This was a contest entry and here are the following specs I was given:
- Genre = Fantasy
- Prop to use = Buoy
- Word Count = 500 max
- Time to write = 48 hours
While most contestant went for the predictable mermaid stories, enchantments happening along the water, etc. I went in a completely different directions with it. Check it out.
Synopsis: In a post-apocalyptic world, 20,000 years into the future, twin telepaths, Demira and Gideon, stumble upon an ancient relic in the woods and make an even greater discovery after interacting with it.
“Please, Demira. We’re not supposed to be here.”
Demira forged deeper into the forest, her twin brother begrudgingly in tow.
After twenty thousand years, many cycles of civilizations, and multiple rounds of genetic mutations, defiance remained ingrained in humankind.
“Can you believe there was an ocean here,” she said.
“Everywhere we step on this planet used to be something else. So what?”
She sighed. Gideon always minimized the importance of the past.
Demira stopped in front of a thicket of ferns, stretched out her hands, and waited for them to bend out of the way. When nothing happened, Gideon moved ahead, slashing the vegetation.
Quit doing that. You look stupid trying to control non-sentient things.
Although his lips never parted, Demira heard her brother loud and clear. For more than a millennium, this iteration of humankind had been using the filament, a network of telepathic energy connecting the consciousness of all sentient beings.
A speck of silver glimmered in the dirt. She reached down with thin, bony fingers, wiggled the metallic object out of the earth, and polished it with her shirt. She scrutinized the item.
“Eyin Gohd Whey Trus-tuh.”
I’m pretty sure you’re saying it wrong, Gideon projected.
Oh, please. You know nothing.
She ran her fingers across the embossed letters. On the back of the disc was a peculiar bird with a sharp, down-curved beak and widespread wings.
These inscriptions are incantations, she projected to Gideon.
Whatever. Let’s go.
Not yet. Echoes from the filament said there’s a treasure over there. Demira pointed to an area that sloped into a crater full of trees.
Echoes? Gideon stopped in his tracks. If I had known you got info from a bunch of randoms, I would’ve never come.
Don’t complain. We’re so close.
As they ventured into the crater, they stumbled upon a massive buoy resting on its side.
Whoa! Demira’s eyes widened.
This looks like trash, Gideon noted.
She ran her hands across its rusted surface, causing a cascade of paint chips to flutter away.
Look up top. It’s a signaling device. I bet this disc goes somewhere on there.
Demira turned to see Gideon plunked on a tree trunk, slashing plants, tuning her out. She climbed the structure, inching across the tower to reach the beacon. Hm. Nothing here. She maneuvered to the underside of the tower, its pot belly groaning in protest. As if trying to consume her, the tower collapsed, pinning her to the ground.
“Demira!” Gideon shouted.
She gasped for air.
It’s too heavy. Get help!
Gideon sprinted off.
She spotted the silver disc sticking out of the ground and spoke the incantation as she pushed against the tower.
“Eyin Gohd Whey Trus-tuh.”
Repeating the mantra made her believe in its power while she visualized the tower rising.
On her tenth cry, the impossible happened: the tower levitated.
It worked!
She rolled from underneath it.
And he said I was stupid.
Demira stared in awe.
Can’t be.
That last thought sent the tower crashing down.