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Young Writers Society


16+ Violence

One night in London....

by TheShauzer


Warning: This work has been rated 16+ for violence.

It was a cold
night, December 12th in London. The winter had well
settled in, and it had its icy grip tight on England’s capital.
At midnight people congregated in pubs, their places of worship,
warming their bellies with bottles upon bottles of luke warm beer.
The orange lantern glow shone out from the pubs’ windows and
lit up the quiet streets outside. Not that it mattered; the only
people to be seen on those streets at midnight were either drunk or
stupid – a home-grown Londoner knew well to steer clear of the
streets that had produced Jack the Ripper and inspired Sherlock
Holmes. A home-grown Londoner knew well to stay indoors with his or
her mates. But on December 12th in London one person
roamed those streets oblivious to the dangers and promises of death
it held, a strange woman, a foreigner, an easy target. One thing she
was not was a home-grown Londoner. She shuffled quietly from building
to building, unsure of which to enter. She was there by herself, her
fiancée neglecting to come on yet another business trip with
her. She didn’t mind much; she was a busy woman and had
surprised her old-fashioned parents just by landing a steady
relationship in the first place. And to land such a nice fellow, with
his good humour and his sea-blue eyes… She missed him so, and
as her fingers gave up any resistance to the cold and began to turn
blue as she thought of him.
	This woman wore a bright blue
beanie hat with speckles of snow, she wore the heaviest coat money
could buy her and she wore her own ski-pants from back home,
California. Back home had been better, there was no cold there. Sure
the people were nicer in London; they had posh, seductive accents to
win over any tourist and they dressed smartly and tidily with old
suits and little dickey bows. But the woman lost any positive
feelings for England as soon as the cold began to seep into her
bones. She now knew how Adolf Hitler’s soldiers felt when they
delved deep into the heart of Russia, and it was a feeling she’d
never had the intention of experiencing. Then, forced down by the
ever-thickening waves of snow and the bitter cold, she hugged her
knees and leaned back against the brick wall of a popular pub called
‘Wolfhound’s Way’. The snow didn’t soak
through her ski-pants but it did freeze her, and it brought back
memories of her older cousins shoving ice-pops down her back. Martha
and Matilda, the ugly little sisters, the pair of scoundrels who
never seemed to be actually caught in the act of mischief, “Oh,
how they frustrated me…” The woman reminisced, and with
her brain occupied by old memories – childhood memories, the
snow thickened to the point where she could see no more than a foot
ahead of her.
	And even with her eyes open she had
no hope of making out the black shape as it emerged from the alley at
the opposite side of the street. She had no hope of hearing its
footsteps as they fell as silently as the snowflakes and sank into
the snow beneath. No, on a cold night, December 12th in
London, just around midnight, the only thing that woman felt was a
sharp pinch and then a rough tearing as the Stanley knife ripped her
throat open. Her eyes bulged from their sockets and her tongue lolled
but there was no doubt in her mind that she would die. She laid back
against the brick wall of ‘Wolfhound’s Way’ and
struggled desperately for breath as it escaped through her open
throat, watched by her proud attacker. Blood leaked out onto the snow
and dwelled there, heavy and morbid. The woman’s last gargles
as she clutched desperately at the opening, the opening that was not
supposed to be there, were not heard. And as the home-grown Londoners
who knew well to steer clear of the shady London streets squatted
safe and sound in their pubs, the last of the woman’s life
faded from her, leaving just an empty shell of a human, a limp and
useless body. Into the night her murderer fled, his steps falling
just as silently as before and his figure clouded by the snow –
and he laughed.


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1417 Reviews


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Sun Mar 30, 2014 10:44 pm
Noelle wrote a review...



Hi there! Noelle here for a Review Day review!

I noticed that this story has a different layout. I guess that's just how you copied it from wherever you had it on your computer. That's not really something to be worried about.

What I have to say about this is it definitely grossed me out. Whether it was particularly horrific, I can't say. It just seemed like a small scene of a woman getting murdered far from home.

You did do a good job with your description though. That's what really grossed me out. At the end when you described the woman trying to breathe despite her slit throat, I was squirming in my seat! You might not have terrified me, but you definitely made me uncomfortable.

