D is for Diamonds

I decided that a bit of Flash Fiction might be in order for D. I had an idea about this and decided to knock it out for today. Hope you like it.




Leah hid under the bed, scared. In her hand she held a small bag that carried twenty diamonds, all one carat each.

She could hear two, maybe three men downstairs opening drawers and cupboards all the time speaking in hushed voices. "Nothing here." she heard, "Check in the dining room." said another. Soon, they could find nothing downstairs and Leah had the stark realisation that very soon the men would come upstairs and search there. That was where Leah was, under her bed, holding the price of a free life in diamonds in a small leather bag.

Her father gave her the bag of diamonds just before he was taken away by the Authority soldiers two weeks ago. He slipped the bag into her smock pocket as he went with head bowed to the slave farms. She cried and screamed at them but because she was under sixteen years old, they couldn't do anything to her. Youth was protected by law, and no one openly broke the law in New Celeste. Everyone was terrified of the Authority.

Now though, she was sixteen and two days and soon, the Authority would be coming for her too. She could find no role in the Low Society. All the places were filled and surplus workers were moved to the slave farms. She would be collected soon.

Someone had told someone that she had diamonds though. Someone knew and wanted them for themselves. Someone wanted to take her chance of a free life away from her and give it to someone else. After her mothers death, her father had saved as much as he could from his Authority Allowance to buy diamonds to buy her freedom. He found two on the street one day. It was the best day ever.

The men were coming up the stairs now. Searching in her fathers old room, rummaging through cupboards and boxes. She could see the men's boots across the landing. There were three of them and they were going through things very quietly and methodically. Leah caught herself thinking that she might not have heard them if she had been asleep. Then, as the men were searching another pair of feet appeared on the stairs, moving silently. She saw a leather cosh in the fourth man's hands. In the blink of an eye the three men were on the floor. Leah was really scared now.

She was wondering what to do. Could she run? Could she stay here and hope the fourth man went away? As the decisions ran through her head a face appeared at the foot of the bed. It was male, with blue eyes and blond hair. He looked about twenty. He looked at her.

"Leah. Your father has sent me. We need to leave now. Pack a bag. Our shuttle leaves for Eden 3 in half an hour. I'm going to get you to a free world."


There. Hope you liked it.

Also, Rocco's Random Number is 534 which will take you to And Starring as Herself. Isn't that nice?

Rock on,

W.