Short Story Contest #6 - Survival Horror

[Pharaoh_]

Where is the Paranormal/Out of this World part?
Is it going to come up later in the story?

Of course it's going to come in later on.

Yetis?

No

 

[CeDiL]

I am sorry, it seems like i'm quitting. Personal problems, i just can't write now...

 

[neo_child]

AWH CRAP 1 WEEK TILL DEAD LINE AND I HAVEN FINISH MY STORY!!!
CRAMMING FOR IT!!!
If over 10k words like 10402 can it still be accepted?(This is an example people)

 

[The World Is Flat]

Not gonna actually enter probs, not my kinda contest.

 

[darkdeathknight]

New WiP dont really care if you dont read it

The Story

The Survivor.

Tuesday 10th of July
I decided to write a diary, so if anyone survives the shit that were in, they can have some record of things. It's good to write again. Never had time to do so, but writing seems to give me comfort. Something you don't have much of in this world.
It has been 15 days now, holed up in here. The food's been running out.
Barricading this house was hard work. Took the whole day just to board up the windows, and sort everything out. I even left my possesions outside, luckily there seemed to be no looters around.
When it happened, everyone seemed to know what to do. Just shoot the damned things in the head.
At the start, chaos from people killed more than the actual zombies. Problem was, zombies didnt need to "bite" you or harm you in anyway, the disease was air-borne.
The "dead" did not stay dead. Before people could dispose of the bodies, they were already rising creating more havoc in the cities.
Another thing that people thought was that they rot and die off. When people thought they all died, the zombies got a feast served up on a silver platter.
Well, that was a year ago. Some of the hopeful thought the army would come and rescue them. Jarheads are trained to kill other soldiers. This was a job for the scientists. Not much help when they didnt know what they were dealing with.
I have to get out of this place, or I'll starve to death.
_____________________________________________________________
I woke up early, I couldn't sleep anyway. I got rid of the back door boarding, and it was hard work, especially because I'm hungry. Luckily, my wagon (which was a converted trolley) was still there, just tipped over. More hard work.
The sun shone brightly today. That was a good thing, as you could see things far away, which could not have been noticed during a fog, for example.
I went to get my other things from the house. A length of metal pipe, a pistol with about 4 rounds left, some clothes, bottles of water and a picture frame, with a smiling family. I didn't really know my family, except for this photo, so it was very dear to me.
When I came to put the items into the trolley, I saw one.
It was looking around the bottom floor, and was going around the living room.
"Crap" I thought.
Then it looked at me.
I dropped my things, and ran up. The beast came running up as well, but faster.
I stood my ground at the top of the stairs. I pulled out the stair railing to use as a makeshift weapon.
"Die you-"
The monster was extremely powerful and punched me in the chest. I fell down, and my chest was aching. I could feel the blood rushing up the bruise.
The zombie put his hands together, and was about to crush me. The final blow.
I quickly kicked it on the knee, making it fall towards me.
I lifted up the railing in front of me.
The sound of wood piercing the chest was heard.
____________________________________________________________
Wednesday 11th of July.
The zombies seemed to have changed somehow. A zombie attacked me in the morning. This is not a common thing. They are definately slower in the day, but this one ran at me full speed.
The strength of the brute was definately different to the normal ones. My chest still hurts.
I scouted a small supermarket, but I did not find much, just a few cans hiding behind a broken vending machine.
I continued to follow the road, the road is civilization, I'm just hoping that the Safehouse report on the radio is real.
Thinking about the zombies, they seemed to walk around a lot more today. they seem to be changing, I just hope the one I killed was some one-off strong zombie. I will need more firepower to take these strong ones down.
I better get some rest, being awake is probably not helping my chest to heal up. Maybe I should just count myself lucky that there was not broken bones.
____________________________________________________________
Crunch. Crunch.
I woke to the sound of footsteps. I looked down from the second storey. Goddam it. There was a group of zombies outside, investigating the house. They were going into the house, they must have somehow saw me going in.
Luckily, I am prepared this time.
"Come on you bastards!"
A howling was heard from the nearby zombies.
about 10 seconds later, I could see a zombie from the top of the stairs, it looked around for a brief moment and started going up the stairs. It was followed by 2 more zombies.
I pushed the bookcase that I put on top of the stairs, books and all. Before the zombies could react, they were crushed by the bookcase.
One of them was pinned by the heavy object and it's life was quickly ended by my pipe. Suddenly the ground moved under me. One zombie under the bookshelf was not dead, just mad.
It threw me off the now smashed bookshelf and I landed mid-way on the stairs. My instincts made me dodge half of the bookshelf thrown near me.
I booted the angry zombie in the face. It's jaw cleanly broke off, but it stared unmoved. More groans came from the bottom floor.
The zombie attempted to strike me, but I got my knife out and stuck it in his arm. It made a guttural howl, and while it was distracted, I ran to the top of the stairs, and went into the bathroom.
I looked around for any kind of weapon, there was none.
The zombies started to bang at the door, but the lock held it shut.
I had to think.... Going through the window seemed to be my only option.
I managed to squeeze out when the door broke. I managed to grab the rooftop as soon as a zombie swiped at the window.

 

[Disasterpiece512]

Meh, I'm out. Haven't really written anything else since my last WiP. Maybe next time.

 

[Dragonson]

Soo... Am i the only one ready for the contest to end?

 

[Pharaoh_]

I am also done with it :]

 

[Dragonson]

Awzum. ^^

 

[Pharaoh_]

Well, I'll post my final submission.

Story: When death reflects life

"When death reflects life"

"Peter, confirming unknown position, over?"
"Peter, confirming unknown position, do you copy?"
"Is anyone there?"

That was a desperate call from my walkie talkie two weeks ago. I am Peter Adams, an active climber, who seeks the beauties of nature. My team was split up by a heavy avalanche that was coming on us with a threatening roar. The cold is bone breaking, I can barely remember what happened. 14.000 feet above the ground, in the heart of Tibet, and silence became my new partner.

I was trembling before the mountains' wind, which echoed illusionary voices in my ears. My hopes were hanging over a thread and the intense white of the snow fogged my perception. It's those stories we hear in the news about lost climbers who engage themselves in life-time experiences; I never had the chance to think how it feels, being lost in the middle of nowhere, but time overhauled me. By that time, I had the leading role in those stories. If I was supposed to live, fate could tell.

Mentally and physically maimed, the only sound that was heard in a radius of thousands of miles was myself, who was struggling to stand up and seek for my comrades. That sounds like a stout venture, yet the guilt, for being careless, filled me up with a portion of energy, enough to stand up and take the first step. My boots were dipped into the snow and I caught myself staring at my own tracks. They were the only sign of alteration in that virgin location, where no other foot had stood on. The snowflakes were cooling my emotions, during a time that I could do nothing else but cry. Armed with a bit of courage, I started enveloping my fear and let my instincts and consciousness guide me, so that no sign of human life would be left out of my sight.

I focused on any trails of humans been dragged down the mountain, but the snow around me was untouched, a velvet shroud of vast absence. I turned my attention up to the sky, trying to see faintly through the snow waves that were clustering me. There were scarcely any sun rays to ignite my hopes. "HELP ME!", I cried out with my arms wide open, as if I was embracing any type of human call. The mountains hushed my squall, reminding me that I was all alone. By that time, the first tear was moistening my skin and the chances of survival were imprisoned within the boundaries of my imagination.

Dazed by my own discouragement, some shadow entered my field of view. It was standing still and... it looked like a building. An evidence of human life? Suddenly, I erased any negative thoughts and headed all fired up towards the foggy construction. Approaching the location, several constructions were pestering the vestal setting. The structures were poorly built; the passing of time had shaved the walls, the paint had clearly paled. On the left side, a set of stairs were inviting me to enter the small village. I followed the path and I faced the plain structures, oddly not covered in snow.

I was slowly wandering within the village, in order to ask for help. The absence of sounds made me stand still for a while, when thoughts barraged my head with the idea that the village was abandoned. Several flats that silently mounted the hills, composed an effete image. Absorbed by my introspection, a moving object, on the edge of my eye, drew my attention almost instantly. It looked like a blue dress that was waving in the direction of the wind. The lady -that I supposed it was- ran behind a house. Being unsure of what I saw, I was mumbling possibilities. Suddenly, a peal released me from discussing with myself.
The heavy sound of the bell made me turn to the left, to locate the source. A few meters away, a huge bell, attached on a small construction, soaring above the houses nearby, hanging off four ropes, that were tied into the shape of an "X". The first and only peal kept resounding for minutes. I abruptly started getting dizzy, the place around me felt like it had a personality of its own, and it kept running in circles. I then fainted.

Later on, I woke up from an utterly black dream. I don't know how much time had passed, but the sound of the bell was printed within me, I could still hear it. I had some strange feeling that wouldn't go away; was that bell a harbinger of a bad march of events? My superstitions were drenched up and I was translating everything around me as danger. I got up and decided to check over the place. Stimulated by a fear that I had to face a new nightmare, I was walking through the undefined alleys of the village.

Crossing along the muddy paths, I noticed several objects, lying on the ground. Rugs, untied pouches with a bunch of clothes, broken carts, half-destroyed boxes and other items that depicted the daily life of the villagers. The objects were scattered as if they were accidentally dropped or someone was on a rush, after collecting their most precious belongings. Something had caused the villagers to flee their residences. Everything was deserted, the streets were bear and the houses hermetically shuttered. A red matter made me stare at a coop nearby. The blood of eight dead animals, which were lying on the cold ground, a gruesome scene that restored my fear once again. I asked myself repeatedly, "What's the cause of this earthly hell?". My indulgent curiosity motivated me to investigate the place even more.

Clothes and other materials were now brimming the ground floor, while blood stains on the walls were synthesizing a fey scenery. My goal for survival was replaced by a goal to find out what had happened. I aimed to enter one of those blood-covered houses. Their sight was undoubtedly dreadful. They had a faint white color, the columns that supported the interior were dark like charcoal, partially torn curtains were decorating the windows and burnt items left behind, the usage of which I could not comprehend. All I could think is the torment that had hit these people. The air was rife with the smell of the blaze, a burning sensation that felt like I was a part of it. Several images of screaming women burst in my head, trying to save themselves from the fiery hell. Their wail shivered my body and I could embrace their pain. Their children were watching their own parents taken by the fire. If that was a vision or a dream, I don't know; I was too afraid to define it to myself elsehow than a dream. There is an Asian myth, which says that when a person dies under horrible conditions, a curse is left behind, that will devour anyone, who touches it. I prayed the myth was just a myth, for my visions encouraged me to feel threatened.

While I was busy with my tedious activity of researching, the night was falling over the village. I was flown with frisson, as to what the nightfall reserved for me. I was physically exhausted, but my subconscious suggested that I should stay awake. I sat myself on a pile of clothes and tried to at least ease my fatigue. My eyes were getting heavier over the time, I felt like surrendering to the sleep's command. I chose a more comfortable corner, that looked like a bed and decided to rest there. I closed my eyes and in a matter of seconds, a noise disturbed my sleep. I looked around and the door, that I distinctly remembered closing, was half opened. Not only my fear began to grow, but the cold wind, that was coming through, nailed me down. I was hoping that a powerful blow of the wind was the reason why the door opened up, so I once again gave up to my body's call.

A whisper in my left ear awakened me; I instantly rubbed my ear as a direct reaction and it was moist, as if someone in a distance of an inch had indeed whispered to me. My heart was pounding and my breath rate suddenly increased. I unintentionally recalled the pictures of the screaming woman, that were scattered as a photo album in my head; the connection was unavoidable. I kept staring at the ceiling, which was colored with the glitter of the moonlight, reflected by the snow outside. Suddenly, a shadow broke the reflection and it stood still. I could feel my blood running through my head, producing periodical twitches. I knew someone was out there. Determined that I was completely distracted from my repose, I diffidently reached the window. A woman in a black dress was standing with her back to me and her head bowed down. Her naked feet were floating a tad above the ground; I could see them being almost white. The torn curtain was moving back and forth and the figure kept disappearing rhythmically along with the curtain's move. Her long, pitch black hair was standing motionless and then whispers surrounded me, as if a bunch of people were telling me to run away. I took a step back with my breath taken away, while my heartbeat rate peaked. The whispers became louder and after some seconds the woman screamed with a plangent cry.

