Day 263 Writing Short Stories

Bubble

The water rippled. There came huge bubbles on the surface that had been serene just a moment ago. They all shared a thought as they watched the bubbles form on the water. No one wanted to say that thought aloud; it meant they would have to acknowledge that they were no longer alone on the alien planet. That there might be more to the world than just vegetation.

She glanced at the guard units as they raised their weapons, waiting for a command to shoot.

She returned her gaze to the surface and wondered what was big enough to make water surge out with such force as to cause the ripples. She was supposed to be the mammal expert. Her instinct told her it was bigger than an earth catfish. Something the size of an alligator.

She knelt and took a twig. She drew it on the surface, breaking the ripples, and as the twig landed, a huge reptile-looking creature launched into the air. It was a mix of a frog, an alligator, and a fish. It had sharp teeth and a head like a giant frog.

She took a step back. So did the unit. They watched it dive back into the water.

She let out a sigh of relief. They couldn’t stay here to inspect. She would return and get a better reading. She stated, “I will get my units to make calculations of the creature, and get you the approximations of what such a thing needs to survive.”

Post Office

The line squirmed at the door. It was the end of the season before all the packages and postcards had to be sent to the loved ones. Like others, she had come at the last minute to send her gift for her grandmother. She always bought her new wool socks and the tea she loved and couldn’t get anywhere but in the city.

She cursed herself for not being better organized and for not having done this last week when the lines hadn’t been this bad. She had, after all, bought the present two weeks ago. She could have done it right away. But no. She couldn’t bring herself to do it. She had to stall and stall, and now she was hot and bothered with all the winter clothes she had on.

The suffocating warmth was spreading around her. She watched as the other shifted uncomfortably, wondering when the first shout would erupt. She wanted to shout, too. She wanted to curse at the slow-moving postal worker and groan at the elderly woman at the front of the line. But she knew it was pointless, that it wasn’t their fault.

She loosened her jacket and forced herself to calm down.

Old Story

Like so many stories before this one, it is about who we humans are when the darkness descends. That’s the oldest story we tell. That’s the thing we hear when we go to bed, and the shadows stretch on the walls. We know that there is something out there hunting us. We know that if we blink, if we move, it will come.

But unlike most of us, I know they exist—the shadows, the monsters, the deprived. I can feel their presence, and more than that, I can see them. I can see them fully. The horned beasts visit me every night. I don’t know what they want from me. They stand there on the doorway, staring at me, never uttering a word. I’m not sure if they can speak. They loom there, waiting for me, wanting something I cannot understand.

I used to be afraid of them. I’m no longer. All I want is an answer to what the old ones want from me. I have asked. They never reply. They wait. And wait. And wait.

They wait for the day to come. I can feel it in my bones. There is a storm rising on the horizon. It is history in the making, and not in a good way. I can feel that the world is soon on fire, needing only one thing to kindle it.

I have told them that there is nothing I can do to prevent it. They don’t believe me.

I refuse to go out there and breach what I know. I will be locked in an insane asylum, and what good does that do? I have told them that much. They don’t care. They demand that I act. They come every night, and their desperation seeps into me.

There’s no escape. The world will burn.

The prompts are from the book A Year of Creative Writing Prompts.

Oh, I had fun writing today. I hope it shows. I got to visit an old story and make a new version of it, I got to write a coworker into the postal story, and there were strange creatures on an alien planet. How I wish I could travel the stars. I would if I could. I want to see the edge of the universe and know what lurks there.

Thank you for reading ❤ I wish you all the stars from here and beyond! Have a strange day!