Monthly Writing Contest April Edition

Post » Fri May 04, 2012 1:56 am

The Monthly Writing Contest April Edition
-Created by Yttrium and Undead Fiend

How This Works:

At the beginning of each month a theme will be given, the writer is expected to write a short piece of prose that fits said theme. All stories will be submitted on the thread and may be commented or critiqued by other writers. But Yttirum, Undead Fiend, Drop_Dead, Tycho the Wanderer, and Schmuty Buncis are currently the only judges as of now and we remain the ultimate factor on who wins the contest.

What do you get for winning? The chance to show off your awesomeness and to have bragging rights. You could also display it colorfully in your sig. The winner also chooses next month theme.

Rules:
-It must be prose (poetry is more abstract, and thus harder to judge)
-Though there are no length requirements, remember that a short, short story may not get everything that needs to be said, said, while a long story may say too much.
-It must incorporate the theme.
-Must meet the end of the month deadline (April 30th at 11:59:59 PST).

Anyone can submit an entry and you may submit as many as you like, or revise an old one as many times as you like up until the deadline.


This Month's Theme: Desperation


An emotional state in which a person feels a situation to be hopeless and without satisfactory options. Decisions made in desperation may be more rash, impulsive, and inappropriate than those made in a rational frame of mind.


:ribbon: Hall of Fame :ribbon:



October: f8Icobra: http://www.gamesas.com/topic/1235108-monthly-writing-contest/page__view__findpost__p__18778378


November: kdn003: http://www.gamesas.com/topic/1249814-monthly-writing-contest-november-edition/page__view__findpost__p__19154847


December: Josh gro-Graz: http://www.gamesas.com/topic/1313249-monthly-writing-contest-december-edition/page__view__findpost__p__19864553


January: Styles: http://www.gamesas.com/topic/1335272-monthly-writing-contest-january/page__view__findpost__p__20166889


February: Schmuty Buncis: http://www.gamesas.com/topic/1343817-monthly-writing-contest-february-edition/page__view__findpost__p__20394994


March: MrSmileySmile: Georgia Border

:trophy: :trophy: :trophy:




Here's a quote from JE Sawyer about how to get out of a creative slump. I thought I would post it here since this is a creative writing competition and since I couldn't think of anywhere else to post it. The source is JE Sawyer's formspring.
Spoiler



Q: What's your advice on somebody who's in a bit of a creative slump, but wants to make really original content like Fallout?

JE Sawyer: Leave all of your familiar places and activities to do something that is not creative.

Q: Why would I want to do something not creative?

JE Sawyer: You don't. You want to do something creative, but you can't. If you were in a creative state, you wouldn't be asking me for advice.

Fresh ideas are synthesized out of disparate experiences. The reason why so much "creative" content isn't creative is because it's made by people who ingest from, and then regurgitate back into, the same stale stream of ideas.

If your goal is to "be original", you're really going to have a lot of trouble. Go out into the world and do things. Among the things you do, you will hopefully find things that you love. Those things that you love will interact in your mind and produce ideas. Eventually, the volume of ideas in your mind will exceed your will and ability to contain them. That's when you will create -- because you need to, not because you want to.
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Meghan Terry
 
Posts: 3414
Joined: Sun Aug 12, 2007 11:53 am

Post » Fri May 04, 2012 4:45 am

I find it funny how I never entered the Hope contest even though I planned to.

Please note this was done on the fly. This is short, and mean't to be that way. The challenge was to create something about desperation, and the story itself mimics the image of quick and rash decisions.

When Stop Doesn't Cut It

I scraqed at the empty tin of cram, the last of the little food I owned. I sighed and stared at the empty box that was supposed to be full of bottle caps.

I poked my head out of the window of our refurbished trailer at the sounds of my daughter screaming.

I had brought out my handgun, chambered for the common 9mm round I always found whilst scavenging buildings. I was prepared to kill an ant, if at the worst a ghoul, but the sight of four men wrestling my coming-of-age daughter onto a brahmin shocked me. I screamed. Yelling stop, screaming and pleading for them to let her go.

Yet the word didn't cut it.

One of the scrawny Raiders turned and fired at me, round after round coming out of his automatic weapon. I tucked my head into our mobile home and waited for the fire to stop. I clenched my teeth at the thought of losing my daughter, my wife now my daughter

Once the bullets stopped ripping through the thin metal, I grabbed my worn Assault Rifle and burst through the door, "I said let my daughter go!" The four men turned and laughed at me. My decision I now realized had been rash, opening fire like that and rattling off rounds.

The magazine clicked empty and I stared at the aftermath before me. The four Raiders lay dead, as well as the toppled brahmin. And as my ears stopped ringing, I could hear muffled cries.

As I dropped my gun and raced to the brahmin as my daughter screamed, cried, and tried to catch her breath under their crude gag.

