Prompt: 102. sledgehammer

1. It felt like a sledgehammer pounding in his head. Yet another debilitating headache to remind him that things had been going too well lately.

A. It felt like a sledgehammer pounding in his head. Yet another debilitating headache to remind him that things had been going too well lately. He pinched his lips together to hold in a moan of pain and kept his expression from crumbling through pure force of will.

Reaching into his pocket, he took out his sunglasses and put them on over his eyes. It felt better to have the light-level lowered even that little bit, though the headache was still there and signaling that it was going to stay a while.

2. There was a keen sense of satisfaction involved with smashing ceramic with a sledgehammer.

A. There was a keen sense of satisfaction involved with smashing ceramic with a sledgehammer. The impact and the followup crashing shatter made her laugh in glee. Who would have thought that breaking stuff would be so much fun? She’d been missing out her whole life.

Once she was done smashing all of his plates, bowls, and mugs, she tossed aside the sledgehammer and went for the lighter fluid and matches. She’d already tossed all of his clothes and shoes in a large metal garbage can. It was a matter of moments to get the fire blazing good and bright.

3. It felt ironic somehow that he had grown up to work at the same sledgehammer factory where so much traumatic history had gone down.

A. It felt ironic somehow that he had grown up to work at the same sledgehammer factory where so much traumatic history had gone down. There were ghosts around every corner and emotional triggers hidden in every room. Yet he was able to hold onto the secret of his past, compartmentalizing for everything he was worth. Not one of his coworkers had any idea who he used to be.

It was a relief that no one knew. He hated the pity he received from people once they learned his life history. The “Oh, so that explains it” follow-up look was the only thing worse.

He was glad to be another anonymous face in the crowd, judged only on what people could see of him. He didn’t want any of his coworkers to know who he used to be. Because he wasn’t that person anymore. He wasn’t.

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Prompt: 101. date night

1. Even after all their years of marriage they still enjoyed date night. It kept their passion for each other alive.

A. Even after all their years of marriage they still enjoyed date night. It kept their passion for each other alive. Plus it was the one night a week where they left their kids with a babysitter and were able to enjoy adult conversation.

Sitting at a table for two, they would share an appetizer and each order a different entree they would split. And as they shared their food and conversation, it would feel like they were falling in love again. There would be another taste of that spark that first drew them together, and the night would end in an impassioned embrace.

2. Their date night had finally arrived and he was terrified. The last thing he wanted was to mess things up.

A. Their date night had finally arrived and he was terrified. The last thing he wanted was to mess things up. Lydia’s friendship was one of the few things he’d come to depend on in his life. He didn’t want to lose it.

Standing in front of the full-length mirror in his boxer briefs, he held a shirt in each hand and traded off holding one in front of his chest then the other. He couldn’t tell which one would look better and his nervousness was growing by the moment.

The last thing he wanted was to be all sweaty.

3. The community center had large signs set up advertising “Date Night.” It was a fun play on words for a night when people could come and pick through crates filled with fresh dates.

A. The community center had large signs set up advertising “Date Night.” It was a fun play on words for a night when people could come and pick through crates filled with fresh dates. There would be cheery music piped through the speakers and games for the children.

Everyone would come and have a fun night filling paper sacks or market bags with dates they could take home. And in-between there would be cups full of punch and a potluck dinner.

There were some people that spent the whole year looking forward to the next community Date Night.

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Prompt: 100. roller coaster

1. He rode roller coasters when he was stressed. It calmed him down and freed his mind for thinking.

A. He rode roller coasters when he was stressed. It calmed him down and freed his mind for thinking. At least, that was the explanation he always gave, borrowing heavily from his love of Grissom from CSI: Crime Scene Investigators.

There’d been the occasional person that would give him a skeptical look when he gave his line, but eventually everyone seemed to buy the fiction he was creating. It made him feel good, as though he truly had some control over the world around him. Eventually he expanded his lies, until he became someone completely different from himself.

Every person that he got to believe his stories was another proof that he was alive.

2. The string of roller coaster cars was halfway through the third loop when there was a loud snapping sound. A single piercing scream became a mass of screaming voices as the riders began to panic.

A. The string of roller coaster cars was halfway through the third loop when there was a loud snapping sound. A single piercing scream became a mass of screaming voices as the riders began to panic.

There was the creak of metal, then seemingly in slow motion that moved faster and faster, the roller coaster cars tumbled through the air to slam into the ground.

Standing to one side, a stinging pain blooming across her left cheek, she didn’t understand what she’d witnessed at first. Then her mind put things together and there were words for what she’d seen. Words that each carried their own heavy meaning, like tragedy and crash and no survivors, because there was no one moving in the wreckage.

3. The roller coaster cars reached the top of the steep incline, then plummeted over the edge to the screaming delight of the passengers.

A. The roller coaster cars reached the top of the steep incline, then plummeted over the edge to the screaming delight of the passengers. There was something about the sensation of a stomach seemingly left behind while a body rushed down and down in loops and bends and stretches of rail that had been angled up simply to give the plunging roller coaster cars speed as they rushed down and around and back to the station. It was three straight minutes of ups, downs, and loops carried along on a symphony of delighted and terrified screams and the squealing-hiss of the brakes.

When the operator hit the button that unlocked the safety bars, riders began climbing out onto the station platform in a loud swarm.

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Prompt: 099. carousel pony

1. He proposed to her while they were each riding a carousel pony.

A. He proposed to her while they were each riding a carousel pony. Bobbing up and down as the carousel music played, he’d looked across at her and his smile had been the sweetest thing she’d ever seen. And then he’d brought out the ring, and she was crying and saying “Yes! Yes, of course, yes!” and she was off her horse and in his arms.

He’d held her so tight and kissed her with such gleeful passion that she imagined she could still feel it hours later. The ring was beautiful on her finger; she planned on never taking it off.

She was getting everything that she’d ever wanted in life. First the great career, now the love of her life, and next… The thought of children tripped her thoughts up a little, but in a good way.

2. There was a moment of stillness as they took in the sight of the full-sized carousel pony taking up space in his living room.

A. There was a moment of stillness as they took in the sight of the full-sized carousel pony taking up space in his living room. “So. Is there some kind of story behind this? Or are we supposed to pretend that we don’t notice that gigantic pony taking up three-fourths of the room?”

He could barely hear Tory speaking over the buzzing in his ears. He walked around the carousel pony three times, four times, and was halfway around for a fifth time when his anger finally caught up with his shock. “I’m going to kill you, Derek!”

3. She held the toddler against her chest as they rode the carousel pony. He laughed and kicked his feet, the plastic reins clutched by his small hands.

A. She held the toddler against her chest as they rode the carousel pony. He laughed and kicked his feet, the plastic reins clutched by his small hands as he leaned his chest against the plastic neck of the pony.

“Are you having fun?” she asked.

“Yes!” He kicked his heels. “Go horsey, go!”

She tucked her face into the side of his neck, breathing in the baby smell still clinging to his skin. It was moments like these that she wanted to hold onto forever, because she knew they weren’t going to last.

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