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 Posted: Sun Feb 27, 2011 10:18 am
Events This is where I will tell you of upcomign events and contests. All contests will provide at least a 20,000 gold reward for the winner.
They will probably require at least a 1k admission charge.
If so then the reward will be raised. First Event/ContestThe first 15 people who have joined the guild will be eligible for this contest. There is no entry fee and a 20k reward is for the winner. A 9k reward is for the second place winner and some item of my choosing is for the 3rd place winner. Once we acquire 15 members i will tell you about further requirements.
Once they are met the real contest shall begin.
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Posted: Sun Feb 27, 2011 12:37 pm
First Contest Second Requirement:
You Must have signed the rules with the correct word.
Those eligible By the 15 member requirement are as follows:
lunarskys
Brown_Toasted_Toast
Nicolai the Necromancer
Rose_Stained_Red
Hawatari Zetsubou
II Silent Reverie II
PhantomHoofbeats
Lexical Gap
iRawrzChu
KamaKia
Master of the Plushies
MoonLitS u i c i d e
Mistress Exploder
StellaLuna
SkyWind
xIceyDemonx
Those who are eligible by the second requirement are as follows:
Lunarskys
iRawrzChu
Lexical Gap
II Silent Reverie II
Rose_Stained_Red
Hawatari Zetsubou
Brown_Toasted_Toast
KamaKia
Nicolai the Necromancer
xIceyDemonx
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Posted: Mon Feb 28, 2011 4:40 pm
T H E XXXXX C O N T E S T Finally your chance to win some free gaia gold.
Because you have all made it this far the prizes have been bumped.
40k for the winner.
15k for the 2nd place
And still whatever item I think matches the 3rd place persons avi best. The contest is simple.
Write a short story.
I figured the best way to kick off a Literate guild is some good writing.
I want these stories to be long, well developed, with great grammar and few spelling errors.
Don't forget the big words.
6 paragraph minimal, 7 sentences at least to each paragraph (If you want them to count), and a total of 29 allotted spelling and grammar mistakes.
Aren't I kind?
Don't answer that....
The end date for this is Sunday. Good luck.
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Posted: Mon Feb 28, 2011 5:06 pm
"Gotta get out......must leave.....closing....." the voice murmured deep in her mind. Flashes of men dressed in white coming towards her grabbing her and dragging her, blood dripping down the hall, bloody footprints tracing a path that was traveled on so very often. Purple eyes were wide with fright, it was finally her fifthteenth birthday and she had been assigned to this place, to guard. She has been many places around Europe and most of the bases were open, Fong had arranged that for her long ago. Now she was in an underground base nothing but walls and barriers to block out the sunlight, memories of dread flooded through her, Erebus' white eyes, James sapphire blue looking darkened and deserted both of those boys were older then her then now....they were dead. They had died when they were found attacking their saviors, Risa was different a very succesful experiment, they would do anything to keep her here with whatever family she had been entrusted too. Quick breaths, running, the loud echo of explosions ringing in her ears the cries and the screams. Blood, she could smell it in the air, she hadn't killed anybody she stopped herself from doing that before it was too late. She could hear them now, chasing her footsteps, she rounded a corner quickly her gaze still wild and wet. She didn't notice it herself but the young girl was crying as she ran, fear was stuck on her face, she continued to run, she must have ran twenty miles by now. Her legs were starting to hurt, the burning ache had already ran up to her thighs.
Finally light spread out at an entrance and she burst through landing in sand and mud, her dark ebony twintails getting dirty and caked with the nasty sand and grit, she stood up quickly ignoring her dirty state and runing off towards where she knew the piers would be. She needed to leave, and fast before they caught her. Finally her legs started to give out as she approached the pier running across the wooden boardwalk, she flipped and rolled panting and fighting for what air her lungs were trying to squeeze in. She crawled, her nails digging into the bloated wood filled with saltwater making it soft and easy to grip. She dragged herself across the wood, the bark scraping against her bare legs, she stopped momentarily listening for footsteps, they were far away and they were padding on sand trying to run through it, their heavy bodies sinking into the sand. Risa herself was nimble and quick basically skipping through the sand, thankfully she had an advantage and a chance to regain her breath. She got up after a few moments her legs threatening to give out once again, she moved in a lithe walk keeping quiet, her footsteps soundless and graceful. She made it to an open box mark with a shipment to someplace in Japan. She stepped in closing her eyes and pretending it was an open space, her senses opened up to the smells and sounds she tapped her foot lightly against the ground, a rush of burn went up her leg, she ignored it to her best ability as she focused on how far the reverberations went and where they stopped. She moved avoiding what she could remember and barely missing the corner of a box, she finally setteled in the back of the large metal crate and rested her back against the cool metal, she could feel the cold steel through the rather benefitless clothing she wore. Her legs lay against the cold steel the part of her leg that remained numb since she was branded as an experiment remained nerveless and dead, a small nimble hand reached out and touched the scarred skin, remembering the pain it had caused her so long ago, her eyes remained closed as she pulled her hair over to feel through it. She loosened one of the ties and pulled it out of her hair, wrapping it around her wrist as she moved her fingers through the locks, her senses remained alert to any sound or smell.
