Three Sounds
05 Oct 2019Today’s prompt: “Go outside and notice three distinct sounds. Remove the labels and describe exactly what they sound like. Then write a story incorporating the sounds.
Whooosh. Vvvvvvffff. Rrrrrrr. [The sound of traffic in the middle distance.]
Kpaff. [The sound of a dog’s paw stepping onto a dry leaf.]
Hhhhfff. Hhhfff. [The sound of your own breath.]
Hhhhfff. Hhhfff. Hhhhhfff. You run. You didn’t think you were capable of running this fast, this long.
You tilt your head, listening for a telltale whooosh. A vvvvvffff. A rrrrrrr. If you can make it to the road, you could flag down a passing vehicle. Hitch a ride. Escape from this nightmare.
Kpaff. It’s still early fall, and the forest floor is only sparsely populated with dry leaves. The ones from earlier nights are damp from rain and early morning mists, so the only crisp leaves are the ones that have fallen today. You know that for every footstep you hear among the dead leaves, there is still a whole pack of dogs following, each trained in the arts of dismemberment.
You listen for the whooosh. If anything, it sounds farther away.
The kpaff comes closer. And closer.