The exercise:
It's been long enough since the last time (also, I am very tired and can't think of a prompt), so today we're doing: continuations.
Just pick up the story where the last person left it and carry it onward for a little while.
We harvested for the restaurant this morning. Came away with: two pounds of swiss chard, two pounds of spinach, two pounds of salad blend, just over two pounds of snow peas, five pounds of rhubarb, and four and a half pounds of strawberries.
I was planning on getting a picture but by the time we finished I was running a bit late for the delivery. I'll try to get one next week.
Mine:
The shadows are creeping closer. I shrink away from their touch but there is no escaping their relentless pursuit, their gloomy grip. Day is stepping aside and night is eager to assume control once more.
Life becomes simpler now, more focused. I suppose I should be grateful for that. The many complications and decisions that call for my attention during daylight hours melt away, leaving me with a single thought, a solitary purpose.
Survive until dawn.
Wow that's a lot of produce! Spinach weighs next to nothing, so two pounds of it must be a decent size sack! I'm looking forward to the pictures, including one of the netted cherry trees :)
ReplyDeleteAlso, sorry to hear about your browser woes. I'm managing ok in Firefox at the moment, but they've recently done an upgrade that seems to be causing various random problems for people, so you might benefit from downloading the previous release (Firefox 12 I think) and using that instead?
Ah, continuations. And such an interesting little start...!
Continuation...
I sit down in the high-backed armchair and let the shadows fold around me. Everything is so quiet that I can hear the pulsing of the blood in my ears, and my heart thumps along in my chest, thankfully in time with it. And then, just as I'm starting to lose alertness and sleep is creeping up on me, there's a high-pitched cry in the distance and I jerk forward, awake and on edge.
Footsteps, light and fast. They're coming towards my house, but will they go past? I lean further forward still, straining to hear more detail, hoping to hear them run on by.
"This one! We've not done this one yet!"
I shudder at the sound of those horrible high-pitched voices, and then start again as I see the orange glows bobbing around outside.
"BANG!" Something – someone – hammers on the door.
"Trick or treat!"
I had thought turning the lights out and hiding in the utter blackness of the house would deter the greedy little heathens from venturing up my driveway and demanding sweets. Yet as I tore open the door I saw the little bundles of energy screetching and carrying on high on the nights haul dressed as flesh eating zombies, blood sucking vampires and sickeningly cute puppies and kittens.
ReplyDeleteGreg - yeah, it takes a lot of spinach to make two pounds.
ReplyDeleteGreat descriptions and tension. Enjoyed the surprise twist at the end :)
Morrigan - haha, love the image of zombies and vampires trick or treating side by side with cute puppies and kittens :D