Monday, 11 July 2016

Dark and Stormy Night 2016 - aligurl75 - ScrapLady - aligurl75



It was a dark and storm night. Lightning flashed across the skies illuminating everything around her for a moment or two. Not long enough that she could see great distances ahead but long enough so that she didn't walk smack dab into a tree. Between the flashes she was virtually blind. The night was so overcast, there were no stars shining, no moon to illuminate her way, no street lights aglow. That was probably due to the fact that she was truding through the underbrush of a densely packed woods. Another reason she had no light was because her flashlight had quit working about a 1/4 mile ago when she had fallen head over heels down the side of the "mountain".  Okay, so it wasn't really a mountain, but it sure as heck felt like one as she was crashing down it grasping for anything to slow her fall.  With a deep sigh she trudged on hands outstretched ahead of her muttering under her breath about stupid deer.

Two hours earlier:

Taking one last look to make sure that her car wouldn't be seen from the road, she added a few more branches to the hook of the car. Hopefully anyone passing this way would just think it was a pile of brush and not look bother to look any further and see her dirt brown second hand beater car.  She decided to leave her gear in the car until she was able to hike down to the cabin and make sure all was clear. She didn't want to stumble into any situation that she was unprepared for.  The only thing she grabbed from car was her flashlight, which she shouldn't need because it was only a 2 mile hike down a dirt road. It was still hours from sunset. She could easily make it to the cabin and have a look around and make it back to the car for her stuff. The other item she grabbed was the napkin that had the hand-drawn directions she had received from the waitress at the diner. Abbie didn't know these parts so she had casually mentioned to the waitress, "Meg"  that she was out hiking and had been given the recommendation from friends that Harper Hollow had some good trails. Meg was nice enough to provide Abbie with a map that she quickly jotted on the back of a paper dinner napkin. The very napkin that was even now in her right hand as she started heading north down the dirt road in the direction of "No Access" trail that Meg had warned her not to take because it was off limits to hikers.  Problem is that was exactly where Abbie wanted to go. At the end of that no access trail was a old hunting cabin that she planned on staying at for awhile until she figured out what she could do to get herself out of the situation she was in. She didn't know how long it would take but she knew that she needed help, but she needed safetly and secrecy first. 

Setting off down the first leg of the hike she was taking it easy.  Looking around her, enjoying the scenery. It really was beautiful out here. Abbie had always loved early spring. The way everything was so lush and new feeling. The leaves of the trees more gorgeous, birds chirped in the branches, flowers bloomed every where they could take root, bunnies scampered through the fields and......  angry does blocking your path bleated at you to back off!!  What the heck!!  Abbie hadn't been paying attention to the road ahead of her and missed the female deer and her two fawns trudging across the path ahead of her, she had just blindly trudged on aimlessly almost walking directly into the grazing mama deer. That was until the doe snorted angrily to warn Abbie off while blocking her passage that would bring her too close to the calves that were shakily hiding behind their mother frozen in spot. Abbie stopped abruptly and raised her hands in part surrender and part calming motion to show the mama deer that she was not a threat and had no interest in her offspring. Backing slowly toward the side of the road she quietly retreated from the doe letting her know she meant no harm.  Apparently the deer didn't believe she wasn't a threat because instead of scampering off with her babies, she started advancing on Abbie grunting menacingly. Who knew that deer could grunt??  Well Abbie did now! She continued backing slowing , no making eye contact with the doe. She could feel the edge of the road at her heels and tree limbs jabbing her in the back. Suddenly the doe reared up and jumped toward Abbie with one last snort. Abbie screamed and jumped back .. into nothing... No road, no brush, just air.  That is when she started falling down the mountain. Rolling like a run away boulder. Crashing through the underbrush. Snagging her clothes and hair on twigs and trees before finally crashing into the bottom of ravine.

aligurl75


Abbie wondered what the doe thought of her as her body tumbled down the....whatever and wherever she was.  She was grateful for the intermitent flashes of lightening that helped her see where she was and what was around her.  Lots of twigs and leaves was about it.  And they were poking her and probably cutting into  her, as the dirt was getting into her mouth. Blah!  But she really didn't have time or energy to think about that.  Everything was happening so fast! Now that she had stopped rolling and was trudging along on her knees, she just hoped she'd reach safety soon enough.  Wasn't the cabin up ahead.  She sure hoped so.  It was an old hunting cabin, but it was sure to still have quite a bit of the stuff she needed to survive and bandage up these cuts and bruises.  She could feel warm blood oozing from her elbow.  Was it a deep cut?  Hopefully not too bad!  Oh well, her right arm hurt, but at least it wasn't broken.

