For @pillarspromptsweekly #0097, I rolled Eder, modern au, zombie apocalypse.
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Edér leaned against the fence and lit his pipe. Maybe he should be inside, but, gods, he was tired of running and hiding.
Gilded Vale was a nice place, once. Before the dead stopped being dead.
A long, drawn out moan came from the tree behind him. Edér took a long drag. “Ah, shut it, Selwyn.”
The zombie ineffectually struggled at the noose around its neck. They weren’t smart enough. It wasn’t going anywhere.
Another moan answered from across town.
“Damn it.” Sighing, Edér put out his pipe. Working his shoulders, he picked up the crowbar and unhinged door from the grass beside him.
More moans echoed. Raiding party. Edér dug in. Let them come to him rather than waste energy running over there.
They rounded the corner of the Black Hound, a shambling mass of bodies. More than he could quickly count. Seeing him, they charged.
Edér braced as the first body bounced off his makeshift shield. But there was another to follow it, and soon he was surrounded. He swung his crowbar, crushing skull after skull, but more and more hands grasped at him. Maybe this was it.
Beyond his field of vision, tires skidded to a halt. Gunshots rang out, exploding the heads of the zombies in front of him. A couple more gunshots, and Edér could make out a red haired woman standing in the back of a pickup truck.
Making eye contact with him, she reloaded her rifle. “Get in!”
Bashing his way forward through the mass with the door, Eder fought his way over to the truck, jumping into the truck bed with a final smack of his crowbar.
Putting another shot into the approaching zombies, the woman yelled to the driver, “Get us out of here, Aloth!” and fell prone.
Edér followed suit as the truck lurched ahead, gravel spewing onto the zombies, too slow to give effective chase.
Getting his breathing back under control, he turned to the woman. “Thanks for that.”
“Looked like you were in some trouble.” She nodded. “I’m Lillian. That’s Aloth,” she pointed at the driver, “and Gideon,” she pointed out a dog in the front seat.
“Edér.”
“What were you doing there, anyway? Gilded Vale’s been a mess for ages.”
“Just a poor fool that lives there.”
“If you’re alright with ‘lived there,’ we’re on our way to Caed Nua. There’s supposed to be a stronghold there.”
Edér looked back as Gilded Vale as it grew smaller with the distance. It had been his home, but it had been a long time since there was anything worth saving. “I’m up for some sightseeing.”
We’re going to continue to mix up the prompts a little with a monthly round of mix-and-match prompts! So on the first Monday of each month, we’ll have a new table of elements to combine for your fic this week.
Here’s how it works.
Below is a table of potential prompt elements. You get one from each row. Your mission, should you choose to accept it: Combine your three somewhat-random elements into a fic with all the creativity at your disposal!
Which element from each row should you use? Two ways to find out:
You can simply pick your favorite from each row and write a fic that hits all your favorite tropes; or…
Let the fates decide; roll dice to pick a prompt from each row!
This month, it’s time for a summer vacation from canon. Find your alternate universe details on the chart below…
Note that your fic is certainly not limited to these three elements. For example, no matter which character you get from row one, you can include any other characters in your story too! And feel free to roll again or pick your choice if the dice give you a character you haven’t recruited or encountered yet.
So, for example, I just tossed a die three times and got a 4, 6, and 2. My story should include Edér in a Role Reversal AU with an Arranged Marriage (uh…so maybe Edér is the Watcher in this role reversal?) Why not go toss some dice now and see what prompts you get?
Remember to tag your fic with #pillars prompts weekly and/or mention @pillarspromptsweekly for ribbon record-keeping. Fics posted to AO3 can be added to our collection there. And feel free to post this prompt’s badge, below, with your fic, or on your profile, or wherever you would like to use it!
