Read The Rules First.

Your Word Prompt is: Pounding

******Fiction Written by Robert T Gasperson © 9/4/2007******

I’m not sure what was going on there. It was almost like I was running for my life, but I was not really going anywhere. I was trying to get away from the horrible beating. It was a deep sound, a sound that I will not soon forget. It was like pounding on a solid wood door. It was hard and solid. It sounded like it came from a fist that was stern and sure of itself.

I tried to run but I was stuck in the chair. I could not move. I could not open my eyes. I really didn’t want to open my eyes. I didn’t want to see what was trying to get through that door. What was trying to get to me? It was terrifying. I didn’t know what I was going to do. If that thing got in here, it would kill me.

I didn’t honestly know if it was going to kill me but it was definitely out there and it didn’t have happy things on its mind. Anything that pounded on a door like that would not ever have happy things on its mind. It had evil things coursing through its thoughts. It was not here to play. It was here to relinquish its anger. It was here to fight. The problem was, I didn’t want to fight.

The pounding got louder and louder. It got more intense. The door started to show its age, cracking with every blow. I could only imagine what this thing was going to look like. I saw a creature with horns jutting out of the side of its head. It spoke with fire and screamed with heat. It was ugly, showing its fangs and creases in its face as it growled.

My imagination was always good at over-dramatizing things like that. You should see the some of the visualizations I get when I imagine an automobile accident. I can actually see the car hitting pylons and driving through other cars sending people and their body parts flying to the other side of the highway. It is not a pretty sight.

This was different though. I somehow knew what this was. I knew that this creature was going to be vicious. It was going to be unrelenting. It was not going to let me have one say in the matter. It didn’t care what I had to say. It just wanted me dead.

My breathing started to shake. The adrenalin was pumping through my body like a steam engine. I could feel my heart pounding nearly as loud as the banging on the door. My body started to shiver. It was not cold but complete and utter fear. It was as if I could not focus, I could not find my courage. There was nothing inside my head to help me fight this creature.

Finally, I collapsed, falling out of the chair. I hit the floor with a thud. The pounding on the door stopped for a moment, then there was a crash. It was like the creature finally backed up half way down the hall to get a running start. That was all it needed to get through the door. I didn’t care though. The fear and adrenalin overwhelmed my body. I blacked out. Good thing, too. I would have hated to feel that thing tearing out my entrails.

***************************************

If you enjoy this kind of writing exercise, check out my book: Robert’s Word-A-Day Book. I also have a book to help you come up with names for your characters called: Random Character Names for Your Novel.

Also, did you know that you can get paid by reviewing this short piece of fiction? scroll down and click the button that says: Get paid to review my post.

Finally, Please come back every Monday, Wednesday and Friday to see the new Word or phrase to write about. If you are so inclined, there is a signup box in the sidebar of the main page of this blog. This will allow you to get all of my new blog posts as I write them sent directly to your email inbox.

Read The Rules First.

Your Word Prompt is: Alone

******Fiction Written by Robert T Gasperson © 8/27/2007******

Jon lay in his bed wishing he could just fade out of existence. He had spent so much of his life trying to make people happy. It was like he was living for others. He was not living for himself. Now it all caught up with him. He just didn’t know how to handle it.

Time after time he would go out of his way to help someone, just to realize they were out to take advantage of him. All they wanted was his time and effort and sometimes his things. He watched people take things from him piece by piece. His thought was that they would need it more than he would. They would also take his time. He would constantly let others talk him into doing things that he really didn’t have the time or the knowledge to do correctly. Then he would get yelled at by whoever oversaw that project and he would feel like a complete failure because of it.

Jon was not a confrontational guy. This really was not a good thing. Because of this, he would more often than not, allow people to just walk all over him. He didn’t like this fact about himself, but it was the way he was built. Changing it would be extremely difficult. He didn’t really know if he wanted to change. He liked doing things for others. He like the gratitude people showed when he did something they did not really expect anyone else to do. He wanted to be the one people looked to for things. He didn’t really care that he was not going to get paid all that much more for anything he did. He did care that people appreciated him; most of the time they didn’t. He would not say much about the point. He was brought up to not expect anything from anyone. Sometime it just gets to him when he doesn’t get anything in return for his efforts. A thank you is all he really wanted.

