ISSN: 1946-1712
Subscribe now! It's free--don't miss an issue!

Michael Aaron

April 2011

CAPS LOCK and the Ellipsis of Doom

Ed. note: I’m not sure I’m allowed to caption a full stop. Seems a little out of line.

GREETINGS LOWER CASE BOY

proud to be at your side captain lets check the grammarphone for messages

TROUBLE DOWNTOWN ITS THAT NO GOOD DUO COLON AND SEMICOLON CAUSING MAYHEM AGAIN

when will they learn its just not right to conjoin unrelated subjects

QUICK TO THE LOGOMOBILE

there they are captain and it looks like theyre trying to get away

:Too late: You’ll never catch us; we have an escape clause

HOLD IT RIGHT THERE YOU TWO

:Here is what can stop us: Nothing; nada, zip

i think we need some help captain

YOURE RIGHT LOWER CASE BOY

?Did somebody call?

question mark? thank goodness youre here

:Whats this? Our nefarious schemes are foiled: He has backup; help, aid, but we are not finished yet; or are we?

THANKS MARK

?What would you do without me?

!Not so fast!

EXCLAMATION!!

?What are you doing here?! I cant stop him taking over!!!

!Time to die Captain! And your pathetic friends!

this looks bad captain!! the mighty exclamation gets stronger the more we resist!!!!

!You can never win!! I grow more emphatic by the second!!!!!

QUICK!!! WE NEED TO SLOW THINGS DOWN!!!!!!

,Don’t worry Captain, I heard, just now, you were in trouble, I’m here, and so is Apostrophe

COMMA GIRL, AND APOSTROPHE, YOU’RE JUST IN TIME!

!No! You’re ruining the tension, I can feel myself wasting away: Come on colon; lend some immediacy, please? I’m losing energy, and pace, can’t you, two, do, something?

you’ve done it Comma, but they’re getting away

?Shall we follow them to their lair?

GOOD IDEA, MARK

there they are

WAIT, ISN’T THAT...

...That’s right Captain...predictable as usual...You fell right into my little trap! I knew you would come...

?But that’s...

it’s...ellipsis!

...Yes...and now you are in my Fortress of Aposiopesis, you will never leave....Ha...Ha...Ha....

?What will we do, Captain?...Captain...?

NOTHING WE CAN DO, MARK...ELLIPSIS...SAPPING...ALL...ENERGY...

quick, comma girl, apostrophe...before it’s too late...

,We, need, something, to end this...now...

?You mean...?

IT’S...THE ONLY WAY...

!Ellipsis! Stop them!! They’re going to...

:The one thing to put an end to our plans: an end; a conclusion...

...They wouldn’t dare...It will finish them too...

FULL STOP.



that was a close one, captain.

ELLIPSIS IS GOING AWAY FOR A LONG, LONG TIME.

,Thank goodness we had this new paragraph, or we’d be done for too.

?But wait...Ellipsis is breaking free! How did she escape...?

...Fools! I’ve been dealing with periods since I was a child...Come Hyphen, let’s show them some real power...Time-stretching...

...WHAT’S HAPPENING...?

...

time...passing...so...slowly...captain...your toolkit! isn’t there...something...you can use...

...

?He’s right...Look...

...

...OF COURSE! MY BRACKETS!

(...)What? Stop that! (...) No, wait! (...) You can’t (...)

,It’s working, Captain (...) Time’s speeding up again.

MAYBE A LITTLE TOO FAST (...) FEELS LIKE WE’RE MISSING SECTIONS.

let’s take these miscreants back where they belong, captain.

THEY’RE IN FOR A LONG, DIFFICULT SENTENCE.

Tip the Author

If you liked this, tip the author! We split donations, with 60% going to the author and 40% to us to keep the flashes coming. (For Classic Flashes, it all goes to support Flash Fiction Online.)

Payments are through PayPal, and you can use a credit card or your PayPal account.

 

About the Author

Michael Aaron

The eyes of Michael Aaron

Michael can be found on his bike, doing hill reps in the north of England. It’s easier than writing.

Your Comments

comments powered by Disqus

Save It or Spread the Word


Copyright

Copyright © 2011, Michael Aaron. Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives Published under the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives (cc-by-nc-nd) license.

 
Copyright (c) 2007-2012 Flash Fiction Online
and the authors of the individual stories and articles.
All Rights Reserved.
Email the Webmaster with questions or comments about this site.
For other contact information visit our contact page.