Iain Kelly

Fiction Writing

HAPPY NEW YEAR

She glanced at her watch again, then out the window at the black sky. From the street below they could hear the crowd counting down.

The man tried to shout through the tape over his mouth, jerking his body on the chair he was tied to.

3…2…1… Midnight struck. The first firework soared into the sky from the castle overlooking the city. As the first bang filled the air, she shot him. The noise from the gun was lost amidst the fireworks.

She sat at the window and watched the rest of the display. One less bomb-maker in the world. Not a bad way to start the new year.

vijaya
© Vijaya Sundaram

Written as part of the Friday Fictioneers challenge hosted by Rochelle Wisoff-Fields (more details HERE). The idea is to write a short story of 100 words based on the photo prompt (above, thanks to Vijaya for the photo).

For more stories, visit the INLINKZ GROUP

Iain Kelly

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66 responses to “HAPPY NEW YEAR”

  1. Sandra Avatar
    Sandra

    It looks as though a violent theme will run through this week’s submissions. Great take on the prompt, mixing celebration with rough justice.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Iain Kelly Avatar
      Iain Kelly

      Yes, I noticed that Sandra. What does it say about us all that we see a photo of a firework and all see war and death!?! Thanks for reading and commenting.

      Liked by 2 people

      Reply
      1. creatingahome Avatar
        creatingahome

        I think everyone wanted to avoid the obvious, a feel good story.
        I like your story perfect movie scene.

        Liked by 1 person

      2. Iain Kelly Avatar
        Iain Kelly

        Thanks, I can see it as part of a spy thriller!

        Liked by 1 person

      3. creatingahome Avatar
        creatingahome

        My thoughts exactly.

        Liked by 1 person

  2. neilmacdon Avatar
    neilmacdon

    Chilling. Perhaps she’ll develop a taste for vigilante justice

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  3. Lynn Love Avatar
    Lynn Love

    Grimly glorious, Iain. Often thought how perfect nights such as New Years Eve and the UK’s Bonfire Night would be for prospective gun weilders – who would realise anything had happened until way after the shooter had escaped? Great tale

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  4. Al Avatar
    Al

    That was a twist. From victim to terrorist. Great story Iain.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Iain Kelly Avatar
      Iain Kelly

      Many thanks.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  5. rochellewisoff Avatar
    rochellewisoff

    Dear Iain,

    I felt sorry for him until the last line. Good for her. Well done.

    Shalom,

    Rochelle

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. ceayr Avatar
      ceayr

      One man’s terrorist, m’lady, you know the rest…

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  6. Dreamer of Dreams Avatar
    Dreamer of Dreams

    A grim and unexpected twist right off the bat. Well done!
    Oh, and my name is spelled Vijaya, not Vijayay! 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Iain Kelly Avatar
      Iain Kelly

      Apologies Vijaya. Thanks for reading and the prompt.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  7. shehannemoore Avatar
    shehannemoore

    Way tae go Iain. That last line was amazing. Nothing like a spot of rough justice.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Iain Kelly Avatar
      Iain Kelly

      Thanks Shehanne, she’s definitely a character I could write more about.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
      1. shehannemoore Avatar
        shehannemoore

        You have my attention Iain……

        Liked by 1 person

      2. Iain Kelly Avatar
        Iain Kelly

        My minds ticking over on a much longer story for her, maybe novel-size – so you might have to wait a while…!

        Liked by 1 person

      3. shehannemoore Avatar
        shehannemoore

        That’s ok. These things don’t write in a day. But I think you have someone there you sure could write about . You have an excellent scenario too for starters.

        Liked by 1 person

  8. Clare Hempstead Avatar
    Clare Hempstead

    Great take on the prompt.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Iain Kelly Avatar
      Iain Kelly

      Thanks Clare.

