Welcome to the fifth week of the Spring Writing Challenge!
You all did so well with your stories last week! There were so many interesting and unique ways you interpreted the prompt. It’s now the fifth week, so it’s time to do it again! Will your story have fairies? Time travel? Ghosts?! Whatever you decide, we can’t wait to see what you come up with.
So, without further ado, here’s your next prompt!
Week Five Prompt – The Sentence Prompt
Write a story that includes the following sentence:
Needless to say, this wasn’t the first time…
Wait…what’s a sentence prompt?
A sentence prompt is a prompt that uses a particular sentence. It doesn’t matter where your story takes place, who’s in it, or what’s said. The only thing that matters is that your story must include the sentence, “Needless to say, this wasn’t the first time.”
Before you start writing, we have some important rules for you to follow.
Writing Rules
1. Please keep the content of the stories you post to a PG rating. Please avoid real curse words. Violence/fighting should be limited and purposeful. Please do not include any spice.
2. Your story must be 1,000 words or less, and must contain the prompt to be counted for the challenge. You’re not required to post it in order to “win” the challenge, but if you want it to count for your team, your story must be posted by Sunday at 11:59 PM ET, and you must include your team name.
Remember to scroll all the way to the bottom of the page and post your story as an “answer” to this question, not a “comment”. 🙂 You’re all doing such a great job! I’m so proud of all the stories you’ve posted.
Happy Writing!
AGENT by Andy Morisseau – Team A
I woke up on a jail cell floor with a pounding headache and a mouth as dry as sandpaper. Needless to say, this wasn’t the first time. The cops could never tell the good guys from the bad, and I’d be stuck here until the field office could sort everything out. Working for AGENT had its drawbacks, even if they’d made me a superhero.
A metal door opened at the end of the corridor, and a man in a suit sauntered toward my cell, Field Supervisor Harris. I ran a hand through my wavy dark hair in a futile attempt to look presentable. A buzzer sounded, and my cell door swung open. I stepped out to meet the boss.
“Did you have to blow up the bridge, Pierce?” Harris asked.
I shrugged. “I got the plutonium back, didn’t I?”
Harris shook his head. “Come on. I’ll let you explain it to the board yourself.”
I followed my boss out of the cellblock into a garage where a black company car waited. Saving the world was a surprisingly thankless job. The bureaucrats would take credit for stopping the terrorists while blaming me for that tiny little hiccup. It wasn’t my fault the gas tanker got in the way of my phase pistol.
“I’ve got another assignment for you.” Harris opened his car door. “Just be more careful this time.”
I got into the passenger side. “Already? I haven’t even recovered from the last one.”
Harris crinkled his nose as we settled into the vehicle. “You haven’t bathed either, but there’s no time for that.” He punched a code into the in-car computer. A compartment opened up, revealing a tube filled with blue liquid. “Here, take your serum.”
I downed the vial in one gulp. It burned like cheap booze and tasted like paint thinner, but the headache went away instantly. I’d be ready to fight a grizzly bear in a few minutes. “So, what’s the mission?”
“Do you remember the device that went missing from R&D a few weeks ago?”
“That mind probe thing? Yeah, what about it?”
“The Washington office has located it and needs it extracted, intact if possible.”
“Where is it?”
“In the gold vault of the Federal Reserve Bank.”
I eyed Harris, expecting him to crack a joking grin. Instead, he stared ahead as he pulled out of the garage. My jaw dropped open. “You’re serious?”
“They’ve given this top priority and authorized lethal force.”
“You want me to stroll into the most secure building in the world and raid the vault?”
“Precisely.”
I laughed. Even for AGENT, this mission was crazy. “If it’s at the Federal Reserve Bank, why don’t they just access it themselves?”
“It appears the thieves have someone on the inside. Washington doesn’t want to risk tipping them off.”
“So, who stole it?”
“That’s on a need-to-know basis.”
I groaned. These sorts of missions were the worst—walking into the hornet’s nest blind.
“Don’t worry, they’ve delegated an assist team to help once you’ve secured the item. I’ll be supervising directly.”
“You just need me to break in and steal it, then?”
“Very astute, Mr. Pierce. I understand what the director sees in you now.”
I frowned. “No need to be smart. I just wish they’d give me more to go on.”
“You have my condolences.” Harris handed me an earpiece. “You’ll need this.”
Thirty minutes later, Harris dropped me two blocks from the behemoth Federal Reserve Bank. The massive structure reminded me of a medieval fortress. The plan was painfully simple. Blow a hole in the side, fight to the vault, break in, and steal the device. What could go wrong?
“You’re green to go,” Harris said into my earpiece.
With a sigh, I marched toward the building. At the late hour, no one noticed when I dropped a package against the wall and fled up the block. The C4 exploded, setting off a deafening alarm and leaving a gaping hole in the bank’s side. I rushed forward through the dust and debris.
A host of armed guards scurried toward the breach. I sprinted past them into a hail of bullets. My titanium super skeleton protected me, but I still felt every shot. I fired back with my phase pistol, hitting several of the guards with perfect precision. Though I was authorized to kill, I’d set my weapon to stun. I was no murderer.
Leaving the guards in my wake, I darted toward the central vault. When I arrived, I placed another C4 package at the base and ran for cover. The explosion shook the ground, shaking up a massive dust cloud and shutting off the lights.
“Did you access the vault?” Harris asked through the earpiece.
