Dolores Esteban

A gravitational wave sweeps the USS Explorer to the star system 55 Cancri. The crew detects a deserted alien airport on a planet in the habitable zone. The planet, however, is not deserted. A young native and a stranded alien crew spots the arrival of the spaceship from Earth. Unsettling events follow. Will the humans ever return to Earth?

15. A poltergeist is a type of ghost or spirit that is responsible for physical disturbances, such as loud noises and objects being moved or destroyed.

The second image tempted me to continue my story. 🤗 ------------------ Description: Rocks and pebbles, heaps of tiny grayish things, looking organic, resembling eggs Blurb: Approching the stairs to the ancient monument, Spencer sees heaps of grayish things, seemingly pebbles but actually dead and discarded eggs. He knows there are more eggs, dormant and live, in the god's underground facility. Spencer's going to find them. ------------------ Scene: Spencer followed a barely visible path through the tropical forest. He saw rocks and pebbles, heaps of tiny grayish things everywhere near the path. They looked like pebbles from a beach, but Spencer knew they were eggs. The natives had told him. The eggs, scattered about under the bushes and ferns, were dead and discarded, but he knew there were more eggs, dormant and live, cryopreserved in a hall under the ground. The breeding facility was not far from the factory. The natives hadn't seen the hall since the monument had come down in the age of the war, a mere couple of centuries after the god's arrival on Earth. The gods had left and the place had become the home of a wild beast. It growled from the depths incessantly. Spencer knew better. He reached the stairs to the ancient platform. The hum and buzz of the pumps and machines was deafening now. The entrance to the facility was on the platform, within his reach and no longer protected by the god's monument. Spencer climbed the stairs. He didn't see the figure looking down at him.

This is my final version. I changed the first paragraph a couple of times, but ultimately returned to the first draft. I changed the following lines, however. ----------------- Smoke was hanging over the pond. He was wading through the water. Spencer looked up, shielding his eyes. He had reached the platform built in antediluvian times. 12,000 years ago, the platform, now crumbled, had been the base of a giant monument. Spencer heard the sound that the legends spoke of, the hum and buzz of pumps and machines, mistaken for the growl of a beast by the natives. The noise was coming from the depths, from under the ground. Spencer shuddered. The factory of the gods had never stopped working. A lizard with iridescent skin stared at him from the edge of the pond. The natives called it The Watcher, the obedient servant of the masters. They feared the creature. They said the gods had created it in their image. The lizard stared at Spencer with an unblinking eye, then disappeared into the lush vegetation.

Thanks! 😲 It was a real challenge. I had to bring myself to write it and I think the result is horrible. Give it a try. Add more adjectives and adverbs. It will definitelx add to the creepiness of the cemetry scene,...in a sense. 🤧

I added more than fifty adjectives and adverbs. I think it ruined the scene. I actually feel embarrassed to post this. ------------------- A large cloud of black smoke was hanging over the wide, dried-out fields and the ornamental small pond. He was wading slowly through the shallow, blue and clear water. Warily, Spencer looked up, shielding his eyes. He had finally reached the steep stairs to the large platform that had been built in antediluvian times. 12,000 years ago, the ancient platform, now decayed, crumbled and forgotten, had been the base of a giant, splendorous and alien monument. Spencer heard the loud sound that the old legends spoke of, the strange, whirring hum and the deafening, roaring buzz of vast pumps and monstrous machines, mistaken for the threatening growl of a wild beast by the fearful, gullible natives. The horrible noise was coming from the dreadful depths, deep from under the ground. Spencer shuddered, feeling startled, terrified and very scared. The ancient factory of the mighty and powerful gods had never fully stopped working. 　 A big, black crow crossed the grayish sky slowly and finally settled quietly on the ancient stairs. Spencer stared warily, feeling intimidated and scared. The black bird was obviously an aerial drone. It turned its single eye directly at him.

I picked Scenario 2. ------------------------------------------------------- 　 　 A cloud of smoke was hanging over the fields and the pond. He was wading through the water. Spencer looked up, shielding his eyes. He had reached the stairs to the platform that had been built in antediluvian times. 12,000 years ago, the platform, now crumbled, had been the base of a giant monument. Spencer heard the sound that the legends spoke of, the hum and buzz of pumps and machines, mistaken for the growl of a beast by the natives. The noise was coming from the depths, from under the ground. Spencer shuddered. The factory of the gods had never stopped working. 　 A crow crossed the sky and settled on the stairs. Spencer stared. The bird was a drone. It directed its eye on him.

Congratulations!

True. I"ll add it to my story ideas collection for NaNoWriMo 2018. Thanks for reading and commenting.

I rewrote a poem. Hyperspace

Prefix: hyper Word-forming element meaning "over, above, beyond," and often implying "exceedingly, to excess," from Greek hyper (prep. and adv.) "over, beyond, overmuch, above measure," from PIE root *uper "over." Root word: agere to lead, go, to set in motion, drive, drive forward, to travel through or over, to steer or direct, to plot the course for, to make one's way on or through (navigate, navigator, navigation; avigation; aerial navigation) Hyperspace Deep

Congratulations! 🎈🌝🌺

I tend to overuse the word 'look'. I sometimes must delete whole pargraphs, because nothing happens. The characters just look here, there, up, back and around, and at each other

Laptop usually and for longer stories. I use my tablet for flash fiction, single chapters, poems and story ideas and then transfer everything to my laptop.

Thank you. Glad you liked the piece.

Thank you! I'm glad you liked the result of my experiment, too.

I liked this story very much.

Out of Bounds This was a sad situation on the eve of our gay pride celebration. It was a blustery winter eve, the sun was sinking into slumber and in the town square, people were gathering for a meeting. Here, chance meetings and encounters create a mood where anything can happen, even murder. We have laws on murder, but, tragically, we still have murders and killings in this country. The affairs of the town, the country and the outside world means little to them. The site is outsi

A poem came to my mind: I looked at the skyline of New York City, The towers proud and erect in the morning sun. "Yes," I said. My heart filled with longing. "I answered your call and the darkness is gone." -------------------------------------- My sentences: The day started bad. I woke up with a headache. The day was cold and gray. Rain was falling down and thick, gray clouds made me feel bad and sad. I felt even worse when I thought of you and your silly excuses. They had caused me a headache and made me feel bad.

I started posting short stories elsewhere 15 years ago. I was scared and I remember I couldn't cope well with negative comments. I learned, however, that negative feedback is mostly constructive. Readers usually just point out story flaws. GA encouraged me to write longer stories and try different routes. Unfortunately, I experienced a series of personal attacks a couple of years ago and the experience keeps me from posting more to GA. I didn't stop writing completely, although I write less than ten years ago because real life is just too demanding. However, I don't publish everything I write anymore and I write more for myself now, just like in the early years of my writing. It's a positive development after all, I think. Writers should listen to their heart and write what they want, regardless of other's opinions. The feedback I received is, of course, mostly positive and constructive and I'm happy that people liked what I wrote.

I posted mine. It's short.

Beatles fanfinction, a series of flash stories and a collaboration with a friend, typed on a typewriter.

I found a lot of inspiration in writing found poetry. I wrote a short story and a novella based on ideas coming from found poetry.

It sounds interesting.

I have one, too. Man behind machete attack plan at gay pride event detained in hospital