Hooks; let's write 'em.

[buskydudd]

The sun dimmed, the earth cooled, the dust fell.

 

[buskydudd]

The sun dimmed, the earth cooled, the dust fell.

...and a bloodshot eyeball on a whithered stalk peeked out of a crack in the asphalt.

 

[Talysia]

Ok, this one sort of follows on from my last entry in the First Lines thread:

When the ground opened up to reveal the doorway to some unknown realm, possibly hell, no-one wanted to go in there - not the military, not a commercial venture, not even a drunk teenager on a dare. The ground was sealed up, and it faded from the public awareness like a banished dream.

A short time after, an incredibly popular reality tv show started taking on contestants to take part in a variety of gruelling challenges, with the prize being a huge amount of cash, instant fame, and the chance to go on to take part in yet another challenge that would see them double their cash prize - if they dared. No-one even thought to connect this to that event a few months ago, however, and the winners were most surprised with their double or nothing challenge.

 

[mosaix]

The bar was seedy, the beer warm, the company dubious. Five of us had been playing poker since sun-down. The reptile, eyeing my winnings, lit another cigarette and passed me the deck.

"Deal." he said.

 

[djellibeybi]

The woman stumbled on, weary to the point of exhaustion. Her breath came in quick, short gasps. Her once-gorgeous raven tresses were plastered to her delicate, beautiful face. The cloak she wore was tattered, travel stained, its hem apparently badly-ripped several times. The cost of it could have fed a peasant family through a winter.

In her arms she cradled a bundle. A squalling babe, barely days old, wrapped in rich swaddling cloths. Desperately the woman tried to silence the babe, leaning her tired form against a snow-laden tree.

Behind her, a man in white-enameled armor, rent and torn in places, with blood seeping through vicious gashes, followed, longsword in one hand, a heavy shield on the other. The man too breathed heavily. He moved warily, facing their backtrail, eyes constantly scanning. He cursed silently for stopping to rest. But the babe had needed feeding. He turned to look at woman.

"We must move, dear heart. They are not far behind," he whispered. His hand reached out and touched hers. Their fingers entwined, for just a moment.

Not far behind, a howl shattered the still morning air. A chorus of howls followed. The man cursed again, and pulled the woman into a stumbling run.

 

[Talysia]

In a world where dreams were for sale, people with vivid imaginations were incredibly valuable. Ellis was one such person, and she was grateful - the people who ran the dream-recording company paid her handsomely for every dream she had. The dream was then sold on to people who wished entertainment whilst they were asleep, played back through special devices which also sold for a pretty penny.

After it became popular for consumers to experience dreams that were as frightening as possible, Ellis began to read horror and thriller novels in an attempt to make her dreams more realistic. Shortly after that, however, she found that she was being followed by someone, someone whose presence chilled her to the core.

 

[Young stormlord]

Like it Here's mine
He was walking through the world of shadows.
It remarkably looked like his homeworld, only dark, in the shades of grey. Navo walked for a long time, or so it seemed. He saw grey phasor fire and cryes of dying humans. He saw rejuves in pain. Still, in this world of silence, he didn't hear anything. And that wasn't the strangest thing. He was tall, his wings wide and strong, his hands full of deadly power. He could run and fly as adult. Yet, he was walking. And he wasn't walking alone.

 

[Winter Lord]

It was 7:30AM, and the Grove had been open since 5. Thaddeus, or T-man as he was known in Arcadia Street, came down from his third floor apartment. He had opened the Grove a few years ago, after he bought the Wellstane Building. It catered to all types who lived and worked in Templewicke. From the students and the faculty at Darden University, to the cubicle monkeys who worked in the nearby business district, and the working stiffs who lived in Arcadia Street. It was many things to many people.

As he walked into the Grove's prep room, he head the rhymic sound of "Chop, chop, scrape" as Demis put his four arms to work cutting up the long tubes of dough filled with a mixture of cinnimon, ginger, and butter that would proof into some of the best cinnimon/ginger rolls in the city. As he walked by the table, Demis gave him a nod, and continued to chop up the tubes. Highering a Daga to work at roll preperation had been a good idea.

The preparations for the third shift/breakfast crowd had made alot to refuse. There was a pile of boxes to take to the dumpster, and a couple of barrels to empty. As he went to work, Thad nodded to Dorothea as she was up to her elbows in a sink, washing dishes. A smile broke across her face; it was sign that she had grown up amoungst humans, as most Orculli don't smile.

Thad took a load out to the dumpster. As he was empting out a barrel, he heard a scream. He looked around, and saw a hex-crow setting on the edge of a neaby building. They were master mimics, so it probably made the noise. The scream came again, and Thad knew it wasn't a hex-crow. He used his turge sense. Someone was being worked over in a nearby alley. He raced back into the kitchen.

"Dorothea, call the police. Demis, get the Taggers, someone is being attacked in a nearby alley.

 

[Scarlett Eclipse]

The raging fire was reflected in Areceli’s sky blue eyes as she stood far away on the beach. Everything was gone, what she once knew was demolished by the men who invaded her home.

 

[Urlik]

They called it the butterfly house, although the hushed whispers in which the house was mentioned were completely at odds with the innocent beauty the name implied.
It wasn't untill the budleas, which had completely overgrown the Victorian house and its gardens, came into bloom that it all made sense.

 

[Talysia]

It was the kind of book one couldn't put down. No sooner had it been released than it was flying off the shelves to captivate any and all who read it, often locking themselves away from the world until they had finished it. Of those who spoke of it, or posted about it to internet fora, all said that they had been enthralled by the story, but that they felt completely drained once they had read it. Most put it down to the cathartic effects of reading such a story, although to one sensitive individual it was the start of something far more sinister.

After all, no-one had ever heard of a book-demon before.

 

[HardScienceFan]

Long time since i have been here.

The Forum took over his life.Everything that happened there had an immediate effect on him.He looked haggard,and began to speak in short bursts,as if he was greatly hurried.
Food ,sleep,daylight lost all attraction.
And he began plotting revenge against those who despised him..........
Gruesome revenge

 

[Pravuil]

Hah. Quite depictive there, HardScienceFan.

A scream sounded in the dark.
A scream died in the dark.
A drum beat issued, in the dark.
The drum beat faded.
A dirge to curdle the blood and end the world wailed.
Heavy feather, shadowy-veiled light, ironic certainty, rueful mirth.
Sane dementia, stable volatility, war-torn peace, paradoxial simplicity.
Reality came undone and Existence mended the torn quilt.
Almost.

 

[Hilarious Joke]

Nice one Pravuil! Reminds me of the poems at the start of each chapter in Erikson's books. I half expected to see:

- Toc the Younger, 52nd Year of the Second Malazan Empire

And yes I know that's not accurate .