Purrsonal Thursdays will continue next month, but as a campaigner from Rachael Harrie's Fourth Platform-Building Campaign, we have these nifty little challenges, so here's mine.
The Challenge is: Write a short story/flash fiction story in 200 words or less, excluding the title. It can be in any format, including a poem. Begin the story with the words, “Shadows crept across the wall”. These five words will be included in the word count.
If you want to give yourself an added challenge (optional), do one or more of these:
Done! · end the story with the words: "everything faded." (also included in the word count)
Done! · include the word "orange" in the story
Done! (This is a sneak peek from Fighting Gravity, book two of the Gravity series) · write in the same genre you normally write
Done! · make your story 200 words exactly!
Crash and Burn
Shadows
crept across the wall. Orange flames smoldered through the metal. She would
bake in this intergalactic oven. Acrid smoke coated her tongue with bitter ash.
The soft ticking from earlier crescendoed into a pounding beat rivaling her
heart’s.
Would
the spaceship explode?
Marissa
had to leave. Now.
Her
footsteps tinned against the floor as she neared the cockpit. A little farther,
she would be outside. Sweat collected on her upper lip and seeped into her
hair. She blinked her eyelids to clear her cloudy vision.
“Ow!”
Her arm knocked against the wall.
Crrraaack!
The
spacecraft rocked and pitched forward. Marissa lost her balance and fell. The
breath whooshed out of her. Stars flashed before her eyes. She stumbled toward
the instrument panel. Broken glass shredded her palms and knees, but she fought
to escape.
She tumbled
from the window. Fire lapped against the dried leaves. Another crack echoed
throughout the forest. Run, her mind
urged, but her body begged for sleep. She staggered toward freedom.
Whatever happened to the alien inside?
That
last thought struck her as the spaceship exploded. The blast flung her into the
air, and she crashed to the ground. Her eyes closed as everything faded.
I'm #165, so if you like this, please go to Rachael's blog here and click "like" at my name. Thank you!
I'm #165, so if you like this, please go to Rachael's blog here and click "like" at my name. Thank you!
29 comments:
Awesome! That was fast, sharp, and intense. I want to know what happens next. Well done.
Very suspenseful. Nicely done. What did happen to the alien inside?
Very cool!! I wish I knew more of the story!! Great job!!
I'm entry #19
Well done, very surreal.
Cool! Very vivid! I wondered if this was from one of your Gravity stories, and then I scrolled up and saw that it is.
Nice work! Very intense!
Wow! Love it. I'm thinking the alien was the saboteur!
Edgy... fast-paced... action-packed!
Great job.
Wow! Enjoyed the vivid imagery and action. Great job on pacing! Nice :)
Yes! Some Sci-Fi action! Reminds me of an alien ship crash I described in my first novel. Man, that was a while ago. Nice one! :)
Fast paced and intense. Oh and with the threat of an alien? double win!!! :D
Great sci-fi expose but you killed her off! Eeep.
Wow! Very good. Intense and action-packed. You definitely get a vote.
Melissa Maygrove
Campaign Entry #149
Looks cool, neat challenge! I'm not very good at flash fiction, but I like the blog:)
@Christine Rains - Thank you! And you will soon know what happens next, since you're my CP.
@digillette - Thank you!
@MISH - Thank you!
@Ann Cory - Thank you!
@David P. King - That's neat it reminds you of your first novel. :)
@akoss - Thank you!
@Melissa - Aww, thank you! :)
@Mark Noce - Thank you! Flash fiction can be difficult to write, but with practice it gets much easier.
@Susan from My Withershins - Thank you! And soon (May 1st) FIGHTING GRAVITY will be out and everyone could find out what happened to the alien. :D
I like the short, brisk pace of the sentences!
Voted for your entry.
Very well written! I'm really curious about what caused the explosion and who the Alien was. :-)
Very nice. What did happen? Such a question!
I like this. Good stuff.
Gah, you left us all hanging! I wanna know more ._.
#109
HA! A great piece! Very exciting.
Ooh, I'd love to know what happened. And what's going to come next!
I loved the action in this right out of the starting gate. Tell me, tell, what happens next? Excellent job!
Very intense story, and great imagery! Sci-fi is my favorite genre after historical.
#123
I love how good flash fiction always leaves you with questions and possibilities of expansion!
Hope you like mine #189
As exciting and full of questions as ever :-)
This is so intriguing! It would be a great beginning to a story, I think! It just draws you in!
I loved this. I'm here for the Platform Building Campaign and look forward to getting to know you and your work. ~Cheers
Nice si-fi piece! I enjoyed reading it!
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