z

Young Writers Society



The Hunter: Prologue

by Lethero


I remember when I was bitten. Most of us try to forget that moment in our lives, but I haven’t. It stuck to me through these many years. The year was 1683 and it was a cold winter night in a small town outside of London which no longer exists. I was in my father’s bar after it was closed for the night scrubbing the tables with a not-too-clean rag when strange man wearing black clothing and scarf that covering his pale face. walked through the door. A rush of cold air followed him through the door and stung me like thousands of tiny needles piercing my skin. I got up quickly and shut to shut the door behind him when I felt a strong hand grab my arm. I turned to look at him and nearly feel over as his blood red eyes stared back at. “Help me,”

he whispered his voice barely just audible. With a shudder he collapsed to the floor in a heap at my feet with noisy thud. I backed away slowly until I felt my back touch the rough wall.

“Dad!” I shouted.

My father ran out through the door that led to our small kitchen and stopped when he saw the man lying collapsed on the floor. “What happened?” he asked in his soothing voice. His cool brown eyes stared at me with concern.

“He j-just came in and c-collapsed,” I stammered.

“Is that it?”

“N-no, he said, ‘Help me.’ Is he dead?”

My father walked over to the man, knelt down, and checked his pulse. “He’s still alive,” he said. “I need you to run over to Tom’s house. Explain the situation to him and help him bring whatever he needs. You hear me?” I nodded weakly, grabbed my coat, and ran out the door.

My breath came in short quick gasps as the cold air burned my lungs. Everyone in the town was sleeping so I had nothing to hinder my movements, but my sight was limited and I kept running into things and stubbing my toes hidden objects on the grounds. I quickly made my way to Tom’s house on the other side of the town. It was separate from the other houses and much larger to accommodate the many people that came in with sickness during the winter. I ran to front door and started pounding as loud as I could. A dog howled in the house and then someone stomped down the steps. The door slammed open and an elderly man with graying hair stood in front of me. “What is it, dammit?” he shouted. I explained the situation as quickly as I could and begged him to come quickly. He ran inside and emerged moments later with his medical briefcase, thick winter jacket, and a pair of boots. “Quickly, boy,” he said and took off in the direction of the bar.

Tom threw open the door without knocking when we arrived at the bar and sat his medical bags on the table I was scrubbing before the strange man arrived. As the bag made a loud thud as it hit the table the man jerked up from unconsciousness, sitting straight up. His eyes shining golden-brown. “Run,” he whispered. He doubled over in pain and let out what sounded like a growl.

The door slammed behind me and I turned to see that Tom wasn’t there anymore. I heard a snarl behind me and looked to see that the man had sprouted hair all over his body. I nearly fell over in shock as I saw his mouth form into a muzzle, his legs shaping into paws, and a tail growing out of his back-side. At the instant I realized that this man was a Werewolf.

With the last snap of a joint popping into place the Werewolf stood up. He was a gray wolf the size of a horse. He locked eyes with my father and snarled. With a leap he landed on my father and tore out his throat. I fell over and watched in shock as blood gushed from my father’s wound. The turned to my with a bloody muzzle and growled. He leaped and as his paws hit my shoulders the world went black.


Note: You are not logged in, but you can still leave a comment or review. Before it shows up, a moderator will need to approve your comment (this is only a safeguard against spambots). Leave your email if you would like to be notified when your message is approved.







Is this a review?


  

Comments



User avatar
7 Reviews


Points: 890
Reviews: 7

Donate
Sun May 10, 2009 1:24 am
corey_hillis wrote a review...



Hey! Not too bad. Just a few things thta i noticed, but most of them have been covered by the others already so i don't need to go over them again. Just try to add a bit more emotion and feeling to it. instead of just saying it leapt to his father and tore his throat out try saying something thta puts more horror into it. Just my opinion though. Kep working on this piece though. I am looking forward to seeing teh rest of it. :)




User avatar
53 Reviews


Points: 3594
Reviews: 53

Donate
Sat May 09, 2009 10:27 pm
Deifyance says...



good job! looks like everyone already got everything haha.
I just noticed the last sentence.
The turned to my with a bloody muzzle and growled. He leaped and as his paws hit my shoulders the world went black.




User avatar
373 Reviews


Points: 49068
Reviews: 373

Donate
Sat May 09, 2009 9:45 pm
Kamas wrote a review...



