Let's All Write STORIES!!! discussion

Rain poured mercilessly from the vast expanse of the heavens. The pitter-patter of water droplets plopping on the window panes soothed Sophia. In the darkness of her living room she sat staring out the window watching the rain streak the panes of glass sending lines of shadow down her porcelain face.

He was dead and there was nothing to do about it.

She could hear the faint sobs of her mother from the back bedroom but felt nothing but spite. She reached for the lamp which was just out of her reach. Frustrated, she sighed and stood reaching for the light switch, but missed and sent the contraption smashing to the ground.

Eerie silence followed. Sophia waited with baited breath for the screams of her mother, but nothing came. She walked into the kitchen for the broom.
Walking back into the living room, she glanced to the floor to sweep the shards of glass littering the wooden boards, but nothing was there. Dotted shadows laid across the floorboards, but no glass, no clay, no lamp.

"Hello?" Sophia whispered, her heart beginning to pound, "Is anybody there?"

From out of the shadows, crept a man. He was tall and extremely attractive with silvery blond hair and bright green eyes. His face was strong and angular. He did not smile, but he was not unhappy. He just was. Fear pulsed through Sophia's veins. She was paralyzed with unnatural terror.

The man spoke in a deep, clear, beautifully musical voice, "Sophia Carson," he paused, Sophia nodded, "You have been activated."

“Activated?” Sophia questioned. “What?”
The man clasped his pale hands behind his back, leering at her unpleasantly. “Norgshire, a secret realm...it’s former ruler has died...a most unfortunate death, really. Assassins. Well, YOU have been Activated—”
“What?” she blubbered. “Secret world? Huh?!”
He held his hand in a polite gesture, and continued: “Five other participants have been Activated as well, one from Japan, one from Norway, and the other three from Africa. You are the Sixth Participant for the Trials. The Trials shall put you six through a series of DEADLY TESTS—who ever wins is the new King of Norgshire.”
She could only stare. I must be hallucinating! She thought.
“Now, take my hand.”
The man held out his pale, small, sweaty hand. It had a tattoo, barely noticeable, of a blue dragon near the thumb.
“Oh, don’t worry–you’ll get your soon enough.” He had adopted a bored tone of voice now.
“I am Bartholomew Dice, only—” he sighed, “—a mere Retriever for the Sixth Participant.” He indicated the tattoo. “It shows everyone my rank. As the last Participant, you will get a tattoo as well—oh, don’t worry, it doesn’t hurt a bit—AND it’ll rub off as soon as you’re finished with the Trials.”
Once again, he leered at Sophia. She fleetingly wondered if that was supposed to be comforting.
“Now, take my hand, Miss Roberts.”
“No way!” She backed away from the crazy lunatic. “Which insane asylum did YOU escape from?”
“Cookies and cream?” he inquired.
The man grabbed her hand in a death grip; she could not shout out to her mother, she could not hear the noise of her sobs–she could not see, everything was a blur. She felt like she was trapped inside a giant washing machine...around, around and around...
Colors whirled past her in a vortex. “Let me GO!” she screamed at the man, who looked very calm. She could not hear her own voice...the blue dragon tatoo began to glow...darkness was closing in....
Then, she heard a scream of panic.
Squinting through the colorful whirlwind, she could vaguely see a tall woman, and a terrified looking Asian girl, older than her by about a year—
The darkness was suffocating her now, she could not see anything accept that dratted dragon tatoo: which she had learned to hate, and now stared at it with a ugly passion.
That, too, disappeared eventually into the swirl of darkness.

Sophia burst upright and bellowed as she frantically kicked her covers from beneath her feet. Sweat dripped from her forehead and gathered at the sides of her neck. Tears poured from her eyes as her pale blue irises burst with bewilderment. As she got out of her bed, her feet hit glass. She sighed, remembering her dream, and went for the broom, anxiously darting around the shadows in her room and keeping watch for any mysterious looking intruders. Sophia couldn't believe that she had fallen asleep, leaving her mother to mourn in silent grief all alone. She let a rush of shaky breath fly past her cold lips as she passed her mother, rocking back and forth in pure agony, her pale skin melting into the white walls. Even Sophia couldn't come to terms with the fact that he as dead. Her own brother, of whom she had lived with her entire life, who shared her DNA, and resembled her like none other, now locked in a grave ten feet under. She let the tears roll from her eyelids as she reached for the broom. With a clatter it swung to the floor, as she let a shriek escape her mouth. Her tongue felt huge, blocking her from breathing. For on her hand, near her thumb, was a tattoo of baby blue, shimmering in the pale light that surrounded the depressing tone of the misty morning.

((A-ha! Coolio!))

((DON'T write ANY more please!!!!!!!!! I got this awesome idea thing!!!! Please!!!! I'm going to see our friends baby quail! STAY PUT!!! Please!!!!))