I pulled her out from under the brahmin and pulled out the gag. I stared at the several bullets wounds in her side and the blood staining her white blouse. I consoled her and pulled her close as I reached under my jacket.

We had no stimpaks and no bandages in the trailer. She'd die before I'd even get her close to the nearest town

My hand clasped cold metal as I pulled the small handgun from my jacket.
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STEVI INQUE
 
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Joined: Thu Nov 02, 2006 8:19 pm

Post » Fri May 04, 2012 5:13 am

bump
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Kayla Bee
 
Posts: 3349
Joined: Fri Aug 24, 2007 5:34 pm

Post » Fri May 04, 2012 10:11 am

A Desperate Time

October 15, 2077

12:14pm

“Our valiant troops continue to mercilessly pummel the Red Menace on their own soil. The new Secretary of War issued a statement earlier today, “Our Troops will be home by Christmas.”

“Daddy the mailman is here” Susan excitedly announces as she runs up to her dad.

“Daddy the mail is here” this time louder trying to get his attention, she pulls on his arm as he sits on the couch.

“What’s that honey?” he asks trying to pay attention to the news on the TV.

“The mail is here daddy!”

Steven turns the TV off and picks up his four year old daughter Susan. “Well let’s go get it together then shall we.”

Getting the mail has become a daily tradition for Steven and Susan, ever since Johnny left home for basic training. It’s been almost a year since that day. Now he’s somewhere in China.

12: 17pm

“Hey neighbour, I hope you also got good news” Steven’s neighbour Carl, a balding middle aged man. His white t-shirt barley covering his beer gut, watering his lawn in his boxer shorts.

“What’s that Carl?” asked Steven as he opens his mailbox.

“Janet and I got accepted by Vault Tec, and couldn’t help notice the mailman putting a letter in your mailbox.”

12:20pm

“Ok honey daddies got to put you down now” Steven says as he kisses Susan on the cheek and lowers her to the kitchen floor. “Go see if you can find mommy for me sweetie.”

Steven turns to put the mail on the table.

“Is that the mail dear?”

“Found her daddy” Susan calls out excitedly and hugs Steven’s leg.

“Did we get a letter from Vault Tec?” Steven’s wife Holly asks. She rubs Susan's hair as she stands next to Steven.

“Would you like to open it?” He asks Holly.

“Let’s open it together” says Holly.

“Dear Safety-Conscious Citizen -
We are writing to inform you that your family was not selected for inclusion in your chosen Vault-Tec facility” Steven reads out loud, and then stops.

“We didn’t get accepted but that fat bastard and his [censored] wife gets in?! They don’t even have any kids!” Steven says without thinking.

“Steven!” Holly yells at him “Susan is in the room!”

“I am sorry, Susan honey why don’t you go and play in the living room?”

“Ok daddy” Susan says as she runs into the next room.

“Look I am sorry I swore in front of Susan but you have to admit it doesn’t make sense. It’s like we’re the only ones in the neighbourhood that hasn’t been accepted by Vault Tec.

Holly puts her arm around Steven “Chances are there won’t even be a war. The government has been telling us things are going well in China.”

“If things are going so well over there then why won’t they let Johnny write to us? All we get are letters from the censorship department that tell us he’s doing fine.” Steven looks down at the rejection letter as Holly gives him a comforting squeeze.

“I don’t care what the government tells us. You can’t back a badger into a corner without expecting it to fight back with everything it has.”

October 23, 2077

11:20pm.

“Honey wake up!” Steven yells as he shakes his wife frantically trying to wake her up.

“What is it?” Holly asks alarmed “what time is it?” She then jumps out of bed “is Susan ok?!”

“Susan is ok but we have to get out of here now!” Steven says as he grabs Holly’s hand and starts heading for the bedroom door.

“Let me get dressed she protests, still not sure what has gotten into Steven.”

“There’s no time! The Reds are going to attack any minute now.”

“How do you know that?” She asks as they head to Susan’s room.

“It’s all anyone is talking about on the ham radio. Silo’s in China are starting to open and ours are as well.” He explains as he picks Susan up from her bed, she is still sound asleep.

Holly realizes that Steven isn’t lying as they open the front door and head out to their station wagon. They aren’t the only ones running out of their homes in a panic. It’s Susan that brings reality home.

While wiping the sleep from her eyes she asks “where are we going?”

“Where are we going” Steven thinks to himself. Everyone else has a vault to get to but where could he take his family. Suddenly he thinks of Johnny. They will never get to see him again, tears well up in Steven’s eyes as the world falls apart around him. He looks over at his beautiful wife and daughter and his sadness turns to anger. He gets out of the station wagon slamming the door. Looking back thought the open window.

“Wait here” he says coldly. He then heads for the garage.