Jon wondered what it would be like if he could go back and do it all over again. What would he be like if he only did things that would bring him some kind of personal gain? He would definitely be in a better position. He would be able to afford his rent and car payment. He would probably be living in a bigger place. He might even have a girlfriend, maybe several girlfriends. Jon had seen people like that; People who didn’t take the time to help anyone else out. They were usually lonely people surrounded by many people. He didn’t want to be like that either.

Jon was a follower. He was someone who would have to spend the rest of his life watching other move up the ladder of success because he was not willing to take charge and lead. He was going to have to watch life pass him by. That is why he was laying there, by himself, not willing to move, not willing to go outside, dot willing to live.

***************************************

If you enjoy this kind of writing exercise, check out my book: Robert’s Word-A-Day Book. I also have a book to help you come up with names for your characters called: Random Character Names for Your Novel.

Also, did you know that you can get paid by reviewing this short piece of fiction? scroll down and click the button that says: Get paid to review my post.

Finally, Please come back every Monday, Wednesday and Friday to see the new Word or phrase to write about. If you are so inclined, there is a signup box in the sidebar of the main page of this blog. This will allow you to get all of my new blog posts as I write them sent directly to your email inbox.

Read The Rules First.

Your Word Prompt is: Join

******Fiction Written by Robert T Gasperson © 8/01/2007******

Kevin circled the listing with the red Sharpie that was nearly out of ink. It was not something that he would normally do, but it was an unusual amount of money to make just for a tissue sample. He had heard of these places that pay you for blood and plasma, but never tissue. They were offering nearly five grand just to come in for fifteen minutes and receive a shot. Actually the shot that is given is more of an extraction, at least that is what the listing said.

There were several other listings that he was interested in, but he wanted to see what this was all about before he did anything else. He folded the newspaper and slid it into his back pocket. He grabbed his keys, wallet and cell phone off the dresser and walked out the door, locking it behind him.

When he got to the tissue bank office, he was feeling a strange bubbling sensation deep down in his gut. It was almost like he was going to ask a girl out again for the first time. He didn’t really like the feeling, but it was a normal response to an uncertain situation.

They made him fill out all kinds of paperwork. Most of it was normal medical forms wanting to know his medical background and what he was allergic to. Then there was this one form that asked for permission to use his tissue in a growth experiment. He was not all that sure what they meant by that. He figured it was a way for them to make more tissue from the donors they receive.

They didn’t make him wait for more than five minutes before they called him to the back. He really hated doctors. They usually only had bad things to say. He came here rather healthy though and he knew that they were not going to say much that could be bad other than the needle was going to sting a bit.

The nurses and the doctors came in and out of the room. They made him undress and did all kinds of physical tests. They were apparently trying to figure out how healthy he was and what kind of shape he was in. Then a doctor that he had never met came in with a giant needle. It was like one of those needles you might see in a comedy. Its needle had to be a good four inches long and the opening at the end looked like a straw opening.

They didn’t give him any kind of warning. They just quickly turned him over and jammed the needle into the fleshy part of his right buttock. He screamed. Then he was left alone to dress himself. When he walked out. He was handed a check for $5,000 and shown to the door.

***************************************

If you enjoy this kind of writing exercise, check out my book: Robert’s Word-A-Day Book. I also have a book to help you come up with names for your characters called: Random Character Names for Your Novel.

Also, did you know that you can get paid by reviewing this short piece of fiction? scroll down and click the button that says: Get paid to review my post.

Finally, Please come back every Monday, Wednesday and Friday to see the new Word or phrase to write about. If you are so inclined, there is a signup box in the sidebar of the main page of this blog. This will allow you to get all of my new blog posts as I write them sent directly to your email inbox.

Read The Rules First.

