Heather Rose Walters

Writer, editor, & occasional doodler.

[whyarentmorepeopledancing]

You matter. 💖

(I've never done a web comic before but got inspired from some doodling on the plane...let me know what you think!)

[whyarentmorepeopledancing]

65. JUST CELINE. | ​“Cece’s kind of in the middle of something,” Ava said to the old man. “Right?” She turned to give their compatriot a dirty look, but was surprised to see Cece had blanched in apparent fear. The old man just smiled wistfully. “I am sorry to interrupt, but we have some urgent business to attend to." He puffed his pipe and adjusted his bow tie as he turned, looking positively jaunty as he crossed the street towards the bistro. They didn’t have time to consider leaving him, however, because two very tall, very brawny-looking men approached with scowls as soon as the thought crossed Ava's mind. Abe gulped and glanced at her. “I guess we’re going to the bistro.” “No,” said one of the bulky men. He pushed Celine forward. “Just her.” “But--” Ava stopped short when she heard the sound of a pistol being cocked. One of the men’s hand was hidden in his jacket, and he gave a little halfway-grin. “Just Celine.” //. 62/365 Of #AvaCouliseAndTheTimepieces Thanks for reading! Start from the beginning or subscribe at the link in my profile, www.HeatherRoseWalters.com. And tag a fellow reader who might enjoy it! . . . #365project #365series #bookstagram #shortstory #fiction #scifi #writer #writing #amwriting #amreading #ebook #greatreads #adventurer #authorsofinstagram #flashfiction #photography #photoedit #flashfiction #acolorstory #bookstagram #writerslife #wattpad #unsplash #writersofinstagram #horror #pariscatacombs #thatsdarling #pursuepretty #peoplescreative #creativity #liveauthentic

[whyarentmorepeopledancing]

64. DETOUR IN PARIS | Ava breathed a sigh of relief when they were finally back on the streets of Paris again -- the ones above ground. She hadn’t realized how completely crushed she’d felt inside those catacombs. She tried not to think about what had happened--she couldn’t think about that now. She wasn’t sure if it had even -- well, the timepiece was gone, wasn’t it? It had worked. She’d killed Lisette. Or...maimed her? Ava felt sick to her stomach. “Are my friends hungry?” Cece asked in her deceptively sweet Parisian accent. “There is a lovely bistro along the way.” The sun was setting, and Ava noticed with irritation how Abe stared at Cece’s deep red hair in the golden light. Abe turned to Ava eyebrows raised, but she just glared back. “We’re not going anywhere until you take us to Allie.” Cece rolled her eyes, but continued on their walk. “Abe, grab her arm, will you?” The last thing they needed was Cece deciding she didn’t need the watch after all and taking off on her own. An older man stepped in front of them to block their path. He smoked a pipe, which somehow had a menacing effect, and smiled at them in a way that made Ava nervous. “I think a bistro sounds lovely, Celine,” he said, and offered her his elbow. //#AvaCouliseAndTheTimepieces 64/365 - Thanks for reading! Start from the beginning or subscribe at the link in my profile, www.HeatherRoseWalters.com. And tag a fellow reader who might enjoy it! . #365project #365series #bookstagram #shortstory #fiction #scifi #writer #writing #amwriting #amreading #ebook #greatreads #adventurer #authorsofinstagram #flashfiction #photography #photoedit #flashfiction #acolorstory #bookstagram #writerslife #wattpad #unsplash #writersofinstagram #horror #pariscatacombs #thatsdarling #pursuepretty #peoplescreative #creativity #liveauthentic

[whyarentmorepeopledancing]

