Challenge 2: flash fiction without adjectives or adverbs

To a writer, adjectives and adverbs are stock and trade. If you are of my generation, just the mention of an adjective or adverb leaves you reaching for a dictionary in a cold sweat. Which one is a decribing word again...?

But these are the very lifeblood of a novelist's craft. Which is why when my writer friends challenged me to create a piece of flash fiction without using any at all, I couldn't resist the challenge. And just to make things a little more difficult, I needed to use dialogue without any identifiers like 'he said' etc. Nothing like an impossible task first thing in the morning to wake you up!

So here is my attempt:

‘Ayes’ dunna seen ‘im.’

‘Are you sure?’

‘Aye. Tis t’ truth.’

‘I don’t believe you.’

‘Ayes’ dunna care!’

‘Well you should!’

‘Isna my dog.’

‘Billy is missing!’

‘So? Ya shuda kept ‘im on t’ lead.’

‘I did! But, there was a cat, and, oh…What am I going to do now?’

‘If youse gonna blub, I’m outta here.’

‘Please, stay and help me to look?’

‘Well, I’s got ta be sumwhere…’

 ‘I…I…’

‘’e’s probahbly not far, now, bab. Did ya look at t’ stream?’

‘No, let’s go there and check.’

‘T’ field needs draining. Water’s in me boots.’

‘I know. Mud everywhere. We should be able to see his tracks, though. Billy! Billy! Where are you, boy?’

‘There, lass!’

‘Billy! What were you doing under that bridge? Billy! Let me fuss you, boy! Thanks for helping me to find him, Mister.’

She looked up, and around the park. But the man had disappeared.