Ended BYC Writing Prompts! A Short Story Contest

[Lacy Duckwing]

@JustBabyMargo and @Little Baby Bean, come check this contest out!

 

[ColtHandorf]

An example of a different type. The events recounted here are true. ...From a certain point of view.

Not an Entry:

Prompt: Humor/journaling

Title:

"Field Study notes: July 2014."

Day 1:
Arrived at our research target area and found a suitable location to set up camp. Initial reconnaissance of the area indicates that it's very different from our home base and should provide an excellent amount of research data. Aside from setting up, little will be accomplished today due to time constraints.

Day 2:
First full day in this strange place. There are many very tall things with green tops, and it smells like pine air fresheners. Not as hot here, but windy.

The locals are small and wear some kind of uniform clothing. You can distinguish between groups though based on their festive neckwear and what appears to be some kind of numbers on one shoulder. Many of them are incredibly filthy after one day in the wild. Still no power, but there must be a cell tower nearby as I have service.

Day 3:
Windy yesterday. Probably the food the natives fed us. Walked endlessly for miles with no trace of an outlet. Phone dying, soda supplies low. This may be the en-

(Transmission lost)

Day 3 (update):
Posting from a secret location. Discovered that the natives are secretly worshiping some sort of dirt deity. They're constantly filthy and get irate when you try and make them clean up. Managed to find an old car battery and some jumper wire hidden in a storeroom and an old bicycle headlamp generator. Trapped 2 squirrels and have them running in a wheel to turn the generator and charge the battery to charge my phone. Squirrels like marshmallows.

More wind in the forecast. Lunch and dinner were brutal with pasta and chili beans on the menu.

Send Pepsi.

Day 4:
The natives have discovered ranged weapons and have been blasting away at targets, attempting to improve their skills. They seem to have discovered both fire and steel as well, I've seen cooking pots, and some of the smaller ones have been whittling spear points.

They sometimes come near the camp, and we must chase them off with improvised weapons or creativity.

Going out later to find someplace to get clean.

Day 4 (update):
Managed to find a makeshift shower. Unfortunately, the water appears to be coming from the magma chamber in a subterranean volcano. Pretty sure I lost several layers of skin to flash boiling and now know what a lobster feels like in its final seconds.

Found some magic seeds that when heated over a flame, make a tasty treat. Also was able to send a search party for supplies, and now have Pepsi and Dr. Pepper.

Observed some kind of mystical ceremony this evening. The locals put on funny clothes and pulled members of the crowd out to meet what I believe to be their chieftain. He was wearing a lot of feathers. They captured one of my fellows and he was also taken before their leader. We're not sure what happened, but it was evidently so traumatic that he is not able to speak at present. Hopefully tomorrow after some rest we can get some info from him.

They're coming. Must hide.

Day 5:
My colleague was able to talk again after a night's sleep but can tell us very little about what happened to him. He's talking in riddles about ordeals and an order of some kind. We'll have to keep an eye on him and hope he isn't some kind of planted spy.

Lunch today was some kind of local meat in a sauce that vaguely resembled BBQ, with more beans. I'm certain we'll be under a red flag warning later from the wind.

The group of "dirtlings" (as I have come to call them) that have adopted us continue to show progress in crafting, cooking, survival, and marksmanship. They still steadfastly refuse to bathe unless forced, and some of them are quite pungent.

One of my squirrels got away so I must trap another one to charge my phone. More later if I'm successful.

Day 6:
The dirtlings have surrounded us at this point. There seem to be several tribes of them. On our Eastern flank, we have the "swinging squealers", who have tied tires in the trees and spend their days playing on them. To our East are the "tree beaters", who spend their days hitting trees with sticks. To our North are the "tree climbers", who remind us of the jungle cruise at Disneyland where the rhinos chase the guys up the tree. Further to our west are the "tether-dirtlings", who think it's a good idea to swing on an old flagpole and rope. They must all be related, one of the words we have deciphered is "brother", mostly because they call each other that a lot. There's another word we think might be "elder", some sort of term for the older leaders of the dirtling bands.

We are having a campfire tonight and many of the dirtling tribes will attend. Tensions are running a bit high, as we do not know how aggressive they may become.