Throwing open the door he looks around for something he can use as a weapon and finds his Louisville Slugger.

Holly sees the bat in Steven's hand as he heads for Carl’s house. “What do you think you’re going to do with that?" She says as she opens the passenger door but Steven stops her.

Pointing the bat at Holly he says “Get back into the car and wait there damn it!

Holly does as she is told. As she gets back into the car she hugs Susan tightly. “Mommy what’s daddy doing?”

“Everything is ok sweetie, just close your eyes and go back to sleep.”

Steven stands on Carl’s front porch gripping the bat in his hands. He looks down at his slippers all dirtied by the grass and driveways. He then looks back at his family before turning back to the door. He tries the handle but it’s locked. He sees that the lights are on, Carl and Janet must have also got the news. He decides to ring the doorbell repeatedly until someone comes to the door.

The door opens up as wide as it can until the chain on the other side stops it. Carl looks through the opening “Steven?” Is all Carl can say before Steven slams his entire weight against the door as hard as he can. Carl is thrown back as the door smashes into his face, breaking his nose.

“Where is the letter?!” Steven yells at Carl. The blow to the head causes Carl to throw up.

“What letter?” he says as he tries and fails to get back up on his feet.

“What letter? Don’t give me that you piece of [censored]” Steven says as he swings the bat into the wall only a few feet above Carl's head.

“What’s going on down there?” Janet asks when she looks down from the top of the stairs.

“Honey get the gun! Carl yells to her.”

Steven swings the bat with as hard as he can at Carl’s hip. Carl yells out in pain as his hip smashes. Steven takes another swing and hits Carl in the gut.

“Where is the letter?” Steven yells, only to realise that Carl is badly winded. “[censored] why did I hit him there? Steven thinks to himself.

Steven kneels down beside Carl. Grabbing the front of Carl’s shirt he pulls him up toward his face. “Where is the letter Carl? I need it to save my family.”

Carl opens his mouth but he is too quiet for Steven to hear. There is blood coming out of his mouth. Steven gets closer to Carl.

“I said [censored] you and your family” Carl then spits a mouth full of blood into Steven's face.

“I can’t find the gun” Janet yells out in a panic from one of the rooms upstairs.

Steven stands up and steps over Carl to head up stairs but is stopped when Carl reaches out and grabs Steven’s ankle which causes him to stumble. Without even thinking Steven turns around and brings the bat down on Carl’s bald head.

To Steven’s horror Carl keeps pulling on him, so he strikes Carl again and again frantically. Blood sprays out all over Steven and the walls, as Carl releases his grip.

“I found it” Janet yells out. She makes her way to the top of the stairs and screams as she sees Steven coming up the stairs covered in blood and her husband, his head smashed in the hall.

Janet does her best to aim the 9mm at Steven, but she is shacking too badly. She fires the gun but misses Steven. He is now only a few steps from her. She steps back and fires again for a second miss. Steven Swings the bat in a wide arch hoping to hit the gun out of her hands, but misses. He gets to the top as she fires again this time hitting Steven in the top right shoulder. He swings the bat once more and manages to hit the gun from Janet’s hand. She cries out as her the bat brakes every bone in her hand.

He goes to bring the bat down on her head just as he had done with Carl but he stops himself in mid swing. “Janet I just want your letter for the Vault and I will be gone.”

Janet is too terrified and in too much pain to speak but she points her head toward the master bed room. Steven steps over her and walks into the room. He then starts to rip though their belonging in search of the letter. He finally finds it in one of their suitcases. As he heads out of their room he catches a look at himself in the dresser mirror. He can hardly recognise himself covered in so much blood. It’s then he realises that it’s not all Carl's. He finds Janet’s 9mm as he walks out of the hallway.

It is then he realizes he can’t find Janet. He looks into the other rooms but she isn’t there. He heads down the stairs and sees smaller foot prints in Carl’s blood next to his own. Those foot prints head to the door. Steven bounds down the steps as fast as he can and jumps over Carl.

Outside he finds Janet. She is screaming for someone to help her and at the same time trying to get at Susan and Holly.

“They killed Carl! Help me please!” Janet cries out.

Steven looks around but to his surprise no one seems to notice or care. They're all looking out for themselves. He then notices that Janet has a rock in her good hand and is using it to smash the windows of the Station Wagon.

“You [censored] you killed Carl” Janet yells as she brings the rock down on the windshield.

Steven can hear Susan crying out in fear at Janet’s assault. He aims the 9mm and fires off three rounds. Janet’s assault on the Station Wagon stops as she slumps to the ground. Once again Steven looks around. His shots have turned a few heads but they quickly turn back to their own matters.

Holly shields Susan’s eyes as a blood covered figure opens the driver’s side door. “I got the letter” says the figure, it’s then Holly realizes its Steven and that Janet was telling the truth.