      Like

      Reply
  9. calensariel Avatar
    calensariel

    VERY well executed! (Pardon the pun… 😀 )

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Iain Kelly Avatar
      Iain Kelly

      Haha, very good punning! Thanks for reading.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  10. gahlearner Avatar
    gahlearner

    Great misdirection and twist here. Well done. And you’re right, explosions seem to give writers violent thoughts. 😀

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  11. Morgan Avatar
    Morgan

    Powerful with a brilliant twist 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Iain Kelly Avatar
      Iain Kelly

      Thanks Morgan

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  12. Graham Lawrence Avatar
    Graham Lawrence

    Justice has been served. Interesting story.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Iain Kelly Avatar
      Iain Kelly

      Thanks Graham.

      Like

      Reply
  13. jademwong Avatar
    jademwong

    Whoa! Great twist on the fireworks! Love that you tied with a bomb-maker being killed. It just seems so fitting in a poetically justified kinda way. Nice job Iain 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Iain Kelly Avatar
      Iain Kelly

      Thanks Jade. Enjoyed writing this one.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  14. nonsmokingladybug Avatar
    nonsmokingladybug

    One less bomb maker is a good start into the new year. I enjoyed this post.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Iain Kelly Avatar
      Iain Kelly

      Many thanks, glad you enjoyed!

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  15. michael1148humphris Avatar
    michael1148humphris

    But he might have been making bombs to kill the bad guys? 🙂 who ever they might be.🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Iain Kelly Avatar
      Iain Kelly

      Very true Michael, we don’t know his story at all!

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  16. Björn Rudberg (brudberg) Avatar
    Björn Rudberg (brudberg)

    As much as I hate terrorist, I always prefer a courtroom justice… but I really liked how you turned the tables…

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  17. jlfatgcs Avatar
    jlfatgcs

    Great story! Really.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  18. The Writer's Village Avatar
    The Writer’s Village

    Maybe not an actual terrorist. Maybe a CEO from a major corporation supplying WMD’s to the world. An arbiter of war. An anti-peace purveyor.

    Nice work.
    Randy

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Iain Kelly Avatar
      Iain Kelly

      Very true. Thanks for reading.

      Like

      Reply
  19. draliman Avatar
    draliman

    She’s a very cool customer, I’m guessing this isn’t her first execution. Great story, loved the atmosphere you portrayed both inside and outside the room.

    Like

    Reply
  20. rgayer55 Avatar
    rgayer55

    Timing is everything. I hope she didn’t have to wait for weeks for the fireworks display. 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Iain Kelly Avatar
      Iain Kelly

      Who knows how long she had kept him there….!

      Like

      Reply
  21. wmqcolby Avatar
    wmqcolby

    Ha-HA! Yes! You nailed it! Very clever and well-crafted.

    Five out of five Roman Candles.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  22. Caerlynn Nash Avatar
    Caerlynn Nash

    I like what you did with this prompt. Nicely done!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Iain Kelly Avatar
      Iain Kelly

      Many thanks Caerlynn

      Like

      Reply
  23. Michael Wynn Avatar
    Michael Wynn

    Great take and brilliant twist. I think there was an Agatha Christie where the killer used fireworks to disguise gunfire, ideal really. I presume the coroner will be able to be dead accurate about time of death.

    Like

    Reply
  24. Laurie Bell Avatar
    Laurie Bell

    Ahhh a great disguise for the sound. A good purpose. Well told

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Iain Kelly Avatar
      Iain Kelly

      Thanks Laurie.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  25. ceayr Avatar
    ceayr

    Love the story.
    And I find it interesting that every comment above assumes the victim is the bad guy.
    So you got folk thinking, well done.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Iain Kelly Avatar
      Iain Kelly

      Yes, interesting that without any back story most people accept her view that he was definitely a bad man or some kind of terrorist. Might be a good one to develop the story more in the future.

