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Dreams in Red



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Mon Sep 12, 2011 11:59 pm
zencherry says...



Spoiler! :
Thanks so much for reading! I think this will be an introduction to a story...so, please critique!


I was in a classroom with black and white checkered walls, and a dark green chalk board. The walls were shiny, and reflective like a mirror. I noticed that some of the white tiles were slowly turning red…I looked down. I was sitting in a pool of dark blood. The blood was rising rapidly, where was this coming from?

Everything was in slow motion…the blood made elegant waves and splashed against the walls in thick drops of wine colored tears. Suddenly, a wave of warm blood slapped my face. I looked to my side slowly, and saw the source of the ocean of blood. Children were being slaughtered. There figures were blurry and vague, and I could not see how they were being tortured, or whom by. I felt a slow rush of adrenalin and fear washing over me as I realized that I too would be slaughtered. I glanced behind me, seeing a messy pile of desks pushed in to a corner.

The blood was half way to my knees. I got up, and tried to sprint through the heavy waves of blood. I was half way to the desks when I heard an earth shattering scream. Swiveling around, I saw a girl about my age, running. Time seemed to be getting faster, not so painfully slow.

The girl had a deep gash at her side that bled obnoxiously. You could see the pain in her eyes, as she ran from her murderer. Her long, dark hair dripped with blood as she looked behind her with terror. Suddenly, she began to fall…time slowed and her desperate screams echoed in sharp blades that tore through reality.

I squeezed my eyes shut and held my breath, fearing for the girl immensely. Her screams suddenly seemed to be inside me, echoing through me trying to escape. I opened my eyes as my body became enveloped in warmth. Everything was dark red…I was immersed in blood. Time fastened, almost to normality. I tore through the blood in panic, deeply inhaling the taste of blood.

The screaming stopped, and then quickly began again from a distance. I searched for the agonizing sound. I saw the girl, with the long dark hair…screaming and weakly pointing to a vague direction. I tried to stand up, my legs piercing with pain. The girl started to run towards me, her face contorting into a sob.

The girl held me tightly and pointed to the side.

I saw a mirror…I saw myself, with a knife.
Happiness is not the absence of conflict, but the ability to cope with it.
  





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Tue Sep 13, 2011 12:15 am
Cailey says...



Wow! Very dark and creepy! Was this a real nightmare? I have a few nitpicks, but not much. First, you wrote there where you should have had their. And you separeted the word into. I didn't catch any other mistakes, but I wasn't being too careful. At the beginning I feel you could have done more with showing instead of telling. Don't just say there was blood. Give us a bit more description. Just not too much, or else it would just be too gory and disturbing. I liked all your references to time speeding up and slowing down. It added a nice touch. the ending was great, way to turn it even more scary than it was. I just think you could do a bit more, rather than having this all so blunt. However, it's well written and well thought out. Good job, and keep writing!
A non-writing writer is a monster courting insanity. -Kafka

Look: A Link! https://caijobetweenthepages.wordpress.com/
  





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Tue Sep 13, 2011 12:22 am
callmeike says...



I like it a lot! You gave very good description and i really enjoyed reading it. I only have a few things to say.
I feel that you used the word "Blood" a bit too much. I would try to use a synonym of some sort like the crimson liquid, or something of that sort. But other than that I really like your piece!!
Please keep writing!!
  





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Wed Sep 14, 2011 10:34 pm
zencherry says...



Thanks so much for the reviews! Yes, this story was loosely based on a real nightmare that my step mother had...I really liked it, so I built to it and changed it a bit.
Happiness is not the absence of conflict, but the ability to cope with it.
  





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Thu Sep 15, 2011 10:24 am
dhanshucool says...



Hey there!
It was really creepy. Your descriptions are really good. I got the feel of real nightmare. Especially the time speeding up and slowing down part was good. The end was really amazing..
Inshort we can say, 'WOW' :)
Really good piece of work. Keep writing. All the best...
Cheers !
-Dan
  





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Fri Sep 16, 2011 1:58 pm
sargsauce says...



The descriptions are good and thorough, but it often feels like you're describing the same thing or the same kinds of actions, that it begins to feel redundant and like we're treading over the same ground.
the blood made elegant waves and splashed...a wave of warm blood slapped my face

Everything was in slow motion...Time seemed to be getting faster...time slowed ...Time fastened, almost to normality

I heard an earth shattering scream...her desperate screams echoed...Her screams suddenly seemed to be inside me, echoing through me...The screaming stopped...quickly began again ...screaming and weakly pointing

You know what I mean? Half of the story is just recycled bits about how the blood moves, or how time moves, or how the girl screams.

There figures were blurry

Should be "Their figures were blurry." "Their" is possessive. "There" is a location.

adrenalin

"adrenaline" is the correct spelling.

pushed in to a corner.

"pushed into a corner"

I was half way to the desks

"halfway" is one word. And why is the narrator headed to the desks?

The girl had a deep gash at her side that bled obnoxiously.

Are you using the archaic definition of obnoxious in that it was "exposed to something unpleasant or harmful"? Because no one knows that definition, and instead we think you mean that you're annoyed that she's bleeding...which just sounds weird.

Suddenly, she began to fall

The word "suddenly" is abused here. Just say she stumbled or something.

her desperate screams echoed in sharp blades that tore through reality.

This wording here evokes little. There's nothing to feel or sense from this...just some abstract words that kind of fall dead.

fearing for the girl immensely.

Lose the "immensely." It's unnecessary.

Time fastened, almost to normality

Contrary to usage, "fasten" doesn't mean "to become faster" but to "secure together." Quicken? Sped up? Hasten, even? All of those mean an increase in speed.
Also "normal" instead of "normality" will do.

The screaming stopped, and then quickly began again from a distance.

This just seems...unnecessary. "It stopped. Then it started again."

my legs piercing with pain

They are? I never would have known until you told me here.

I was immersed in blood. Time fastened, almost to normality. I tore through the blood in panic, deeply inhaling the taste of blood.

There sure is a lot of blood...

Anyways. Overall, proofread and spice up the language some. And if you've already described something once, don't feel the need to describe it again just to reinforce the mood. And cut out some trite phrases like "tear through reality."
  





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Sat Sep 17, 2011 6:55 pm
zencherry says...



Thanks so much for the review! I am posting a slightly edited of this story in the Sci-fi category of short stories soon.
Happiness is not the absence of conflict, but the ability to cope with it.
  








Think of all the beauty still left around you, and smile.
— Anne Frank