11:50pm

All the major streets of Bakersfield were clogged with traffic but Steven knew all the back allies and side streets. Holly didn’t say anything to Steven for a good five minutes. She was doing her best to Cover Susan’s eyes.

“We’re almost there” Steven accounted as they came to a check point. Slowing down they could hear the haunting wail of an air raid siren. They pulled up to a check point, guarded by a young man. He was afraid and it was clear he wanted nothing more than to be in the Vault only two hundred yards from his post.

A search light focused onto the station wagon and almost immediately guns were drawn on them. The guards seeing the smashed windows and bloody driver were on edge. Dogs barking like crazy at the cars ahead of them. Steven watched as the dogs were let loose on a man as his wife and kids were pulled out of the car a head of them.

The young guard came up to the driver’s window. Unlike the others pointing their guns, he didn’t seem too concerned about the damage to the car and driver. Steven had rolled down the window for him. The young man looked in. Using his pen light he looked over Steven.

“You’re going to have to give me that sir.” Said the young man.

Steven was doing his best to see what was happening to the family in front of them through the blinding search light.

“Sir I am not going to ask you again, you’re going to need to hand over that gun sir.” The young guard placed a hand on his own gun holstered on his hip.

Holly then yelled “Steven the man wants you to give him the gun!”

Steven looked down at his lap and noticed the 9mm between his legs. He picked it up and handed it over to the guard. The guard gave one last look around for weapons.

“I am going to need to see you’re papers to get in the Vault sir” he said as shots rang out and the man in front of them fell to the ground. He was trying to make a run for the Vault. His wife and kids panicked and screaming as the guards then pointed guns at them.

Steven handed over Carl’s letter from Vault Tech as more shots rang out. Susan screamed and Holly realized she had stopped covering her eyes.

The guard looked over the papers and then looked back at them. “It says here you don’t have any children” the guard said.

“She is my neighbours, they begged us to take her as they were being attacked. I had to fight to save her please you have to let us take her.” Steven begged.

The young guard looked them over one last time; to Steven it felt like hours. He then stood up straight and waved them though. The car in front of them was pushed off to the side and Steven moved the station wagon forward to the parking area.

12:04 am

After they parked the station wagon for the last time, they made their way with many others towards the Vault. It became clear to Steven as to why the guard didn’t take much notice; there were many other cars with smashed windows and others with blood on them.

Holly carried Susan as they walked. Steven put his arm around Holly and kissed both of them on the cheek as they walked the last few yards toward the vault with the big number 12 on the door.
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sarah taylor
 
Posts: 3490
Joined: Thu Nov 16, 2006 3:36 pm

Post » Fri May 04, 2012 3:21 pm

Come on people there are only 5 days left and only two entries so far. There are alot of great writers out there on this forum, so come on people show your stuff :tops:

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Laura Richards
 
Posts: 3468
Joined: Mon Aug 28, 2006 4:42 am

Post » Fri May 04, 2012 2:27 am

Come on people there are only 5 days left and only two entries so far. There are alot of great writers out there on this forum, so come on people show your stuff :tops:


Your story is great Styles and you hit the theme on the proverbial head! :D Yay, we have a winner! :D LOL
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Avril Churchill
 
Posts: 3455
Joined: Wed Aug 09, 2006 10:00 am

Post » Fri May 04, 2012 4:54 am

I would write a story but I am working on my crappy Fanfic :biggrin:
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Andrew Perry
 
Posts: 3505
Joined: Sat Jul 07, 2007 5:40 am

Post » Fri May 04, 2012 2:38 pm

Your story is great Styles and you hit the theme on the proverbial head! :biggrin: Yay, we have a winner! :biggrin: LOL

Thanks :foodndrink: But it will be a hollow win if there is only two people. If you have a story please post it and Radioactive Bacon, I was going to post this on your other topic asking for advice, but I will post it here. I am my own worst critic when it comes to posting fan fiction "no one will like this" I tell myself. I still get that with eveyone I post. Best advice to people, just post it. I just spent the last hour or so fixing mistakes in mine and I am sure I haven't go them all. I just post it and edit later because the more I read it the greater the chance I will chicken out and not post it.

So people if you are an old pro at fan fiction or a total noob at it, post your stories, only five days left :bunny:
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Dezzeh
 
Posts: 3414
Joined: Sat Jun 16, 2007 2:49 am

Post » Fri May 04, 2012 6:17 am

This is the third, maybe even fourth theme that my story could fit into, so here it is. If because it has it's own thread the judges don't want to accept it, that is fine.


