A Murder in the Woods
Today’s post is based on a writing prompt I shared in the exclusive Daily Drafters chat thread: Plant Talk. Keep reading to see what I wrote, and to access more writing prompts.
What I wrote below is based on the following writing prompt that was shared in the Daily Drafters chat: Write a scene in which two or more plants are engaged in some sort of dialogue. Or write a short essay or journal entry about what you think plants would say if they did talk to humans.
A Murder in the Woods
“Hey Connie, how’s it hanging?”
Silence.
“Get it?”
Still, silence.
“You do get it, don’t you?”
An emission of a low, guttural groan.
A deep, resonant creak of swaying wood that reverberates across the forest.
Then, nothing.
“Come on, Connifer, that was funny. You know, because you’re a—”
A cool breeze interrupts, rustling through their leaves, rushing time down their boughs, down their spines, straight into the dirt, and out through their subterranean arteries like a lightning strike.
Then, a portentous, vibrating, chemical hum.
A warning.
“Okay, that was a bit dramatic and unnecessary, don’t you think?”
A saturated silence.
“I know the drill. Or is it ‘old saw’? Ha Ha. But there’s still no proof that human language ki—”
Another hum. This one more solid, stronger, riper.
A consequence.
“Ow! What in the jolly rogers was that for?!”
Another hum. This one bursts and buzzes. Then begins to sprout.
“You used to like my jokes, Con. What happened? When did you become such a stick in the mud?”
Another hum. This one fainter than a whisper…
until it vociferates below and across the understory
charging the entire root network with a single mission, a direct command.
One by one. Stem by stem. Trunk by trunk. Limb by limb.
An expanding call to arms.
The final hum grows louder
louder
louder
then roars.
“Say that ag-gain. I can’t… he-hear you… ovvverrr… the thrrrob-bing in myyy—”
A snap.
Another crack.
A pop.
A dull thud.
Another snap.
A crack.
Another dull thud.
Acrid, deciduous pheromones permeate the air.
Pop.
Pop.
Thud.
A broken stream of screams timbres into the wind.
A hollow thud.
A juicy pop. Then another. Then another.
Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud.
Craaack!
A pungent cry for help that no one hears.
Ka-boooom!
No one registers the murder of the fall.
I might revise, edit, or add to this draft in the future. Stay tuned!
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© This work is not available for artificial intelligence (AI) training. All Rights Reserved by K.E. Creighton; Creighton’s Compositions LLC. The above work is a piece of fiction. While, as in all fiction, the literary perceptions and insights are based on experience, all names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
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