Okay as ordered (is this the wrong story?If so I'll do another just PM my the link)
*You owe me a review*

This story was intense and very well done, so if I seem harsh it is because I want to help you make it seem even better. Ok let's hop to it:

I remember when I was bitten. Most of us try to forget that moment in our lives, but I haven’t. It stuck to me through these many years. The year was 1683 and it was a cold winter night in a small town outside of London which no longer exists. I was in my father’s bar after it was closed for the night scrubbing the tables with a not-too-clean rag when strange man wearing black clothing and scarf that covering his pale face. (Coma Here)walked through the door. A rush of cold air followed him through the door and stung me like thousands of tiny needles piercing my skin. I got up quickly and shut to shut the door behind him when I felt a strong hand grab my arm. I turned to look at him and nearly feel over as his blood red eyes stared back at. “Help me,”
he whispered his voice barely just audible(Try Just barely audible). With a shudder he collapsed to the floor in a heap at my feet with noisy thud. I backed away slowly until I felt my back touch the rough wall.
“Dad!” I shouted.
My father ran out through the door that led to our small kitchen and stopped when he saw the man lying collapsed on the floor. “What happened?” he asked in his soothing voice. His cool brown eyes stared at me with concern. (I don't think the father would be cocerned for the boy, he'd be more concerned for the man)
“He j-just came in and c-collapsed,” I stammered.
“Is that it?”
“N-no, he said, ‘Help me.’ Is he dead?”
My father walked over to the man, knelt down, and checked his pulse. “He’s still alive,” he said. “I need you to run over to Tom’s house. Explain the situation to him and help him bring whatever he needs. You hear me?” I nodded weakly, grabbed my coat, and ran out the door.
My breath came in short quick gasps as the cold air burned my lungs. Everyone in the town was sleeping so I had nothing to hinder my movements, but my sight was limited and I kept running into things and stubbing my toes hidden objects on the grounds. I quickly made my way to Tom’s house on the other side of the town. It was separate from the other houses and much larger to accommodate the many people that came in with sickness during the winter. I ran to front door and started pounding as loud as I could. A dog howled in the house and then someone stomped down the steps. The door slammed open and an elderly man with graying hair stood in front of me. “What is it, dammit?” he shouted. I explained the situation as quickly as I could and begged him to come quickly. He ran inside and emerged moments later with his medical briefcase, thick winter jacket, and a pair of boots. “Quickly, boy,” he said and took off in the direction of the bar.
Tom threw open the door without knocking when we arrived at the bar and sat his medical bags on the table I was scrubbing before the strange man arrived. As (Cut out the 'as')the bag made a loud thud as it hit the table the man jerked up from unconsciousness, sitting straight up. His eyes shining golden-brown. “Run,” he whispered. He doubled over in pain and let out what sounded like a growl.
The door slammed behind me and I turned to see that Tom wasn’t there anymore. I heard a snarl behind me and looked to see that the man had sprouted hair all over his body. I nearly fell over in shock as I saw his mouth form into a muzzle, his legs shaping into paws, and a tail growing out of his back-side. At the instant I realized that this man was a Werewolf.
With the last snap of a joint popping into place the Werewolf stood up. He was a gray wolf the size of a horse. He locked eyes with my father and snarled. With a leap he landed on my father and tore out his throat. I fell over and watched in shock as blood gushed from my father’s wound. The turned to my with a bloody muzzle and growled. He leaped and as his paws hit my shoulders the world went black.



Ok this was really good
No other comments!
I really liked it Good job!

K A M A S :D




User avatar
10 Reviews


Points: 890
Reviews: 10

Donate
Sat Apr 25, 2009 11:36 am
georgia30 wrote a review...



Hi.

Just another reporter on your fantastic story. I have to say that I greatly enjoyed it and I would love if you could PM when you have more finished.
Okay, here are the nitpicks!

he whispered his voice barely just audible.


Okay, This should be He at the start here and should also include a comma after.

I got up quickly and shut to shut the door behind him when I felt a strong hand grab my arm.


Here you have a extra shut, its un needed. But I am sure you know this. :)

My father ran out through the door that led to our small kitchen and stopped when he saw the man lying collapsed on the floor.


Here, I don't know if it's just me but maybe between 'lying' and 'collapsed' there should be a comma. I just think it makes reading it easier.

His eyes shining golden-brown. “Run,” he whispered.


Hehe, I love this sentence. When you read it you know instantly that something major is going to happen.

Alright, I'm not going to say anymore because so many people have already. It's great. Well done.




User avatar
127 Reviews


Points: 8947
Reviews: 127

Donate
Sat Apr 25, 2009 10:55 am
Cotton wrote a review...



Hey Lethero! I really enjoyed reading this, and not just because it was a nice readable length! Thanks for not making it too long :D lol. There are just a few grammar/typing errors that you can easily sort out just by reading it through a couple of times. I get that quite a lot - I've scanned it, thought "Yep that's cool" then posted it, only to find that there are some really big mistakes. Oops. Anyway, I just want to point out a few that I'm not entirely sure have already being highlighted:

I was in my father’s bar after it was closed for the night scrubbing the tables with a not-too-clean rag when strange man wearing black clothing and scarf that covering his pale face. walked through the door.

I have a habit of writing incredibly long sentences too, and I think you could cut this down, and nix the unnecessary full stop: I was in my father's bar after it had closed for the night, scrubbing the tables with a not-too-clean rag, when a strange man wearing black clothing and a scarf that covered his pale face walked through the door.

