Apr 7 • Writing Prompts
My April 2026 Writing Prompt Response
Bryce trudged through the overgrown forest path, weeds and shrubs ripping at his exposed knees. He cursed his stupid friends for running off ahead of him after he explicitly told them he had to stop to take a leak. But then again, it was just like them to run off and do something like that. It's how he knew they were friends. But it still annoyed him. A lot. He grimaced as he banged his exposed shin into a particularly small log jutting awkwardly onto the path. He also cursed his choice of attire. He heard a buzzing in his ear followed by a tickle on his neck. He instinctively smacked it and felt something squishy underneath. He pulled his hand back, flicking the dead thing aside as he did, then wiped the bloody smear on his cargo shorts. Surely he had to be getting closer to them.
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"Are you bringing the tent or am I?" Ricky said as he stood in front of the Walmart outdoor aisle, his hands on his hips.
"I'm bringing the beer," Tony replied from behind him, brandishing his finger guns excitedly.
"I was asking Bryce," Ricky added flatly.
"Uhh... I don't care," Bryce said distractedly, his face buried in his phone as his fingers moved on their own.
Ryan flicked him lightly in the side of the head.
"Hey," Bryce exclaimed.
"Dude, she can wait five minutes to get a response," Ryan said coolly. "She's gonna have to anyway. Not like we're gonna have much service in Arfle Trails."
Bryce groaned. "Why did I let you guys drag me out west camping again? You know I'm allergic to, like, five different kinds of grass."
"Freshman year you told us you'd never been camping," Ricky answered. "We said we had to fix that. I love camping, Tony loves camping, and Ryan practically lived in Arfle Trails. You said you wanted to try, and we said we'd go there for spring break our senior year."
"Yeah but that was before Sarah and I--" Bryce began.
"Dude it's only gonna be a week," Ryan interrupted. "Relax. You'll see your girlfriend again, I promise."
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Bryce pulled his green smart phone from out of his pocket. He pressed the power button on the side and the lightly scratched screen exploded to life, displaying a picture of him with his arms wrapped around his girl. He smiled at the photo. His phone showed that it was 5:48 PM, he still had 45% of his battery left, and he had absolutely no signal whatsoever. He clicked the power button again and the photo disappeared in a blink. He put the device back into his pocket and continued walking.
After ten more minutes of walking, he was beginning to get nervous. He had been following this trail for close to forty minutes, but his friends were nowhere to be seen. He stopped walking. Birds chirped overhead and things scurried in the bushes, but that's all he heard. No laughter. No voices. No human sounds whatsoever.
A shiver ran up Bryce's spine. He felt the hairs standing up on end. He looked to his left. Then his right. Then behind him. Up. Down. Left. Right. Something didn't feel right. It felt like some unseen thing was boring into his skull. He spun in a circle, looking every which way for something, anything. He spun and spun until his legs knocked into each other and he fell down with a thud.
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"Please change the song," Bryce asked for the millionth time.
"Now I'm falling asleep, and she's calling a cab," Ricky continued to scream at the top of his lungs as he deftly maneuvered the steering wheel of his old beater of a van.
Ryan simply chuckled. "Driver gets to pick the music. Them's the rules, buddy."
Bryce exhaled angrily through his nose. He rested his head against the window and stared out at the trees flying by.
"Dude, what is up with you lately?" Ryan finally asked. "If you keep acting like this, you're gonna be miserable."
"I am miserable," Bryce replied.
"It's one week dude. It's fine. When's the last time it was just us guys?" Ryan continued. "You've been with Sarah, what, two years? You can be away from her for a week. How do you guys survive the summer?"
"We call and text every day," Bryce answered unenthusiastically.
"Ricky you missed a turn," Tony interjected.
"Then why didn't you say something sooner!" Ricky exclaimed in mock annoyance. "You're my navigator right now. You literally have ONE job!"
"Look, man," Ryan continued, "just loosen up a bit. Get drunk with the boys. We haven't done that in a hot minute. And don't get me wrong, Sarah's great. We love having her around, but having a girl around totally shifts the dynamic versus when it's just us. Just give it a chance, ok?"
Bryce didn't respond.
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He noticed a scrap of cloth tucked into the brush lining the path. Bryce reached out gingerly and grabbed it. His stomach dropped as he turned the familiar red fabric over in his hand. There was no mistaking it. The ragged scrap had come from Ricky's favorite tank top--the same tank top he had slept in the previous night.
He felt a numbness beginning to take hold of him. No. It all felt like a bad dream. Maybe it was. Maybe it wasn't. Then he heard a low growl. Bryce slowly raised his eyes until he met an unflinching yellow gaze. He watched in horror as an absolutely massive mountain lion slunk out of the shadows. The fur around its mouth was stained red. One of its eyes was missing, the entire area a mass of scar tissues. It was easily bigger than he was.
Without thinking, Bryce took his backpack off and tossed it to the side. The mountain lion lunged, sinking its fangs into the canvas. Bryce bolted to his feet and began sprinting away down the trail. He ran and ran and ran until his chest was aching, and then he forced himself to keep running. He didn't stop until the sun had nearly set. Bryce collapsed on the path. He was breathing harder than he ever had before, and he knew his shorts were wet. He took his phone out and nearly began to cry when he saw the single bar in the top right corner. He quickly opened it and swiped over to the phone button. He punched in three numbers, held it up to his ear, and prayed that someone would answer.
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My April 2026 Writing Prompt Response
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