“NaNoWriMo 2020 Pt. 13”

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!

Additional note: In honour of National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), all 30 stories written in the month of November will (hopefully) create a single multi-part story that will reach its conclusion by the end of the month. Stay tuned for a new story part every day!

Read the compiled NaNoWriMo TTtW story here!

SKYE’S POV

Red.

Everything’s red.

No, not red. A soft orange. Just the shimmering rays of the setting sun. It’s so beautiful, so peaceful.

That is, until my dork of a boyfriend comes running up the hill, practically dragging Olive and Rufus behind him.

“Your boyfriend is the worst,” Rufus announces as soon as they reach me.

“I’m well aware,” I smirk as Garrett walks to me and kisses the top of my head. “But what exactly did he do this time?”

“He wants us all to go to Quebec City for our graduation trip,” Olive whines. “Quebec City!”

I shrug. “So?”

“I mean, he couldn’t have chosen someplace exotic like France or Italy?” Olive says with exasperation, crossing her arms over her chest.

“Hey, you know I don’t like travelling,” Garrett says. His chuckles send vibrations through my back as he leans against me.

I tilt my head up to look at him. “Push me,” I order.

“Yes, ma’am,” he says, immediately placing his hands on my back to give me a push.

I swing my legs in rhythm with the swing so that I can keep going higher.

“I don’t see what’s wrong with Quebec City,” I say. “It’s really nice there, you know.”

“This is our graduation trip,” Rufus says, standing behind Olive and resting his head on top of hers. “Olive and I both think that we deserve to go somewhere a bit nicer than Quebec City after enduring four years of torture.”

I shrug and slow my swinging. Garrett’s hands hold my waist to help me stop.

“It was just a suggestion,” Garrett laughs. “Obviously we can go somewhere else.”

“Like where?” I ask as the sun’s red–no, orange–beams of light becoming brighter.

Garrett comes around to stand in front of me. He kneels and blocks the light. I focus on his eyes, those beautiful chocolate eyes that I’ve missed so much.

“We can go anywhere you’d like,” he says with a smile. “We’re unstoppable, you and I. We can go anywhere, do anything, be anyone. As long as we’re together, we’re absolutely invincible.”

The sun shifts and a trickle of light evades Garrett’s form. I try to focus on his eyes, but the sun’s too bright.

Slowly, Garrett’s image dims. The memory fades as the sun takes over. The orange sun. No, the red sun.

No sun. Just red.

Redness and pain. Excruciating, unbearable pain.

“Let’s try again,” a deep male voice says to my left side. I try tilting my head to see what’s happening, but I’m strapped down and can’t move.

“Are you sure?” Another voice. Female this time.

“She’s already dead, so what harm is there in trying again?” the male voice snaps.

A moment of silence, then a pinch in my arm.

A little, orange pinch, that grows into a red burst of pain.

This time, there’s no Garrett to block out the sunlight.

Final Comments: I just got an idea for the plot and now I’m excited…

Overall Rating: 😈