Day 8 – Nanopoblano – The Boy

I’m a behind in my postings, but never you mind. Here is Day 8. Enjoy!

---

“Anyone else happening upon the scene might have noticed an unusually composed eight-year-old boy,” Sheriff Darnell said. “But when Doc Hammond found the boy, he immediately knew something was wrong. The boy, we don’t know his name yet or where he came from – the boy,” Sheriff Darnell continued, “was in a state of shock. Catatonic.”

“Sheriff can you tell us what happened?” one reporter yelled out.

“The only thing I can say is that we don’t know what happened. We don’t know if anything happened. We don’t have a crime scene. We only have a little boy who was found by the lake and is non-verbal.

“Where’s he from?

“Your guess is as good as mine,” Sheriff Darnell paused. “We’re going to need y’alls help. Humph. Usually I’m trying to get y’all to keep quiet, but this time I’m asking y’all to put this out there. Radio. TV. Newspapers.

War

Nanopoblano Day 2:

I didn’t like the story I’d written for today, so I went back into the archives. Enjoy!!

The Ink Slinger

Kevin could feel the cold cutting through his clothes. He and the other soldiers huddled together trying to keep each other warm. Winter came early.

Kevin had only recently fallen off to sleep when Captain Torres roused him. “They’re on the move,” he said. If there is one thing Kevin has learned from Torres is that you must always be battle-ready. He scramble to his feet and roused the rest of his troop. They quickly lined the top of the trench with barely the tops of their heads showing.

The only thing they had time to think about was making sure the bullets in the chamber hit the designated targets. They could not concern themselves with the melted snow in their boots or the smell of frying bacon.

They called Kevin ‘Eagle Eye’ because he could see anything a football field away without binoculars. Scanning the field, Kevin spotted movement…

View original post 201 more words

Day 1 : NanoPoblano

Here’s my first post for NanoPoblano 2018. If you didn’t see the announcement post, here is how I plan to approach National Blog Posting Month.

The plan: Each day I will post a short story (maximum 300 words), which will begin with a sentence from the current book I’m reading.

The part in bold is my starter prompt, which is from The Poppy War by R. F. Kuang pg 524.

Please enjoy and let me know what you think.

---

“The Hexagrams can’t foresee the future,” Kim kept saying to herself as she walked along the long corridor. The floor moaned under her step. She chose each step with care because one misstep could mean certain death. It was a labyrinth of corridors and doors. Some leading nowhere and other leading to more corridors and doors.

Her brother, Joe made her memorize a map of the maze

NanoPoblano 2018

It’s been 2 years since I last posted and not for want of posting, but because I haven’t been writing. A lot has gone on. Perhaps I will catch you up at a later date, but for now let me say I’m eager to be back.

I chose this month to start posting again because I’m taking part in National Blog Posting Month, which is a month-long challenge to post everyday in November. And well, for me it was just the perfect time to get back into writing and posting.

But Erica, why is post entitled NanoPoblano 2018?

A: It’s simple really. A few years ago a blogger misunderstood NaBloPoMo and thought she heard NanoPoblano, so every year a group of us get together and join the blogging fun. We like to call ourselves Cheer Peppers! If you’re interested in joining us check out this post.

The plan: Each day I will post a short story (maximum 300 words), which will begin with a sentence from the current book I’m reading. You can see what I’m reading and of course follow me over on Goodreads.

10-Minute Writing Exercise

I haven’t felt much like writing lately, but today I decided to gather my laptop, journal, pen and pencil and head to my local coffee shop, do some people watching and maybe get a little bit of writing in.

I was doing a bit of people watching and searching for story starters because nothing was coming to me. Then I spotted this elderly gentleman and the first line that was generated was similar to the one that starts my story. So, I set my timer for 10 minutes and this is the result. I think has good bones and I’m anxious to see where it goes.

---

He sat quietly observing them, watching them as they uncovered his hiding place. He sipped his coffee and smiled slyly each time they unearthed a new one. He contemplated if he should tell them to check the yard next door, too but decided against it as there wasn’t much to unearth and there was no need in implicating himself. Nearly half a century had passed and they were still no closer to discovering him. He remembers them all. The first one was especially special after all it was the first. It gave him a sense of accomplishment and he knew that if he could do this he could do anything. One a year he vowed, but sometimes it was two. He had a signature, but they hadn’t figured it out until the 15th one.

He was clever from the start. Leave no evidence. Nothing that could tie it back to him. Dispose of everything. Don’t let anything linger. He did, however, have over souvenirs. He carried them around in that black bag. Never out of his sight. Never far away. Always in arms reach.

Day 14: Cleo [L]amb

Cleo Lamb always greeted you with a smile and a bubbly hello. She always came with a helping hand and words of encouragement. Then one day all of a sudden it changed. There were no smiles, no more bubbly hellos or helping hands or words of encouragement. Nothing. It was if the Cleo Lamb we knew ceased to exist.

Rumors started to swirl about who the real