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Prompt: 006. fall

1. It didn’t seem like a long distance to fall, but it was an awkward landing.

A. It didn’t seem like a long distance to fall, but it was an awkward landing. The minute her foot left the ledge, she’d known something was wrong. And the hard crunch when she hit the ground almost made her wish she’d let the fire take her. Almost.

2. The leaves of fall rustled in the breeze, a few loosening and slipping free to tumble gently against the ground.

A. The leaves of fall rustled in the breeze, a few loosening and slipping free to tumble gently against the ground. Soon the branches would be reaching up as bare sticks and the clouds would gather in the sky, heavy with snow.

Winter was coming, and they weren’t close to ready yet.

3. There was a nasty slip and fall in the middle of the store resulting in EMTs and a police report.

A. There was a nasty slip and fall in the middle of the store resulting in EMTs being called and a police report being filed. It wasn’t a surprise when the lawsuit came in a month later, though they’d hoped. She’d been a long-time customer, but not even loyalty could counteract the siren call of money.

“This is going to ruin us. We’ll lose the store.”

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Prompt: 005. summer

1. It was the hottest summer on record.

A. Two more elderly people had been found dead in their homes. It was the hottest summer on record and it wasn’t anywhere close to ending.

There was talk that the water shortage was getting worse. They were already on short rations, but they were going to be cut even shorter. Just enough that each person could drink each day and have some for cooking. Otherwise there was talk of a community bathhouse being built and each family being allowed a bath one day a week.

It was turning into a miserable season, with everyone being hot, smelly, and short-tempered. No one was looking forward to the announcement that they’d be allowed even less water.

2. Her name was Summer and she was beautiful.

A. He wanted her the moment he saw her. From her hair to her feet, she was everything he’d ever desired.

He wanted to touch her, hold her, own her. He wanted every part of her for his own.

He didn’t know her true name, only the name he gave her: Summer.

3. It was either summer school or repeating a year. It wasn’t really a choice at all.

A. It was either summer school or repeating a year. It wasn’t really a choice at all. There was no way she was losing her summer to something as stupid as school.

B. It was either summer school or repeating a year. It wasn’t really a choice at all.

Considering how badly she’d messed up, it was a relief that her parents eventually stopped yelling at her. She didn’t complain when she was signed up for summer school and didn’t make her usual sounds of misery as she put on her uniform the first day of class.

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Prompt: 004. spring

1. It was a relief when the spring frost began. They’d been close to running out of nearly everything.

A. It was a relief when the spring frost began. They’d been close to running out of nearly everything.

Once the river melted, it was a rush to finish building the boat and gather enough food to see them out of the Wild Lands. If they were lucky they could reach civilization within a few months. If they were unlucky they would die. They didn’t have a choice either way.

There was no staying where they were. They’d stripped the island of everything it had to offer, and there hadn’t been much to begin with.

It was either make the attempt now or slowly starve to death. There was not going to be another opportunity.

2. The Lady of Spring woke with a yawn and sat up to face her Season, when she would rule over the land and her brothers and sister would sleep.

A. The Lady of Spring woke with a yawn and sat up to face her Season, when she would rule over the land and her brothers and sister would sleep.

She rose from her bed of greenery to accept the robe her followers laid across her shoulders and allowed herself to be led to the sacred pool where she was bathed and anointed with oil. Her hair was brushed and her hands and feet were pampered. Then she was led to her throne and crowned before the whole Court.

3. A metal spring had torn through the upholstery of Dad’s favorite chair.

A. It wasn’t a hard decision to buy Dad a new chair for Father’s Day. The idea had come to them over the holidays when they’d seen where a metal spring had torn through the upholstery and been duct taped flat.

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Prompt: 003. appendectomy

1. They scheduled the appendectomy over her shouts that she’d already had her appendix removed.

A. They scheduled the appendectomy over her shouts that she’d had her appendix removed when she was a teenager. And when she tried to run away from them, they strapped her to the hospital bed to wait for the morning surgery.

They really wanted to cut her open, and she didn’t know why. It made her afraid of what they planned on doing to her.

If she could have, she would have escaped. But with her wrists and ankles strapped to the bed rails she was helpless to do anything but stare up at the ceiling and fret restlessly.

2. It was during a routine surgical procedure that they discovered the strangeness of his anatomy. Not just the reversed location of his heart and other organs, but the extra appendix and the strange bulbous growth attached to his ribcage.

A. It was during a routine surgical procedure that they discovered the strangeness of his anatomy. Not just the reversed location of his heart and other organs, but the extra appendix and the strange bulbous growth attached to his ribcage.

An appendectomy was performed immediately and the extra organ was dissected. There were pages and pages of lab work produced all highlighting the unknown hormone floating in his bloodstream.

From the way they looked at him, he began to feel that they wanted to dissect the rest of him next. There was a frightening avarice in their eyes, one that made him want to squirm with discomfort.

Every time they came at him for another test or blood draw, he repeated over and over again: “I do not give my permission to have my medical information published.”

He didn’t want to hold back scientific discovery, but he would prefer that he have some kind of veto on what was shared. Like he wasn’t too keen on scans of his genitals ending up in medical books with his name right next to them. He had a bit of dignity.

3. “I recognize the appendectomy scar. That’s Jamie. Oh god, that’s Jamie.”

A. “I recognize the appendectomy scar. That’s Jamie. Oh god, that’s Jamie.” She turned to bury her face into her oldest son’s chest. Her body shook with the force of her sobs and he wrapped his arms around her. She could feel his own tears wetting the top of her head.

“How… how did it happen?”

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