Without her notice she ended up passing out, her dark hair spilling over her shoulders, the anxiety and fear had drained her not to mention how much she ran. The termoil had made her exhausted to the point she passed out, she didn't even feel the crate get moved ti'll she woke up to a green and black gun barrel pointed to her forehead, "Ah..." she mumbled half asleep, "Stowing away?" a childish voice demanded, "Fong?" she wondered out loud blinking, her eyes hazy. She continued to open and close her eyes, bright light was shining into the large metal box, a silouhette stood against it staring at her. The person looked tiny, "Hmmmm, you might make a good edition to the Vongola." the baby voice muttered before she felt a hand pulling her forward trying to get her to stand. She moved her free arm pushing her up onto wobbly and stiff legs, everything hurt, "Lets get you a shower and clean your clothes." the baby muttered releasing her hand after she had gotten up. The shadow like figure disappeared into the light. Risa's vision was still blurry but she moved slowly her legs in pain along with her back, she sighed her long black hair falling over her shoulders in long straight locks. She was dragged out into the open, she was staring at a rather nice cruise ship, she blinked a couple of times looking around in confusion, the sea wasn't disturbing and there was no storm or anything, it didn't even look creepy like she imagined. She blinked the sleep out of her eyes finally, the sun beat down on her skin before someone came over and escorted her away, she stopped a few times due to the pain in her legs. She entered a very nice room, large bed, a view to outside and then yes, the smell of bath soaps, she got to bathe! It felt like forever since she had a nice bath, she looked up when the butler motioned to a white dress and some woman's undergarments, she nodded and bowed before effectively falling over from her legs giving out. The butler sighed and turned away, Risa moved her face from the carpet sitting up her hair spilling all over the place, her fringe pushed all over and coated in sand. She got on all fours and crawled over to the bathroom her knees and forelegs pressed to the cold tile as she sat on her knees pulling off her over sized black and green striped shirt, it fell in front of her, her long and thin arms were exposed along with her black tank top and short shorts.
She peeled the tighter clothes off being rather careful about it, her body was still stiff and in pain from laying in a metal crate all night. She breathed out as she unhooked her bra and removed her panties, perfect curves shown along with a beautiful tan, nothing seemed to be darker or lighter then it should be. Long slim and firm legs showed signs of mucsle gained through training instead of labor. She would be the envy of men if she showed off her assests but she never understood the need for men, being trapped in an experimental place did things to a person. She crawled over, still on all fours over to the tub, foam was skimming the top of the hot water, she pulled herself up wincing in pain as she moved into the tub slowly finally her entire being was emersed in the heavenly water. Her muscles relaxed instantly the warm feeling in her body was great, the feeling of the stiffnes going away, the dull aching disappearing and finally that wonderful smell filled her noise, Lavender, her favorite flower. After around ten minutes of relaxing in the hot water she started to clean herself, her long black ebony locks shined as they were cleaned in the water, the lavender smell filled up the room as she cleaned herself. She stood up emptying the luke warm water from the tub and twisted her hair, the dark locks were long a beautiful, the former sheen and luster they held returned. She felt comfortable and relaxed after she had dried off, she walked out her naked form visible to any occupants in the room. She walked over to the bed pulling on the clothes quickly and pulling her hair into a braid, the dress was a perfect fit, hugging her curves and pretty much showing off her assets quite well. The butler looked her up and down unsure if this was the same girl he saw only a little while ago, "Reborn-sama is waiting on the deck for you." he stated simply giving her one last glance before turning and leaving. Risa blinked in confusion, her lips pressing into a thin line, she was unsure whether or not to go meet this Reborn person, who was he and what did he want with her? She sighed deciding she had no other choice, she couldn't swim very far or for a long period of time unless she had a float to relax on every now and then. She smirked at the idea as she wandered out of the room and onto the deck, she felt entirely at ease now, but her steps stayed quite and graceful like a cats regardless. A smile was spread across her face revealing pearly whites with a little bit longer canines not to mention sharper. Her feet pressed against the slick wood, she almost slipped about twice when she made it to where a table for two was set up, a traditional italian meal was set up in front of a small baby with a large fedora, two plates were filled with shrimp and pesto pasta, "It smells so good...." she mumbled an italian accent clear in her voice.
The baby looked up and smiled, "Take a seat and enjoy." the baby said. Risa looked up and smiled thanking him and sitting down easily digging into the food in a little bit less then graceful way, Reborn was chuckling not to surprised by how ravenous the girl was, she had been asleep in that crate for two or three days now. He waited patiently for her to look up, when she finally did half the plate of food was gone, "May I ask your name young lady?" the baby said lightly in a cheerful tone. Risa looked up staring at him, "Risa Lacole." she said looking slightly suspicious, normally she would have said Experiment number six hundred sixty six but Fong had renamed her when he found her that day. Reborn blinked and nodded, "I am Reborn." he said giving a simple introduction, "I had found you in that crate over there before we left. I asked if I was allowed to take that crate and they said yes happily. Then I came and woke you up. You have been sleeping in that crate for almost three days now." Reborn stated clearly. Risa blinked looking confused, "Why did you leave me in their for so long?" she questioned not outraged but not happy either, "I didn't know if you would be worth keeping or not." Reborn said simply. "Then how did you know I was okay to keep around?" she asked looking a little irritated now, she wasn't an object to be owned. Reborn smirked his little baby smirk, "Fong." he said simply, Risa froze before looking surprised, "You know Fong-sama?" she quipped, "Yes, and he told me you studied under him for a long time and you were quite adept at hand to hand combat." he said not mentioning the fact she was part of a super gene experiment that the Giglio Nero had initiated. She was the lone survivor of the experiments, the only one to take to the genes and DNA put into her at a young age, cat like reflexes, nimble and quick. She was an above average human being not easy to control, but the scientists had figured out an easy way to do that, fear, cruelty, death. Reborn took his thoughts away from such things as he stared at the girl who now smiled looking as if everything she went through never happened, "Well if Fong-sama knows you then you must be a good guy. What do you need me for?" she asked with a smile. Reborn smirked his hat tilting down over his eyes, "I need help with the next Vongola Boss, and I wanted to ask you to help with his tutoring." Reborn said with a smile.
