Contest [Issue 53] Continue the Story III, Part II.

greyat · May 6, 2016

Welcome to the third revision of this contest! If you have not heard about this contest before, you can find all the previous chapters of the first and second editions in the newspaper archive. The final products are here:

[issue 30] The Grand Offensive - Completed! - Newspaper Archive - Tanki Online Forum

[issue 39] Inner Truths - Newspaper Archive - Tanki Online Forum

Your task is in the title: write a chapter of a story, forming a logical succession to the previous one, authored by @Daniel898:

Bloodshed

Chapter One: Dubiety

“I swear I didn’t do it!”

I suspect that he isn’t telling the truth, and neither do my fellow officers.

Maximus selected his pen on the table beside him, and eyed the notepad carefully. “Stefan, you claim that Juniper did not access the office.” He pauses abruptly and commences to speak again. “But later, you declared that she waved at you upon leaving the office. I’m uncertain how this is possible. As you can see, this situation is unattainable. Someone cannot wave to you if they never arrived at a visual position to do so.”

“I didn’t do it! I didn’t kill anyone, and I-”. Stefan roars across the table like a hungry lion, only to be hindered by the stale, calm voice of my colleague.

“As recommended by our lie detector, you haven’t been telling the truth. You slaughtered your co-worker Juniper. You have been charged of second degree murder and you will serve 10 years of-.”

Stefan screams in outrage, and lunges his body across the table. He begins to suffocate Maximus with his handcuffs. With Maximus’s neck hooked onto links of the handcuffs, Stefan swings him across the chamber, his head slamming onto the impenetrable stone wall and his body dwindling to the ground. He’s unconscious.

I explore my pocket and feel for my gun. Crap. I thought. I left it with Randy outside. I speculate hastily and screech at my other colleague Liam. “Shoot him!”

Stefan has obtained the key to his handcuffs from inside Maximus’s pockets and opens the lock with the key with his teeth. Liam begins to draw his gun. Stefan surges toward his legs and Liam capsizes. I observe in panic as his gun descends to the floor. Stefan clutches the gun and shoots Liam. I scream.

I lift a chair and catapult it at him, knocking him over. He targets me with his gun as I flip the table over to sustain the charge. I gasp at the puncture holes inside the table. I launch another chair, and another. I pick up the last one and Stefan looks down. I gaze. He starts to chuckle, louder, until he shrieks at full volume.

I drop my chair in fear. “W-wha-.” I begin.

“I was there.” Stefan murmurs. His body shudders, I take a step back.

I’m befuddled. He was there? “What do you mean, you were there?”

He continues to grin. “Oh? You don’t remember. So you don’t know that your memory was-.”

“It was what?” I demand, as he edges even closer.

Before I could react, he jabs at my gut. Stefan lifts me up and baseball heaves me chest first to the wall. I feel my ribs shatter as I scream in pain.

“You’ll never live to know about your memory.” He smirks, and aims the pistol at me. I prepare myself for the end of my existence.

Abruptly, the siren blares. I hear voices outside, orders to sprint to room A5 hastily. This room. Stefan lowers his pistol, opens the door and sprints down the hallway.

I cry out, seeing blood on my hands. But then, I see nothing.

___________

522 words.

The winner will receive a 40,000 crystal reward, and the recognition of their entry being featured in the next issue.

Your entry will be judged on the following, in order of importance:

It must be your own work, completely original. PLAGIARISM MAY RESULT IN DISQUALIFICATION FROM ALL NEWSPAPER CONTESTS.

Content - it should be interesting, and have potential to be developed further with each chapter.
Quality of writing.

Furthermore, to emphasise quality over quantity, there is an informal word limit of 500 words. Slightly over is acceptable. Make every word count!

Deadline is 20th May! Late entries may not be considered!

Other notable entries may receive a 10,000 crystal consolation prize.

Good luck!

Check out the rest of Issue 53 right here!

Edited July 20, 2017 by Hexed

BlueDragon_tamki · May 7, 2016

Ok, will do (this isn't reserved)

Hex · May 7, 2016

Ok, will do (this isn't reserved)

Quarks · May 7, 2016

I will take part, plenty to go off of.

basenji7 · May 8, 2016

Eh, why not?