63. CAUGHT IN A LOOP | Right -- left -- left -- left -- right...or was it left? Abe was getting dizzy as they followed Cece, the red-headed pickpocket, up through the catacombs back towards the light of Paris. He didn’t remember it being this complicated as they came down, but they hadn’t been paying much attention. Ava had only wanted to catch her. Well, they'd accomplished that, but only after Ava had disappeared into a timepiece and fought off a sociopathic serial killer from the 1500’s. Abe wondered how long Ava had been in there. It had only been one hour to him, but to her, it could have been...well, he didn’t like to think about that. Would she age? The thought had never struck him before. But if she spent too long in these timepieces, would she age faster? He knew she could be injured in the timepiece, he remembered with a wince. That surgery had been tricky. If she could be injured, she could age. “Almost there,” Cece whispered over her shoulder, and Abe wondered why it wasn’t getting any lighter. // 63/365 of #AvaCouliseAndTheTimepieces Thanks for reading! Start from the beginning or subscribe at the link in my profile, www.HeatherRoseWalters.com. And tag a fellow reader who might enjoy it! . #365project #365series #bookstagram #shortstory #fiction #scifi #writer #writing #amwriting #amreading #ebook #greatreads #adventurer #authorsofinstagram #flashfiction #photography #photoedit #bookstagram #writerslife #wattpad #unsplash #writersofinstagram #horror #pariscatacombs #thatsdarling #pursuepretty #peoplescreative #creativity #liveauthentic #flashfiction (at Catacombs of Paris)

[whyarentmorepeopledancing]

THE DEAL. “At least, she answers to Coulise,” Cece explained with a chuckle. “She’s not quite well enough to clarify.” .“Is her name Alice?” Ava demanded into the dark. “Alice Coulise?” .“You want her, do you?” Cece asked. “For your own uses?” .Ava grabbed the woman by the collar and pulled her out of Abe’s grip. She slammed her against the wall of skulls behind her, and Cece cried out in pain. “She is my family,” Ava hissed. “And you are taking me to her. Now.” .Cece’s expression reminded Ava of a cat being scolded: her lips were curled as if mid-snarl, as if she was considering whether or not to scratch her captor. But Abe was still there, and Ava had a good grip. “Look,” Cece finally spat, “I need to use that watch. If I take you to this woman, at least let me do that. Just once.” . Ava glanced back at Abe and saw in his eyes they were both thinking the same thing: Cece didn’t know the watch was broken. . Ava smiled. “Deal.” // 62/365 . (Pardon the random dots, Instagram's formatting is wonky!) Thanks for reading #AvaCouliseAndTheTimepieces ! Start from the beginning or subscribe at the link in my profile, www.HeatherRoseWalters.com. And tag a fellow reader who might enjoy it! . #365project #365series #bookstagram #shortstory #fiction #scifi #writer #writing #amwriting #amreading #ebook #greatreads #adventurer #authorsofinstagram #flashfiction #photography #photoedit #bookstagram #writerslife #wattpad #unsplash #writersofinstagram #horror #pariscatacombs #thatsdarling #pursuepretty #peoplescreative #creativity #liveauthentic

[whyarentmorepeopledancing]

THE PICKPOCKET'S CONFESSION. “What did you think you were going to do with it?” Ava asked. She could barely breath while she waited for the answer, but didn’t dare to actually hope. Not yet. Still...her sister had gone missing here. In Paris. The woman's arrogant voice interrupted her thoughts. “More than you fools could do, I think!” Ava started to lose feeling in her legs. She started to feel dizzy. There was no way. It couldn't be happening. It just couldn't. But Allie had gone missing here. In Paris. “Only a Coulise can use it,” Abe insisted obliviously. He held the woman's arms firmly behind her back, but she wasn’t struggling any more. She seemed to realize she'd struck a nerve, and stared at Ava triumphantly. All Ava could think about was the last angry yell she'd thrown at her retreating sister. The last time she saw her. Two years ago. Here. In Paris. “Exactly,” the woman finally purred. “And I, Monseiur, have a Coulise.” . // 61/365 . Thanks for reading #AvaCouliseAndTheTimepieces ! Start from the beginning or subscribe at the link in my profile, www.HeatherRoseWalters.com. And tag a fellow reader who might enjoy it! . #365project #365series #bookstagram #shortstory #fiction #scifi #writer #writing #amwriting #amreading #ebook #greatreads #adventurer #authorsofinstagram #flashfiction #photography #photoedit #bookstagram #writerslife #wattpad #unsplash #writersofinstagram #horror #pariscatacombs #thatsdarling #pursuepretty #peoplescreative #creativity #liveauthentic