"So.....all I have to do is help tutor this.....lousy idiot, and I get safety from the mafia?" Risa mumbled lightly. She had stopped eating the food momentarily and was staring at the baby, "Yes." he said, "I can live with that, but where am I supposed to stay ti'll this tutoring ends?" she said her purple eyes narrowed in irritation, "Hmmm." the baby smiled and Risa glared at him before sighing, "Well as long as I don't get caught by the Giglio Nero I shall be fine with whatever accomadations you provide me with." she said simply. Her demeanor had taken a 360 degree turn in those past few moments. She had become more business like and cautious unsure of whether to trust the baby who just offered safety, gave her food, a bath and offered her so much in just a few moments. She glared at him still, before continuing to eat her food, more gracefully and with a lot more poise then before. She seemed more like a civilized person with perfect manner and grace. After Risa had been given sweets, which Reborn found out later was the worst idea considering she couldn't stop practicing her stretches, he also found out that the gene she was injected with was one of those super soilder type genes, she could lift somewhat heavy objects usually things a little less then double her weight were a tad bit hard but she seemed to manage. The stretches however seemed well practiced and quite beautiful, the long slim legs spread beautifully, no strain appeared in her posture and everything seemed to be relaxed and natural as if she has done this every hour on the hour. The gentle and neutral look on her face, concentrating so hard, like a master, 'Fong has trained her well.' he thought to himself watching her stretch. Reborn turned away staring out at the small line of land that was Europe, this would be interesting, this girl who had been thrown every which way. Torture, caring, friendship and then horrible fear and running away, how strange for a girl to live through so much and turn out somewhat normal.
The burn felt great, that familiar stretch and balance, the grace of a ballet dancer and the mastery of one who has been trained for a long time. Risa recognized the moves after many hours of practicing over and over and over, then she manuvered herself easily, her body lithe and lean, thin arms and legs. Muscle was evident on her, but not bulky like muscles earned through the gym but muscle earned through hard labor and a very well balanced diet. Risa looked up when she heard small feet walking towards her, "Risa, your going to have to learn Japanese." he said simply. Risa blinked looking automatically confused, "Japanese?" she mumbled. Reborn nodded and smirked, "Let's start." he said simply, Risa nodded and pushed off the rail she was doing a hand stand on, she landed on the ground with a light thump. She twisted around her hair twisting with her in a graceful spin, she quickly followed Reborn to the table near the pool on deck. Risa fell down on the bed unbelievably tired from her lesson, Reborn kept shooting her with bullets everytime she messed up a word. Now after a whole day of teaching she had learned quite a bit, she could speak correctly in Japanese and do a lot of simple sentences, though she was going to be screwed for the next five days considering they wouldn't arrive in Namimori ti'll then. Thankfully Risa was always a fast learner due to all the experimentation and then learning another language from before. it was going to be a long trip. Risa looked out the windows staring at the starry sky, it was amazing, the little twinkling and the beautiful silver sheen from the small meteors in space. Risa smiled a feeling of ease washing over her, she breathed out and crawled under the bed sheets curling up happily in the bed, she relaxed and went to sleep. Sadly though her dreams were filled with worry and stress rather then the peaceful black emotionless dreams she wish she could have right now.
Five days passed in a blur and she found herself fluently speaking japanese, but her body was achy and tired out now, she could barely stand half the time when they had arrived in Namimori. Risa was sitting near the tip of the boat watching the waves and the pier as the boat approached the wooden boardwalk, excitement made Risa's body tremble automatically. Then she started to ache and felt sleepy again, she sighed in annoyance her hair getting a tad bit wet, she needed to go change after Reborn gets out of the room. She kind of wondered where Reborn slept but she shrugged the question off considering she got to keep the room that was prepared anyways, she stood up slowly gripping the cold railing lightly and pulling herself up. She wobbled a little and walked across the deck edging around the pool and walking right into the room, Reborn was sitting on the couch relaxing, she rolled her eyes and grabbed her normal clothes and went into the bathroom. She removed the light shirt and skirt she was wearing and changed out of her bra and underwear, she pulled on some new pairs considering she wanted to wear the clothes she had worn when she was taken onto this boat and not use clothes given to her. It was her pride that drove her to wear these clothes again, she pulled the tank top over her clothed bosom and then pulled on those somewhat loose jean shorts along with a loose belt with a gold cylinder like object in a small holder on her side. Yes this was her outfit, the one she picked out on her birthday when one of the 'motherly' type mafioso took her out shopping. It was enexpensive and comfortable for Risa, she liked it a lot. She moved out of the cabin and walked out on the deck her body aching lightly but the excitement had made the pain more bearable. She felt a light weight on her shoulder and turned to stare at Reborn, "Lets go." he said simply a rather evil smile on his face. Risa nodded lightly and ran across the deck and jumped over the railing in a rather graceful manner.
She had pulled her legs back and stepped on the railing crouching before pushing off, and landing on the boardwalk and running, the light three mile run stretched her legs out nicely and she felt more energetic then before. She ended up jumping onto different objects like walls, cars and various other objects. She stopped when Reborn told her too, they were in front of a house, a rather normal urben enclosed house, she blinked and started to walk but Reborn just hopped off her shoulder and stopped her, "You need to find someplace to stay for now. Here you go." he said before a letter was tossed at her. She caught it in between her fingers easily, "Eh?" she mumbled watching Reborn walk into the house. Risa was slightly confused but sighed and opened up the paper turning and walking in a random direction. She stared at the paper flipping it every which way trying to figure it out, she sighed turning a corner and walking. She blinked when she heard foot steps running and looked down the street seeing nothing, she felt a short jolt and she turned grabbing a kid's wrist and sending him flying. She blinked in confusion watching him fly, "Was he in his underwear?" she said her finger at her mouth in confusion. She shrugged before turning again walking down the street asking for directions and never getting a really good answer, she finally settled down on a large set of steps staring at the piece of paper and then realizing that it was starting to get late. She grumbled lightly and walked up the steps deciding someplace near the forest would be nice, and there it was, a large dusty looking old shrine.