Her mind whirled—it hadn’t been a dream after all. Dazedly, she swept up the lamp glass, all the while gazing at the blue tatoo. Her’s, (instead of a dragon like Bartholomew Dice’s) seemed to be a rearing griffon.
Was THIS the mark of the Participants? Did all the Participants have these griffon markings?
She shook her head, firmly. No. No. No! It HAD to be a dream...the whole secret realm thing....seemed so unreal.
Then again, so did the death of her brother Andrew.
The shattering clatter of glass sliding in the trash-can masked the magical arrival of Bartholomew Dice--
--and as he arrived, time froze. Her mother stopped weeping, the birds stopped chirping, water dripping from the sink ceased to fall; instead it was suspended in mid-air.
She whirled around to meet his calm eyes.
“What! YOU again!? Why are you here?” She remembered her not-dream. “That WAS real, then?”
He folded his arms, sat down in mid-air, grinning pleasantly. “Yes it was real, Sophia Roberts. That was the Orientation. You have your Trial mark: the tattoo.”
He clicked his fingers, disappearing into thin air...and time went on again.

((yay!!!))

The rain continued as if nothing had happened. Her mother's sobs prevailed through the darkness that had never ceased to be. Sophia stood motionless.

"I must be dreaming," she whispered into the frigid room, "This is..." but her thoughts stopped with one look on the floor.

Yes, the lamp was there, but something else with it. A book lay still in the patches of light speckled with the shadows of the rain. It was dark, old, and mysteriously wicked. She reached for the book, and her hand began to burn as though she had placed it into an open flame. The Griffin on her hand glowed with an eerily bright luminosity.
She pulled back.

Sophia shuttered and looked around the room, as if expecting someone to be watching her every move. Instead her gaze fell upon her poor decrepit mother, almost unrecognizable to her. She cried out in pain, letting her mother's name echo in the dark halls that enclosed her in the room. But nothing. Her mother didn't show even the slightest sign of comprehension. As Sophie collapsed to the floor, a bellowing voice interrupted the quiet.

"THE BOOK, SOPHIA". A voice, clearly stating authority, smashed through the thoughts of Sophia as she looked, around clearly confused until she let her eyes wander back to the big peice of literature sprawled out next to the heavy broom. She dusted its cover and lifted the hard leather layer to expose a very mysterious first page entitled "Directions".

And then her mother went up in flames.

((Her mom's on fire?! HUH?!?!!? And Savannah, what do you mean by "Her mother's sobs prevailed through the darkness that had never ceased to be"?))

"READ THE BOOK OR SHE WILL PERISH." said the voice, clearly, in her head. It sounded most angry. Fearfully, Sophia picked up the book again and flipped the pages. There, in a spidery hand, were the words:

I’ll come at midnight to explain the Trial Rules.
–B.D.

Nothing more. She thumbed through the entire tomb; nothing did she find, not even a stay spot of ink. “GOOD.” said the voice, more kindly, and the flames on her mother’s body vanished. Sophia exhaled, quite relieved.
Then she blinked.
Midnight! Trail Rules?!
Tucking the blank book under her arm, she retreated to her room. It was still decorated with the stuffed animals of her childhood...Well, she was 14 now...Sighing, she flopped on her bed to more closely examine her griffin tattoo and the strange book.
Why did it begin to glow when near the book? Her mind whizzed, and she fetched a cookie from the pantry. She munched on it and thought some more.

((hi can i join?))

((Jan-I had the idea to inflame her mother because a. i thought it would add dramatic affect..haha and also b. cuz then BD would get rid of her distractions for the..trials? and c. she wouldnt really die. looks like you caught on alright! And St? I think you can def. join?))

(thanks)

Meanwhile the Asian girl was going through an even more terrifying experience. Her name was Su Lin and everyone called her Sue. Sue lived with her grandmother cos her parents had died years ago in a viral epidemic that had hit their small town like a swarm of locusts. Sue was really scraed her grandmother would perish too, so she always kept a close watch on her during the night. Her grandmother ran an Asian laundry close by and would wake up early in the morning to cook and clean, and that is when Sue would go to bed cos she had this strange fear that her grandmother would die if she didnt watch her at night.

That night when Sophia found the book on trial rules just after watching her mother going up in fire, Sue was terrified when her grandmother vanished before her eyes. She stared at where she had been snoring a minute earlier, terrified out of her wits. She felt lonely and scared and didnt know what to do when suddenly she heard a booming voice close to her, it said the exact same thing it had said to Sophia ""READ THE BOOK OR SHE WILL PERISH."

And that's how Sue found the book on Trial Rules, with the same exact note I’ll come at midnight to explain the Trial Rules.
–B.D.

But of course she was so terrified she cried for a long time clutching her head in her hands.

((nice))

After hours of mourning, Sue was convinced that someone had taken her grandmother when she had turned her head only briefly. She went over to the kitchen phone, quickly picking it up and dialing the police. But the phone went dead before it got through, and the lights in the house flickered off. Sue started screaming in pure horror, when a loud voice boomed over her cries.