Chapter Two: Vengeance

Pain. The first thing that registers in my mind as I stir, the memories of the day before fuzzy and the world around me blurry.

It hurts to breathe, but I sit up anyway, heaving myself upwards ungracefully. “Sir, lie back down!” A panicked medic hurries over, seeing that I am awake. Although I don’t want to, I follow his orders.

“What happened?” I ask him. “Where am I?”

“Criminal Stefan Lorenz, convicted of murdering coworker Juniper Woods, attacked your fellow officer Maximus, killed Liam Horwitz, and broke your ribs. He escaped, and is now on the run. You are currently at the hospital being treated for your fractured ribs.”

The memories come flooding back. Stefan slamming Max into a wall, shooting Liam, running away. And what Stefan had said. I was there...So you don’t know that your memory was...You’ll never live to know about your memory. It kept coming back to haunt me. What memory? What was he talking about? I knew then that I had to hunt him down, had to find out, had to avenge Liam’s death.

“Sir?” The voice of the medic shakes me out of my trance. “Sir, are you alright? I know it can be a lot to digest…” His voice trails off. “Yes, yes, I’ll be fine,” I answer. “I just need some..time.” Time to find Stefan and make him pay, that is.

The medic bids me farewell and leaves the room. I sit back up again, much more smoothly than the first time. I check the healing pad slapped onto my arm and see that it’s the newest model. Within a few hours, I will be almost back to normal. Technology certainly has improved since I was a child; what used to take several months to heal now takes only days.

But I have no time for entertaining such memories. Memories. The word again. It all seems so familiar, like a long-forgotten dream stirred up again, a niggling itch at the back of the mind. I was there...So you don’t know that your memory was...You’ll never live to know about your memory.

Go find him, a voice in my head says. Then you’ll know. Then you’ll get your revenge. Vengeance. Yes, I must pay him back. I must find out.

I pull the cloak someone, probably Randy, has left on the bedside table over my head, and I sneak out of the room, now well enough to do so.

I turn the corner, and there he is. I scream in fright. He chuckles, and points his gun at me, his finger on the trigger, his eyes wild. Crap. I should have thought this through. “Come to see about your memories, have you? Hmm, should I just shoot you now?”

“Don’t shoot!” I plead. “Someone will hear!"

A predatory, mocking grin spreads across his face. He grabs me and presses the barrel to my head. "Or will they?" He purrs. Looking him in the eyes, I see madness reflected in them, and I know he'll shoot if he thinks it necessary. "Come with me," he says, his hand still poised to shoot. "Or I'll make you."

Defiantly, I refuse. "Never." Stefan smirks, and pulls the trigger. A sharp pain spreads from my shoulder, and my head begins to swim from the pain. Before I pass out, I realize that this situation seems familiar. Then, eyes widening, I remember. I remember everything. And then I fall into the darkness, into the unknown.

Edited May 16, 2016 by basenji7

Penguin40 · May 8, 2016

Chapter II: The Mystery

I wake up in a place filled with either machines, a few people, or total white.

"Where am I?" I say to myself. "You're in a secure hospital. You've just awoken from coma, and we've been treating you," one of the few people replies. "For how long?" I ask. "A year, sir. You were attacked at, and fell into a coma. We've been trying to wake you up as well." the person, who I realize is a medic.

"I'm fine. Can I go?" I continue, desperate for revenge.

"You may, but you will need to wait. You will need patience."

But I sit, and then jump out of my bed. I was determined. I have to get my revenge. The medic held my hand, but I fled. Throwing the door open. I flee. Robbing a gun that looked shockingly like Stefan's, I flee. It was painful enough to remember Stefan's crime, but worse to remember even the slightest bit of what Stefan said to me. What did my memory hold? What was I not meant to know?

I open the door to leaving the hospital, and find that I wasn't in a hospital at all. It was a house. And outside, was someone standing. I fail to recognize him, but what comes next shocks me.

"Hello, Alex Lorenz. I'm Juniper Woods, a coworker of yours. And I came to tell that we have another case. Stefan Lorenz's so-called crimes are a massive mystery. I doubt he's the criminal behind it all, to start it," the mystery woman said.

I realize who she is - the first murder of Stefan. Or, my brother. I start to recollect. He first "killed" Juniper, then was held by us. He hit Maximus, killed Liam and stabbed me. I remember seeing a tiny device on his head. "You're alive. I thought you died!" I say out.

