Velociraptors Part Deux

I've been struggling for the past week to write a coherent post.  It hasn't worked.  I wrote one or two yesterday, another the day before, and composed several in my head over the past few days.

But I don't want you guys to think I abandoned you, so here I am.  And to make up for my absence, here's a short story written for you all on the spot, that will likely be terrible.  Be warned, this is over 500 words long, and sort of long.  Enjoy.

___

The writer hurried down the hallway to her office, keeping her notebook clamped tightly shut.  She burst into the office, and threw the notebook on the ground, and just as its pages began to flutter, slammed her foot down on it.

"Guys, we have a problem," she panted.

"What seems to be the issue?" asked one of the other writers, looking curious.

"We've got another case of them."

"Not again."

"I thought they were gone for good this time!"

The writer nodded.  "They're back.  Well, they want to be.  I've managed to keep them confined.  I just hope we'll be able to contain them."

"Just stick it in the Vault," said one of the other writers, pointing at a heavy, metal door in the wall.

"But my whole novel's in here!" protested the writer, gesturing at the notebook pinned to the ground.

"But you hate writing by hand..." said one of the other writers.

"I was trying to broaden my views, and decided it was okay.  Only..."

"You wrote them in again?"

"It wasn't on purpose!  They were important to the plot!" wailed the writer.

The other writers nodded, understanding.  "I just wish they would stop appearing in your stories.  We always seem to have... issues... with them," said one of the other writers.

The writer nodded, looking miserable.  "What am I supposed to do?  I can't keep the darned thing, or they'll all escape, but I don't want my novel to go into the Vault!"

"Hmm... we could try a careful extraction of all written pages except for the ones with them on them..." mused one writer.

The writer looked hopeful.  "Can we try?"

The other writers nodded slowly, but they all looked nervous.  "If we try this," one of them said, "Are you completely positive you can make them go away, if they get out?"

The writer paused, then nodded slowly.

"Alright then."  

The other writers stood, and walked toward her.  They knelt at her feet.  "When I say 'Now!', you remove your foot," said one of the writers, who had taken charge.  "Then, we'll flip through a few pages, and you'll put your foot down again.  We'll do this until we reach them."

The writer nodded.  "NOW!" shouted the writer in charge.  She lifted her foot, and the pages began to rustle. The other writers quickly began their work.  "And... down!" shouted the one in charge after a moment.  The writer slammed her foot down.

They continued in this fashion for seven or eight more times, until the writer shouted, "STOP!  In one more page, you'll reach them, and they'll get out again."

The other writers quickly ripped out the necessary pages, and then the first writer slammed her foot down again.

The notebook rustled angrily under her foot.  "Now, that thing goes into the Vault," said the writer who'd taken charge.

The writer nodded, and stooped down, to pick up her notebook.  She held it tightly closed, and sighed.  "I did like you, you know," she said.  Then she turned, and faced the others.  "Alright, I'm ready, open the Vault."

The writers moved over to the heavy metal door, and opened a small hatch in the door.  The writer threw her notebook in, and almost immediately heard the angry, frantic screech of the confined animals.

Velociraptors.

(550 words)

{Via}

___

Does a velociraptor post make up for the fact that I didn't post for eight days?  Also, I applaud you if you read this whole thing-- it was kind of long.  

And if you want to read my original velociraptor post, click here.

The Dandy Lioness

The Truth Behind the Velociraptor Incidents

The girl glances around her, then beckons to the small group of people standing around her.  "Okay.  Gather round.  I've got a secret to tell you."
The people look interested.  A secret?  What could it be?
"See that sign over there?" she asks, pointing to a small, printed sign that read, "This is a velociraptor-free workplace.  It has proudly been [12] days since the last velociraptor incident."
They all turn and look, then nod.
"I'm going to tell you the secret about the velociraptor incidents."
They all look interested now.
"It was a dark and stormy night," she begins.

It was a dark and stormy night, with winds raging outside, and rain pounding the windows.  A small group of writers, huddled over their laptops were writing furiously.
"FREEEAAAAHHHH!"
The writers look up, confusion in their eyes.  "What was that?" asked one.
"Was it our imagination?"
"Blame it on the storm.  It's got us all frazzled," the last one said, shaking her head.
They all nodded, and went back to their work.  But hardly two minutes passed, before they heard the screech again.  "FREEEAAAAHHHH!  FREEEAAAAHHHH!"
"That was certainly not our imaginations," said the first one.
A pause.  Finally, one of them spoke.  "Well... I was just writing about velociraptors.  You don't think they... they came out of my writing, do you?"
"That only happens in stories," the last one said, shaking her head.
"But we're the writers.  Perhaps it's all real to us," said the one who had spoken.
They all exchanged glances.  This was true.  "FREEEAAAAHHHH!  FREEEAAAAHHHH!" 
"Well," said one of them, after a moment.  "It certainly sounds like a velociraptor."
"What do we do?" asked the first one, fear showing in her eyes.
"Call an exterminator?"
"Who would we call, T-Rex-B-Gone?  Be realistic," the last one said, shaking her head.
"Realistic?  We have velociraptors.  Outside our office.  In the twenty-first century.  I'm done with realistic.  I'm desperate here," said the second one.
The last one pursed her lips, but said nothing.
"Come on guys, we have to do something," said the first one.  "These velociraptors don't sound like they're going to leave us alone.  How do you scare them away?"
"Well," said the one who had (accidentally) written the velociraptors into the world, "I wrote them in.  I could try writing them out."
They all glanced at each other.  The thought hadn't occurred to them.
"We might as well give it a try," said the first one.
"Alright..." said the velociraptor-writer.  She bent over her keyboard, and began to write.
Every so often, they would hear a faint, "FREEEAAAAHHHH!  FREEEAAAAHHHH!" from outside.  And then...
"FREEEAA--" the last velociraptor cry was cut off.
The writer looked up.  "Done," she said, nodding.  "They should be gone now."

"So, that's the tale of the velociraptor incidents," explained the girl.  "We have to be careful about what we do in this office.  We're writers here.  Sometimes, well... our imaginations get the better of us."

I hope you all enjoyed this silly post about velociraptors, inspired by Scarlett, a new follower of mine, who asked about the specifics of the velociraptor incidents.

The Dandy Lioness