--ScrapLady (Mary Beth Farley)
5/9/2016

Standing up and brushing all the twigs and brushes off of her clothes and running her fingrs through her hair, she started to access the damage. She wasn't really THAT hurt, more bruised and embarressed. Thank goodness no one else was out here in the middle of nowhere to bare witness to her tumble. The cut on her arm had already stopped bleeding but she knew that she better get a move on so she could get it cleaned up and bandaged so infection didn't set in.  Coming from where she did, when she did, she didn't have the same immune system that would support anyone else. She still couldn't believe that her first taste of nature had literally been a TASTE! Dirt did not taste good. She was happy to put that behind her. Now she just needed to figure out where she was and in which direction she needed to head. Abbie reached up to grab the necklace around her neck and found it missing. Instantly she began to panic! No! She couldn't lose that necklace. It was her ticket home. Without it she was literally lost. Lost forever and unable to ever return to a home. She frantically look aroud searching for the gold chain. It must have fallen off when she was tumbling down the slope. She looked on the ground around her feet. Getting back onto her hands and knees she rifled through the dead leaves and detritis where she had landed. Suddenly another flash lightning lit the sky around her and she saw a metallic reflection out of the corner of her eye. Before she could pinpoint the location, she was surrounded by darkness again.  Abbie slowly got to her feet trying to calm herself by taking deep breaths. She patiently waited in the dark waiting for the next flash of light. Her eyes slowly scanning back and forth searching for that shimmer. A flash of light. THERE.. there it was! Half way up the slope hooked on a tree root jutting from the ground. She focused her gaze on the necklace so that she wouldn't lose it again and slowly made her way back up the slope towards the prize. She untangled the chain carefully from the root and realized that the clasp of the necklace had been broken when it was torn from her neck. That was okay. It wasn't the chain that was important, it was the locket that was still dangling from the chain that mattered. She ran her nail along the side of the locket until she found the spring latch that opened the front of the piece but quickly realized that it was too dark to ascertain that everything was undamaged within. She looked around her and realized that she was closer to the top of the slope then she had initially realized. It would be easier to make her way back up then to go back down. At least if she made it back to the road she would have an easier time finding the cabin. 

Abbie made her way back up the side of the steep hill. Pushing her way through the brush at the top she gasped out loud at what she saw. 
"Oh no, oh God no!" the road at the top of the slope had been replaced with a hard macadem surface. It was no longer a dirt trail through a hiking area. The surface under her feet was hard, smooth and well maintained.  She must have shifted while falling down the hill without even realized it. The question now was when was she and could she still go ahead with her previous plan of hiding out? Who knew if she would still find the hunting cabin at the end of this road.  As lightning flashed above her it finally brought the rain with it this time.  She was soaked to the bone in moments and starting to shiver. Deciding that she had no choice but to proceed as previously planned she shoved the locket into her pocket to hopefully protect it from the storm as she started jogging down the road. She needed to move fast but with caution since she didn't know now what she was going to find. 

Twenty minutes later she rounded a bend in the road and was totally taken by surprise. Where she had been expecting an old abandoned hunting cabin she found a large log home with windows ablaze with light like a beacon in a dark night. She slowed to a walk and slowly approached the log house. It was beautiful, absolutely beautiful. It almost took her breath away. It was the house she had always dreamed of living in. A story and a half log structure nestled into the surrounding woods making it feel like it belonged there. Like it had grown from the woods. Shiny timbers bigger then she had ever seen, a dark charcoal gray shaker tile roof, hunter green shutters lining the sides of most windows... and windows.. so many wonderful multi-paned windows. Windows ran the whole length of the porch shining forth with their inner light. Abruptly Abbie halted in her tracks. There was someone on the porch. She wasn't expecting that, but it shouldn't have surprised her with the house being so lit. It made sense that someone actually lived in the home.  She couldn't make out the person on the porch, they were standing in fron of one of the windows so all she could make out was a shadow form. But she could tell by the size of the shadow that it was a man. She started to slowly retreat back into the woods behind her when the man caught sight of her.

"Hey there! Are you okay, do you need help?" she heard his deep voice reverberate across the distance between them. He started to come toward Abbie, moving from the shadows of the porch into the darkness of the night. Just as Abbie turned back to tell him that she was okay and just had gotten lost, the sky lit with lightning and it momentarily illuminated the man's face.
"Ethan!" she gasped out. He was here in this now. She was frozen to the spot she stood. Time stood still for a moment. Her thoughts circled crazily in her head. It was him, she had accidentally found him. Abbie's heart pounded in her chest, her head was spinning. Oh no, she was going to pass out. She could feel the world narrowing in her vision. Abbie reached out a hand toward Ethan as she whispered his name. The last thing she saw before she passed out was Ethan running toward her.  Then there was only darkness. 
-aligurl75


Sunday, 10 July 2016

Dark and Stormy Night 2016 - ScrapLady - danushaj - ScrapLady - Tigerlily2110 - danushaj

Round 1: ScrapLady

It was a dark and Stormy night when the young freshmen left the gym about midnight.  Aaron and Melissa were dates for the college homecoming dance in the old gymnasium.  Actually, the "relationship" if you can even call it that, was more attraction on Melissa's part.  She thought Aaron was very attractive.  He was nice to look at, but besides that he was very kind, generous, smart, and extremely talented.  He always landed a leading role in whatever drama the theater department was doing. And this fall production of 1993 was no exception! Melissa wasn't so theatrically inclined as she was musically inclined!  She was in the college's Concert Choir already.  The choir and the theatre departments were combining efforts on this fall's spectacle.  That's how the two met each other :)

Anyway, although it was raining and the wind was blowing like crazy, the young adults raced to the parking lot and into Aaron's car.   Whew!  it was great to get out of the terrible weather!!  Melissa suggested that they go to CoffeeUnlimited since it was probably still open and warm coffee/latte would sure be good right about now.

