Assignment: Craft a short story from the following prompt: “Jason was no stranger to a crisis situation. He had always lived life on the edge. Until now, his experience and acumen were the basis for his judgment. But this was different. After three months in a chat room, what was Lisa really like?”
One result:
Jason was no stranger to a crisis situation. He had always lived life on the edge. Until now, his experience and acumen were the basis for his judgment. But this was different. After three months in a chat room, what was Lisa really like?
Why in the world would she arrange for their first face to face meeting here? Like this. What was she asking of him? Was it a dare? A cry for help? And how on earth did she get up there?
He set the binoculars down on his Jeep. There was no doubt it was Lisa. They had exchanged photos. He had memorized every detail.
He had been on time. He had searched for her for nearly half an hour before he found the note on a stick the middle of a small clearing. It read, “Hey, Jason. C’mon up and join me. Lisa.” The only “up” there was up the mountain. It had taken a while to find her on that dark rugged escarpment. Had it been a mistake to tell her he was a climber? But she had said she was an experienced climber, too. But if so, what was she doing on this mountain? Even he knew this mountain was a bad climb. Dirty. The rock won’t hold a piton or a camalot. Too fragile.
He went to the base of the cliff and tested the rock with his hammer. Almost like chalk. Only a fool would try to climb this face.
Jason went back to his Jeep and looked again through the binoculars. She hadn’t moved. What’s that dark splotch on her leg? Is it blood?
Jason put on his gear and headed back to the base of the cliff. They might both die, but he couldn’t just stand there at the bottom and watch.