming through the computer speakers were male.
Brent leaned back on the wall. His heartbeat jumped into a faster pace. It couldn’t be. He had to be hearing it wrong. But the sounds, the voices…Vic was jerking off to gay porn.
He didn’t know what to do. Should he make some noise to let Vic know he was home? Pretend he’d never heard him? Should he walk in the bedroom and start stripping? Fuck, that could go all kinds of wrong. Or, all kinds of right. Vic knew what time he came home from work. And knowing that, why would he jerk off to gay porn with his bedroom door open?
Unless, Vic wanted to be caught.
Brent gripped his hard cock, his mind racing with a hundred different scenarios and outcomes…and they all stopped at the sound of Vic’s deep moan rising over the video. The sound of his voice made Brent’s decision for him. He turned and stood in the middle of the doorway.
Vic slowly looked up. He didn’t yell at him, try to hide what he was doing or cover up. There was no shame or inhibition in his brown eyes. Rather, to Brent, there was invitation. Holding Vic’s gaze, the sound of the men’s voices in pleasure encouraging him, Brent walked into the room, knowing everything was about to change.
For me, I went with horror, because I’d like to do a full horror story at some point, so this is a good exercise for me to figure out my voice.
The Room
Edward clutched his head and fell to his knees. Bobby ran toward his boyfriend and sank down beside him.
“Eddy, talk to me. What is it? Eddy!”
“Can’t you hear it? Make it stop.” Eddy screamed, rocking back and forth.
Bobby looked around the white padded room they were locked in. There was no sound coming from anywhere. If anything, it was deadly quiet and to be honest, it was freaking him out.
The two of them had been standing there, hoping someone would come soon and release them. They shouldn’t have been locked in to begin with. They worked at the asylum. It was where Bobby met Eddy. Ten years ago to the day.
Now Eddy was pale and whimpering.
“Eddy, we’re in a padded cell. It’s sound proof.”
“What? Bobby? I can’t…” Eddy let out a blood curdling scream and began to pound his head against the wall.
“Stop.” Bobby stood up and backed a step away.
Eddy kept beating himself against the wall. Bobby wanted to help, but he’d worked in the hospital long enough to know that if he got between Eddy and the padded wall, they would both end up hurt.
Bobby took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He needed to focus himself and find out what was going on. Something was happening to Eddy that he couldn’t explain. There was no sound in the room. Nothing that should cause the reaction Eddy was having.
He opened his eyes again and jumped. There was someone at the door.
“Hey! Let us out! What the hell is going on? Eddy needs help.”
The eyes staring through the peep slot didn’t even blink, like he was observing what was happening. The bastard. That was when Bobby heard… something. It was… a laugh.
“This is not funny. Eddy is going to hurt himself. Let us out.”
“What’s good for the goose and all.” The unknown person cackled.
Bobby didn’t recognize the voice. They hadn’t had any new hires recently.
“I’m serious here. I’ll report this if you don’t release us at once.”
Eddy was screaming again.
“Dead. Dead. Dead. All dead, but you.” The voice began to chant.
“Fuck.” Bobby was truly scared for the first time in his adult life. There was no way the person beyond the door was an employee of the asylum. It had to be a patient.
That was when he heard it. It started out as a faint, annoying sound in his ears. It began to get louder and louder. He fell beside Eddy and curled into a ball as he began to scream too. The sound wouldn’t stop, only get louder. It was the unknown person beyond the door, laughing and chanting. Louder. Louder. LOUDER.
“Dead. Dead. Dead. All dead, but you. Die. Die. Die.”
Bobby began to cry. The last word of the chant shattered his ear drums. His hands were sticky with blood. They were going to die and there was nothing he could do about it.
Thanks for looking!