Skulkers Rise For Sundown
“Well EXCUSE ME for worrying about my buddy in the middle of a MONSTER INFESTED APOCALYPSE!”
20260528
Written for Bradley Ramsey’s “Halls of Pandemonium”, Day 28.
“Finally! I was starting to think you were dead!”
“I might’ve been, if this thing didn’t have a silent mode! What-”
“Oh, for - I keep telling you, most Skulkers are deaf. It’s scent you need-”
“And I keep telling you, that ‘most’ is what’s gonna kill you one day!”
“Ugh. You talk real big for the only person here who’s lost fingers.”
“Fuck. You. What was so damn urgent that you had to be buzzing me for ten minutes straight?”
“Where are you, and are you headed back yet?”
“What? Let me… Ah, right. Wish this thing had a backlight. What’s the time? Last I checked it was only fifteen hundred.”
“It, it’s half three, but with it being so overcast… And you said you were only going over to Fleet!”
“Tsh. You need to stop freaking out any time I take a little longer than-”
“Well EXCUSE ME for worrying about my buddy in the middle of a MONSTER INFESTED APOCALYPSE! Of course I should be assuming that everything’s fine!”
“…I made it to Fleet, and got in the warehouse. Haven’t found anything useful yet, but there’s still plenty of boxes to go through. And who knows how long this place will stay safe now I’ve broken the lock, so I want to check as much as I can. Call me when the sun starts setting, ok?”
“Are you sure that-”
“It’ll give me plenty of time.”
“Ok. Fine. I don’t suppose you’ve found anything for the generator?”
“No. Every vehicle’s been drained or totalled.”
“Great. Another night in the dark.”
“You were meant to be-”
“I did. Sheesh. Been chopping all day. There’s loads of firewood.”
“There you are, then.”
“Oh, sorry, make that another night in eye-straining, headache-inducing, paranoia-fuelling shitty light.”
“Hey, if you’d let me go loot a camping store back when-”
“Riiight, because it worked out so well for the people who ventured out before that smog lifted.”
“…”
“…”
“Look, I need to get back to it. Keep an eye on the time for me, ok? And the sun.”
“Yeah. Ok. I will.”
“And I’ll tell you if I find a decent light source. There’s got to be a working torch somewhere in town. Or a camping lantern, or something.”
“Fingers crossed. Just… be careful, ok?”
“Always. I’ve got this far, haven’t I?”
“Most of you has, at least…”
“Oh for - nobody knew how to deal with those monsters at that point! Trying to scare it with fire made perfect fucking sense, and you know it. Besides, if I hadn’t, maybe it would’ve gone for my throat rather than my hand.”
“Yeah, well… Ff. Sorry. I should let you get back to work. I’ll buzz you when the sun starts setting, or if I hear yowling. And tell me if you need help hauling stuff back.”
“Doubt I’m going to get that lucky. But fingers crossed. See you at sundown.”
Prompt was “Write a story composed entirely of dialogue and dialogue tags. No exposition is allowed.”
[I decided to try going one step harder and write only dialogue, not even any tags. Was it easy to follow? Did the tones come through ok?]