[whyarentmorepeopledancing]

SPREAD LIKE FROST. It wasn’t too difficult for Ava to find the watch, not while Abe held the red-haired woman still. It was tucked into an inner pocket of her woolen coat, but she struggled ravenously and nearly knocked them both over when Ava finally got her hands on it. “What do you think you’re going to do with it, anyway?” Abe yelled. “If you know what it is, then you know you won’t be able to use it!” . The woman hesitated and eyed the two of them suspiciously. “Where did you come from?” she asked, but Ava ignored her--and Abe, for once, followed her lead. The less this woman knew, the better. Ava checked the watch; it was intact. She tentatively touched her cheek, where a long but thankfully shallow slash still oozed blood. No matter; Abe could patch it up once they got outside into some proper light. How they were going to lose this pickpocket, on the other hand, who clearly seemed to want this watch more than her own life-- . And then the cold realization spread like frost inside her chest. // 60/365 . Thanks for reading #AvaCouliseAndTheTimepieces ! Start from the beginning or subscribe at the link in my profile, www.HeatherRoseWalters.com. And tag a fellow reader who might enjoy it! . #365project #365series #bookstagram #shortstory #fiction #scifi #writer #writing #amwriting #amreading #ebook #greatreads #adventurer #authorsofinstagram #flashfiction #photography #photoedit #WHPVibrant . #bookstagram #writerslife #wattpad #unsplash #writersofinstagram #horror #pariscatacombs #thatsdarling #pursuepretty #peoplescreative #creativity #darlingweekend

[whyarentmorepeopledancing]

OUT OF A DREAM. At first, Ava couldn’t hear anything but a distant ringing sound. Presently she realized that some woman nearby was screaming, and it wasn’t her attacker. It was her. As soon as that shocked thought crossed her mind the screaming stopped. She felt herself trembling as she looked around for her assailant, the sociopath Lisette. But she was gone. Soon the ringing sound faded and Ava's hearing returned--and with a swell of joy she recognized Abe’s voice. . “Give it to me!” came his gruff yell. Through a pale white light, Ava could see that he had his arms wrapped firmly around a woman, who struggled violently but pointlessly against his grip. . “Let me go!” she screamed, twisting and writhing like a madwoman. Her red hair fell across her face and her eyes glowed almost animalistically. Ava thought she ought to recognize her. As though there was something about red hair that was important... . “Give it to me now!” Abe yelled again. The red-haired woman! From the train -- who’d taken the watch! Ava felt like she was waking up from a dream as everything came rushing back. // 59/365 . Thanks for reading #AvaCouliseAndTheTimepieces ! Start from the beginning or subscribe at the link in my profile, aka www.HeatherRoseWalters.com. And tag a fellow reader who might enjoy it! . #365project #365series #bookstagram #shortstory #fiction #scifi #writer #writing #amwriting #amreading #ebook #greatreads #adventurer #authorsofinstagram #flashfiction

[whyarentmorepeopledancing]

