Prelude to a Kill

Contest submission: 450 words based on an interpretation of this picture.

I didn't have a lot of time left in the contest so I did a story improv and just quickly tweaked it to stay within the word count and ensure proper grammar and spelling. It didn't garner any placings in the contest but I had fun.

So the hunt begins with a long sweeping curve across the outermost boundary of his domain. Rising ever upward as if to penetrate the very roof of the sky, he hovers to obtain an optimum vantage point.

Down across the barren terrain he gazes at nothing in particular but detects everything. His next meal awaits somewhere below; inevitable as the path he will repeat over and again until it is so. The chill in the air reminds him that this is the time to be patient. So confident is he in his skills of the hunt, the pursuit is merely a necessary exercise to a forgone conclusion.

He circles back and forth in an ever tightening pattern. His muscles are calm but aware, awaiting the split second calling at the precise time of need. No prey, no competitor within his sight can match his speed of approach.

Across the flats, barely perceptible, he catches the movement of a dull shadow permeating out from behind an object obscuring his direct contact. This is it. His muscles grow tight as he dives down, contorting his body into a missile-like form. The speed is relentless and his heart beats crazy as he races against his fellow competitors toward the kill until at last he arrives.

“Good morning,” he says, “That’s a fine automobile. I have the keys right here. Why don’t we take it for a test ride?”

His prey securely in his talons, there will be no escaping on this particular morning.

3 comments:

Nessa said...

Car salesmen as predators? Very clever use of imagery.

Boy Meets Girl in 55

Mrsupole said...

When I go to the car dealership to get work done on my car, I see the car salesmen standing there doing exactly what you have described. You know that they are watching when you make that turn from the street, you can feel the disappointment that they emit when driving to the Service Department.

Watching you like predators waiting to pounce upon you if you even so much as look at one of the newer models. I sometimes like to play the game and even walk up to one of the new cars, then as soon as one bravely takes a step in my direction I turn around and walk to the Service Desk. I know it is wrong of me to do this but sometimes I just cannot stop myself. This way when I do decide to buy a newer model I feel like I have made that salesman truly earn his commission and I then do not feel so bad about how much they have ripped me off to get it.

Although you could have also used in place of the salesman, someone trying to get a first date, or a dentist pulling out a tooth, an OB Doc delivering a baby, I think that what you wrote can describe so many different situations, so by doing that I give you an A+ and am shocked that you did not win anything. What can I say, only that we, your fanatical fans, truly enjoy your writing.

God bless.

monica said...

neat - very neat...