Hiya, this is an idea that follows on from a thread I made on the discussion forum, as I thought it might be fun to have some writing prompts!

The prompt is a one-word one, as I find those to be the most versatile and interesting.

The word I picked for this thread is 'vessel'.

I'm going to post my interpretation of the prompt below this as a 'chapter 2', so that my submission doesn't sway anyone's ideas on what to write, and hope you guys will get involved with your own takes on the prompt by adding new chapters/story paths below! Credit to SepiandDust for the general idea of how this is all set out :)

• Riot45

Sprinting outside, muscles on fire from running so hard. Collapsing in a bush, sharp twigs and thorns scraping the skin, small dots of crimson blood welling in from the deep. Like HIS blood, in the tangled hollow tubes snaking around his body. Nonononono must get away must get away must get away.

Must get away from the hospital.

Staggering up. Running and running and running. Stopping. Sitting on the floor. Curling into a ball, stuffing a wad of the white coat into the mouth. No. Not white. It used to be white, now sprinkled with HIS blood. Screaming into the cloth...

I remember a sentence from a song: I think I'm burning alive but nobody sees the fire.

But this time, I'm not burning alive, I'm drowning in a sea of crimson, drowning in the hollow, twisted tubes, drowning in the blood vessels... But nobody sees the blood, only me.

I laughed.

A surgeon. What was I thinking of? That I can handle the blood? That I can handle the fact that, if something goes wrong, the patient might die?

Die... What a strange word. With different meanings layered to it.

Die means screaming until your vocal chords are ripped and torn apart, means slimy, steaming guts spilling out, means blood spilling onto the floor, raw slabs of human flesh...

I choked and vomited, falling down, face in the puddle, oranges and yellows and browns swirling around the substance. Groaning and moving to another spot, sticky vomit still on my face. lying down and waiting for the morning. Thoughts of the blood vessels still in my head...