Risa wondered why the place was so run down, but before she could go in and investigate she felt a tiny hand grab onto her shirt sleeve, "EH?!" she freaked and did a rather conditioned reflex. She swung her arm around to hit the person and felt her arm get stopped, her head snapped to the side as Reborn held her arm in a vice grip, "Ciaossu." Reborn greeted cheerily, "Ah Reborn." she said smiling, "How-" "We have no time for that right now, I want you to witness my student in action." the baby muttered releasing her arm and then jumping away. Risa blinked and stood up her legs wobbling from exhaustion but she tensed breathing out before running after Reborn trying to keep up as much as possible. Soon enough she was looking at a school campus, the gates closed and locked, not to strange considering it was later in the day. She watched Reborn jump over the fence and she looked down at her leg before breathing out taking a running start before jumping and pushing off the metal gate landing lightly on the the path that led into the school. Risa automatically felt eyes on her but ignored it, she watched for Reborn who had disappeared and saw him in a window, she walked over jumping gripping onto the ledge of a close window and launching herself up. She moved easily with the exception of her leg, she winced whenever she landed or crouched her leg throbbing in pain. She breathed out unsteadily and looked through the window, Reborn was watching some people in there as they seemed to gather for some sort of Kendo competition. Risa looked on in fascination as Reborn wandered off, she had her eyes glued to the scene for a long time waiting for someone to challenge the one dressed up in the gear, posed to fight. Finally some kid came in looking confused as he was more or less screamed at by the on in gear.
Risa heard a gunshot and then something was coming from her right, she bended back immediately and gripped onto the ledge keeping her body contorted as long as possible to let the item pass by her safely. She flipped back gripping onto the edge like a monkey, she could hear footsteps approaching, the ledge just big enough to fit one or two people was a few feet over. Only one set of footsteps was obvious, "You do not belong to this school yet you are here." a calm cool voice said in a flat tone. Risa looked up meetin silver eyes and blinked in slight confusion before she smiled, "Yep." she said happily before she avoided getting her hand stepped on, "Hey hey! Watch it!" she mumbled before bunching herself up her feet pressing agaisnt the wall and then gathering as much strength in her legs as possible before pushing off flipping her body up and bending it into a bridge before pulling the rest of herself up, the black haired guy only stood a few feet away.
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Posted: Mon Feb 28, 2011 7:20 pm
June 8, 2100
Upon the air drifted the stench of rot, encompassing and tearing at the throat of the living essences of those struggling amongst the ruins of a once mighty nation. Over the forgotten gravel of soaring monuments and the ghost of shadows once cast burned into the ground tread light footsteps. The sound seemed to echo through the mists of time like the cloak of darkness settling over the hollow ruins. Glassy eyes stared over the deserted streets of the windows shattered by some ancient, powerful force. So long ago yet so near to the present. But, what could be called the present in such a place? In an era where not a single human voice rises to speak or the tread of humanity's footprint over the soil. Breath no longer lingers upon the winds nor laughter to join the warbles of the birds. And yet, all lies in waiting silence. A long lost hope still lingers in the air like the taste of spring on chilled lips.
The sun hid behind the banks of clouds churning in the skies above. As the raging anger of the earth split across the sky, all life disappeared from the surface of the once lush earth. A story hidden by the ages stood against her wrath as the flashes of lightning danced across each other in a celestial dance. Monuments of the greatest civilization on earth looked with glassy eyes upon the approaching storm as if life had been sucked from them. Color once beheld as magnificent was blenched and melted from the face of crumbling walls. Shimmering glass was shattered to lay hundreds of feet below the leviathans to scatter never to be disturbed again. The sun when it shone from the heavens would shed her gentle gold upon them to shatter the light in an array of wondrous colors human eyes once marveled. Now, none remained to behold such a wonder twinkling in vain.
Concrete walkways and roads carved of machine and the sweat and blood of man no longer lay in perfect order. The black now torn asunder to create every hue of gray beholden to the eye. Chips and blocks torn from its bosom to lay scattered upon the ground from age and some cataclysmic event swiftly being overgrown by the reaching hands of mother earth. Even she could not pull to submission the massive slabs that sore into the sky to touch it's fragile face. They once lay prostrate upon the ground, lying before the masters of the sky where man once trod. Names no longer with meaning peeled from signs blowing in the growing breeze. Doors creaked on rusting hinges where they have withstood for so long. Windows once filled with glass were shattered to lie with its brethren in the streets. Lampposts lay upon the ground to no longer give the light created purely by the genius of a race long gone. Dead. Forgotten. Thousands upon thousands of years fallen to waste by the unforgiving hand of the Omniscient.
Suddenly, the warm wind howled down the forgotten road, through the alleys and whistled through the broken glass of the windows. Upon it wafted a scent of rot and decay to far gone to be the last touches of the ancient race. No, instead, the sounds from a nearby park came with the rusting creak of swings that children had not touched in what could have been ages. It disappeared as soon as it came to leave the once great city in silence. Soaring skyscrapers crumbled to the ground and windows shattered to leave steel skeletons. The glass windows of shops were shattered and the lights of lamps broken on the ground beneath it. Everywhere lay hints of quick departure and chaos created by something other than the hand of man. Concrete was cracked and forced towards the sky and roads no longer safe to even walk upon. And yet, what was missing was even larger in its absence. There were no humans. Their scent had long since vanished and now only their echoes remained. The stars even without the light of humanity to obscure them seemed to hide their faces behind drifting dark clouds in the night. The moon was hidden by its own shadow.
