Via >> March Promptlies #3

Good morning, all!

This week's prompt proved a little more difficult for me, and required a good deal more thought on my end. I had an idea on what story & characters I would be using, but instead of shooting out an amazing flash fiction that I could have ready on Wednesday (as my record has been for this linkup so far), I came up with an almost complete synopsis of what was a concept idea & is now a WIP I'm gonna work on for April's Camp NaNo. O_o EEEEEE!!! Kinda excited about it.

I know the whole Dystopian-story genre is kinda fading, trend-wise, and to me just seems old & overused, but I thought I'd dabble a wee bit in it & give me brains a break from my Fantasy WIPs. Maybe this will be the creative boost I need to pick those back up & actually FINISH the drafts. . . heheh.

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So, it's Week 3 of my Link-up! And today is the deadline for this week's prompt.

Click HERE for the info!

> > THE PROMPT < <

For this week's story, as mentioned above, I used some of the same characters from last week's flash fiction---as well as a new character---from the same concept story. This is a dystopian idea set in a slightly familiar, yet quite different, future Earth. You can read the synopsis/blurb on my Camp NaNo project page HERE! (to get a better idea of what's going on) :]

I'm not AS pleased with this prompt result as I was with the previous two weeks', but it was still quite fun! And I hope it leaves an irresistible itching to know more. ;D First-person narrative is not a favorite of mine, but I felt it worked well with this prompt. . . I welcome critiques!!!

> > MY STORY < <

London Bridge is falling down. . .

And it’s my fault.

Those schematics should have never left my hands.

Another explosion shakes the walls that are basically ginormous windows in the building that had once been a high-end apartment complex. For me and Darrow, it serves as a clear vantage point to watch my mistakes play out.

Forgive me, Papa.

I want to shield my eyes with my hands and curl up on the cold, hard floor. Because I let him down. I let them all down. He’d trusted me with his entire life’s work, and I’d failed.

More debris fell to the riverbed of one of England’s most prominent landmarks. An example. Though we were too far away, I could hear the screams.

I was always too trusting. And now countless people would pay for my mistakes. And this was just the beginning.

Starting with the Bridge.

. . .falling down. . .

I jump at the pressure on my shoulder and my eyes meet Darrow’s before I quickly turn away. I’m sure my shame-red face displays every raging emotion. As usual.

“This wasn’t you.”

I bite my lip, fighting the sudden onslaught of stinging tears his words seemed to trigger. A scoff leaves my throat, nearly followed by a blasted sob I manage to catch in time. “I beg to differ.” Isn’t that what someone from the Bygone Ages would’ve said?

“Look. You are not to blame.”

. . .falling down. . .

I appreciate his attempt to relieve my mind. To fix everything. But that’s gonna be up to me.

A tiny sequence of beeps signal Warrick’s code on our comm link. Thankfully, Darrow answers. I don’t have the energy.

“Wick? Go.”

“Looks bad, D,” Warrick begins. His voice lacks the usual cheeriness I’d come to expect from him. “And they were right. This was just the start, we’ve intel they’re targeting all the major tourist marks because it hits multiple countries through the deaths of the native and foreign travelers. It hurts not just one nation, but multiple ones simultaneously.”

Another explosion shakes the abandoned building we’d claimed to observe this horror show. Nothing of the beautiful bridge remains. I can’t take it anymore. I look away. Because this one feels like salt to a burn wound. A show of power.

“Via?”

Warrick’s voice brings me back.

“I’m here.” I realize Darrow’s hand is still on my shoulder as we stand mere statues in this world-size chess board. We were just dealt a check.

London Bridge is falling down. . .

“You’re not alone.”

This time, I can’t hold back my tears. Even a sniffle escapes. Durn it. How did these brothers become such close friends in such little time? If I lost them too. . .

I manage a choked, “Thanks,” and feel Darrow’s arm pull me closer.

If Warrick heard my little breakdown, he doesn’t comment, just says, “Kolter suggested we regroup.”

I feel Darrow stand up straighter. He replies, “Agreed. Pick us up at the rendezvous, Wick. Let’s go home.”

“Understood, see ya ETA nine minutes.”

“And Warrick?”

I look up at Darrow’s question, feeling his words are for me, as well as his brother—but more for me. And I’m grateful for this leader. For this family. His eyes, blue and piercing, hold mine.