I Am Bullet


I am Bullet, I may be small, but I am fearless. Something passed down through generations before me, though I may be more advanced than some of my ancestors, their accomplishments far exceed mine. My family lineage began in 1950 with my, I couldn't tell you how many greats, Remington .222 grandfather. I have been told that, in 1957 a man named Eugene Stoner designed a host for my family; he called it the AR-15, to be later called by the U.S. Military the M-16. The AR-15 used another legendary forefather of mine, the .223; it paved the way for all of us to follow.

I, on the other hand, am a NATO version whose particular line has been used in combat since 1963. Those before me have seen action in historic wars Vietnam, The Gulf War, and many more. Me, I was fresh from the automated ammo press at 0830 on Wednesday, October 20, 2077. I was proud, my brass, NATO rimless bottleneck designed jacket was shiny. My jacket thicker than my forefather's .223, able to hold almost 10,000 more PSI for pure, unadvlterated destructive propulsion. You could say I was bursting to go with 62,000 psi of pressure on my ass, ready to penetrate 15 to 20 inches of soft human tissue. I was built for one thing, a clean kill.

Some of my older brothers were assigned to aid on the frontlines of the Sino-American War in 2066, part of Operation Anchorage. Chinese tried to seize Anchorage, but my brothers kicked ass, liberating Alaska from the Chinese Forces on January 10, 2077. That victory all but sealed the envelope for The Great War, on October 23, 2077 the worldwide nuclear exchange attempted to end civilization as the humans knew it. Wait, I'm getting a little ahead of myself, please excuse my eagerness.

So, there I was, fresh and ready to go. I joined 19 of my siblings in formed packaging until my day would come. I had hoped to be sent to Anchorage to mop up any Chinese remnants, but instead I overheard a voice saying we were to be delivered to Fort Hood Texas. Texas? I thought, but the action isn't anywhere near there, I wanted to go to Alaska gah dammit. We were sat into a crate with 100's more of my siblings and put on a truck. I swear the stupid truck driver hit every bump in the road; I couldn't even rest before my time came.

I can't tell you how pissed I was when the truck driver stopped after several hours on the road, I was anxious to meet my assigned M-16, I hoped it would be in the hands of a good soldier. Someone who wouldn't hesitate to let me fly and take out a foe, a soldier with good, no wait, great aim. I wanted that soldier to make sure I hit my mark, wiping another commie bastard from this earth.

It must have been a good eight hours before the driver started on the road again, pffft humans, having to eat, sleep, and [censored] all the time. At least we were cruising down the road again, for a while anyways. I about popped my case when I heard a pop, let me at'em, let me at'em, my mind filled with wonderment of how it was going to feel when I pierced my enemies skin. But, it was not to be, a tire had blown out on the truck halting us once again. Maybe, just maybe, if he could drive without hitting all the bumps we would still be on the road. The driver hit the side of the truck, cursing because the roadside assistant didn't have the proper sized tire for the truck. We waited another several hours before it would be fixed, only for the driver to decide he needed to sleep some more.

Now it was Friday, October 22, I was two days old and already feeling like I had waited an eternity. We were rolling along nicely, actually arriving at Fort Hood some time later. Unfortunately, I was made to wait some more, the shipping and receiving docks were closed for the night and the driver had to find a truck stop to rest until morning when it reopened. A crackle got my attention, it was an audio device in the front of the truck, and it said the dock time would be five O'clock. Now I was fuming, this stupid, ignorant human had held me up from my destiny enough already, and now this? I nestled down into my formed carrier stewing until the truck rumbled to life.

Finally, I would be delivered and prepped for action after three long days of waiting. Those damn bumps, it's a wonder that we made it this far honestly, the way are box was getting jimmied around. I heard the driver talking with another human about which dock to go to, and then they screamed like little .22 shells. There was a massive explosion, my crate, along with the truck were overturned. I could smell something burning, but I was still trapped inside this God for saken crate. Next thing I knew, my brothers and I were flying through the sir, not the way we were designed for, but like a clumsy hand grenade. I strained to see through the seam of my cardboard prison, but was not able to do so. We crashed onto the ground, the wooden crate broke to pieces and we slid next to a small building.

I could now see out of my prison, the landing bent my box open just a tad, I watched as the granddaddy of all human designed weaponry wreaked havoc over Fort Hood. The heat, that damn heat was so intense I thought I was going to fire off right on the spot. The pressure in my jacket seemed to grow ever more, but after some time it relented. There were no sounds other than the crackle of whatever the hell was burning close by; it was just my luck to get delivered on October 24th that [censored] truck driver, he and his sleeping habit.

It seemed like my brothers and I were lost and forgotten, I watched out of my cardboard confines for days. It was pointless, that [censored] Atom apparently had killed my soldier. Though I was more than angry with Atom, I wasn't brave enough to talk [censored] to one of his brethren. I may be hot headed, but I'm not stupid like that truck driver. It had been a week since Atom made his presence known; it rumbled outside, I looked out through my peep hole. Something started to pit, pat on my box. The opening in the seam grew larger the faster the strange noise hit my box. Then something warm touched my brass finish, it slid down, followed by more, pooling up in the bottom of my box.