The long forgotten name was suddenly whispered upon thousands of lips as the wind picked up to tumble the leaves through the crevices of the crumbling walls. Neeeew York, New Yoooork... It howled all the louder as the distance bass of thunder warned of its approach from miles away. None stood to hear it. None waited with eyes filled with wonder and fear to see the great masses crashing and rolling, falling over the other to reach across the landscape. None. Empty. All once whole fallen to nothing with that lost hope tumbling with the wind.
Hey… Dane… you there?
The sudden noise was like a soft echo in the consuming darkness; like a drop of water rippling through a dark pool. Even as the breathy voice faded to silence, She began to weep. Her tears fell from the heavens as if to mourn the sorrow that lined the gentle voice far below. As if to cry for the loss of the children who looked up to behold her, cared for her with gentle hands the same as they tore her apart. Now it was gone. The breathy voice whispering long forgotten. Yearning for someone to hear.
No, well, I guess not. I miss you, little bro. I guess… well, it’s not that complicated, is it? There came a pause as the young man with short blonde hair looked at his hands. It’s really lonely. No matter what I do, Dane, I always hear you calling me, telling me you’re still alive. I just had to believe it. How else can I keep going with all this hell happening around me? I feel like the world is punishing us. It gives you second thoughts about if there really is a god. He has one sick sense of humor doesn’t he? First he takes my parents then the world starts to fall apart all around me! A hollow laugh echoed through the streets, without humor. Maybe he’s trying to tell me something. ‘See, Brian? You’ve really made a mess of things here!’ I guess I did.
Silence crept back into the world, suffocating, to be only broke by the gentle patter of rain upon the concrete. It dyed the gray ground a deep black as if to mock its former glory; a moist blanket covering the ground to make it glisten like the glass. The cloak of shadows and the stars hiding their faces from the broken planet were sentinels to all.
After mom and dad died I tried to be a father to you. I'm only twenty, I know, but that doesn't mean I can't try, does it? Well, actually, I'm twenty-nine now... Has it really been that long? The voice held sadness now and a deep regret that bespoke a man who knew pain all too well. Everyone thinks your dead, Dane. I just won't believe it. One day your standing next to me, laughing and joking and the next second the world collapses. I don't know it you know but that earthquake hit us hard. We were only standing in the park when it swallowed us but the news tell me it has been happening around the world! It's a funny thing. Only a month ago that last human on earth was born. After that, humanity lost all ability to have children. Every day we grow older, struggling to survive as a fledgling race. Them we are suddenly cut off. Then what? The world decides to get lazy. I guess turning around all that timed tired her out. She doesn't want to do it anymore. I've forgotten what the sun looks like...
You don't think it's only earthquakes do you? the voice rambled on, Oh, no. The world is really ending like in one of your silly science-fiction novels. Ha! Maybe I should have actually read those when you told me tooo. Everything that can go wrong has gone wrong. Everyone is packing up and fleeing south. The whole world population is migrating towards the equator if they can actually make it. Rising sea waters are killing a lot of people, bro. The numbers keep going up with each new disaster. It's every man for himself now. But I won't leave. Not yet. I still have hope you are alive. Just because I can't find you don't mean you're dead... no, no, you're not. I'm supposed to protect you... I promised mom and dad I would.
Hollow eyes opened, the color of the sea seeming to have died to near gray. There was no laughter there and his pale skin gaunt. He was young yet looked so aged and worn. His hair was disheveled and clothes rumpled. He didn't look at anything directly but instead sat with weariness.
I love you. I love you so much. You know Susan? We were supposed to get married. I was meaning to tell you that. But, she left me. She didn't believe you were alive. She called me crazy and fled with the others while I stayed in this god forsaken place.
There was a sad, empty sigh.
I chose you, you know. Maybe I really am crazy. I'm the only one left, bro, but you aren't there. Sometimes I fantasize that you found some really pretty girl and ran off to get married or something. It keeps me going, you know? Knowing your still alive. Because you are. Somewhere.
All faded to silence once more as the wind died and the storm faded. Still the rain fell, wreathing the land in its gentle touch. The creaking of the swings echoed through the silence once more before fading into the snap of a concrete wall.
Except... there's nothing left for me now. I'll die here if I stay. I want you to come back, Dane. I just want to know you are okay and well. I'm leaving tomorrow... I really am. I waited as long as I could but there isn't much time for me left. I'm going south like the rest of them. There's a colony down there where I can stay. I wrote the address down for you. Hopefully you'll be able to find me. Someday. I'll still be waiting for you. I love you. I really do so much. Ha. Susan left me and the rest of humanity as well....
A breathy whisper.
Come find me. Let me know you're still alive.
The soft voice died out slowly before the young man closed his eyes and leaned back in his chair. He didn't say anything else but wiped the tears from his eyes. He looked as if he wanted to speak but he could say nothing. There was nothing more that he could say. In his heart that man there knew it was hopeless; that he was hanging onto a futile hope. With one last painful movement, he reached forward and turned off his camera.
The screen went black as the video ended. In the corner of the computer a light flashed before it dimmed and went out. It had played for the last time. The last voice of humanity had died and with it all hope. The date itself was scribbled on the paper in a hand too shaky to be entirely legible: October 28, 2022
Suddenly the broken hatch banged open, snapping the old window of the deserted room. The computer there lay untouched but there was an old paper that fled across the room with the burst of wind. It pressed itself against the wall, fluttering before the wind died. With that last breath it fell limply with a crisp crunch of yellowing sheaves. The ink was faded but signs of moisture in the past ran down the length like drops of rain. The sides were crumbled and pieces torn from it. All that remained was part of a letter long since past.
