Tag: writing prompt

Posted in Writing

Writing Prompt – The Shot

Posted on by Kassandra Carrillo

“I only have one shot.”

“Good,” she smiled. “One shot is all you need.”

Frowning, I looked at exaggeratedly large bullseye. The gun was too small in my hands. I could grasp it with one hand and even then, it wasn’t such an easy shot. Did she really think I could hit the center with such a tiny gun?

Didn’t she know that I had terrible depth perception? I turned to look at her again. Her hands were clasped to her chest and she nibbled on her worn out thumb nail.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a crowd had gathered at the booth.

Great.

“You got this. Just point and shoot.”

Like it was so easy. I took a deep breath and rubbed my hands against my jeans. First the right hand then the left. I could do this. Sure, I had never shot a gun before but I had shot a toy gun before. My brothers and I used to run around the backyard all the time. I had prepared for this. I had trained for this.

My gaze flickered to the left. The panda’s  bug eyes stared lifelessly at me. There it was the source of my misery and perhaps happiness. It was its fault if this went sideways. It already cost $12 and it was totally not worth it.

I could probably sew something better. I’m sure there were some store that sold that puke colored pink material. Amazon could have it too.

“You got this,” she whispered. She did a little hop.

Maybe she wanted the bunny instead.

“Just one shot,” said the carny behind the booth.

Why was everyone reminding me? I took my stance and aimed the little orange gun. The height mattered. It couldn’t be too high or two low . . . something in between. I closed one eye then the other and decided to keep them both open. I could barely see as it stood.

I’ll do it in three, I told myself. One . . . two . . . deep breath . . . three.

For a moment, everything stood still. No one said anything. Then . . .

“Would you like to try again?”

I heard her speak one word. “Please.”

 

 

Posted in Writing, Writing Prompts

Writing Prompt – Gray Eyes

Posted on by Kassandra Carrillo

And just like that, the man I’d been kissing moments ago became the most dangerous man on the planet.

His face flashed across the platform’s screen. Somewhere behind me, the train screeched to a halt. Shoulders moved past me but all I could look at was at those gray eyes.

The picture was terrible. His face was blurred, distorted. Anybody who didn’t know him wouldn’t recognize him. I guess I didn’t know him as well as I thought.

It been only moments ago, when we said goodbye, that I was looking at those same gray eyes.

“Suspect is charged with arson, theft, murder, kidnapping . . .”

The list just went on and on. Apparently, he was behind the recent Ouji attack where a government building had exploded. The news didn’t say it but it the building had been a research facility. I should know. I used to work there until recently. That was where I first met him.

Terrorist was what the media called him. Yeah, with a rep list like that I would do and yet, was it really him? Was this the same guy who brought me dinner when I worked late? Or gave me a ride because my car wouldn’t start?

He had even helped me buy groceries. It couldn’t be him and yet, how could I not know those gray eyes. They looked like a thunder storm. The way the sky once moved, the way it is portrayed in videos.

“Train to Zanx will depart in five minutes. Train to Zanx . . .”

Had it all been a lie? Was that just one of his many personas? It would make sense. If it was true, everything he ever said and did would be a lie.

My gut twisted. It was a lie. Pressure build behind my eyes. I blinked rapidly. Oh, well. It was nice while it lasted. It didn’t mean anything, not really. I knew it wouldn’t last. That was obvious.

Somewhere close by, heavy footsteps approached. They came to a stop around me.

“Miss Alex Wight. Please come with us.”

I turned to the voice that had spoken. Surrounding me, there were seven individuals in tactical armor. They all point their weapons at me. The woman who had spoken stepped forward. She had cuffs in her hands.

“What is all this for?” I asked.

Most of the platform was empty but there were a few who loitered around waiting for the next train. They kept a wide berth from us.

“You’re charged with aiding a terrorist,” the woman answered, “please come with us.”

I shoved my hands in my pockets. And just like that, I was a suspect.

Posted in Writing, Writing Prompts

Writing Prompt -Summons

Posted on by Kassandra Carrillo

You attempt to pronounce some of the furniture names at IKEA. In doing so, you’ve summoned a demon.

A strange smell wafted from behind me. Wrinkling my nose, I turned around looking for an outbreak of fire. But there was no fire.

Instead, I found a small boy. He had khaki shorts and a blue t-shirt. He looked around eight years old? I wasn’t good with guessing age but he couldn’t be too old. With a frown on his face, he looked around the bedroom display area.

“Hey, there,” I called out. “Are you lost? Do you need help looking for your parents?”

The boy finally looked at me. Dark red eyes narrowed.

“You summoned me?”

Wow. Deep voice. He must be hitting puberty early. Was that normal? Then again, the size of kids these days – well, they were growing rapidly. People still mistook me as someone in middle school.

I looked around, hoping to flag an associate down but I didn’t see anyone. Great.

“Um, so, I can take you to the check-out area. They got these things that announce information throughout the store. They can help you find your parents.” I added a smile for a good measure.

“So, you’re deaf and dumb.”

My eye twitched. This – this – okay, let’s take a deep breath. I forced a smile.

“Do you need help?” I asked.

He crossed his arms. “I’d say you need help. That is why you’ve summoned me, yes?”

“Summoned?”

The boy sighed. His foot began to tap. “Yes, summoned.”

“Uh huh.”

I opened my mouth and closed it. Right, I wasn’t getting through to him.

“Let’s take a step back. What’s your name?”

The stare was back. “You’ve summoned me and yet you do not know.” His eyes glowed. “Tell me what you need so I can return to my own world.”

