Midnight Calling
- Reads 1,243
- Votes 194
- Parts 10
Maya was the consummate procrastinator.
'Save it til the last minute!' was her motto in life, just as it had been in all the previous. The last minute of the day was her specialty after all, being the temporal guardian of the Twenty-third hour of the clock. And Maya had used it to full advantage in this modern age of time crunches and deadlines living in the Here and Now of humans.
Little did she know the greatest deadline of all would soon befall her.
If only she could remember what, or who, she needed to save before it was too late.
_____
Author's Note: 𝐌𝐢𝐝𝐧𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐂𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 began as a fantasy-mystery submission for the 2021 Open Novella Contest. Originally titled 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝟐𝟑𝐫𝐝 𝐇𝐨𝐮𝐫, it was inspired by the contest's #54 prompt:
You get a mysterious message on your phone stating, "Agent 23, you've been activated". You guess it's a bad time to have amnesia.
_____
This is an original work of fiction protected by copyright.
© Elisabeth Long 2022
All Rights Reserved
#989
guardians
Join the largest storytelling communityGet personalized story recommendations, save your favourites to your library, and comment and vote to grow your community.
You may also like
Girl Next Door (GIRLXGIRL)
girlxgirl HIGHEST RANKING(S): #1 IN GIRLONGIRL #1 IN GIRLS #1 IN TEACHER #5 IN GXG An emotionally battered woman with a craving for a attention and a high-school senior who has been more through more than her fair share of trying events. What happens when these two are put right next door to one another? Lexi is a young, beautiful senior whose past has forced her to grow up quicker than most. From losing her father, to being moved into another man's house at her mother's desire, to being outed to the entire high school... she's built up some pretty thick skin. When her path crosses with a woman who is pushing through a quickly-deteriorating marriage, there is a connection made that cannot be ignored. Lexi fills a void in Evan with her constant willingness to give and satisfy, while Evan is slowly patches up the holes that other's have left in Lexi along the road. The complications with their relationship are numerous: a marriage, age, unaccepting parents, and the fact that the two are in the same high school every day of the week. If at all, how can two individuals with their own personal struggles overcome these obstacles to get to one another?Complete
Thirteen Points of Light
After a night on the town, Sarah wakes up to a miserable hangover. But it's nothing compared to what comes next. After attempting to light a cigarette, she feels that something isn't quite right. Soon she'll discover that everything is very wrong. My entry in the Open Novella Contest III, Feb 2020. April 28. Just got the news that Thirteen Points has made it through the second round. Now I have to finish by May 5th. I'm not as far along as I had hoped at this point, but I'm sure I can make it. May 4th. 12:10 am. Finished. Submitted. Good night. May 20th. Well, 13 Points made the Long List. I have no idea how many original entries there were but about 940 made the first cut. There's 150 on the Long List. Not bad for my first time out. Now we'll wait and see how we fare on the Short List. May 30th. Well, Sarah and company didn't make the Short List. I can't say I'm disappointed though. This was my first attempt at this type of writing . Thanks for reading and voting. Now back to Short Story writing If you are also in the ONC, Good Luck and have fun!Complete
Guardian XXIII // ONC 2021
How many times must you die before you realize what you are living for? ********************************************************* Ezlyn Graves has lost her mind. Literally! The inability to remember a single event after a drunken night leaves her mystified. To make matters worse, a cryptic text message revealing that she is an agent, presents a life she never knew existed. Apparently, Ezlyn is a Guardian of the Death Guard, summoned by Death to locate the stolen scythe before the necrological order of demise is disrupted. But Ezzie didn't expect to be teamed up with devious miscreants thirsty for blood and seeking vengeance. In fact, she isn't at all prepared to learn that some of Death's own personal guards have gone missing, especially at a time when she has no recollection of the life she is living or what she is capable of. Mystery/Thriller Prompt 54: You get a mysterious message on your phone stating, Agent 23, you have been activated. You guess it's a bad time to have amnesia.Complete
Need A Coffee Miss Hughes?
