STORY,DOC

And now for a total change of mood, a little piece I wrote on 29 Sep 03 entitled;


STORY.DOC

"The room was dark."
That's a good melodramatic start; except that it isn't. The surprisingly warm autumn sunlight is streaming through the window and reflecting off the screen and I can barely see the scant quartet of words upon it.
I turn to face the window, listening to the horses passing, wondering if, maybe, someone I knew was going to ride on the moors. Knowing at the same time that this was a good excuse not to put finger to key.
Damn!
"In the darkness something stirred."
--- Like a hot drink? ---
--- Please. Coffee would be nice. --- Where the hell is the story going?
'Something stirred'? What a cliché. Delete left - oops.
"ng" space "crawled"
Better. Crawled, more evocative. Now what?
"A soft susseration of breath sounded damp as though through wet nostrils. Gentle scratching of claws" --- thank you, can you put it there please? --- "across the granite slabs sent a shiver of alarm down his back."
Whose back? Where's the pen? Right...'thing'...'him' - name? Should I bother???
Slurp of coffee.
"He was beginning to wish that his hearing was as good as his sight at the moment. It didn't help that his sense of smell was beginning to show how good it could be. There was a fœtid odour in the room too, one that he couldn't escape.
"Suddenly stronger, the smell was overpowering, a rank blast of air washed across his face and assailed his nostrils, he winced sensing rather than seeing the evil face before him.
"There was a searing pain on his neck. He tried to reach up but his hands wouldn't move, pinned by a sudden, terrifying weight pressing down on his chest and arms.
"A warm wetness spread over his shoulder, then a tongue rasped across then up his neck lapping the blood silently streaming from the wound."
Oh great! I've just killed off my hero. Now what?
Coffee. Watch the starlings through the window. More horses.
Heigh ho.
Exit, cursor down, Abandon Edit, C, STORY.DOC
"The room was dark"
Déjà vu.
"He reached out and fumbled along the wall. There was a satisfying click as his fingers found the light switch but the room remained dark."
Better.



[No illustrations this time...I will let your mind fill in the details...]