Sitting in the car, I light up the cigarette. The breeze slowly enchants the flame from my lighter as it sways from side to side, judging by the harsh frosty breath I can tell that this Winter isn't going to be kind. I've always asked myself who was to blame for Jack's death, was it the drunk driver who fell asleep behind the wheel, was it his girlfriend? These questions remain unanswered to me.
Either way, Jack was my brother. Revenge is a shallow motive but its the only way I'll ever have closure on my siblings death. The sharp squeek of wheels awakens me from my train of thought.
"Are you ready?" Matthew, my youngest brother asks, sitting in the drivers seat waiting for me to finish my cigarette. I flick the butt out of the window of the old Volkswagon and put my ski-mask on.
"As always."
We sit in the car, silent. I'll never forget Jack, and I'll never forgive those who harmed him on that night.
The only thing I know is that once a Weston brother is down, we ride to the fight.
At any rate, seems like just nonsense. But the free write is one of the basic tools of any writer. It's simple, take as much time as you need... but generally time it at about a minute or two, and just write. Total stream of consciousness and don't stop until the time is up. It will sharpen you up, give you ideas, and keep you writing!!!
I leaped out of the car like a pouncing tiger with guns as my teeth and things that go bang as my claws. In an instant everything froze and I saw the men on the side walk freeze with uncertainty written across their faces as if in bright red ink. I chuckled and then time seemed to begin and in a blur of hands and metal two Uzi's flashed up and I heard and felt the solid click. Then the two guns in my hand like snarling dogs barked forth dozens of rounds of lead and all that my brother saw was a flash of blood streaking crimson across the walls and ground. I put the guns down smoking and checked my watch. 3 seconds had gone by, it had seemed like an hour. I jumped back in the car and floored it while I grabbed another cig with my free hand and asked Mathew to light it. I drove away with the wind a blazing and living beast in my face and a burning satisfaction with the cigarette clasped in between my teeth.
The Road was a blur as the car raced along the streets of the City, the sky high buildings seeming to torch by in a flash of light and terror. I was angry, furious as any god may be if he took a bathroom break and came back and well found that instead of the stone age we now had some sort of industrial revolution that was burning away our atmosphere and turning the world he had made to filth and bloody rubble. So yes it seemed that I was angry.
It was passed midnight when I noticed I had slipped my way onto the highway with my thoughts gone as they were. I was shocked I wasn't gone off a bridge already. I seemed to be able to calm my rage to a containable amount now. The car started beeping and I noticed that we were almost out of fuel. I saw a gas station near by, I slowly began to let out car slow to the proper speed limit.
A little while later we were their, me like an angered god and Mathew... well I might have liked him better dead with the way he damn well snored. Surprised it didn't wake me from my thoughts earlier, I pulled into the station. Their was a grizzly looking old man their, he was black and looked like he should be working on a farm instead of owning a gas place. Fill er up I said. The old man dressed in ragged torn overalls, one of the slips undone and a checkered red and black shirt underneath that even from its bit of revealing looked stained and old. The old man jumped and gasped looking like something like the devil had just bit his ass. He seemed to quietly mumble a few words like "bhmble aeeeeehhhh". Nonsense, he filled up the tank and we were just about to pay and drive off when the front door of the gas station burst open. A girl came wailing out and all I could think of this time was God must really hate me, either that or I was serial killer in a past life. I grinned at the thought although I was quickly shot back to reality by a teenage boy slamming the door open behind her. She curled up against our car and wailed crying and begging him not to and whining about how sorry she was. The old man looked shock and went over to reason with the boy mumbling some thing I still could not comprehend. I leaned over the seat quickly and pulled the .45 colt out. I kept it hidden behind the door and watched the young man push the old fellow to the ground while screaming " You b**ch how could you?!" I thought to myself not my problem. The kid had a base ball bat in one hand and looked like a gay elvis with his low riding jeans and black leather jacket that looked like he'd purchased it at a country boutique the way it had brown cow hide on the shoulder pad