Referee

He blew the whistle and pulled a yellow card from his pocket.
The player looked shocked that this had happened, despite the fact that the tackle he'd just performed on the opposition's midfielder would probably have carried a jail sentence if he'd performed it anywhere but on a football pitch.
The player began to protest. The referee shook his head.
The player continued to remonstrate. The referee put his hand in his pocket.
Fearing the card wuld be upgraded to a red, the player began to protest even more.
The referee pulled a knife from his pocket and sank it into the player's neck.

Winning Ticket

The numbers were shown on the screen.
1, 14, 22, 23, 36 and 38.
He looked at his ticket.
His numbers were 1, 14, 22, 23, 36 and 37.
He was one number away, but was certain that there would be a decent prize for having five right.
"And now the prize breakdown," said the smooth-voiced presenter.
He waited as the smaller prize amounts were read out, anticipating a windfall of thousands.
"Five numbers this week is a record."
The man felt his heart speed up.
"Never before have so many people had the combination of five correct numbers. There are 26,189 altogether."
The man felt like he'd been punched in the stomach.
"This week's payout for five is £1.26."
He turned off the TV and tore up his ticket.

Machine

She pressed play. Nothing happened.
She swung the hammer into the machine and smashed it into two equal-sized pieces. A thick tar ran from the machine and it emitted a scream.
There was a knock at the door.

Lobsters

He sat on the beach and he saw them arrive.
It was dusk and the tide was on its way in. He thought at first that the water was black, but it wasn't water. The black wave scuttled up the beach, towards the town.
He went to raise the alarm, but nobody believed him.
Several were torn apart by pincers as they slept.

Selfie

She held the phone in her hand and angled it to get the perfect shot. She pouted, but something was wrong. The view in the background wasn't really quite right.
She took a couple of steps back and tried again. Still not right.
She took two further steps backwards.
The phone fell from her hand as she tripped over the low fence at the cliff's edge.

Sacrifice

The phone vibrated in his pocket. He took it out and looked at it.
He'd received the text that he'd always dreaded.
The reactor was melting down and he was going to have to do what they paid him for.
He went home to quickly write a will before heading to work.

Rudeness

"Hello, could I have a large latte please?"
"Certainly, sir. That will be £2.80."
He handed over the cash and smiled. It was the right change. The barista took it without a word.
"I'm sorry?" said the man.
"I didn't say anything," said the barista.
"I know."
The barista looked confused.
"You are supposed to say 'thank you', you fucking piece of shit."
He swept his hand across the counter and scattered packets of sugar and stirrers everywhere.