The fifteen minute novel writing experiment is a attempt to write a complete (and very rough) draft of a novel by writing for fifteen minutes each day. I have taken a timed writing from one of the daily prompts done in 2021, cleaned it up a little and used it as my jumping off point into a story. Each day I will take the last line of the story written the day before and use it as my sentence starter and write for fifteen minutes, growing the story as the year progresses.
Day 11: At first she thought she might have managed to walk in a giant circle and somehow end up back at the ruins, but as she approached she could see the building was isolated and that beyond it the forest continued.
At first she thought she might have managed to walk in a giant circle and somehow end up back at the ruins, but as she approached she could see the building was isolated and that beyond it the forest continued. While Anya was certain that the building was, at one time associated with whatever building or town the ruins actually were, it was something separate.
There was nothing to indicate what it was. Anya approached it cautiously and found it to be only an empty space. It was a square box of a room, about ten foot square. There was the rusted remains of a brazier in the center of the room and a hole cut in the center of the roof tiles, to allow smoke to escape.
‘I suppose they used that instead of a fireplace,’ Anya thought. She had seen the set up before. Although it wasn’t common in Tyrin anymore, many of the older buildings still showed signs where this sort of set up was the norm. It was, in an odd way, comforting. In those houses the holes in the roof tiles were patched or filled in with a central chimney stack. Here it was open space through which Anya could see open sky. The sun was high in the sky at the moment, the morning well advanced. The sun wasn’t high enough to have reached noon, but Anya thought it was not far off.
Exhaustion pulled at her limbs making her feel clumsy and slow. She needed to plan, to think. But first, she knew she needed to rest and eat. Her stomach rumbled slightly. She knew as soon as she ate, sleep would be harder to keep at bay.
A quick inspection revealed a bit of leaves blown in through the open door, but no nesting animals. This far she heard nothing but birds in the forest, but she was certain there would be something else. Whatever else was in the forest it didn’t look as though it made this building it’s home. Taking it as a good sign, Anya went inside and slipped her pack from her back. She rummaged around for a bit, pleased to see that the waterproofing on the canvas kept her few supplies dry while she was in the tunnel.
She would not have to spread things out to dry which was a small mercy. She took out the portion of food she rationed for the meal, and ate it slowly. Her eyes scanned the building looking for any sign of what this once was and how long it had been since anyone visited. The bare walls gave back no answer. Anya took as long as she could eating her meager ration, hoping that the length of time it took to consume the items would make her feel as though she had eaten more. Once finished, she fastened her pack, latching all of the buckles. She then slung the straps on her back so it once again rested on her.
At the moment there were no signs of pursuit, but Anya wanted to be able to run at a moment’s notice without worrying about leaving anything valuable behind. Satisfied that her belongings were secure. Anya curled up and fell into a dreamless sleep.
Anya woke sometime later, the sound of an owl hooting as it flew in search or prey sounding loud in her ears. She sat up, momentarily confused as to where she was. Reality soon caught up with her. The night was dark, but quiet and Anya heard nothing beyond the calls of the owls. She leaned against the stone wall, listening. Nothing scurried, scratched or scampered. Best of all, there were no sounds of large predators.
Ten til Midnight 