Icy's Blunt Pencil: Friday Flash

Friday, 27 August 2010

Friday Flash - Resurrection Men

This story has been taken down as it's gone out for submission!

27 comments:

Anonymous said...: A chilling end, but perfectly logical. I recently watched a fascinating programme about body snatchers and grave robbers who sold corpses to anatomists. It has incredible potential, and used very well here - a great story and a very human take on the people involved.

http://www.joelyblack.com; 27 August 2010 at 09:27
Anonymous said...: This has a Sherlock Holmes feel for me; the night-time activities, and a distinct lack of honour amongst thieves, or at the very least some entrepreneurial thinking.
Lovely chilling ending.
Adam B @revhappiness; 27 August 2010 at 12:52
shannon said...: Guess there is no honor among thieves. I actually feel sorry for Will in a way. Creepy flash! :-); 27 August 2010 at 15:02
Laura Eno said...: That's a good way to get rid of a bothersome person. :) Great story!; 27 August 2010 at 16:09
Eric J. Krause said...: That ending made me chuckle. No honor among thieves, eh? Good story!; 27 August 2010 at 19:51
Sulci Collective said...: Timely tale seeing as even this week the US Supreme Court has prevented stem cell research because of Western religion's warped perception of what constitutes human life.

Burke & Hare - the scum of society, hobnobbing it with doctors separate for cadavers, a marriage made in the free market of Hell!

You did a great job with this Icy, of course they would turn their hand to murder, the market dictates it has to be so!

marc nash; 27 August 2010 at 20:10
Pamila Payne said...: Gruesomely good, loved this one. Great pace to it, and the characters - why are the bad ones so much fun?; 27 August 2010 at 20:28
Genevieve Jack said...: The ending made this unforgettable. Loved it.; 27 August 2010 at 20:32
Icy Sedgwick said...: I'm glad everyone liked it! I got the idea after reading a story about the introduction of legislation to ensure surgeons could only dissect executed criminals, and wondered how far grave robbers would go in the aftermath of this legislation!; 27 August 2010 at 20:34
John Wiswell said...: It was weird reading all of the dialogue tags after the dialogue. I put them there often, but nearly an entire story of them felt almost as odd as their situation. Was that on purpose, to help the mood?; 27 August 2010 at 20:54
Icy Sedgwick said...: I'm sorry John, your comment makes little sense to me.; 27 August 2010 at 20:59
Chloé P. Kovac said...: Damn near perfect slice of fiction this. I especially like the detail of the midden heap, and "the skin glowed pale green in the lantern light".; 27 August 2010 at 21:16
~Tim said...: Poor Will, what a revolting crew.; 27 August 2010 at 21:19
Anonymous said...: Nasty bunch of mercanaries, enjoyably dark humour.; 27 August 2010 at 22:15
Monica Marier said...: Delightfully dark and creepy. Loved it, even the squadgy parts. You wonder if all those surgeons are on the level as well. Maybe another Dr. Frankenstein among them.

Will had it comin'. *L*; 27 August 2010 at 22:54
Lena S. said...: It's been a while since I last read a grave robbing story and the ending is unexpected and appropriate. Great dialogue and descriptions to boot. Thanks for the great read!; 27 August 2010 at 23:56
Unknown said...: Grave robbing is a dirty business. The ending is spot on.
-David G Shrock; 28 August 2010 at 00:56
Valerie said...: As much as I liked the ending, I don't think it's as pat as all that. The guy isn't going to go quietly, and the other two are just as likely to get nabbed for the crime, too. But that line of logic works just as well for me because then they all end up as another of the doctor's specimens. Good tale, and good ending.; 28 August 2010 at 16:43
Icy Sedgwick said...: Valerie - I'm not intending that the rest of the gang will get off scot-free. The point is just that they'd be willing to sell out their leader just to make money.; 28 August 2010 at 21:45
Tony Noland said...: Heh, great way to turn the tables on that jerk.; 28 August 2010 at 21:48
Anonymous said...: I enjoyed your creepy tale, Icy, and loved the ending. :); 28 August 2010 at 21:52
Joz Varlo said...: Great story! Makes me think of Lovecraft's "Herbert West - Reanimator." I betcha old Herbert would have bought that corpse. Though it might not have been freshly dead enough for him to try and resurrect. Excellent take on the grave robber story.; 28 August 2010 at 23:03
Janet Lingel Aldrich said...: Will thought he had the power in the gang and found out the hard way that even the lowest worm will turn, given the right opportunity. Good story! Great ending!; 28 August 2010 at 23:08
Jason Coggins said...: Grave robbing that most misunderstood of professions. What I enjoy about your Flash Fictions is the wide and varied themes and material you launch at us each week, You never know what you're going to score when you visit Icy's says I.; 29 August 2010 at 00:40
Alan W. Davidson said...: "Shadows pooled in the folds of skin under his eyes."

I thought that was a great description of the surgeon. The twist at the end was another example of the lack of honour among thieves. A very nice story, Icy.; 30 August 2010 at 01:41
mazzz_in_Leeds said...: Ha! Great ending! Will should have put in some hard graft and carried the corpse a bit himself!; 31 August 2010 at 17:32
Cat Russell said...: Ewwwww, creepy!; 3 September 2010 at 03:52