I have another writing prompt for my writer’s group.  The prompt is in italics, and what follows is my imagination.  I hope you enjoy this 2nd work of fiction.  This one required more thought on my part, but honestly, a lot of people told me to just start writing and where it goes.  That’s pretty much what I did this time.

My options were dwindling by the minute. Right or wrong, I had to do something. I couldn’t just wait this one out. I told my secretary to cancel all my appointments for the afternoon and slipped out the back door into the alley. And, sure enough, waiting for me there was the old, unkept man named Eli with the docile yellow lab he called Buster who had come to my office yesterday to tell me his woeful tale.

I told him to follow me as I briskly headed for the parking lot and my car. I hesitated when I got there, about putting both the man and his dog in my well-kept Lexus SUV. I only had a nano-second’s hesitation though, before I realized there was no choice if I was going to do something to help him and his friends in their plight.

“You give me directions, Eli,” I instructed him. We wove along the city streets, to the river bank, where the roads led to the city park. He instructed me to go down an obviously little used utility road and park the car. Buster, in the back of the SUV, was pacing anxiously as I pushed the button to lift the hatchback and let him out. He ran ahead of Eli, and we followed at as fast a pace as the old man could walk. I was grateful I had worn slacks to work that day, not a dress.

Our path wove down to the river’s edge. Still, I saw nothing but river and its banks. I was beginning to think Eli had made it all up, when, a short way down the riverbank, we started climbing back up. As he moved some brush out of the way, the opening of a cave appeared about 5 feet beyond. As I walked through the brush he’d cleared, toward the mouth of the cave, Eli replaced the brush back into position to hide the cave. I stopped at the entrance, and waited for him. I wasn’t sure what to expect. My claustrophobia was setting in, and I had visions of bats flying into my hair, and was fighting the urge to tell him forget it.

But I couldn’t do that now. I was committed. There was no one else to help and there was a tragedy in the making. He urged me on, telling me we didn’t have to go too far in. Buster ran ahead, and Eli took my hand and led me into the cave.

I may continue this story, and then again, I might leave it where it is.  Thanks for reading!