July 4, 2052xxxxxx
Brian,
xxxxxxxI'm sorry
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Posted: Mon Feb 28, 2011 7:42 pm
Now don’t move.....
Aislinn jolted out of sleep, his eyes slamming back shut the moment the sun made itself known; did it really have to be that bright? Honestly, and he had just been starting to..... wait. The sun? What time was it? Aislinn shook his head, urging the early stages of grogginess to dissipate from his line of thought and vision. He blinked twice, re-adjusting to the sudden lack of refreshing blankness. He hadn’t surprised himself by why he suddenly felt so irritated with this place. Yes, he’d fallen asleep by the park. Yes, he’d missed the bus. Yes, he’d totally just skipped out on half of the entire day of classes he had this fine Thursday. Yes, he’d done it- again. But that wasn’t what bugged him; he did this all the time. What did bother him though was that, right in front of him, and literally, right in front- he had woken to the sight of someone bent over the table, hand out-stretched and poised, now stark-frozen with a deer in the head-lights kind of look. “The hell do you think you’re doing?” Aislinn smacked the hand away; rather un-manly of him- he should have just punched the guy instead.
The nameless approached recoiled, stepping back quickly. Probably a thief. Aislinn gave him a questioning look, sizing the culprit for what he was. He was dressed much more adversely to what Aislinn wore, this person’s clothes practically falling off of him they were too big, not to mention ragged and torn, opposed to the baggy jeans and regular black, band t-shirt he would always throw on carelessly in the morning. This person also had blond hair. It was really blond, and almost as if he was from another country.
He was also, by appearance, only fourteen years old. Aislinn huffed, crossing his arms as he watched the young boy blink naively, pretending not to know what was wrong. “Excuse me?” He asked, looking just a little earnest. “Sorry,” He apologized sheepishly, much to Aislinn’s surprise, “S’just... you’ve been there all day, sleeping I guess. But you looked kinda.... dead.” The boy stated blatantly.
Oh. “I just leant over to poke ya’, see if you were alright, since no one else did I mean. You woke up before that though, so...” Aislinn his shoulders drop. Did getting old make you paranoid or something? He was more than likely to be twice this kid’s age, already in university and finishing up... or he would be, had he not been sleeping away all his chances to finish his higher education. Now he was even getting wake up calls from random strangers. Even they knew better than him than to take a “quick nap” out on the park benches and the pick-nick tables.
This kid was probably lying, judging by his appearance he was probably out for some lunch-money, pick-pocketing off unlucky strangers from the streets. “Where are your parents, bud?” Aislinn sighed, deciding to let the young boy off the hook. He was homeless apparently, and by extension, so were his parents. That meant no constant income to keep a constantly hungry stomach sated. The blond boy just cocked his head awkwardly off to the side though, as if questioning Aislinn’s words. Did he not understand? There was no way that- “Oh! Ohhhh..... yeah, parents. Don’t got none of ‘em.” The kid interjected on Aislinn’s thoughts suddenly, breaking out into a very genuine smile that looked proud enough to slap on a politician. Why would he be happy about that? “Why, did you run away or something?” Aislinn was getting a little concerned at this point, mild curiosity leading his better judgment astray.
“Do you.... do you even have home?”
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He sighed heavily, still not quite believing that he had even brought the subject up for discussion. If his stingy landlord ever found out, Aislin would be paying with an arm and a leg for another person, even if it were just for the night. It wasn’t like he could knowingly leave a kid on the street without some hole to crawl back to at least. By the time Aislinn had even gotten anywhere remotely close to town, it was already getting dark. What a ridiculous place this was, and yet, the town still had the nerve to call itself, “The City of Opportunity”. It was mildly revolting, not to mention false, but there wasn’t much a minority citizen could do about the every-day city living conditions.
There were things still yet more unbelievable though, all about the boy he’d picked up off the streets. He would hum this dreary sounding tune as they walked, skipping and grinning happily in an odd, eyrie sort of fashion; boys didn’t skip, first of all, especially not young males who were just entering adolescence. Another thing, which Aislinn had only noticed when those long, yet un-seemingly straight, blonde bangs shifted away from his face, giving the older man a better view; the kid had these dull, yet sparkling amethyst irises, almost gray in colour, so not too stand-out-ish. It sort of creeped him out.... was it some sort of hetero-chromatic condition? He’d certainly never heard of it if it were. Regardless, he’d keep the homeless boy for the night out of charity, and then find him a good foster home the next day. It looked like he’d be skipping classes again.
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Aislinn left his mouth agape in a tiresome yawn; even after all that sleep, he still couldn’t shake off that groggy feeling that he’d been so accustomed to his entire life. He’d set up a bed on the pull-out couch for the still nameless boy about an hour ago, leaving him alone in the living room. Again, probably a bad idea, but if it was, that blonde was deceptively innocent then. When Aislinn had offered him some food, the boy had almost immediately declined, smiling in that same, unnatural way like before when he’d asked about the boy’s parents. If one were to take a broader look at it, this whole ordeal seemed rather... sketchy. More than that- it was just plain creepy. It was like the young boy was completely oblivious to things that were of common knowledge or relative subject. He’d looked lost, yet amused the entire time Aislinn had been watching him before. It was all just.... unnatural.
