Time: 7 minutes. Click here to go to my list of prompts.
“Submarine day” (Inspired by this list of silly holidays. Because St. Pat’s would be too obvious!)
The sub was beginning to stink. It reeked of sweat and mildew. Jansen had been short-circuiting the timer on the air-lock. It was his fault, I knew it. We wouldn’t get fresh air for another month, and the filtration system was already going at max.
Something long and tentacled swam past my window. I knew why Jansen rushed the air-lock—there was something wrong about this planet. The little submarine felt like an oasis in a wet desert, a safe space in a world of monsters. The survey had revealed some large native lifeforms, but our sub, which apparently resembled a good meal, brought them out in numbers we couldn’t anticipate.
But the company said it was alright, and we had signed contracts, so we would stay until the next crew arrived.
Construction was behind schedule. The initial design specs were insufficient in light of the lifeforms in the ocean. If one of the large ones rammed the base, the original design wouldn’t take that.
Another creature, head like a folded umbrella, long like an eel, swam by. Several of its eyes blinked. I wondered if it could see me.
Vironevaeh 
Nicely done. Timed writing prompts for speculative fiction certainly bring out creativity.
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I haven’t been doing as much long-form writing since exploring out here is so enticing. So I love keeping up with the writing prompts. They document a certain kind of reaction to my new environment, and they keep my toes wet. Even if I were writing more, they are a low-commitment way of brainstorming. I’ve posted nearly 80 to this website. I don’t love them all, but the method always keeps me coming back. They’re terrifically fun.
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