R2 danushaj

CoffeeUnlimited was THE place to be seen, the premier karaoke bar in town. It served the best after hours coffee and cake in town.  What better place to be on a night like tonight.

Melissa and Aaron made their way to CoffeeUnlimited.  What a crowd!!  They were lucky to gain entry, it was so busy tonight.  While navigating the busy bar, Aaron had Melissa firmly in hand.  They jostled through the crowd, trying to find a place to sit.  Aaron spied a seat available at the front of the stage.   The chairs were just calling to him to sit there, he tugged Melissa’s hand, lurching her forward uncomfortably.  “HEY!” She yelled. They sat, happy and confident they had secured a seat in such a busy throng.

Little did they know what trouble they had got themselves into by sitting there.  Aaron agreed to get them both a desperately needed latte, the drink Melissa spilt all over Aaron when they first met.

The host for the evening grabbed the microphone and made an announcement “Welcome everyone, it seems we have our first contestants for the evening. Welcome to ………” Just then the microphone was shoved into Aaron’s face.  

Melissa shot Aaron a worried look, “Oh shiiiiiiiiit” she thought.  “Errrr I Ummmm we just came here for a coffee and some entertainment” Aaron spluttered.
“Well mate those chairs are reserved for our contestants, and by sitting there you have entered into an agreement.  A song……….. to the death”.

Gasps were heard all around the room.

"To the death?" Melissa and Aaron both questioned in unison. Guess they were going to have to work together to get themselves out of this spot of bother.

R3 ScrapLady

Mel and Aaron had been "together", a couple, for just about a year now.  They'd met as college freshmen; living in the same dorm on campus.  Aaron's roommate had his eyes on Mel's roomate.  They were complete opposites, but you know the saying..."opposites attract" right?  Well, these two definitely did!  Dan and Shandra were the perfect pair and Aaron and Mel could only hope for such a great relationship too!  Dan would come downstairs to first floor--the girls' floor--all the time to visit Shandra.  And Aaron was usually right along.  He and Melissa got to know each other pretty quickly and soon realized they were in Concert Choir together!  

So, it was sure a good thing tongiht that they were both talented singers.  Hopefully, talented enough to get them to the end of the game without dying out! 


Round 4 Tigerlily2110

The host, who was actually a demon called Balthazar, and a particularly nasty one at that, chuckled inwardly.  'Stupid Humans! so gullible, this is going to be fun'.

Melissa looked at Aaron in growing terror, what were they going to do? were they as talented as they thought, and could they get through this?

On looking around they found the list of karaoke songs.  Melissa decided that she would go first, hoping that Aaron could think, and come up with an idea to get them out of this soon.  The lights dimmed and the music started, Mel was about to open her mouth to sing, when all the lights went out completely and the whole room was in pitch darkness, apart from the red gleam in the demonic eyes.  Outside the storm had stilled and there was an eerie silence.  then, in a blinding flash of light, a tall figure appeared on the stage 'You know who I am Balthazar! and you know you shouldn't be doing this'.

When Mel's eyes adjusted to the light, the tall figure looked to be glowing with a red aura, and she was sure that she could see what looked like horns growing out of the forehead, and was that a forked tail? Why on earth would the Devil be reprimanding a human? and why had she called him Balthazar? Surely he was a demon off a TV programme! What was more odd, was that the Devil, if it was the Devil, was a female.  



Round 5 danushaj

Through the silence Aaron accidentally let out a fart, it was a loud one that echoed around the room.  He sheepishly cowered.  “I ate beans for lunch” he said shyly. 

Melissa glared at him with a disgusted look.  Aaron shrugged and mouthed “what?”.

“ANNNNNNNNNNND CUT!” the director yelled.

The lights switched back on and everyone in the room starts chatting again.  Make up artists come to reapply make up to the devil, yes she was indeed female.  The skin tight body suit hugged all her bones and bumps.  This was easier to see in the light.  Aaron eyed this gorgeous she devil for what seemed like an eternity. 

"OI!" Melissa shouted at him.  Aaron snapped his head around and they both looked at each other in bewilderment, total utter confusion.  A tall skinny man with a headset came over to them.  “Ok guys, I’m going to need you to do this again, we can’t use that footage.”

“Wha, Wha?”  “Hang on Mister, just what the hell is going on.” Melissa cried in exasperation.  “Yeah what is all this?  It looks like we are on a movie set”, Aaron added.

“Yes, yes sorry. Who are you guys??”  the tall skinny guy flipped through notes on his clipboard.  “Are you not Balthazar and Regina???” 

Melissa and Aaron in unison “No!”

The skinny man turns around and chats with someone through his headphones, his voice is angry and strained.  Yelling can be heard through the headset.