OUT OF NOWHERE. Cece almost felt sorry for the man. She let him blather on for almost half an hour about the watch; he was clearly attempting to make up some lie to cover up why he really wanted it. He was very bad at lying. . “Monsieur,” she said finally, “this watch is a relic of Parisian history. My family has been after it for years for its historical significance.” . The man who called himself Abraham was momentarily speechless. “Historical significance?” he asked blankly. “But of course! Or rather, how significantly it is able to change history.” She smiled at her own wit as Abe's eyes widened. “But thank you for putting in such an entertaining effort to convince me otherwise. I stayed in the hopes that you might prove to be more interesting, but now I suppose I must leave you. I would not recommend following me--not unless you fancy starving to death in these lovely catacombs.” . Cece smirked and turned away, confident she could outrun him if he tried to chase her--which he wouldn't. But she stumbled backwards into his arms when a shrieking woman appeared out of nowhere and slammed into her face-first. // 58/365 . Thanks for reading #AvaCouliseAndTheTimepieces ! Chapter 59 coming this Thursday 👍 Start from the beginning, or subscribe for future installments 📚, at the link in my profile, aka www.HeatherRoseWalters.com. And tag a fellow reader who might enjoy it!😘 . #365project #365series #bookstagram #shortstory #fiction #scifi #writer #writing #amwriting #amreading #ebook #greatreads #adventurer #authorsofinstagram #flashfiction #photography #photoedit

[whyarentmorepeopledancing]

CELINE. “It's only a watch,” the red-headed woman insisted. Abe just stared, flummoxed. Theft negotiation was not his forte. “Why does it matter to you?” he snapped. He suddenly felt tired--exhausted--and whatever this woman was playing at--was she flirting with him?--he didn't understand it. “I said you could name your price! It's sure to be more than you could sell it for!” . She studied him for a moment, as if deciding whether she should let him in on a secret. “What is your name, Englishman?” . "Abraham…” . She raised her eyebrows. “Such a strong name! Mine is Celine. Or sometimes Cece, to those who love me.” She folded her arms and stared him down. “If you really think I would sell the Coulise watch for mere money, well, you're more stupid than you look, Monsieur.” // 57/365 Model: the lovely @snackleaf as Celine :)Tag a friend if you think they'd enjoy the story! :) . Thanks for reading #AvaCouliseAndTheTimepieces ! Start from the beginning or subscribe at the link in my profile, aka www.HeatherRoseWalters.com. . #WHPsplitsecond #365series #bookstagram #shortstory #fiction #scifi #writer #writing #amwriting #ebook #greatreads #adventurer #authorsofinstagram

[whyarentmorepeopledancing]

THE PSYCHIATRIST. Celine thought he was rather sweet--the silly man fumbling for his words. She felt a maternal urge to hand the watch back over and pat him on the head, even though she couldn't have been that much older than him. Her experience as a pickpocket had given her an excellent ability of gauging other people, reading them and understanding them almost immediately. Some people, she found, she just wanted to take care of. But, of course, she wasn't about to give up the biggest haul she’d made all year. She’d only returned because she was intrigued by him. His calls sounded so plaintive. It was foolish, she admitted, but she couldn’t resist. “Yes,” he said, finally answering her question. “There's only one of me now...” He glanced not, Celine noticed, up the hall or past her shoulder, but at the wall of skulls next to them. As though he was waiting for that girl to walk out of them. He nervously turned back at her. “Please,” he repeated, “name your price. We need that watch. It's...it's extremely important.” He was speaking to her as though she was only a petty thief, she realized, who might have stolen the watch simply for the money--who didn't know what it was. She played along and grinned coyly. “Do tell.” // 56/365 Tag a friend if you think they'd enjoy it :) . Thanks for reading #AvaCouliseAndTheTimepieces ! Start from the beginning or subscribe at the link in my profile, aka www.HeatherRoseWalters.com. . #365project #365series #bookstagram #shortstory #fiction #scifi #writer #writing #amwriting #ebook #greatreads #adventurer #authorsofinstagram

[whyarentmorepeopledancing]

