Prompt 13

       The grumble of a car's engine coming up the road made Whitney wince.
       He listend as the car slowed to a stop at his side. Glancing over, he saw the window of a rusty blue pickup truck being rolled down.
       "Need a ride, son?" the man driving the truck asked.
       Whitney shook his head and the man's eyebrows went up.
       "The nearest town is fifty miles away, in the opposite direction, and you're in a desert with no supplies, from the look of it,"
       "I know,"
       "And you don't want a ride?"
       "No,"
       The man in the truck stared at Whitney in surprise.
        "Why not?"
       "I'm out here for a purpose,"
       "Which is?"
       Whitney turned to give the man a serious look. 
       "I'm dangerous. Don't ask me how, I won't tell you. I'm out here because to save the world, I need to die,"

How will Whitney dying save the world?

Will the man in the truck let Whitney stay in the desert to die?

Why is Whitney so calm about dying?

You decide.

Prompt 12

       "Officer, we have a problem,"
       Officer Benwitt looked up from his paperwork. "We always have some sort of problem, Mitchell. What is it this time?"
       "We, uh, found that missing vehicle that was reported missing two days ago,"
       "That's a problem?"
       "Yes. Er, no. The problem is the place we actually found the vehicle,"
       "And that was?"
       "Off McKinnon Cliff,"
       "That's not much of a problem, either. A bit strange, though,"
       "There are bodies in the car," 
        Officer Benwitt sat up straighter. "The thieves?"
       "No. Well, probably not. They're children, see?"
       "Children?"
       "Yeah, but strange ones. Look,"
       Officer Mitchell pulled a photograph out of his pocket. It showed a pair of children, who looked perfectly normal, except...
       "Wings?"

Why do these children have wings?

How did the car get off McKinnon Cliff?

What will Officer Benwitt do about it?

You decide.

Prompt 11

       "This is called a hyponamplyfus and it is used for many different reasons,"
       Cassandra stifled a yawn behind her hand and bent her head closer to her desk, where she had been drawing on the side of the paper on which she was supposed to be taking notes.
       Drowsily, she glanced down at her paper only to blink in shock. Her drawings were moving. Rubbing her eyes, she looked down again. They were still moving.
       "Cassandra, are you okay?"
       Cassandra looked up to see the entire class staring at her.
      "Oh, um, year," she replied, flushing at the sudden attention.
       The lecture began again and Cassandra looked down again at the paper. The dog she had drown had chased the cat on her paper into a corner. The other two animals, a ferret and a snake, watched.
       Hoping no one else had seen, Cassandra folded up her paper and slipped it into her bag, wondering how it was even possible for drawn images to come alive. 
       A loud ripping sound filled the air, then, and suddenly a cat jumped out of Cassandra's bag, followed by a dog, which began to bark loudly and chase the cat.
        Cassandra gaped at them in shock as her class erupted into chaos.

Why did Cassandra's drawings come to life?

What is a hyponamplyfus?

What will happen when the snake and ferret join the cat and dog in running rampant?

You decide.

Prompt 10

       Her hands were restrained in a painful manner as she glared up at the bald man in front of her.
      "And then, you will die," he finally finished his spiel about his evil plans.
       "Oh yes, I'm sure," she replied sarcastically.
       The man, a self proclaimed "evil villain" just smirked at her. "Put her in the dungeons,"
       She rolled her eyes. Dungeons even. Lovely.
       Two of the evil villains' minions pulled her to her feet and pulled her from the room.
       The path to the dungeons was long, but eventually she was pushed into a cell, and her hands were untied. Her cell was made with three solid stone walls, with the forth made out of bars, and waited.
      Sure enough, in a matter of moments, a figure in a black cloak, the hood casting the person's face in shadow, came striding down the corridor.
       The figure spoke to the guard, who left, then turned to her. The hood was lowered, revealing a pale boy with a slight smirk playing on his lips.
        "Had enough yet, Anna? I can take you back to your own world if you just say the word,"

Who is this self proclaimed evil villain?

Why is Anna is a different world than her own?

What powers do the boy in the cloak have?

You decide.

Prompt 9

       "And remember, class, your research essays are due Monday,"
       Trevor wasn't really paying attention to his English teacher, as he was hurriedly packing up his books into his backpack.
       As soon as the bell rang, Trevor was out of his seat and dashing out of the classroom. He had to get out of the school fast. 
       The hallways were mostly empty at first, but they quickly filled with students, all chattering happily, having no idea what was about to come.
       "Hey! Skulinsky!" Trevor paused as a voice called out his name and as the voice, belonging to a boy, came rushing up to him.
       "Not now," Trevor grouched at him, then turned away. To his dismay, the boy followed.
       "What do you want?" Trevor turned to ask.
       The boy stopped. "Mr. Howes is looking for you,"
       Trevor swore under his breath. The last thing he needed was Mr. Howes. "Right,"
        The boy turned away and Trevor continued on his way. He finally made it out of the school. Glancing at his watch, he let out a panicked cry and took off running, not caring which direction he ran, as long as he got away from the school.
       Five seconds left ... four seconds ... three ... two ... one ...
       And then, behind Trevor, the school exploded.

How did Trevor know the school was going to blow up?

Why was the school blown up?

Who is Mr. Howes?

You decide.

