My Scareuary 2024, Entry #7: More Star Seal Sprints

Another blog post, another set of 10-minute writing sprints for my short horror story, The Star Seal. Once I'm done with drafting the story, I'll move on to revisions and edits, which I'm very excited for, because I'm already getting the urge to go back and edit those sprints I've done in previous posts.

In the meantime, though, in order to get to that stage, I have to finish working on this initial draft. (Ideally, if I were writing this myself on a document, I would be editing as I go, and each time I would open up the document again, I would read through it from the start, edit it, and then continue from where I left off. But because I'm trying to share my writing process here directly, it would be a lot more realistic and easier to follow if I take it stage by stage.)

Last time, I reached the part where the archaeologist has come face to face with the monster, it has run off, and the security guard doesn't believe him. This time around, I'm changing up a little bit of the story, so I'm back-tracking slightly before I move forward again. So I'll start by editing that first:

If his heart had been pounding before, surely by now it had stopped, frozen in silence just as the rest of his body was. The grotesque creature leaned toward him, almost looming over him, and let out a terrible screech. It was only this noise that broke him out of his fearful daze, and, clutching the sides of his head in agony, he rushed back out of the room and into the hall, stumbling somewhat in his haste to get away.

Behind him, the ear-splitting screeching grew distant, and a terrible crashing sound accompanied it. The thing did not follow him.  He ran and ran, tripping not once but twice in his hurry to escape, but when he finally reached the front doors of the museum and banged on them, the security guard who answered his call was the picture of ignorance. 

"Monster?" he asked, glancing around. "Screech? I didn't hear or see anything like that." 

"You must have - you must have heard something!" the young man exclaimed frantically. He couldn't keep himself from whipping his head around, his shaky legs at the ready if he needed to break out into another sprint. "It was just moments after the earthquake - just seconds after - "

"Oh, is that what you're calling it, then?" the security guard interjected, the irritation clear in his voice. "You think I'm dumb enough to believe that an earthquake caused that gaping hole in our wall?"

"Hole? What hole?" 

Everything made sense when they rounded the corner of the building and walked down its length to see the broken rubble left by what had obviously been something breaking out from within. The sigh froze the blood in him. The damned beast had broken down the wall and escaped.

That meant... that meant that it was out here, with them. He turned around nervously, small sounds of protest and terror leaving his throat. "No." He stepped this way, then that, but where could one go when a creature like that - a monster with wings - could be anywhere? "No. No!"

"Hey - hey - calm down," the security guard ordered, his voice firm. He lifted his hand in a stopping gesture, though the archaeologist noticed his other hand resting on his baton. "You need to take a few breaths, sir. You need to take a moment to calm down, and tell me how this happened."

Calm down? Calm down? He was practically hyperventilating. Legs giving out beneath him, the archaeologist found himself on his hands and knees, panting, gasping for air. That thing was real. That thing was real. How could he calm down knowing - knowing that it was in there - in that statue? 

"Breathe," the security guard commanded. "Take deep, slow breaths. Listen, if this was all some sort of accident, it'll be OK. Talk to me. Tell me what happened."

What else could he do? He told him everything - about the statue, about finding the seal, about leaving the room, about the earthquake, about the monster he found when he returned, and the broken shards of the rock statue, a shell discarded by the creature it had borne. 

And, of course, the more he spoke, the less the guard seemed to believe him. "Are you currently on any drugs, sir?" he asked, shining his flashlight in his eyes briefly.

"What? No!" he protested, raising his arm to hide from the bright light. "I'm telling you what happened! I swear to you - that's exactly how this wall was broken. It wasn't me!"

He couldn't get the blasted man to understand him - to listen to him, let alone believe him. Everything he had experienced so far that night, he had written off completely. No earthquake, no ear-splitting screech - nothing. All he saw was the wreckage left behind by the monster. That's all he had heard. How was that possible?

Alright! That's ten minutes to make some important edits that change the trajectory of the plot in a way that I feel is quite significant, so now I can move on and continue the story. Another 10 minute sprint:

Almost an hour later, he found himself seated in the staff break room, the guard stationed at the door, waiting for someone in management to arrive. The shrill screech of the monster still echoed in his mind, and the more he thought about it, the less he remembered it - the finer details. An irrational fear slipped into his mind: that he might forget what it looked like completely. What would that mean? That it had never existed? That he had made it up? That he had gone insane?

When the curator finally arrived, he was struck by how put-together she seemed. Her suit was immaculate. Her hair had been pulled back into that same severe bun she always wore it in, stripes of grey alternating with a rich brown. Her lips were the same striking shade of red, set, as always, in that disdainful frown which made her so unapproachable. This time, of course, the frown was slightly deeper. 

She didn't come alone. The security manager joined her. Usually, the security manager was a jovial, ruddy-faced fellow with a wide smile and smiling eyes. Tonight, however, he seemed tired, with bags under his eyes, and his face was pale. Between his brows, there were a set of ridges and folds which grew from tonight's troublesome episode. 

They asked him what happened. He explained. They didn't believe him. Of course.

He tried explaining it again. Again, they didn't believe him. He was becoming more frustrated and agitated by the minute. 

"I am telling you the truth!" he yelled at last. "I am telling you the truth. There is something out there, and it's a monster!"

"If what you say is true, then the cameras will corroborate it," the curator stated; it was the first time she had spoken all evening. The security manager took her words as an order. The four of them made their way down to the museum's state-of-the-art surveillance room.

More and more, it became harder to capture the image of the beast in his mind. What if he had gone mad? What if it had never existed? The cameras would show them. The cameras would show.

And if they don't?

He didn't want to consider it.

OK. Another 10 minute sprint, done. It was a bit slow-going at first. I wasn't entirely sure who would potentially be called in for such an issue, but hopefully this makes some sense. 

I'm also thinking that this definitely isn't shaping up to be my finest work, but I'm pushing through in order to complete the story. I might as well, now that I'm about halfway through it, right?

I considered the idea that maybe the cameras don't show the monster, and nobody can prove it exists, but it definitely exists because the archaeologist released it. But... I think it's scarier, overall, if it exists and people can see that it exists and it's now out there, free to stalk and harm whoever comes in its way. 

If you're enjoying the story so far, and how it's unfolding, let me know! You can also learn more about Scareuary here, or see the rest of the Scareuary entries here. Check out entries on The Star Seal here.

I also have a range of horror stories available for free - you can see them on my Short Stories page.

Also, if you need some writing prompts, check out the new Write a story that... workbook here.