“I’m sorry, but you are going to have to leave, NOW!” shouts the tall skinny guy.  He starts pushing Aaron and Mel through the crowd and towards the door.  They were jostled through the throng of people and shoves them out the door onto the footpath.

“What was that about?” Asked Mel.  “How on earth should I know?” shrugged Aaron.  Mel hurried off down the street to find their car and high tail it out of there. 

Aaron stood in the door way of CoffeeUnlimited and muttered under his breath “You almost had me, but not this time you she devil, until we meet again”  His eyes glowed a greenish glow for a brief second as he chuckled then ran to catch up with Mel.

Dark and Stormy Night 2016 - unknown - - aligur75 - ScrapHappyGabi - danushaj - aligurl75

It was a dark and stormy night. I could hear the thunder roll in across the sky and I was certain it was because of 'them'. I could see one of them not too far off, towering pitch figures, stretched thin, bodies of wood tar emitting a constant low hum and the occasional crack of lightning; surveying the area with wet, swollen red eyes. I'm not safe here.

No one knew when they arrived. Reports slowly crept in globally about figures at their windows and doors, there and then suddenly not. Untraceable as they were it went largely unresolved until it was happening hourly. Day and night, all over the world. People would go missing. Not just from their homes but their cars, from work, while they were on the bus, playing at the park with their children...in mid sentence with the woman checking out their groceries. One minute they were there, then next the faint echo of a long deep breath..

(-aligurl75 - Round 2)

It happened to me. I was standing in the kitchen talking to my sister when I turned to get a drink from the refrigerator. I heard a gasp and swiveled to see what was wrong when there was a flash of lightning and the lights went out for a moment.  When they came back on my sister was gone.  Just poof, nothing. What has she seen that made her gasp? On the floor when she had been standing there lay a small pile of her stuff. Her cellphone, her glasses, the necklace that she never took off and those silly orange crocs that she wore everywhere.  Why were these items left behind? 

I started running all over the house yelling my sister's name. 
"Janet!! Where are you Janet?? Answer me please. " I begged her even though I knew she wasn't there. I still felt the need to check. I ran outside and saw several other people standing in the streets looking as dazed and confused and panicky as I felt.  They were calling out their loved one's names. 

So another taking had happened and this time it was someone special to me that was gone. Why was this happening? Who was taking them? I didn't know the answer to any of these question but I was determined to find out. My sister was all I had and I would be damned if I was going to lose her. 

(ScrapHappyGabi – Round 3) 

My mind was racing 100 miles a minute. Janet was 8 years younger than me. I'd been taking care of her since I was 11 years old. Our parents were never home, I don't think I've seen my dad in 3 weeks and who knows where mom was. I ran upstairs, turned on the laptop and looked for anything that may give me answers. I was scared but I knew that if I didn't understand what was going on, I couldn't very well fight it or get to the bottom of the disappearances. I found report after report of missing persons; people posting on every arm of social media seeking their missing friends and families. No one was safe, celebrities, politicians and religious heads as well - disappearing without so much as a trace. There were no clues, nothing that linked the disappearances. I knew I wasn't safe here. I turned off the lights, shut off the laptop and packed up a few necessities, a tent, water and my cellphone charger. I wasn't necessarily going camping but I needed to be able to go off grid for a while if necessary. I made a few quick calls and waited for the storm to pass and then slipped out the back door, officially off grid.

Danushaj Round 4

I didn’t dare take the car.  No, this was a journey I had to make on foot.  But where to start?  Would I be heading in the right direction?  I headed for high ground, high above the city lights, maybe I might be able to see things clearer from there.

Along the way I took out the piece of paper I had scribbled a few notes from looking at the laptop.  The clues weren’t adding up or piecing together easily.  What was I missing??  I crumbled up the paper again and shoved it in my pocket.
Oh how I wish I paid more attention when dad was talking.  He had a mind for these sort of puzzles and challenges.  He could figure out the Sunday Times crossword in under 10 minutes.  Some sort of Menza genius, it was times like these, or when I needed to change a tyre on my car, that I wished his genius had rubbed off on me.

I sighed deeply.  I had to think logically, think a little outside the box too.  I mentally replayed the clues in my head.
·         Flash/Crack of lightning
·         All items containing metallic objects left behind
·         No rhyme or reason as to who was being taken
·         What were the pieces of humming wood tar anyway??
My mind kept getting stuck on this last point, I had to push this thought aside for now, focus on the other three.  I must have looked like a raving lunatic, muttering to myself.  I often found this to be the best way to process my thoughts, have a conversation with myself.  Hey it worked, mostly.

It took me the better part of 2 hours, but I reached the top of Mount Clayton.  Climbing it was treacherous, slipping in the mud, falling a few times.  I am glad I packed light and the frequent visits to the local gym using the Stairmaster paid off.