While I couldn't feel my legs, due to my fright, I repeatedly closed and opened back my eyes, to convince myself that I was not living this nightmare. Was it true? Had I just seen a dead person? It was the same lady I had seen in my vision. I was flooded with questions and fell down. By the time I touched the ground, the whispers stopped. I wanted to get away, but where would I go, when no one knew I was there? The house felt like a prison and a haven at the same time. I pulled back at the bed, which was now feeling like a coffin. Although I was shocked from what I had seen, my need to sleep grew stronger and my eyes closed unwillingly. My ears were tied up this time, since the lowest sound could upset me.

While I was trying to rest in that horrible room, some noise from my walkie talkie unsettled me. I was hoping that my friends were trying to contact me and grabbed it all joyous.
"Dan? Derek? Antony? Someone! Please, tell me you are alive!"
The walkie talkie was transmitting strange sounds, as if someone was toying with it.
"Guys, can you hear me? I am lost in an old village that I don't know anything about. Help me, please, where are you?"
Although something told me that I was talking to myself, I kept on talking, for I wanted to occupy my fear in that dark night.
"I am sorry I left you...", I said, bursting into tears.
"Our paths have been drawn apart, but I still hold your image around me, please, reply!"
After a few seconds of silence, I got disappointed, whispering out my last words "I feel so lonely here...".
After that, there was nothing coming out of the walkie talkie. I slowly released it from my hands that were grasping it tightly. By the time I left it on the bed, several voices were being transmitted, but not human ones, it was like an echo of them. The dead were trying to contact me? My fear was escalating and so was the voices' volume. I instantly dropped the walkie talkie from my hands on the opposite wall. Although broken, the voices were still echoing around me, as if it was a portal to the room I was in. I was full of strange and unprecedented feelings that I could not translate. Was it some accident that made a bunch of killed people trying to contact a living person? Was I unwanted in that village?

A noise on the floor that sounded like nails scratching it, aroused me. I jumped off the bed and tried to realize what caused it. A black thing was moving by the side of the bed. It was moving in a sketchy move and I could hear bones breaking, while it was fidgeting. I could make out it was a head and when I realized that, it stopped, but I could still see the top of the head. Slowly, the head moved upwards and I was frightened to what I was about to face. Part of the person's face emerged and it was a shaded white. The eyes were hollow and all I could see in their place was a pair of black holes. The face was looking at me and her fingertips were grasping the edge of the bed. I was petrified and tears were running off my eyes, as I was ready to cry out of my fright. That woman was moaning in pain, like trying to talk with her lips shut. A scream out of the house distracted me and I instantly looked outside; terrified, I looked back at the bed, but no one was there. I ran out of the house, screaming, trying to reach out a small square I had noticed in the evening. The surroundings felt so quiet, that made me think I was driving insane.

Since I was extremely tired, I decided to lay myself down in a small hut, that I ran into. I prayed that I would be all safe in there, "huh, a good time to wonder about divine's existence", I assumed. The next morning, I woke up and left the hut. I stared at the sky, stretching myself and let the crisp air of the mountains refresh my lungs. The pure sky, with that light blue that sends out vibes of positive thinking, induced me to smile, until I reflected on the night before. My smile instantly froze and all I could think is how to survive. I was starving, I hadn't eaten for at least fourteen hours. Without any supplies left, which were lost during the avalanche's hit, my mind came up with the most bizarre idea. Full of doubts and certainty at the same time, I headed to the small coop, where some animals' bodies were laying in and out of it. I still wonder how I let myself eat those animals, but human becomes weak before his physical needs. I chopped them down with an axe I found nearby and ate them raw. I can still feel the horrible smell that was rising out of their corpses, they must have been dead for a week or so.

I loitered the houses accompanied with the daylight, which bestowed to me a feeling of safety. Most houses were partially destroyed and time had left its traces on them. Signs of fire and blood led me to consider what's the story connected with this village. It was like a scene from a movie, where the directors clutter the places with death and decay material, often creating an extravaganza of death.

Dedicated to the exploration of the whereabouts, I came along with a horrible sight. A woman, hanged off a tree with an expression of despair, that I will never forget, was moving back and forth, due to wind. Dismissing my panic, I approached the hanging corpse. Her eyes were blurry, facing down, completely identified with the so called "dead's sight". Her hair was entangled with the rope she was hanging of and her lips were purple. I ducked down to align my eyes with hers and in an instantaneous move, she faced me. I got paused and all anxious and before I could refine my fear, she opened her mouth and it was totally dark from the inside, as if she has had her teeth and tongue ripped off. A consequent loud groan is what stiffened me with terror. My hands were clinging the cold dirt and a couple leaves, when I started moving backwards, straying from this unpleasant area. I was haunted. I then knew that I hadn't made anything up...

The night fell really quickly, as if it was hastened by some sort of a futuristic engine. I tried to tinker where I would spend the night this time. Deep down, the hopes of being found were still flickering. The question "Why?" shuttered me, my body was responding to my anxiety, making me feel nervous. I would rather rot in hell, than facing these demons. This time, I picked a flat far enough from the hanging woman's position and the house I had spent the night in. This one was all covered in blood, but I had no other option. I tried to rest, not only my body, but my emotions as well, looking forward for the feeling I had had, earlier that morning. I stepped inside and checked over the only room that was in this house. A bed and a small type of furniture, that looked like a night-stand made me stare them in awe. "Who was sleeping here?", I whispered to myself. The bed's fabric was torn and the holes let brown feathers come on the surface. On the night-stand, a lamp webbed in spiders motivated me to ignite it. The flame kept flickering, affected by the wind, which was coming through the wooden door's cracks. I grabbed some fabric I found around and tried to clog them. Preoccupied with my new work, I heard a sound behind me. It was like a squeal that left me astonished. My sweat was running on my face and I was whispering prayers. I slowly turned my eyes to the right, trying to distinguish anything that would be visible on the edge of my eye. I then abruptly turned around and I was startled with what I saw; a small child was sitting naked on the floor, playing with a wooden toy, that looked like a bull. Out of reaction, I asked it "What are you doing here?!", in Chinese. Its eyes were nailed on me. It raised its hand and pointed with its finger up to the ceiling, and, with a distorted voice, like of an adult's, said: "Muqin" (Mom) (!). I was frightened; I didn't know how to react, my body was shaking and I couldn't feel my legs. I then shouted out "Leave!" and it smiled, fading out.

Panicked and confused, I jumped on the bed. The flame was still flickering, but I had to close my eyes. Some scrape on the opposite wall was the new horror. I opened my eyes, knowing that a new dreadful presence will be standing in the room. Next to the door, a woman in a bent position was grabbed off the wall, like some bug. Before I even cringed on the bed, the woman started moving upwards, to the ceiling. When she reached the center of it, she performed a 180 degree move of her head, looking at me. I grabbed a torn dress and covered my mouth, full of fear. The woman hopped off the ceiling and stood next to me, on her knees, in a distance of a breath. My eyes stared at her with astonishment, while I was swimming with tears. The flame of the lamp was shining on her and her eyes were full of blood, but her sight was so penetrating, that it could induce me to kill myself. My head was filled with dark thoughts and the target was myself. Her skin was ripped, full of crinkles and fear possessed every part of me, making me feel completely crippled. For some seconds, there was dead silence, which was broken by her, who blew the lamp's flame away. I could still distinguish the contour of her figure in the darkness, when suddenly a bunch of hands broke through the wall and grabbed me, trying to pull me through it. I was trying to escape that undead horror; it was as if they were suppressing my strength to cut loose this bonding power. The hands ultimately disappeared and I was left with a heap of bones and skulls on the bed, which turned into ashes after a while. I ran out of the house, while I could hear voices from that wall.

Every building around me looked scary and then the place got brimmed with voices from the houses. People were screaming and crying; the doors and windows were being banged back and forth in a fast rate and I was centered in a cursed village. Cloaked persons were climbing on the houses, in a sketchy motion, like the lady in that house. They knew I was there, but they never looked at me. This fact made it even creepier. The place was windy, but I could feel no actual wind. The snow had disappeared and crying women were exiting their houses. I could see the despair in their faces, which were marked and had the veins distinct from being so black. Voices of people, who were sparing their last breath, clustered me and all I did is get down on my knees. It felt like my soul was taken off violently and those persons were seeking for revenge...

After a few minutes, everything around me faded out. The wind strewed a bunch of paper leaves, that were being flipped in front of my eyes. I grabbed them in my hands and tried to read them. They had been written in ancient Chinese, narrating a story. It must have been written by a small girl, as the handwriting looked childish. It said:
"My mother hates me, she tried to kill me two nights ago. My father stopped her. She killed herself. Our village now dies. It's spreading fire all over our heads."
This abbreviated series of sentences pinned me down. The handwritings contained drawings of a tree with four corpses hanged and a series of houses in flames. When I noticed the drawing, a song was heard like an echo of a small girl, crooning. I threw the handwritings away and stood up fast, starting to run towards random directions. I stumbled on a rock and remained on the ground, crying. It was then that I realized that this village was condemned to live the disaster that plagued it, over and over again. A haunted era that was shouting out to be heard.

Days and nights had passed before my eyes, in a dream that messaged me the curse of that village. It appeared like an old movie and got me back to time, before everything had happened. I hardly remember it, most of all, I remember that mother, trying to drown her only daughter in a well. The child's eyes were shining and my face was reflected on them, as if she knew I was watching. That mother was the lady I kept seeing around, the ghost that haunted me for two nights. All I know is that the real ghosts are more frightening than the ones in the films. They are not only representing death, they cause it.

A helicopter rotor dived into the background of my dream. I opened my eyes and I could see a flying object on the sky. The daylight had replaced the moon's obscure light. I couldn't even feel relieved that I was found, I was exhausted by this nightmare. After ten minutes, a group of people was rushing on me, with orange jackets; by that time, I closed my eyes, since I knew I'd be all in one piece. I told them not to enter that place and I clearly remember the expression of a lifeguard, who was looking at me full of curiosity. I turned my head, while I was being transferred on a lifeguard raft, but all I could see was the snowy mountains that were standing there eternally and all I could hear was the wanton breeze.

Two weeks have passed since that terrifying experience. I am the only one who knows what actually happened there, but no one would believe me anyway. I got sick with cancer and the doctors told me I am having a single week to live. I am now sitting on my couch, completely consumed by my sickness's assault, mourning my friends, whose bodies were never found. Along with a cup of tea, it reminds me that I still have some life left. I wouldn't want to die along with my story. What I learned from this experience is to flip the pages of my life and avoid casting things that I dislike. Those spirits were haunted by their own actions. I wish I had those moments of yours that you yawn out of boredom and manipulate them in a creative way, but I am leaving. If you have to keep something from this story, it's the lesson I taught myself this late. I wish I had the chance to (.....)

Peter Adams left his last breath in his apartment three days ago. His body was found after three days.

 

[darkdeathknight]

There seems to be no judges, so maybe people should ask around to see if we can get one.
Oh and Pharaoh, I would like to read yours, but I have to finish my story first!

 

[WhitePhoenix]

WIP

The evenings always start the same, the floors creek, the sky darkens, and the world bathes in the absence of reality. I don’t fully understand why I push day to day, why I take it one step in front of the other. Those thoughts are meant for the hopeful, for the ones that still want something from the anomaly of life. I can only stare into the vistas around me to find any comfort in this world. I could hear footsteps behind me; they were rash, no musicality or pattern, the same pattern you’d expect from a frightened mind. This sound was unthreatening; it was something all too common to us anymore. Marie walked around the corner, squirming, eyes bloodshot, deep darkened bags underneath. She opened her mouth to speak, eyes bubbling, and then stopped, squinted, and walked away. Austin, the youngest of us died yesterday, or we guess he died. He was a symbol, a symbol of hope. We’re just a group of old people without him, a group of people who’ve already experienced the world.

