LNH: Ten-Minute Tales #1

[Drew Perron]

"See how they sing!" crowed the conductor. "They know their reward awaits, if 
they do not stint, if they keep themselves occupied, every moment and every note--"

"You _asshole_." She smelled of ozone, sparking over her bleeding skin, her torn 
costume. "You take free people and lock them in chains, drain their blood and 
sweat, grind their faces in the dirt, and then, when they sing themselves a 
hopeful song to hold body, mind and soul together through the endless ordeal, 
you use that to *justify* their suffering?" One eye was gone, replaced by an 
endless, rolling storm.

He laughed, the lash slicing through the air, into the ground. "I would use 
anything to justify this! I am power, and power is its own justification!"

"You are stolen power! Their beating hearts pump your blood!" And the lightning 
stilled, and the dust settled; and she stood there, blood, bone and flesh, and 
grinned. "And you know it - and you fear!"

"I fear _nothing_! Especially not _you_!"

"You fear the silence." And she raised her voice, and sang; and it blocked him 
out, and it blocked out the song of the people, and they looked up, irritated 
that even this had been taken from them; but they saw the lash come down, and 
they heard the song end; and there was silence for just a moment--

And they marched on the mountaintop, and they tore him to pieces.

----

The dread planet Topphorti is naught but mirrors and garish light. But even this 
dazzling world has dark places, and in the darkest of the dark places, the 
quietly brave whisper this old, old story.

And if they are especially brave, and especially keen at being especially quiet, 
they whisper: "That was neither the first time, nor the last, that dread 
Flipseid was defeated."

----

Author's Note: This is a new series where I open up a posting window, take ten 
minutes, and just flat-out write a story in that time. I'm allowing myself to do 
some editing afterwards to make sure the story gets its proper shape; but I want 
to channel the pure narrative emotion, and just, get it the fuck out there. Not 
sure how often this will update, but I'm aiming for as often as possible.

Drew "I had no idea that this would be about Flipseid when I started" Perron