Three Words: Teeth, Raw, Blood
Theme: Anything. Be unique.
Rules:
- This is a short story contest. There is no word limit, feel free to write any amount you want, but no chapters.
- There can be violence.
- There can be romance.
- ANY GENRE IS ALLOWED! MESS AROUND! VENTURE!
- Don't stress. This is supposed to be fun.
- Have fun! Remember to keep the theme around the three words.
Prizes
1st Place - 600 Points + 2 Reviews
2nd Place - 400 Points + 1 Review
3rd Place - 200 Points
Submissions: Due October 1st (Thursday)
~ Giving more time due to events.
Third Challenge: Teeth, Raw, Blood
6 posts in this topic.
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Jace awoke in the darkest part of the woods, panting and trembling. How had he got here, he wondered to himself, trying to recall something, anything, about how he had been cut off from the others, trapped in this horrible game.
The last thing he remembered before passing out was his half brother, Alistair, holding his hand out to him to make some sort of deal. After all, the others were pretty much dying, and the son of Lucifer had to prevent them from harm.
As he looked around the clearing he had arrived in, he heard a strange noise behind him, like some sort of laugh. Jace turned around with clenched fists to be met with the piercing magenta-and-black eyes of his older brother. Alistair crossed his suit-clad arms and smirked, showing off his fangs.
"Long time no see, brother of mine," Alistair purred, his faint Polish accent just barely audible. He crossed the clearing and hung one arm around Jace's tense shoulder.
"What can I do for ya?"
Jace furrowed his eyebrows in irritation. "You know what I want. Just save Ray and Ruby," he growled to his brother.
Alistair let go of his shoulder and gave a little tsk- sound.
"Oh, Jacey, such a softie. Never could figure out why Father took such a liking to you."
At that Jace looked away. "Will you do it or not, Al?"
Alistair sighed, then nodded. "Fine. But first," he paused,
"You have to do the ritual."
Jace tensed, then nodded. "Alright, just promise me you won't do anything to hurt them."
Alistair grinned, then shook his brother's hand. Just like that, the deal was signed, and the ritual began.
It started with Alistair changing his form to that of a small deer. Jace closed his eyes, dreading what came next. Hesitantly, he tapped into the demonic energy he had stored inside him and let that side take control.
Jace felt his eyes tingle, knowing that they were now fully black. His canine teeth grew to fangs, and a raw, primal instinct surged through him. As he neared the deer, he mumbled a Polish proverb before attacking.
The whole process was horrible as always. He felt the creature's life source draining away as he let his inner demon loose, felt the blood on his teeth and heard its pained screams until finally it was over, and he sat there, in human form, tears streaming down his cheeks.
Each time it got stronger. Each time it hurt a little less.
Each time, he left more terrified of himself.
Jace took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and passed out.
When Jace awoke, he was with his friends, and Alistair. He shook hands with his brother, and the deal was done. His friends were safe for the time being.
But for him, it was only temporary. -
A bit long, but I wanted to give it a quality ending. Or... at least as quality as I could think of.
Spoiler
Billie knelt to the forest floor as she tucked a stray hair behind her ear. She pressed her slight fingers into the soft ground. There was a shallow imprint on the ground, nearly unrecognizable given the leaves pressed inside, though she would know it anywhere. Had she been doing this for the first time, she would have found no sign of what had been here. But this wasn't her first time.
Her sharp silver eyes glanced around, taking note of the slight signs of life passing through the woods. Scuffed moss, broken twigs, shattered cobwebs swinging idly in the wind. This was all it took her to know which way it went. She straightened, and crept forward.
The hairs rose on the back of her neck in an unpleasant way. The sixth sense that everyone has, the kind that tells you that something is wrong. She rested her hand on the hilt of her sword. In one smooth movement, she withdrew it from the leather cuff hanging from her hip, turning around.
She gave an annoyed sigh through her nose. It was a small grey rabbit, having been drawn out of whatever hole it lived in. Probably by the fleigh running through her veins. Nature magic. She was lacking the talent of magic, however. She was a half-blood. She holstered her sword, and continued her journey.
Her ears picked up all the woods, immediately deducing what they were. The scrabbling of leaves on the ground was from the slight hooves of a deer. The scratching on the tree trunks were either a squirrel, or a blue jay. Hard to tell with those. Her attention was then attracted by a seemingly normal creek.
It looked like it had dried up, but she knew better. In the off chance that humans hiked through here, they wouldn't have given it a second glance. Billie could tell immediately that the creek was made by a tail dragging through mud.
She sniffed. It was close. The air was tinged with a metallic scent, like that of the inside of an automobile shop. She could practically see the magic wafting through the air, coming from one general direction. This wasn't the scent she was expecting, however.
