NYCM Prompts
Genre: Horror | Action: Collecting rainwater | Word: path
[Round 2: did not place]
Drip, drip, drip. Raindrops trickle down the gutter, filling the rotund water butts inch by inch. Humming a tuneless melody, I inspect each one, marvelling at the droplets bejewelling the transparent tops.
One is opaque; clouded by a waxy film. I spy a shadowy mass beneath. It will need emptying.
Pursing my lips, I move to the next. Wide eyes stare up, mouth trembling in a sob, palms pressed flat. “I’m sorry,” she mouths. “Please.”
I shake my head sorrowfully. What can I do? The path was well-marked: “No Trespassing: Risk of Drowning”. They can’t say I didn’t warn them.
C.A. Raine 