“Logical Assumptions”

Author’s Note: This is a Take Ten to Write story and has not been proofread for errors. If I feel inspired or if there’s interest in the story, I’ll post a revised, edited, and extended version at a later date. Happy reading!

Everything hurts.

But I guess that’s pretty typical when a house collapses on top of you. Of course, that’s just an assumption because… well… I’ve never had a house collapse on me before. But it seems like a logical assumption, right?

“Jake!”

My name just faintly drifts through the air to reach my ears. I wish I could answer to let them know that I’m still alive. I guess another logical assumption would be that I died by being squashed like a bug under a pile of bricks. Still, it’s nice that they’re hoping I’m still alive.

Honestly, I don’t even know how I’m still alive. As far as I can tell, I never used a Reaction to stop the rubble from raining down onto me, and I don’t think that anyone else was close enough to cause a Reaction to stop it either.

So how am I still alive?

“Jake!”

I desperately try to clear my throat and eventually manage to croak out, “I’m here!”

Suddenly, my EMARC begins vibrating on my palm. Or, at least, I thought it was my EMARC.

I turn my head as much as I can underneath this massive piece of wall that’s pinning me to the ground and, from the corner of my eye, see the sparkling remnants of my EMARC gemstone.

Well, I might’ve been in trouble before, but now I’m in deep, deep doo-doo.

“JAKE!”

The voice–which I can identify as Toby’s–is getting louder. Man, if only I could perform a Reaction to let him know where I am. But supposedly, one needs an intact EMARC to do that. Unless, of course, your name is Ellie, which my name is definitely not.

Well, here’s one last logical assumption from me: Even though the house didn’t kill me when it collapsed, it’ll still succeed by trapping me under here for the rest of eternity.

Final Comments: I think I’m still trying to figure out Jake’s voice. I think that’s one thing I really need to think about while writing a story with multiple first-person POV characters; how can I make them all sound unique?

Overall Rating: 😳