"Stefan's mind was taken over by someone. WHO? And what is my memory?" I unexpectedly continue.

"He killed no one. You're right. And your memory hides the secret to our traitor. But, your memory can destroy us all. Stefan tried to kill you to save us, Alex," she says. I turn around, inviting Juniper inside. What I then see - is another coworker.

Stefan Lorenz. He was innocent. He was right about so.

______________________________

Note: I used some of basenji7's surnames.

Edited May 9, 2016 by Penguin40

basenji7 · May 8, 2016

Chapter II: The Mystery

I wake up in a place filled with either machines, a few people, or total white.

"Where am I?" I say to myself. "You're in a secure hospital. You've just awoken from coma, and we've been treating you," one of the few people replies. "For how long?" I ask. "A year, sir. You were attacked at, and fell into a coma. We've been trying to wake you up as well." the person, who I realize is a medic.

"I'm fine. Can I go?" I continue, desperate for revenge.

"You may, but you will need to wait. You will need patience."

But I sit, and then jump out of my bed. I was determined. I have to get my revenge. The medic held my hand, but I fled. Throwing the door open. I flee. Robbing a gun that looked shockingly like Stefan's, I flee. It was painful enough to remember Stefan's crime, but worse to remember even the slightest bit of what Stefan said to me. What did my memory hold? What was I not meant to know?

I open the door to leaving the hospital, and find that I wasn't in a hospital at all. It was a house. And outside, was someone standing. I fail to recognize him, but what comes next shocks me.

"Hello, Alex Lorenz. I'm Juniper Woods, a coworker of yours. And I came to tell that we have another case. Stefan Lorenz's so-called crimes are a massive mystery. I doubt he's the criminal behind it all, to start it," the mystery woman said.

I realize who she is - the first murder of Stefan. Or, my brother. I start to recollect. He first "killed" Juniper, then was held by us. He hit Maximus, killed Liam and stabbed me. I remember seeing a tiny device on his head. "You're alive. I thought you died!" I say out.

"Stefan's mind was taken over by someone. WHO? And what is my memory?" I unexpectedly continue.

"He killed no one. You're right. And your memory hides the secret to our traitor. But, your memory can destroy us all. Stefan tried to kill you to save us, Alex," she says. I turn around, inviting Juniper inside. What I then see - is another coworker.

Stefan Lorenz. He was innocent. He was right about so.

:( Those were my last names...

But good job nonetheless! :P

BlueDragon_tamki · May 8, 2016

:( Those were my last names...

lol

BlueDragon_tamki · May 8, 2016

Bloodshed

Chapter 2: Betrayal

I thought I was already dead. Will this be the end for everyone? Maximus was unconscious and Liam seemed breathless...

Later, I woke up while gaining consciousness; my ribs were hurting and I still have bloody hands. I looked at Maximus and Liam laying on the floor, the punctured table, misplaced chairs and the opened door; this was my chance to get Stefan behind bars. I tried to stand up but I fell back down: my back was also hurting very bad. I struggled to crawl to Liam and I put my hand on his wrist for a pulse. Nothing. He's dead, I thought.

I stood up again while holding and leaning on the wall. I came out of the room and started to searched for Randy but... what if he is already at A5? And Stefan too?! But strangely he wasn't there. Yet. Not after 15 minutes I arrived because he wasn't there at all. I went back and saw him coming out of the lab. When he was near me, I caught him, covered his mouth, took the guns away from him, managed to get ourselves in a room and locked the door.

"Dude! Are you crazy?! I could of take my chance to shoot you." he exclaimed.

"And that's why I took the guns away from you." I said.

"What on earth happened to you?! And where are Liam and Maximus!?"

"Stefan nearly suffocated Maximus and he's unconscious, shot Liam and he's dead & pushed me against the wall so hard my ribs almost broke; I'm badly injured. He said that he was 'there' and I won't live to know about my memory. After, the alarm said to sprint to room A5; he's should be there by now..."

"This is not good," he said, shocked. "This is not good at all!"

"I know but we need to arrest him."

I was unlocking the door when he said,"How will you face him? You're too weak!"

"True but..." I replied, but I was very thirsty. "I'm so dehydrated. Do you have water?"

