| Linnea |
01-27-2018 01:45 AM |
Short Stories!
Third Place:
Naisou!
Quote:
The woods could be a dangerous place, especially at night. Full of creatures who hunted and killed without thought of mercy. The week surrounding the full moon being exceptionally perilous for those caught unaware.
Going for a run was cathartic though, shedding the burdens of reality and focusing on the simple push and pull of straining muscles. When the need for release came, it didn't matter what perils the full moon held. I was strong enough. Smart enough. Or so I had always thought.
And I needed this run, a bone deep need so strong that the panicked pleas my mother uttered fell onto deaf ears as I ran. The rhythmic thud of my feet hitting the soft earth, breaths condensing in the cold night air, heart beating against my ribs. These were what I focused on. Not the colicky cries of my baby sister or the slurs thrown from villagers as we passed.
The anger swelled up again, pushing out behind my eyes, clawing into my brain. Anger at our poverty, our fathers death, the unbridled hatred shown to us. I ran faster. Branches scratching, snagging, trying to slow my frantic pace.
Pain bloomed in my haunches, overwhelming me, dragging me back to the present. The metallic smell of blood sharp in the cold night air.
Drunken shouts of triumph flooded my ears, the heavy, uneven fall of feet rushing forward, snapping the undergrowth.
Panic flared bright, snarls tearing from my foaming lips as I fell. My skin rippled, fur bristling as I attempted to change. Unwilling to let the men have my pelt as a souvenir. The silver bullet lodged in my leg prevented me from succeeding, boiling my blood within me.
"It's tryin' change back."
"Finish it quick! Human skin ain't worth 'nuthin."
A knife flashed. My last thought was of my mother and sister. Would they survive? Father butchered and now this. My pelt to be hung on a wall.
I should have known not to go into the woods during a full moon. When the monstrous humans came out hunting for elusive silver manwolf pelts.
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Linny's reaction: What I like most about this short story is that the end is not where I thought it was going to go. Making humans the creatures that kill without mercy was very clever. Nicely done!
Second Place:
LillieRose!
Quote:
Siara Atterton carefully lowered one foot on the first rung and slowly began her descent.
All the years of experience could not prepare her for this - she was excited and terrified.
A find as big as the one she was about to explore only comes along once in a lifetime.
She reached the last rung and as her spacesuit protected arms let go of the bars, she turned around and gasped.
The alien structure in front of her was magnificent. It was definitely made by sentient beings, Siara concluded, based on the shape of what appeared to be the entrance.
It was perfectly circular with what appeared to be beautifully detailed, triangular carvings around the outer edge of it.
As she approached, she flicked on the recording button wired to the visor of her helmet and reached out to touch one of the edges to retrieve a sample. She carefully placed the sample in one of the compartments on the arm of her suit and datavised a quick order to her ship computer for analysis.
After a few moment, the results data appeared on her visor's screen.
"Material: organic.
Origin: unknown.
Compound: unknown.
Results: inconclusive.
Retrieve more samples for further analysis."
Siara's pupils widened. An organic material of unknown origin? Uncommon but not unusual.
Since humankind began its space exploration, many marvelous discoveries have been made but there were still many secrets to uncover. The universe was vast.
Despite the tingle of fear down her spine, Siara decided to proceed.
She carefully stepped in front of the circular entrance and observed that the triangle shaped carvings were arranged all around it in a very purposeful manner, as the space between them was equal all around.
She reached out and touched the lower, protruding end of one of them.
Suddenly, a warm wind blew right toward her from the centre of the entrance hole.
Her poor human eyes were not quick enough to detect the movement of the arch above her head, as it crushed down on her.
And with a sickening crunch and a belch, she was no more.
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Linny's reaction: This was another story which I was tricked into thinking it was something else. A very sci-fi and creepy feel from the start, which was cut short by a sudden, not so creepy, demise. Love it!
First Place:
Bearzy!
Quote:
The house was built in 1857, and nobody knew how long it had been empty.
Mary and Helen were restless kids, always coming home from school with black eyes from getting into fights or grass stains and mud on their dresses from their “adventures”.
So when they moved in next door to an old abandoned manor house it was inevitable that one October night the girls would hoist themselves over the fence that connected the houses and walk through the long dead grass to the back door.
It hadn’t been locked, and it opened with a loud creak.
Both girls stood silent in the doorway for a moment, waiting to see if the lights at their own home would come on and they would be busted by the noise. Nothing. Mary pulled a flashlight from her dressing gown pocket and shone it inside. The back door opened into a kitchen, and the dust sat so thick on the floor that every step their slippered feet took puffed up a cloud that made Helen sneeze. Mary shot her a look after the fifth sneeze.
“I can’t help it!” She whispered.
“Cover your nose with your handkerchief!”
“I forgot it”
“Take mine” Mary handed over the piece of cloth embroidered with flowers that their mother made them carry everywhere. Mary often carried two, because she knew her sister well. As Helen took the handkerchief, the flashlight flickered and went out. They rushed back to the door, but this time when they turned the handle, it was locked, and there was no sign of a key.
Helen and Mary Watford were missing for long enough that the police declared them kidnapped, and then dead. Fifty years later, the house was purchased, and when they opened the back door, out rushed identical ten year old girls, wide eyed and gasping, and still in their dressing gowns and slippers. Nobody believed their story, but the young couple never moved into their new house after hearing it.
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Linny's reaction: The ending is what sold it for me here. It really makes you wonder what happened, or what that house was, to make time stand still for the girls. I want to know more! Stellar job!
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