.ANY FACE I WANT. “The others?” Lisette stared at Ava, torn between the need to kill her only witness and the desire to share her exploits with a willing audience. . "How many were there?” Ava asked, trying to sound eager. . "Five,” the murderess whispered gleefully. “This week! Silly, small people are so emotional. So easy to read, to manipulate. I just become what they want me to become--” . "Like with him?” Ava nodded to the slumped figure at their feet. . “Exactly. He wanted a poor, lost, demure girl--one he would be thrilled to overtake--and so I gave that to him. I gave him the hunt.” She twisted Ava’s wrist for emphasis. “I can put on any face I want.” With the shadows sliding across her face and the ferocity in her eyes, the woman looked practically demonic. “Of course, that damned American got me caught,” she added with a furious glance down the corridor. Ava wondered whether her grandfather had known the truth about Lisette when he’d foiled her plans. . “Then it's a good thing I came along." . .// 55/365 ➡️ Tag a friend if they like ghost stories 👻 . Thanks for reading #AvaCouliseAndTheTimepieces ! Start from the beginning or subscribe at the link in my profile, www.HeatherRoseWalters.com. . #365project #365series #bookstagram #shortstory #fiction #scifi #writer #writing #amwriting #ebook #greatreads #rsa_mystery #horror

[whyarentmorepeopledancing]

TALENTED. “But…” Ava stammered “Didn’t he...attack you?” . The woman practically purred. “He did. Wasn’t it delicious?” She held up the knife, now gleaming, and gazed at it fondly. “Poor you,” she said, turning to Ava. “I’m sorry, dove, but, well, witnesses.” She shrugged as if she was talking about emptying the dishwasher. But then she moved quickly, more quickly than Ava was ready for--she grabbed Ava’s wrist and pulled hard. Ava screamed and dropped her phone, but its low light still lit their faces from below. “Wait, please!” she cried. Lisette held Ava close to her face and hesitated. . "Wait?” she asked. The shadows cast on her face truly did have a ‘fantome’ effect now, and she looked terrifying. “For what?” She pressed the edge of the knife, still warm from its last kill, against her prey’s pulsing neck. . Ava swallowed nervously. “I know you have to kill me,” she said, adopting a humble tone, “but first--first will you just tell me how? How did you trick that man? How did you manage to...actually kill him?” . Now Lisette actually laughed out loud. “He? He was simple!” . "But I bet the others weren’t all simple,” said Ava, glancing down at the woman’s skirt. “You must be quite talented.” . // 54/365 . Thanks for reading #AvaCouliseAndTheTimepieces ! Please excuse the random periods, Instagram makes formatting tricky and that's me working the system 😉 . Start from the beginning or subscribe at the link in my profile, www.HeatherRoseWalters.com. Hope you enjoyed it! Tag a friend if they like scifi! . #365project #365series #bookstagram #shortstory #fiction #scifi #writer #writing #amwriting #ebook #greatreads #bookstagram #writerslife #wattpad #unsplash #writersofinstagram #horror #pariscatacombs

[whyarentmorepeopledancing]

HER SCARLET DRESS. The man yelped in pain and grabbed his cheek. In the process he released the woman’s arm, dropped the candle, and the light crashed out. They were enveloped in the thick darkness of the catacombs. “Run!” Ava yelled, hoping the French woman would have a chance to escape. There was a scuffle, the sound of something like cloth ripping and meat tearing, a grunt, and a thud. Her heart pounded inside her throat. She crept forward and reached around to where she knew her phone must be, just feet away from where the man was standing. He was panting heavily. . "I can hear you.” But it wasn’t a man who spoke in this surprisingly excellent English. Ava breathed a sigh of relief that the woman was alive, and felt her fingers finally close around her poor phone. But her breath caught in her chest when the white light of her screen fell across the man’s bloodied body. Lisette, as the man had called her, stood over him, wiping a thin, dripping knife against her petticoat. She was holding her outer skirt up as she did so, smiling calmly. There were several other, darker stains across the petticoat, but as soon as she dropped the scarlet trail of her dress back over it, the stains disappeared from view. . Lisette took a slow, deep breath and met Ava’s gaze with a grin. . // 53/365 . Thanks for reading #AvaCouliseAndTheTimepieces ! Start from the beginning or subscribe at the link in my profile. Hope you enjoyed it! Tag a friend if they like scifi! . #365project #365series #bookstagram #shortstory #fiction #scifi #writer #writing #amwriting #ebook #greatreads

