More than coin
For a hero
I do not want your coin.
Take it. This is all I have.
For you it is not enough.
What do you mean, not enough?
You dare to ask me? Look to yourself.
Do not rile me, or woe be upon you.
Now you threaten me?
I do. Step back, old wreck, or learn to regret your refusal.
You step back or feel the tip of my oar.
TAKE THAT then, scoundrel, feel my staff upon your back.
Ahhh! Bastard mortal, desist and step aboard the boat.
Good! Now row! Before the Underworld is gone away. For I am...
Heracles
O ~ o ~
This Drabble, a story in exactly 100 words, was written to a word prompt set by D.A. Ratliff and the Facebook Group: Writers Unite! The below painting by Rubens shows Heracles fighting Cerberus. Having beaten the boatman, Charon, into ferrying him across the river Styx, Heracles must defeat Cerberus, who guards the gate to the Underworld, domain of the dead.
Thanks for reading
About the Creator
Raymond G. Taylor
Author living in Kent, England. Writer of short stories and poems in a wide range of genres, forms and styles. A non-fiction writer for 40+ years. Subjects include art, history, science, business, law, and the human condition.
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More stories from Raymond G. Taylor and writers in Fiction and other communities.
Echoes
I stepped carefully around the corner, the familiar sights and sounds hitting me like a brick to the face. My eyes watered. I could practically see us, all of us, back then, clustered around the outdoor tables in front of the pizza shop, the bar, the coffee shop. I could smell the various stalls from the events we’d been to on this street. I could taste the churros and nachos.
By Phoenixica24about 16 hours ago in Fiction
'Till Death We Do Art
There would be nothing divine in this world without art. Nature may surpass the divine to all intents and purposes, but like everything it absorbs and is absorbed by, it remains here, stuck on the surface of this world, ever-present, physically bound to the universe.
By Avocado Nunzella BSc (Psych) -- M.A.P 6 days ago in Art
Comments (3)
So impressive, Raymond, and very clever.
Wow, that was a real twist. Well done, Raymond.
Did not expect that ending.