Pentober 2026 - Day 1: COIN

Ok so, what is Pentober? Promptober? It's a writing tradition that's been around the web for a while where you write up a short story every day in October based on prompts. Some go for pen and paper, some digital; everyone has their own style. I'll be posting here, and I'll be using the prompts from https://www.topinfiction.com/p/pentober-2026

House rules are that I vomit-write the story; no planning, just taka taka taka on the keys. I get ONE edit at the end of the draft, then we post it. House rules also say that I get to play catch up and do multiple days separately on one day or combined if work gets wild and I can't write. Get it? Got it? Good! Here we go. This is a quick one after a long multi-day conference.

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"Penny for your thoughts?"

I whipped around to face the raspy voice's direction; two gold glints, eyes-width apart, drilled into me from a shadowy corner on Wacker Drive. A man stepped into the light; he wore a tattered rowing blazer striped in navy, maroon, and gold with slacks so black they seemed to fade directly into the shadows.

"Obol for your crossing?" He stuck his tongue out at me and peeled a large silver coin off of it; he stretched out his hand to give it to me. The coin was big enough to be a half-dollar.

"I think I'm going to leave, man," I said, trying to remember which stairwell led to my hotel's street level.

"I couldn't agree more," he snickered at me and shoved the coin back into his mouth. His hand followed the coin. Then his forearm. Then he was up to his shoulder. I stared at the geek show with a mixture of confusion, horror, disgust, and amusement. It was an impressive feat.

Before I could turn to leave I felt a tap on the shoulder and whipped around again. It was his hand, somehow emerged from a shadow cast by iron struts above me. He grabbed my collar and, before I could react, pulled hard. In a blink, I was hurtling towards the concrete barrier on the other side of the road, stumbling to stop myself and then, before I had time to process it, was over the barrier and fell several feet to the riverwalk below. The momentum rolled me towards the river. Eventually, I slowed to a stop and got to my knees, panting, and collected myself.

I could see my reflection in the Chicago river. I was bleeding heavily from a gash in my skull. Blood dripped into the teal water.

A few minutes later my blood pressure slowly returned to normal; my hearing came back as the rushing in my ears stopped. I could hear one of the river cruises pulling in to dock for the evening. It was a quiet night, otherwise. I started to rise to my feet as the boat passed by me, casting a shadow across the water before me. As I stood, I got dizzy and collapsed hard towards the ground; I saw ripples of gold and silver in my own reflection as the water came up to meet me. I swore I saw a hand shoot up from the depths below to pull me down.

I came to on the other side of the river; hours must have passed. The streets were even emptier than before the fall. The building lights were all on. They mocked me, winking at me in gold and silver bokeh, mimicking the coins that haunted the back of my mind. It was night.