Your Word Prompt is: Stand

******Fiction Written by Robert T Gasperson © 7/31/2007******

Jessie was making his rounds. This was something that he did everyday; several times a day in fact. He would walk up and down the halls and swipe the little wand at the various checkpoints, making sure that all the inmates were keeping the peace and not causing any trouble. He didn’t carry a weapon, just the knowledge that his co-guards would be there when he needed them.

On this particular day, he was not expecting what was going to go down. He had no clue that some of the inmates had targeted him for their own amusement. Jessie was walking down the long corridor when a giant mammoth of a man stepped out of one of the cell rooms. Jessie was not surprised by this. Most of the inmates in this block were allowed to move freely during certain hours of the day.

This particular inmate stepped into his path. He stopped within a foot of this man. He stared into the man’s chest as he was nearly seven feet tall. Jessie slowly looked up to make eye contact with the man. There was no fear in his eyes. There couldn’t be. If the inmates saw fear in this man, they would eat him for breakfast.

“Move Along.” Jessie said as he looked into the man’s eyes. He stood there a moment before repeating himself. “I said, Move Along!” His voice was loud and stern. He was hoping that one of the other guards from down the hall would hear him. The man stood there towering over him knowing that he had the upper hand. “I am not going to ask you again!”

The man looked up behind Jessie. Jessie looked back to see three more inmates walk out of one of the other cells. Jessie nodded. “So this is how it is going to be.” Jessie looked at the large man in front of him again. The large man smiled. Jessie began to move. He knew that he was going to be in deep crud if he was not prepared.

Jessie slid hid right foot along the concrete floor where is was behind him, placing him in an instant fighting stance. He was subconsciously aware of the three men behind him, but they were to far away to cause any threat at this point. Jessie had just enough time to get his hands up when the tall burly man to his first and only swing. Jessie easily dodged the attack, his feet still planted on, no, into the concrete. He grabbed the mans wrist as it moved past his face, and then he used the tall man’s momentum to pull his arm along its current trajectory. The man nearly fell over, not expecting the overextension of his punch. Then Jessie quickly pulled back sending the man backwards off his feet.

The big man landed hard with a thud. He obviously hit his head pretty hard. He blinked his eyes as he tried to hide the surprised look on his face. Jessie twisted the man’s arm till it wouldn’t turn any more, and bent his hand in so he couldn’t move without it hurting.

The other three men had stopped. They had seen everything. They knew that this guard meant business. “I said Move Along!” Jessie screamed. By this time there were three other guards heading his way. This confrontation was now over.

***************************************

If you enjoy this kind of writing exercise, check out my book: Robert’s Word-A-Day Book. I also have a book to help you come up with names for your characters called: Random Character Names for Your Novel.

Also, did you know that you can get paid by reviewing this short piece of fiction? scroll down and click the button that says: Get paid to review my post.

Finally, Please come back every Monday, Wednesday and Friday to see the new Word or phrase to write about. If you are so inclined, there is a signup box in the sidebar of the main page of this blog. This will allow you to get all of my new blog posts as I write them sent directly to your email inbox.

Read The Rules First.

Your Word Prompt is: Iphone

******Fiction Written by Robert T Gasperson © 7/30/2007******

“Man, this just sucks! I don’t know what happened to it. I stood in line for an entire day and a half just so I could be one of the first people to actually own an Iphone.

“I packed up all my supplies. I made sure I had plenty of munchies, water (you know, one of those backpack thingies that cross country bikers wear to keep them hydrated) and reading material. I had a blanket and a pillow that I stuffed into the top of my sports bag so I could lay on it without hurting my head. There was no way I was leaving this line. I even went so far as to install a make shift catheter so I didn’t have to trust my spot to strangers just to go to the restroom. I wasn’t going to chance that they would not let me back in the line. I know if that ever happened, I would have to make a scene, and would probably end up in Jail.

