The Literary Mash-Up Challenge (part 2) - Modern Age Myth (Short Story)

10 days ago I started a competition/challenge called The Literary Mash-Up Challenge. You can read all about it here and find a full breakdown of the rules. The crux of the challenge was that everybody choose a sentence from a favorite book on page 207 and post it in the comments with a brief synopsis of the book. That was the first stage! This is the second stage and the challenge. To take as many of those sentences, broken up/edited as little as possible and build a story/poem/song/script which includes them. I shall be saving all of my voting power this weekend to upvote all entries and may call up a decent sized vote on the best posts that use all of the sentences/words. Also, I shall be looking for curie-able posts among the entrants. If anyone who didn't enter with a sentence in the first part wants to join the fun that is cool and I will consider them for rewards/curation. To get an idea of what I'm asking for check out my story below which shows the sentences in bold and marks which sentence they are with a number. You don't have to number them but please do use bold for the sentences in your posts as this will make my job a lot easier. @manouche @agmoore @olaivart @mountainjewel @blockurator, many thanks for your sentences and I look forward to reading your entries. As a guideline I would ask that fiction be short form, aim for 500 words and please do use the tag #literarymashup. Thanks.

Quick Rules Re-Cap

• Try to use as many of the 6 sentences (listed below), broken up/edited as little as possible within the text of your story/poem/song/script.

• Aim for 500 words.

• Tag the post with #literarymashup

• Please use Bold to indicate the 6 sentences within the body of the text.

• Link your post in the comments section so that everyone can read each others posts (not compulsory but recommended).

• Most importantly, have fun with this. Any style or genre is cool.
  

The Sentences

1. The sentence below was taken from the book, Raavan and Eddie by Kiran Nagarkar. Suggested by @manouche:
   When Eddie rose from underneath the stampede, he was devoid of a shoe along with its sock, the collar of his shirt, two buttons of his fly and Crystal's ticket.

2. The sentence below was taken from the book, Hunger by Knut Hamsun. Suggested by @agmoore:
   No, there was no longer any limit to the low things I might be tempted to do.

3. The sentence below was taken from the book, The Distant Land of My Father by Bo Caldwell. Suggested by @olaivart:
   Papers were scattered about, and a pile of newspapers in the corner looked as though it had been flattened into a bed, which was fine by him.

4. The sentence below was taken from the book, Feeding your Demons by Tsultrim Allione. Suggested by @mountainjewel:
   Unfortunately this meant she could never invite any friends home to play, and she lived in fear that her secret would be discovered.

5. The sentence below was taken from the book, Hard-boiled wonderland and the end of the world by Haruki Murakami. Suggested by @raj808 (me 😉)
   The moss appeared unnaturally green, inexplicable for these depths beyond the reach of photosynthesis.

6. The sentence below was taken from the book, Washer Mouth by Kevin L. Donihe. Suggested by @blockurator
   What if he had a brain freeze and ditched all his lines, or farted, or, worse yet, sucked up Helen's clothes?

Source: Pixabay

My Story - Modern Age Myth

That infernal alarm rattled. The sun traced a line of fire across the back of my eyes.

Fuck, why didn’t I close the curtains last night?

Shit, why didn’t I stop at the second tequila?

I cast my mind back, it was a blank. I must have got to that point where there was no longer any limit to the low things I might be tempted to do.² It was time to get my warriors head on, no time for hangovers. I had an audition at two o’clock and couldn’t afford to fuck this one up. What if I had a brain freeze and ditched all my lines, or farted?⁶

I stared around the room. Papers were scattered about, and a pile of newspapers in the corner looked as though it had been flattened into a bed, ³ like it was sucking up Helen's clothes.⁶

₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪

The rhythmic dripping of water counted the hours. She’d been waiting so long now, only two hundred thousand drops until she could breathe again. This prison of moss suffocated her even more with that realization of impending freedom. The moss appeared unnaturally green, inexplicable for these depths beyond the reach of photosynthesis.⁵

It was hard as hell being a Naiad in this day and age. No one brought sacrifices anymore. Her hair had lost its shine and worst of all this infernal thousand year wait between visits. When she was younger there had been a lot more fun. Teasing priests with a flash of her face in mirrored pools of the Parthenon. Dancing at Dionysus’ festival to the merry sway of some young lad’s hips, before having to return with dawn’s chorus to the healing moss. Unfortunately this⁴ cave meant she'd never been able to invite any friends home to play, and she’d lived in fear that her secret would be discovered.⁴ There must be some way to extend the visit this time, some way to stay and play for longer. She counted the drips, god she was horny!

₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪

Eddie rises from underneath the stampede, devoid of shoes, the collar of his shirt, two buttons of his fly and Crystal's ticket.¹

Emotive expression; confusion, pain, anger.

I read the script as the shower’s hum faded out to nothing and Helen's fluid song became more distinct. This script was absolute pants, but what choice did I have, rent was due.

The song invaded my thoughts soothing worry, washing it away like the birth of a spring in mountain dells. I could smell a hint of dew kissed heather as the door opened and she emerged naked and glistening from the shower.

My eyes popped out of my head as I stared at tight skin pulled thin over bulging belly. I looked up the perfect flowing lines of her body to those shining green eyes, deep as crystal pools.

“You should have worn a condom my dear.”

The end.

The title image in this post is my own design work created on canva.com and any other photos are creative commons, linked below the image. I welcome all and any feedback. I would like to say a big thank you to @sndbox for their amazing work inspiring creative engagement across the steem-o-sphere. If you have enjoyed this story and challenge you can check out my other work on my homepage @raj808. Thanks for reading.

If you would like to join a fantastic community where we strive to help new steemians grow and develop, why not join me at #promo-mentors discord group which you can find here.

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