We've lost a member of our group. He went on a scouting mission this morning and has not been seen since. We heard a helicopter and suspect he may have deserted.

Morale is low, he may only be the first.

Day 6 (update):
The campfire program was unexpectedly entertaining. We had another team arrive early with their dirtlings and when comparing notes, we saw a lot of common behaviors emerge, which validates our research somewhat.

Many of the dirtling tribes arrived at about the same time (approximately 15 minutes late) and offered no real reasons why. Some of the tribes performed little entertainments for us, and then we were invited for a frozen treat at their food hall to cap the evening.

We will be loading up tomorrow and returning home. We are planning on returning with 18 of the more advanced and skilled dirtlings and will observe them further over time to see how their skills increase.

(End of the journal)

Question:

Were Day 1, Day 2, etc., included in the word count? Or just the text of the entries themselves?

 

[ColtHandorf]

Question:

Were Day 1, Day 2, etc., included in the word count? Or just the text of the entries themselves?

Nevermind. I've trimmed it down.

 

[azurbanclucker]

Question:

Were Day 1, Day 2, etc., included in the word count? Or just the text of the entries themselves?

I included them in my word count. This was originally about 1245 words but I trimmed it to just under 1000

 

[ColtHandorf]

First Entry - **Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to any Universal intellectual properties, including Jurassic Park, The Lost World and other associated media.

Genre: Journaling/Science Fiction

Title: Site B – International Genetic Technologies – Caldwell, Greyson E. – Biological Notes and Memoir


Thursday, June 13, 1989

The Jurassic Park Incident has rocked the Site B facility on Isla Sorna to its core. So many people and animals were lost. InGen has not given us any information regarding the future of the company. Discussions about repairing the damage from the tropical storm and Nedry’s sabotage of the computers have trickled down to the staff on Site B.

Management has ordered that we continue with our daily jobs. Hammond has stated that Jurassic Park Europe, in the Azores, and Japan, near Guam, will proceed as planned next year. To fill the new parks, more animals will need to be bred. Wu is on-site and leading the efforts in the lab. He’s working diligently to restore more species than we have now, with Laura Sorkin and Charlotte Lockwood assisting.

The integration of the juvenile triceratops with the main herd went well. The large adults need little convincing to adopt the younger animals. Management approved the release of guinea fowl to control external parasites on the dinosaurs. All three species have been released in environments chosen through surveys. The oxpeckers and cattle egrets are expected to arrive next week.


Wednesday, July 26, 1989

Jurassic Park wasn’t the only place the dinosaurs were breeding. Once we learned of the breeding on Nublar, we modified our search parameters. Thankfully the sauropods and most carnivores aren’t old enough to breed. Wu is delighted that he’s managed to recreate an extinct organism well enough that it can replicate itself and disgusted that his creations outsmarted him.

I’ve paired the tyrannosaurs, previously separated for aggression, who seem to be forming pair bonds, a much better outcome than the bloodbath I had to deal with when they were together last.


Friday, August 18, 1989

Hammond was on-site today to try and raise morale. It’s hard to feel good about the company’s future when you can see the worry in his eyes. Rumors about lawsuits and payoffs to families and the Costa Rican government have spread through the staff. Most of us still believe in our work despite the incident. After all, sabotage caused the problems in Jurassic Park, not flaws inherent in the system like Ian Malcolm would have everyone believe.


Monday, September 4, 1989

National Weather Services are tracking another tropical storm. The one that hit Nublar missed us. They predict this might get strong enough to be a hurricane as it moves across the Pacific.

One of the vet technicians devised an idea for keeping up with the young carnotaurus. The little abelisaurids can change the color of their hide to an ability we’ve not witnessed in vertebrates. The refractory period is fast, like an octopus. We’ve painted their toenails hot pink. It has certainly helped us keep track of them in their nursery pen.

Oxpeckers and cattle egrets have been released. They and the newly released guineas have been observed eating ticks, using the dinosaurs as immense feeding platforms.


