GAME: Hook my first line and sink her in to a paragraph!

[J Riff]

The Griffin circled high above the plain, his sharp eyes watching the bandits as they approached his treasure. Soon, they would become his dinner, as did all robbers who dared approach his ten foot tall pile of gold. A ten foot tall pile of gold that had made him rich beyond the dreams of the common Griffin, rich in bandit-bodies, stashed in caves for miles around. Enough bandit burgers to last out the century, easily. Now, if he could only find the lost ketchup mine..

The were-mermaid surfaced in Alice's backyard fish-pond.

 

[Victoria Silverwolf]

The were-mermaid surfaced in Alice's backyard fish-pond. At first Alice thought it was some kind of giant eel that had somehow invaded the peaceful realm of her koi. Then, like an old-fashioned fade-out in a silent film, the creature blurred, shrank into nothing, then grew back into a young woman. She was wearing a ridiculously modest bathing suit, something right out of the 1920's. Her golden hair was bobbed, her figure boyishly slim. "Geez Louise," the woman said. "I never shoulda had that last glass of Mack's bathtub gin. Knocks a gal right out." She looked at Alice with enormous green eyes, pursed her beestung ruby lips, and whistled. "Say, you're a regular Theda Bara, honey. Betcha got lotsa fellas sparkin' with ya." A jetliner roared overhead. The woman stared up at it. "Leapin' lizards! What year is this, anyhow?"

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The factory whistle screamed at dawn.

 

[Encephylops]

The factory whistle screamed at dawn. Light from blessed Sol danced across the uncountable carapaces of the enormous load-lifters, each manned by a single figure clad in drab gray uniforms. Down in the dusty pit of the old, old quarry the clink and hiss of a thousand Eaters could be heard, their whirring din offering a not-unpleasant mechanical chanting high into the morning air. Only the eyes of the ancient bearded Head of Operations surveyed the scene from high atop the spiked and antennaed control tower, his army of workers having long ago renounced their claim on the natural sight bestowed on all those terraborn. His replacement would be arriving later that day, and finally it would be his time to embark on the pilgrimage to that gleaming, silent City in which his Fathers rested. He hoped that noon might pass quickly.

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Even a planet has to die sometime.

 

[Kerrybuchanan]

Even a planet has to die sometime. Gaia would have liked to stay around longer, but she knew she'd had a good innings. Now her time was almost up and her core wept to think of the imminent implosion which would end her life.

She watched anxiously as the tiny creatures on her surface scurried around, trying to escape the doom they had finally accepted, the consequences of their own actions. Her grief for their tiny lives, so short and pointless, tempered by her disappointment that her children had been so heedless as to destroy the world they loved.

One by one the craft fought to leave her atmosphere and gain escape into the pristine, virgin universe. As she held herself together to give them every possible chance she wondered which planet they would colonise and prayed they would learn their lesson.

At last the inevitable began, craters appearing in her skin as the enormous voids collapsed and the end came. Her last thought was for the ones who hadn't got away, the microscopic debris floating around in the field of her remains. Her core exploded, burning all to nothing.

#

"So, they think I'm a myth do they?" the centaur thought. "We'll see about that..."

 

[Victoria Silverwolf]

"So, they think I'm a myth do they?" the centaur thought. "We'll see about that..."

He cantered up the steps of city hall, past a bored guard who waved him through. People waiting to renew their driver's licenses glanced at him briefly, then returned to their paperbacks and iPhones.

The centaur reared back on his hind hooves and bellowed. "I am Nerion, last of the centaurs! Who dares ignore me?"

"Take a number, pal," the guard said. "You've got a harpy, three satyrs, and Medusa ahead of you."

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The ancient wooden bridge swayed in the breeze.

