PHOTO PROMPT ©Sandra Crook
The Guilty
We huddle in the cold, dry basement; it’s the vacant home of our neighbors, another evicted family. Guardians have set Hounds on us. Overlords always do it around Christmas-time; but this year is different. Not satisfied with only eviction, Guardians are to round up the guilty and hold us in makeshift shipping pod jails until further orders.
Father keeps himself between us and entryways, ready with the Mesmerizer.
Multi-faceted eyes leer through egress windows, followed by whining and scratching sounds.
Father pushes stun on the Mesmerizer as we shield our eyes. The Hound yelps.
We drag it in quickly. We’ll eat well tonight.
[103 words]
Rochelle Wisoff-Fields is the host of Friday Fictioneers.
Tao Talk 
Well, that was creepy!
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That’s a freaky photo which makes it easy to go creepy. Thanks, Nolcha!
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Now that is a tough neighborhood you live in! That picture is so odd….I can’t put my finger on it but it’s not right in some way or another.
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lol It’s a vision of the future… You’re right about the pic.
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I hope not! LOL…but I liked it and it was also weird at the same time.
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Oofah! A chilling one that gave me the shivers, Lisa!
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A gory tale Li. You’re so good at telling such stories my friend
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Sadje, thank you very much.
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You are most welcome dear friend 🥰
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You’ve gone all apocalyptic on us. The mesmeriser sounds fun
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The first thing I saw was “the eyes” and the rest had to follow. Thanks, Neil.
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Wow! I love how you got your story from this photo! Quite the dystopian scenario! Nicely done, Lisa.
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Thanks, Dale! The pic got my mind spinning.
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Fabulously!
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Good write… A dark tale of the down-trodden.
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Chris, thank you. I’m glad you saw it that way, which is how I see them as being under attack.
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Ooh! I had almost forgotten how good you are at fiction! This gave me the shivers.
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Punam, I see the have-nots increasing under pressures no being should be under. Housing is a huge one, and just finding enough to eat.
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It is the same everywhere, Li. Inflation, government policies and general public apathy has brought us to this. The world should have been in a better state if our leaders had cared.
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Oooo so much in this, I want more! What a tastey snippet of drama, SSF and horror. Love it.
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Laurie, thanks. It’s all Sandra’s fault.
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Scary stuff. (Have you got a decent recipe?)
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As there is no source of heat and cooking it would give their location away, I think they just hack off a slice and gnaw.
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So perfectly creepy , but also a testament to a father’s defense of his family. A true holiday story…lol.
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Clare, I love your comment. You just made me think of a movie that will always be debated as to whether the Bruce Willis movie, “Die Hard” is a Christmas movie or not. :)
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a lots of stuff woven in few words…enjoyed reading
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Nandini, thanks much, glad you enjoyed it :)
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Oh my, the picture took you to very creepy place!
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Those glassy pink rimmed eyes freaked me out.
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Ugh, hot dogs!
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lol!
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Dear Lisa,
Fillet of Rover for Christmas dinner. A rather eerie tale. Well done.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Rochelle, I think you can tell by the eyes that this is no ordinary Rover. Thanks very much.
Shalom,
Lisa
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Fantastic ending Li :-)
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Thanks again, my friend.
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