I shone the light from my watch into the darkness. The massive vault door had blown off. Inside, a sea of gold coins glimmered. “Affirmative.”
“Good, we’ll be there soon.”
I rushed into the vault. Everywhere I looked, there was nothing but gold—no sign of a stolen device or a security box to store it in. “I can’t find it,” I said through the headset.
“We’re coming, Pierce. Just stand by.”
Gunshots rang out from down the corridor. A moment later, Harris appeared, flanked by two men I’d never seen before. I curled my brow in confusion. Why would they send new officers on such a serious mission?
“It’s not here,” I said.
“That’s alright, Mr. Pierce. You still got us into the vault. Thank you.”
“But I didn’t find the device.”
Harris gave me a sinister laugh. “You were always brave, but not the sharpest member of AGENT.” He pulled a phase pistol from his belt and trained it on me.
“Harris, what are you doing?” I raised my hands and gasped.
“Retiring, Mr. Pierce. Goodbye.” He fired. I shrieked in pain and fell to the floor as the world turned black. My super skeleton could never resist the massive voltage, and Harris must have assumed I was dead. How wrong he was.
Auughh, don’t leave us here!! This needs to be turned into a whole novel!
I agree with Hannah, don’t leave us here! I need to know what happens next.
So much action in 1,000 words!
I’d read that book.
TEAM A
SUSAN BY ADELAIDE RIGGS
Near the local dirt road in a lush field, there was an abundant variety of grasses, wild flowers, and small creatures. All who dwelled here lived their lives with simplicity and gratitude. This included Susan, a beautiful flower whose color reminded everyone of a ripe summer lemon (but she was not quite so sour).
One morning, Susan was in the clearing enjoying a soft breeze when suddenly the air rapidly changed direction. Fragile as she was, Susan fell on her face, unable to get up. Panicking, she tried calling for help but the ground muffled her voice. Susan was helpless.
Just a minute later, a tiny, round old woman wearing a bright red cloak with black polka dots came into the clearing. It was Mrs. Dotty! She noticed the girl laying on the ground.
“Oh my!” exclaimed Mrs. Dotty as she hurried over to Susan. “What ever happened to you, dear?”
“I fell and ca-can’t move,” replied Susan quietly. “Could you he-help me?” Then she began to cry.
“Yes, yes of course! Be patient my dear. I’ll go as fast as I’m able to the house of Dr. Chippy.” And with that, Mrs. Dotty turned and quickly scuttled away, her red cloak fluttering behind her.
Susan was alone again, and very anxious. She wondered if she would never rise to see the blue sky again. Despite these thoughts, she tried to focus on her respiration. After what felt like months, she heard a pitter-patter, and out from the tall grass appeared Dr. Chippy with little Mrs. Dotty riding on his back.
“There she is, Doctor!” said Mrs. Dotty, pointing with one hand while the other five hung on tight. Needless to say, this wasn’t the first time he had been summoned, however this was the first time he had dealt with little old woman riding on his back.
“I see, I see! Please do not yell, you’re already near enough to my ear!” replied the doctor. Dr. Chippy was tall, dapper, orderly man, with a decent amount of good humor. They approached Susan.
“Hello?” asked the girl.
“Hello! So sorry about your condition. I’m Dr. Chippy, and we will help you get up.” These words made Susan feel better.
“Pardon, but where is the other one?” inquired Mrs. Dotty.
“Well, Perk should have been behind us. Excuse me for a second.” The doctor filled his cheeks and gave a couple sharp whistles.
In a moment, a boy appeared next to them. He looked rather lofty, and had a smirk on his round face. Mrs. Dotty jumped up and landed in a ball, her arms and legs tucked in.
“Perk!” said the doctor sternly as his son began to laugh. “This is a serious matter. I did not ask you to come along to play games!” Susan thought it was quite funny, but would have enjoyed it more if it weren’t for the condition she was in.
“Ok, let’s get to it,” said the motivated doctor. “Madam, you fetch some water from the brook and grab some witch hazel on your way back. Perk, you’ll need to climb onto my shoulders so we can lift this poor girl up.” Immediately Mrs. Dotty flew down the hill to complete her orders.
Just as Perk was about to climb upon his father’s back, Dr. Chippy noticed a break in Susan’s back. “Oh my, we will need some long grass to bind that wound. Got it, Perk?” “Sure, dad!”
Overhearing the doctor’s concern, Susan’s nerves were on the rise. “A-am I going to be OK?”
“I believe you’re going to be just fine,” consoled the doctor.
Perk made quick work of gathering some long grass and wasted no time in hopping up onto his father’s shoulders. They worked together to lift Susan up off the ground and stand her upright, Dr. Chippy encouraging Susan throughout the process.
Mrs. Dotty arrived not a moment too soon with the water and witch hazel, the latter of which was applied to Susan’s fracture.
In a jiffy Dr. Chippy had bound her wound with the green bandage and all was well.
“Oh, thank you all! I feel so much better, except it feels like my eye might be bruised,” said Susan.
“Well miss,” Dr. Chippy responded, “it does look pretty dark.”
“Black, I’d say,” added Mrs. Dotty.
Dr. Chippy applied the witch hazel to Susan’s bruise, but it did not seem to work.
“I’m sorry, but there is not much else I can do. What’s your name, miss?”
“Susan.”
“Susan,” Dr. Chippy looked her in the face. “Your black eye is beautiful.”
“Black eyed Susan.” said Mrs. Dotty….