The Fifteen Minute Novel is a novel written fifteen minutes at a time with each week day’s section starting with the sentence from the previous day. At least it is attempting to be a novel. For now I am just aiming at one continuous story, worked on for fifteen minutes each day. Started Friday January 1st, 2021 (in case you want to search for the beginning. I can’t wait to see where it ends up. It could be good, or it could be a mess. We’ll have to see. For now, here is today’s fifteen minutes.
Day 94: He looked injured but recovering rather than injured and possibly dying.
He looked injured but recovering, rather than injured and possibly dying.
“I feel a bit better,” Morris answered. “I should be right as rain soon enough.”
“Good,” James said. Better or not, Morris still looked exhausted so James soon left and Tucker showed him to the room next door. It was almost identical to the room Morris occupied.
‘I expect it is more of an emergency medical center than a safe house,’ James thought. The room was a white box with a twin sized hospital bed. The rails on his were lowered but the sheets were crisply turned down. There was a small bathroom attached to the room and it too was done all in white, right down to the white towels. James provided the most color in the room and he felt like a dark stain. He yawned. It wasn’t terribly late, but he was exhausted from the day. He was fairly certain he ought to eat dinner, but his stomach felt too unsettled to think about adding food.
James yawned, the white hospital bed looking more inviting with every second. He set his book down on the small night stand by the bed and lifted the satchel strap over his head. He set the bag on the floor and then slipped off his shoes. In his socks, James padded to the door and checked to make certain it was locked. When he felt as secure as possible, James stripped down to his shorts and slipped into bed.
‘If I wake up early I’ll read,’ he decided glancing over to where Cassie’s book waited. He closed his eyes and sleep sucked him in.
The next thing he knew, James was blinking blearily in the weak, early morning sunlight coming from the room’s one four inch strip of window. His eyes were gummy with sleep and his body felt stiff and sore. As he rubbed the sleep from his eyes, James realized he hadn’t moved much in the night. He was in the exact same position that he fell asleep in and his stiffness was in part from not moving in the night.
He stretched in the small bed and wondered what time it was. Before he fell asleep he set his watch on the nightstand next to Cassie’s book. He reached for it and picked it up, looking at its face. It was a little after six. His stomach rumbled, reminding him that he had only given it a couple of slices of pizza the day before.
James sat up and let the sheets fall away. The shadows in the room cut the stark whiteness and made the room feel more comfortable than it did in full light. He strained his ears listening for the sound of anyone moving about, but heard nothing.
Ten til Midnight 