I always wondered why the kid needs to survive above all others in the movies. The answer became obvious the moment we lost Austin, because there’s no point afterwards, the reason we kept pushing forward is gone, we might as well be dead. Jeremy ran after Marie a few seconds after she fell out of my view, they had been developing a relationship, a forced relationship for the sake of survival. Having a community is one thing, but having one person who is eternally prioritizing you is another. The rest of us, Georgia and Cheyenne, were back in the living room.

We had taken refuge in a house on a side street; it was a larger house, three stories, with plenty of supplies and a couple of cars. We found a corpse in one of the bedrooms, it was the first corpse we’ve seen since this whole thing started, it gave all of us a shock, maybe that’s why we were able to lose Austin, we just weren’t thinking straight. It was a couple days ago actually.

We were running through the street during the daylight, another of our group, Jacob, fell out of sight, and by consequence out of mind, I yelled at everyone to keep pushing forward, that he was just gone. Everyone believed me. I was getting nervous that it was becoming so aggressive as to take one of us so close together even if he had only fallen out of view during that one turn, so I broke a window and entered this house. I rushed everyone in and together we all explored each room to make sure it was safe. We searched one by one, the kitchen, the living room, the various bedrooms, until we came upon the corpse. She was younger, in her mid-thirties, she looked drained, like a person deprived of sleep, and her eyes were solid black. Jeremy closed them quickly. He didn’t want Austin to notice. She was bruised on her right leg; it looked like a hand was squeezing the leg, with long sharp nails at the end that got dragged across the bruise.

We left it after initial inspection. Georgia took Cheyenne, Austin, and Marie to the living room to relax, while Jeremy and I finished the tour. After the all clear Jeremy and I went back to further inspection of the corpse, it was our first opportunity for information. We gently turned her over, slowly removed her clothing and inched over her body. With the exception of it feeling drained, everything but the bruise and the eyes were the same, the arms, the chest, the left leg, the torso, hair, face. It was all conducive. Jeremy looked at me after we finished with a grin of infuriation and internal frustration. He broke out into laughter. I frowned out of desperation for some kind of return to sanity. When he noticed he started to cry and refrained from laughing further.

That’s when we heard Marie scream.

It's late I guess, but heres my first WIP, think i'll just finish the story today, I wouldn't mind judging either, as I tend to gradually hate my work anyway.

 

[J.O.J.K]

WIP#1 {Nine thousand years ago}

<wip id=1>

wip#1

Nine thousand years ago

Intro
Satan, the first demon and currently devil, arises. He looked at the sky with menacing eyes. He have made his plan to overthrow God.

Chapter 1
Bob, Alice and I lay on the grass, with dreamy eyes next to a picnic basket. In our picnic basket are four loaves of bread with five salmon, as well as a secret object beneath. The object is a very well-kept secret that no one knows. A chain with the cross used to secure the basket is next to it. Around us was the foot of the mountain that we were resting on. Somehow, there is something mysterious about it, like a portal to another world.
"Hey, isn't this a bit boring?" said Bob.
"No way!" said I.
A voice like 'Hello, losers' resonated. Everyone knows that it's the voice of the flying city, but somehow, it's a bit different, like n00bish.

Chapter 2
Somehow, the word n00bish is used refer to this place by some teenagers. I do not know why or how, but the devil is somehow involved in this place's nickname. The air is stuffy and red, like fire. I took out the secret object, a complicated clockwork machine with 7 hands like those of a clock and a cross in the middle. At the end of the hands are 7 pieces of wood, rumoured to be those of Jesus's cross. After I winded it up, 7 sparkling bolts of electricity shot out. Suddenly, a vortex at the cross began sucking. The 7 hands started bending inwards, sucking all but none. Our world changed into a blue world with lights spinning around it, then turning into a black world. Praying to the LORD, I was rescued, but our world have colours directly opposite of the colour wheel. I looked at my hands. They were the same shape all right, but it is blue! The groan of Satan annoys me, while the object is gone. I blinked my eyes and everything became the right way, except that the sky looks like a giant whirlpool. At the seven corners of my view, there were 7 bolts of thunder. How am I supposed to get out of here?

</wip>

 

[The World Is Flat]

I'd enter, but my story is just fucking depressing, its not horrifying.

 

[Dragonson]

'jest thought it about time i post a larger bit of my story.
I'm not sure i'l post the whole thing before i have too, though. Never know if i wanna change something.

Here's the ACTUAL STORY beginning.

Click to View

My arm hurts.
My arm hurts, my leg hurts, my back hurts and my head hurts.
That's a relief. I was sure i died.
I slowly sit up, and bite my tounge to suppress the pain that unnessecarily reminds me of it's pressence.
A quick checkup reveals that nothing is broken, but i have an open wound in my back which luckily hasnt leaked enough of my blood to kill me yet.
I get up and take a look at where i've been lying.
A small pool of blod is surrounded by chunks of rock. Possibly debris from the accident.
Not too far above me i can see the hole in the cavern wall that the explosion opened.
Too high to climb though, so i have to find another way out.
I scan the nearby scenery as i bandage my back with strips of cloth from my shirt.
I'm in one of the Cavern-Keeps. Great underground fortresses that the dwarves build below and above their actual cities.
The place appears to be deserted. The Whatever-they-are must have been here already.
I shiver and start walking. I have to find a way to get out of the tunnel-cities.

I've been sent here to the tunnel-cities with a task. Not exactly my task, and it wasnt exactly me who'd been sent, but the group needed me for this.
Word had spread that the dwarven cities were collapsing, and when the news were confirmed several groups were dispatched to investigate the case and help the dwarves.
I usually dont go with the group on big tasks, but i'm the only one that understands dwarven architechture. So here i am, deep beneath the ground. Inside a great city which can collapse any moment.
My entire group is dead, just like all the other groups, and i have none of my equipment.
You see, we found out what was causing the collapse a lot faster than any of us would have imagined.

 

[Oziris]

I haven't posted a WIP in a long time, I'l post one tomorrow and probably finish it in a few days. The contest is going to end in 5 days after all.

 

[WhitePhoenix]

Second WIP, this is basically finished, only need to proof read and add some revisionsn were I see fit.

 

[BreathingAcid]

New storyline and here's the WIP.

Hidden

Chapter 1 - Genesis

“In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.. Amen.” These are the words I spoke before I stood up and climbed upstairs. As I went up, I decided to take a look at my surroundings. The apartment was very old and dusty, like it was never been cleaned at all. I also noticed that the furniture and decorations were antique. I have arrived at the second floor of the apartment, it was noon and the floor was lit by the bright sun rays coming from an old window. The land lady greeted me with a worried look on her face, I knew she was already afraid of what is going to happen. The whole floor was made with old wood, each step I took made a creaking noise which annoyed me and distracted me. I arrived in front of the room, I could already feel a malevolent presence inside the room. “How long has she been like this?” I asked the land lady. “It has been two weeks Father, We’ve thought it was just a fever until…” She replied but was cut off by one of the tenants of the apartment. “With all due respect Father, I’m tired of hearing the same story again and again and again! I just want it all to end! Hurry and save that girl’s life!” The tenant said with an indescribable look on his face. I grabbed the doorknob and slowly opened the door. The air was humid and a slight breeze came out. I stepped in and observed everything within the room. The windows were shut tight and the silk curtains blocked the rays of light. The walls were all painted white and a crucifix was nailed on the wall across the room. Then I saw the girl with her hands and feet tied on the bed with ropes. She was asleep at my first glance, she looked very innocent and young. I sat on a chair set beside the bed and told the land lady to lock the door. I stood beside the bed and held the Holy Bible tightly in my left hand. It was the beginning of an exorcism of a demonic possession.

Chapter 2 - Conflict

“Behold the cross of the Lord! Be gone all evil spirits! The Lion of the tribe of Judah! The root of David has conquered!” I said loudly. The girl woke up and started screaming, suddenly the bed began to shake violently. I tried to place my right hand over the girl’s forehead, even with her bound limbs, she was still powerful enough to push me back. But alas, I succeeded and recited several verses from the Old and New Testaments. “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. he restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil; for he is with me; his rod and his staff, they comfort me. He prepares a table before me in the presence of my enemies, He anoints my head with oil, my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.” I said with faith over the Lord. Everything calmed down, The girl fainted and the room was messed up. I sat on a chair and recited some prayers. In my awe, the girl woke up and stared right at me. Looking at her eyes almost made me faint, for all I saw was eternal darkness and I felt the my soul was being torn apart. I called upon the Lord to provide me the strength to battle this evil and banish it from the poor girl’s body. I got my grip back on reality and started to question the victim. “Who are you?” I said with a rough tone in my voice. The girl spoke with a distorted masculine voice and said “I am none of your business, priest! Hahahaha! I am no one’s business!”. I was horrified, she was truly possessed by a malicious spirit, the identity of it is still unknown to me.

 

[indomitable1319]

Damn.
It.
4 more days to go.

 

[neo_child]

LAST CHAPTER IS THA AFTERMATH FOR ME!!!
By the way I am almost finished with one last chapter to go so how do I submit the story??
If we need to attach the document here I don't think I can attach it because of some problem I don't know.

 

[Grey Nightmare]

@Dragonson, paste that in word or something, there are several grammatical errors. For starters it's always a capital 'I'

@WP - Please paste it as text in hidden tags, not in an attached word doc!

@Hell-Breed - I like it, nice to see a more modern(?) setting for a change. However it seems like you change tense inappropriately - I could be wrong, I didn't look at it in great detail, the first paragraph just didn't seem to flow right. Have/had? A small suffix change here and there wouldn't go amiss.

a creaking noise which annoyed me and distracted me - I'd just have one 'me' no need to repeat yourself;

a creaking noise which annoyed and distracted me

Looking good people, do you have judges sorted out yet or are we in for a long wait?

 

[neo_child]

Ok
I'm sorry if this counts as a double post but I finished my story and now who and where do I submit my entry to?

 

[Pharaoh_]

Just quote it here and don't forget to add "hidden" tags. ;D

 

[neo_child]

Here is my story. I am too lazy to copy and paste everything as it is about 8k+ words.
EDIT=Comment on it as much as you want because I would be correcting it soon but so far its ok to me.

Link to download

http://www.mediafire.com/?cn5lxxkn0s99ae5

By the way if you want to see the title with picture you would need to download it. Tell me if it expires or anything else than that.

Full story /w copyright

©
© 
Prologue:
While running I looked back and saw them coming closer to us. I took out my M16 started shooting at them. It did little effect of course. I took out another clip and reloaded my weapon. On my right was Katie, still running while holding an AK-47 and 2 M67 Hand grenades hung loosely by her jeans belt loop. I'm just worried about them exploding if she fell or the grenade was dropped as well as the horde of mutated armored spiders chasing after us. Then there was Terry. Well, he isn't much but the truth is Terry saved my life twice before but he acts like he has a score to settle with me, like I'm some sort of rival for him. He was carrying an OICW in his hand and at his waist a Berreta 93R.On his back was a Benelli M4 Shotgun. Yeah, he might also be Rambo when he was a kid. Then, I heard a screech.

"Damn, they're coming."I said.

Terry flicked a menacing look at me and said "This was your fault Tim! I told you we should have bombed the entrance to that cave!".

"Well they are human beings as well as us! Why didn't you ju-".

"SHUT UP YOU TWO!"

We were shocked at how Katie responded. She used to be so kind and gentle. Suddenly, 4 Blacksuits jumped over the horde with such a tremendous power it killed a few dozen nearby where they jumped. One of them jumped at Katie and forcing her down on the ground and I was worried the grenades might explode when she fell. The other one almost got me if it weren't for the lucky slip from a puddle that made him over shoot me. That single opportunity gave me some time to shoot it down. While thinking how weak it is Terry was firing that gun of his at the 4th Blacksuit. It must have toughened skin like the last one we encountered. While moving to help Terry, I totally forgot about the other one and it grabbed me on the shoulder.

"Shi-" it was all I could say before being covered by a bag over my head.