But that wouldn’t keep him from sleeping tonight, as Aislinn finally rolled over and under the sheets of his own bed. Creepy or not, Aislinn was a realist. The only things that went bump in the night were the neighbor's cat when it knocked over the good china dishes again, sending the overweight, pink-clad lady on a rampage, waddling about like an angry walrus until her tantrums quieted down due to exhaustion. If anything, she was the closest thing to a monster he’d ever acquaint anything with.
A heaving breath of relief let itself pass through him as Aislinn relaxed in the cool, dark room, dozing off to the lightly reverberating sound of the rotating fan. This was probably the best part of his day, of any day. Sometimes he just wished that he could stay in bed forever, sleeping all of his stress and troubles away. But just as that pleasant feeling had just started to sink in, Aislinn felt a point of weight added onto the mattress, jostling it slightly, pulling him back to full reality.
“What?” He almost grumbled at the child, who was now climbing over and had plopped himself down on the bed beside Aislinn. “I can’t sleep by myself.” He stated bluntly, causing Aislinn to raise an eyebrow in question. It was strange how a total stranger would ask another total stranger something so awkward, and with such a straight face. Was this kid for real? He had to have some sort of mental problem, since he was acting none too short of an eight-year old. Aislinn was willing to be accommodating, but something was prodding at the back of his mind, telling him to shove the kid away and shout at him to back off. Now where would that come from?
“Fine.” He sighed, once again ignoring that nagging feeling in the pit of his stomach and the disregarded thoughts in his mind. He’d convinced himself that he only agreed just so he wouldn’t be up all night being pestered constantly by the kid’s insufferable whining. He’d ignored the child’s gleeful, chirpy smile, the blond boy making it even more awkward as he lay down practically beside Aislinn. Did he not understand the concept of personal space? Grumbling something inaudibly, Aislinn let himself become unmindful to the world around him once again, appreciative of the well regarded hours of sleep he was looking forward to as he slipped past his consciousness once again. It was weird though; he could have sworn, just as he was nodding off, that he had heard a low muttering of a voice from behind him, something he had probably just regarded as sleep-talking. It had echoed the same overly-cheery voice from before; “Now don’t move~”
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Something was different.
Aislinn was asleep.... he was asleep. He had to be, or else there was no way he could be seeing what he saw before him in plain day. Everything was dark. Absolutely, pitch dark, mirroring the shade of a raven’s wing. Was this a nightmare? Shadows danced and leapt around him, though at the same time, he had a feeling that if he reached out to swipe at them, there would be nothing there. Instead, he stayed frozen to the spot that he found himself sitting in, holding his knees to his chest. What a humiliating stance for a grown man to be taking, it was only a dream for Pete’s sake!
It was then that the bone shilling voice returned, each syllable sending frigid shudders up his spine, making each individual hair stand on end on the back of his neck. The voice could be considered to be that of a solitary song-bird, usually so enticing and drawing eager admiration and attention, yet it’s song sound all wrong and crooked, like it was laughing mockingly between every sound. The voice rang back and forth inside of Aislinn’s head, ricocheting off of every fiber of his being and rattling his core. The voice practically sang:One, two- can you guess who?
Pull up your covers,
Shut your eyes tight-
It doesn’t really matter if you’re scared at night.
Now tuck yourself in, then pray that you see
Another day after you spend a night
With Me~
Aislinn felt his entire torso whip around, eyes going wide without permission as they drew in what impending doom was drawing near to him. Bounding out of the darkness, a young blond formed out of thin air, his clothes much too big for his lithe and deprived body, his eyes a remarkably terrifying shade of lilac stone. All of the sinister feelings he’d felt creeping up on him the entire day slowly started swimming about his head, clogging it with an irrational fear and desperation as the blond boy slowly strode his way closer, skipping carelessly on the non-existent ground in this pitch-black world.
“Oh, I guess you’re a little surprised, huh?” The boy tapped on Aislinn’s shoulder, having to reach up even to do so. What was he? “And here I was, starting to think that humans had gotten too smart for my little tricks~”
It was at that moment when Aislinn had realized; he was led by a lantern-fish into the bottoms of the sea, as a tiny minnow that had swam down past the recommended depths just out of sheer curiosity. An intense, swarming fear took hold of his body, not allowing him to move or even take his eyes of the boy. The blond child’s eyes were gleaming ominously, the boy tilting his head to the side in a feigned inquisitiveness towards Aislinn’s human emotion. This was just a dream..... but he was scarred. He wanted to wake up.
“Ah, ah, ah- not so fast~” A cruel shuddering voice dragged him back down, anchoring him to the darkness. He was drowning in it. He had to get up- wake up. Yet still, the child was still there, smiling broadly, eyes half-lidded. He could practically hear the sharp breaths in his ears, even though they were nowhere close anymore. “I must thank you, human, for letting me stay for dinner tonight. I’m sure it will be quite filling.” He cooed lowly, stepping back over to Aislinn. His heart was thudding, pounding erratically in his chest- he’d never felt such terror before in his life. I need to wake up, I need to wake up, I need to wake up- he kept repeating to himself in his mind, like a mantra; though in here, it felt like all of his thoughts were just shouting through his head and voicing themselves openly for everyone to hear. I need to wake up.
Aislinn stopped breathing. Teeth. The boy’s teeth became sharp, and jagged, his whole form distorting and becoming disorientated in the shadows, those violet-coloured hues in his eyes shimmering maliciously. Ironic that this was the way that he would die; in his sleep; Aislinn had always joked that he’d be eaten alive by the bright pink monster that lived just next door, lumbering around in curlers and her plush slippers. He’d never, once in his life figured that he’d go out in his sleep, let alone, by a real monster. He’d blindly let it in. He’d invited it to sleep beside him- and now, it would devour him.
