Us vs. the Apocalypse
Title: Borderline Child Abuse
Word Count: 140
"Here," Keenan said, sitting down beside her. "Try this." He shoved a small object into her hand, wrapped in shiny paper, and she looked down at it in confusion.
"What is it?" she asked.
"It's a chocolate bar."
"A what?" Avery peered at the bite-sized candy, confused. "Isn't it supposed to be bigger?"
"That's what she said," Mason called sleepily from the fire.
"It's Hallowe'en candy," Keenan said. "Didn't your parents celebrate Hallowe'en?"
"No..." She turned the chocolate over in her hands, then ripped it open. "We only celebrated Easter and Christmas."
"They didn't even tell you about it?" She bit into the super-sweet chocolate and shook her head - Keenan's jaw fell open in disbelief. "Wow," he said, scratching the back of his head and momentarily at a loss for words. "That's got to be borderline child abuse."
Title: High School
Prompt: walking with the ghosts
Word Count: 181
Rating: G
Summary: Aura stands in an abandoned high school.
Author's Note: Quote from "Children of Men".
She stood in the middle of the hallway, staring at the long rows of lockers, the hand-painted posters advertising the craft fair, the spring dance, the next debate team tournament, and when she closed her eyes she imagined she could hear the chattering voices of hundreds of teenagers all around her as they made their way to and from classes. Girls gossiping about the cute boys on the basketball team, or perhaps the dreaded math test. Boys talking about the upcoming hockey playoffs, comparing stats and favorite players. She could almost feel them brush past her, gathering things from their lockers, the metallic slam of hundreds of doors opening and closing, the squeak of their shoes on the linoleum floor.
When she opened her eyes, Mason was standing quietly beside her, an unlit cigarette pinched between his lips as if he'd put it there and simply forgotten about it.
"As the sound of playgrounds faded, the despair set in," he quoted softly. "Very odd, what happens in a world without children's voices." He looked up at a hanging banner that read WELCOME SPARTANS and sighed softly. "Truck's out front," he told her. "Time to go."
Title: After
Prompt: outer space
Word Count: 143
Rating: G
Summary: Aura and Mason are staring at the stars.
"You know what's amazing about all of this?" Mason asked, pointing at the stars above them.
"They're the only thing that can shut you up for five minutes?" Aura asked, smirking. He snorted and smacked her leg.
"Before things went to hell, we had a lot of this shit figured out," he said. "Like, we knew about orbits, and comets, and the solar system, and all that stuff..." He dropped his arm and looped it behind his head. "But now, all of that's lost. Whoever comes after us is gonna have to figure it out all over again."
She stared up at the stars, tracing the constellations with her eyes, and the two of them lay there in silence until she finally turned her head to look at him.
"What makes you think there's going to be anybody after us?" she asked softly.
Word Count: 140
"Here," Keenan said, sitting down beside her. "Try this." He shoved a small object into her hand, wrapped in shiny paper, and she looked down at it in confusion.
"What is it?" she asked.
"It's a chocolate bar."
"A what?" Avery peered at the bite-sized candy, confused. "Isn't it supposed to be bigger?"
"That's what she said," Mason called sleepily from the fire.
"It's Hallowe'en candy," Keenan said. "Didn't your parents celebrate Hallowe'en?"
"No..." She turned the chocolate over in her hands, then ripped it open. "We only celebrated Easter and Christmas."
"They didn't even tell you about it?" She bit into the super-sweet chocolate and shook her head - Keenan's jaw fell open in disbelief. "Wow," he said, scratching the back of his head and momentarily at a loss for words. "That's got to be borderline child abuse."
Title: High School
Prompt: walking with the ghosts
Word Count: 181
Rating: G
Summary: Aura stands in an abandoned high school.
Author's Note: Quote from "Children of Men".
She stood in the middle of the hallway, staring at the long rows of lockers, the hand-painted posters advertising the craft fair, the spring dance, the next debate team tournament, and when she closed her eyes she imagined she could hear the chattering voices of hundreds of teenagers all around her as they made their way to and from classes. Girls gossiping about the cute boys on the basketball team, or perhaps the dreaded math test. Boys talking about the upcoming hockey playoffs, comparing stats and favorite players. She could almost feel them brush past her, gathering things from their lockers, the metallic slam of hundreds of doors opening and closing, the squeak of their shoes on the linoleum floor.
When she opened her eyes, Mason was standing quietly beside her, an unlit cigarette pinched between his lips as if he'd put it there and simply forgotten about it.
"As the sound of playgrounds faded, the despair set in," he quoted softly. "Very odd, what happens in a world without children's voices." He looked up at a hanging banner that read WELCOME SPARTANS and sighed softly. "Truck's out front," he told her. "Time to go."
Title: After
Prompt: outer space
Word Count: 143
Rating: G
Summary: Aura and Mason are staring at the stars.
"You know what's amazing about all of this?" Mason asked, pointing at the stars above them.
"They're the only thing that can shut you up for five minutes?" Aura asked, smirking. He snorted and smacked her leg.
"Before things went to hell, we had a lot of this shit figured out," he said. "Like, we knew about orbits, and comets, and the solar system, and all that stuff..." He dropped his arm and looped it behind his head. "But now, all of that's lost. Whoever comes after us is gonna have to figure it out all over again."
She stared up at the stars, tracing the constellations with her eyes, and the two of them lay there in silence until she finally turned her head to look at him.
"What makes you think there's going to be anybody after us?" she asked softly.