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The Rise and Fall

A Short Story Based on a Collection of Four Random Prompts

By Jake BurgessPublished 6 years ago 3 min read
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[A short story written in 15 minutes and based on a collection of four random prompts: From a great height, “It’s a boy!,"Grace the born-again Christian, 'Jack “White Baby” Lindenburg, head of the [insert] guild'. Enjoy!]

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The room had fallen into a peaceful silence. The wet nurse had been gone a few minutes, and her assistants laid exhausted on the floor. A cool breeze drifted over Grace’s brow, helping her relax.

The prophecy had come true.

Back in her reckless youth, Grace had scorned the ludicrous story of “immaculate conception”—a load of nonsense invented by 4th century Roman meddlers. It was obviously impossible—until it happened to her.

Just nine months before, Grace had been visited by Jack “White Baby” Lindenburg, head of the Creationist’s Guild. He told her an impossible truth, one which slowly unfolded over a period of months with the rounding of her belly.

She was carrying the son of god in her womb.

Having never lay with a man in all of her 32 years, how could this be anything other than a miracle? She, Grace, was bringing mankind’s saviour back to Earth in the moment of their greatest need.

And just moments before, that impossible truth had been realised.

“It’s a boy,” cried the wet nurse, ecstatic. “Does he have a name yet?” she enquired.

“Not...not yet,” Grace had managed, utterly exhausted. “Go give him a clean up, and then we’ll find a name fitting of our Lord.”

Grace’s rememberings were interrupted by a sound from outside, shattering the stillness. It was muted, but perceptible. She listened closer.

BANG.

The gunshot made Grace jump from her bed and race to the door on weary legs. Flinging open the door, her foot slipped on a slick, blood-red patch on the ground.

No, not blood red. Blood.

The lifeless body of the wet nurse lay abandoned just feet away, a gaping hole seeping blood from her chest. Trying to avoid falling into complete shock, Grace saw footsteps leading up the stairs.

She ran after them as fast as her tired limbs could manage. Up two flights, she emerged onto the roof to a devastating scene.

Standing on its edge, the baby cuddled tightly in his grasp, stood Jack Lindenberg. Turning slowly, Jack met Grace’s stricken gaze and spoke softly:

“I’m truly sorry, but the time is not right.”

Without a further word, he turned his gaze back the abyss beneath him, tightened his grip on the child, and stepped into the darkness. From such a great height, the sound of impact was faint, but unmistakable.

The sound haunted Grace for the rest of her life.

Seconds later, the silence was briefly interrupted once more. Faint, but unmistakable.

Background

My housemate and I decided to have a short story contest where we'd write a handful of prompts, stick them all in a hat, draw a few, and use those to create a story. Prompts could be themes, settings, characters, dialogue, objects...whatever! Of the four drawn, two were mine, and two written by my housemate. A good, even playing field! We stuck a 20 minute timer on and got started!

It was pretty intense, especially as the time ticked on, but a really enjoyable exercise. It's amazing as a writer to rediscover how much you can churn out in a short space of time! My story only just breached 400 words, yet last week I produced over 700. It was also really interesting to see how we interpreted the prompts differently—my interpretation was dark and almost brutal, while his was more open and upbeat.

We've got plenty more prompts left in the frisbee, as it were, so hopefully there will be more short stories here soon! I hope you enjoyed it. Feel free to use the prompts yourself and happy reading!

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About the Creator

Jake Burgess

Always looking forward.

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