Afterwards, my hands and legs were tied together. Then I was tossed into some kind of van. They pulled the ropes so tight I could imagine, if I ever get out of these ropes, the red bleeding marks on my wrist and ankles attracting more of the hordes blood crazy fiend dogs. I heard a muffled cry as someone was also tossed in the van. I presume it was Katie because of her incessant screaming and howling. But I didn't hear Terry getting tossed into the van. I hoped he escaped. But thinking clearly now in this 'just became silent' area, since Katie stopped her screaming about a monster eating her, he DOES have military training with 3 guns at his disposal. While thinking a way out, I remembered how all these problems happening to me now started, just because I went to school.
 
Chapter 1: The Life and Sufferings of Timothy White.

Every day for me seems like a loop. I wake up at 6 a.m. every morning, brush my teeth, change to some clean clothes, come downstairs and eat my cereal with some orange juice then I go and wait for the bus. After saying good bye to my mom, I walk to the bus stop and wait with my oversized bag over my shoulders every day.
Yeah, that’s my life.
The names Timothy White and I’m 15. I usually have blonde hair like the rest of my family but I dyed it so it’s black now. I am quite tall for my age and I was called in to join the basketball team. I heard the tryouts were two weeks from now but I’m not that enthusiastic about joining the basketball team. The problem is that I hate sports. Well, I do have a Wii at home but I don’t like to play basketball or even soccer. I would prefer to join the Computer Club or something.
While thinking an excuse to not go to school, the bus came.
“Great,” I said sarcastically.
When I got on, I saw my friend Katie saving a spot next to her. Oh yeah, Katie Richmond is my classmate and she sits next to me in class. I have to admit, her name suits her well because her parents are loaded! She can go to anywhere in the world during her holidays but she isn’t like those rich snobs in school. She is kind and generous and mostly going on and on about saving the environment. She has long red hair and emerald colored eyes. She was wearing some kind of purple designer shirt with jeans. When she noticed me, she called me over to come to the seat next to her. Throughout the bus trip to school I just looked out of the window and staring at some people relaxing on a sunny day like this. Then during the ride Katie started talking to me.
“Why looking so glum today Mr. Grumpy. How can Dr. Katie make it all better,” she said.
“Leaving this bus would make me feel better Katie,” I said.
“But this is a learn-to-be-smart school! It’s going to be OK. Trust me.”
“Hah, the last time I trusted you were at that trust booth at the carnival. I was about to fall when you looked at some bunny dolls. Oh and by the way, YOU were supposed to CATCH me.”
“Well, the bunny dolls WERE cute and your fall was broken by the bag I had on the floor.”
“Ugh. Katie, you would NEVER change.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When we reached school, we lugged our bags and got out. It was another hot day and today we’re going to dissect frogs for biology. Katie keeps protesting to save the animals and prevention of animal dissection. Once she even locked everyone out of the biology lab just because we were going to dissect some mice and after about 1 hour of explaining, she let everyone in but we just got enough time to get seated and then the bell rang.
When I taking my books I needed in my locker, Grill Beckerman came by. Grill Beckerman is the school bully. Most teachers call him Beckerman but we call him Buck. Although he was smaller than me, WOW he packs a punch. If you need anyone for the Boxing Club, Wrestling Club or maybe some kind of club that involves fighting, he’s the guy for you. Heh, maybe one day he may join WWE.
“Hey Nerd-o-Freako have any books that need carrying?” he said.
“Ughh, not again Buck. You do this to me every mor-,” but before I could do anything my books were snatched from my hands.
“Hmm, History. Never liked it one bit. Oopps,” he said that as he dropped my book into a nearby trash bin.
“Sorry Nerdo, next time let someone else drop it for you.” Then he dropped the rest of my books into the trash bin as well. He then slapped me on the back so hard, I almost fell.
I sighed and got up. Then I went to get my books from the trash bin. Later I went to class and got seated. As usual the classroom is very noisy except for me and Katie. After awhile, I noticed that our teacher never came to class but no one cared. Suddenly, the door burst open and a man came in.
“Hello, class. My name is Mr. Sanchez and I will be your teacher for today.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 
Chapter 2: My teacher goes into ninja mode.

This teacher was really weird in so many ways. He looked like James Bond with the tuxedo, watch, sunglasses and the hair as well. I never heard of him and he doesn’t look the part to be teaching us History. Plus, he didn’t bring any books or whatsoever with him. Katie was the one to start protesting.
“Hey, what happened to Mr. Remora? He said he was going to teach us about the Aztec today,” she said.
“Well, he met with a little….accident with his car. He will be out of the school for a few weeks and I will be filling in for him,” Mr. Sanchez said.
He then took a chalk and started writing on the board. The descriptions he gave us were really out of this world. He was writing everything so fast; he changed his chalk for a new one every 2-6 minutes. Some of us just continued talking while others go take a few minutes to nap and waited until History is over.
Suddenly, breaking the peace and quiet in the whole room, THWACK!!! Mr. Sanchez slammed the ruler down so hard it snapped in two.
“You boys and girls should be noting this down or trying to do SOMETHING.”
“But teacher,” a boy groggily said as he was waking up, “You are writing so fast and dusting it off as we were starting to write it. So we just took a break and maybe wait until Mr. Remora recovers.”
That was the last of him until my teacher jumped on him and ripped his head off.
“You boys and girls better be good, or you’re getting the same treatment.” Mr. Sanchez said.
He then put the head on his desk and continued writing on the board.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Everyone was horrified. He just ripped the head out of Buck’s body and although one side of my jumped for joy, my other side was scared of this teacher. I mean he just ripped Buck’s head of and placed it on the table. This man must be insane! But one thing puzzles me, how could he cover so much distance in a blink of an eye. While I was thinking how he did it, everyone was just staring at Buck’s headless corpse instead of the mad teacher writing on the board. There were some murmurings about an alien teacher or a ninja teacher. Suddenly, someone grabbed my shoulder. I jumped and almost screamed when I saw Katie smiling with her hand on my shoulder. Did I mention she always makes me jump at some point?
“Hey, Tim,” she whispered “This is such an insane teacher. He just ripped Buck’s head of his body with such ease.”
“Yeah,” I whispered back “Maybe we should call the cops and let them handle this teacher.”
“But what about the body?”
“Just ignore it. We could show that to the police as evidence he committed this murder.”
“But how do we contact the-“Katie looked up and gotten a worried face.
And I did something that I regretted doing.
I looked up and saw my teacher’s face looking at me and Katie. Oh man, we were so distracted we didn’t hear him coming. He is so going to kill us next.
“What are you two doing behind my back Mr. White and Miss Richmond?”
“Well….,” come on brain give me a good excuse.
“Well, we were discussing about how the Aztecs work in the mines and how is their technology during that time,” I lied.
He paused for awhile before saying,
“Very good Mr. White. Same goes for you to Miss Richmond. Keep it up.”
Then he walked back to the board and started writing again.
I didn’t notice it before but I was holding my breath until he turned his back on us. He was really scary and I thought, is this man for real?
Suddenly, someone stood up and shouted at him.
“What in the world are you doing, you mad, fucking crazy teacher! You just KILLED a student.”
His influence must be good because some others started joining in and started shouting at the teacher.
“SILENCE!!”
Mr. Sanchez shouted so loud everyone was silent for a few seconds.
“Such ignorant kids. You should be taught a lesson,” he said slyly.
He took out his watch and pressed a button. Suddenly, the room was filled with some kind of gas.
“Take a nap and when you wake up, hehe, you will be in your PROPER school.”
That was all I remembered before passing out.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 
Chapter 3: The Furnace.

I woke up thinking I was back in my bedroom until I saw the room I was in.
I looked about and saw myself inside a cell. I thought to myself, what was I doing here? HOW did I get here? Then it all came back to me. The teacher, Buck and that gas he released, was it knock-out gas? Katie was sitting on a wooden chair next to my bed.
“Wakey-wakey rise and shiny,” she said.
“Wh-wha?”
“We ended up together in this cell. This place doesn’t look like a prison but mostly there are children here.”
I scanned my surroundings. In the cell there is the bed I was sleeping on and another bed on top of mine. Nearby, there was a sink and a toilet in the corner. God, how are we supposed to use the toilet without any privacy? Then I looked out of the cell. The whole place was crawling with children of all ages. I thought to myself, how am I going to survive all this and not go insane.
For the next few days we lived in this place which I found out it was called the Furnace. Nice name for a creepy place luckily it wasn’t burning hot like a real furnace. Eating slop and living in the Furnace was a challenge that Katie and I had to undertake. But on the bright side, Katie and I worked out a way to use the toilet in total privacy but that’s another story.
The general population, that’s what they call where we kids stay, has 2 gangs, The Skulls and The Pirates. The Pirates usually does the riots and problems and blames it all on the Skull people. The guards are called Blacksuit since they wear tuxedos and black sunglasses. They no need sleep, food or anything that was usually needed by us .They are created from us kids but I’m not sure how. There are also people named Wheezers. We call them that because there are gas masks over their mouths and they mostly communicate via wheezing. They are like the scientists of the Furnace with their needles and syringes by their waist.
While living there I kept thinking for a way out of this hell hole. I found out one way, but it’s risky. It’s that or we’re toast. I’m saying this because once in a while, there is a Blood Watch. They take kids and when they come back a few days later they are…..changed. Not as in size or hair color, it’s what became. A few days ago, I saw my friend I met in the Furnace, Simon Lemone, being dragged away and he was screaming at the top of his lungs. Then tonight, I thought I saw him but I wasn’t sure until he spoke. He was HUGE with stitching all across his body, like they put extra meat into him and sealed it up. His arms were big and muscular and as usual, stitched about. One of his legs was normal like my own but then I saw his other leg.*
*If it’s hard picturing what I am stating then imagine the Abomination from Warcraft 3.

I remembered overhearing some other Blacksuits that the other specimen failed badly but I didn’t know it until now. His other leg was way bigger than mine tenfold. He was deformed and his eyes sparkled silver. Then he looked at me and said to me.
”Tim, get out of here…..”
That was when I put my plan into action.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
We found the Skulls gang leader whose name is Terry Blake. He was tough build and he has blonde hair like me last time. He looked like he did his fair share of killing some inmates living in the Furnace. I’m guessing from the rumors I heard about him, he is about 17 years old and I needed him for my plan to succeed.
“Hey, Terry,” I called.
“Wassap homie,” he said.
Wow. He’s nicer than I thought.
“I want to speak to you in private, where no one can hear us.”
“Sure. Come with me.”
I followed him and left Katie by herself. When we reached there, we were silent for a few seconds before Terry broke the silence.
“So how’s that escape plan of yours.”
“What the- how did you know about it?”
“You just told me a few seconds ago,” he said smiling.
“Damn, you son of a-“
“Whoa whoa whoa. Don’t get all nasty on me. I got eyes and ears all over this place. NOTHING is a secret from me. So, I ask again, how’s that escape plan of yours?”
“It’s going well but I need you to help me do one thing for me.”
“Sure, just let me come with you and I will help you 100%.”
“Ok. So, here’s my plan……”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
At the gate of the Furnace, Terry, me and Katie crouched near it.
“Tim, are you sure this is fool proof?” Terry said.
“Yeah, they sure are going to fall for it,” I said.
The plan was simple. Terry and I smuggled some gas from the kitchen. It wasn’t easy hiding them but with Terry’s influence over the Skulls, we managed to hide them long enough. Then we were almost set with the fuse, which we stolen of course, tied to the gas. Then Terry took out his watch.
“It’s almost time guys,” he said “My boys are going to cause a riot in….3….2….1”
Then a loud shouting and banging sounded. The Blacksuits took out their shotguns and started running towards the riot. Then, I and Terry quickly placed the gas at the sides and at the middle of the iron gate. We tied all the fuses together and lighted them. We saw as the fire crept closer and closer until it reached the gas. At first there was nothing and I thought my plan failed but I was so wrong.
The gas suddenly blew the gate sky high and the gate just missed us by a few centimeters. Although I suspected the door to be much stronger, I must have underestimated the power of the explosion. But it was such a waste of time taking 5 tanks of gas so we have to abandon them.
As we ran out of the cave, we saw the worst of our horrors.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
Chapter 4: Survival.

