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Prompt 017. sleepless

1. There’d been too many sleepless nights and too many cups of coffee. It hadn’t been the best idea to get behind the wheel.

A. There’d been too many sleepless nights and too many cups of coffee. It hadn’t been the best idea to get behind the wheel.

A blink that lingered too long and a car driving the opposite direction. It was a head on collision, that’s what they said later. In the hospital with two police officers, both looking serious and maybe a bit condemning.

2. They said the Sleepless were stirring in the South. Whispers carried on the breeze, speaking of the nightmare creatures waking from their long slumber to slaughter a handful of villages on the border.

A. They said the Sleepless were stirring in the South. Whispers carried on the breeze, speaking of the nightmare creatures waking from their long slumber to slaughter a handful of villages on the border.

There were some that scoffed at the idea of the creatures coming back. They called them legends and lies, stories made up to scare the children. But those that had truly studied the histories were worried.

The Great Scriptures said that the Sleepless always came in cycles. They would kill, then rest, kill, then rest; and though men could fight them, the Sleepless could not die.

3. The music playing from the radio was the only sound in the darkness. The song was named “The Sleepless”, and it was a dreamy melody that made the listener think of a child insisting they were awake even as they fell asleep.

A. The music playing from the radio was the only sound in the darkness. The song was named “The Sleepless”, and it was a dreamy melody that made the listener think of a child insisting they were awake even as they fell asleep.

The song had been playing on repeat for days, weeks, months, maybe even years. Over and over, from beginning to end, the song played into the darkness. It was a tether and a torment to the listener, trapped motionless on the bed. To hear but not be able to speak or see; the song had become a singular reality.

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Prompt: 016. hand

1. “Don’t make me show you the back of my hand.”

A. “Don’t make me show you the back of my hand.” It was supposed to be a joke, but he realized he’d made a mistake when he felt a breath on the back of his right ear. When he turned his head to look, his mother was glaring at him from less than a foot away.

“I didn’t mean it,” he said.

“You better not have. Or I’ll show you the back of my hand, and I
won’t be joking.”

2. It was gone. Only a stump remained at the end of his wrist. They’d amputated his hand.

A. It was gone. Only a stump remained at the end of his wrist. They’d amputated his hand.

Tears gathered in his eyes. He’d trusted them when they said they wouldn’t do anything without his permission, yet they’d drugged him and cut off his hand. The betrayal stung even in the face of his loss.

The door began opening. He hurriedly wiped his eyes dry on the pillowcase and the shoulder of the hospital gown he wore.

3. It was supposed to have been a simple hand off. She should have known things weren’t going to be easy.

A. It was supposed to have been a simple hand off. She should have known things weren’t going to be easy, because when in her life had things ever been easy?

Police sirens rang out in the distance and she speed-walked away from the hotel. She flipped her hood up over her head and tried to look like a normal person taking a walk down a busy street, and not someone carrying a backpack full of contraband.

There was a buzzing in her ears and she could feel her pulse throbbing in the tips of her ears and at the sides of her neck. It felt like everyone she passed was looking at her, remembering her face to tell the police.

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Prompt: 015. hasten

1. Though she would never do anything to hasten his passing, she wished he wasn’t in so much pain.

A. Though she would never do anything to hasten his passing, she wished he wasn’t in so much pain. She could see the agony in the tense lines of his body, in the grooves carved into the sides of his cheeks and the shadows under his eyes.

He was wasting away a little more each day. It made her afraid that one day he was going to disappear.

She hoped that seeing him like this wasn’t going to taint all the memories she had of him. Because once he was gone, the memories would be all she had left.

2. At the sound of screams, he hastened his steps down the hallway.

A. At the sound of screams, he hastened his steps down the hallway. As he drew closer, he also heard heavy thumps and scuffling from behind one of the doors. It sounded like someone was being murdered.

He hesitated for a long moment, wondering who would even know if he just walked away and pretended that he hadn’t heard anything.

There was a woman’s shrill scream, the loud SMACK! of a fist against flesh, then the terrified wail of a young child.

There wasn’t time for second thoughts.

3. The teachers tried to keep the children together and moving forward, hastening them as much as possible.

A. The teachers tried to keep the children together and moving forward, hastening them as much as possible. Older children pulled ahead with their own teachers, their longer legs eating up the distance.

“Oh no, they’re going to leave us behind!”

“Don’t worry, honey. Nobody’s leaving you behind. We’re all making it out of here, I promise.” It tasted like a lie, but she had to say it. The last thing they needed was a bunch of crying first graders that refused to keep moving.

If anyone stopped, they would die. And she would have to leave them behind because there were twenty other children depending on her to keep them moving out of the disaster area.

There was a distant rumble that became a painful roaring sound that made her clamp her hands over her ears and open her mouth in a silent scream. The ground twisted and shook under her feet. Several children tumbled to the ground, and they all looked terrified, but there wasn’t anything she could do to sooth them.

Not when the ground still shook and shuddered, and there were explosions tearing up half the city skyline.

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Prompt: 014. milkmaid

1. It was well-known in the area that all of the dairy farmer’s daughters were quite lovely milkmaids. They could be seen doing their chores from dawn to midday.

A. It was well-known in the area that all of the dairy farmer’s daughters were quite lovely milkmaids. They could be seen doing their chores from dawn to midday. But they were forbidden fruit, as their father was known to threaten the life and well-being of any young buck that dared sniff around.

A number of locals had stories to tell of the farmer and his rifle or his gelding knife. There was no one that dared to get close to any of those young women.

They seemed destined to become old maids together.

2. They dressed as a buxom milkmaid and charming shepherd boy the first night of the convention.

A. They dressed as a buxom milkmaid and charming shepherd boy the first night  of the convention. When they returned home he demurely allowed himself to be led  to bed, the ruffled edge of his petticoat showing when his skirt slipped up his thighs.  With the wig and the anachronistic Mary Janes, his knee-sock covered legs looked a mile long and he didn’t hesitate to lock his ankles behind her back and pull her closer.

“Please sir, be gentle with me.” He fluttered dark eyelashes over laughing eyes and pouted his lips outrageously. “It’s my first time.”

3. One bite of the kimchi and she knew it hadn’t been made with crushed red chili peppers. It tasted as though she’d filled her mouth with powdered cayenne; it was overpowering.

A. One bite of the kimchi and she knew it hadn’t been made with crushed red chili peppers. It tasted as though she’d filled her mouth with powdered cayenne; it was overpowering.

After a quick glance around to make sure no one was watching, she spat the mouthful of kimchi and rice into the paper napkin. Then she took a large drink from her glass of water, swishing a little to wash away the flavor.

“Not good?”

She looked up and gave a wry smile. “Pretty obvious, huh?”

“You did look mildly perturbed. It makes me think you’re not going to recommend the kimchi.”

“Yeah, I’d give it a pass. Let’s see how everything else tastes.” She felt bad. This was the only “Korean” restaurant in a hundred miles and she was ruining the evening with her pickiness.

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