Prosy: Dream House
Feb. 20th, 2012 12:51 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
clare_dragonflyTitle: Dream House
Word count: 687 (incomplete total: 2,919)
Rating: G (possibly higher eventually...)
Prompt:anke's: Why was a statue deliberately walled in an alcove or room in an old cellar?
Notes: Partly inspired byaldersprig's fixer-upper fun ;)
It was their dream house.
Or at least it would be, when they were done with it.
Kelsey wasn’t sure there was anything worth salvaging in the old place, falling apart as it was, but Quinn thought it was the best ever, and her excitement was contagious. (They wouldn’t have been able to afford any house in better shape anyway.) And now that they were actually working on it, Kelsey had to admit that it was a lot of fun, and knowing that it would be exactly the place they wanted when it was done was very motivating.
Also, taking sledgehammers to the walls was extremely satisfying.
She swung. Cracks spiderwebbed out from where she’d hit the wall, right at head height. Bits of plaster fell off. She swung again. There was a crash, and a lot more plaster fell off. She swung a third time, and went right through the wall, opening up a dark space beyond.
“How’s it going?” called Quinn from down the hall, where she was investigating the strange way the previous owners had arranged the plumbing, and whether it could be straightened out without ripping out all the pipes.
“Good,” Kelsey called back. “I guess your guy was right. There is a room or something back here.” She swung again, opening up a bigger hole. Motes of dust swirled in the dim light.
She’d bashed several more holes before she heard Quinn’s voice behind her. “Who the heck would wall up a room like this?”
“Shit!” Kelsey spun around, sledgehammer still in hand. “When did you come out of the bathroom?”
“Just a minute ago. I’m pretty sure the situation is hopeless.”
“Great,” Kelsey groaned. “Just the day I really needed a shower, too. Well, since you’re here, want to shine a flashlight and make sure there’s nothing in there I’m going to accidentally destroy?”
“Sure.” Quinn trotted off. Kelsey swung one more time before Quinn returned and pointed the flashlight in. They both yelped and dropped what they were holding.
Kelsey cursed a number of times before retrieving her sledgehammer, grateful she was wearing steel-toed boots. “What the hell was that?”
Quinn was shaking the flashlight and smacking it in the side. “I don’t know.” Her voice was shaky. “Okay, it’s not a dead person, right?”
“Definitely not,” Kelsey affirmed. “That was a whole face in there.” She snatched the flashlight, got it turned on, and pointed it into the hole again.
This time, they were prepared for what they saw. The flashlight illuminated a face, right at the same height as Kelsey and Quinn’s heads. The eyes were wide and terrified, and hair was tangled around it. But now they could see that it was all grey, and that wasn’t just from the plaster dust.
“It’s a statue,” Quinn said eventually, sounding awed. “A really good statue. But it’s definitely made of stone. Right?”
“Looks like stone to me.” Kelsey reached in through the hole and tried to touch the statue, but her fingers couldn’t quite reach it. “Okay, this makes even less sense. If you’re going to randomly wall up a room, wouldn’t you take the statue out first? And why would the statue be in the house to begin with?”
“Don’t know,” Quinn said. “Get out of the way a minute.”
Kelsey backed out, removing her arm from the hole, to see that Quinn had a piece of plaster in her hand. She threw it through the hole. It hit the statue in the face, and the plaster shattered.
“Okay,” said Quinn. “Probably stone or something, then.”
Kelsey nodded wearily. “Maybe it will make more sense when we see more of the room. Maybe there’s some creepy altar in there or something.” She set down the flashlight, then took a few more swings at the wall. The hole opened up further, letting some light into the room, but still, all they could see was the face and now some of the shoulders of the statue. It was definitely a woman, wearing some kind of flowy dress, but they couldn’t see yet what kind of pose it had.
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Word count: 687 (incomplete total: 2,919)
Rating: G (possibly higher eventually...)
Prompt:
anke's: Why was a statue deliberately walled in an alcove or room in an old cellar?Notes: Partly inspired by
aldersprig's fixer-upper fun ;)It was their dream house.
Or at least it would be, when they were done with it.
