As you may know, Keith Channing has taken the month of November to craft another Na-No-Wri-Mo 50,000 word novel. So again today I am promptless. GP Cox came up with a solution. He more or less said, “Why don’t you point a finger at a spot in a book and use that as a prompt.” He recalled a prompt on a Steam of Conscious Saturday where Linda Hill proscribed just that prompt method.
So thank you, GP Cox. Here it goes. I am opening The Investigators by W.E.B. Griffin to page 187. I point my finger and land on the sentence, “Will somebody be coming back?”
Coming Back by John W. Howell © 2018
“This is for your own good.”
“Yeah, where have I heard that before?”
“I’m serious. The government has spent a lot of money customizing your punishment.”
“All I did was borrow a few funds. I was going to pay them back.”
“Unfortunately you didn’t quite get around to that part did you?”
“Well, if I hadn’t been arrested I could have earned enough to pay everyone.”
“Earned you say? Don’t you mean to steal from others to pay the oldest debts?”
“Aw come on. That’s a Ponzi scheme, and I had nothing to do with that kind of scam.”
“No, your scam was much purer. You just took people’s money with no intention of paying them.”
“So what do you care. You are just a jailer is all.”
“I think you missed the point that the judge was trying to make.”
“I guess so. Just what point was that?”
“The judge felt you needed some time alone to contemplate the seriousness of your crimes.”
“Ha. So he made you my conscience?”
“I think your conscience is your own.”
“What do you mean?”
“How long have you been separated from human contact?”
“You must be crazy. We just got to this God-forsaken island. We just crossed that body of water.”
“Just? Think about it?”
“Aw, none of your holier than thou mind games now. We just got here.”
“Do you have a calendar?”
“Yeah, that was part of my supply kit issued back at the prison.”
“Look at it.”
“Why? It’s blank.”
“You sure?”
“Alright to make you happy I’ll look. Wait, what year is it?”
“2156.”
“That’s what this calendar says. It’s wrong. We got here today and the year is 2119.”
“Look at the days you marked off.”
“There are thousands.”
“Yes, there are. It is time for me to go.”
“No, don’t go.”
“I must. You now are aware. You must make peace with your destiny.”
“Will somebody be coming back? Hey, wait. Hello. You still here?”
Fiction Favorites 
That’s one way to punish an immortal.
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It is for sure. Thank you, Charles.
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Solitary confinement without end. If there is a Hell, that must be it.
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The fact that he spen so many years not knowing and now faces the reality alone is double hell.
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Thanks for giving me credit for this prompt, John, but it’s your ingenuity that makes it come alive.
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*Blush. Thank you, GP.
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Nicely done, John. Great suggestion, GP!
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Thank you, Jill.
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Love it! 😀 Great prompt idea, and so well done, John. Have a terrific Tuesday. Hugs.
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Thank you, Teagan. Hugs
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Masterful job on the prompt, John. Truly frightening situation. Perhaps well-deserved, but still scary – just the way you like it.
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It is in my wheelhouse for sure, Dan. Thank you. 😀
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Neat setup. Might have legs to become a longer story.
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I was thinking the same thing. Thanks, Craig.
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My goodness, what a scary predicament. You nailed this one, John. 😀
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Can you imagine? Thank you, Gwen. 😀
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It is amazing how common that is….. [snarf] 🙂 🙂 🙂
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I imagine you’ve seen it many times.
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Well done, John. They say solitary is hell.
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I can only imagine.
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Chilling punishment, too bad he still didn’t get it.
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Yes, Too bad. Maybe next year.
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What a great take on your “prompt” (I must admit that is a great idea to get your creative juices going).
As for the punishment, I can tell you that solitary confinement works for me. My mother once punished me for biting (what? It’s a great defence!) by making me stay in my yard and no friends could come over and I couldn’t go anywhere. Was hell! And worked. Well sorta. If I’m stuck, with no other way out, I STILL bite
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I can imagine that bite would hurt too. Thanks, Dale
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Ha ha! Mayhaps…
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LOL
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“Make peace with your destiny…” Those are not words an isolated prison wants to hear, 🙂 Great one, John!
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Thak you, Jan. 🙂
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John,
I was hearkening back to Burt Lancaster’s turn in “Birdman of Alcatraz” with this one. Coupled with Tom Hanks and his buddy Wilson.
Brilliant construct, matey.
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Thanks, Marc. Now that you mention it those two examples are excellent.
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You always make me ponder, in the most intellectual of senses.
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😀
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Reblogged this on ReBirth: The Pursuit of Porsha.
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