While following the challenges of my Blogging 101 class and diving further into the blogosphere, I found more writer’s prompts and here’s today’s writing prompt from Today’s Author: http://todaysauthor.wordpress.com/2014/05/

I thought this would be a good way to practice writing some flash fiction and I hope you enjoy reading it.

Today’s prompt: They burned all the wood they had in the fire pit, and then started chopping down trees.

And here is my response:

Lost in the Woods

They burned all the wood they had in the fire pit, and then started chopping down trees. When the third sapling fell with a soft crash on the forest floor, Josh paused looking at Timothy, his younger brother, “I think that’s enough for now. Let’s cut these into cords of fire wood, restart the fire in the pit, and get into our sleeping bags.”

Timothy swallowed hard looking tearful, “We’re really lost. How are we going to get home? And I’m still hungry.”

Josh sighed while searching through his backpack, “Here are some crackers I have left over from supper. We need to ration what food we have left so we can make it last. By morning it will be daylight again, and then we can try retracing our journey back to the main road and back to where I parked the jeep. In the meantime, we need to prepare for another cold night in these woods.”

Time passed, the trees were chopped into firewood and a warm fire was blazing in the pit. The brothers settled into their sleeping bags. Exhausted from the long hike and chopping fire wood, Timothy soon fell asleep. Josh rested under his covers; with his hands laced behind his head, and listened to his brother’s rhythmic breathing. While letting out his pent up breath, he gazed at a patch of starry sky between the towering trees above and wondered, “What if we can’t find our way back tomorrow? What if we have to spend yet another cold night in the woods? Some great camping trip this has turned out to be. Our first camp site got flooded out and now this.” Josh turned on his side groaning, “This is my fault since I insisted on hiking so far through a new wilderness area and then losing some of our gear while climbing up that steep trail.” He returned to his back gazing at the starry heavens one more time, “Never mind,” he told himself while tears stung his eyes, “I have to be brave for Timmy. Somehow we’ll find our way out of here: somehow we’ll find our way home.”

In the stillness, Josh turned to face his sleeping brother and whispered, “Timothy, I’m sorry that I got us lost. I know this is the worst camping trip ever.”

He was startled to see his brother twist himself around and sit up in the moonlit darkness, “That’s ok Josh; this is not just a camping trip. It is an adventure.”