I was tired, I pitched my tent, and bunkered down for the rest of the evening.  Hoping my dreams might provide me with answers.  I was so tired I dozed off quite easily, even with the flapping of the tent against the low level wind outside.
I awoke to a large flash of lightning outside my tent.  I yelped a loud cry.  My breathing started to quicken.  The light was extremely blinding, it was very close.  I felt uneasy about pulling open the tent flaps to have a look.  My heart was beating out of my chest, I had to mentally slow my breathing.  I slowly unzipped the tent, being as quiet as I could, but you know tents, they are not the quietest thing in the world.  After what seemed like an eternity, I managed to open the tent enough to poke my head around the corner.

About 2 paces from the tent lay a pile of items, a cell phone, a pair of reading glasses, a metallic sports drink bottle and a pager.  These looked familiar.  Then my mind clicked, they belonged to my neighbour Denise.  She worked as a vet in town, these were her items.  OH NO!  Had she followed me up here, trying to get answers too?  Now she had been taken as well. 

WHAT WAS THE CONNECTION? THINK! THINK! THINK!

What did Denise and my sister Janet have in common?  They were both women, yeah!  But men were being taken too.  What was the damn connection?  ARGH!  THINK! THINK! THINK!

Then it dawned on me.  Why didn’t I see this earlier?  The connection was clear as day.  No time to lose, I had to get to the police station, or better still, the local news station.  Maybe if I tell people about what I think the link is, maybe someone could make sense of it?  But it still raised a lot of questions for me.   



Round 5 – aligurl75

I finally saw what all these people had in common and why my sister was taken. I think I knew why some objects were left behind and what these so bodies of wood tar with a humming noise coming from them were.  I quickly made my way back down the mountain and headed to my house. I wanted to check out something in the kitchen and see if my hunch was correct.
Running into the kitchen I raced to the pile of objects that was left behind when my sister went missing. I kneeled down and started rifling through the pile. Fluorescent orange silicon shoes, cellphone, her glasses and a necklace that I had made for her from recycled computer components. It was one of the first pieces of jewelry I had made from recycled/found objects and I had gifted it to her and she had been so proud of my achievement and design that she wore it everywhere and jokily called herself my walking billboard. She was probably the reason for much of my success and many of my sales.  The glasses being left behind was the only thing that struck me as odd but other then those the items in the pile didn’t surprise me. Also, something that I was expecting to find and helped to solidify my theory on what happening to all these taken people, was a small twig and a couple of leaves.

I ran to the phone and called information requesting the number for the local news station then asked to be connected to them.  Twenty five minutes later I slammed the phone down in frustration. No one there would listen to me. I was passed from person to person and finally was basically called a nutcase and offered the number to the nearest mental health specialist.  I know I’m not crazy. I just need someone with an open mind to listen to me. Picking up the phone I started making a few more phone calls.  First to the police but when they wouldn’t take me seriously either I tried the FBI and then Homeland security.  NO ONE WOULD LISTEN.  Everyone was running around at defcon 1.  Why wouldn’t someone listen to me? I was only trying to help. I had pieced it all together when I finally realized that all the people that were taken, everyone had something in common. The celebrities, the politicians, the world leader, my neighbor Denise and even my own sister Janet. All of these people were dedicated to making the world a better place. Both the earth itself and the people and creatures living on it.  Denise had been a veterinarian and a member of many save the animal organizations. She had funded and been part of many efforts to help save animals from abuse and cruelty and to try and save their habitats. My sister was a genius like my father and had taken after him in the fact that both were renowned scientists.  Janet had multiple degrees in many of the earth science fields but she was proclaimed as a genius in the field of oceanography.  She was dedicated to the study of marine life and ecosystems, ocean circulations, plate tectonics and geology of the sea floor and the chemical and physical properties of the ocean. She had been all over the world studying the oceans.  The celebrities that had been taken were all ones that supported world relief organizations and ones that tried to give back to the world by trying to improve it.  The politicians and world leaders that were taken were all ones that voted for issues and bills that would improve our environment and help to eliminate pollution and the stripping of the earth resources and voted for the policies that helped the world in some way by helping it’s population of both humans and creatures of all kinds. The religious leaders that were taken were ones that preached love and caring and not ones that touted hate and killing. 

Suddenly the house was shook when the loudest, brightest flash of lightening yet rocked the world knocking me to the floor as I lost my balance. The brightness of the flash blinded me and I buried my face in the crook of my arm. For what seemed like an eternity I cowered against the cold tile floor waiting for it to end. My soul cried out for surely this must be the end of it all. After what felt like forever I became aware of a soft humming noise and I felt like I heard my name being called softly from what felt like far away. I got unsteadily to my feet and looked around me. I could have sworn the voice calling me had been my sister’s. I ran outside to try and find the voice.