"Yes I do, here."

He gave me a cup of "water" and I drank it; I started to feel dizzy, my sight was blurry and I felt extremely weak. What exactly did he give me to drink? "Antidote-0."

Oh no! He drugged me with it and there's nothing left to stop him; I dropped to the floor. "Good night and sweet dreams!" he replied, grinning. "Muahahahah...!" I was seeing stars...

Hours later, I found myself on a bed. "What happened? Where am I?" A lady said that I was in the hospital. I asked about Maximus and she answered that he's well. "Wait a minute, he was already here?!" I yelled, shocked.

"Don't yell. Yes he was already here. He nearly died of-"

"Suffocation, I was there when it happened."

"Ok, I will be back; Randy arrested Maximus for killing Liam."

What?! Maximus would never do that! Randy must be Stefan's partner because he betrayed Maximus with lies. But it left me three questions: how am I going to handle this situation? What if Stefan was telling the truth while Randy killed the lady? And what memory was Stefan talking about?

535 words

Edited May 16, 2016 by BlueDragon_tamki

asifmehmood · May 8, 2016

Good!

BlueDragon_tamki · May 9, 2016

Good!

thx

It took me a while to cut some of the words out when I realized I had 795 words

Penguin40 · May 9, 2016

:( Those were my last names...

But good job nonetheless! :P

I didn't notice, :P Will give credit

LOLKILLERTOTHEDEATH · May 9, 2016

YAY! I'M DONE I hope my entry wins, I doubt it will, but its my personal best effort, so I hope it pays:

(word count, 524)

I woke up, not knowing where I was or how long I had been in an unconscious, drowsy state. I scanned the room. It looked as though I was in the ICU. The smell of medicine greeted my nose. It seemed like I was asleep for years.

“Excuse me?” I asked.

“Yes, sir?” responded a nurse.

“Where am I? What happened to me?” I asked, still regaining my consciousness.

“You ended up breaking seven ribs and also punctured your lung. You’ve been in this hospital for nearly three days now,” she said, as though what happened to me didn’t bother her.

“Well I-I-... I gotta go. I need to find Stefan. Liam died trying to arrest Stefan, and I'm at fault for it.”

“Sir, I’m so-”

“No, I have no time. I must avenge Liam’s death and make sure no more die in vain.” I cut off the nurse and rose to my feet. It felt as though my chest was on fire.

As I was walking out, a man with a briefcase nodded at me. I nodded back. I walked quickly past the malls and shops when I suddenly heard a deafening roar from behind me. I turned around and saw smoke in the air. I could not believe it. That man must have been a terrorist! I ran as fast as my feet could carry me to the hospital, which was ablaze and full of debris. I saw the man sprinting as fast as a jaguar towards the parking lot. I instantly charged at him and rammed him into a black car. My eyes met his black gun. Quick as a cat, I kicked the revolver out of his hand. He punched me and pushed me back while trying to open the door. I quickly gained my footing and punched his face. I saw blood on his face and grabbed his collar. I had gained the upper hand.

“Why did you blow up that hospital?!” I yelled at him.

“That’s none of your business,” he responded calmly.

“I’m a police officer, so it actually is my business. Now tell me before I put an end to your misery!”

I picked up the revolver and aimed it at his head.

“I’m dead serious, if you don’t open your mouth, I’ll make sure that your demise is as slow as possible!” I screamed, trying to intimidate him.

He simply shook his head and leaned back on the door of his car.

“You rat! Tell me now!” I shouted at his face.

I took his pistol, chambered the first bullet and pointed it at his head. I was not going to let this man get away. He killed so many innocent people that he deserved to die. I reached for the trigger and tried to pull it, but my humanity just wouldn’t let me do it. I closed my eyes. The gun trembled in my hands. He coughed and spat blood on my shirt. I was watching him like a hawk and didn’t notice the man who sneaked up behind me. I felt like car rammed into the back of my head. Blackness took me.

I found some problems and re-edited it. Please consider this my final draft.

Am I violating any rules of this contest?

Edited May 11, 2016 by LOLKILLERTOTHEDEATH

BlueDragon_tamki · May 9, 2016

No it doesn't; seems fine to me

May 9, 2016

Chapter II: Vengeance

I woke up to the sound of a repetitive beep. Slowly I began to make two distant blobs into the shape of two people; a turquoise splotch into a wall, and a black fuzz into a chair.