Billie frowned, and absently let her hand stray to the glass flask on her hip. It was filled with a clear liquid, though there were small bubbles rising toward the top. The telltale signs of a fire potion. She frowned. She had brought it with her in case the worst happened. Billie loved the thrill of her job, but she didn't like the repercussions if she made a mistake. Death. The one irreversible lesson, and she would avoid it at all costs. She readied her sword, and followed the scent.
She stopped at the front of the cave, and halted. Dragon hunting 101: never enter a dragon's cave. It's like waiting in a corner with a murderer on your heels. However, this dragon was much hated by her village, and she would surely get a few pretty pennies by hunting down the beast. She crept into the cave.
Billie's hands tightened on the familiar leather grip of the sword. She had slain more dragons than she could count. Yet, this one made her uneasy. She squinted her eyes in the darkness, and saw it.
Its scales were the color of polished steel, glinting ominously in the small slivers of sunlight. Its teeth were whiter than snow, despite the smell of rotting corpses of animals, and the dried blood on the ground. Its claws were as lethal as meat hooks, and it smelled like an oncoming storm.
Billie let out an accidental gasp. The dragon's eye flickered open, casting her in yellow light. It sprung in her direction. She lurched to the side, scraping her bare arm on the side of the cave. It felt raw. She didn't take even a minute to examine it, however. She pushed herself away from the wall. She only had time to ready her sword before her middle was pierced with hundreds of small, sharp teeth.
Pain. Searing pain. She dropped her sword. She heard something scream. A woman, though there was no one else in the cave. She clattered in her armor as she was dropped to the ground. She cried out. The dragon picked her up again, and tossed her in the air. She would have given anything to die. Anything, to escape the pain. The banging as she impacted the cave ceiling.
Again, again, and again she was tossed around. The dragon seemed to be playing some sort of sickening game of fetch. Finally, it let her lay on the floor, blood pouring out of her armor. It crouched down, watching her bleed to death. Watching the life ebb out of her.
She could feel it go away. The bit of light in her eyes dimmed, and her breathing slowed. She had finally given the only thing she had. The trade of justice. Her life, for the peace of death. And despite what she had originally thought, she welcomed it.
-
This one's fairly graphic, but I had fun writing itand slipping things into the writing.
Spoiler
Amy's glass was refilled once more. Even though it was only half empty, Chad kept insisting on having it refilled. Even though this was their first date, he seemed to have taken control of the entire thing. Amy picked at the salad that he had ordered for her, trying to take her mind off of his incessant talking. How he was this and that, and how he had met so-and-so at some club. He was still talking, going on and on about something. She couldn't care less. She tried to keep her eyes on him to make it seem like she was paying attention, but it was harder than he'd expected. That one piece of something green that she had been too polite to point out stayed in between his teeth, simultaneously drawing her gaze and disgusting her.
The waiter returned, and Amy was overjoyed to have something else to pay attention to. She watched as a massive steak was placed in front of Chad, the lightly browned outside of it still sizzling. The waiter left again, and she stared lazily as Chad cut off a piece of the steak and began to eat. After a few moments, Chad spat the piece out directly on the once pristine white tablecloth and called the waiter over angrily.
“Is there a problem sir?” the waiter asked nervously. Judging by his posture and hurried gait, Amy guessed that he was fairly new here.
“Do you expect me to eat this?” Chad barked angrily. “The whole damn thing is raw. It's practically bleeding all over the plate!”
“I believe you ordered a rare steak, sir...”
“It's too rare. Send it back and do it all over again.”
The poor waiter apologized profusely and took the plate back, hurrying to the kitchen. Chad leaned back in his chair and fumed.
“Can you believe that guy? He serves me some trash and then doesn't even clean up the tablecloth. I'm not going to tip him for that.”
Amy made a noncommittal grunt and looked down at her plate again. She was getting fed up with his antics. Then, deliverance came. Her phone beeped, and an automated text from her cellphone provider arrived.
“It's from my sister,” Amy told him. “There's an emergency at home and I need to get over there.” She started to dial a cab, but Chad practically pounced on her phone.
“There's no need for that,” he said. “I can drive you home.” Chad grinned, and the detestable piece of green stared at her from its spot in his teeth. Amy didn't care anymore, she was happy it was over. If sitting for a few minutes in a car with him meant her getting out of there early, she'd take it.
They walked out of the restaurant and headed towards the car. As Amy reached for the door, Chad grabbed her arm and turned her around.
“You know,” he began, “We didn't finish the date off right. How about a little something before you go?”
He leaned in closer, putting one hand on the car and trapping her in between. He drew his head so close that she could feel his breath on her face, and she closed the gap.