“This was a defeat—a tough one, to be sure. But we’ve many more battles ahead, some we stand a good chance of winning and others, maybe not. They’ve asked for a fight, and we’ll give them one.”

Warrick’s manner seems to have gained back a fraction of his usual cheer, or maybe it’s for my benefit. I hear the whirring of his engines in the background. “Out an’ over, bro! You two be ready—ETA seven minutes, fifty-five seconds.”

I reach for my pack, but Darrow beats me to it. I don’t argue, but I catch myself looking yet again to the billowing black smoke where the bridge should have been. Should still be.

I finally turn, but instead of heading for the elevator, Darrow is there wrapping me into his chest. The cold I did not realize I was holding on to began seeping away, and of their own accord, my hands cling to the thick leather of his coat.

His words are muffled in my hair, but I feel the warmth of his breath and the clarity of their meaning clearly. “No matter what I say, I know you’ll always blame yourself. But this was NOT you. Betrayal is not something any of us can foresee, that’s why it is what it is, and why it hurts so much. They took your work and used it in a way it was never intended for.” His fingers find my chin now, and the tears again break the dam I’d worked to repair. “That’s on them, myshka. That’s on, them.”

It’s too fresh a wound to let those words really sink in as the truth I know them to be, but I nod for his sake. Perhaps someday I’ll accept that. For now, I need his strength.

“Then let’s turn this war around. It’s high time we became offensive, don’t you think?” My voice sounds small as we turn to the exit and Warrick’s waiting bird. At Darrow’s smile, my heart flickers like a light trying to turn on and brighten. And the determination in my chest builds.

I know what I must do.

God help the enemy. For they picked a fight with the best team of human beans I know. And, not that I’m bragging, but I’m the one who designed the formulas of the reactor they weaponized.

We make it topside just as Warrick’s Battle-Hawk touches down. I squint at the wind from the blades, but that building fire in my chest gives me a spark of hope—a purpose—I needed.

We may stand a chance. And that’s all I need.

One chance.

My fair Lady.

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I'll have a wrap-up post for this week going up later this afternoon or evening. Thank you for reading, and thanks to all who took part! There's still time to join in on this prompt! If you miss the link-up, be sure to put your link in the comments---I'd LOVE to read what you come up with. :]

Are you joining Camp NaNo this April? Do you have a new story idea laid out, or are you continuing a WIP this time around? I'd love to know!

Comments

Nicole DustMarch 23, 2019 at 10:40 AM
I DID IT! I ACTUALLY DID IT THIS TIME! I will link it as soon as I post it, but I ACTUALLY DID IT!

And your “London bridge is falling down” prompt was SO AWESOME, Sarah!
Christine SmithMarch 23, 2019 at 10:22 PM
Um EXCUSE ME. But this prompt is AWESOMMMMEEEE. The emotion was TANGIBLE. I could just feeeeel the despair seeping from the words. And Darrow and Warrick are back!!! :D That made me so happy! And now they have am awesome girl with them! This seems like the coolest threesome EVER.

I love how HIGH the stakes were. Like, the London Bridge literally falling down? DUDE. That is insane. o.o Also, the way you incorporated the nursery rhyme was epiiiic. I like how "falling down" was interwoven throughout. And then, THENNN the last line. Everything was so full of despair then BOOM! a spark of fire and hope. I LOVED IT. Like I said, the emotion in this one was just spectacular. You made me feel so many things in less than 1k words. GIRL. YOU HAVE MAGIC FINGERS.

BUT ALSO. This will be your WIP for CampNaNo? :O THAT IS THE BEST. And totally sounds like what happens to me. Every time I write something short, it wants to turn into like a whole series. It's bad. XD But EEEP. I love this! And I, personally, am still a fan of dystopian. I suspect it'll make a comeback. I think all genres have their off and on seasons. SO YES. GO FOR IT. THIS IS EXCITING!!!
Jameson C. SmithMarch 25, 2019 at 12:04 PM
This was SO INTENSE. The nursery rhyme is so perfect and I loved the way it echoes through the scene. It was fun meet Via to and see more of Darrow and Warrick again!

Oooh, you're doing Camp too! AND THAT BLURB. O_O This story sounds so intriguing and high-stakes and I kind of need it now?