“NaNoWriMo 2020 Pt. 17”

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!

Prompt: Write a story including the phrase “Of course it was ______.”

SKYE’S POV

I eventually manage to let my guard down enough to fall into a light sleep. When I wake up, sunlight streams into my room.

There’s a knock on my door and Winston walks in.

“Good morning,” he says, giving me a smile. His hands are still clasped behind his back. “Did you sleep well?”

I just glare at him in response.

His smile doesn’t falter, and he says, “Well, I’m happy to report that the decontamination process is now complete. I can now show you to your new quarters.”

He holds his arm out toward the open door. I guess it’s either go out there or stay locked in here, so I walk past him, careful to keep an eye on him as I go.

Winston slips around me and waves for me to follow him. “You won’t be needing to come back here,” he tells me as we walk. “This was just for the initial decontamination period, but now that you’re here, you should be fine.”

I narrow my eyes as I watch him. He seems completely calm, which is so strange to see after being out in the apocalypse all this time.

The hallway finally ends in double door. He pushes them open with a flourish to reveal the ocean.

Of course it’s an island. That’s the only way that this place could possibly exist in a world like this.

“Come,” he says, waving to me.

We walk outside and onto the fenced balcony that curves around the building. I can’t help staring out at the ocean; it’s just so beautiful.

We start passing other people lounging on reclining chairs with cocktails and various snack foods. They all smile and wave at Winston as he passes and he greets them all by name.

Eventually, we head back inside. He leads me to an elevator and we head all the way up to the penultimate floor.

The door slides open and Winston steps out. He turns to face me.

“Welcome home,” he says with a smile.

I step out of the elevator to join him and my jaw drops.

Final Comments: I really want to go back in and put in more imagery…

Overall Rating: 🙂