The Writing Marathon - new prompt every 2 days (deadline 30th April)

[dakkagor]

@dakkagor; is that from one of the previous universes (GE2, Wreckage, Vacuum Crows) or a new one?

A new one I'm toying with, I'm using this as an exercise to A: flesh it out and B: write as ruthlessly as possible. Have to trim and trim again to get under the word limit each time which teachs good habits.

[Vaidia]

Admittedly, I am paying very little attention to the word count and operating on vibes alone.

Spoiler: Prompt #5: Lonely 

I walk through the maze corridors, and the only sound is the echo of my footsteps against the blank walls. It is the quiet moments like this that I have come to enjoy. The simplicity of the path forward, even though I know eventually I will come to a split in the path, and have to make a choice. I have made the choice plenty of times already, have walked untold steps between the entrance of the maze and where I am now.

This part of the path is not unfamiliar to me.

I stop my steps before the next fork in the path and look down. With the amount of time that has passed, the corpse in front of me has progressed quite face in the decay process, the fluids now dry on the ground and the remaining skin becoming taught on the bones. It was one of the earliest bodies in the maze, and I have learned to not step on that particular tile rather quickly.

I still kneel a moment, and pay me respects. A small drop of blood around its body. There are several dots now, enough to circle the body several times. Oh, how long I have traveled.

I continue forward, and come to the first fork in the maze.

A simple enough option between the two. Left or Right.

The path to the left is one filled with traps. A single wrong step, even on a hairsbreadth wrong means a painful death. It is one of patience and precision, and difficulty that mounts with each new turn and each new chamber. The challenge beguiles finality. One would think pain was the only prelude to success. I have walked every inch of that path. It is no longer a lonely one, being haunted by the company of so many of my own corpses.

I turn right. I turned right once before, when I first came. I turned back, and then found my first death in the hallway trap. Surely escape could not be so simple, so easy?

The halls are empty. Tranquil. I find them enjoyable.

Perhaps being lonely is not so terrible.

[Azazeal849]

New prompt up - and since it’s the 13th, your word of the day is “luck”

[Azazeal849]

Today’s prompt is “light”!

(Look at that, three L words in a row!)

[dakkagor]

Good stuff, I'm falling behind. Only up to prompt five. . .

[dakkagor]

Good stuff, I'm falling behind. Only up to prompt five. . .

[Vaidia]

Spoiler: Prompt #7: Luck 

Jane grabs at your hand roughly, and you do little to fight back against her. You know her skill set, and know if she really wanted to she could easily rip your arm off. But that was not meant to be.

It wasn't worth it. Not for something like this, and you knew you would have to tell your team sooner or later. It was best that it was Jane that learned about it first. She was impulsive and hot headed at times, but it was because she cared about people. You liked to think she also cared about you.

Her fingers traced the middle line of your palm-- the lifeline-- or what was left of it. Most of the line was strangely absent from your flesh, looking like someone had simply gotten a bit happy with a blender in Photoshop. As she noticed how small the line was, she looked up at you, her expression something unfathomable. "How long has it been this short?"

You kept yourself from shuddering too much at the touch. It wasn't that it repulsed you. It was most people avoided touching you. Except Jane, and some of the others of your team. Something about not wanting the bad luck to rub off on them. Even then, you avoided too much contact. Just in case.

Jane's hands were calloused. Or you should say 'Star Shriek' as that was her hero name, but you never liked calling people by their titles, and were good at guessing their names. Usually a lucky guess.

"Thirteen, are you okay?" Jane asked, and you realized you didn't reply to her question. The unfathomable look shifted more clearly to concern. She didn't pull her hand away.

"Yeah. Sorry. I'm fine," you looked back down at the shortened line, then remembered the original question. "And also... not fine. I guess. It has been like this since the fight with the Shadow Singer's Lieutenant. You... didn't think you all avoided the shadow spears on your own, did you?" You offer a weak smile.

Jane's hands shift to grip you tightly, and her face flushes slightly. "That's-- You know we are still highly trained. We can avoid attacks on our own and can take a few hits. You can't always keep us safe, and that is okay. There are more important things to use your luck for, alright?"

Now it is your turn for your face to flush, but know it's because they don't know. They don't know how your skills actually work. That you know what would have happened if you didn't guide fate the way you did. That you know how it would go otherwise. You nod your response.

"You should join the rest of the team. We have a lot to plan with the upcoming battle." She didn't move away however, seeming like if she let go now, she would lose you forever. Or, maybe that was wishful thinking, but she did name herself after a star. "I... won't mention it. About your lifeline. Unless you want me to."

"I will bring up. When the time seems right," you answer quietly.

This seems to satisfy Jane. For now. "You do have the best sense of timing." She begins to stand, but does not let go of your hand, guiding you forward. "Let's go."

How lucky it is you have such a good friend.

The lifeline on your palm grows ever so slightly shorter.

I am also running a little behind. Will probably take a stab at the next prompt once the whimsy strikes.

[Azazeal849]

Your word of the day is “choice”!

[Azazeal849]

Today’s word is “risk”

[Azazeal849]

And another (apologies for the delay) - today’s word is “belief”