Today’s First Words: January 1, 2019—C.M. Simpson

It’s the first day of a whole new year. The slate is clean, the board is empty, and the months lie ahead, gleaming with promise. Okay, all joking aside, while the months ahead gleam with promise, my dance card is full and I have a shit tonne to do.I’ve written down a few goals for this year, but I’m not ready to name them, yet. They’re on record, so I can’t cheat, and things have started well, but I’m scared I’ll jinx myself, if I say what they are, so I’ll leave it a bit.No nagging.In the meantime, here are the first words from the writing done, today.Another 365 Days of Flash Fiction—Joshua’s Run Joshua thought the world was ending, but he ran anyway—through the silvered trunks and gilded leaves of the moonlit forest, his boots crunching through the leaves, his muscles trembling with fatigue. His breath came in short, hard gasps and his lungs burned with effort. Behind him, the hoofbeats grew louder, a thundering rumble that shook the ground as the unicorns gained.Another 365 Days of Flash Fiction— From the War Zone to…Karaval thought the sky was about to fall, or, perhaps, just the ceiling. The whole building shook as the bombardment continued around him. Dust and small pieces of ceiling fell around him, as he curled under the desk. He had been meaning to go straight through it to the alley beyond, but now…He listened as something whistled and roared overhead, and wished there was a hole he could crawl into.
Another 365 Days of Poetry—All Hail the Harpy HarpyA hagRelegated to the uglier halls of history and mythAnother 365 Days of Poetry—The Dragon ShinesScales a-gleaming, the dragon shinesBeneath the full moon, silver-dippedit flies, seeking prey in lands belowfirst to feed, and then to feast, it hunts   Miguel Unmade
Compared to the human shell he’d been driving, the shuttle was an attractive option… and he really should have chosen a sportier model. What he could have done with one of those….
He made a note to try it later, and then set about proving Abby had done as promised. By the time he’d returned, he had an escort in the form of several pursuit cars, all promising to shoot him down if he didn’t pull over. When he did, the officer who came to arrest him was very puzzled to find the shuttle completely devoid of life. Miguel wondered how long it would take for them to work it out, as he slid out of the shuttle and back into the hangar… and then the pursuit shuttle caught his eye.
Abby was just a fraction too slow in working out what he was about to do. She failed to make the jump.
And she was plenty mad when he returned.
But not as angry as Manx and Mikalesket were, when he finally surfaced in the human shell.
“That cost you another ten years of service, the initial theft was five, the traffic violations eight,” Mikalesket told him, but Manx caught the captain pressing her lips together to suppress a smile, and Manx ducked his head to hide his expression.
The only ones who weren’t amused were the lizardine bodyguards, and they might have looked intimidating, if he hadn’t realised they wouldn’t touch him unless he threatened their charge. Miguel shrugged.
“I appreciate the learning opportunity provided,” he said, and then looked around. “Where is Abby, anyway?”