parts and arms. His white T-Shirt stuck out against his dark contrast. I was about to pull away and let the girl fall to the dirt instead of lean on my car when the kid looking 16-18 bludgeoned a hole in my car. Suddenly my anger was back and I opened my car door quietly. I put my hand on his shoulder and he turned to me as I sent my left fist flying into his nose. He flew off the ground and landed next to the unconscious old man who was slumped against one of the two gas pumps on that part of the station. The kid got back up and told me I had better leave before he beat my teeth in. I walked up and caught the bat as he swung it thinking that kids really should have a tad more schooling. I turned the bat in his hand and jabbed it into his face sending him backwards, the gunshot that rippled through him made him fall over. The girl was still cowering against my car when she seemed to realize I kind of was their now with a gun and bat. She got up with tear stained cheeks and said "I c-cheated on him.. wasn't my fault though! He wouldn't care right and shit an-" You could just hear de come out of her mouth, the little start of the letter d before a bullet flew through her head. I turned around and walked in the gas station slash convenience store. I put on black gloves and took the security tapes before going back to my car where Mathew the little kid was still sleeping. He was a sweet little boy and one of the only people I liked. I put the tapes in the car and started all the gas pumps and drenched the building as well as the bodies in them. I slit a hole in the pump and left a lighter next to it. I thought this would make it look somewhat like a stupid accident. I drove away for about half a mile with dear Mat still in the back and gently sleeping. I shook the child ever so gently, "Mmmehhh what did I do?" "Hey buddy, want to see a cool show" I asked? Mhmmmmmmm he said, the kid was only 12 but smarter then most his age. I took him around and out of the car and set him on the hill rise where I'd parked our car just on the road next to it. I took out the .45 colt. I had picked up all the other bullet shells I'd used in the gas station earlier. I shot the bullet and watched it fly straight and true. The bullet would most likely be blown to bits with the following boom so I wouldn't have to worry my head about traces. Mathew was in my lap and watching as the sky lit up with green and red as well as blue and yellow colours. The gas station blew and the night was alight with beauty and somewhere I thought I might have heard the unconscious man scream.
Nina ran over the rooftops, her short black hair a mess in the rushing wind it shone with the sweat. Her black jacket shone in the limiting pale light of the moon blending to the mat black top and tight black trousers tucked into her boots. Her black clothes contrasted beautifully with her pale ivory skin and cherry red lips. The dirty chimneys slipped past into the shadows of the night as she stepped gracefully over the clanking tiles. It was then that her pursuers emerged over the roof behind her. Gun shots shattered the peaceful silence as the faceless figures masked in shadow unloaded flashes of lead into the cold night air. Jade’s legs bent as she contracted and threw herself into the air, her ankles spun as her body was inverted and her arms spun towards the men. Three shots blazed and the men dropped back into the darkness. She glanced up to see an empty black void rapidly being filled by cobbled stones as she split her legs to hit the adjacent walls and her silver stiletto dug into the wooden walls. The wood splintered as she tore her way down the buildings gently slowing, six foot from the ground she twisted in the air and landed with a metallic clang on to a single drain cover. Another two formless dark figures emerged around the corner into the ally as the two pistols rang together and they slumped to the ground like empty cloaks. She ran down the alley towards the street as yet another masked man stepped into the alley; she grabbed a lone washing line as her silver heals dug into the man’s chest and fell into a forward roll. The blood covered heels emerged as another two shots rang in either direction parallel to her body. She broke back into a sprint as she approached street and saw a glowing bubble protrude out of the darkness and with effortless grace she scaled the vertical wall back to the rooftops. She stood atop of a large sky light as her pursuers clambered onto the rooftop. The pale light from below illuminated her feet as their guns pointed towards her delicate face, a single man stepped out from the legions.
“You are surrounded,” He exclaimed with enormous triumph, “Give up now and your death will be painless.”
“What captor bargains with its prey?” Replied Nina, “You haven’t caught me until your hand is around my wrist!”
