Prompt: 072. no exit

1. There was no exit from the game; once a player entered their name they played to either death or victory.

A. The audience was eerily quiet as they watched the contestants gather at the front of the auditorium. As their names were called one-by-one, the contestants would step forward and bow before lining up before the Custodian. They would be taken to The Island where they would begin training.

For many of the family members in the audience, this would be their last time seeing their loved ones. There was no exit from the game; once a player entered their name they played to either death or victory.

2. Keeping their eyes focused straight ahead was made difficult by the signs passing by on either side. “NO EXIT” was repeated several times, compounding the idea that going back was not an option.

A. Keeping their eyes focused straight ahead was made difficult by the signs passing by on either side. “NO EXIT” was repeated several times, compounding the idea that going back was not an option.

Led in a circuitous route down sloping corridors that seemed to go on for hours, they passed by a handful of sealed doors before reaching their destination. Someone at the back of the group whimpered but was quickly hushed.

3. The protesters filling the parking lot marched in a circle with picket signs and tee shirts that read “NO EXIT” and “UNFAIR” in big red letters.

A. The protesters filling the parking lot marched in a circle with picket signs and tee shirts that read “NO EXIT” and “UNFAIR” in big red letters. A young woman stood at the front of the crowd with a microphone in her hand, chanting slogans and keeping the energy levels up.

Someone beat a slow ThuMmThuMmThuMm beat on a beautifully handcrafted drum. It had been a journeyman’s graduating work. Now it was becoming part of history. It was the beating heart behind every documentary or news report

.patreon.com/HarperKingsley.
.paypal.me/HarperKingsley.
.amazon.com/?tag=harperkingsley-20.

Prompt: 071. sunset

1. Gazing at the sunset from the top of the building, it was the most beautiful thing she’d seen in a hundred years.

A. Gazing at the sunset from the top of the building, it was the most beautiful thing she’d seen in a hundred years. As the sun dipped below the horizon, she rushed inside. Lethargy was already beginning to pull at her limbs, the curse of the reverse vampire impossible to ignore.

If she could have gone back in time and changed her choice, she would have. There was just something so sad about never being able to see the stars or the moon with her own eyes.

2. They spent all day together, shopping and having fun. Then they made their way to the beach to watch the sunset.

A. They spent all day together, shopping and having fun. Then they made their way to the beach to watch the sunset.

He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close against his side. He could smell her hair and it made something warm and gooey melt in his chest, or at least that’s what it felt like when she snuggled closer.

“This is nice.”

3. The Sundown Strangler, a moniker bestowed by the media, usually struck a bit after sunset. He held the entire city in fear, as he had no preference in his choice of victim.

A. The Sundown Strangler, a moniker bestowed by the media, usually struck a bit after sunset. He held the entire city in fear, as he had no preference in his choice of victim. Men, women, and children, he preyed upon them all ruthlessly.

The grip of terror could be felt by everyone. Tensions rose higher the longer he remained uncaught. Body after body stacked up behind him as he strangled a swath through the city.

.patreon.com/HarperKingsley.
.paypal.me/HarperKingsley.
if you’re shopping on Amazon, please consider using my affiliate link
.amazon.com/?tag=harperkingsley-20.

Prompt: 070. portrait ages so subject doesn’t

1. Taking a page out of The Picture of Dorian Gray, they had the family portrait commissioned.

A. Taking a page out of The Picture of Dorian Gray, they had the family portrait commissioned. And under the light of the fullmoon the spells were cast, to pour all of their aging into the paint so they could avoid the indignities of growing older.

The painting followed them as they moved from town to town, always leaving before anyone recognized that they were different. That all the years they lived never touched them.

2. Hidden in an attic, wrapped in stiff paper, there was an old painting. A moment caught in time, though the subject–a young man with fine features–continued to age until he was a withered old man.

A. Hidden in an attic, wrapped in stiff paper, there was an old painting. A moment caught in time, though the subject–a young man with fine features–continued to age until he was a withered old man. He’d been easy prey to the monster that lived in the house.

Captured and locked in oil paint, he felt no pain as the life was drained out of his trapped soul. And neither did the 200 other men and women transformed into paintings and hidden throughout the countryside, their screams silenced to dull lassitude, so that they could sleep through their decades-long deaths.

But he was special. He was the first. The one true beloved that had turned a loving heart into a sucking pit of hate and rage.

3. Jealously guarding her beauty, a witch began capturing young women in paintings. Once she had them under her power, she began draining them of their youth and beauty.

A. Jealously guarding her beauty, a witch began capturing young women in paintings. Once she had them under her power, she began draining them of their youth and beauty, pouring it into perfume bottles.

Depending on the women that produced the scents, her perfumes ranged from spicy to divine. With every spritz she gave herself, she would become more beautiful and alluring, and her power continued to grow.

.patreon.com/HarperKingsley.
.paypal.me/HarperKingsley.

Prompt: 069. teddy bear

1. The four-year-old wailed with all of the despair of someone that had lost a lifelong friend. Clutched in sweaty hands was the decapitated head of a teddy bear that was missing one plastic eye.

A. The four-year-old wailed with all of the despair of someone that had lost a lifelong friend. Clutched in sweaty hands was the decapitated head of a teddy bear that was missing one plastic eye. The body was spread out across the lawn behind him, torn fabric and stuffing everywhere.

“Oh no. What happened?”

“My bear! My bear! He’s dead!”

2. The nanny robot was called a “teddy bear” and served the purpose of comfort and confidante to its human owner.

A. The nanny robot was called a “teddy bear” and served the purpose of comfort and confidante to its human owner. Programmed with thousands of scripted responses to every conceivable situation and able to adapt to its human’s needs, the nanny bot grew with the human child.

By the time the human was ten-years-old, Teddy had expanded from two-feet-tall to just over five feet, remaining a few inches taller than its charge. It was able to provide a thorough grounding in both philosophy and fun, molding the child’s mind to the standards set by the parents.

3. The last thing she expected to find in the rubble was an intact teddy bear, but there it was. Fuzzy and brown with expressive features formed out of thread.

A. The last thing she expected to find in the rubble was an intact teddy bear, but there it was. Fuzzy and brown with expressive features formed out of thread. A child’s plaything had survived the end of the world when its owner had not.

She stuffed the bear in her pack and moved on, nearly forgetting that she was carrying it until two nights later when she was searching for something else. And then, crouched next to her campfire, she pulled the bear out of her pack and clutched it to her chest as she cried. She’d felt tired and helpless for too long.

.patreon.com/HarperKingsley.
.paypal.me/HarperKingsley.