Journaling: Friday Fiction...Torch

Today is Friday Fiction at The One-Minute Writer.  The prompt is Write a brief bit of fiction using the prompt "Torch."  From C. Beth...Friday Fiction is your opportunity to write a short (short, short, short) story. Many participants use more than one minute for Friday Fiction prompts, and I open up the One-Minute Writing of the Day contest to entries of various lengths.


He grabbed a torch from the castle wall and ran down the stone steps.  He had to get to the watchtower to sound the alarm.  Up on the ramparts, he had seen the huge row of riders and armed men marching toward the castle.  He ascended the steps of the watchtower.  As he neared the top, he stopped suddenly.  A look of horror crossed his face.  He turned slowly and began to tumble down the steps.  There was an arrow sticking out of his back.  When he landed at the bottom of the tower, it was driven further home.  As he lay dying, all he could think of was the terrible fate of the castle.  Without the warning of impending invasion, the castle and its people were doomed.

Also, I won another One-Minute Writing of the Day for my Friday Fiction piece using the word "Straw."  Yay! Here is what I wrote, in case you missed it last week:

The straw in the abandoned barn smelled musty and damp. He didn't care though. Any place was good enough for him as long as he could hide safely. He looked down at the iron shackle still hooked on his ankle. The master had kept him chained because he knew he was a runner. Somehow the chain had been weak and he was able to break it with a hatchet easily. He had been on the run for days before finding the barn. He climbed into the loft and settled down behind some bales of hay. He could hear the baying of the dogs in the distance. He could only pray they would not search the barn. As it turned out, a futile prayer.

Thank you to C. Beth for awarding it to me once again.  I'm honored!