01 February 2014

The prompts are:
1. I’ve lost my St. Christopher
2. The planets must have been aligned just right
3. Putting your head on the chopping block

Begin Writing
I wake slowly and take inventory of my bones before opening my eyes. I don’t think anything’s broken but, my head aches, I’m shivering cold, wet, and it’s dark here. Where’s here anyway? Not sure.

The last thing I remember I was on my way to Grandma’s house. I had gone over the bridge and was driving through the woods when the thunderstorm caught up with me. I must have crashed my car.

Sitting up, I looked around in the dark. I was lying in a ditch, my car was about 20 feet down the way – also in the ditch. It was upside down in the ditch. The tires pointing up as though it had rolled over, stuck it’s feet up in the air and died. Obviously, it was not going anywhere again. At least not under it’s own power. I kinda remember going into a slide as I went around a bend in the road. I remember the tires breaking free of the road. I must have knocked myself out because that’s all I remember.

I reached for my cell phone. No help there, the phone was in pieces in my pocket. I got up and walked to where my car lay, reached into the passenger window and opened the glove box. Everything fell out onto the roof of the car. I rooted through the debris until i found my mag light flashlight. I removed it and turned it on. Shining the light up the embankment, I could see that I was about 20′ below the road. The light blinked once and went out. I smacked it against my palm a few times and it came back on, weakly. Then promptly went out again. No amount of coaxing, or cajoling could get it to come back on.

Just my luck, I thought. At least nothing else can go wrong.

A twig snapped behind me. I froze and turned my head. I couldn’t see a thing but I heard something. I heard something frightening. A low pitched rumble, deep bass tone, that I quickly identified as a growl. “Oh shit,” I screamed silently as I started scrambling up the bank to the road.

I should have never headed out to Grandma’s house today. I knew better. I had lost my St. Christopher. I had no business traveling any where and now I was about to be dinner for an unknown, but fearsome predator. Halfway up the embankment I lost my footing and slid in the mud all the way back down…
Time is up. Put down your writing implements and step away from the paper.