The man took a step forward as Nina’s heel dug into the glass shattering it into a thousand pieces; together they dropped into the warm glow of the room and the cold embrace of the water beneath. Nina surfaced immediately and swam to the side, the commanders corpse was lying face down in the red stained water. Shouts came from above as the men peered down into the pool below. Nina laughed gently as she walked out of the door and vanished into the empty darkness of the night.
And just to prove I can do other writting not just shoot em ups,
Nina sat atop of the wall and looked out into the endless jungle. She was wearing nothing but her short black silk night gown. The sun was setting over the tree tops as the last of the scavengers returned. A lone bird flew into the sunset as the forest took its final breath of the day. The swarms of fireflies awoke as the sun disappeared over the horizon, sending their faint flickering lights through the green veils of the leaves. It was then that the moon was revealed to shine onto the crystal waters, creating a shimmering glass disrupted only by the ripples of the fish swimming through the star covered blanket. The leaves of the trees flickered in the gentle wind as the forest took in its first breath of the night. The wooden trees creaked as the nocturnal metamorphosis took place and the shield rose around the city making the landscape shimmer as if viewed through a heat wave. It was then when Nina saw him; Rivet was outside the walls, leaving into the forest. She slid down the outside wall as silently as a shadow and followed Rivet into the forest.
Behind the thick wall of trees lingered a forgotten path, as she treed carefully along it she caught a glimpse of Rivets fire red hair in the distance. She pursued him lingering behind the dense brown foliage and thin fluttering leaves. She closed her eyes a single twig cracked beneath her foot making an almost silent noise which sounded as thunder. She slipped behind a nearby tree and into a dense clearing, The trees were covered in a pale green fungus dripping after the rainfall earlier, the fireflies had swarmed the fungi to turn it to a lantern. The grass was a moist emerald green, darker than that of the city and somehow far more beautiful, the occasional flowers littered the ground, casting a pale lilac tone illuminated solely by the light of the moon. All of this was nothing compared to the lake, the dark waters were disrupted by lily pads large enough to lay on, whilst the water itself reflected the stars light making a star speckled blanket of beauty gently placed on the ground. Rivet was stood by the entrance to the clearing behind Nina as she approached the water’s edge. She stood at the side of the lake and gazed into crystal waters, it was then when she felt Rivet’s hand gently on her hip, his warm lips touched her ice cold neck as she closed her eyes.
“It’s so beautiful here.” She whispered delicately,
Rivet’s mouth moved gently up to her ear as he whispered his reply, “It’s just a pile of rubble compared to you.”
Nina turned to face him placing her arms around his neck, “Don’t try to make it any more special, it’s already perfect.”
He brushed a strand of her jet black hair from her face as they fell gently towards the lake. They landed with a splash onto a giant lily. The Icy water touched Nina’s back as Rivets fiery hot body embraced her front. Together they drifted into the centre of the lake as the fireflies swarmed the heat. Rivet sat up as he removed his shirt and threw it too the lake. As he lay back down on top of Nina to steal a kiss she felt her heart race and she fell into a spell of passion.