Opening the front door I ran into the street only to be brought up short when I saw the chaos around me. The noise was incredible and I had to cover my ears with my hands. Cars were crashed into fences, trees and even houses. People were running around crazily with loud angry voices. I saw a big burly man kick in my neighbors door and go inside and then I heard screams and gun shots.  I grabbed my cellphone from my pocket and lifted it to dial 911 but there was no signal, no bars, no connection at all. The man came out of the house with a couple laptops under his arm and pillowcase bulging with items.  My heart was pounding in fear. What should I do? These people were crazy! He was walking down the sidewalk heading toward a car that was half parked on the front lawn with the engine idling when my neighbor Linda came out of the house with a gun in her hand. Before I knew what was happening, she pulled back the trigger and shot the man in the back. As the man collapsed face down in the sidewalk she ran over to him and grabbed the pillowcase and laptops from him and then hiked her foot back and kicked the man in the head and side several times. I screamed in surprise. She swerved around to look at me and I stood there with a shocked expression on my face. She set the bag down at her feet and slowly aimed the gun at me. Then she raised the gun to her lips in a shushing motion and then pointed it back to me and tilter her head in question like she was asking me if I understood. I took a step back and quickly shook my head yes in acknowledgement. With a satisfied nod of her head she reached down and picked up the bag and went back in the house and slammed the door behind her. I turned to look at the man she had shot and saw to my astonishment that he was not dead and was in fact slowly dragging himself along the sidewalk leaving a trail of blood behind him on the pavement. I raced over to him as he reached the car and pulled himself up into a standing position. I placed a hand on his shoulder and I asked him if I could help him. Turning around he sneered at me as he grabbed me by the front of my shirt and pulled me close to his face. Breathing foul fumes into my face the man growled at me to mind my own business before with a powerful shove of his arm he threw me backwards. I landed about 3 feet away in the grass and with the wind knocked out of me from the force of the fall I laid there a few moments trying to catch my breath. Trying to calm myself I raised my hands to cover my eyes and realized that my cheeks for wet from tears that were quietly running down my cheeks. I hadn’t even realized that I had been crying but the shock of everything was affecting me. 

That is when I heard my voice again, A soft humming whisper traveling on the wind. I slowly got to my feet and was almost drawn magnetically across my neighbors front yard and through gate that connected our back yards.  There standing on my back lawn was a 10ft tall tree like figure.  I gently approached this figure as I realized it was it that was humming my name.  I stopped about 5 feet away from it and stood staring up in amazement. I felt no fear whatsoever and in fact felt a overwhelming sense of calmness overtake me. 
Veronica, we have found you. We have come for you. It is time to go my child.” A humming sounded in the air emanating from the tree creature but surprisingly I knew what it was saying to me, I could feel the meaning in my heart and in my head.  “My name is Draíocht and I am from the race of EntsWe have come here to save the creatures and earth hearted people from destruction.”  

As he spoke to me he reached a branchlike arm out to me beckoning me to him. A bright flash of light and a boom of thunder sounded and a fissure began opening behind him. It slowly grew until it was the size of a doorway and I could see through it to a wonderfully glorious world. I looked at him in joy and reached out and grasped the end of one of his branches and followed him through the portal. The doorway closed behind us as we stepped into the beautiful dimension. My lungs filled with the cleanest air I had ever inhaled. 

We came for you earlier but did not see you.” Draíocht explained to me that the flashes of lightening were actually portals being opened as they came to rescue those that were pure hearted.  That he and his kinsmen had seen that our earth was on the verge of destruction and the believed that they needed to rescue those that they could. They chose people that dedicated their lives to trying to improve the old world and not create or contribute to the growing chaos and destruction. I looked around me in amazement. I can not even begin to describe all the beauty around me. Everything was pure and clean like I imagined that our earth had been millions of years ago. I turned to thank Draíocht for bringing me here. He smiled gently at me and nodded his great leafy head in acknowledgement.

I believe someone is waiting for you” he answered me indicating with a sweep of his arm to the field behind me. I looked in the direction that he was pointing and saw my sister Janet running toward me across the golden field. I cried out in happiness and started running toward her yelling her name as I did. We met in the middle of the field and threw ourselves into each other’s arms embracing. We hugged as tears of happiness streamed down our faces.

Dark and Stormy Night 2016 - danushaj - Tigerlily2110 - Silverbirch - Apelser - ScrapHappyGabi - Apelser


It was a dark and stormy night
danushaj
Round 1
It was a dark and stormy night.  I was wiping down the benches, the last of my customer’s had almost finished their meal, both had ordered my homemade delicious vanilla slice with a mug of flat white, including soy milk and 3 tsp simulated sweetener each.  Shudders.  How anyone could stomach soy milk in coffee, let alone with fake sugar to boot….. topped off with the sweet custardy goodness of Aunt Jessie’s (secret recipe) vanilla slice, I’ll never know.  Mine is not to question the order, I just make it and serve it. 

I just wish they would hurry up and leave, I should have locked up half an hour ago.  “Enough talking, more eating” I could hear my mum saying in my head, I subliminally was trying to project this phrase to them.  It must have worked, or it was my incessant huffing, but 5 minutes later, they got up to leave.  YAY!  I noticed the wind outside was picking up, fallen leaves from the autumn trees were swirling around the street outside.  Not wanting more cleaning with an entrance way full of water and leaves, I followed my customers to the shopfront and quickly locked the door behind them.  I clicked the lock, I sighed deeply as my back slumped against the door.  Oh boy, what a day, but little did I know what a night this would end up turning into! 