I took a step back. My foot stuck the bottom of the bed. I teetered for a moment before regaining my balance. He was something else entirely. It had to be a trick of the light.

“Listen, let’s go find your parents. They’re really worried right now.”

“I’m a thousand year old demon,” the boy intoned. “I have no parents.”

This wasn’t working. I chewed on my lip.

“Okay,” I said, slowly. “So, let’s make a deal.”

His eyes lit up. “Finally.”

“Help me, help you find your parents.”

The boy sighed. He shook his head muttering in a weird language.

“I am a demon. You summoned me. Tell me what you want.”

I frowned. “No, I didn’t.”

“Yes you did.”

“I already told you!”

“Fine. I’m leaving.”

He clapped his hands once, but nothing happened. He sighed. We stared at each other for a moment.

“Fine,” he finally said, “let’s go.”

We were finally getting somewhere. I cleared my throat. “Well, the check-out is downstairs.”

“Just, just lead the way.”

I started walking towards the stairs. I kept looking over my shoulder to make sure he was still there. He kept muttering to himself in that strange language. I couldn’t place it at all. Maybe Google translate could help.

At the thought, I shook my head. I could only imagine how that would go. No, the best thing was to find this “demon’s” parents.

Posted in Writing, Writing Prompts

Writing Prompt – D&D Adventure

Posted on by Kassandra Carrillo

“There used to be six of us . . . Now I am alone.”

Five pair of various colored eyes turned around and looked at me. Their brows were creased.

“What are you talking about?” the book loving wizard asked. “We’re about to be rich!”

I shook my head and didn’t respond.

“We have just liberated a cultist infected castle,” the beast of a barbarian spoke up. “We deserved to get paid.”

His smaller companion, only four feet in height nodded in agreement. “When you hired us, you said we could keep what we found.”

They were mercenaries after all. I wasn’t surprised not really. Sure, I liked loot too but if this was anything like the other chest, we were probably going to get our faces melted off like the lightning strucked sorcerer.

You would think he learned his lesson but no, he was up there along with the others staring at the red wardrobed.

It leaned against a dark wall. Beside it was a desk with documents spread all across it. The dwarf was there. Shifting through the parchment, trying to find any clues as to where the leaders of the cultists had gone.

“Good luck,” I told them.

“Then you get no loot,” the wizard piped up.

“You guys ready?” the small roguish mercenary asked.

She stepped forward, theives tools in hand. As she did, I walked out of the room. I pressed my back against the wall. There was no way I was going to get caught in the trap.

I heard the wardrobe open and a hiss. Cries of pain and shock echoed from the room. I waited for a few moments before peeking into the room. Acid bubbled and hissed across the ground. My companions laid on the ground, moaning in agony. The smell of burnt flesh wafted through the room.

Whatever the wardrobe held at one point was gone. It now stood as a blob of melted wood. I squatted down by the doorway.

“So,” I said, “who needs healing?”

Groan answered me.

Posted in updates, Writing

Starting the New Year

Posted on by Kassandra Carrillo

2018 has started out to be very productive. I have finished my first book of the year called Vampire Hunter D, Vol. 1 by Hideyuki Kikuchi. Now, on to Vol. 2 which I have to find somewhere in my closet. It’s a series that I’ve been meaning on reading for a while now and I hadn’t been able to find any of the paperbacks for until only recently.

Each day has been filled with productivity and I won’t think about how my motivation might diminish in the future. Instead, I’ll focus on the now and worry about all that later. There are a few changes I wanted to implement in my writing routine. I don’t it’s anything drastic so to speak. This week, I’ll start off with including a scene I wrote for the prompt: “Do you remember the first time we met?” he asked.

“Do you remember the first time we met?” he asked.

“No,” she replied icily.

His face contorted in pain. “Casey,” he began.

Casey turned her body away from him. She focused on the breeze pulling at her braid and on the darkening clouds overhead. A few families were speckled throughout the park. The sings squeaked with every push and the children’s laughter reached Casey’s ears.

Of course, she remembered when they first met. It had been a day much like today. The only difference was that it was raining. She was practicing for a marathon and he was riding his bike without his glasses. Their meeting started with a trip to the emergency center. Casey took a deep breath distancing herself from those memories.

“What do you want?” she asked bluntly. “After all this time you call me and want to speak. What do you want?”

She twisted around, resting her back against the uncomfortable bench. Her arms were crossed. Jonathon reached toward her but stopped.

“Why do you think I want something?”

Casey clenched her jaw. Her gaze was focused on the dancing blades of grass in front of her. “Because you’re the type of person who uses people and discards them like trash.”

“You don’t know me.” Jonathon’s voice was low.

Casey smirked. “I date you for almost two years,” she said softly. “Trust me. I know you.”

“Why are you making this difficult?” Jonathan suddenly cried. “I just wanted to talk.”

His words reawakened a long-buried anger. Casey swirled around. “Oh, so now you want to talk,” she spat. She stood. “You didn’t want to speak when it actually mattered. When a simple explanation sufficed. You’re unbelievable.”

Jonathan jumped up. “What was I supposed to do? You didn’t want to tell me –”

“It was none of your business,” she interjected.

“You were my girlfriend!”

“Because that actually mattered back then,” Casey retorted. Her hands clenched. “I was only your girlfriend when it was convenient for you.”

“What was I supposed to think when you disappear for days with another guy? There were pictures Casey. Was I supposed to ignore that?”

Casey’s chin trembled. “You were supposed to trust me.”

That’s what I have so far. I might expand this a little more once I figure out enough details. Mostly, I was making things up as I went. In my humble opinion, I don’t think it’s a bad start.