*Sorry guys I can’t tell you the rest in a public forum lol*
Ps. sorry for the funny symbol things, I copied this from word and it seems to add them for some reason
The old man cast his age old eyes on the threads of reality that conquered all and set forth limits and standards. He gently moved his head with an eerie grace that bespoke of age more ancient then time. He seemed lost in thought among the grinding gears of eternity and groaning twists and knots of the threads and chains that made time. He slowly turned his head back and gazed into the darkness beneath that seemed to boil and bubble. It was as molten magma accented with sinister purpose. The man showed no intrigue, nor did his face change from its age old daze. A younger man walked by upon the nothing that was ground. Among the nothing he glanced about with curiosity and a hint of anger tinged with lustrous pride. He was beautiful with hair as dark as midnight and skin soft as velvet and hard as stone. Pale as moonlight and just as lovely. He wore a royal purple silk buttoned shirt, the collar roughly a mess while the first three buttons were undone. The shirt was still marvelous with the cuffs undone. The man looking as an angered god. His pants almost as black as his hair were of some soft but hard fabric. The man seemed to look about before noticing the old man. The old man's eyes fixed on upon the young one and a glimmer of madness echoed in the old one's soul and was ever so faintly reflected as a gentle trace of a scar on his eyes. The young one seemed weary yet a hint of his malice still remained. The one with midnight hair spoke and his voice sounded like the stroking of a lute mixed with the sheer melody of poetic grace. Why did you take her? It seemed to whimper and falter without losing a hint of its musical and poetic grace. The old man gazed upon the young one for a long time as the surrounding sand dripping nothing turned to show ages in their passing. An eternity in one world. A second in this one spoke the old man. You have come to the perilous path of time and eternity. Here reality and fantasy may be woven. The old man's voice seemed to crackle with age and cry of sorrow. It had a prominent melancholy tone to it. As might an orchestra when throwing in pieces of sad brilliance. A single tear that seemed liquid crystal dropped from the old one's eyes. I am so very sorry he whispered. The young one cried as time slipped by. His tears as lovely as wine and far more sweet. I beg of you Father Of Time return her to me. The nothingness around them shivered and in the world a ripple went through. One of reality near breaking. I am so so sorry came the voice of the old man in a hoarse whisper. Old man said the young god, you will witness true pain for this. So the world shook and the father of time dropped and fell to sand and the young god took his seat upon the thrown of emptiness. He snapped his fingers and Marrie returned to him. She cried tears of purity, devotion and love. You could have just died my lord she said, now you will suffer a thousand deaths for but a moment with me. I care not he said and let loose a small smile that lit up the Marrie's face like the sun, her face had become the sun. It glowed with a pure white devotion and love. I love thee she said in a voice clear as the blue skies. As I love thee said the young god. Then she was gone like sand in the wind and the new father of time reined over his new domain yet. He simply waited for his thousand life times to be over with. A thousand life times watching the worlds. One second in this one was an aeon in that one and he saw it all. I love you Marrie he whispered.
I would like to take this thread to post the short story of the month.
June 2009
Welcome to the June edition of the Short Story of the Month Competition. New month, new theme, plenty of potential for magnificent stories. Don't forget to take part and make your vote count for this month! This should be helped with this month's theme. Without further ado, onwards we go. Best of luck to everyone!
The Theme
The Art Of Storytelling
The Rules
- Stories should be "short", which is open to your own interpretation; just remember, people here have to read them, so length is only an issue as far as readability goes! The guideline would be between 1000 and 2000 words, although anything shorter or perhaps even longer is acceptable.
- Once completed, pieces must be both posted in this thread and PMed to me with a link to the piece for reference.
- Pieces must be submitted by the 25th of June in order for voting to take place.
The children quickly grabbed the gas masks out from under their desks and wore it on as they always did each week.
"Right, who would like to go first?" she asked.
A little girl raised her hand among the notable absence, and unwillingness of participation coming from the other students.
"Ok, Yolonda. Tell us the hopefully interesting story you would like to narrate to the rest of the class."
Yolanda put on a smile. She spoke distorted, due to the muffling of the heavy respirator hanging on her face.
‘...And the sick, old man tossed the fossil over the floodgate. His grandchildren and the million other finches above the sky, and the million other sea snakes below, witnessed the strange artifact plummet down to the deep blue vast bowl called the ocean with an easygoing thump. It swivelled calmly under the fine blankets of swishy water, descending deeper and deeper down to an apparant and endless pit.
The sun was beginning to settle and the sick old grandfather cheeked up a smile. The children, the flocks of finches, and the herds of bustling sea snakes gazed in amazement, to everything. It was beautiful; simply to put, and sweet.
One of the children tugged at the old man’s ragged shirt.
"Why was it so?" the young boy asked, his face quizzical.
The old man winked and grinned with revealing, glistening dentures. He knew. Everyone knew. And then the finches flying from the sky dove down near the sea snakes to exactly tell them of what they had just witnessed. But, the sea snakes only gave out a burst of chuckling before even one of the jittery birds could chirp and sing. Because the snakes knew.