 

[J Riff]

The ancient wooden bridge swayed in the breeze. Ten thousand feet below bulked the large sharp rocks that comprised the Devil's Scree, sometimes called Goblin's Haunt, or the Sorcerer's Stones, or, as the locals referred to it, Banshee Boulders. The bridge was creakingly old now; ancient beyond reckoning, but it was sturdy as the mountain itself. Timothy trod timidly onto the wobbly boards and took two timorous tip-toed steps forward, then suddenly he remembered that he had his pet elephant in his pocket.

Though deceased, the cave-zombies still maintained an interest in food.

 

[Mr Orange]

Though deceased, the cave-zombies still maintained an interest in food. Of course, they were much more interested in chess. Really long, slow, boring games of chess.But still, if Nigel could make this game last long enough, maybe Captain Zorelli would have time to beat the giant pit-snails and save him and the ducks.

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"Sir, put your hands where I can see them and step out of the cake."

 

[hopewrites]

"Sir, put your hands where I can see them and step out of the cake."
This was turning out to be the worst gig ever. I complied, Styrofoam fondant-ed to my hips and thighs, confetti dribbling out of my hands to stick in my hair. The officer in charge of patting me down seemed to enjoy herself, unnoticed of course while the other party goers were being questioned behind me.
"You picked a hellava cake to pop out of kid." She said as she slapped my butt and let me go.

~.~.~.~.~.~

"I'm not going to die here"

 

[Victoria Silverwolf]

"I'm not going to die here." Another spasm of agony racked Tyler's body.

"That's true," the demon said, its eyes full of mirth. "You also won't fall asleep, or go insane. Pity, isn't it?"

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

The parade began at sunrise.

 

[Ashleyne]

The parade began at sunrise. I took Judiscar, my son, amongst the crowds to watch from the pavement. Hundreds of the city’s most successful killers displayed their trophies, which they’d strapped onto giant crucifix balloons or nailed onto floats shaped like rows of tombstones.

The smell of rotten meat filled my heart with calmness. Maybe, one day, I could be as peaceful as those trophies. I patted Judiscar on the head and said, with a smile, “You know, I remember back when murder was still illegal. You wouldn’t ‘ave seen owt like this.”

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Ralph gritted his teeth. “I know what you did, Amanda."

 

[J Riff]

Ralph gritted his teeth. “I know what you did, Amanda."
"Stop that tooth-grinding or I will go koo-koo bears, I'm warning you."
You will do nothing of the sort. Is it my fault that you have no teeth left to grind?"
"Silence, scurrilous bovine! Your insolence-"
"I warned you about eating boulders, didn't I?"
"When one lives on a Rock Candy Mountain, what choice?"

He tells us in his first two novels of his remarkable experiences and conversations with gypsies and other wanderers - jockeys, card-sharps and thimble-riggers- how he was poisoned by the gypsies, worked as a travelling tinker, and camped in Mumper's Dingle with a girl pugilist, to whom he taught Armenian; he had a great respect and admiration for her, and wished to marry her, but she went off suddenly to America, leaving him the message, "Fear God, and take your own part," which he adopted as his motto.

 

[J Riff]

Oop. A bit much perhaps, that.

Ralph gazed at the rubbish heap thoughtfully.

 

[IsoldeJ]

Ralph gazed at the rubbish heap thoughtfully. At a first glance it had all the appearance of a midden, a heap of stinking foulness, full of noxious effluvia, but he knew better. Bits of bone crested its heaving extremities, pushed out by the actions of equally unpleasant inhabitants. Before long the damn thing would start to attend him just as thoughtfully... and hungrily. Which would never do. Adjusting helmet and suit, he prepared to dive.

###

On the crest of the horizon, a boat appeared, brilliant with flame, a beacon of terror.

 

[Victoria Silverwolf]

On the crest of the horizon, a boat appeared, brilliant with flame, a beacon of terror. The water roiled as it approached, as if great sea serpents writhed beneath the surface. At the helm stood an empty suit of clothes, nothing but darkness visible inside its hood. Gulls shrieked as they glided through torn sails. The fire, a riot of white and blue, burned but did not consume. The Flying Dutchman was coming home.