      Like

      Reply
  26. lingeringvisions by Dawn Avatar
    lingeringvisions by Dawn

    And just like that…BOOM! 😉

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  27. S.M.Peterson Avatar
    S.M.Peterson

    Absolutely fabulous!!!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  28. natashasolae Avatar
    natashasolae

    This seems like something that would happen in Vegas. When I used to live there, we as the locals always made jokes about not wanting to go out because something always crazy happens in Vegas. One time, there was this whole, real life Mission Impossible scene, in which two guys (pimps) shot at eachother, flipped over their cars, ran over people, blew up taxi’s while at war with one another. 😐

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Iain Kelly Avatar
      Iain Kelly

      Ha, that would make a great story. Definitely could see this happening in Vegas. Thanks for reading.

      Like

      Reply
  29. The Mom Who Runs Avatar
    The Mom Who Runs

    Great action and pace. I love that your MC is female. Go get him, girl! 😉

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  30. Margaret Avatar
    Margaret

    She’s an intriguing character. Your story makes me wonder who she is and how she got into that situation. She’s obviously not a novice executioner. Much food for thought – or a longer story.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Iain Kelly Avatar
      Iain Kelly

      Thanks Margaret, since writing I have been thinking there is a longer story in here… we’ll see!

      Like

      Reply
  31. Emily Livingstone Avatar
    Emily Livingstone

    Interesting. Nice job building tension. I’m not used to imagining a character who’s a vigilante going after bomb-makers–I like trying to imagine her backstory–and his.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  32. patriciaruthsusan Avatar
    patriciaruthsusan

    How calmly she accepts the execution. It makes me wonder what she’s been through. Good writing, Iain. —- Suzanne

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Iain Kelly Avatar
      Iain Kelly

      There’s definitely an interesting back story to be written. Many thanks.

      Like

      Reply
  33. Jack Avatar
    Jack

    Hi there would you mind stating which blog platform you’re using?
    I’m planning to start my own blog in the near future but I’m having a difficult time choosing between BlogEngine/Wordpress/B2evolution and Drupal.
    The reason I ask is because your design and style seems different then most blogs and I’m looking for something
    completely unique. P.S My apologies for getting off-topic but I
    had to ask!

    Like

    Reply
    1. Iain Kelly Avatar
      Iain Kelly

      Hi Jack, I use wordpress and the design is one of the free ones available to use. If it helps you, I have no complaints about wordpress, really enjoy using it. Good luck, Iain

      Like

      Reply
  34. Iain Kelly Avatar
    Iain Kelly

    Reblogged this on Iain Kelly and commented:

    Originally written and posted in August, it seemed a good idea to reblog it now that it’s more appropriate for the time of year. Happy New Year everyone and all the best for 2017.

    Like

    Reply
  35. CONNECTION – Iain Kelly Avatar
    CONNECTION – Iain Kelly

    […] Although this stands alone as a piece of intrigue, in my mind it is a sort of sequel to a previous Friday Fictioneers story which you can find here: HAPPY NEW YEAR. […]

    Like

    Reply
  36. Kalpana Solsi Avatar
    Kalpana Solsi

    The last two lines changed the story. well done Iain K.

    Like

    Reply
  37. THE STATE TRILOGY A-Z GUIDE: A – Iain Kelly Avatar
    THE STATE TRILOGY A-Z GUIDE: A – Iain Kelly

    […] Assassin: At the start of the first book, the character of Gabriella Marino is introduced. At this moment she is an assassin for hire. The character of a female assassin, and the opening image of the novel, were actually originally in a short 100-word story I wrote for a prompt on my blog. At the time I had no thought of fleshing this character out and expanding on her, but unbeknown to me, with that story the seeds of the entire trilogy began. You can read the original short story on my blog HERE […]

    Like

    Reply
  38. Arti Jain Avatar
    Arti Jain

    Wow! this is impactful.
    The assassin lingers on.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Iain Kelly Avatar
      Iain Kelly

      She certainly did in my mind. Thank you

      Like

      Reply

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