First Challenge, Fourth Campaign - The Gas Chamber

The Gas Chamber

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Shadows crept across the wall of the boarding school dormitory. There was utter silence.  It was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Which was unusual with eight boisterous, hormonal teenagers forced into one room, with too much energy to sleep at a ridiculously early hour. We were playing Colditz, a WWII prisoner of war series on the telly. Six of us ‘prisoners’ would hide at various points in the dormitory, while the two remaining ‘guards’ would take a flashlight and try and find us. Now, of course, there were very few places you could hide in a sparse dormitory, so most of us were under the beds trying to stifle our excited giggles.

The shadows lengthened as the guards searched with the light. I was huddled next to my best friend Bucket. She was notorious for being a prankster so this was probably not my best move. I could see her eyes glint dangerously as she turned, grinned mischievously, and then shuffled herself round so her orange pajama-clad bottom was facing me. Too late I realized what she was planning. There was a muffled puffing sound and then a disgusting toxic-smelling cloud enveloped me as everything faded.


The Rules: Write a short story/flash fiction story in 200 words or less, excluding the title. Begin the story with the words, “Shadows crept across the wall”. If you want to give yourself an added challenge, do one or more of these:

• end the story with the words: "everything faded."
• include the word "orange" in the story
• write in the same genre you normally write
• make your story 200 words exactly

I have done everything and it is exactly 200 words. I would love to know what you think.