We came out of a mountain overlooking where we live. But what we saw wasn’t any city anymore. The town we once knew was destroyed and burning. Katie started crying but Terry seemed like he didn’t care.
“Hey Katie, don’t cry soon we will win and our town will be rebuilt,” I said.
“Bah, c’mon Tim, lets blow the cave up so they will never bother us again,” Terry said just as I was comforting Katie.
“No, there are also kids in there. We can’t just lock them in.”
“But the Blacksuits will be locked up as well!”
“Well, I’m not doing this but you do it yourself because I’m leaving to go to town.”
“Ok, ok! I won’t blast the cave,” he said “Just don’t blame me if they come after us.”
We went down to the city. Like how we saw from the mountain top, the whole place was devastated. Cars overturned, dead bodies on the ground, fires burning everywhere and no sign of anyone, alive.
“Come on guys, let’s get some weapons,” Terry said.
“Why?” Katie said.
“To protect ourselves. The whole time I have been in The Furnace, I noticed no one goes in or out, well apart from kids getting captured. But I guess somebody or something made this mess and I don’t want to find out when I’m not properly armed.”
We made our way into town and we saw a military outpost with barricades at one part of the city. In the outpost, we found guns and ammunition. Terry said it was a stroke of luck but I doubted it. If the military got beaten then how can 3 teenagers survive this whole thing. As the Sun was setting we bunkered up in the outpost and Terry got first watch then after 2 hours it was my turn then Katie then Terry again. Terry showed us how to use the M2 Browning Machine Gun stationed at the outpost with some camouflage covering over us.
“Wow, you sure are experienced. How you know all these stuff?” I said.
“My dad was a militant general and he is strict with me but he is cool. He taught me how to use a gun since I was 13. So yeah, I’m experienced,” he said.

We survived the night and we went to a nearby store early in the morning and took all the food we could find and carry and that is still edible. I found some matches and Katie volunteered to look for something that can burn. Then we got a nice lunch and Terry was already equipped with some guns and told us to get what guns we needed and we are going to find a permanent base. We went into a tent and saw it stacked with weapons. Katie chose an AK-47 since it looked easy to use. I saw my favorite gun, a M16 rifle, propped up in the corner of the tent. I took it up and weighed it. Lighter than I had imagine and all the better. I picked up some clips and put it as much as I could into my pocket. Katie took 4 M67 Hand grenades, clipped them to her belt loop and we went out.
Terry wasn’t around so I thought that he must have gone ahead first to check the area. So, I and Katie went back and waited at the military outpost for Terry. After awhile I got worried. What exactly happened to Terry?
While I was thinking, Katie suddenly screamed. I jumped up and then I saw what she was screaming about. Terry was running like he was in a marathon but his left arm got a deep wound like he was cut by something. I was happy he came back but after looking at his face, I looked what was behind him. There were hundreds of them. Dogs from every shape and size, some with 2 heads and some with an extra leg protruding from their back. I quickly ran and aimed with the M2 and fired, while trying not to shoot Terry of course, at the dogs and many of them died quickly. I was smiling at my achievement but then many more closed the gap and soon I thought to myself, how are we going to survive this horde?
Katie took a grenade and took out the pin. She tosses it as hard as she could and it landed in the middle of the horde. It blew up and hundreds of them were gone in that one second. Terry was almost close to the outpost but I saw he was tiring out. I was still shooting at the dogs until I heard a howl.
I saw a much bigger dog came around the corner. He wasn’t Godzilla but his 3 heads with sharp teeth would make anyone feel scared. I jumped over the barricade and took out my M16, which was strapped on my back, and open fire. The dogs started dropping one by one and once Terry was close enough I grabbed him and brought him back into the outpost.
“So…many…got….cut…chase,” Terry said between gasps.
“Stop talking, start shooting,” I said.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~





We all took out our guns and shoot everything we got at the horde and at the monstrous dog behind them. Soon all the dogs were gone except for the last dog. It won’t go down no matter how many times we shoot at him.
“He’s getting closer you guys,” Katie said.
“Just keep firing. He must go down before he reaches the barricades,” Terry said.
Then I got a brilliant but deadly idea.
“Katie, hand me a grenade,” I said.
“Sure.”
She passed me the grenade and I jumped over the barricades. I ran with all my might towards the huge dog.
“TIM! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!” Terry shouted.
“I got an idea but it may be risky,” I shouted back.
I ran to the beast and slid under him and shot his belly. It didn’t do that much damage to him but I got his attention.
He turned around and chased after me, ignoring Terry and Katie. I ran so fast I thought my legs might come off. Then at the last minute, I turned around.
“HEY, BIG AND UGLY!” I shouted, “HOW MANY MIRRORS YOU BROKEN WITH THAT FACE OF YOURS!!”
It bet it gotten angrier since it opened all three of its mouth to eat me. But I was fast. I took Katie’s grenade and tossed into the mouth of his and I ran like the wind for the nearest cover. I heard an explosion but the beast was still standing. I stumbled towards me and as I thought that it was going to eat me, it fell over me. Later, Terry and Katie came to the rescue.
“Can…you guys,” I struggled to say under the beast’s weight, “Get…this…hunk of meat… off my damn body before I suffocate,”
“Ha ha, sure Mr. Let-me-do-everything-on-my-own,” Katie said as she started to lift it up.
“Wow, man. That was some stunt. But I could do better than you anytime,” Terry said.
I grinned as they started lifting me out from under the dead beast’s corpse.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~



Chapter 5: The stronghold isn’t so strong after all.

Once I gotten out, we went to a local pharmacist and got some bandages. We wrapped Terry’s arm so that the blood stopped coming out.
“What happened Terry?” I said.
“I got a cut when I tripped over a fallen pram while scouting. I got scratched on a broken glass. Before I knew it, dogs were racing towards me from every alley. I shot them of course but my gun got jammed and I didn’t have the time go un-jam it so I ran till I drop,” he said.
“Hmm, let’s try not to get any wounds during our stay here. The dogs must be attracted to blood,” I said.
“That maybe true and I found another base we could use,” Terry said.
After we tend to his wounds, he led us to a building. He didn’t use the main door but went up through the fire escape. At the top we found a great place. The roof was a good main base for us to set up camp. The light can’t be easily seen from here but I was worried if there were airborne monsters we should look out for. Terry must have read my mind.
“If there are airborne enemies, we won’t be fighting them. There is an apartment downstairs from the roof. I managed to get into it and it’s well furnished and we could stay there at night and stay up here during watch hour or in the morning.”
“That’s a good idea Terry,” Katie said.
So, that was how we made a rooftop and a penthouse our headquarters.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
We found some radios and sent messages every day to all stations telling them to meet us at the rooftop of our building. We waited for a few days without any success.
“I told you Tim,” Katie said, “There are no survivors in this area anymore.”
“But there HAS to be,” I said.
“Face it they’re all dead,” Terry said.
I thought about my parents and all my other friends. The idea was sickening and tears started to form in my eyes. Katie came and started comforting me while Terry took out a binocular with night vision we found in the Swiss army store and scanned for enemies.
We went out to get more supplies and we made dinner. The fire we made was much bigger than the last one and we had a very delicious dinner.
“Thank you, Chef Richmond. That was a very delicious dinner you made for us,” I said.
“Awww, it’s nothing. It’s one of my mom’s dishes I decided to make with all the stuff you brought back.”
“Then your mom is a great chef as you are,” Terry said.
Katie blushed and collected our plates for us.
“So, Terry how are we going to get help?” I said breaking the silence.
“Hmm,” Terry looked like he was in deep thought then he said, “We will need a working car or some type of transportation. Maybe we could find other towns and get some help there.”
“That’s a good plan but some of the cars need keys and most of them are destroyed,” Katie said.
“Yeah, you’re right but maybe there are some underground car parks left so we can scavenge for the cars there! Plus, being a Skull leader teaches you how to hotwire cars,” Terry said.
“YAWNNN, let’s do it tomorrow. I want to sleep,” I said.
“I’ll take first watch,” Terry said.
“You ALWAYS take first watch so that you get extra sleep. The usual rotation is you, me then Katie. Anyways, Good Night,” that was all I said before leaving the rooftop.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I was dreaming again. It was the same dream over and over. That single moment kept me traumatized. It was after my shift this night I continued dreaming about. It was a few days ago, we met a Blacksuit. He was muscular but his shirt was torn like he was in a fight. We found him while gathering some supplies. He saw me and seemed shocked. He gathered his senses and jumped at me. If it wasn’t for Terry shooting him with his shotgun, I would have said good bye to my young life. But it didn’t go down. It kept coming up and me and Terry open fire on it. After that we managed to puncture his tough skin so we kept on shooting that same area. Once we were sure it died, we burnt it. Then I heard Terry saying my name…..but that wasn’t what happened before. All I heard was “Tim, hey Tim wake up.” “Wake up Tim. Wake up.”
I bet it was about 4 a.m. when I was awoken by Terry. I noticed Katie squatting next to him.
“Hey Tim, wake up,” he said.
“What? I thought my shift ended an hour ago,” I yawned.
“But this is different Tim,” Katie said, “There are spiders coming up the walls we better get out of here.”
I was snapped out from dreamland back to reality when she said ‘There are spiders coming up the walls’. I quickly got up and reached for my gun.
“Ok. I’m awake,” I said.
“Come on. Get out through the fire escape. Be prepared though, they may come at us from there,” saying that he slung his shotgun on his back and got his OICW ready for action.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So we came down the fire escape but we didn’t see any sign of the spiders, as if they just vanished. We proceeded down with our guns locked and loaded. Terry was at point and I was stuck watching our rear. We mostly talk in whispers because we’re scared to be overheard by the spiders. We cleared the stairs and started walking away from the building. The sun was rising and then I looked back at the building. First thing I did was stop. I saw thousands of them, crawling all around the building. I felt safe when we escaped earlier but then they started to crawl down.
“Uhh, Terry,” I tapped his back and also Katie’s, “I think we have a problem.”
They saw the spiders and they almost got the same reaction as I did.
“OPEN FIRE!!” Terry shouted.
We shot our weapons at them but the bullets seem to bounce away from the spiders as if they were armored.
“Damn it. Let’s get out of here!” Terry ran as he said that and we followed.
I started running but then I suddenly tripped and fell down. Terry told Katie to continue while he helped me up. The spiders were getting closer and I felt like my legs were made of jelly.
“Come on Tim,” Terry said, “Just go to that car park and we’re home free.”
I gotten the sudden urge to get up and run and that was what I did.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~






### This is where we continue from the Prologue. ###
Chapter 6: Another ‘fun’ time with the doctor.
And that was how I ended up here. In a van with Katie by my side and Terry, who knows where he has gone to. I bet we were being brought back to the Furnace.
And for once I regretted that I was right.
The leader, or as we call him the Warden, was waiting for us when we got in.
“Ahh, the smart ass people who taught they can escape. This will be your last time ever seeing light,” he said in a harsh tone.
Then I noticed 2 blacksuits opening 2 man holes.
“W-What are y-y-you do-doing,” I couldn’t help myself, I kept stammering during the whole conversation.
“This is where you will be living for the next 3 weeks,” the Warden said that without ever blinking an eye.
I was tossed down one hole and I think Katie was in the one next to me.
“Try not to go insane down there. If you survive, I may make you into one of my Blacksuits,” he snickered as the doors were closing.
The infinite darkness came over me like a long lost friend. I started by knowing my pitch black prison. The whole area is a rectangle shape so maybe if I stretched diagonally, I may be able to sleep. At one corner I felt a drain pipe. Following the drain pipe, I moved my hands and traced it to a grill covering a hole of some sort and it was connected to the pipe. Good, I didn’t felt like drowning in my own crap for 3 weeks. I heard that prisoners in solitary confinement survived by licking the water trickling down the walls. I tried my luck and the water was cool and I felt refreshed. After awhile, I felt tired and I went and tried to sleep. The space when I lie diagonally is almost perfect for my size. The excitement from today tired me out so I fell asleep like a log.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~







