My Entry for the 2015 NYC Midnight Flash Fiction Challenge Kate for Jack

I recently entered the NYC Midnight 2015 Flash Fiction Challenge. It will be mid-September before I know how I did, but each of us will receive feedback from at least professional 3 judges, so I think it's a valuable contest, even if one doesn't win.. This is the first flash fiction challenge that I've ever entered. 

For this first round, I was placed into heat 11, and given genre: horror, location: lighthouse, object: walkie talkie and word limit: 1,000 words.

The title of my story is: Kate for Jack.

My synopsis: They say that not even death can stop true love. As a grieving Kate soon finds out, sometimes, it might be best if Love didn't conquer all.

I also want to add that the setting of my story, the Lighthouse at Monhegan, Maine, is a real place, but it is used fictitiously in my story. None of the characters in my story are based on any real persons that have existed at any real point and place in time. 

This story is copyrighted by me, and no one has permission to use my story, in part or in whole, without my prior express written permission, except for a short excerpt used to conduct a review of the story. 

Please read my story and let me know what you think in the comments section below. I especially treasure any specific suggestions for how I can improve my writing skills and the story overall.

Kate for Jack

By Lyn Brooks

Kate pulled the tower door closed and walked out onto the narrow and rusting iron platform. 200 feet above sea level, counting the hill, she had a perfect view of the harbor. She grasped the railing with her left hand as she looked out towards the horizon. The sun was just beginning to set, turning the Atlantic's icy blue waves into gold.

Below her, she could hear the bell-like laughter of children interspersed with the drone of adults' idle chit chat. Tourists came to Monhegan to ramble over the isolated Island's pristine nature trails. With some luck, they might see a flock of endangered birds, or a whale, before stopping by to visit the lighthouse turned museum.

They hurried to the wharf now, as all outsiders did in the evening. 12 miles from the mainland, no one wanted to miss the lone ferry that could carry them back to civilization. It was the last night of the season; the winds and waters were already beginning to turn rough and cold. After tonight, there would be no more visitors until the following June. For townies and city-folk, the wilds of nature were something to be enjoyed, and endured, in small, bite-sized chunks.

It was quiet now. Kate continued looking out onto the ocean, silently nodding to herself. To her ear she raised the well-worn walkie talkie that she had brought with her. Earlier in the day, she had taken care to replace the batteries with fresh ones.

Without towers, cellphones were unreliable in remote places, so the island's residents still relied on walkie talkies for close communication. It had been Kate and Jack's preferred way, 13 their favorite channel. She had always called on his return approach to the harbor.

"How can I find my way home without the voice of my sweet angel to steer by?" Jack had often asked her.

There were only 64 year round locals left on the island. Exactly one year ago, tonight, there had been 65.

"Has it really been one full year?" Kate asked out loud, but only the roar of the waves answered.

Kate hit the button and waited a moment before speaking, so none of her words would be cut off.

"Kate for Jack," she spoke, loudly, into the walkie talkie. She waited a moment before repeating her words. A hiss of dead air was the only reply.

Kate leaned forward against the railing, and began to cry. "What were you thinking, crazy girl, did you really expect a reply?" she wept bitterly.

Kate wasn't certain how long she stood there, silently searching the sea. She wasn't even certain what, exactly, she was looking for; a sign, maybe.

Hours later, the full moon was shining high in the night's sky when Kate's walkie began to squeal and burst with static. She felt her heart leap inside her chest, and then drop, when she heard the harbormaster's gruff voice. "Bill for Kate, Bill for Kate."

Kate sighed as she keyed and replied, "Go for Kate."

"What's your 20 Kate?" Bill asked, and continued without waiting for a reply, "You're up there, aren't you? I knew you would be. I know you've been holding out hope, but, you have to let it go, Kate, Jack's not coming back. No one could come back after that storm, the wind, the size of the swells. We all would have heard something by now if he had survived. It's been a year, Kate. You have to let him go. For your own good girl; you have to let Jack go."

Kate shook her head as she replied hoarsely, "There was no wreckage, Bill, no body. I have to keep hoping, as crazy as it sounds, Bill. I have to keep believing, searching, trying until I see some evidence that he is, indeed, beyond us, gone." Kate began to cry again.

Bill sighed and asked gently, "Are you going to stay up there all night, then?"

"No," Kate choked out between sobs, "I am coming down; it's after Midnight now, after it happened. I reckon if he was going to contact me I would have heard from him by now. I'll lock up, before I walk home, Bill. Don't you worry. I'm not giving up, mind you. I'm just resolved to try again next year."

"That's a good plan, Katie, just put it out of your mind and leave it in Fate's hands until next year. Going off walkie now, Kate, you take care." Bill replied, the sound of relief evident in the tone of his voice.

"Going off walkie too, Bill, you take care also." Kate signed off and went back into the tower. As she began her descent she thought she heard something rattle in the darkness below.

Every seven seconds the light made its signal circuit, piercing the darkness. Kate breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that the lighthouse's bottom floor was empty.

Closing and bolting the door and gate to the lighthouse behind her, Kate had just inserted the key into the lock when she was assaulted by waves of nausea brought on by a strong odor.

"Someone must have lost part of their catch nearby and the day's heat has fouled it," Kate thought. The scent grew stronger as she felt something grasp her shoulder from behind.

Turning, she glimpsed what appeared to be seaweed and barnacle encrusted arms encircling her waist, embracing her. "Has a giant squid made it ashore," she wondered.

She opened her mouth, to scream, but the monster's maw came down on her lips, silencing her. She flailed her arms and legs wildly, desperate to get away.

Suddenly, the creature let go, and she fell to the ground. She lunged for the walkie talkie, furiously pushing the talk button, "Kate for Bill, are you there Bill…" Kate pleaded.

"Go for Bill, what's wrong!" Bill cried.

Finally looking up into the bloated face of the thing that stood over her, Kate whimpered, "Eyes on Jack, Eyes on Jack!"

Photo Credit: Kristen "Shoe" Shoemaker at Flickr.