The dimly lit parking lot was filled with a pained scream as Amy sunk her teeth into Chad's neck. He collapsed to the floor, one hand covering up the hole that matched what Amy had in her mouth. His blood began to drip from his hands, slowly pouring out on the asphalt as Amy leaped in for another mouthful. It was raw, just the way she liked it. -
Spoiler
I stare at the playground, and can’t understand why I feel so pulled to it. Today, it is empty, its plastic slides bare, and I know if I slid down it its surface it would chill the exposed backs of my legs. A breeze quietly sways the old metal swings back and forth, and the gray sky overhead threatens rain, or maybe even snow. I look at the sky, and think of my childhood. I remember the playground.
I sit beneath the Big Toy, the only place where it is shady and quiet, fiddling with the mulch that covers the cement. I’m building a castle, just like the one I’ll live in someday. The sun filters down through the floor of Big Toy, making shadows on the ground that remind me of the ones cast by leaves in the forest behind my house. Distracted, I trace my hand over the bumps and around the shadows. The sound of the other children echoes in my ears, but means nothing to me. I am in my own world now.
Suddenly, a foot smashes through my castle, breaking me from my reverie. I look up, blinking as the sun that is still filtering through the Big Toy gets in my eyes, harsher than I remember.
“Hey queer,” says Rob with a sneer. He was back again. I look into his eyes for another moment, trying to discern what he wants, but seeing nothing with the sun cutting into my eyes. Quietly, I look back down at the ground, and start to fiddle with the pieces of my ruined castle. I’m doing what Mommy says. Ignore them and they’ll go away. Ignore them ignore them ignore them ignore them and they’ll go away ignore them ignore ignore ignore ig-
Again, the mulch castle I had been trying to repair is crushed, and I look up expectantly.
“Hey, we were talking to you,” says Tyler from his place next to Rob. “It’s rude not to look at people when they talk to you. Didn’t your mommies teach you that?” Maybe I should do what Meema says. She told me next time they bother me to punch one of them right in the gut. Or both of them, that would be better, she had said. Margaret! Mommy had yelled at her, with a little laugh that made me laugh. Is that how you want our daughter to behave? Mommy pulled me in tight for a hug, as if to protect me from Meema, which made us all laugh even harder. Then Meema came in too, to hug us both, and we were all just a giggling mess of happiness, and I could smell the curry from dinner on Meema and the perfume from work on Mommy, and it smelled like home.
“Didn’t you hear him? We’re TALKING to you!” Rob says, this time nudging me in the shin with his foot. I back up, and feel the hot metal of one of the Big Toy bars against my back, it’s hardness comforting. “Why are you so rude? Maybe we should teach her how to be nice,” Rob continues.
“I’m not a girl,” I respond, almost automatically. As soon as I say it, I’m sorry I spoke.
“What was that? You think you’re not a girl?” Tyler says, laughing. “If you’re not a girl, then why are you under here making castles?” Tyler kicks the mulch mound that I had been playing with so happily before they had interrupted.
“Yeah,” Rob says with a snigger, and his eyes light up with an idea. He glances over to Tyler for a second and then turns back to me, saying, “If you’re not a girl come prove it to us.”
“What?” I say, confused.
Tyler’s eyes light up now too. “Yeah, come show us what you’ve got, Paulina.” Tyler puts his fists up and starts jumping backwards and forwards. My stomach feels as if something has come alive inside it. They want to fight me. No. They know I can’t fight. They want to hurt me.
“No,” I say, and start to stand up. “I’ll tell-”
Tyler steps forward, blocking me, and pushes me back into the pole. It doesn’t hurt, but now it seems more dangerous than before. Like a weapon. “You’re not telling anyone,” he says, sneering again. “Boys don’t tell. They fight. Girls tell. Girls need help. Do you need help, Paulina?” Tyler is stepping towards me, and I’m pressed against the bar again now, nowhere to go. Rob stands beside Tyler, looking at him and I with as if he were watching his favorite episode of SpongeBob.
“I-I-I’m not…” I try to talk, but I can’t. My mouth isn’t working. How am I supposed to use my words if my mouth’s not working?
“Aw, look, she can’t even talk!” Rob says.
I look up at him again, and then back to Tyler. They smile, but not in a nice way. Not in the way smiles are supposed to be. “My name is Paul,” I whisper, and shut my eyes.