My father ran out through the door that led to our small kitchen and stopped when he saw the man lying collapsed on the floor. “What happened?” he asked in his soothing voice.

His dad might have a soothing voice, but surely he would be a bit startled to find a man collapsed on his floor?

...but my sight was limited and I kept running into things and stubbing my toes hidden objects on the grounds.

This could be: but my sight was limited, and I kept running into things and stubbing my toes on hidden objects on the ground.

Other than those points, really really good! I'm now going to go check if there are any further parts!




User avatar
96 Reviews


Points: 890
Reviews: 96

Donate
Mon Apr 13, 2009 4:16 am
flytodreams wrote a review...



Hiya!
It was really good. :D I found it very interesting, and your writing style is very lucid. You could add a little more description though, to balance out the action. And there were some grammar problems, but they've already been pointed out. :)
Keep writing!




User avatar
1125 Reviews


Points: 53415
Reviews: 1125

Donate
Sun Apr 12, 2009 6:37 pm
StellaThomas wrote a review...



Hey dude, Stella here!

I. NITPICKS

The year was 1683


I think you could have started a new paragraph here. Also, perhaps try and avoid double usage of "year"...

when strange man wearing black clothing and scarf that covering his pale face. walked through the door.


Uh... a strange man, a scarf and no full stop halfway through.

nearly feel over


nearly fell over, surely?

as his blood red eyes stared back at.


Back at what? Him?

“Help me,”
he whispered


Why the paragraph?

I ran to front door


the front door.

the table I was scrubbing before the strange man arrived.


Try: "the table I had been scrubbing." It sounds better.

At the instant I realized that this man was a Werewolf.


Well, duh, man.

Okay...

II. TONE

Your MC sounds like a bored old man. Which he may be, at this stage. But I'm not interested in boring old men. Perk it up! I think, once you get past your first paragraph, stop writing like a reminiscer, and start writing as if it had happened only a few days before. Make sense? It's just the tone is a bit dull, sort of "and then he turned into a werewolf and then he killed my father..." Short sweet sentences. Description. It'll work. And it'll be good.

III. OVERALL

Enjoyable. I think I've read this before, yes? But still, if you plan on posting more, give me a call!

Hope I helped, drop me a line if you need anything!

-Stella.




User avatar
1220 Reviews


Points: 72525
Reviews: 1220

Donate
Sat Apr 11, 2009 6:00 pm
Kale wrote a review...



First thing I'd like to point out is that the paragraph breaks are off. For instance:

I turned to look at him and nearly feel over as his blood red eyes stared back at. “Help me,”

he whispered his voice barely just audible. With a shudder he collapsed to the floor in a heap at my feet with noisy thud.


should be

I turned to look at him and nearly feel over as his blood red eyes stared back at.

“Help me,” he whispered his voice barely just audible. With a shudder he collapsed to the floor in a heap at my feet with noisy thud.


That said, I won't be commenting on paragraph placement any more.

It stuck to me through these many years.

Should be "stuck with". If something is stuck to you, it means it's physically stuck on you.

covering his pale face. walked

What is a period doing here?

I got up quickly and shut to shut the door

So is it "and shut" or "to shut"? It can't be both.

I felt a strong hand grab my arm.

[...]

“Help me,” he whispered his voice barely just audible. With a shudder he collapsed to the floor in a heap at my feet with noisy thud.

If he is weak enough to just collapse, why is his hand described as strong?

stubbing my toes hidden objects on the grounds

You're missing a word in here somewhere.

He ran inside and emerged moments later with his medical briefcase, thick winter jacket

This is the 1600's, correct? Then why does he have a briefcase? Or a jacket?

Please do research this time period. Also, be careful what words you use.

“Run,” he whispered.

So, man comes in and asks for help before collapsing. He has enough presence of mind to tell the people to run, which means he knows he's a werewolf, and though he doesn't want to hurt anybody he still goes to people? It makes no sense.

Something I noticed is that you are missing a lot of commas. I suggest reading the story through out loud. Pay attention to where you pause or stumble and see if the sentence would work better with a comma there or nearby.

Another thing I noticed was that there were a number of easily corrected mistakes, like the bit with the door being and/to shut. Next time, rather than rush to submit something right after you've finished writing, set it aside for a bit before looking it over for errors. This way, you'll be able to catch those silly mistakes that can be very distracting for your readers.

Overall, I think you could benefit from describing things a little more. However, I noticed that you tend to describe the unimportant bits (such as the table) instead of the more relevant parts (like the werewolf's transformation/appearance). You also try and cram a lot of stuff into each sentence, which makes them much longer than they need to be as well as confusing.

I suggest you go back through and point out to yourself what is absolutely important and can't be removed without killing the story and what isn't that important. I then suggest cutting down on the not as important stuff.

I didn't catch any spelling mistakes, so that was good. :D Also, I do wonder (in a good way) why you decided to start the story this way and how it ties into the rest of the story.





Marge, it takes two to lie. One to lie and one to listen.
— Homer Simpson