"I'm disappointed in you, Sue. You were one of my favorite choices for the trial. I felt that your loyalty and timid nature would be strong assets to contributing to a fair match. Yet here you are with no trust in me. Calm down. Your grandmother is safe. At midnight you will meet the others. And assuming you win the trials, like my prediction, you will be spared and can life with your grandma at your castle for eternity. Or something like that."

As the echos faded, Sue shrunk to the floor and sat in her tears. She wiped away any wet drips that remained on her cheeks and gathered the strength to breathe normally. Sue somehow knew that her grandmother's life would depend on how well she did at the trials. She had suffered too much in her life to let the only person she loved slip away. But that was just the kind of person Sue was. With a shaky breath, she stood to her feet, screamed in agony at the helplessness of the situation, and silently nodded, making a promise to herself and her grandmother. No matter how weird the situation had been, Sue would never let it get the best of her. Besides, BD had no longer made it about Sue's life. The cards were now turned to her grandmother.

((When all the characters are together at the trials, do you guys want to split it up by character so that we can each get a seperate person (or 2) like a roleplay..or do you want to just keep it as everyone posts anything? just an idea...))

((hey thanks and umm idk))

((I like either but if anyone has a strong preference. i just thought of it as an idea ))

((I think we should keep it like everyone posting somthing--after all, this is a story group not a rp group))

((aiight. sounds good to me))

((ok))

Aiko was with his friends in the mall, he was an orphan and had grown up in the streets of Tokyo. On his 16th bithday, his friends had decided they were going to break-in to the biggest mall in Japan. They had waited while all the visitors and tourists had left and all the entrances had been sealed.

Aiko had a distant uncle who was head of security, Aiko had visited him under some pretext some days back and stolen his keys, he knew the best way to get in.

As they made their way secretly through the poorly lit parking levels, Aiko had a sense of doom pricking his back and making the hairs on his neck stand up...he turned to his best friend and said, "I am not so sure we should do this tonight" His friends laughed and made fun of him calling him girly names.

Aiko had to go along, all the time he felt he was being watched. He had a strong suspicion there was someone else with them...he looked back.

"Hey are you coming or not..wuss" his best friend shouted. Aiko turned back to watch his friends go in the service door one by one, it was his turn soon...

he looked back one more time...and felt a pair of glowing red eyes on him, and there was a hissing noise as someone said, "Aiko Ranma you are activated"

(ranma haha! you do know that aiko is a girl name... ai means love and ko is a common suffix on girls names that means child.)

He jumped and spun around calling to his friends, "Somone:s here! we:rr in trouble!" but when he turned back around there was no one there, only an old book laying in the shadows.

(no kiddin' haha maybe he is a girl secretly and dresses like a boy)

Aiko picked the book up and the by now familiar scrawl glared back at him from its pages...

(love child... sooooo 60`s))
His friends came rushing back out of the building ready to run as if their lives depended on it (when actually only arest depended on it, but that was a good enough reason to run) No one was there except aiko holding a very old book.
Aiko-kun, if you:re scared you shouldn:t have come"
his best friend, softspoken Touyu said.
"There was someone here! He was staning right here he said my name and dropped this book! then disapeared!"
"Obake!" (Japanese ghost) shouted another of the group. "That really is creepy guys, lets go." In the end the group split in two, Aiko Touyu and the guy who was afraid of the obake ended up not compleating the break in. They made it just in time for the last train home.(trains don:t run between 12:30 and 4:30 am in Japan)
But the next morning Aiko was too dazed to even notice the news report about 2 highschool students who were found in the mall at 1 in the morning. He was staring at a blue gryphon tatooed on his thumb, knowing that last night would bring about a change in his life and that he definately didn:t want that. Besides he had to go to school today and any makeup or jewlery was against the dress code. how was he going to hide this thing on his hand?

((OK now 3 africans to introduce! I:m thinking fraternal twins a girl and a boy and another boy. But they have to be from different places in africa, like etheopia and egypt or s. africa and tanzania or something, so eventhough they:re from the same continent their languages and customs are differnt and stuff.))

((ok...ummm thinking thinking))

The twins were running back home from their school, which was a mile and half one way so in total that made it 3 miles they ran every day. Masego was winning as usual, she was really fast and liked sports. She stopped near a great sprawling leafless tree and looked back at her brother, Ogambe was huffing and puffing up the hill she had climbed so easily. He shouted to her, "hold on, mamma will just make you fetch water" Masego snorted, "So? girls have to care about the house you know" she really hated school but her school had a scholarship if you did well at football. She was going to university in the biggest city in Tanzania. Ogambe shouted back as he came closer, "wawa..." he mocked, "look a cheetah" he pointed. Masego turned to look.

((you posted that twice! what:s wawa mean? good names btw!))

((oops, took care of it))