#31

Aisaak Olver held one arm in front of her face as she marched across the desert. The wind pushed her back almost as hard as she pushed forward. The sheer fabric hanging from her slender arm kept the sand out of her mouth and nose – mostly.

Seeing for any distance was out of the question. But that was fine, because there was nothing to see. Just miles and miles of unbroken dunes and, above them, a brown-gray sky that masked the sun.

After many hours of opposing her, the storm finally gave in. Sand clouds drifted downward, falling noiselessly against the dunes. Then the stars appeared, slowly at first, but in ever-increasing numbers. Aisaak paused just long enough to check her course, then pressed onward.

She reached the settlement just as the planet Haloth appeared on the southern horizon. Perhaps settlement was too strong a word. Grelfast was merely a loose gathering of hard men and harder women who sailed the ever-changing dunes of  like sailors on a fitful sea.

Nights were cold in the desert, and Aisaak pulled her cloak tighter as she neared the square. Jennix was waiting for her, warming her hands at the fire. “I see you made it through the storm,” she said.

“Of course. There was little time to waste.”

“That wind was fierce. It could have blown you half way to Anbuburn.”

“Yet I am here.”

Jennix threw another log on the fire. “Do you need to get some rest before you begin?”

“I don’t need any sleep. I’m ready.”

“Suit yourself.” Jennix led Aisaak to the far end of the settlement, to the very last flapping hut.

Aisaak ducked to enter, then paused. “Thank you, Jennix,” she said.

The women embraced. “I’m glad you’re here,” Jennix said.


About Prompt-A-Day: The rules are simple. Every day, I generate a prompt using Story Shack’s awesome writing prompt generator. Then I set a timer for one hour. At the end of the hour, I post what I’ve got. Sometimes it’s decent. Sometimes it sucks. Sometimes I fail at the prompt. Sometimes I do okay. I do not edit, unless I find a typo, because I can’t help fixing those. Feel free to join in and post a link to your writing in the comments.

Similar Posts

  • #32

    Things were blowing up all around them. The old Shig road, known among the tactical drivers of the Delta base motor pool as the Oh Shit Road, was a well-traveled and oft booby-trapped route across the desert and into the mountains. It was strategically significant because it led right into the mouth of the beast…

  • #28

    Megan was out of her element. The thumping, driving beat made her insides vibrate in a way that was not at all comfortable. All around her, revelers covered in iridescent body paint jumped and danced and swayed with drinks in their hands and god knew what else in their bloodstreams. Ugh, judgy. Megan always got…

  • #27

    The Butcher, also known as Emperor Ubuluff of the Gamma Lyrae star system, had finished his work for the day. He felt productive, having ordered 16 beheadings and 427 lashings. Only one prisoner was set free – a female, beautiful but retiring, accused of the murder of a palace guard. The evidence was flimsy and…

  • #26

    The first time Howard saw Alice, he thought he was losing his mind. He’d spent 126 days alone. 126 days since the machines came and took everyone and he woke up inside a dark closet in the basement of the hospital, eight steps from the morgue. He still couldn’t believe the gurney fit so neatly…

  • #17

    Rebecca could do no wrong. Gerald had heard about it his whole life. Rebecca got straight As. Rebecca was selected for first chair. Rebecca made the swim team.  And what had Gerald done? Nothing, according to his parents. But Gerald had done a lot. That morning, everything boiled over. When Gerald came down for breakfast,…

  • #23

    There were no buglers on Mars. Frank was deeply disappointed by this, and he let everyone know how he felt the first morning after they touched down. “If you’re going to install a military base on the surface of another god damn planet,” he said, “it should have all the trimmings. Including a real live…

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *