The Night the Sky Misbehaved
A short story written by Matt Gardner with PlotWeaver: Cards of Creation, a storytelling game made by Mod Hob Cooperative.
This story uses an Inverted Plot Pattern, written in 15-minute timed acts with all story cards drawn at random. For more information, visit www.plotweavergame.com
Act 1: Immediate Conflict or Crisis
(Story Element Cards: The Orphan, Mountain Lodge, Alien Encounter, and Adventure)
Chloe made her way up the mountain. It was an exceptionally windy night, but she was fascinated by the light show on the horizon. She hauled herself up the sharp cliffs in the dark, hoping not to tumble into the blackness behind her. Flashes of light every few seconds helped her plot a line along the ledge.
The trees smashed into her with every gust, pushing her down. She had run, climbed rocks in the dark, and jumped across a gorge.
“What the hell is a gorge, even?” she muttered, searching for a word to describe the three-metre-wide creek she’d just leapt.
At last, she reached a flat shelf and saw an old building. It looked like a hotel or lodge, a silhouette against the stunning bursts and swooshes of colour that lit up the night sky.
She ran to it, testing the doors. If she could get to the roof, she’d have the perfect view of the anomaly.
“Why the heck am I doing this?” Chloe muttered. She couldn’t remember ever being so determined. Normally, she was the last one off the couch when people got excited about a full moon or an eclipse, but this was different.
At first, she’d suspected the northern lights, but those don’t whip through the sky like God playing with a cat toy. This was otherworldly.
The lodge door was ajar. Inside, the place was clearly uninhabited, probably for years. A little mouldy, sure, but it would shelter her from the wind while she watched the sky.
On the roof, she found a good little spot to rest. She was sweating through her clothes and starting to get chilly when she heard a sound. An unfamiliar tone. She jerked around and came face-to-face with a grey alien.
“Who the BLEEEEP are you?” Chloe screamed.