I was held snugly in place and unable to move away, whatever these strange blackish colored things were, they were attacking me. I felt helpless as the blackness tried to tarnish my glorious finish while engrossing me. Outside, the blackness was covering everything, it like Atom, seemed indestructible, I watched in horror as it swallowed all of us smaller things under its blanket of darkness. The sky was dark, maybe these were the aliens that I had heard about? Aliens were said to come from the sky, why didn't Atom destroy them to? This, this black liquid continued to beat on us for four days before it realized how tough I was, and that no matter what I would not cave into its torture.

The blackness left, giving way to a bright light that looked like a ball of fire in the sky. It began to get warmer, also making my box harden back up, but it still was warped and saggy. The blackness took its toll on my box, but it held out, not releasing any important information about us to them. Several days later, I gave up hope of being found. I dreamed of all the things that I could have done had I been given a chance. Every day I watched out through the seam, waiting, it's not in my nature to wait, not a part of my design. I was built to cover distances in excess of 3000 feet per second, I was built for speed. I was built to compliment, or it was built to compliment me, the R91 Assault rifle.

A coat of dust from all the years of waiting clouded my vision, but I recognized the sound of human footsteps. If I could have, I would have jumped for joy, I could hear the human shuffle his feet closer to me and my brothers. I felt my box shift from a loud thud; the human mumbled something then I could feel the box rise. Finally, after 59,581 days and 71 minutes from when I left the ammo press I was found to fill my destiny. I would be able to make my large family proud after all this time waiting for my moment.

The human tore open the box, dumping me, and my brothers onto a rag, he picked us up one by one. I cringed at thought of his oily, grimy hands touching me without wearing gloves; I suppose it's a small price to pay in order to prove myself out in the field. It was my turn, he plucked me from the rag, wiping my rear with his thumb then he polished me up with another rag. As he was doing so, I noticed his R91 rifle, it was dirty like he was, and I was beginning to wonder if this was luck or not. But when he put me in one of his magazines, all was forgiven. For the magazine may have looked dirty on the outside, but the inside glistened with a thin sheen of oil. I slipped right into place perfectly, as if I wouldn’t; only one fellow bullet was ahead of me in the firing order.

The man strapped us to his bandoleer before he cleaned the internals of his rifle. He used his teeth to open a small bag with some springs in it. When it dawned on me that he was installing a new spring kit, visions of my future victory whisks through my mind. This man knew how to care for his equipment, as deceiving as the exterior was, the interior was flawless, like me. The new spring kit meant one thing for sure; I would get the proper kick I needed to kill. We moved out as soon as the grubby man was finished caring for his R91, gently patting his chest so he would not forget we were there, I noticed the R91 was set to burst. Good, he takes his time to save on ammunition, with any luck he's a good shot, I happily thought to myself.

As I daydreamed what piercing flesh and bone was going to feel like, a clank against the magazine snapped me from my pleasant thoughts. It was a frag grenade, the human was moving faster now and the pesky grenade kept hitting my magazine irritating me. He could only fly as far as my human could throw, I could fly hundreds of yards to take down a target. My human grunted when we suddenly stopped, the magazine rose with his deep breaths, I heard other humans speaking with him forming an attack. I was ready, you could imagine how I felt holding all that pressure for 163 years, it was my time.

Pop pop pop, I heard other rifles going off, but my human cowered down behind a rock. There was a groan from a wounded human, I would be sure to kill my target, must have been one of those wimpy .32 bullets. My human jumped up, sprinting for a nearby building, I was screaming to be used when he stopped again, "Oh [censored]," my human cried out. After which I knew why, I heard the beeping of a frag mine just before my magazine was sent hurdling through the air. [censored]!!!! GOD DAMMIT!!!! I cursed as my magazine skipped to a halt under the edge of a rock right next to an empty soda bottle. My human had cost me my opportunity, in his haste he neglected to watch his step, at least his mistake cost him his life.

I could no longer watch, I lost track of the days after another fifty years had passed. I had learned to accept my fate along with my 29 brothers in the magazine. We lay under the edge of that rock, the breeze would pelt us with dust sometimes, and we were even urinated on by a mangy mutt a time or two. Now it would be a competition between the rock, and us, who would survive longer? Then one day the familiar grinding of dirt under human feet, I saw a group of three humans. Their choice of hairstyle and attire were far from that of a soldier, they were scouring the area, they were loud and boisterous. I had developed a joy in the silence as we were under the shade of my rock.

