Mephisto Rises, A Saturday Centus

.

Here we go again with the 18^th weekly installment of Saturday Centus, that incredibly difficult writing meme that only the very cleverest of writers dare attempt lest they fail miserably and have to run the gauntlet of ridicule and humiliation.

This isn’t like some childish N.Y. Times crossword or Sudoku puzzle.  Jenny Matlock of Mensa fame has devised this terribly sophisticated meme for those of us whose mental capabilities easily dwarf the rest of society and require greater mental stimulation than that which can be derived through normal means.

Those that feel they are worthy of the task may accept the challenge from Jenny at her blog, off on my tangent, and will be provided with a prompt, a  phrase which they are required to use within a short story of 100 words or less.  The prompt is not included in the word count.

The only other provisions of this challenge are that no vulgarity or pictures are allowed and that the prompt must be used intact anywhere within the story.  The writers are given until next Saturday to write their stories and link them back to Jenny’s original meme post so that we may all bask in the warmth of each other's creative conflagrations.

I hasten to point out that only the very best writers can be Centusians and that if you wish to be counted amongst our talented elite then you are invited to submit your stories.  Through the comments received you will be able to determine if you are truly the right fit for our extremely gifted assemblage of literary minds.

Maybe through this masterful exercise you will come to discover that you too have that creative spark of brilliance that exemplifies the likes of essayists such as Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Ralph Waldo Emerson and H. L. Mencken.  If so, then possibly you have what it takes to become a Centusian and revel in the glory that it conveys.

For those whose skills would make them unqualified for membership as a Centusian, don’t be melancholy.  Your gifts are just designed to be targeted to a wider audience of readers who will hang onto your every word and praise your gifts while hoisting cans of beer into the air before pounding them down all at once and smashing the cans against their thick, protruding foreheads.  To you we say be proud of your achievements and don’t doubt your ability to go out there and “Git er done!”

This week our prompt is the most famous of classic literary prompts,

“It was a dark and stormy night.”

Here is my treatment on the prompt which I have entitled:

Mephisto Rises

My mother remembers it vividly.

It was a dark and stormy night.

Eerie clouds settled over our town like an icy shroud while a chill wind howled through the trees.

An inexplicably uneasy feeling filled our home with fear and dread like the cold hand of death was resting on our shoulders.

Our family cat, Astrid, hissed loudly from under the bed as if expecting some terrible evil to be unleashed.

News of several churches suddenly bursting into flame and the panicked, tear-streaked faces of the true believers decrying it as the end of days filled our TV screen.

That was the day I was born…again.  

Creative Writing At The Speed of Dark!