Prompt: Tell a story using five photos. Basically, that’s it. Figure out the story you want to tell and then take five photos to tell it. If you need to edit, add filters, etc. in order to get the effect you want, go for it.
This is a 3.5 star prompt.
I chose a different path for my story. First, I thought of a story in my mind. Then, I chose pictures to tell the story without any narration. After looking at others’ stories, they created whole narratives with the pictures as supplemental objects, enhancing the story. My mind went a different route with this, where the pictures are the only storyteller. Hopefully, this is acceptable. Below is a slideshow. Click the right arrow to figure out what happens to me.
The story:
One day KP is out for a walk in an old historic city. While enjoying her hike, she happens upon an old building with a do not enter sign above it. Being an avid video game player, KP knew that the best places are those labeled as “Do Not Enter.” KP’s internal historic preservation conscience told her that she shouldn’t open the door, but she couldn’t help it. After all, what if there was some great historic object housed just beyond the door? She opened the door and entered into a dank, dark, stone tunnel. Above the tunnel entrance was another sign, “Turn Back!” “Well,” she said to herself, “It’s too late now. Might as well push on.” She continued down the tunnel.
The floor was slick at times as water occasionally dripped from the ceiling. Other times, she encountered pieces of bone and other debris. While it was slightly dangerous, the tunnel was lit, so she continued on. As she walked, she began to notice side tunnels connecting to the main tunnel. These side tunnels were just openings into the darkness beyond. They were not lit and they had not doors or gates blocking her entrance. KP didn’t have a light and was afraid to venture into the darkness. After about 15 minutes of walking, she started to hear eerie sounds. At first, the dripping of water. Then, skittering, like rodents or bugs crawling across the stone floor. The tunnel descended steeply and KP lost her balance, sliding down into a puddle of water. Wet, cold, and more frightened than before, she continued on. KP began to shiver from the chill in the air and her wet clothes. Then, she heard moans coming from behind her. Was someone else in the tunnel? Or did something or someone enter the main tunnel from one of those dark side tunnels? KP was terrified. She wasn’t supposed to be here and now something creepy sounding was blocking her way to the entrance. The moaning sound came close. KP started to jog through the tunnel, taking random turns, trying to escape from what was behind her. The sound continued to follow her, the moaning thing sometimes hissed and sometimes screamed. Exhausted and lost, KP decided to wait in one of the dark side tunnels for the moaning creature to pass by. Maybe after it passed, she could find her way back to the surface. She turned right and waiting in the silence. The creature came closer. KP listened, trying to silence her breathing and slow her heartbeat. The creature moaned and screamed and hissed, the sound growing so loud that KP thought she would lose her mind. Then suddenly, it stopped. The only sound was water dripping from the ceiling to the floor. Plop! Plop! Plop!
KP strained her hearing, listening for anything ominous. After what felt like an eternity, but was only about 10 minutes, KP gathered her courage. She decided to count to three and then dash from the darkness and into the main tunnel. She thought to herself, ‘One, two, three!’ She jumped into the main tunnel and came face to face with a terrifying monster. The creature, part woman, part snake, hissed and screamed at KP. The fright of it all turned KP to stone. In anger, the snake woman flicked her tail at KP, sending her stone body crashing to the floor where it broke into several pieces. KP’s head broke away from her body. The snake woman took the head and entered into the dark room where KP had been hiding. Having night vision, and needing no light, the snake woman could clearly see other heads lining the wall of this room. She slithered over to an empty spot and mounted KP’s head on the wall. Hissing in pleasure, she turned and slithered back into the main tunnel, returning to her den.
After some weeks, KP’s stone remains were found in the tunnel. The police pinged her phone and found her last location when hiking. They wandered through the woods until they found the entrance to the tunnel. Hesitantly, they entered the tunnel and wandered from room to room. Each side tunnel led to rooms filled with things too unspeakable to describe. Eventually, they found the remains of KP. It took them several hours to remove all the stone pieces as KP was not a thin woman. Eventually, her stone remains were buried in a local cemetery with the epitaph, “Curiosity killed the cat.” It wasn’t a nice thing to put on a headstone and it surely didn’t give an accurate account of her deeds during life. Sadly, her life was minimized to a warning for others who might decide to venture where they should not.
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