Coppe's Webbe 2025 - 'Hook' #1
This is a little snippet I wrote based on this premise that I brainstormed a few days ago:
[a catchy advertisement for a new and highly effective anti-aging treatment hooks people in, but when they go to get the treatment, only horrors await…] CW - blood.
It's still pretty bare-bones, because I wrote it quickly in a waiting room, but here you go!
Kenza had always been sensitive to the scent of blood. She could always smell it when someone had a nosebleed or a skinned knee at school, even from the other side of the building. Maybe because she'd had the ability for so long, it never really bothered her. All her years, it had simply been a part of life. People bled. No big deal.
And so, the tiny amount of blood surrounding the gauze pressed up against her peripheral IV did nothing to bother her. Even the scene, which was quite strong, was fading into the back of her mind.
The monitor beside her beeped in rhythm to her heartbeat. Only seven more minutes to go, she told herself. They're preparing my treatment right now. A giddy excitement rumbled in her belly. Fifteen minutes, they'd told her, all reassuring smiles and pink lab coats. It was almost time.
The advertisement had promised a treatment that would slow down the aging process and turn back the years for her body. Literally rejuvenate. Kenza used to scoff at such promises and treatments. Anti-aging creams, serums, pills. Nothing more than a scam.
And yet the years had rushed right past her, and now the middle-aged woman she's blinked and turned into found herself past a point of no return. If she had had a fulfilling life, full of adventure and experiences and memories, perhaps she would have been alright with it. But she hadn't lived her life. She hadn't done anything with it.
That was why she was here, a few months after her 50th birthday, in this quiet, pink-walled clinic. To get another chance. Another lease on life.
She'd done her research, of course. 98% success rate on all patients, regardless of most diseases or conditions. No negative side effects. A proven record. The research was more than promising.
Kenza liked to believe that was what hooked her. Not the promise of youth prolonged or revived during her most desperate of times. She didn't like feeling desperate. She leaned back against the recliner again, closing her eyes. She wasn't desperate. She was smart. She was taking an opportunity. That was what people did to get ahead in life.
It cost a pretty penny to sign up, and seats were limited, but she managed. One of the nice advantages to not having lived her life was her chunky savings account. She crinkled her nose and glanced at the monitor again, looking for the time.
Fifteen minutes, on the dot. That's what they promised. She was so close.
She'd live her life - really and truly - now that she'd have more years to work with. Her heart rate jumped with excitement, and the monitor's beeping followed suit.
Why could she smell the overwhelming scent of blood?
Will share more soon! Let me know your thoughts ^^ And if you want to participate in Coppe's Webbe or other Scareuary events, check them out over on @scareuary!