My small café “Express Ur Bean” was my pride and joy.  I purchased this tiny space just over a year and a half ago.  I wanted to escape the hustle and bustle of the big city nearby, I desperately needed a sea change.  My shop is situated at the end of the main street, in the centre of Sailsbury, a small town located along the south east coast of Australia.  For tourists, Sailsbury is best known for its working lighthouse and an old convict gaol.  Sailsbury is not huge, it is one of those, and everyone knows everyone, kind of places.  I discovered it while out driving one day.  I had a large cheque, which had just cleared from my recent divorce; I had a few dollars splurge on something FOR ME.  Express Ur Bean, my spur of the moment purchase, has become a favourite among locals as well as the tourist buses that stop by. 

Just as my thoughts were turning to a relaxing evening of me enjoying a bath with a nice glass of wine, there was a knock at the door.  I got such a fright as I was still leaning against it!!  I slowly turned and unlocked the door, when I opened it, I discovered the most surprising and unexpected visitor.

It was a Dark and Stormy Night
Round 2
Tigerlily2110
 It was the guy who lived a few doors away, looking very wet, bedraggled and scared out of his wits! 'You have to let me in,’ and he pushed past me into the hall. 'What is going on?' I asked, slightly disgruntled that he had pushed past me into my own café, when it was closed without being invited, even if he was a bit of a 'hottie'.  'The Bunyip! the Bunyip was in the garden looking at me', 'and then it came and looked in at the window, it smiled at me'.  With all thoughts of the bath and wine going out of my head, I grabbed my gun - not that it would do any good against an Australian mythical figure. (The Bunyip is an Aboriginal mystical creature of myths and legends that is supposed to dwell in swamps, creeks, billabongs and waterholes.)  The guy who had rudely invaded my evening, as was called Morgan, lived very close to the creek that skirted the back of the houses.  I have a gun ready in a hiding place in the café, just in case I get any 'undesirables', which doesn't happen too often. 

 'Where did it go? did you see?' I asked Morgan.  'Not sure, I legged it, and yours was the only place with a light on, so I came here first'.  So, with more bravado than bravery, I ventured out.  Nothing was stirring, not even the dog down the street that barks at everyone and everything.  In fact there was an eerie silence about the place, and it would have been deathly if not for the howling wind and teeming rain.  I skirted the houses, trying to keep to the dark areas, Morgan reluctantly bringing up the rear. I crept around the side of his house to be confronted with - nothing! Damn, I wish that I'd brought a torch. 

 As I was about to turn around to speak to Morgan, briefly, from behind a cloud the full moon came out and I caught sight of a shadow.  No! That could not be happening, it was not real.  The shadow that Morgan was casting was not human; it was in fact, the shadow of a Bunyip.  I slowly held the gun out and tried to back away, but I tripped over the edge of the patio and went sprawling, I must have it the back of my head because when I woke up, I was in a room that I'd never seen before, and I was lying on a couch that was not my own......

It was a Dark and Stormy Night R2????
Silverbirch (sorry for the tardiness!)
...The room was not what you'd expect after such a harrowing event. There was a bright, gleaming, airy feel to the space. It was modern, clean cut corners, rounded and tidy, neutral colours. I could tell the rhythm of my breathing had changed, my chest fluttered with the uneven breaths as I tried to keep my composure despite my intoxicating fear. I tried to maintain the illusion that I was still unconscious. As I surveyed the lines of the room, quietly, and as still as I could, the silhouette of thin white bars on the bright windows caught my eyes through sheer curtains. I could hear the sound of wind in the trees and birds on par with us. We must have been high on a hill. The room was uncomfortably humid, so much so that dew condensed on the surfaces of the room, mirroring reflections all around. ...What little there was to reflect anyway. So far the only object other than your very basic furniture (the white couch I was on, and a cold marble coffee table in front of me) was an oversized aquarium containing a single fish in murky water. A fish I had never seen before. One that didn't even seem of this world.

I could hear a sink running in a connecting room and the delicate clinking of china teacups. Morgan entered the room and placed the dish in front of me on the table. There was a cup of wine, and a slice of Aunt Jessie's Vanilla slice, messily filling the plate. Morgan was in the same wet clothes; and despite the humidity his skin looked dry and about to crack. I knew he knew I was awake. My eyes met with his, green baubles reflecting light, fine tuned for lurking. Black inky lines cutting them straight down from top to bottom. Morgan’s body was here, but he certainly wasn't....at least, not anymore.

It was a dark and stormy night
Round 3
Apelser
I knew I should, but I couldn’t tear my eyes away from his gaze. It was as if the eyes hypnotized me so that I couldn’t look away and he knew that. It was as if I was feeling myself getting lost in the eyes. It pulled me in and there was no escape. I jolted back to reality as Morgan turned away. I sat up and blinked my eyes a few times.

