The Serialized Madness of Barnabas Rex: InkTober Prompts

By AM SCHINSKE

The Serialized Madness of Barnabas Rex is a short story written using the creative writing prompts from InkTober 2020. 

Herein, Barnabas and Candace begin their adventure by packing up the plane for a routine transportation trip to the latest assignment. Along the way, they encounter some bizarre turbulence that causes the little airplane to go down in the ocean. They awake to find themselves in a community under the ocean, away from the light of the sun and their way home.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AM SCHINSKE
• Release date: Jan 18, 2021
• ISBN: 9781393455745

AM SCHINSKE

AM currently resides in Albuquerque New Mexico where the sun is hot, the dirt is hot, the water is hot, the dog is hot, everything is hot. Send shade and watermelons.

Book preview

The Prompts:

01 FISH     11 DISGUSTING    21 Sleep

02 Wisp     12 Slippery    22 Chef

03 Bulky     13 Dune    23 RIP

04 Radio     14 Armor    24 Dig

05 Blade     15 Outpost    25 Buddy

06 Rodent     16 Rocket    26 Hide

07 Fancy     17 Storm    27 Music

08 Teeth     18 Trap    28 Float

09 Throw     19 Dizzy    29 Shoes

10 Hope     20 Coral    30 Ominous

31 Crawl

Hashtags being used;

#WriteTober2020 #writober2020 #WritingChallenge #ShortFiction #NanoPrep

These prompts were designed to be 50 words or less. In many cases I got carried away. They were originally posted to my social media page. You can follow me there at:

facebook.com/amschinske

twitter.com/amschinske

amschinske.wordpress.com/

Fish

BARNABAS REX WAS STARVING. He poked through the pantry of his airplane hangar home for lunch. Buried in the back of the cabinet was a tin of beans, which he could barely read the expiration date on, and a shallow unmarked can of what he assumed was tuna.

It looked and smelled like canned fish.

He scooped mayonnaise, mustard, and a few seasonings that he ignored the label on, into the bowl, and violently mixed the ingredients.

The toaster popped up just in time for Barnabas to slather the goop onto a slice of bread, top with cheese and a tomato slice, and take a huge bite.

It was not tuna.

The overly salty concoction, he quickly remembered, was a can of potted meat given to him by the guy running the radio tower as a gag gift.

Damn you, Controller! He waved his fist in the air in his dramatic way. Damn you!

Barnabas vowed to get some sort of revenge. After lunch.

And after brushing his teeth.

Wisp

IT WAS 9 AM ON SATURDAY. Candace had done nothing delicately so far today.

She woke up in a sour mood, which only got worse from there.

She stubbed her toe on her way to the closet.

Put a run in her hosiery.

Broke a nail as she rummaged through the drawer for a spoon and somehow managed to break the handle off her favorite teacup.

Once the tea was poured and completed steeping, she managed to knock the teacup over, spilling the contents all over the papers she had made notes on.

Black ink ran in thin wisps over the paper.

They were not notes she had intended to keep, which still added to her sour mood.

She cleaned up the mess, poured herself a new cup of tea, and promptly burned her arm on the kettle when she reached over it to put away the potholder.

Candace threw her soaked papers away, turned off the fire under the kettle, and went back to bed.

The tea steeped in her broken cup, left abandoned on the table, filling the kitchen with delicious Darjeeling smells.

It was Saturday. Getting up was optional.

She could start Saturday over on Sunday.

Monday didn't exist and