Day 11 Writing Short Stories

Jungle

The space was supposed to be empty. That was the deal humans made with the universe when they started colonizing other planets to spread out and mine. So it had been for centuries. People got farther and farther from Earth, terraforming planets to their liking.

He was a product of generations of colonizers. He was born in the remote regions of the human empire. It was not like he had any choice. He occasionally dreamed of the hub planets where all who were who lived. But this was as good as it would get. There was no way off the planet. He wasn’t good enough to become a pilot or rich enough to buy a ticked out. And it wasn’t like he knew anyone from the hubs. So good riddance, he would stay. His green ocean planet was just perfect for him and his body. What he gathered was that his limbs were longer and he was more agile than the hub people. All down to space travel, genetic engineering, and the requirements of the planet.

His body made a perfect vessel for moving around on the jungle planet, so much so that he and his friends had made a game out of their long limbs and agility.

That was what they were doing now. They had headed out to the jungle. He was planning to set a new record of swinging from the outskirts of the jungle to the settlement. Markus held the current speed record. Just shy of an hour of standard time. He was sure he could beat it with ease, at least with six standard minutes. He had been practicing so much that he was sure to secure himself a victory drink or two.

He took off his shoes and tied them to his backpack. He stood next to his chosen tree and waited for the starting mark to be sounded. He jumped to the trunk when Yens shouted for them to start, latching on with his hands and feet, tying them around. He hauled himself up with big, swift movements. And then he was up on the branches. The world up there was beautiful. You could almost see the settlements and the tall walls built around them. There was an ocean of trees and mountains rising behind the valleys where the cities lay.

Markus was already swinging in front of him. He made his body swing in a wide arc and latched onto the branch of another tree, repeating it over and over. They were already in the middle of the jungle when he dared to stop to think. He was gaining on Markus. They had left the others way behind. He and Markus were the best. Markus was shouting rude comments about his form and skinny arms.

“Fuck you,” he shouted back, cursing himself for how weak his comeback was. He wouldn’t hear the end of it from his brother. Markus was just like that. Always giving him shit.

Then Markus disappeared. It was like something had latched onto him and pulled him down.

He sped up his speed and saw Markus’s broken body on the ground. Tears welled up, and he latched onto the lower branches to reach his brother, but then Markus’s body moved. Something invisible took hold of his leg and dragged him behind it.

He gasped, and the motion stopped. Suddenly, the branches rushed in front of him. There was nothing there but a clear motion.

He jumped to another branch and began swinging madly from tree to tree. Something was coming behind him. He could hear it in the trees. It was slower than he was, but it was still there, pressing on him. Occasionally, something thudded beside him, exploding the tree trunk next to him. He didn’t stop. He kept his motion constant. His hands were getting bloody from the friction, but he didn’t stop. He kept his momentum going until he reached the settlements. The trees behind him, by that time, were dead silent.

—

Today’s prompt was hard to write. It was voice-driven, action, overcoming a monster, and done in a limited third-person pov. I think I got those right, but I didn’t get the wording the way I wanted. I wanted to set the action in a sci-fi setting to make it easier for me, but writing action is still hard. There is a weird balance between the setting and the action. I think this needs tuning, but I’m not sure how.

Needing tuning, but not knowing how, seemed to be the issue with my current book, too. I have gone back to writing the Glorious Mishap series, and I’m a little lost with what will happen next and how to get that omniscient voice back to my writing. I seemed to have lost it. I fear I have to reread my own books to get the tone back, but that seems like a taunting task. A terrifying task, I would say. But I guess I have to do it.

Just another day. I discussed the matter with my husband, and he said you have learned so much as a writer, and now I need to find a way back to what came naturally for me then and apply what I have learned there to make it better. Simple as that. Ever so simple. Sigh.

Thank you for reading! Have a swinging day ❤