Tag: CarrotRanch

‘Shine a Light’: A Story in 99 Words

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Dusk dissolved into the hungry night. Night fed into dawn. Dawn became day.

In the space of 24 hours the planet had undergone a revolution. The cold light of day shined upon the smoking ruins and gore-strewn streets, revealing the new world.

Watery grey light washed over the city. The horrors that had been obscured by shadow were now unflinchingly illuminated. That which had been denied or debated was held under the microscope. Stony truth thudded down.

She picked up her satchel and set off, listening to the moans of the dead sighing through the streets like a gale.

 

photo of skyscrapers surrounded with clouds
Photo by Aleksandar Pasaric on Pexels.com

 

Written in response to CarrotRanch’s October 31, 2019, prompt: Day of the Dead.

‘Visit’: A story in 99 words

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Gusts of wind moaned through the skeletal trees, scattering the burnt-orange leaves across the graves.

“That time of year again, Frank?”

“Yep.”

“Same as last year?”

“Same as every year, Harry.”

“Hmm.”

The wind wailed between the headstones, shrieking like a ghoul.

Harry cleared his throat. “Well… maybe they forgot?”

“Twenty-seven years in a row?”

“I—well, maybe not…”

“Yeah, maybe not.”

The gale was picking up speed now. The town’s citizens would be battening down the hatches.

Frank was changing, too. Becoming. Tattered skin and rotten flesh were stitching themselves together again.

“This year,” he said, “they’ll remember.”

 

night dark halloween horror
Photo by Skitterphoto on Pexels.com

 

Written in response to CarrotRanch’s September 26, 2019, prompt: unremembered.

‘Dorsal’: A story in 99 words

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The whole world seemed to hold its breath. A calm fell across the ocean, silencing the whispering waves and the crying gulls.

The waters around her were dark grey; murky and gloomy. She knew that the aquatic tranquillity was false – a temporary peace.

She trod the water, suspended between two ticks in time. The instant before had revealed a flash of black and white, a beady eye, a fin slicing the glassy waves. Then the depths had reclaimed it.

Her mind’s eye told her what was next: the strike from below, the eyes rolled white, a row of teeth.

 

grayscale photo of woman
Photo by Oliver Sjöström on Pexels.com

 

Due to my busy schedule, this was written after the closure of last week’s CarrotRanch prompt, ‘interlude’. I had an idea for the theme, so I thought I’d write it and share it nonetheless! 

‘Good Boy’: A story in 99 words

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During the days they walked, the man and his dog, searching for food, clean water, and shelter for the evening. They also searched for other survivors in the rubble, but were yet to find anything alive.

At night, they hid, and took refuge from the things that stalked the twilight for prey. They slept sporadically, huddled together for warmth.

They shared each other’s food and each other’s company, refusing to surrender that last ounce of hope. They held on to their reminiscences, remembering the good times.

But they could not erase the awful memory of that blooming mushroom cloud.

 

person holding black and tan dog
Photo by Matheus Bertelli on Pexels.com

 

Written in response to CarrotRanch’s September 5, 2019, prompt: true grit.