The Prompts
Time limit: 20 minutes
Genre: Mythology
Location: Middle of a broken rollercoaster
Problem: Your soul leaves your body
The Story
Tick, tick, tick… The cart, shaped like a massive pit viper, inches skyward. I crane my neck, fighting gravity to look at the other passengers. Most of us are dressed up—they gave us 50% off if we arrived in an Egyptian-themed costume—but only a few of us are dressed up nicely. I swear I look more like Cleopatra than Cleopatra did. You know, because movie depictions and stuff. She didn’t have access to that.
We’re almost at the top. This is the first day the Gods of Egypt ride is open to the public, and it starts with a 99-degree drop. That’s right: it’s steeper than vertical. In my head, I hear the screechy voice of my geometry teacher saying that’s not possible, but I don’t see why—
“AHHH!!!” I wasn’t ready for the drop, too busy thinking. I scream like a little girl as we blast forward through the legs of an enormous statue of Ra. We spiral once around his torso, and the scepter in his hand falls like it might crush us. We slip under with calculated precision.
CRACK! It sounds like a car accident, not that I know anything about that. They weren’t my fault at least, not completely. The insurance company was wrong. Anyway, I look back. The Scepter didn’t stop. It hit the track. The colossal metal globe on the end of the scepter snaps off and—
We whip around one hairpin corner and then another before I get eyes on it again. The end of the scepter is lying on the track ahead of us! This is definitely not part of the ride! We’re going to crash into it! WE’RE GOING TO DIE!
The world spins. It’s like I’m looking down at myself and the pit viper rushing toward the metal sphere. I watch the viper crumple like an aluminum can, the blood of my friends and classmates spraying out like mist. My blood too, I guess.
“Cloe? Cloe!” My best friend yells at me, slapping my cheek.
“Whatever is it, Dear?” I answer, dreamily. I feel like that’s how disembodied souls should talk.
“You fainted. You missed the whole ride!”