[whyarentmorepeopledancing]

PHONE TAG | The frenchman’s threats gave Ava an idea. Honestly, it sounded ridiculous in her head, but she had to do something. They’d never seen this kind of technology, after all. Feeling like an eight-year-old at a campfire, and without any clue as to whether this would be a stroke of genius or just, well, a stroke--she held her cell phone up to her chin and clicked the home button. Instantly her face lit up with the white silvery light of her twenty-first century screen, in what she hoped was a phantom-esque appearance. The woman yelped in fright and tried to step back, but the man's grip on her was firm. His eyes widened, fearful for a moment, before narrowing into suspicion. Ava cursed and clicked the lock, swallowing herself in darkness again. So much for scaring him away. She glared at her phone in annoyance. “What good are you, then?" The man gasped at the sound, but before he could react any further she lunged forward and hurled the phone right at him. It smacked against his bony face with a satisfying crack. | (52/365) #365project Chapter one @ the link in my profile! Thanks for reading #AvaCouliseAndTheTimepieces ! Tag a friend if you think they'd enjoy it! --- #365project #fiction #scifi #writer #writing #amwriting #ebook #greatreads #bookstagram #writerslife #wattpad #unsplash #365series #writersofinstagram

[whyarentmorepeopledancing]

THE FANTÔME | Ava fell back into the shadows and waited, her breath caught like a hook in her throat. The scuffle of feet and approaching candlelight told her she only had seconds before they discovered her, and she instinctively walked back down the hall to avoid being caught in the light. She couldn’t go too far -- she knew she had to straighten out whatever moment in time her grandfather had messed with if she wanted to get back. . "I know you are there, American!" the man said in a thick French accent. He scanned the shadows furiously, but his candlelight was dwarfed by the weight of the catacomb’s darkness. He still gripped the poor woman’s wrist in one hand, and her eyes, too, shifted back and forth as she also searched the corridor. “You coward!” he said with a curl of his lip. “Hiding in the shadows, leaving me with your woman!” The girl whispered something in French, and the man laughed. “Did you hear that, American? Lisette thinks you are a fantôme - a ghost! Why don’t you come out and let me kill you so she will know how truly human you are?” | (51/365) Need to catch up? Chapter #1 at the link in my profile! Thanks for reading #AvaCouliseAndTheTimepieces ! Tag a friend if you think they'd enjoy it! Photo via @unsplash #365project #fiction #scifi #writer #writing #amwriting #ebook #greatreads #bookstagram

[whyarentmorepeopledancing]

THE ARGUMENT | Ava heard a woman’s voice down the corridor and quickly shut off her phone to avoid being seen. The woman was arguing in French with someone, and a sultry man’s voice responded silkily, apparently undisturbed by her tone. A glimmer of candlelight came from around a corner up ahead, so Ava approached it carefully and peered around the edge. Less than ten feet away, a tall, greasy-looking man stared down at a woman who was clearly telling him off. He wore a coat with tails and a high collar; she, a dress fitted at the waist with a bustled skirt and poufed sleeves. They looked like they might have been shooting a period film. She spat something at him in French, but he still seemed unperturbed. He reached to tuck her hair behind her ear tenderly, at which point she slapped his wrist away in fury. He then grabbed her wrist and wrenched her so fiercely that Ava involuntarily let out an audible gasp. She cursed her foolishness as she watched the sound of her shock echo towards the couple--and twist their faces curiously in her direction. . // . (50/365) Thanks for reading #AvaCouliseAndTheTimepieces Read the whole story at the link in my profile. Tag a friend if you think they'd enjoy it! #365project #fiction #scifi #writer #writing #amwriting #ebook #greatreads #bookstagram