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Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Running at Night


Three shapes loom in the darkness, directly in my path.

My eyes strain into the shadows, my breathing ragged.

Turning off my music, my heartbeat floods my ears, quickening beyond recognition.

They’re only trees.

The undeniable glow of a cigarette gleams in the darkness.

One of the figures lurches forward, then back, forward again.

My feet are committed to my route.

I find energy for one last sprint, pounding past the lurching body as it reaches out.

My gasp is audible.

Mocking laughter follows me as I finally slow, escaping the clutches of a smiling fall scarecrow.

why run when you can ride a horse?



the prompt:
This week I want you to conjure something. An object, a person, a feeling, a color, a season- whatever you like.
You have 100 words, use them wisely.

at

35 comments:

  1. Mama Wants ThisOctober 4, 2011 at 6:56 AM

    Angela, that was beautifully done! The tempo was just nice, the imagery vivid. Like. A lot.

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  2. dosweatthesmallstuffOctober 4, 2011 at 7:02 AM

    My heart picked up... thumped thumped thumped... faster and faster, feeling the scare almost as if I was there.  I would've sprinted as if my life depended on it!!!  lol

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  3. AngelaOctober 4, 2011 at 7:24 AM

    Thanks Alison!  I need a better running partner than my imagination.  It gets me every time!

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  4. AngelaOctober 4, 2011 at 7:24 AM

    Isn't that funny?  I must have looked so silly!

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  5. EarlybirdOctober 4, 2011 at 7:26 AM

    Ouf! I was quite tense at the beginning there when you turned off your music... :)

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  6. jentos23October 4, 2011 at 8:01 AM

    Ack!! I'm so scared to run in the dark!!! This was GREAT!

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  7. AngelaOctober 4, 2011 at 8:04 AM

    I never was until a couple of years ago.  I am trying to get over the fear, but my imagination just goes bonkers out there LOL.

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  8. AngelaOctober 4, 2011 at 8:05 AM

    Me too!  Those girls must have thought I was crazy, sprinting away from a Halloween decoration.

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  9. SkoteiniaOctober 4, 2011 at 8:16 AM

    I bet they laughed!  And you probably felt silly the moment that you realised -- but not at the beginning, oh no!

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  10. Jennifer BrunoOctober 4, 2011 at 8:17 AM

    I have been there!  (Only, in my case I was probably walking the dogs versus getting any exercise!)  ;-)  Such a scary feeling.  I know the feeling of your heart wanting to pound out of your chest and all your senses going in to hyper mode.  Great post!

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  11. KirOctober 4, 2011 at 8:29 AM

    I'm scared of everything...truly. I was scared with you, running that route and seeing that shadow. I let out a breath when you told me it was only a scarecrow too. Yea, the word choices were great, it was dark, I was panting with the run, I was relieved at the end. WHEW. Great job! xoxo

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  12. AngelaOctober 4, 2011 at 8:47 AM

    I felt ridiculous, but oh the beginning part was scary!

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  13. AngelaOctober 4, 2011 at 8:48 AM

    Thanks Jen!  Isn't it funny how you go into hyper mode like that?  I don't know exactly WHAT I thought was going to happen!

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  14. AngelaOctober 4, 2011 at 8:49 AM

    I get scared so easily, too, and it just gets worse the older I get.  I used to run at night (or early morning) all the time without getting scared, but not anymore!

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  15. kathleensomuchtosayOctober 4, 2011 at 8:53 AM

    Ooh, that's a scary one.

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  16. AngelaOctober 4, 2011 at 9:27 AM

    Well, it isn't scary now that I know the outcome, but I was pretty scared when it was happening!

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  17. Elaine A.October 4, 2011 at 9:38 AM

    Okay, you had me totally creeped out with this one!!! ;)

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  18. Katie EggemanOctober 4, 2011 at 10:11 AM

    That could have been scary. Some of the memories today have been scary, I am glad it was a scarecrow. You got it!

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  19. christinaOctober 4, 2011 at 10:24 AM

    see! another reason not to run! ;) hehe, i kid.

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  20. AngelaOctober 4, 2011 at 10:31 AM

    Giggling.  Yes, it got my heart going in more ways than one!

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  21. AngelaOctober 4, 2011 at 10:31 AM

    Oh, but I felt so silly after I realized what it was!

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  22. AngelaOctober 4, 2011 at 10:32 AM

    Yes, just a scarecrow and my overactive imagination...that's it :)

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  23. JackieOctober 4, 2011 at 11:31 AM

    It was scary at first.... I thought that it was real until I figured out that it was a scarecrow! And then I laughed.

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  24. TonyaOctober 4, 2011 at 1:07 PM

    I didn't see that coming. Very clever.

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  25. E & A RosenfriedOctober 4, 2011 at 1:23 PM

    awesome :) 

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  26. Karen PetersonOctober 4, 2011 at 1:31 PM

    It's so funny, the things our minds turn into something much bigger and scarier than the reality. I really enjoyed this!

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  27. Galit BreenOctober 4, 2011 at 3:06 PM

    Hee! poor thing! I would have been scared, too, and that picture f Abbey? Perfect!

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  28. Megan (Best of Fates)October 4, 2011 at 3:18 PM

    Hey, I think it ends scary too - scarecrows freak me out!

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  29. KimberlyOctober 4, 2011 at 4:10 PM

    Ha! I would have been scared too! Running at night freaks me out.

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  30. MayOctober 4, 2011 at 4:37 PM

    Great building of suspense and evoking of fear!

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  31. ReneeOctober 4, 2011 at 4:58 PM

    Very good! I was hoping you knew karate too. I'm glad it was just a scarecrow.

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  32. Elena WollborgOctober 4, 2011 at 8:07 PM

    That was really well done! What a fun prompt this week from WOE. I'm so scared of running/walking in the dark. I remember when we used to live in Royal Oak I would do it downtown. It was always freaky my trip from downtown back to our house. I'm a chicken, obviously. ;)

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  33. GayleOctober 5, 2011 at 3:56 PM

    LOL Love it. The dark spooks me out too!
     U did good I would have turned that run into a sprint no I mean dash to  my house it would nt matter if it was a scarecrow, a man or a wayward cat.

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  34. KristenOctober 5, 2011 at 3:56 PM

    This is fantastic. I love how you build suspense; I could actually feel the fear. You're braver than I am - I only run during daylight hours, and even then I sometimes get scared, haha!

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  35. Debbie @ Day in and Day OutOctober 5, 2011 at 4:00 PM

    Running = crazy. Running at night = crazier still. Gave me chills.....

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