Friday, September 8, 1989

Hurricane Clarissa has strengthened to Category 5. Management in Palo Alto has ordered Site B evacuation to prevent additional loss of life and minimize property damage. The facility isn’t in danger of losing electricity with geothermal power, but we aren’t equipped to deal with a storm of this magnitude. Fences could go down, and the animals could breach the main compound.

All animals old enough to be in the “wild” have been released. We can gather them later when we return to the island to ship them to the parks. InGen has pushed the time for evacuation as close to the storm hitting Sorna as they dare.

I’m working on transferring observation and developmental data to external storage with Harding. Wu and the geneticists are backing up all the genome libraries to have a backup in Palo Alto. Embryos are being stored off-site in secure locations as a precaution.

The animals seem to sense the approaching storm and are more excitable and nervous than usual. Landfall is predicted in less than 18 hours.


Monday, September 11, 1989

Hurricane Clarissa hit us harder than the rumor of InGen’s bankruptcy. The evacuation was a disaster. InGen arrived late, and loading personnel and the various assets under the impending storm took longer. The jet made it off the runway, and we presume to the mainland. The smaller plane crashed into the Pacific – there were no survivors. The two helicopters were grounded and damaged beyond repair during the storm. There are 11 of us here; the two pilots, two from the veterinarian staff, including myself, the senior physician of the medical clinic, two animal handlers, a mechanical engineer, a computer technician, and two general workers.

We’ve surveyed the perimeter fence and found it undamaged. The geothermal plant is still active. Most power has been rerouted to essential buildings and the electric fence around the compound. We are trapped in this lost world. We expect Ingen to return for us in the next few days.


Sunday, September 17, 1989

Nearly a week, and they still haven’t come back. Since the storm, we’ve inventoried all foodstuff and medical supplies. The fences containing the animals that weren’t damaged by the storm have failed due to power conservation - all the dinosaurs can move freely and interact with one another. We’ve kept the camera network online to monitor the animals. All the livestock imported to feed the carnivores have been released outside the fence to prevent attracting them to us.


Thursday, October 5, 1989

InGen choppers have flown over three times in the last two weeks. They have not landed.


Monday, September 10, 1990

InGen has not returned to the island. InGen doesn’t make your future; they abandon it.

The Worker Village remains secure against the wild dinosaurs. We’ve begun gardening to supplement the non-perishable food that is running low. One of the animal handlers is pregnant with a Christmas baby.

Sooner or later, someone will come. A Nobel Prize or a financial empire awaits in a dirty, derelict building somewhere in the Pacific.

 

[ColtHandorf]

Good lord, 1000 words is an annoying cap. I had to be a clever wordsmith, indeed.

 

[Shabby Chic-Hens]

First Entry - **Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to any Universal intellectual properties, including Jurassic Park, The Lost World and other associated media.

Genre: Journaling/Science Fiction

Title: Site B – International Genetic Technologies – Caldwell, Greyson E. – Biological Notes and Memoir


Thursday, June 13, 1989

The Jurassic Park Incident has rocked the Site B facility on Isla Sorna to its core. So many people and animals were lost. InGen has not given us any information regarding the future of the company. Discussions about repairing the damage from the tropical storm and Nedry’s sabotage of the computers have trickled down to the staff on Site B.

Management has ordered that we continue with our daily jobs. Hammond has stated that Jurassic Park Europe, in the Azores, and Japan, near Guam, will proceed as planned next year. To fill the new parks, more animals will need to be bred. Wu is on-site and leading the efforts in the lab. He’s working diligently to restore more species than we have now, with Laura Sorkin and Charlotte Lockwood assisting.

The integration of the juvenile triceratops with the main herd went well. The large adults need little convincing to adopt the younger animals. Management approved the release of guinea fowl to control external parasites on the dinosaurs. All three species have been released in environments chosen through surveys. The oxpeckers and cattle egrets are expected to arrive next week.


Wednesday, July 26, 1989

Jurassic Park wasn’t the only place the dinosaurs were breeding. Once we learned of the breeding on Nublar, we modified our search parameters. Thankfully the sauropods and most carnivores aren’t old enough to breed. Wu is delighted that he’s managed to recreate an extinct organism well enough that it can replicate itself and disgusted that his creations outsmarted him.

