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Wow, the week passes fast.

It’s Monday again, so it’s time for the Community Story. But first a little update. At the beginning of last week, I was ahead on my writing goal of revising six chapters a week and feeling really good. The end of the week got hectic, however, and I ended Sunday a chapter short (although I had started working on my sixth chapter). This morning I got up early and, I think, figured out how to fix my boring chapter beginning, so I’m back on a roll, and plan to do six chapters this week — preferably seven as I was short last week.

Also, on Saturday, I went to the Houston chapter of the Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators Editor’s Day, and I can report it was fabulous. Five editors, great access, candid conversations. I’ll be posting about that later this week. But for now, I’ll say I still feel on a high from it.

Oh, also, we have another interview with a debut author on Day By Day Writer tomorrow. Annette Fix, author of The Break-Up Diet, will stop by on her blog tour and give us some insight into her experiences with self-publishing, a hot topic and a choice that is being explored more and more by authors these days. So stop by for that one.

Now on to this week’s installment of our Community Story. It’s still not too long, so I’ve posted everything we’ve got so far, plus my new addition at the bottom. Leave a post saying what you think the next sentence or paragraph should be:

Bonnie’s eyes flickered open as she laid on her back looking up at the sky. She caught a brief glimpse of a person moving away from a ledge 30 feet above her. Slightly dazed, she was not sure if she had fallen or been pushed, but what she did know was that her back was hurt and her head was throbbing from her fall. She lifted her right hand to her head. Wet. She was bleeding, and it didn’t feel like a cut that could be patched up with a Band Aid. It would have to wait, though. She could hear footsteps, and they were getting closer and more urgent.

Wincing against the pain that now radiated from her back as well as her head, Bonnie eased herself up to a sitting position and surveyed her surroundings. She had landed on a patch of soft grass nestled between two rock faces, and to her right was what looked like a drop off. She tried to stand, careful not to make any noise. But as her elbow buckled in pain, her hand knocked a small rock over the edge. She froze, waiting for the sound of the crash to alert the other people. But when no noise came, she looked over the edge and her head began to spin. The drop off was at least a hundred feet, ending in white caps of a rushing river.

Something hit the back of Bonnie’s head and she looked up. A rope had been thrown down from the ledge above her and a head was peering over the side. Panic rushed into Bonnie’s mind. “Climb up!” The head from above was shouting at her. But Bonnie didn’t know what to do. Was the head friend or foe? And really, what other choices did she have?

She grabbed the twisted rope and as she did, a FLASH popped into her mind. Wind rushed into her ears as she flew from the green Cadillac. Two quick glimpses of sky and earth and her face crunched against the rocky Tennessee soil.

That’s right. She had been in a car crash. No, not a crash, she remembered. She had jumped out of the car while it was still moving. But why would she do that? Or was she pushed? “Climb up!” the voice above her insisted again. Bonnie wished she could remember more.

The footsteps around the ledge were closer now and accompanied by shouts in a language Bonnie didn’t understand. She couldn’t see who owned the voices, but something told her they weren’t friendly. She wasn’t sure about the head above her either, but, as she looked over the hundred feet drop-off at the edge of her ridge, she knew she didn’t have much choice. She was going to have to trust someone — at least for now. Taking a deep breath, she grabbed the rope and began to pull.

Every muscle in her body ached as she dragged herself up the mountainside to the ledge above. She could see the head disappearing then appearing again. As she got closer, Bonnie realized there was concern in the person’s eyes. But still, she told herself, that doesn’t mean she can trust them. As her left hand reached for the edge of the ledge, her right hand balled into a fist, ready to strike as soon as she was on steady ground.

All right! The next part is up to you! Post a message and say what you think will happen next. Who is this mystery head? You let us know. Your contributions will be included in the full story next Monday.

Write On!