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Post by Admin on Apr 3, 2015 22:53:05 GMT
Scope of this week's challenge.
"A character opens a chest, but the intention behind the action is not what it seems. During the story, a character is attacked. The story must involve a hammer at the end. The story ends in a dungeon. The story takes place in the summer. " ( I underlined the criteria in my piece that fulfill some of the criteria.)
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Post by Admin on Apr 3, 2015 22:54:10 GMT
Warren had asked it of her, so here she was. Kneeling before the chest in Granny's attic, June took a calming breath then carefully worked the latches. They moved easily. She wasn't certain if she felt relief or greater anxiety. Reluctance requested she claim it was locked and she could be on her way; duty demanded she swallow her fear and do as she promised. Sweat rolled down her forehead and invaded her eyes. She squeezed her eyes closed until the sting subsided. He had to send the letter at the height of summer, didn't he? The heat copulated with the humidity to give birth to a stifling Oklahoma afternoon. And to spend it in an old musty dusty attic that hadn't been visited in years, was really asking a lot. She was a good sister, though, wasn't she?
She was procrastinating.
The lid stuck as she leveraged her shoulder against it. Then it gave way suddenly and June found herself face first against a cold metallic box, a cloud of dust enveloping her head. The resulting coughing fit sent her back on her heals. "Truly? I suppose I should count my blessings a spider hadn't accosted me too, " she exclaimed to herself once she had the coughing under control. She leaned over the box again, small residual coughs tickling her throat, and examined the trunk's contents. The metal box looked to be made of bronze. A small lock had been placed on the front, but otherwise it was an unadorned, unassuming item. It certainly must have been held in special regard, because whoever had placed it in the box had reverently nestled it in a rich red silk velvet. The trunk held nothing more.
"Well, I suppose this is what he's after." She reached for the satchel she'd been instructed to bring and carefully placed the box, wrapped in the velvet, inside. She grabbed the lid of the trunk but it slipped from her hand and slammed shut. A small thunk sounded against the bottom. Frowning, she lifted the lid once more and looked inside. A small packaged wrapped in soft leather and tightly wound with a sinew cord lay on the bottom. She picked it up and turned it over in her hand. It wasn't any more assuming than the box. She tried the sinew knot, but it wouldn't budge. Sighing, she turned her attention to the trunk. A small slat dangled from the lid. "So this is where you were hiding. Well, which of you is Warren after, I wonder?"...
Tag: KAy Davis
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kay
New Member
Posts: 3 
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Post by kay on Apr 6, 2015 15:12:47 GMT
2
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Rushing across the station platform, weaving through the construction obstacle course, June stumbled on the worker’s toolbag. “What fool would leave that in the middle of a walkway?” she grumble to herself, “They should be fired.” Giving the offending object a sideways kick with her foot, June sent it back to the other side of the caution tape. Readjusting her satchel and backpack, she raced to board right before the ship door closed. Finding a seat on the near empty cabin, June secured her belongings and fell into an exhausted heap. “Why does Warren need this thing, whatever it is, by tonight?” she wondered aloud, a bad habit she picked up while traveling alone in the research probe last year. Four years was a long time to be completely alone with the exception of radio contact once a month to transmit data and hear human voices. Warren tried to speak with her each time, but frequently it was garbled. Still, it was nice to hear his voice. She knew he worried about her, but the money was too good to pass up. The research involved Einstein-Rosen bridge travel to four new districts. The first district was a solar system with only four planets. The planet closest to their sun was a giant like Jupiter, and uninhabitable. The second was deadly hot with a sulfuric acid atmosphere. “No way, Jose,” thought June at the time. The third held a smidgeon of promise until the sensors discovered the air and water overwhelmed with tiny lethal microbes. And the fourth orbiting mass was a gas giant with beautiful rings, no moons and what looked like four perpetual hurricanes scouring the surface with winds over 900 mph. The first district was a bust. The second and third districts held little promise either. Three areas and three years down, one to go. The last region had a solar system with nine planets. The closet was a barren molten rock too close to the sun for sustaining life. The second was like district one’s with sulfuric acid and unbearable heat. The third was wet, most of it was covered with blue water. The land was covered with green plant and trees. The fourth was arid with very little water and red soil. June checked the other five worlds but none held much promise. The blue or the red planets held the most promise. June landed on the blue planet on a beautiful black sand beach during the summertime of this place. Carefully checking her sensors and donning the environmental suit, she opened the hatch door. The beauty of the plant life and force of the waves greeted her eyes as she stepped onto land for the first time in three years. But June was unprepared for the cacophony of the flying objects in the air overhead. Living with so much silence had made her ears overly sensitive to loud noise. Still, what joy to see life everywhere she looked. TAG: anyone who wants to add the next segment.  |
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debi
New Member
Posts: 1
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Post by debi on Apr 7, 2015 1:37:16 GMT
June would never get used to flying cars. She just didn't trust the dang things. Just not natural. No, she'd take her old fashioned driverless transports any day. Much safer. The driver of her flying cab was a sadist who delighted in seeing her squirm every time he came too close to another.
June tugged and pulled to get her suit back in position before she set off to meet her brother. She had lost considerable weight in the three years so far that she'd been on this journey and her suit no longer fit properly. She hoped she would be able to procure a new one soon.
“Oof,” June let out a puff of air as she collided with a tall creature guarding the entrance to the palace door. She had been in such a hurry to see her brother after lo these many years and hear of his adventures visiting the other districts she had yet to experience while juggling her luggage and the treasures Warren had requested her to bring, she hadn't the giant half-human, half-gargoyle like creature.
“Hold on, Missy,” the gargoyle commanded. “Where do you think you're going?” He growled.
June stretched to her full 5'3” height and puffed out her chest. “Do you know who I am?” she growled right back. “I am the sister of Commander Warren Farthington and I am on a mission of great import. Step aside now!” she admonished.
With Gargoyle, as she had aptly named him, stood still blocking her entrance to the palace, she managed to glance around his massive bulk and spy her brother in the grand ballroom. He was talking animatedly with someone off the the side, where she could not see who it was but she could tell he was not happy.
“Stand aside, you big oaf,” June said, pushing against the Gargoyle with all her might but she may as well have been trying to move a boulder, so heavy and unyielding was he.
“June!” Warren exclaimed when he spotted his baby sister standing at the doorway trying to get past his loyal and faithful guard, Satie.
“It's all right, Satie,” Warren assured him. “This is my baby sister, June!” Warren beamed with pride at his famous explorer sister.
“Come inside where the air is purified. There we can take off this uncomfortable suits and relax.” Warren led her to a inner room so large that looked much like their house back home.
She smiled, relieved to be shed of the hot, sweat-inducing abomination. She was also anxious to show her brother what she had found out on her journeys.
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