Furious Fiction July 2021
PROMPTS FOR JULY
Your story must take place at some kind of contest
Your story must include a character who forgets something
Your story must include the words PRESS, FLING and GROUND
The words can be longer but you must keep the original spelling must be retained. Eg. PRESSure, FLINGs, backGROUND
Maximum word count 500
* * * *
Funhouse
She groaned and rolled on to her back. Her head and body ached she felt like she’d been in a car crash. She struggled to remember what happened, exactly how she ended up here, but she couldn’t. In fact, she couldn’t remember anything. It was like all her memories were just gone. She couldn’t remember who she was.
She pushed herself up into a sitting position, her eyes opening. It took a few moments for her eyes to adjust to the almost complete darkness, but finally she could see. Specifically herself, reflected in an entire row of mirrors that lined the wall in front of her.
Her eyes were drawn to the small white name tag stuck to her shirt. Her head dropped down and she ripped it off her chest, holding it up so she could see it. Freya. According to this name tag her name was Freya. It sounded right, she guessed. She supposed it would do as a name for now.
A groan from behind her drew her attention. And she twisted around to see a man there. He had a name tag too, Daniel. Freya kept her distance just in case he wasn’t friendly. “Are you ok?”
“Feel like I’ve been beaten over the head a few times.” Daniel groaned looking up at her. “What happened?” He’d barely finished his question before a buzzer sound exploded through the room, buzzing through his head so loud he wondered if his brain would explode from the pressure. Just as quickly as it started, it stopped and a voice rung out through the room.
“Welcome to the contest of life. Eight competitors, but only one winner. You came to the Funhouse for an adventure, so fling off all your inhibitions and remember, play to win. There is no second place.”
Freya looked around trying to find the speakers, to pinpoint the sound of the voice. “I don’t know what’s happening here, but I am starting to get very uncomfortable.” She pushed herself up off the ground and walked over to Daniel.
“You’re not the only one.” Daniel said glancing up at Freya. The reflections in the mirror changed, it was no longer showing just him and Freya, now it was showing a mixture of seven other couples, each couple in a room, with only one means of escape, a single doorway.
Freya walked forward and pressed her hand against the mirror. The surface was solid and cool to the touch, she doubted that it was just a mirror, though she wasn’t sure why. “What’s the last thing you remember?”
“Coming to the amusement park for a little fun. I knew I’d find it in the Funhouse.” Daniel said reaching behind his back and gripping the knife he’d hidden.
Freya’s head snapped around sharply. He remembered what happened, how he got here. She didn’t need to listen to her instincts screaming at her, she already knew something was wrong.
“Run.” Daniel growled launching himself forward right at Freya.