If I could have rolled over and returned to my slumber I would have, but one of the humans picked up my magazine, could it be? How long had it been since I lost track of time? It no longer mattered as we were shoved into something soft and dark. Awhile later I found myself being wiped off again, my moral began to inflate. I was replaced in the magazine, fourth from the top this time; I was only able to catch a glimpse of light. This group of humans was far more unstable than my previous human, swilling liquid from brown bottles and pressing a piece of plastic to their mouths and squeezing. They carried on for some time, a belligerent bunch they were, but it was entertainment.

A crack followed by a thud brought my human to his feet; he aimed into the night, only aided by the dim glow of a campfire. He fired several rounds, gunfire was returned, from the sound of it they were .44 rounds. My human ducked and rolled, firing into the darkness until CLICK. To describe the ecstasy I felt when my human pulled my magazine from its dark resting place was not possible. Another click as my human locked my magazine in place, this was it, and I began preparing myself for my big moment. He fired three more rounds; I was pushed by my siblings into the chamber.

My human inched up, and I was ready, all 5.56mm and 63 grams of me. The rifle shook in his hands, oppressing fire bit at the ground by his feet; he swung the rifle from left to right. All I could think of at this point was that I got stuck with a pray and spray human. Hadn't anyone ever taught him about B.R.A.S.S.? I wondered, even I knew about breath, relax, aim, squeeze, shoot.

The firing had ceased momentarily, my human popped up resting the rifle on top of a rock, good boy, I readied myself. The firing pin hit my backside releasing two hundred plus years of excruciating pressure. I traveled through the twenty inch barrel with unmatched fury; my target was an ugly one. It was humanoid, of sorts, though extremely masculine and green? I did not care as I covered the ground at an alarming rate, I was the baddest, and I was the fastest thing around. Humans and their Olympiad records be damned, I was capable of crushing any, and all of them.

My target looked back at me, several of my siblings following me as I stared the target in its eye. You're going down buddy, your ass is mine! A fraction of a second before I would impact the beefy, green flesh, there was a flash of red. A laser beam struck my intended target causing him to veer from my path. NOOO, how could this be? My sleek design enabled me to cut through air, but stole from me any chance of varying my course by the slightest of degrees in order to strike the green beast. I watched the beast fall as I sailed by, ahead of me a dilapidated house. My tomb awaited me, I struck the wooden beam with authority, but to my dismay, I did not make it through. I was firmly lodged somewhere inside of the petrified wooden beam. All the years I spent waiting was...for this? My moment came and went in a flash, it was a blur. I was not destined to be a Great War hero like those before me. Just like the previous years, I find myself waiting. Thinking of what could have been, but never will be.
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rolanda h
 
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Joined: Tue Mar 27, 2007 9:09 pm

Post » Fri May 04, 2012 11:39 am

It's good to know I have no ones support. :foodndrink:

Not even a "Oh, you should look out for this next time you write"

:sadvaultboy:
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Patrick Gordon
 
Posts: 3366
Joined: Thu May 31, 2007 5:38 am

Post » Fri May 04, 2012 1:36 pm

It's good to know I have no ones support. :foodndrink:

Not even a "Oh, you should look out for this next time you write"

:sadvaultboy:

It's sad, but I really like it. Poor girl :( I didn't see anything thaat was in dire need of attention, good job :D
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Miranda Taylor
 
Posts: 3406
Joined: Sat Feb 24, 2007 3:39 pm

Post » Fri May 04, 2012 4:36 pm

It's sad, but I really like it. Poor girl :( I didn't see anything thaat was in dire need of attention, good job :biggrin:

Finally! Somone who cares! And sadly, I may have to give up my beloved FanFiction (link below) because it just seems like one of those that just needs to drift away in the wind.

:shrug:

*hint hint*
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brenden casey
 
Posts: 3400
Joined: Mon Sep 17, 2007 9:58 pm

Post » Fri May 04, 2012 4:24 pm

@ Garekk: Awww I sure didn't try to dis your story! ;) It's just too short to really draw in you reader.

@ Cobra: Oh Bullet! I love the Bullet story! :)

OK fine, I'll see if I can whip up a story and throw it into the mix! =p LOL
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Tania Bunic
 
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Joined: Sun Jun 18, 2006 9:26 am

Post » Fri May 04, 2012 5:34 am

Only four days left people :ahhh:
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Anna S
 
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Post » Fri May 04, 2012 9:14 am

I'm damn glad I'm not a judge.

I liked all the entries quite a lot.
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Aliish Sheldonn
 
Posts: 3487
Joined: Fri Feb 16, 2007 3:19 am

Post » Fri May 04, 2012 12:11 pm

OK so I'll stay with my Ulysses theme! :smile:


The Fall of a Nation



From his elevated position, he was able to observe the growing community below. He had been a silent witness for several months now, following, with great interest, the development of this new settlement.