In her senior year, Eve finds herself on a collision course with trouble and darkness from the very first day. Amidst this turmoil, she becomes captivated by a teacher who is her polar opposite. Driven by curiosity, Eve embarks on a quest to understand this enigmatic figure, leading to an unexpected and profound connection. As she delves deeper, Eve must confront the question: Will her curiosity and budding affection bring her fulfillment or heartache?Complete
Ms. Maldini
Professor x Student | wlw | Age Gap | Genius Girl x Academic Enigma Maya is a brilliant mind with a past her memory chose to bury. She's eighteen, but she's not starting college-she's wrapping up her Master of Science in Quantum Physics. She enrolled at fourteen, a prodigy who moved through equations, theories, and sterile labs where everything made sense except, maybe, herself. Her focus is fixed on the path ahead-a PhD, more research, more certainty. But that fragile balance begins to shift after one unexpected encounter. During a routine session with her therapist, she meets a woman who, without warning, walks back into her life as a professor in a class Maya was never supposed to attend. Coincidence, consequence, or something else entirely? Quantum physics doesn't offer answers for the way a soul trembles. This is a story of blurred boundaries and buried memories, of forbidden tension and the quiet gravity between two women on opposite sides of a classroom. A slow burn. An ethical tightrope. An impossible pull that feels just as chaotic, just as precise, as the laws that govern the universe itself. Tags: • Mommy issues • Slow burn • Mental health struggles • Professor x student • 26-year age gap #7 teacherstudent
Ms. Miller's Girl
After a messy year, all Sarah wants is to stay focused. She's 18, in her final year of high school, and determined to stay out of trouble. But things get complicated when she meets her new English teacher, Ms. Miller. Addison Miller is the last person Sarah should be drawn to. She's twice her age, her teacher, recently divorced, and completely off-limits. Strict, unreadable... and somehow, strangely familiar. Sarah knows she shouldn't get involved. But knowing is one thing, wanting is another entirely. Slow burn | Teacher x Student | Age gap
The Bitter Dance of Hollow Hearts
One girl, haunted by demons she never asked for. One girl, holding onto a dream with bleeding hands. One girl, clinging to a life she never was supposed to survive. One girl-and one infuriating woman she was never meant to meet. Aurora Winters, 18, soft-spoken and sweet like spring rain, begins her second last first day of senior year. The wreckage of a car crash last Christmas stole what little safety she had left-leaving her in the bitter care of an aunt who never wanted her and a man who only knows cruelty. Bruised, quiet, alone and unraveling, Aurora is trying to survive the storm. But survival becomes complicated when a certain woman enters the picture. Valentina M. Harlow, 37, new to this part of town, new to the school, old to the weight of the world. Once a sweet girl who ached to be seen, now a woman shaped by silence and cold resolve. Sharp-tongued, guarded, emotionally untouchable, manipulative and entirely disinterested in attachments. She is the oldest daughter who walked away-from blood and businesses, from love, from everything that broke her. It's been seven years since she last let herself feel. And she likes it that way. Until Aurora. What begins as uneasy glances and sharp conversations becomes something far harder to ignore. Valentina sees the pain in the girl's eyes. The bruises beneath the surface. And suddenly, the woman who feels nothing is faced with a choice: walk away as she always has, or reach out-risking everything. This is a tale of longing and danger, where hearts shatter, wounds heal, and reopen. Again and again. A story of two women who were never meant to orbit, yet crash into each other anyway. A story of it all. Of longing that feels like ruin. Of aching that feels like home. Of broken things that refuse to stay broken. A slow unraveling, a dangerous pull. A love that could save-or destroy-them both. Maybe they'll piece themselves back together. And set the world on fire, together.
Time of My Lives (ONC 2025)
This is an ONC 2025 story! When Maya decided to take a yoga class to get out of attempting an actual sport, she had no idea that she was about to unlock memories of a past life, or that she'd accidentally travel to that past and find her current self in the middle of unexpected danger involving Gods, Goddesses, and an evil entity who killed someone she cared about. Can Maya change the past and save the day? More importantly, what will happen if she tries? AWARDS: Third Place Winner: The Bloom & Ink Awards (New/Young Adult)Complete
girlxgirl HIGHEST RANKING(S): #1 IN GIRLONGIRL #1 IN GIRLS #1 IN TEACHER #5 IN GXG An emotionally battered woman with a craving for a attention and a high-school senior who has been more through more than her fair share of trying events. What happens when these two are put right next door to one another? Lexi is a young, beautiful senior whose past has forced her to grow up quicker than most. From losing her father, to being moved into another man's house at her mother's desire, to being outed to the entire high school... she's built up some pretty thick skin. When her path crosses with a woman who is pushing through a quickly-deteriorating marriage, there is a connection made that cannot be ignored. Lexi fills a void in Evan with her constant willingness to give and satisfy, while Evan is slowly patches up the holes that other's have left in Lexi along the road. The complications with their relationship are numerous: a marriage, age, unaccepting parents, and the fact that the two are in the same high school every day of the week. If at all, how can two individuals with their own personal struggles overcome these obstacles to get to one another?
More detailsContent Guidelines