Kelsey wasn’t sure there was anything worth salvaging in the old place, falling apart as it was, but Quinn thought it was the best ever, and her excitement was contagious. (They wouldn’t have been able to afford any house in better shape anyway.) And now that they were actually working on it, Kelsey had to admit that it was a lot of fun, and knowing that it would be exactly the place they wanted when it was done was very motivating.
Also, taking sledgehammers to the walls was extremely satisfying.
She swung. Cracks spiderwebbed out from where she’d hit the wall, right at head height. Bits of plaster fell off. She swung again. There was a crash, and a lot more plaster fell off. She swung a third time, and went right through the wall, opening up a dark space beyond.
“How’s it going?” called Quinn from down the hall, where she was investigating the strange way the previous owners had arranged the plumbing, and whether it could be straightened out without ripping out all the pipes.
“Good,” Kelsey called back. “I guess your guy was right. There is a room or something back here.” She swung again, opening up a bigger hole. Motes of dust swirled in the dim light.
She’d bashed several more holes before she heard Quinn’s voice behind her. “Who the heck would wall up a room like this?”
“Shit!” Kelsey spun around, sledgehammer still in hand. “When did you come out of the bathroom?”
“Just a minute ago. I’m pretty sure the situation is hopeless.”
“Great,” Kelsey groaned. “Just the day I really needed a shower, too. Well, since you’re here, want to shine a flashlight and make sure there’s nothing in there I’m going to accidentally destroy?”
“Sure.” Quinn trotted off. Kelsey swung one more time before Quinn returned and pointed the flashlight in. They both yelped and dropped what they were holding.
Kelsey cursed a number of times before retrieving her sledgehammer, grateful she was wearing steel-toed boots. “What the hell was that?”
Quinn was shaking the flashlight and smacking it in the side. “I don’t know.” Her voice was shaky. “Okay, it’s not a dead person, right?”
“Definitely not,” Kelsey affirmed. “That was a whole face in there.” She snatched the flashlight, got it turned on, and pointed it into the hole again.
This time, they were prepared for what they saw. The flashlight illuminated a face, right at the same height as Kelsey and Quinn’s heads. The eyes were wide and terrified, and hair was tangled around it. But now they could see that it was all grey, and that wasn’t just from the plaster dust.
“It’s a statue,” Quinn said eventually, sounding awed. “A really good statue. But it’s definitely made of stone. Right?”
“Looks like stone to me.” Kelsey reached in through the hole and tried to touch the statue, but her fingers couldn’t quite reach it. “Okay, this makes even less sense. If you’re going to randomly wall up a room, wouldn’t you take the statue out first? And why would the statue be in the house to begin with?”
“Don’t know,” Quinn said. “Get out of the way a minute.”
Kelsey backed out, removing her arm from the hole, to see that Quinn had a piece of plaster in her hand. She threw it through the hole. It hit the statue in the face, and the plaster shattered.
“Okay,” said Quinn. “Probably stone or something, then.”
Kelsey nodded wearily. “Maybe it will make more sense when we see more of the room. Maybe there’s some creepy altar in there or something.” She set down the flashlight, then took a few more swings at the wall. The hole opened up further, letting some light into the room, but still, all they could see was the face and now some of the shoulders of the statue. It was definitely a woman, wearing some kind of flowy dress, but they couldn’t see yet what kind of pose it had.
Did you enjoy this story? You can see all my fiction posted at Dreamwidth!
no subject
Date: 2012-02-21 03:16 am (UTC)The only thing that bothered me was the sentence "Cracks spiderwebbed out from where she’d hit the wall, right at head height."
Mostly because it is extremely awkward to swing even a small sledgehammer right at head height. It just doesn't work with your shoulders. Plus, it makes you a lot more likely to hit yourself in the face with a hammer (I... know this... because, um, my friend did it). A small sledgehammer you'd probably either swing over your head or at chest height.
Just my two cents. :D I loved the piece, though! (Um, does it count as the most comments if I just comment over and over? ~.^ )
no subject
Date: 2012-02-21 03:29 am (UTC)Thanks, I'm glad you liked it! :D (No, that does not count, but you can tell other people about the story in an attempt to get them to comment!)
no subject
Date: 2012-02-21 03:45 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-02-21 04:57 am (UTC)Kicking through the walls would be pretty awesome, though, and something Kelsey would do. Perhaps I will edit.