“Needless to say, I was the third person to get the new Iphone at this particular Apple Store. I brought it home and sat down at the computer and hooked it up. I let it charge while I installed the software and found the first thing I wanted to upload to it. It was the entire podcast novel by Scott Sigler, The Rookie. I have enjoyed all his other podcast novels, from Earthcore (where a giant deposit of platinum draws a group of people to dig 3 miles underground just to find a force they were not prepared for) to Ancestor (about a genetically engineered creature who was bred to provide human organs for transplantation. Turns out those creatures were very hungry) to Infection (I don’t know if I even want to think about this group of creatures who grow under your skin). Now I hear that there is a new podcast novel getting ready to come out called Nocturnal, so now I am dying to listen to The Rookie (about a Human who gets to play for a galactic team of Aliens and humans called the Krackens. He has to go up with creatures who can jump 25 feet in the air to catch passes), but now my brand new Iphone is missing. I loaded the entire book, and now the Iphone has completely disappeared.

“Not only is it missing, but now something seems to be wrong with my Ipod. It was sitting in its dock next to the computer while I walked away for a moment to make a sandwich. When I came back it was sitting on the desk top with half a USB cable shoved into the earphone jack. Its like some one was in here just jamming things where they don’t belong. I just don’t get it.”

I looked down at the screen on the Ipod. This is what I read:

***BURP***
Listening to:
The Rookie, by Scott Sigler

***************************************

If you enjoy this kind of writing exercise, check out my book: Robert’s Word-A-Day Book. I also have a book to help you come up with names for your characters called: Random Character Names for Your Novel.

Also, did you know that you can get paid by reviewing this short piece of fiction? scroll down and click the button that says: Get paid to review my post.

Finally, Please come back every Monday, Wednesday and Friday to see the new Word or phrase to write about. If you are so inclined, there is a signup box in the sidebar of the main page of this blog. This will allow you to get all of my new blog posts as I write them sent directly to your email inbox.

Read The Rules First.

Your Word Prompt is: Street

******Fiction Written by Robert T Gasperson © 7/27/2007******

The street is an interesting place. It is usually where you drive your car to get from one point to the next. It is also the place where you play tag football with all your friends in the neighborhood as kids. It is where you ride your bike and shoot hoops. Then when a car comes down the street, someone yells, “CAR!” But when the street becomes your home, that is when you start thinking about it a little more closely.

I didn’t even see it coming. I lost my job out of the blue. I knew there were problems, but I guess I allowed myself to get overconfident and didn’t notice how often those mistakes came about. They didn’t even give me a warning. They just pulled me into the conference room and told me that the cost of my mistakes have been too much for them to just let it go. They were going to have to let me go.

I walked out of the building shocked. I could not believe what had happened. I just shut down. I stopped functioning. I had never been fired from a job before. I had never allowed myself to get into a funk where I was making so many mistakes that it would turn around and bite me in the rear. I sat at home in front of the TV feeling sorry for myself. I didn’t do anything. I even stopped eating for a while. I finally got to the point where I was not paying my bills and I didn’t go outside. I didn’t want to deal with the world outside. I just let me depression spiral out of control until they came.

The cops showed up with the bank officials. They knocked on the door. I didn’t answer. The knocked again. But I just laid there in the dark, because the electricity had already been turned off from lack of payments. They went away for a while. But they came back the next day. They came back several times. Then I guess they got the warrant that they needed and the broke down my front door.

When the got into the house, they actually checked my vital signs. When they saw that I was alive and malnourished, they had the men in the white coats come pick me up. I balled up in the corner of a cell completely by myself for weeks. They tried to talk to me at the same time every day, but I would not respond. They knew that I was conscious, but I was not responding to any of their attempts to communicate. They medicated me.

After a while I decided that I did not want to be in that cell anymore. I started to talk to the doctors. I gave them the information that they wanted. After a while, I convinced them that I was better. They let me go. I didn’t have anything though. I was now lving on the streets.

***************************************

If you enjoy this kind of writing exercise, check out my book: Robert’s Word-A-Day Book. I also have a book to help you come up with names for your characters called: Random Character Names for Your Novel.

Also, did you know that you can get paid by reviewing this short piece of fiction? scroll down and click the button that says: Get paid to review my post.

Finally, Please come back every Monday, Wednesday and Friday to see the new Word or phrase to write about. If you are so inclined, there is a signup box in the sidebar of the main page of this blog. This will allow you to get all of my new blog posts as I write them sent directly to your email inbox.

