Writing Prompts

Graveyard Set Up

Tumblr prompt: Grave robber digs up the wrong patch and discovers someone who's been buried alive. These are my OCs, all rights reserved. 

Zane wiped both his sandy hair and the sweat away from his face. The cool dry air of the desert night felt refreshing as he dauntingly climbed out of the exhumed grave. Tossing the shovel to the side, Zane looked to his scrawny business partner. "Your turn, Freddy".

The copper haired man looked over to the other with excited pewter eyes. Grabbing a weathered medical bag, Freddy rushed past Zane and to the edge of the hole, "so what exactly am I taking off of the old bastard?"

"I need the right arm, right leg and head of this man," Zane panted, sitting on the ground to catch his breath. Pulling out his small journal, Zane read the contents aloud. "The head already has a buyer. A necromancer I think. And I need the limbs for something I'm working on".

With a simple nod, Freddy hopped into the grave with thud.

Zane took a minute to gather himself before taking on his next task as the lookout. Slightly cursing himself for picking poorly during their coin flip. Rules are rules, he thought. This was how the job was with a partner. Ever since Freddy joined with him in his more shady endeavors, Zane had been getting more done. Grave robbing was already hard work, but having an assistant that was actually intelligent and can carry his own weight was a relief.

They decided flipping a coin was the fairest way to split the work. One would dig and fill the grave back up and stand watch for the guards while the other took what they needed from the grave and stood watch while the other dug. Given that there was someone always on watch, both Zane and Freddy agreed that the work was evenly spread.

The familiar sound of the casket giving way drew Zane from his thoughts and the unexpected gasp made him jump to immediate panic. He rushed to the grave to see Freddy standing over the open casket.

"There's a woman in here!" Freddy panic whispered. "And she is still breathing! Fucking all-mother, she's alive!"

Zane peered around Freddy to see a young dark haired woman curled up in the casket. Her bloodied fingers matching the claw marks on the inside of the shredded cloth lid. Her breathing was shallow and uneven. Much longer in the grave and she would have met her end Zane guessed. The sound of clanking armor and hastened footsteps sent Zane's panic into overdrive. The guards should be making their rounds in another thirty minutes, not now. Unless...

"Freddy grab the girl and let's go! We've been set up!"

"Why should we take her? It's kidnapping!"

"If we get caught with her here, it's attempted murder! If she comes with us, we can ask her who would want to put her in some old man's grave. Probably the same people who wanted us to dig this old man up".

Freddy shrugged, not arguing with that logic. Together, both men hoisted the unconscious woman out of the grave and the three escaped capture.

Zane always assumed that he and Freddy were going to make enemies, but being set up was completely different.

The men got back to their home safely and Zane started to care for the woman. Between his medical history and Freddy's help, they were able to mend the woman's injured hands. Her breathing and complexion improved by morning, all they had to do was wait for her to wake.

Freddy and Zane had so many questions. Hopefully their new house guest was willing or able to answer them.