“NaNoWriMo 2020 Pt. 23”

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: “The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting.” – Sun Tzu

SKYE’S POV

I head back up to my room, feeling quite full and content. Maddie’s story swirls in my mind, but I’m too tired to think about it too hard. Instead, I take a nap in my incredibly soft bed.

When I wake up, I feel the most refreshed that I’ve ever felt since the apocalypse started. I almost don’t want to leave, but I need to find Mason. Maybe once I find him, I can bring him back here and we can live in safety and comfort for the rest of our lives.

I head back outside to join the crowd of people. Everyone looks so happy and relaxed here; honestly, it’s like I’m vacation during non-apocalyptic times.

I search for Maddie, but she’s nowhere to be seen. So, I walk along the balcony, trying to circle around the entire island.

To be honest, maybe the one and only benefit of living in the apocalypse is that I’m super fit. Or maybe it’s just that the island isn’t that big. Nah, I’m just going to say that I’m really fit now.

Nevertheless, I’m able to make it around the entire island without stopping. I make sure to look both up and down to see any type of vehicle arriving or leaving, but there’s nothing. The only place I can think that the vehicles could reach the island is this one place where the fence prevents me from going all the way to the edge of the cliff. There’s another balcony way down below where I’d probably be able to see the ocean, but I don’t know how to get down there.

Now, I know this sounds awful, but the thought does cross my mind to just stay here and leave Mason out there by himself. I mean, of course I’d never be able to live with myself if I did that, but I just need to get it out there that I did think about it.

Feeling defeated, I walk back to my room. As I wander through the halls, a flicker of movement catches my eye.

Ryan. But he’s not alone. Maddie’s there too, looking extremely uncomfortable.

I press myself against the wall and creep closer to be able to hear them.

“… just couldn’t wait, could you?” Ryan whispers, his voice harsh

Maddie sighs. Even though her back is turned to me, I can picture her rolling her eyes. “Come on, Ry, we were together for two months. Two months. Plus, I didn’t show him, he followed me and found it all by himself.”

Ryan growls. “I still don’t like it.”

“You don’t have to like it,” Maddie snaps. Then, her shoulders soften and she looks around quickly before whispering, “Did he see it?”

Ryan nods. “I think so.”

“That’s not good.”

“I know.”

They fall silent for a moment before Ryan says, “I need to get to work. I’ll come find you later.”

Maddie nods. “I’ll try to figure out what he saw. Maybe he can help us.”

Ryan scoffs. “Right, and pigs fly.”

“Hey, if people can fly then pigs can fly too,” Maddie says. “Hey, did you see that guy who arrived last week? With the wings?”

Ryan scowls. “Yeah, I had to clean his room. There were freaking feathers everything. Not fun.”

Maddie chuckles before patting his shoulder. “Alright, I’ll see you later.”

Ryan nods, staring at her with a mixture of regret and sadness as she walks away.

Final Comments: I guess I should note at this point that there’s no way I’m going to have a complete story finished by the end of the month… I’ve barely gotten into the action as it is!! Also, it’s extremely hard to finish within 10 minutes… Whoops…

Overall Rating: 😅