“I am sorry that I scared you last night. I really didn’t mean for you to get such a fright. The last thing I want is for you to get hurt,” he said with his back still turned to me. I was trying to clear my head to find something to say. “Oh,” was all I muttered and the instant it was said I got upset with myself. Of all the things I could say, how can I only think of saying that. What was I thinking? Am I a complete idiot? I should tell him exactly what I think of him, that he has to let me go, that he can be lucky that I didn’t shoot him last night. Mind you, where was my gun? Well, it is useless to think that he will have left it anywhere close to me…… “Why are you keeping me here? What are you going to do with me? Where am I? I should have shot you last night,” I started mumbling. “You don’t have to be afraid, I won’t hurt you. I understand that you are in shock. I am grateful that you didn’t shoot me last night and yes, I didn’t leave the gun anywhere close by. I don’t like guns,” he said turning around and looking at me all the while talking to me. But it was strange……

As I looked at him…..I could hear his voice…..not in my head……no it was as clear as the wind in the trees and the birds outside. His mouth didn’t move and his eyes remained cold and distant. He must have seen the puzzled look on my face as his armed moved and pointed to the fish in the murky water. I looked at the fish for some time before I realized that Morgan has left the room, yet his voice still remained…..his voice were actually coming……..Morgan’s voice were coming from the ……..aquarium, from the weird fish. But how…….. 

It was a dark and stormy night...
Round 4
ScrapHappyGabi

I looked closer, the fish.. Was it even a fish? Surely it was, but unlike anything I could ever imagine. The voice... was I in a trance? I blinked several times hoping that I would wake from this dream but soon realised I was here in the now and this was no dream. The "fish" in the tank, not 2 minutes earlier had appeared to grow 15 cm! As long as it was daylight I felt I still had a chance. What did it want with us? What had it done to Morgan? Wait. I stood recalling the change in Morgan's demeanour and his eyes... looked so cat-like. What had it done to him? Was I truly hearing Morgan's voice coming from the creature in the tank? I stood and though for a few minutes before it came to me. Couldn't be. I glanced into the tank once again and right before my eyes it seemed that the 'fish-thing' had grown another 5 cm!!
I wanted out of there. I tried the door and it was locked. There were bars over the windows but I knew it there were still several hours until dark. I was bound and determined to get out of there. This 'thing' was the cause of all of this chaos. It was using Morgan as a vessel, but for what? 

It reminded me of the fabled Bunyip but tiny in comparison, after all... those were huge, right? 

I sat on the couch, buried my head in my hands and thought real hard about the next steps I would take.

It was a dark and stormy night Round 5
Apelser

How do I seem to always end up in weird and strange situations? “I am not planning on hurting you. You are the only one who can put an end to this and who can undo what has been done. There are still a few hours before dusk. You need to remember…….you need to undo what your ancestors has done…..” the fish said. I just couldn’t comprehend what the creature was telling me. What on earth was it saying? What ancestors was he talking about? Remember what………what was going on? Surely this was some kind of nightmare and I would be waking up soon…..and I will be laughing at this and………..Ouch….wait….if I was asleep and having a nightmare…… would I have felt that…….I looked down at my hand and saw the blood on my finger tip. I actually pinched myself so hard that I opened up the cut on my finger which has been healing quite well. I looked up and saw Morgan walking towards me holding a kitchen towel out to me. I took it and looked up at him, into his eyes. The green baubles reflecting light with the black inky lines cutting them straight down from top to bottom looked back at me.  I turned to look at the fish and for the first time I noticed its eyes. It had……….human eyes. How could a fish have human eyes? How could a fish talk…..and grow?

Nothing made sense to me. Then it started…….I started feeling weird…as if I was starting to get dizzy. I looked at the fish again. “Remember…….remember…” it kept on saying. Something strange was happening. I felt lightheaded and my hands and feet started tingling. All kinds of images started flooding my mind. None of them made sense however. It was as if I was in someone else’s dream or rather nightmare. I saw a hill…….a cottage…..this place…….people arguing……..flashes of lightning……..screams………thunder…….a loud cracking sound……..cold……..then……..I remembered.

I could feel someone picking me up and holding me. The coldness was replaced by warmth. The arms around me made me feel safe. Slowly I opened my eyes. Looking back at me was Morgan. “Hey you!  You gave me quiet a fright there! What on earth happened?” he asked. He slowly helped me up. My head was sore as if I got a major whack on it. Morgan helped me to the nearest seat. “Now I remember,” I said. Morgan held my hand as I sat down on the chair. “There were two customers here that took forever to finish and when they eventually did I was locking up the front door. There was a knock at the door and as I was opening it up the wind gushed in, pulling the door out of my grip and slammed it against me, hitting me against the head and then I must have fainted.”

“I’m sorry, I knocked and when you opened the door, before I could react there was a sudden gust of wind that came past me pushing the door open and that was when it hit you on the head. I should have tried holding the door,” Morgan said looking very apologetically up at me. “I was on my way to come and fetch you. You shouldn’t be walking home alone in this terrible storm. Who know what is lurking out there? The last thing I wanted was for you to get hurt.” He smiled up at me as he was sitting in front of me, still holding my hands in his. I felt so safe. This man was making me feel safe, something I haven’t felt in a long time. I looked into his eyes and noticed what lovely eyes he had.

Outside unbeknownst to us, we were being watched by a figure which slowly faded away into the wind.