These will be a series of one shots based on story prompts from a book "30 Days of Inspiration." They will all be THG characters in the Panem universe or A/U. It might also include new characters in the Panem universe. Some stories will be short and some will be long. Some might also be multiple chapters. Some will be good and I'm sure some won't. They will all be first drafts without editing except for spelling and grammar. Some will be comic, some dramatic, some tragic, some mysterious and some even mundane.
This is a writing exercise so please review with that in mind. And constructive criticism will be welcome and appreciated. If you think a story should be expanded on let me know.
If you want a copy of the book "30 Days of Inspiration" in PDF PM or Email me. See my profile.
The Apartment
Today is the first day in our new apartment. It is on the first story of a small apartment house. There are about 10 apartments in the building. It's got a mix of tenants from what I've seen. Some are couples but some are singles. The apartment has one bedroom. A small bathroom and a large room that is living room, dining area and kitchen. The appliances are fairly new but the cabinets have been here for a while. You can tell by the amount of paint on them. And we added a layer on top. The past color was pink. Hot Pink! Who has a pink kitchen?
All of our furniture is here and we have a ton of boxes to unpack. Clothing, dishes, nick-nacks. It's amazing how much we've acquired in a year of living together. "It's too late to unpack. Let's just make the bed and go to sleep. Okay?" Peeta wants to unpack now but I blink my baby browns at him. "Okay. We'll start in the morning."
We position the bed in the spot where we'll want it and make the bed. I change into my oversized New York Jets jersey that is just long enough to cover my butt. Peeta frowns. It was given to me by a Jets player I was dating while Peeta and I were on a "break." I wear it because it's comfortable and I can tease Peeta by stretching so he just catches a glimpse of my rear. When he sees it I can hear him take a deep breath. That's when I know it worked. He climbs into bed and I follow him.
I bought new cotton sheets for our new apartment and they feel so comfortable against my skin. He looks me deep into the eye and says "Welcome home." I smile. Yup this is ours. Our first apartment as a married couple. For the last year we lived together. I was really just an add-on to his bachelor pad. But this place is ours. We lay down.
On one hand I really want to have sex but on the other I'm really tired. I think about this for a moment and decide that if Peeta makes the first move we can have sex but if he doesn't that's okay. I lay there waiting for him to make the first move. Umm, something is not right. He always wants to have sex. And I'm wearing my oversized New York Jets jersey that just covers my butt and I stretched to tease him and he's not making the first move. I call out his name. Nothing. I lean on my arm and look at him. Shit, he's sleeping. Damn, just when I was all ready for him. Oh well he was tired. I guess sleep is important.
I get under the covers and lay there. I start to drift off when I hear the rumbling off in the distance. It sounds like a truck. That's odd, this usually is a pretty quiet neighborhood at night. It is now getting louder. I sit up in the bed and listen. Whatever it is getting closer. It is not only getting louder I can feel the bed vibrating. What is this? I get out of bed and I stand on the floor. I can feel the vibrations which have now turned into rumblings. Geez, it feels like the building is shaking. The sound is getting louder. I walk over to the window and look. I can see a light off in the distance coming towards us. Just a single bright light getting bigger and bigger. The floor is now shaking and I can see the hanging lamp in the corner over the desk swaying. If we lived in California I say this is an earthquake. But we don't and this is going on too long.
The light is so bright now it's lighting up our bedroom. "Peeta" I call out. He doesn't answer. "Peeta!" I call again. Still nothing. I jump into bed as the floor rumbles and the light gets brighter. So much it looks like daytime in here. The bed is starting to move by itself across the floor. I grab the headboard and I can see it moving away from the wall. Oh my God what is happening? The noise is building. Suddenly a fog horn goes off. One loud blast after another. Then another. The rumbling is so intense I'd have to raise my voice to be heard. Now the clacking starts. Clack clack. Clack clack. Clack clack. Over and over and over. Oh God when will it end. I lay back on the vibrating bed. In cheap hotels they charge for this. But unfortunately this is not a cheap hotel but our there at least it ends.
This doesn't. Clack clack. Clack clack. At least the room isn't lite up anymore. But the room is still shaking. The fog horn blows again but this time it is off in the distance. And the clack clacks have stopped. It has passed. It is now going away. It's all off in the distance. I get up and the vibrating has stopped. I walk over to the window and see the red lights off in the distance moving away from us. I hear rustling in the bed and I see Peeta turn over. "Hey what are you doing up?" He asks me. I turn and look at him. "Didn't you hear that?" "Hear what? I was asleep until you got outta bed and woke me." He rolls over and goes back to sleep. I can't believe he slept through that and I wake him when I get out of bed.
The next morning I get up and go outside to get the morning paper. "Good morning" I say to one of my new neighbors. "Good morning" she replies. "I have a question. How often does the train go by?" I ask her. "The train?" "Yes the train I heard last night." "There are no train tracks near here." She just shakes her head and walks away. How could she not hear that. I walk around the building and into the woods. The only thing back here is more woods and a swampy area. There are no train tracks.
I hope you enjoyed the first of 30 short story one shots.
