Writing Exercise #3

This writing exercise is more 2.5 than 3.0. 

Sometimes changing the setting of a story will add
intensity to it. Choose a page of writing you’ve done
recently. For those who did the exercise in Chapter
6: Story Case Study: The Graveyard Book, where you
wrote a page trying to undermine a reader’s expecta-
tions, go back to that page of writing now. Experiment
with your story by switching the scene. For example, if
you wrote about a sniper looking through a rifle scope,
move him to a crowded airport and see what happens.
Try to take a risk here. Come up with a scene that is
frightening or upsetting, or just beyond the bounds of
what you’re comfortable with.

My working title for this one is “Tallahassee”  

####

The campus appeared deserted. It was unnaturally quiet, lacking the bustle of students chatting in small groups or racing to Architecture 101 or Econ 305. No one was sitting on the uncomfortable bench beneath the century oak or talking too loudly on their cellphones. Even the overbold squirrels seemed to have abandoned the place. 

From the roof atop the Science building, a man gazed through the scope of his rifle, scouring the windows of the Administration offices. Satisfying himself they were vacant, he turned his attention to the solid brick structure that housed the Music and Art Departments. Through the magnification of his scope, he could see incomplete paintings resting on easels and discarded instruments strewn throughout the rooms. 

Next was one of the larger dorms, standing four stories tall. The first was windowless, with double doors as the only egress.  He worked his way up slowly, scanning floor by floor, looking for the slightest disturbance. Any flutter of drapery or changing shadow caught his attention, though nothing materialized until he reached the top floor. In a southeast dormer he saw movement - a rhythmic thumping against the shades, like a giant moth drawn toward the light. 

The man leaned back and waved to the group of three on the adjacent roof. He held up four fingers and gestured toward the corner apartment. They looked through binoculars and gave him a thumbs up, confirming what he’d seen. The man shouldered his rifle, making his way carefully across the puddle and debris covered surface. Traversing down two flights of stairs brought him to the ground level, where he waited under the portico for the others to join him.  

Wearing dark jeans and black or navy shirts, the approaching crew’s ensemble was quite the motley assortment. Their lower legs were covered with a kind of shin guard made out of strips of car tire. In the interest of greater mobility, cardboard was wrapped around their forearms, with duct tape holding it in place. One wore a red bandana on his head and had a metal garbage lid strapped to his back, giving him the appearance of a hobo ninja turtle. Another wore a scabbard with a large hunting knife by his side and carried a cumbersome rucksack. The third, a short wiry woman, carried a terrifying looking tactical self defense cane. The last simply wielded a crowbar. 

The loner raised two fingers, motioning across the way, to the right and left sides of the main doors of the dorm. The group split, swiftly crossing the quad in two pairs, using benches and large planters as cover. They arrived on either side of the doorway, briefly hesitating. The solid wooden doors prevented them from knowing what was on the other side. The rifleman nodded, raising his weapon and stood in front of the doors, as two others reached for the handles. 

On the silent count of three, the doors opened to a gaping blackness. A single grunt was heard, followed by a cacophony of groans and crashes, as a flood of bodies in various stages of decomposition began to stagger out. Taken by surprise, the man was able to double tap one corpse before being felled by another. As he struggled to get up, others began to swarm on top of  him. 

Punching one in the face, his final thought before succumbing to inarticulate terror and rage was “fucking zombies!” 

####

Sorry, mom. 😐

~ Katie Q. 🐧

My friend who "didn't" recommend watching You (which I posted about last month) ran across the song Coffee by Tori Kelly. She messaged me and said she found Joe Goldberg's theme song. Boy was she right! 😆😬

"Coffee" by Tory Kelly

I envy the cup of coffee that kisses you every morning
That pillow caressing your cheek when you are tired and yawning, mm
I'm jealous of the steering wheel you wrap your hands around
That seat belt's on your chest hearing your heart, holding you down
I envy the cup of coffee that kisses you every morning

Oh 

It's unfair 'cause I'm missing you way too much
I'm missing you, missing you way too much
And I'm wishing you were right here because
I'm missing you way, way too much
And I know that it's so silly of me
To be jealous of all these stupid things
But I'm missing you, missing you way too much
I'm missing you way, way, way too much
And it's not fair

That's pretty much Joe in a nutshell...plus some dead bodies, that is. 

To be fair, it's a bit of a Dobler-Dahmer situation (from How I Met Your Mother)...it's either charming or alarming. If you're into someone and they tell you "I'm jealous of your pillow," it'd come off as sweet (though really, best case scenario they'd sound pretty clingy). If you don't like them, it comes off super stalkery...cut to montage of someone looking in your kitchen window, staring longingly at your coffee cup. 😳

For this one, I have to agree with Lily - "It's a stalk crazy."