The next thing I know, I was awoken by the sound of the door opening. I looked up and blinding light shone on me but through my hand, shielding me from the sudden light, I saw a blacksuit with a tray of food.
“Hey, the Warden wants to keep you alive as long as possible so here’s your food,” he tossed a tray on me.
I managed to catch it but some of the contents spilled when it dropped. I shrugged it off and I ate with what I have left. I started to think for a way I could contact Katie and try to escape. I shouted as hard as I could but I guess, between about one meter of concrete between me and Katie, she wouldn’t hear me. I felt like I could go crazy in this dark spot. I often heard when servants misbehaved, they get locked in a pitch black room for a day and if they gone crazy the master would kill him but if he or she survived the master would forgive them and maybe also release them or treat them more better. But thinking through of what the Warden promised, I would be better if I gone crazy.
After about two or one days later, I thought I saw pink elephants, like those on cartoons, dancing around my cell. Oh God. Have I lost it? I closed my eyes and when I opened them, the elephants were gone. I wanted to talk to a real person but my cell and Katie’s are separated so that option is gone. Then I suddenly found a way to try to talk with Katie. It took some effort and some hours but the grill covering the drain pipe came off and I hit my back on the wall. Ouch.
I shrugged it off and think of a way Katie would understand me. Then I remembered that last time Katie talked to me during a class with the tapping of our pencils. 1 tap for A and 2 taps for B. It was an ingenious trick she taught to me.
“Katie,” hitting the drain pipe to pronounce her name really hurt my fingers.
But I didn’t get any response. I waited a few days so that maybe she could find the grill and start communicating with me. With slop every two or three days, sleeping with crap covering the floor and total silence could make wonders with your mind. Last night I saw my parents in clown costume doing the can can with Buck and some other teachers. I know; it’s retarded. I started thinking of a way out to occupy my time. It was boring but it was the only way to prevent those hallucinations to start popping out of nowhere all of a sudden.
Then suddenly I heard a clanging sound.
It was Katie! She managed to understand my message because the also hit the pipe stating my name.


*The chat continues below and it’s all by hitting the pipe but I shortened it to become a conversation and they are using short forms so it’s easier for them. Btw I’m using this format for the rest of the story.

“Tim,” Katie said.
“Read you loud and clear,” man my hands are going to get blisters.
“Nice way to talk to me.”
“Going insane soon. You?”
“Hallucinating.”
“Keep on talking so that we both won’t go insane.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
















Chapter 7: The Escape AGAIN.

For the past few days me and Katie ‘chatted’ with each other and it was fun except getting blisters on your hands of course. I slept nicely and we managed to survive throughout this whole time. But today was our escape.
I woke up and I was startled by some noise like it was another riot. But as I remembered this place is very far from the general population and it was getting closer. The hatch for my cell was opened and I noticed a beast like creature like Simon (See Chapter 3 Page 7) was at the entrance. It pulled me out and I was terrified but suddenly it spoke.
“You’re Timothy right?”It said.
“Y-yes but who are you?”
“I’m Simon’s friend and we’re taking you out of this place,” it replied.
He later ran past me and took out Katie. She was equally shocked like me but when she saw me she calmed down.
“Come on, this way,” it said.
We followed him down the hall and we had to run faster to catch up with him. It took us awhile but we reached a cave opening. It was small enough for all of us to pass but I guess Simon needed to squeeze a bit. As we passed through the hole in the wall, I noticed 3 others like him pop up from the sides.
“I got him fellas,” it said.
“Good,” another one said.
“Who are you guys? Why did you bring me here?” I said.
“Didn’t think I would leave you here would’ya?” a person said as he stepped away from the shadows.
“Terry!!” I said as I ran up to him, “I knew you wouldn’t leave us.”
“Yeah well, you helped me I help you,” he replied.
“Who are these guys?”
“They are the kids that got rejected. They managed to keep sane unlike the other creatures. This is Simon as you would know him, Jack, Freddie and Chris.”
“But Terry, how did you get passed the spiders?”
“They saved me and guess what, the dogs and spiders were experiments. The Wheezers just let the failed ones go out and roam the place. I found out that the dogs were bitten by the spiders and transformed into these strange beings. Simon and his gang said that it was nanites in the spiders transferred into the dogs, which explains the Wheezers wearing a lot of protective gears; they were using nanites injected into kids to shape them into Blacksuits.”
“Enough chit-chat we got to get out of this place,” Jack said.
“Come on, it’s a long way to the exit,” Terry said.
“But what about the kids?” I replied.
“We will get them out soon,” Katie said.
I reluctantly followed them all to a spire. It was rounded by some climbing equipment, like staircases, leading to the top. Simon took the lead and stood on one of the pikes. It was firm and it carried his entire weight. Next was Katie followed by Jack then Terry and last were Freddie and Chris. Nearing the top, I could make out some light and that had given me some extra strength and hope to escape this mad place.
As I reached the top, sunlight shone on my skin and I was breathing in all the nice cool air. I could see it was dawn and we rested at the top for awhile.
“How are we going to destroy all these monstrosities?” I asked.
“Well, we are planning to break into the Warden’s room, activate the nano self-destruct and place this whole area into self-destruct,” Terry said.
“Wait…there’s a self destruct bu-?” Katie said.
“IT WILL KILL THEM TERRY!” I shouted.
“It’s a guess because almost every base or something like this has a self-destruct button. Besides, we will sacrifice our friends lives for thousands more to come. If we don’t do it we could be captured again as we escape from the prison and remember, there are many Blacksuits so I don’t think we got a chance,” Simon said.
“Grr….” I said, “Alright.”
“Ok, so let’s get this plan rolling,” Jack said.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~



Chapter 8: Reasoning isn’t the only way to end a war….

As me, Jack, Simon and Terry went back into the Furnace, I felt like this is all a nightmare and I should wake up any moment during class, teacher staring at me and friends laughing….but it didn’t happen. When we arrived at the cave entrance, Blacksuits were crawling everywhere. Probably because me and Katie’s cells were empty.
“Ok Tim, this is where it becomes tricky. One of you will lure the Rats into the place and make the whole area go haywire. While it is going on quickly run to the Warden’s room with us,” Jack said.
“What?” me and Terry said at the same time.
“Oh yea, forgot to tell you. Rats are like us but they lost their humanity and live on meat, flesh and anything they can get their claws on, even you,” Simon said.
“They are cannibals and Blacksuits usually patrol the area until the infestation got worse. So they left them be and there wasn’t another incident since, until now.” Jack continued, “One of you is going to lure the Rats into the area.”
Without another word me and Terry looked at each other. We decided the best way to choose wan Rock, Scissors, Paper. I lost anyways.
Seeing the cave up ahead deeper in the tunnel, I felt relieve that nothing attacked me so far. But when I looked inside the small enclosure, my face paled. There were thousands of them. Some covered in blood and I noticed one other was gnawing on a bone. When I stepped in, it looked at me. I immediately froze and it continued gnawing on the bone and then I did the stupidest thing a person would want to make in a place like this.
“HEY WAKE UP!!” I shouted, “FRESH MEAT HERE!!”
They all woke up and started to come towards me. I ran out of the cave as fast as I could and when I glimpsed back, I saw the whole horde chasing me. I ran till my feet would want to come off. Then I saw Simon and I ran towards him. He pulled me in and the Rats filled through the small cave entrance. After a few seconds, I heard screaming and shots. The plan worked!
We ran through the whole massacre and it was bloody like the place was hell. Spotting a Blacksuit getting his head ripped off made me wanting to puke but I continued running until we entered an empty corridor. Our group ran as fast as we could and we managed to get to the Warden’s room unnoticed. We entered the place and everything happened so fast. Staring at us looked like Warden but the Warden looked expressionless. I was pondering about why he hasn’t attacked us until we saw the thing on the ceiling.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It had tentacles all stuck into the back of the Warden’s back and head and it seemed like it was pumping something into the Warden.*
“What the fuck is that!?” Terry said.
“It looks like the Warden wasn’t the boss around here. I heard that no one was to enter his room unless it was a special Wheezer,” Simon said.
I saw it wasn’t alive but we shot it anyways. I fell of the ceiling and it didn’t move for awhile. I saw the computers with camera screens all around Furnace and the self-destruct button underneath what looks like a bullet proof glass casing. There was a fingerprint scanner and Jack wrenched the Warden’s thumb and placed it onto the scanner. The glass popped up and then we wanted to press it but I stopped them.
“What about the spiders, don’t they have their own self-destruct?” I said.
“Hmm, your right. I think it’s’ this button here,” Terry said as he pressed an orange button. (Annoying Orange )
The screen was diverted to all the spiders. I saw an underground place with metallic webs spread out all around the room. Suddenly, they all blew up with a splattering sound with green liquid flying all around the room.
“There, it’s done. Now let’s press that button,” Jack said as he reached for the self-destruct button.
“Wait.” I said, “How long will that self-destruct button last until it blows this place sky high? We might have ten seconds or maybe when we press it, it may just go off at that same time.”
“He may be correct but I’m not taking any chances,” Terry said.
“Ok. I will stay here and wait for about ten minutes for you to get the hell out of here then I’m pressing the damn button,” Jack said.
“Ok Jack.” Simon faced us, “Let’s go guys!”
As we ran down the corridor, we could see the dead Blacksuits and Rats littered on the floor. When we started climbing, the place rumbled.
“Damn, it must’ve been ten minutes already. LET’S HURRY!!” Simon shouted.
We saw Katie and the others around the opening staring at us. The moment we got out the place exploded. I was blown away and as black spot started appearing around my eyes, I fell unconscious.
*Having trouble thinking how it is? It’s like the enemy in Paranoia. (Sorry Grievious1 if you feel offended)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Aftermath:

6 years later, driving down a highway, I spotted the same old mountain that once terrified me on my right.
Me, Terry and Katie survived the explosion but Simon got crushed under a rock while Freddie and Chris were missing. I could guess the pain for Jack in the control room since he got the worst, 5 tons, maybe more, worth of rocks and steel falling on him. Terry managed to hotwire a car in an underground parking lot. When we arrived in the next city, there were militants all around the roads. We managed to get passed them and we met the Prime Minister. He and some other people asked us what happened. When we told them our story, they were shocked. How could two 15 year olds and an 18 year old general’s son survive the whole thing? But after awhile, they seemed to believe that it was us who destroyed an enemy of the country but we still felt sad we couldn’t save the others.
Homeless and without money, the Prime Minister gave us 5 million dollars for our own expenses. So me, Terry and Katie gotten a mansion that was just great for everyone.
We met many people and some that I don’t quite know. I felt like I was another person. I remembered everything today when the newspaper heading stated that the so-called Warden, aka Gregory Leicester, was found dead under the rubbles. I bet the CIA and FBI would make sure that everything paranormal in that place would not be printed in the newspaper.
When I was 20, I proposed to Katie and, of course, she said yes. We continued living in the same mansion with Terry and his wife, Jennifer, on the west wing and me and Katie on the east wing.
So, that’s my life,
A Dead Life.

v
v Look
v Down
v Now
v One more scroll
v Almost there!
v Get a lawyer ready
v  
Copyright agreement
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Dead Life
and owns the copyright to the work.
2. Author hereby grants to the journal a worldwide, perpetual, irrevocable, fully-paid up, royalty-free license to publish the work in the journal, its paper archive, or any collection of the journal's works in any form whatsoever. Journal shall have the right to include the work as part of its collection available on interlibrary loan.
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Signed: neo_child (author's signature)

 

[Pharaoh_]

Just use "Ctrl + A" or Select All from the Edit Menu, copy and paste it in here, that link's address might expire, which will lead to disqualification, I'm sure you don't want that to happen.

 

[Bribe]

Late in the contest, but I came up with something.

This captures a strong emotion and gave me a good creative spark and sense of interaction. I really enjoyed the read and wasn't bored for a second, but I haven't read any of the others to make an accurate contrast. I would rate this high as short stories go.