As to how you could make this a little better, well, I have some ideas. But keep in mind I'm not a expert at all with horror fiction. In fact, everything I write that's supposed to be scary is not. So take my suggestions with a grain of salt.

I think if you add in another story about someone getting killed the same way would definitely effect the ending. Or maybe have the people in the buildings pounding on the windows and screaming at her to get inside. Something that could foreshadow the danger that is to come.

This was a well written story. And I don't want you to think that's it's not good! It just could be a bit better, like all good writing can be!

Keep writing!
**Noelle**




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229 Reviews


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Tue Mar 04, 2014 9:30 pm
SushiSashimi333 wrote a review...



So you requested a review, so I must aquiesce to your request ^^ (always wanted to use that line XD) Warning, I'm fairly harsh and very picky, you have been warned O_O

I really liked how you mentioned Jack the Ripper in the beginning of your piece. Pretty much everyone knows his story, so it's a good allusion to use, plus it adds the feeling of danger quickly closing in. That's the perfect way to start the mood if you ask me.

Using the girl's clothes to kind of give the reader an idea of the time this takes place was also an ingenius way of doing things. Never would have thought of that, so congrats. Now this was only the easy part, here comes the critique.

You need to work on your flow. I'm mean, it's pretty okay, but if you read it aloud you'll find that it doesn't flow well in the minds of your readers. You need to do some rearranging of commas and periods, and the strange setup doesn't really help. The font choice was cool, but the line breaks were really weird. If it's trouble with formatting, then ignore that :P Also when you talk, sometimes you're too obvious. Show and don't tell.

Okay, add a ton more imagery when she dies. Everything. Make it gross and gruesome and mysterious still at the same time. That way the reader forgets this isn't happening to them and they grimace and have to make sure they didn't just get their throat slit. Personally I think it should be way bloodier, if you compare to Jack the Ripper it should definitely be more than a slitting of the throat.

Other than that this was pretty good! There were probably other things, but those were the real major points that stuck out to me ^^ Hope this helps you!

Sushi :D




TheShauzer says...


Thanks :) Thinking about what you said I agree with the slitting of the throat, should be more descriptive. I was reading a lot of Stephen King when I wrote this, don't usually go for murder stories :D Anything you'd like me to review? TS





Um, Devil Touch would be nice, although I am going to give it a complete makeover :p You shouldn't do all of them of course O_O That would be asking too much XD Just a random chapter.



TheShauzer says...


Will do, when I get time :) thanks again for the review



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Tue Mar 04, 2014 8:38 pm
lostthought wrote a review...



I am here to review this chilling story.

Ok,I agree with adj. This could make a murder mystery novella very easily. You could have the police investigating the murder and have them taking in British accent, maybe have the matter come into the picture.

I saw nothing wrong with it other than those pesky lines where it goes down a line in the middle of the sentence (probably couldn't be helped though).

This is very descriptive and has impressive imagery. You say this is the best and I would agree with that but I haven't read the rest of your works.

I love how the font goes along with this. It's just the right thing for mysteries. Keep writing!

-lost




TheShauzer says...


Thanks man, I'm seriously thinking about turning it into something longer as soon as I finish up some other things :D British accents, nice ;) anything in particular you'd like me to review?



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Sun Mar 02, 2014 9:20 am
AdjiFlex wrote a review...



You may see this as just a short now, but picture this a prologue to a murder/mystery novella. Very good imagery, I must say. There were very few grammatical glitches, some missing commas and such, so your grammar was very good overall, which is really commendable. Plot development and character change are missing, but so what? It's a damn good piece worth reading anyway. You build the persona and let us get at least a little attached to her before ****ing her (don't want to say the word and ruin the ending for those like me who read reviews first).
Good job.
Keep Writing.
Adam-Clay.




TheShauzer says...


Thanks, yep I was thinking about turning it into a book but I have to finish some other things first. Thanks again :)



AdjiFlex says...


Work on the vision.




The magic is only in what books say, how they stitched the patches of the universe together into one garment for us.
— Ray Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451