New Prompt (for September 21, 2022):
"You are born in a world wher eon the eighteenth birthday, people gain the ability to shape shift but are also legally required to get a unique bar code tattoo for crim identifying. On your eighteenth birthday, you shape shift for the first time, only to find your tattoo morphs along with it. " {credit to writing.prompt.s on Instagram}
Old Prompt (from August 30, 2022):
"You rush into a church to stop the love of your life from marrying the wrong person. Not paying attention, you shout "I OBJECT" only to realize it's a funeral. The deceased immediately rises in perfect health. All eyes turn to you." {credit to u/Eva_Aurora in r/WritingPrompts}
My Story: No One Told Me I was a Necromancer
My heart hammered in my chest as the taxi raced toward the church. I couldn't believe I was doing this. It was so unlike me, but I had to stop Meghan.
You see, I dated Marcus a few years ago and broke up with him after I found out he cheated on me with my best friend. About two years ago, he started dating my college roommate, Meghan. Last night, he called me.
"I don't know how to say this, so I'm just going to: I'm still in love with you," Marcus's voice came through the phone.
My heart plummeted into my stomach. "You're drunk. You need to hang up the phone."
"Alicia, I promise you that I'm not. I needed to tell you, and I need to know if you feel the same." I could hear the waver in his voice, but there was no slur to his words. "If you do, I can't go through with this tomorrow."
"What do you expect me to say? You're marrying my friend. Even if you weren't, you broke my heart." I felt my blood boiling. "Did you call Clarissa, too? What about Mindy and Sarah? Am I the last one on your list of flings that you decided to call and check with to find a way out of this?"
"No, Alicia, it's only you." He was quiet for a minute. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have called."
With that, he hung up on me. I immediately DM'd Clarissa, my former best friend, to see if Marcus had reached out to her. She said he hadn't, but I needed to tell Meghan like she had decided to tell me.
That's why I'm here in this taxi. I have to stop my friend from making the worst decision of her life even though I didn't RSVP to the wedding and would likely be late since the wedding was two states away from my home.
"I hate to be a bother but can you drive any faster? I have a really important meeting," I said.
"Sweetheart, I am going as fast as I can." The gruff man in the front of the taxi said. "Chicago traffic is always a mess."
What felt like an eternity later, we pulled up to the church. I handed him my card to scan and then raced toward the building. A quick glance at my phone told me I was about fifteen minutes late. I was praying that they hadn't said their vows yet.
I sprinted past the decor and welcome signs near the door and into the sanctuary.
With the deepest breath I could take after sprinting this far, I shouted, "I object!"
There was a gasp and people turned to face me. I didn't recognize any of the maybe fifty people in their all-black clothing, so I glanced up to the front. There's no way Meghan and Marcus would have this small of a wedding.
At the front, a half-opened wooden casket sat with a picture of a beautiful teenage girl next to it.
"I'm so sorry. I think I may have the wrong church. What is this one?" I asked.
"It's St. Paul's Missionary Church." An older lady near the front got up and walked toward me.
"Is it the one on Jefferson avenue?" I asked.
"No, you're on Madison street, dear," the older lady said. "If you follow me outside, I will direct you to it."
"I'm so sorry everyone." I apologized again as the older woman led me out.
"Where am I?" Someone asked.
There were gasps, and someone shrieked. I turned around to see the same girl in the photo sitting upright in the casket only she had no hair. A middle-aged woman stumbled to the casket sobbing.
"That's impossible," The older woman said. "How did you do this?"
"I-I don't know." I stuttered as a middle-aged man joined the woman at the casket.
"Where did you say you were heading again? St. Paul's Missionary on Madison street." I continued to stare at the girl in the casket.
"Let me take you." The older woman ushered me to her car and drove like a mad woman to the church.
Now, I was half an hour late and experiencing an existential crisis since I thought necromancers only existed in fantasy games like Dungeons and Dragons, but I needed to pass on the message. I pushed down what just happened at the church to save my friend.
This time, I made sure it was Meghan and Marcus's names on the decor outside the church before I sprinted in and shouted again. It was in fact the right place to be.
"I object!" I shouted.
Meghan stopped poised to put the ring on Marcus's finger. She stared at me for a minute then glared. Everyone around me turned to look at me as well. My eyes locked on Marcus, whose face was turning white.
I walked down the aisle, took the ring out of Meghan's hand and gave it to the maid of honor, grabbed Meghan's hand, and pulled her into a side room of the chapel.
"What the hell is your problem?" Meghan asked. "You came two whole states without any warning to ruin my wedding day?"
"No, I came two whole states to make sure you didn't make a decision you would regret for the rest of your life." I pulled out my phone and showed her my call log. "Marcus called me last night to confess his love to me. He said if I still had feelings for him, he wouldn't marry you."
Meghan scoffed. "He was drunk. We all say stuff we don't mean when we're drunk."
"First of all, I've seen and heard him drunk. Marcus was stone sober last night. Second, have you ever said something you didn't mean when you were drunk?" I raised an eyebrow.
"Oh my God." Meghan's voice shook. "I can't believe he did this to me."
I rubbed her back. "You can't marry him. He's still that guy that cheated on me during freshman year. I messaged Clarissa last night and she ended up telling me that he's reached out to her before, but she refuses to ever hurt anyone the way that she hurt me."
"Can you tell me where I am?" An older gentleman in regal period clothes appeared at the door. "I can't seem to remember what happened. I woke up on the ground out there."
"Meghan, does this church have a graveyard?" I asked.
"Yeah, why?" She asked eyeing the man.
"Tell Marcus you can't marry him." I walked over to the older gentleman. "Come on, sir. There's a lot of explaining I have to do to a lot of people."
Surer enough, the entire graveyard was full of people in various clothes wandering around. Some of them were embracing one another, others were looking around suspiciously.
"Hi, everyone. I'm not really sure how to break this to you, but you all were dead a few minutes ago. I'm not sure how or when you all died, but welcome to the year 2022. There are some things you need to know..."
Happy Writing,
Ally Mac
Comments