 

[Sharphawkx]

is this contest still enterable? because i would like to participate

 

[Avator]

Sure. Just post a WIP and your final entry before the deadline.

 

[Oziris]

Can the deadline be moved by any chance? ^^'

 

[darkdeathknight]

I think if there are less than 3 finished pieces it can get extended but since there are, not really. You will have to check with the mods.

 

[Dragonson]

Well... the deadline for the last story contest got moved 'cause noone were finished.
If that's also the case this time, i'm sure the mods will do the same thing again.
'doesnt matter much if only two of us are finished anyways.

 

[Avator]

Talking about the deadline: Is 11:59 AM or PM? Maybe that should be added to make it clear for everyone, just in case.

 

[Dragonson]

Guys, just tell me now: How many are finished?

 

[Oziris]

I'm finishing mine soon, going to post the second WIP tonight and the final tomorrow. ^^

 

[Avator]

I've seen the final works of WhitePhoenix, neo_child and Pharaoh_ posted in this thread. I don't think there was anybody else who claimed their post was their entry. So that would make 3. I hope I'll have the time to finish mine before the deadline. I'd guess I'm at 1/3rd at the moment. That's 2374 words so far.

 

[Oziris]

Mine has 2447 words. So I'm also 1/3rd at the moment. ^^

 

[Skycraft]

Just kick me out of the contest I'm probably not gonna bother trying to finish the one I started with.

 

[GunSlinger]

I'm almost done with my story, just gonna finish making the two last chapters.

 

[neo_child]

Woah. I just hope the story I make would at least up to the judges requirements and Good Luck on your stories.

Talking about the deadline: Is 11:59 AM or PM? Maybe that should be added to make it clear for everyone, just in case.

It's 4th March 11:59 PM and when it becomes 12:00 AM on 5th March, they won't accept more stories after that time I guess.

 

[GunSlinger]

So I have to send it tomorrow.
(My story won't be good then since I will be skipping so many parts of the story. >.<)

 

[Dawn Whitelighter]

i hope i finish mine.. i lost my inspiration..

 

[darkdeathknight]

Crap. Exactly how many hours are left?

 

[Cthulus]

If I'd been online earlier, I'd have joined.. can't wait to see some results This is a good theme.

 

[WhitePhoenix]

I've seen the final works of WhitePhoenix, neo_child and Pharaoh_ posted in this thread. I don't think there was anybody else who claimed their post was their entry. So that would make 3. I hope I'll have the time to finish mine before the deadline. I'd guess I'm at 1/3rd at the moment. That's 2374 words so far.

Just because the story itself is done doesn't mean its the final submission, silly guy.