“You can call me Baku,” The voice came from the young blonde, smiling sheepishly up at Aislinn for the last time. It curled up into a devious smirk, twisting the reality- or revealing it, of the figure before him. He couldn’t close his eyes; they were already shut. He’d just hoped to get some shut-eye; not shut his eyes forever. All he could hear was that cruel cackling that should have belonged to no young boy of appearance that age. Was he even a boy?
Aislinn was rewarded with one last thing before he felt his world shut out- everything going entirely dark with a sickening crunch, his entire being just fading away in what could only be described as agonizing torture; he was dying.
“-It means: Dream Eater.”
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Posted: Sun Mar 06, 2011 10:05 am
I don't remember how it started. Nor how long I was here before it began. But I can tell you exactly how long it's been happening - 100 days.
I had been here already for a long time - weeks, perhaps, or months. Might as well have been my whole life - I don't remember much about who I was or where I came from, nor do I know how I got here. There are no doors in this room - I've checked, over and over. Nothing. Just four walls, light gray and glowing slightly. And a ceiling and floor, I suppose. If it weren't for gravity I wouldn't be able to tell them apart. I used to talk to the air all the time, hoping there was someone out there. I don't know what I was thinking - if anyone was watching, it was probably their fault I was here in the first place. But even if that was true, I guess at that point I just didn't want to accept that I was alone. After awhile, though, I resigned myself to the fact that nobody was coming.
So you can imagine my shock when I woke up the next day and found someone else there. "The next day", of course, was a relative term - the room gave no indication of the passing of time.
The new girl was asleep. I examined her - dark brown hair, nondescript green shirt and blue pants. Something seemed odd. I leaned down, looking closely at her face. A small mole to the left of her nose, pale scar over the right eyebrow...the face was oddly familiar, like a forgotten cousin or sister. I squinted, studying her carefully. Suddenly, her eyes flew open, lids drawing back to reveal startled green eyes. Both of us jumped.
"You..." I muttered, perplexed, "I...we..."
"Yes," she said, looking around the room as though she'd lost something, "Funny, isn't it?" She turned back to me, looking up and down with a critical eye. My gaze followed, taking in her slightly-awkward posture which mirrored my own, the sameness of the clothing we wore. The hair, the eyes, the oddly-familiar expression...it had been long enough since I had looked in a mirror that it took me awhile to realize - we were identical.
The girl nodded and crossed the room, sitting down in the corner. For what felt like hours, I tried to engage her in conversation, but she only turned to the wall and ignored me. Though I had not seen another person in what felt like forever, any desire I had to converse with her was somewhat blunted by the unexpectedness of her appearance - was she real, or just a hallucinated fever-dream of my lonely imagination? After all of my attempts to engage her attention failed, I gave up and went to sleep, hoping she'd be more communicative the next day.
When I woke up again, there were two of them. At first I was certain I was imagining things, but as time passed I realized that they wouldn't be going anywhere any time soon - whether they were real or not hardly mattered. Further attempts to talk to either of them were utterly unsuccessful. Frustrated, I went back to sleep.
Over the next 7 days, every time I woke up there was another person in the room. They never spoke (I'm not sure I ever saw most of them even move from the places they'd claimed along the walls) not to me, not to one another. It was eerie - ten identical bodies in a single room, sitting silently as though waiting for some foretold destiny.
Having become somewhat used to the daily appearance of new bodies, I awoke on the eleventh day expecting to find myself surrounded by ten others. I was resolved that this day would be the one in which I would get them to talk. I opened my eyes -
And found myself staring into them. Shocked, I jumped back, the other me reacting similarly. She said something, I couldn't quite make out the words - but she was clearly surprised by our resemblance. Was she the new girl, perhaps? She certainly seemed to lack the taciturn nature of her fellows...I looked up at the room around us and froze. We were alone.
"Funny, isn't it?" I said to myself, examining the girl. Her look of confusion followed by wide-eyed recognition struck a chord in my memory - I'd seen all this before. I pondered for a moment, nodding to myself. It seemed crazy - but then, why should I be surprised? I was living in an exitless box occasionally surrounded by clones, after all. Time travel would be nothing too crazy - or, if I really had gone mad, it certainly wouldn't be any worse than it had been before. I crossed the room, ignoring myself as I knew I must. I sat in the corner of the room, studiously ignoring my own protestations. I knew that I must remain silent because I already had, and I had because I knew I needed to. The logic made my mind ache, but there seemed no other way to get around it.
The next eight days passed much as I had remembered - in fact, exactly as I had remembered. I spent my time wondering what had happened - or, more precisely, how it had happened. Hundreds of ideas filled my head, each less plausible than the last. Eventually, though, I realized, like so many other things, that it didn't really matter.
What did matter, though, was that I was in a room with nine other people. Or at least the same person nine extra times. Either way, though, there had to be some way of harnessing the extra power - both mental and physical - that so many people had to offer. I knew that nobody would speak on the day that there were ten of us, but perhaps the next day, something would happen.
The next day there were nine of us. I tried to reason with the others, pointing out that we hadn't been able to find a way out on our own, that cooperating was the only way we could ever hope to do so...nothing. Everyone just sat, either watching me or lost in their own thoughts. As before, I had no choice but to give up.
The next day we were back to three. One of us - myself from the first time through - was talking. I ignored myself as I knew I had done, not wanting to create some sort of paradox that could upset the already confusing situation.
Days passed. I watched as the numbers grew, then shrank again. Sometimes, one of us would speak, trying to engage the rest of us or plot escape. Sometimes that someone was me. More often than not, though, we just sat, lost in silent contemplation.
It has been one hundred days since the clones began to appear. And finally, for the first time in one hundred days, I am alone.
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