Read The Rules First.

Your Word Prompt is: Focusing

Before you read what I have written, I want to take a moment to plug my sponsor. They are the awesome paintball extraordinaires. If you are like me, you like to get your co-workers together and fire a few (hundred) rounds of paint at each other at the local paintball field. I know it makes me feel better taking out some of my frustration on the people who cause that frustration.

Pntball.com is an awesome website. They carry all the equipment that you will ever need, the equipment that is so hard to find anywhere else. They carry brand names like: Tippmann A-5, Tippmann 98 Custom, Smart Parts Ion, & Spyder Pilot ACS. They offer some great sets at some nicely discounted prices. Not only that, their shipping is FREE.

So, If you are looking for the best paintball guns on the market and you want some of the most competitive prices out there, check out pntball.com. They will help you wether you are a beginner or are part of an advance team. Even if you are just curious about paintball, check out what they have.

This sponsor was provided by Payperpost.com. Sign up with them and get paid to do what you love, blogging. Now on with the Fiction.

******Fiction Written by Robert T Gasperson © 7/25/2007******

Quieting her mind was the hardest part. As humans we are conditioned to need noise around us all the way back to conception. As fetuses in our mother’s wombs we hear thing constantly. Even when Our Mother’s are sleeping, we hear her heartbeat and breathing rhythm. After we are born there are so many of us who cannot sleep without some kind of noise in the same room. Then as we grow up we have constant noise from TVs, cell phones, outdoor traffic and even the buzz of power lines, not to mention the natural sounds of birds, frogs , crickets and everything else that calls to each other in the wild.

Lily sat on her heals while the pavement floor pressed hard against her knees. He closed her eyes and tried desperately to push out all the thoughts that invaded her mind. She could not let these thoughts take control of her mind. They were powerful and always seemed to be there, thoughts that constantly flowed through her mind. She knew that if she could not push them out, she would not be able to focus on the task at hand. She would not be able to lift the car out of the water, saving the people inside.

The car had driven off the road and through the guard rail. She had seen it all. If she had control of her own thoughts better than she did, she might have stopped the car from flipping over and landing in the canal. It was up to her to get he mind strait and to focus on the car.

With her eyes closed, she pictured the car. She pictured the family inside the car and their screams as the water continued to rush into the cab. She saw the terrified faces and the fear driven tears. She saw the water rushing through the broken glass and the remaining air start to quickly disappear.

She changed her focus. She pictured the car. She saw the entire thing almost like she was looking at a 3D CAD drawing of it on a computer. The water and the bank and the muck at the bottom of the canal faded away into nothingness. She was able to look at it at every angle. She was able to see all the crumpled metal and the scratched paint. She even saw through the hood and fenders, that the engine itself had collapsed and shifted under the cab, in this case jutting strait up out of the water.

Lily pushed the last rogue thought out of her head about how she could not do this. She was not listening to it. She knew that she could. She had done it before to objects much bigger than this little car. Her thoughts grabbed all four tires simultaneously and pulled up. It was almost like she was pulling with her arms and shoulders, at least that was how she envisioned it, but the car started to levitate out of the water. It slowly moved upward, allowing the water drain out nearly as fast as it found its way in.

People all around were watching the car as it moved above the ground and back onto the asphalt. It slowly turned over allowing it occupants to maneuver themselves back into their seats. Then it lightly settled back onto the ground. Within moments people were helping the victims out of the totaled car and Lily had made her way off the scene unseen.

***************************************

If you enjoy this kind of writing exercise, check out my book: Robert’s Word-A-Day Book. I also have a book to help you come up with names for your characters called: Random Character Names for Your Novel.

Also, did you know that you can get paid by reviewing this short piece of fiction? scroll down and click the button that says: Get paid to review my post.

Finally, Please come back every Monday, Wednesday and Friday to see the new Word or phrase to write about. If you are so inclined, there is a signup box in the sidebar of the main page of this blog. This will allow you to get all of my new blog posts as I write them sent directly to your email inbox.