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John rested his scythe on his shoulder and watched the stranger approach.

 

[J Riff]

John rested his scythe on his shoulder and watched the stranger approach. A tall stranger, dressed in a neon-green track suit with orange sneakers, distractedly wandering through the wheat towards John's ramshackle shack. The stranger was preoccupied with a cellphone and he walked straight past John and into the south forty, where he ran into Martha, who was driving a combine and unable to stop in time. John shrugged and went back to work.

Kitty knew at once that these were not normal mice.

 

[Kerrybuchanan]

Kitty knew at once that these were not normal mice. Their luminescent ears and elongated fangs were a dead give-away, but above all else the smell of blood that preceded them into the room told her they were trouble. She backed up slowly towards the window, hoping she might be able to leap through before they spotted her, but her hip touched the corner of the table, rattling it, and three pairs of ears swivelled towards her.

The leader tapped his white stick in front of him as he advanced on her, closely followed by his two lieutenants, who shifted apart in a flanking manoeuver. Quicker than thought, Kitty leaped on top of the table, back arched and ears flat to her head. The scurrying of paws below told her she had made it in the nick of time. Demonstrating the perfect grace of her species she gathered herself to fly through the air, landing in the doorway behind the three mice. With a whisk of her tail she bounded away to the safety of the kitchen.

That's the last time I eat caviar, she thought to herself, her tail still twitching in horror at the depth of detail in the hallucination.

Behind her, claws scraped as small feet hurried along the corridor in the dark and a little stick went tappety-tap.

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A frown creased Humdudgeon's forehead as he watched the elves through his telescope.

 

[Ashleyne]

A frown creased Humdudgeon's forehead as he watched the elves through his telescope. The jewel on the end of his long index fingernail flickered green with venom as the elves sauntered through his chocolate tree orchard, uninvited.
Humdudgeon flapped his furry wings: a physical trate that he and all of his fellow species, the zynthy, posses.
He opened his beak and emited an ear tickling croak before soaring through the open rooof of his tower, the jewel on his fingernail beaming like a piece of sharp glass in the scorching dessert.

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I watch in trepidation as the moon descended towards the Earth, growing larger in the sky as its shadow become ever darker.

 

[Victoria Silverwolf]

I watched in trepidation as the moon descended towards the Earth, growing larger in the sky as its shadow become ever darker. The ground rippled liked the ocean in a storm. Trees fell, crushing the madly running people. Buildings toppled and automobiles swayed like drunken dinosaurs. The last thing I remember before I fell into eternal darkness was the inhuman visage of a mad god hurtling through the sky, laughing at the terror it has created.

___________________________________________

Her wings were smaller than I expected, and shone like pearls.

 

[J Riff]

Her wings were smaller than I expected, and shone like pearls. She was hovering above the compost heap in the backyard and trilling a cheery tune, which reminded me of something, something long-forgotten, buried deep in ancestral memories of a time when Fairies and the fey people were real, and of which I had dreamt extensively in my time in the huts of the Yubblers, those irascible off-worlders, now extinct, who had administered the substances that had instigated the series of hallucinatory visions that I still experienced regularly. I shook my head and took a second look and sure enough 'twas merely a sparrow that hung in the sky above the pile of grass cuttings and banana peels. Everyone knew that pearl-winged Faeryflies were long extinct. I laughed to myself and went back to feeding the Unicorns.

Drogar had heard tales of two million pounds of gold, rumored to be buried somewhere in the city.

 

[willwallace]

Drogar had heard tales of two million pounds of gold, rumored to be buried somewhere in the city. After too many years of fruitless searching, he had relegated the stories to the fevered dreams of some madman. Now the urchin standing before him, clutching an ancient golden coin, was claiming to have found the hoard. Heaving his considerable bulk out of the oversized chair, he muttered "Well, let's get to it, boy, lead the way!"

As the moonlight filtered through the ancient tree's branches, Ceilda began to whisper the forbidden words of enchantment.