I wasn’t really going to write today, and then… while streaming I decided you know what… this is what I do, and so I did. And wouldn’t you know it, I ended up with a piece longer than I anticipated! It is amazing how sometimes, even when we don’t really feel like it, just doing it is the answer.
Today’s Prompt: Welcome to the land of Nightmares. Where terror reigns and the only escape is in your wildest dreams.
Today’s Story:
The Escape
It was time. I wanted nothing to do with this sleep project. At first I thought it was easy money. What they didn’t tell you though, was that you would never sleep again. Oh sure, you were technically asleep… drug induced, even. That did not mean you were resting. No.
Instead you were Welcomed to the Land of Nightmares, a sign welcoming you and offering, where terror reigns and the only escape is in your wildest dream. This study… a quick buck, so I could get across to the East Coast and my sister who was waiting for me, who needed my help, was the biggest mistake of my life. They studied your brain patterns as they sent you to another dimension. I don’t know exactly how they had managed to figure out how to send you there, but I do know that there was something sinister and wrong about it all. The orderlies just a little too sadistic, the drs a little too out of reach. Questions that would usually be answered, and seemed to be answered on the surface when I first started, were no longer even bothered with the pretense of an answer.
The others don’t really seem to care. They are sucking down the drugs and falling into exhausted heaps. I don’t know why my metabolism is affected differently, but I have heard the nurses talking to the doctors. They don’t like that the drugs seem to wear off on me much sooner than any of the others.
Today is the day though. If I want to make it out of this situation… I have to do something today. They are supposed to up the drugs tonight, and I don’t know if I can get clear enough of the fog if I let them administer them. Of course, they don’t know I know what they are planing. If only there was a way to save some of the others.
Sliding my jeans on quickly, I grab my gear from the small closet, leaving on the hospital gown, trying to blend in a little. Glancing carefully down the hallway, I watch as a nurse walks into the room at the end of the hall. If I have timed it right, I have around seven minutes to get past that room and out the front doors. Taking a deep breath, I scurry down the hallway, heading for the vending machines at the end, trying to make it look like I am just out for a snack. Ducking down the side hall, I see the front doors, a big desk in front of them. Three nurses standing between me and freedom.
Inching my way carefully down the hall, I try to be as quiet as I can, knowing I will only have a moment to scoot out the doors before they hit the lock down button I see on the desk. Hmm… I wonder how many have tried escaping that they have a lock down button!
No time like the present, I take a deep breath and run for all I am for the doors, sweet freedom bathing my face with the rays of the evening sun, setting on me. I gasp for air as I hit the outside, metal grates sounding behind me with heavy thumps. Knowing they will be coming I run for my car, jumping in I fishtail out of the parking lot, no idea where I am heading, just knowing I need to get away from here.
I wake up with a wail! NUUUUUUUUU.
I hope you enjoyed! More and more I am finding this challenge to be incredible! I encourage you… even for a month, try it out! Or even once a week, take a prompt, even one you find here and just write! Set a timer for 15-20 minutes, and just let the creative juices flow. It is worth every moment! Don’t be shy, share your thoughts, stories, and opinions in the comments below! I love to hear from you. And if you like what you see, I am, in fact, published! If you are interested, please pick up a copy! The anthologies can be found here; MN Emerging Writers and the National Edition!
Random Acts of Writing 
The idea of a fiction cookbook hybrid sounds like a ton of fun! Any particular theme for it you can share?
Oh no I commented on the wrong post. Sorry about that!
No worries!