If you’ve been following along, you may recognize today’s protagonist from a previous Friday Fictioneers (one photo, one hundred words, one story) piece. I hope you’ll enjoy seeing him again–as he will almost certainly return, whether in another FF challenge, or something else altogether.
Photo by Jennifer Pendergast
Jakob pulled his hat low, shading his eyes against the sun. The archway was unchanged. A stone portal that held no meaning for ninety-nine percent of the students who passed through it. But he remembered his walk beneath it, the eve after graduation.
His grandfather waited beyond the arch, dark eyes and hollow cheeks emphasized by the glowing light of a small brazier at his side. Jakob remembered the goose-flesh pebbling his bare chest before the fiery brand seared into the flesh over his heart.
The V had a double meaning–V for Van Helsing and for the Latin venator. Hunter.
If you enjoyed this and want more, go here
Vers Les Etoiles 
Loved it, great start…now give us more.
I just so happen to have the beginning of something with dear Jakob in the works–so your wish will (hopefully soon) be my command!
And thank you very much!
That took me by surprise. And it’s a great hook. Well done.
Glad you enjoyed it! Just posted a longer “Jakob” piece if you’re intrigued enough. Thanks for reading.
ooh i love the portal and the fact that Jakob had his own kind of ceremony. very cool take on the photo.
Thank you! I liked the idea of two graduations, in a way. Glad you enjoyed it.
Hannah, well done, my dear. I felt my skin sizzling.
Thank you! Glad you liked it—this one was fun to write.
Well I really liked this – soaking in atmosphere and tension. Very well done.
Thank you! The gorgeous picture was inspiring. O
My heart is beating faster. That was a wonderful story.
I was worried about pairing a darker story with such a sunny photo—glad it got your heart pumping anyway! Thank you for reading.
Wow! That was unexpected. You did it!
Thank you!
I can not imagine the pain of being branded.
I can’t either. Hopefully not many people have personal experience with that.
What this actually made me think of was female genital mutilation.
Oh dear! I wouldn’t have made that connection. I was thinking of some of the crazier stunts fraternities have pulled.
I think you mean “students who passed…” not “that”. Otherwise, I loved the sense of foreboding, the explanation in the name, and Jakob’s knowledge that the other students won’t see what he sees. Great stuff!
I believe you are right! One of the grammar things I always struggle with.
Hannah, This story was good on its own but I agree that it’s a great hook for a longer story. Well done. 🙂 —Susan
Thank you! Wander on over to “The Initiative” to get the beginning of that longer story if you have a chance!
This made me laugh. I hope you meant it that way. I had no idea where you were leading, but I liked where you wound up!
I wasn’t trying to be humorous, but if that’s what you got out of it and still enjoyed it, it works for me! Thanks for reading.
Very interesting take, and well told.
AnElephant loves what is left unsaid.
Merci beaucoup!
Anytime a person is branded.. I feel not everything is about fluffy bunnies… 🙂
It’s all fun and games until hot pokers come into play!
That grandfather. Not fun to be around him, I imagine.
Secret society initiations can be tricky
>
I wasn’t expecting that!
I wonder how many years it’s been since his graduation and if it’s now his turn to greet the next person in line to take up the mantle?
Interesting thought! He could be back for another initiation.
Dear Hannah,
The idea of human branding is cringe-worthy. Intriguing story.
Shalom,
Rochelle
That had to hurt. I love Van Helsing. Big fan ever since Peter Cushing played him in 1958. Well done. Lucy
Good scene setting. Feels like this is the start for a larger story.