A nation, taking its first breath, he mused with a smile.

Hope filled his heart, maybe this time mankind would not be doomed to repeat the mistakes of their forefathers. Here he felt more at home than anywhere else. He had walked the Wasteland, had fought side by side with Ceasar, had seen the fall of many tribes, witnessed despair.

A commotion below caught his attention. The courier had returned. Ulysses squinted, trying to make out what it was she carried. It was a large package, which she now handed over to a high ranking NCR officer. Her clothes were covered with the dust of the Mojave, and once she made the deliver, she raised her head and spied him, sitting on his rock, observing her. With a barely perceptible nod, she acknowledged his existence. Then she turned and was gone, back to the Mojave, back to delivering other packages.

Ulysses watched the NCR officer for a moment, others had joined him now and they gestured wildly, talking excitedly with each other. The package must contain something important. Now, his curiosity was peaked and he ventured a bit closer, trying to catch their words on the wind. He only could make out a few words… Navarro… Enclave… Eye bot… activate.

They entered a tent and disappeared out of Ulysses’ view.

Ulysses played with the thought of entering the town, still curious about the contents of the package, but decided against it. He would get news of it, word usually spread quickly in a small town. For now, he would head back to his sanctuary, located to the west, just across the overpass. He passed several high rises, bustling with activity. One had been converted into a hotel, the other into a hospital. The people who lived here hoped that more would join them, settle here. It was a peaceful community and they had nothing to fear. No raiders set foot into this canyon, because most of them heard stories about terrible storms. The storms were bad, but usually didn’t last long.

Today was a good day, a sunny day with a clear sky. Ulysses raised his face to enjoy the warmth of the sun. He closed his eyes for a brief moment, before continuing towards his home.

That is when he felt the earth tremble. A faint shiver at first, as if the ground had sighed. Concerned, he looked around, but it seemed that none of the other inhabitants had felt it. The first tremor was followed by a distant rumble, as if a storm was brewing, but no, the sky remained clear. Ulysses turned back to the small town of Hopeville, hidden behind a bend of the highway and then suddenly, the ground exploded around him, behind him, before him. Immense detonations tore open the earth, creating dark fissures, releasing great plumes of oily smoke. Everything had plunged into chaos around him, buildings toppled, burying their inhabitants, creating enormous dust clouds.

Ulysses couldn’t see anything; he only knew that he wasn’t safe. Parts of the overpass collapsed around him and he knew he had to get off, get off, get off, and find cover. Day had turned to night, yet neither smoke nor dust could hide the desperate screams of the inhabitants. Disoriented, he stumbled over a body, trying to get off the freeway. He stopped for a moment and felt for a pulse, no luck. More bodies blocked his way, more dead, nothing he could do. NOTHING. He couldn’t prevent any of it. He could only watch, be a silent witness to the fall of a nation now.

A nation, taking its last breath, he thought and tears streamed down his face.

Ash, sand, smoke and then plumes of mushroom clouds rising into the air, higher and higher, the Divide collapsed and Ulysses with it. At first he ran, ran as fast as he could, but he could not outrun the disaster. He fell; hit the ground hard, and a merciful darkness settled over him.

When he awoke, all was quiet. The dust had not yet fully settled, but he was ok, had survived. Once his vision came into focus, he noticed two medical eye bots hovering over him. Confused, he wondered why him, why save him? Then he noticed the markings on those bots; it was the same old world sign he carried on the back of his duster.

He slowly got up and looked across the Divide.

“Why?” he shouted, desperate to find answers.

Ulysses knew that only one person held the answer, should answer for it. The Courier.
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Jeff Turner
 
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Post » Fri May 04, 2012 7:39 am

Only three days left people :ahhh:
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Budgie
 
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Joined: Sat Oct 14, 2006 2:26 pm

Post » Fri May 04, 2012 2:29 am

Last day people :ahhh:
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Lovingly
 
Posts: 3414
Joined: Fri Sep 15, 2006 6:36 am

Post » Fri May 04, 2012 11:50 am

So, was it decided that the judges will select the monthly theme? I know we discussed this in the March thread and was wondering what conclusion the judges decided on :)
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Rachael
 
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Joined: Sat Feb 17, 2007 2:10 pm

Post » Fri May 04, 2012 6:11 am

So, was it decided that the judges will select the monthly theme? I know we discussed this in the March thread and was wondering what conclusion the judges decided on :smile:

Yes, we supported your idea and the new thread will hopefully be up later tonight. And the winner for April will (most likely) be announced tomorrow.

Next month's theme has already been decided, so if you want to start brainstorming now instead of waiting for the new thread, I'll just give the new theme here:

Spoiler

Innocence
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Mandi Norton
 
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Joined: Tue Jan 30, 2007 2:43 pm


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