Final Submission in Hidden

Remorse
The evenings always start the same, the floors creek, the sky darkens, and the world bathes in the absence of reality. I don’t fully understand why I push day to day, why I take it one step in front of the other. Those thoughts are meant for the hopeful, for the ones that still want something from the anomaly of life. I can only stare into the vistas around me to find any comfort in this world. I could hear footsteps behind me; they were rash, no musicality or pattern, the same you’d expect from a frightened mind. This sound was unthreatening; it was something all too common to us anymore. Marie walked around the corner, squirming, eyes bloodshot, deep darkened bags underneath. She opened her mouth to speak, eyes bubbling, and then stopped, squinted, and walked away. Austin, the youngest of us died yesterday, or we guess he died. He was a symbol, a symbol of hope. We’re just a group of old people without him, a group of people who’ve already experienced the world.
I always wondered why the kid needs to survive above all others in the movies. The answer became obvious the moment we lost Austin, the reason we kept pushing forward is gone, we might as well be dead. Jeremy ran after Marie a few seconds after she fell out of my view, they’d been developing a relationship, a forced relationship for the sake of survival. Having a community is one thing, but having one person who is eternally prioritizing you is another. The rest of us, Georgia and Cheyenne, were in the living room.
We had taken refuge in a house on a side street. It was a larger house, three stories, with plenty of supplies and a couple of cars. We found a corpse in one of the bedrooms, it was the first corpse we’ve seen since this whole thing started, it gave us all a shock, maybe that’s why we were able to lose Austin, we just weren’t thinking straight. I still can’t get over yesterday.
We were running through the street during the daylight, another of our group, Jacob, fell out of sight and by consequence out of mind, I yelled at everyone to keep pushing forward, that he was just gone. Everyone believed me. I was getting nervous that it was becoming so aggressive as to take one of us so close together even if he had fallen out of view during that one turn, so I broke a window and entered this house. I rushed everyone in and together we all explored each room to make sure it was safe. We searched one by one, the kitchen, the living room, the various bedrooms, until we came upon the corpse. She was younger, in her mid-thirties, she looked drained, like a person deprived of sleep, and her eyes were solid black. Jeremy closed them quickly. He didn’t want Austin to notice. She was bruised on her right leg. It looked like a hand had squeezed the leg, with long sharp nails at the end that were dragged across the bruise.
We left it after initial inspection. Georgia took Cheyenne, Austin, and Marie to the living room to relax, while Jeremy and I finished the tour. After the all clear Jeremy and I went back to further inspect the corpse, it was our first opportunity for information. We gently turned her over, slowly removed her clothing and inched over her body. With the exception of it looking drained, everything but the bruise and the eyes were the same, the arms, the chest, the left leg, the torso, hair, face. It was all conducive. Jeremy looked at me after we finished with a grin of infuriation and internal frustration. He broke out into laughter. I frowned out of desperation for some kind of return to sanity. When he noticed he choked up.
That’s when we heard Marie scream. We both rushed down the two flights and into the living room. Everyone was screaming at that point, Marie was clawing at a wall. Georgia was trying to pull her back. Jeremy yelled at everyone to calm down and explain. Marie jerked towards him, shaking, crazed. Screaming at him to do something, to be something inhuman to save him, to save Austin, Jeremy and I were struck with the pain of failure. We lost Austin, Marie was too distraught to elaborate, and Georgia was simply trying to calm her down with Jeremy, so I sat down with Cheyenne for an explanation. She was just as shaken, we locked eyes. She was smiling. It was a fake smile, the kind of thing you’d expect from a person who just didn’t know what to say. After a long second or two, she came out with it. It reached through the wall, it grabbed aimlessly at anything, Austin just happened to be there, when it had him, it pulled him back, through the wall. It was like the wall was liquid, Austin fell straight in. She said Georgia looked out the window, but nothing was on the other side and that’s when Marie started clawing at the wall.
None of us understood, it wasn’t human that grasped him, it was just something else, and it was aimlessly thrashing, it wasn’t targeting anyone, it just wanted someone. We tried to sleep after that, but none of us could, we sat around the fire place instead. The sun fell, and then rose again, and after that day we walked around like zombies until now. Marie tried to tell me something, but was still in shock. For some reason I felt it was important.
I continued to stare into the vistas around me; every now and then I could almost see the ground move. I thought it was my imagination, just because they told me that story, I suddenly started noticing these oddities. I stood up, and walked to the living room were we lost our hope. I sat down in front of Georgia and tried to stare lovingly into her eyes.
“Doing alright?” I asked, with my voice cracking.
“You’ve gotten us through a lot John, I’m so sorry I couldn’t save him when you weren’t around.”
“Don’t be ridiculous, we’ve lost a lot of people under my leadership.” Jacob, Emily, Fred, Lucas.
“But we’ve never lost someone in front of our very eyes, I can’t explain to you what happened John, it was so terrifying, it was like it was desperate to have him.”
“So an arm really did reach through the wall?” I still couldn’t believe it.
“Yes John, it flailed violently searching and when it grabbed Austin it didn’t hesitate to take him.” Her eyes started to water.
“It felt so evil.” Cheyenne intervened. “Like, like, the very embodiment.”
“We don’t need to be spewing philosophy right now Cheyenne.” I responded. “We need to decide what we’re actually going to do now, we lost. We lost someone that was a main motivator for us; we need to figure out what exactly we’re going to do.”
“We’re going to keep moving.” Jacob interrupted. “We can’t just let Marie die, we can’t just let any of us die, we have to keep moving, we have to keep pushing John!” The power of relations reared its political head.
“Then I transfer leadership to you Jeremy.” He looked surprised, but the surprise quickly turned to resolve.
“Then we need to figure out exactly what we’re dealing with.” He turned to Marie, she was still crying. She opened her mouth to try and speak again, but this time Jeremy pushed it out.
“I, I think it was Hell, or the Underworld, or the spirits of those who’ve died, whatever you want to call it, it was, it feels, like everyone whose died before is bubbling up into the real world.”
“More philosophy, that’s great for someone who believes in a God in the first place—“
“We need to believe in what’s happening John!” This was a side of him I hadn’t seen before. “We need to believe that what we’re experiencing is real, remember what happened? What happened when this all started.” I don’t know. “People just started disappearing, one by one all over the world at an alarming rate, they’d walk into another room and just disappear, and nothing was left. That corpse upstairs is the first human we’ve seen whose actually been recovered!” We heard a thump from upstairs. Jeremy ran straight for the room with the corpse and opened the door and screamed. He was faster than the rest of us.
“No, you won’t take her too!” When I finally got to the door and peered in I saw it with my own eyes. There was Jeremy, fighting off the arms of something, some creature, pulling at the corpse. The corpse itself was moving. Trying to scream, rustling back and forth, it looked afraid. Another arm came out of the wall. It latched on to Jeremy, then another. He turned around and looked towards me.
“Please,” he whispered, “Look after her for me, please.” His pupils etched outward, like a plague sketching itself further across the eye. He smiled; the growth grew further, faster, until his entire eye was darkened. Inch by inch it pulled him in to the wall, bit by bit, second by second. The corpse was still squirming, begging to be freed; he whispered something else to me. Something I didn’t want to believe. The girls rushed in and tried to save him, he yelled to save the corpse instead, something about it being further along. They obeyed, except for Marie.
Marie latched on and hugged Jeremy, crying out, pleading it to let him go. Jeremy’s expression became bland and he turned limp, I couldn’t move, staring still. Cheyenne and Georgia managed to free the corpse, but only because it was able to take Jeremy instead. Georgia pulled Marie away as soon as the corpse was freed. Lifelessly pulled into the wall, just like Austin was, engulfed by it.
Marie lashed out at me.
“Why didn’t you save him? Why couldn’t you save him!?”
“I, was.”
“You’re worthless! We’ve lost so many people with you leading! If Jeremy had been leading from the very beginning none of this would have happened! None of this would have happened!”
“Stop it Marie.” Georgia tried to comfort her.
“No! I can’t take this.” Marie ran downstairs. Georgia ran after her. It was just us, Cheyenne, the corpse, and I. The corpse still squirmed, looking at Cheyenne for some kind of help. Then I remembered what Jeremy told me.
‘Austin’s not dead.’
I didn’t want to believe it. Austin being alive meant hope, but what kind of hope? How was he alive? Before I could think any further into it I heard her speak.
“Where am I?” The corpse was more than just squirming now. Cheyenne’s hands were covering her mouth, her eyes rattling, who knows what kind of position we put ourselves into, with night approaching faster and faster. “Where am I?”
“You’re in the house you likely died in, who were you with before you died, what is your name?”
“Where am I?” It became obvious that questions weren’t going to be a fruitful venture. I took Cheyenne’s hand and lead her away from the corpse. It started to stand up. Repeating its favorite phrase, it got up straight, staring into my eyes, ‘Where am I?’ it kept repeating.
“You’re on Earth” Cheyenne interjected.
“What good does telling her she’s on Earth have to do with anything?”
“I don’t know John! Maybe it’s an alien invasion!” Crazier and crazier ideas were circulating through our minds to try and explain our predicament. The corpse continued to just stand there. It was dangerous to save it. I don’t know why Jeremy wanted us to, what if she was ‘it’.
“Cheyenne, we need to get Marie and Georgia, I understand this is, more than odd, but we need to make sure they’re ok.” We hadn’t heard any screams yet, so I assumed they were still alright. We both ran downstairs, Marie was crying on the living room couch in Georgia’s hands. I heard rhythmic steps coming down. It sounded like a waltz, but it was too perfect, there was no deviation, I looked up the steps. The corpse was following us around.
I told Cheyenne to get over to Marie and Georgia; I backed up slowly as the corpse sluggishly waltzed towards me.
“John.” The corpse called my name, my name, why my name, did it over hear us?
“John.” I didn’t understand, maybe this is why it was following me.
“John.” I didn’t know what to do it; it was staring into me, those pure black eyes. A person’s eyes are the window to their soul right?
“John, don’t you recognize me.” Everything stood still.
“John, what is she saying?” Cheyenne came up behind me and slowly pulled me back, I had stopped moving.
“Don’t you recognize me?”
“We need to get out of here.” Georgia shouted.
“Don’t you recognize me? John, don’t you recognize me?” I didn’t recognize her, what was she thinking? Who could she possibly be? She looked so different then how she probably did.
“I’m Ashley John, don’t you recognize me? Why couldn’t you save me John?”
“John, who is Ashley?” Cheyenne was shaking faster and heavier.
“She.” She was a friend, an old friend from before this all happened, when this all started I quickly lost family, just like everyone, and she was so far across town.
“John, why couldn’t you save me, you loved me, didn’t you John?”
“We really need to go.” Cheyenne pulled on me, I couldn’t move.
“It’s alright John, we can be together now.” She reached forward and squeezed my arm. Cheyenne ripped it off and both her and Georgia pulled me back, I noticed Marie staring in silent shock at the moving corpse.
“John! Don’t you want to be together?” She’s a corpse, she’s dead, how is she moving, how is she talking. They tried to pull me further, I didn’t budge.
“We love each other!” She lunged forward, falling into the ground, grabbing my leg as she went. I was suddenly being pulled through the floor. Both Georgia and Cheyenne were struggling to hold me up, Marie rushed over to help.
“Please John, I miss you.” Her grip started to loosen. They all pulled at me, they didn’t want to lose anyone else. “John.” She let go, falling into the floor entirely, as Cheyenne, Georgia, and Marie pulled me out. I was breathing heavily, I couldn’t think straight, why was Ashley walking around, how was she walking around, how did she just fall through the floor. Is this what Jeremy meant, by Austin still being alive? Is that a kind of alive? I couldn’t keep up, my thoughts were jumbled, we just lost Jeremy and Austin to this house, I couldn’t think, I blacked out.
A few minutes later I woke up in a car, Georgia was driving. My head was in Cheyenne’s lap staring upwards at her. Marie was in the passenger seat. I felt like a child, the soothing motion of the car putting me back to sleep. Cheyenne was petting me too; I guess her personal will was still strong.
“We need to know what the hell is going on.” Georgia broke my childish escape.
“Why did Jeremy want us to save Ashley?” Marie asked me.
“I don’t know, I didn’t know it was Ashley, I can’t imagine he knew either.”
“She let you go.” Cheyenne stared down at me, a few tears falling on my face. “She didn’t want to take you unless you wanted to go.”
“What are you talking about?” I responded.
“It was the same with Austin, he struggled for a second but as soon as there was a good grip he just stopped struggling.” Jeremy stopped struggling too.
“What are you trying to say Cheyenne?” Georgia shouted back in confusion.
“I just think everyone who’s gone at this point has gone because, at least to some extent, they’ve wanted to.”
“That’s a little presumptuous—“
“No, you have to think about it John, think about every time we’ve lost someone, it was so quick, too quick, there is almost no blood, no sign of a struggle, even with Ashley laying on the bed, the only real sign of any struggle was the bruise.” Cheyenne stubbornly believed this.
“If that was true, why would Jeremy just leave me like that?” Marie asked Cheyenne.
“I don’t want to upset you, but maybe there was someone more important that sought him out.” Marie returned back to crying silently, turning to face the road. Cheyenne continued to pet me.
“Ok, if what you’re saying is true, then what are the implications Cheyenne?” Georgia inquired.
“Well almost everyone has someone whose died that they miss or someone they didn’t want to leave behind, maybe the stronger the feeling the quicker its happened, the faster they’ve found them.”
“You’re speaking a lot of philosophy Cheyenne, I understand we’ve lost a lot of people to odd circumstances but to claim the dead are seeking out lost loved ones is a little superfluous.” Cheyenne frowned down on me.
“Why don’t we ask everyone here, Georgia, do you have anyone who you think wants you to be with them? Anyone you’ve lost?” Cheyenne wasn’t going to give up.
“No.”
“Marie?”
“Just my mother.”
“We already know John had Ashley, any others John?”
“I don’t know.” I’m just an average guy, with average relations, I guess my parents? But I lost them to this catastrophe; I guess Ashley died to this too. “What about you Cheyenne?”
“No one.”
“What kind of person has no one that might miss them after death?” Both Georgia and Cheyenne continued to stare into the distance. “If what you’re saying is true, then what happens when the dead have taken everyone they want?”
“The world starts over.” Cheyenne continued to pet me. Georgia suddenly stopped.
“We’re out of gas, were on foot from here.” We all got out and moved quickly to the closest house. Just the four of us now, you’d think more of us would have been able to survive this. I broke a window and opened the front door, just like last time, but we didn’t inspect the house. We found an empty room and locked it tight, just in case there were any roaming corpses. Even though the real threat could come through any wall or floor, we didn’t want the surprise of walking corpses. We couldn’t stay awake anymore. We all just laid on the king bed, and slept.
I woke up groggy the next morning, Cheyenne was clinging to me, Georgia was clinging to her, and Marie was gone. Slowly I put two and two together, and eventually worry and surprise overtook me. Shouting out for Marie I ran downstairs. Thankfully she was safe, sitting in the living room of this new house, staring at a wall.
“Brings a whole new meaning to watching paint dry.” I was trying to lighten the mood. She didn’t respond. “Marie, Jeremy would want you to press on, we need to press on remember?”
“I want to die.” She stood up, and walked over to the wall, placing her hand on it.
“Wait! Marie what are you doing?” She started pounding on the wall.
“Come take me! I don’t want to live in this lonely wasteland anymore.” She kept pounding against the wall. I tried to pull her back, Georgia and Cheyenne had come downstairs and were watching. “I’m willing! Doesn’t someone want me? Jeremy? Mother? Doesn’t anyone want to come back for me!?”
“Marie, calm down now.” Georgia came with needed aid.
“You miss Austin too don’t you Georgia? You two were so close, he almost thought of you as his stand-in mother, you helped him every step of the way.” Georgia lost her breath.
“Yes, I guess so, I do really miss him Marie, but he’s gone now, he’s not coming back.”
“Not if Cheyenne is correct, we just have to let them take us.” I looked over at Cheyenne; she was backing up, her hands clamping her stomach, as if in pain. I walked over to talk to her softly.
“Do you need something? I can search the pantries for some kind of medicine.” Before I could ask what was really wrong she exhumed the lack of food onto the floor.
“Cheyenne!” Georgia ran over to her. I noticed Marie walking back to the wall, this time caressing it like a lost lover. “Honey, are you alright?”
“I just lost control. I guess my body needed to purge something.” We hadn’t eaten in a while, some sugar injections here and there to keep us going, but no real food.
“Take me, I’m waiting, I’ll be waiting.”
“Marie, get away from that wall already.” Georgia left Cheyenne in my hands.
“Cheyenne, you’re sure you’re alright?”
“I’m going to be all alone at the end of this, aren’t I?” I was shocked.
“Why do you say that?”
“You have more people that will come for you, Marie is begging to go, and Georgia has people even if she says she doesn’t. I’m the only one who truly doesn’t.” She smiled up at me.
“Then I’ll stay here with you.” She quickly frowned.
“Why would you do that? You need to go with your loved ones.”
“Cheyenne, just because you’ve gotten it into your head that the dead are coming back to kill their loved ones doesn’t mean that’s what’s actually happening. Just think about it, they’re killing them.”
“What is life John? What is death? If you can still think, feel, smell, an express emotions towards other people, then how is that not life? I’m afraid of not having life, but if death is just the beginning of a new stage of life, then why fear it?”
“Because you can’t possibly know what’s going to happen.” Marie was kneeling in front of the wall now, one palm placed up above her head against it.
“We need to clean that up.” Georgia walked into the kitchen to get a towel. I lead Cheyenne to the couch to lie down.
“Hey, it’s your turn John.”
“Ok.” I let her lay in my lap, and started to gently pet her hair. I guess the forced relationship was starting to take hold of me as well. Georgia went back and forth to get appropriate tools to clean up the stain, almost as if it was her house, I think she was enjoying the memory. Marie was still kneeling in front of the wall, waiting. . .
“Austin!” I jerked my head towards Georgia. There he was, half inside with head, chest and one arm out, leaning towards Georgia. Eyes black, his young rounded face, blonde hair, small tiny ears, buttoned nose, an adorable child, plagued with the eyes that showed nothing, drained, reaching for Georgia. He said nothing. It was like living in slow motion. Georgia didn’t move, she couldn’t move. Austin took her hand. She looked over to me, turning her head slowly to the left. I could see her eyes turning; she mouthed something lightly to me. Cheyenne had just started to get up. Marie had just started to turn. Her eyes, blackened, and in an instant Austin pulled her through the wall. ‘I’m sorry.’ This was the second time one of the group gave me their last words.
Marie ran over screaming, Cheyenne ran over as well, eyes noticeably on fire. Austin was alive, that’s what Jeremy said.
“Georgia!” Marie couldn’t take it anymore, she was becoming hysterical. She ran out the front door and out onto the street.
“Wait! Stop!” Cheyenne ran after her. I was still sitting on the couch. Thinking back, thinking all the way back. When this first started I had just woken up, walked around, and then got a phone call. My mother was throbbing with fear and misery; she had witnessed her husband essentially kidnapped. Before I could respond I heard a quick gasp on the other end and then nothing. I ran to my car, and I remember feeling like something grabbed me, but I shrugged it off. Something grabbed me, but I broke free of it. When I got to my parent’s house they were both gone, police sirens were everywhere. People were just vanishing, everywhere. Eventually I ran into Jacob, he was first, we decided we needed to round up as many as we could up, that we’d find strength in numbers. We did. Since then they’ve just kept disappearing, one after another, even up until now.
I heard Cheyenne yell my name. I stood up and ran after her. I managed to catch up to both of them. Marie wasn’t running very fast, she was looking for something. She turned a sharp corner, and Cheyenne yelled for her. When we got around it she was still there, still safe. Before we could get to her she broke a window and entered a store, Cheyenne ran in after her. I stood back. It was something Jacob and I knew we needed to avoid at all costs, it was the one ingredient that we couldn’t introduce. I ran into the store.
“Marie! What are you doing! Stop!” Marie was loading a gun.
“I want to be with them, they won’t take me, so I’ll go to them.”
“Stop Marie! You belong with us!” Cheyenne was wailing. She didn’t want to be right. She didn’t want to be the only one left.
“I’m sorry.”
I carried Cheyenne to a new house. I lied her down just like we had been, and gently ran my hand, caressing her face. That was the second corpse we’d seen in this entire ordeal. I’m guessing the last as well. Just us two left, just us two.
“John.” Cheyenne woke up, looking up into my eyes. “John, if I lose you too, if I’m left all alone.”
“You won’t lose me.” I took a deep breath. “There is only one person left that wants to pull me into their world, and I’m looking at her.”

 

[Avator]

I just meant it was enough work to be a final submission. A lot of people want to polish their work before calling it their final submission. But should there not be enough time for that, it could be the entry of those participants.

 

[GunSlinger]

Will the contest be extended?
There's no judge to judge our works.

 

[darkdeathknight]

Here's my final. Im a bit disappointed cos this was not the end of the story originally, but I wouldnt be able to finish it any other way.

View attachment Story2.doc

Also, I would NOT like an extension. It is very unfair on the other contestants, and judges can be found after the end of the deadline.

 

[GunSlinger]

At least I'm almost done with my story.

 

[neo_child]

Tomorrow last day guys. Hope you all finish on time.

 

[GunSlinger]

Dang it 2 more chapters!
Hope you guys finish soon! I'd like to read your stories!