Another great edition of WRITING PROMPT last Friday. You can view the original prompt here. Author Lisa Vasquez’s winning entry left us wanting more! Read her story below.

The sun was setting behind the horizon and the sky burned with the colors of dusk. The looming presence of the train stood against the backdrop menacingly. We all stood there in silence, trepidation causing a mass wave of fear. Six months. To us, having lived in isolation for that long, it was a lifetime. Steel against steel, it let out a final hiss followed by a high pitched squeal signaling that it had come to rest on the tracks. A collective gasp washed over the growing crowd who watched with curiosity. The Judges had arrived.

Curling his fingers through the chain link fence, Leo nodded softly and swept his gaze toward the section of women where Julia was already watching him. Since the Plague had eradicated most of the world and left the remaining survivors to fend for themselves in this small, simple village, the two had formed a bond. Between them they cared for the sick, the orphaned, and the despondent. By default, the others looked to them for everything.

As if on cue, the large door of the first car opened and the seven men began to exit dressed in the long, black cloaks that merged both priest and judiciary into one. When they reached the fence, the train let a blow of its horn fill the silence before the Guardian emerged dressed in stark contrast. Her white robes billowed in the wind before she took her first step toward Leo.

She made no rush of her pace, revelling in the anxiety she induced. When she reached Leo and removed the mask, her cold smile chilled him to the bone. This seemed to please her even more.

“Let’s skip the formalities, Leo. Bring me the infant.”