Then he punches me, right in the face, like I’d been afraid of since they had walked in. I feel each of his knuckles as he hits me in the mouth, and I think wow, I’ve never had a knuckle sandwich before, I’m not a fan, but it’s not funny, because it hurts. Then his fist is gone, and my mouth stings and aches at the same time, and with every beat of my heart it aches again, and it feels like when his fist left my mouth it took something with it. I stand with my eyes closed and wait for another punch, for more pain. I count to sixty, one-mississippi-two-mississippi-three, just the way they tell us to when we’re waiting our turn for the tire swing. But then I’m done counting, and there is no new pain, and I breathe for a minute, and then I open my eyes. I don’t look up, because I know that Tyler and Rob will be gone by now, laughing on the other side of the playground. I open my eyes and look down, and I see what I knew I’d see. Two little white dots amid the tan of the mulch. I crouch down, hugging my knees. The bell rings, and I know recess is over, but I don’t move. I let tears roll down my cheeks and soak the knees of my jeans, and I sob, so loudly I can almost drown out the pain, so loudly I can’t hear the shouts of the teachers telling me to come in. I cry, and I cry, and then a hand is on my shoulder, and an arm is around me, and I am taken inside.
I stare at the playground, and for a moment, I hate it, I hate it with every fiber of my being, I hate this town and all the people who ever lived in it, I hate the memory of the copper taste of blood, of teeth covered in dirt, of the raw feeling of the holes where they should have been. But then I look again at the playground. It is empty, and suddenly so am I, all the pain flooding out of me. I am not that anymore. I am not a sobbing little girl-boy, or a dreaming little kid. I am just me, and I am free. I turn away from the playground, and without looking back, I walk down the street. -
Rwen walked through the dark woods. The tall pines whispered eerie secrets to her about the darkness. She shuddered as she progressed on. The full moon floated like an anonymous silver disk and the stars were blocked out by smoky clouds. It was enough to make her run. To make her run from the creatures she was seeking for she was not here by choice. Fear gripped her throat. The thought that something was lurking in the shadows was picking away her sanity. Rwen would find them soon, the ones that beckoned.
Rwen's flannel shirt was caught and tugged by the icy winds. They pulled her away from her destination as if even they knew the dangers of her fulfilling the monstrous wishes. The axe's blade in her delicate bird-like hand caught the misty rays of the full moon. Her hiker boots made small imprints on the dirt trail. She rounded a large pine and a peaceful cabin came into view. Peaceful, but only for a while.
Rwen stared with fearful, large green eyes at the shadow in the window. Taking one last gulp, she began to creep through the bushes to fulfill her destiny. Her black locks were full of leaves and twigs by the time she reached the back entrance. She gripped the axe handle with all the strength in her tiny body. Shakily, her hand gripped the brassy knob. She gave a slight push and the door submitted. It creaked open and she felt that it had given her away, but no man came to see. Rwen tip toed through the back room. Everything was dark and spooky. A feeling of unsureness made goose bumps rise on her pale skin. She grip the handle of her deadly weapon to try and calm herself. Through the kitchen she crept silently. Her sharp eyes spotted guns setting against the walls and traps on the shelves. Hides of every color and size were stretched out everywhere. A skull sat on a bookshelf. It was no ordinary skull. Chills shot down her spine.
Rwen looked into the living room. A cheery fire crackled in a brick fireplace. A large chair sat in front of it. In the chair was a man. A huge man. Rwen's tiny body began to tremble. The oily voice of the one who sent her flooded her mind.
'You will die...if he does not.'
Rwen's breath quickened. She wet her dried lips with her tongue. She advanced towards the chair. Lifting her axe above her head, she reconsidered for a minute. Then the thought of the monster rushed back and in a frenzy of fear and anger her axe fell, with great force, on the man's head. The sound of the skull splitting sickened her. Suddenly, a shriek sounded from behind. Rwen whirled around to see a woman in a robe holding a gun. Tears poured down her face as she aimed the gun for Rwen's head. Rwen fell back against the chair and at the last second, a black shadowy creature zipped into the room. Rwen shut her eyes and heard screams of terror. When the commotion had stopped, she opened her eyes. Rwen gasped. The woman lay on the floor, lifeless. Blood splattered all around her. She lay disemboweled on the wooden floor. Rwen yanked the axe out of the man's head. Blood splattered on her face and droplets ran down over her fingers. Rwen looked around wildly. They were here. She breathed heavily, trying to cope with her fear.
In one moment, the room was flooded with wolves howls and shadows. Before she knew it, she was out in the cold wind, standing before an unearthly large beast. The beast was white and resembled a wolf. It's teeth dripped blood and it's eyes shone mystical blue. It breathed heavily, towering over her. Wolves in a spirit like form danced around behind the beast.
Rwen covered her head with her raw, bloody arms.
"I DID WHAT YOU ASKED!" She screeched.
"Yes," the beast growled. "Now you will become one of us."
Rwen screamed bloody murder as a shadowy figure dashed at her. It flooded her body. She began to transform into a large black wolf. She felt her body being taken over. She was no longer in control but she was there. The wolf looked up with submissive green eyes.
The beast grinned wickedly. "I will not stop till all my souls have a body."
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