In honor of Nanowrimo...well not really. A story about Ri
Every week at the beginning of my fiction class, the professor gives us prompts for a quick write, and then we have at for about fifteen minutes. This was the first piece I actually finished and I rather like it, so I though I’d share.
Prompt: Write a short a short story using only one-syllable words.
Subject: Ri (my Nosferatu from LARP last year)
Word Count: 144/140
Title: Je me lève
Note: There are two versions, the first is exactly as written and formatted in class, the second has a few changes (mostly formatting). Read whichever you prefer.
And yes, the use of Ri's full name (despite the syllabic restriction) was deliberate.
Ri woke. It was dark here, dark and dank. She sat, tried to swing her legs off the bed-but she was on the floor. How odd. Like a dream, shards of scenes sped through her mind. “Team Two?” “In place; tell us when.” “Go.” She saw the door, the lock like so many she broke in the past-but not this time. Flash of light. “They see you--pull back.” But it was too late. Shots. Pain blooms from her chest. “Would you like to live? …well, sort of…” A smirk, cold and sad.* Yes… Dark. Blood. Pain. Now…here. Ri looks round. Sees. “What?” Feels her face. It is her. “How can this be?”
“This is the price we pay.” The man from…last night? The same--yet not. Like me. He holds out a hand. “Come, young Riannon. You have much to learn.
Ri wakes. It is dark here, dark and dank. She sits, tries to swing her legs off the bed-but she is on the floor. How odd. Like a dream, shards of scenes speed through her mind: “Team Two?” “In place; say the word.” “Go.” She saw the door, the lock like so many she broke in the past-but not this time. Flash of light. “They see you; pull back.” Too late. Shots. Pain blooms from her chest. “Would you like to live? …well, sort of…” A smirk, cold and sad.* Yes… Dark. Blood. Pain.
Now…here. Ri looks round. Sees. “What?” Feels her face. It is her. “How can this be?”
“This is the price we pay.” The man from…last night? The same--yet not. Like me. He holds out a hand. “Come, Riannon. You have much to learn.
*I was going for “sardonic,” or “ironic” here, but “cold and sad” was the best I could do with single syllable words on short notice (and without a thesaurus!).
What do you think?
And the song lyrics, because they are Ri (particularly coupled with Cold Breath '79). And I love this song.
Prompt: Write a short a short story using only one-syllable words.
Subject: Ri (my Nosferatu from LARP last year)
Word Count: 144/140
Title: Je me lève
Note: There are two versions, the first is exactly as written and formatted in class, the second has a few changes (mostly formatting). Read whichever you prefer.
And yes, the use of Ri's full name (despite the syllabic restriction) was deliberate.
Ri woke. It was dark here, dark and dank. She sat, tried to swing her legs off the bed-but she was on the floor. How odd. Like a dream, shards of scenes sped through her mind. “Team Two?” “In place; tell us when.” “Go.” She saw the door, the lock like so many she broke in the past-but not this time. Flash of light. “They see you--pull back.” But it was too late. Shots. Pain blooms from her chest. “Would you like to live? …well, sort of…” A smirk, cold and sad.* Yes… Dark. Blood. Pain. Now…here. Ri looks round. Sees. “What?” Feels her face. It is her. “How can this be?”
“This is the price we pay.” The man from…last night? The same--yet not. Like me. He holds out a hand. “Come, young Riannon. You have much to learn.
Ri wakes. It is dark here, dark and dank. She sits, tries to swing her legs off the bed-but she is on the floor. How odd. Like a dream, shards of scenes speed through her mind: “Team Two?” “In place; say the word.” “Go.” She saw the door, the lock like so many she broke in the past-but not this time. Flash of light. “They see you; pull back.” Too late. Shots. Pain blooms from her chest. “Would you like to live? …well, sort of…” A smirk, cold and sad.* Yes… Dark. Blood. Pain.
Now…here. Ri looks round. Sees. “What?” Feels her face. It is her. “How can this be?”
“This is the price we pay.” The man from…last night? The same--yet not. Like me. He holds out a hand. “Come, Riannon. You have much to learn.
*I was going for “sardonic,” or “ironic” here, but “cold and sad” was the best I could do with single syllable words on short notice (and without a thesaurus!).
What do you think?
And the song lyrics, because they are Ri (particularly coupled with Cold Breath '79). And I love this song.