100 Words - Failure?

 I made the mistake of trying to give one of my minor characters a backstory. Ten thousand words later my short story is now a novel focusing on this asshole that nobody likes. I tried to go back to the beginning, but it’s hopeless. The character isn’t good enough to route for, or bad enough to hate.

I have a pile of these pieces. I call them learning exercises, which is better than calling them failures. Failure is a difficult word. To me though, it implies a public rejection, and this story will never make it to the public’s eye.

100 words - Blood

I feel it slipping away, becoming aware too late. Past the point of correctability. The numbers fall. Double digits when triple are required. The brain slows. The lightness invades the shoulders. The neck bobs. The sweat comes. Oh God, I'm sweating. I know what's happening. I know how to fix it, but some morbid need stops me. First I have to see just how close I am to falling over the edge. How many points above coma am I? Has the bungee cord snapped? Can I climb back out of the hole my body has dug? The failure of blood.