Prompt 8

       “Mommy, where’s Daddy?”
       Caroline froze at the innocent question of her three-year-old daughter.
       Blinking rapidly to push away the tears, she turned to face Anna. 
       “Gone, sweetie,”
       Anna considered this. “Gone where?”
       Caroline drew a wavering breath. How did you tell a child that their daddy was never coming home? That he had died?
       “Just gone,”
       Anna looked intently at her. “Is he coming back, Mommy?”
       Caroline held back a sob. “No,”
        Anna pondered this as she left the room again.
       Caroline turned back to cooking the meal, but she could hardly see. Tears had welled up and were now overflowing.
       When the meal was nearly complete, Anna rushed into the room, looking unusually somber.
       “Look it, Mommy,” Anna said, holding an object up for her mother to see.

What does Anna have to show Caroline?

What happened to Anna's daddy?

How will Caroline explain everything to her daughter?

You decide.

Prompt 7

       The grass grew long and stiff, making it thoroughly difficult to march through, particularly to the beat of the steady drumming.
       Edmund spared a tiny glance sideways at his cousin, who had joined the ranks at the same time as himself. He looked very serious, which was quite a change from their childhood days. They had once been the neighborhood menaces. Now, the marched side by side over this harsh land, soldiers for the king.
       A cry from the men ahead of him made Edmund look forward again. Then, he saw hands pointing upward and soldiers stopping to stare. Even the ever-steady drum beat faltered.
       Edmund finally looked up into the sky and his mouth fell open as he gaped at the sight.
       Falling from the sky was a bright light. It was much too big to be a space rock, and upon landing would surely cause great damage.
       "Men! At attention!" the commander barked out, attempting to restore order.
       Very few men obeyed his orders. Edmund was not among those who did. He, instead, continued to watch as the light started to slow, but grew closer to them, as if it were being dragged toward them.
       Even the commander fell quiet as the light touched down on the ground not even fifty feet from them. The light faded and revealed in its midst a spacecraft.
       Everyone held their breath as the door slid open and figure appeared in the lit up doorway. As it walked forward, away from the ship, murmurs broke out. Everyone was able to see who or what it was clearly, and it shocked them.
       Shifting to his right for a better look, Edward gasped in surprise.
       Wearing a blue cotton gown, and with only bare feet, a young girl smiled mischievously over at them.

Who is this young girl?

Why was she in a spacecraft?

What will Edmund and the rest of the men do about her arrival?

You decide.

Prompt 6

       "Hold it steady. Hold it...hold it...swing!"
       A crack filled the air as the ball hit the bat and went flying off toward second base.
       "Run, Tommy, run!" William cried, and his son ran, dropping the bat at his feet.
       William stepped back from home base and surveyed the field. A team of five-year-olds, his son included, were stationed at various positions. Parents stood along the edge of the field, waiting to cheer if their child did anything particularly spectacular or maybe something just average.
       Tommy slid in to first base and stayed there, safe. William, as was his duty at the mild accomplishment, cheered. A multitude of other parents joined in.
       Then, the next kid came up to bat and William moseyed away. 
       "So, you're finally fitting in, Mr. Black?"
       William didn't turn, but replied anyway, "As well as could be expected."
       There was a brief silence, then, "Your talents are needed once again, Mr. Black. Be packed up and gone by five PM tomorrow. We will meet in the usual place,"
       "It will be done," William murmured, though a pang of regret stabbed him. 

What "talents" do Mr. Black have that are needed?

Where will Tommy and his father go to next?

Who is the stranger that called upon Mr. Black?

You decide.

Prompt 5

       A loud bang jerked Leslie from her sleep and her eyes flew open in alarm. The house should have been silent. She was the only occupant.
       Reluctant to leave her warm bed to go out into the brisk winter air, Leslie decided to check on the noise in the morning. She pulled her blanket over her head and attempted to fall back to sleep.
        She had just managed to doze off again when a second bang rang out.
       Groaning in annoyance, Leslie threw her blanket off of her and climbed out of the bed, shivering as the cold air hit her all at once. 
       She stumbled over to the door, cursing as she stubbed her toe on her desk, and fumbled for the light switch. After a few moments, she found it and switched it to the upward position, but the light didn't come on.
       Pausing, Leslie listened hard. She heard the distant hum that the various electrical devices spread throughout the apartment always made.
        "Okay, the power's not out," she muttered to herself.
        Yanking open the door, Leslie made her way through her apartment, testing every light switch.
        None turned on, until she reached the kitchen.
        She tried the switch and light flooded the kitchen. Leslie froze, seeing what was there, then let out a blood-curdling scream.

Why aren't the lights working?

Where did the loud bangs come from?

What did Leslie see in the kitchen?

You decide.

Prompt 4

       The dragon flew above the clouds, relishing the sense of freedom it gave him to be soaring again.
       Perched on his back, however, was his master. He was not free at all. Indeed, he was a prisoner.
       "Fly lower, dragon," his master ordered.
       The dragon was forced to obey. He had already learned the hard way to listen to the commands of his master. He still had scars from his early capture.
       They were below the clouds now, and the dragon could see rolling hills below him. Directly in front of him, where he was flying his master, great mountains rose up. They were the mountains shielding his homeland.
       He felt a pang of sorrow. He had grown up beyond those mountains. His family was still there.
       A fading memory of his two hatchlings wrestling came to his mind. It was the last memory he had of them, before he had left.
       The mountains grew ever closer and as they did, he fought, struggling mentally to severe the bond between him and his master. It was far too late, though. Their bond had been forced by magic, and was, to his knowledge, irreversible.
       'A traitor, that's what I am. A traitor toward dragon kind,' the dragon thought mournfully.
       It was an accurate statement. He was, after all, leading an army to his homeland; one that was set on destroying the wild dragons.

Who is this dragon?

What is the magic that bonds him to his master?

Will the other dragons be ready for the coming army and survive?

You decide.