01/18/2013 Fantastic Friday!

Hello everyone and welcome back. I hope this week has seen you all well. For me it has been spent desperately trying to keep warm while at the same time trying to keep clean air around me. We have been stuck in a frozen fog for the last several days and air quality has gone right the way of the dump-truck. I'd love for some clouds to roll in and for some rain to fix that right up. For now though, let's get to work, shall we?

Today I bring you 'The Cave' by Jenny Gaines. A quick little short story about a pair of travelers that find shelter in a cave they'd never noticed before after an earthquake. This story feels like it's setting up for something bigger, and I can always appreciate that, so I'm hoping that I'm right.

Iteska and Azuek are working on getting back to the local village when their travels are interrupted by an earthquake. Thankful they weren't injured in the tremor they are forced to take shelter for the night in a cave that was hidden until the earthquake shook away anything that had been blocking it from sight before. Not seeing a better option they set up camp, but what they don't know is there was a very good reason that cave was hidden before. Like a pitcher plant, something in the cave has been waiting, and now Iteska and Azuek must do what they can to ensure they get to return home safely.

I picked this story because frankly sometimes not knowing is fun, especially when it's an intro to something much bigger. The story is short and tells you that something has been waiting, and now it is starting to wake up and these are the first people to encounter it in a very long time. I know that prequels are supposed to answer some things, but they're also supposed to set up the questions for later. If you are going to start your series, then by all means give us questions because they will be far more satisfying to answer later.

'The Cave' is available on Smashwords for absolutely free. It's a very short little story that I hope you all pick up. I also hope that my guess is right, and that this is the start of something much bigger. If it is this is a good intro for it and I hope the author is able to get the rest of the story out. If not, it is a good stand-alone mysterious short story for anyone to enjoy.

Thanks everyone for stopping by. I won't be in on Monday for the holiday, so I hope everyone has a great weekend. For me, I will be back on Wednesday with more things to talk about. I will spend my time working on my stories in an attempt to get something closer to being finished. Until then I hope you all have a great weekend!