I’ve paired the tyrannosaurs, previously separated for aggression, who seem to be forming pair bonds, a much better outcome than the bloodbath I had to deal with when they were together last.


Friday, August 18, 1989

Hammond was on-site today to try and raise morale. It’s hard to feel good about the company’s future when you can see the worry in his eyes. Rumors about lawsuits and payoffs to families and the Costa Rican government have spread through the staff. Most of us still believe in our work despite the incident. After all, sabotage caused the problems in Jurassic Park, not flaws inherent in the system like Ian Malcolm would have everyone believe.


Monday, September 4, 1989

National Weather Services are tracking another tropical storm. The one that hit Nublar missed us. They predict this might get strong enough to be a hurricane as it moves across the Pacific.

One of the vet technicians devised an idea for keeping up with the young carnotaurus. The little abelisaurids can change the color of their hide to an ability we’ve not witnessed in vertebrates. The refractory period is fast, like an octopus. We’ve painted their toenails hot pink. It has certainly helped us keep track of them in their nursery pen.

Oxpeckers and cattle egrets have been released. They and the newly released guineas have been observed eating ticks, using the dinosaurs as immense feeding platforms.


Friday, September 8, 1989

Hurricane Clarissa has strengthened to Category 5. Management in Palo Alto has ordered Site B evacuation to prevent additional loss of life and minimize property damage. The facility isn’t in danger of losing electricity with geothermal power, but we aren’t equipped to deal with a storm of this magnitude. Fences could go down, and the animals could breach the main compound.

All animals old enough to be in the “wild” have been released. We can gather them later when we return to the island to ship them to the parks. InGen has pushed the time for evacuation as close to the storm hitting Sorna as they dare.

I’m working on transferring observation and developmental data to external storage with Harding. Wu and the geneticists are backing up all the genome libraries to have a backup in Palo Alto. Embryos are being stored off-site in secure locations as a precaution.

The animals seem to sense the approaching storm and are more excitable and nervous than usual. Landfall is predicted in less than 18 hours.


Monday, September 11, 1989

Hurricane Clarissa hit us harder than the rumor of InGen’s bankruptcy. The evacuation was a disaster. InGen arrived late, and loading personnel and the various assets under the impending storm took longer. The jet made it off the runway, and we presume to the mainland. The smaller plane crashed into the Pacific – there were no survivors. The two helicopters were grounded and damaged beyond repair during the storm. There are 11 of us here; the two pilots, two from the veterinarian staff, including myself, the senior physician of the medical clinic, two animal handlers, a mechanical engineer, a computer technician, and two general workers.

We’ve surveyed the perimeter fence and found it undamaged. The geothermal plant is still active. Most power has been rerouted to essential buildings and the electric fence around the compound. We are trapped in this lost world. We expect Ingen to return for us in the next few days.


Sunday, September 17, 1989

Nearly a week, and they still haven’t come back. Since the storm, we’ve inventoried all foodstuff and medical supplies. The fences containing the animals that weren’t damaged by the storm have failed due to power conservation - all the dinosaurs can move freely and interact with one another. We’ve kept the camera network online to monitor the animals. All the livestock imported to feed the carnivores have been released outside the fence to prevent attracting them to us.


Thursday, October 5, 1989

InGen choppers have flown over three times in the last two weeks. They have not landed.


Monday, September 10, 1990

InGen has not returned to the island. Ingen doesn’t make your future; they abandon it.

The Worker Village remains secure against the wild dinosaurs. We’ve begun gardening to supplement the non-perishable food that is running low. One of the animal handlers is pregnant with a Christmas baby.

Sooner or later, someone will come. A Nobel Prize or a financial empire awaits in a dirty, derelict building somewhere in the Pacific.

Love it! I should make a journal book one day.

 

[Shabby Chic-Hens]

Good lord, 1000 words is an annoying cap. I had to be a clever wordsmith, indeed.

Yep. And a 200 minimum

 

[azurbanclucker]

Good lord, 1000 words is an annoying cap. I had to be a clever wordsmith, indeed.

Right?

 

[casportpony]

Did someone forget to ask @ColtHandorf to be one of the judges?