"He's regaining consciousness. Sir, can you hear me?" an unfamiliar voice said.

" Yeah. W-w-where am I?" I questioned.

"You're at the hospital, and if we were 1 minute later, well, dead," the doctor stated, he continued: "I believe that due to the miraculous healing of your ribs, we should be able to release you today."

" I was going to leave even if I wasn't fully healed, anyway. Did we catch Stefan?" I tried asking in a nice voice; but became bitter too quickly. "DID WE?"

" Maximus is doing fine, just a minor concussion, he'll be released alongside with you today," he said firmly.

I noticed he was dodging my question, and again asked him, "Did we or did we not catch Stefan?" I was losing my patience.

"We didn't, but we have BOLOs and patrols on the lookout. Trust me, if they see anything, we'll be the first people to know about it, aside from the person who saw it, of course." He chuckled at his last phrase.

"BOLOs and patrols won't do squat, we need to find clues that lead us to him. If I'm correct, the first thing Stefan will most likely do is search for new clothing, as Liam's blood stained his when he escaped."

Maximus and I finally got released after waiting for what seemed like days. Immediately I began searching for clues for Stefan's whereabouts around the station, presuming Stefan had taken his clothing off when he escaped. We were correct.

"Say, how far do you think a shirtless man would walk to find some clothing?" I said jokingly.

Maximus responded with "Not too far."

Immediately we began searching the vicinity when we found a clothing store named : "A Cat's Fur". It looked grey, worn down, and it seemed to sell clothing for a reasonable price.

"Hello sir, is it okay if we check your store out?" I said in a friendly matter.

"What for?" The store owner looked groggy and sleepy, but definitely woke up when we were around. He continued on, " If there's anything I've learned is that police means no good; no good to the store; and no good to the store." I assumed that the store owner had something to hide, because if he didn't then he'd let us search. I was correct.

I stuck it firm to him: "This warrant says that you must allow us to search the premises, if you have a problem with that you can take it up with the law."

He agreed stubbornly.

Maximus and I wanted to conserve our time, so we split up.As we went our ways, I heard a peculiar noise; it sounded like it didn't belong. I immediately put my hand to the gun's cold stock, only to realize all I heard was Maximus.

"Maximus, 1 second later and you'd be seeing pitch black. Did you find anything?"

"I di-------", Maximus collapsed to the ground.

I immediately began to run to his aid, when I suddenly felt a cold, steely barrel press against my head.

Then a familiar voice proceeded to say, "Ah, ah, ah! I wouldn't do such a thing; unless you want to see your partner's brains blown out."

It was the infamous criminal, Stefan.

574 words. Hopefully not too over the limit :/

BOLO means "Be on the look out."

Best of luck to all participants.

Edited May 15, 2016 by 150010836

BlueDragon_tamki · May 10, 2016

^ok nice

Bugs.meeny · May 11, 2016

Im going to submit one, after I get my laptop running again

Quarks · May 13, 2016

Part 2: Double Crossed

Bloodshed,

I began to wake up; blinking the grayness away from my eyes, I began to see shapes moving. I see two people, one of them is moving her mouth, but I hear nothing. After a few minutes, I can begin to hear the voices, they are muffled at first. I stir. The women jumped a little in surprise and abruptly stopped talking.

I attempt to ask where I am, but all that comes out of my mouth is a spluttering cough, and my chest flares up in pain.

“I wouldn’t try talking for a few days, a piece of your rib cage broke, and punctured a part of your lungs. You are lucky it hit your lungs, otherwise it was going straight for your spinal cord. At that point, we wouldn’t have bothered to help you heal up.”

I began to wonder what happened before I blacked out. Pictures slowly began to form, frame by frame, second by second. It all happened so fast. Memories flooding back to me. Pent up inside me like a dam waiting to burst. Again, I cough, and a small piece of bone leaves my throat.

I cough once again, and twice, and three times, each time, with lessening pain, until I can reach inside and pull out the bone. I splutter, as blood spews out of my mouth, but then it was over.

“You, you set him up!” I said to the women, alarmed at what I had remembered. He was innocent, this whole time.

