July Writing Exercise

 The other day while at the park I was doing a little writing. I had some prompts to go off of and I wrote the following short piece. It isn't much, but it was a fun exercise.

PROMPT: It's the middle of the night. There's Light snow falling. You're in the countryside. There's a charming feeling to the place.

Why am I still awake? On a chilly winter night like this, I should be all wrapped up in my blanket next to that cozy fire inside. Instead I find myself out here, in the snow. And the dark, can't forget it's dark. I came here to get away from all of the noise, the people, the distractions. I needed the rest. And I'm trudging through snow in the middle of the night. Not exactly restful. Or is it?

It is quiet. Snows like that, quiet I mean. And there are no other people around at the moment. The other guests at the lodge are inside. Wrapped up and warm. Probably enjoying hot cocoa as well. But I need this right now. I take another deep breath and watch as I exhale. It is a soothing sight, seeing my breath drift out of my mouth. I walk down to the edge of the woods. That's about as far as is safe this late at night. I hear faint sounds of the forest. Not any closer I remind myself. I don't want them sending a search party from the lodge in the morning.

Ha, that would be something. But no, I'm fine here. And I should head back shortly anyway. But I'll enjoy it for a little longer. Tomorrow is my first full day at the lodge. I arrived pretty late this evening. I'm here for a full two weeks. I'll have plenty of time inside. And out here in the countryside.

Two whole weeks of not having to deal with co-workers. No more neighbors blasting their TVs or music. No revving engines when I'm trying to go to bed. Not wondering if that plane flying over head is going to come crashing down on my house. No, I don't really believe that would happen. Don't be silly. Still, one never knows.

I hear a train whistle in the distance. Back home, that would have bothered me. Here I really don't mind. Whelp, time to head back in. Just from this little experience, I can tell I'm going to enjoy my vacation.

Until next post, I hope you enjoy.

July 2025 Update and a short story.

 My word processor died several months back and I had not been able to do much writing other than in notebooks. But yesterday afternoon I was finally able to fix the "Typewriter" and to try it out I typed up the following short little story. Enjoy.

The Derelict

By J.L. LaMastus 07/2025

The ship was a derelict, floating in the asteroid field. How long it had been there, none could say. The crew, they were long dead. So the ship just floated along, waiting to be discovered. Though it wasn’t to wait much longer.

A small cruiser entered the field. “This seems like a good place to lay low for a while.” The pilot observed. “At least until those scaly goons take a break.” He glanced at his monitors and noticed some odd readings. Grinning, he examined them more closely. His instruments had detected the derelict. A perfect hiding place, just waiting for him.

Drawing close to the ship, he could make out the name, The Harpy. He also noted the large hole in the hull. Quite big enough for his little cruiser to enter. “Williams my friend,” speaking to himself, “you just found yourself a new home.”

As the cruiser settled in, Williams donned his space-suit. “Time to do a little exploring.” The ship’s interior was lit by beams from the two shoulder lamps on his suit as he drifted across the gap deeper into the ship. What had happened here anyway? That breach in the hull was no accident. Ahead of him it seemed there was a glow. Could there be some life here after all?

He advanced to see if he could find out. Cautiously, of course. No signs of life, be he couldn’t be for certain. Turning a corner he discovered the source of the light. There was a control panel that still functioned. This could prove enlightening. He stopped at the controls and typed in a command. Soon the ship filled with light. No life perhaps, but power at least.

Tapping in a few more commands he called up the ship’s records. Maybe they would hold some clue as to what had happened here. His eyes grew wide with shock, then fear as the last video entry played back. Quickly he shut off the power and turned to get his butt back to his cruiser. As fast as he possibly could.

It wasn’t fast enough. In the dying light he saw them now. “I shoulda taken my chances with those scaly freaks.” He lamented. Too late he learned that this derelict, The Harpy, was to truly be his home. His last home.