“Well, it was the only logical thing to do. His memories were much harder to suppress than yours. We did manage to get enough into him to have a horrible story. Juniper never did enter the access to the office, nor did she even know about an office. In all honesty, she never existed.” said the women, a slight smirk on her face.

“You, you lied to me, you lied to us all." I yelled enraged. "But what of Maximus?”

“Oh, you mean me?” Said the other man. He had a hood on, he took it off. Stefan!

“Congratulations on your promotion James, we hope you enjoy the new rank of Colonel.”

He smiled and handed me the badge. I took it, my hands shaking as he handed it to me. “Welcome to the vengeance, we are glad to have you.”

“V.E.N.G.E.A.N.C.E, what does that stand for?” I asked.

“Well, it is just the name of the operation. Nothing special. We mean to get revenge on Maximus, he set us up.”

“Oh, ok, how can I help?”

“We need to you to find and terminate Maximus. He is our last threat.”

I sat up, with surprisingly little pain. My legs were a little numb, but I got over it soon. I walked out the door of the room, to find myself in a hospital. The door clicked as it locked behind, only to hear the sound of a gun being cocked behind me, and the feeling of cold steel against the back of my head.

“Don’t move if you value your life” A voice behind me said.

To be continued.

Word count: 526

Edited May 14, 2016 by greyat

Quarks · May 13, 2016

6 more days so far only 5 I hope it stays, pls noone submit more my chacnes of winning anything anyway are slim

Meh, after chapter one, less people try.

LOLKILLERTOTHEDEATH · May 13, 2016

Well 7 entries, 4 days, what are the odds?

Obviouosly^ is going to win like 1st

Quarks · May 14, 2016

Well 7 entries, 4 days, what are the odds?

Obviouosly^ is going to win like 1st

Thank you. Means a lot.

Jwimmer · May 14, 2016

Bloodshed

Chapter 2: Thoughts of a madman

The only other thing that I remember about that day was hearing gunshots down the hall. I looked out of the cell, and saw that Stefan was shot.

Unfortunately, the judge did not believe my story. There were no video cameras in the cell, and I was the only person to come out of the room alive- Maximus was deemed dead by the first responders. The blood on my hands was DNA tested, and it turned out to be Liam's. Along with this, my broken ribs were, according to the judge, the result of a fistfight. The judge also deemed that, during this hypothetical fistfight, I killed Maximus by a heavy punch to the head. The final decision by the Jury was that Stefan and I worked together to kill my colleagues.

From what I remember, none of what the judge decided was true. I have already explained the events exactly as I saw them. There is so much from that day that haunts me, while I sit in my jail cell. The first of which is the fact that I am sitting here, in jail, for the rest of my life, off of an incorrect series of assumptions by the judge. The other has to do with what Stefan's last words were. I have had five years to think about what he said so far. The only things that I have decided so far are that I had seen Stefan before the confrontation. Of course, I could not tell you when or where, but there was something familiar to his face. If I can figure out where it was that I saw him, I think I can figure out what he was talking about. These words are eternally repeating in the back of my head. While a normal person saying "I was there" is not anything out of the ordinary, there was something haunting about Stefan. He was laughing hysterically after killing two men, and about to kill a third.

Only a madman can do that. Only a madman can pass on hysteria to another. I have been almost constantly thinking of those words for my five years in jail. There is no way I will ever find out what Stefan was referring to, and there is no way I can get help from another person to figure it out. I had a great life, I was at the top of my police force, and had an amazing family. My life could not have gotten any better. There was nothing I would have changed, because I was living the dream that was often romanticized about in High School. I lost it all. An incorrect assumption. There is nothing that I can do about my situation, yet I am the only person who can solve Stefan's riddle. I can't do anything, yet only I can do anything. I do not deserve this fate, I do not deserve to have such a horrible life. I cannot think straight about anything except for what Stefan's last words were, and I have no escape from this haunting fate.

I worked hard, I deserved anything but what I am now. There was nothing I could do about this- how do I deserve this?

Edited May 14, 2016 by Jwimmer

greyat · May 14, 2016

Please don't flood my topic with irrelevant posts. I'll remove them now, but any more and I'll have to disqualify your entry.

Edited May 15, 2016 by greyat

Lethal_Injection · May 15, 2016

I saw what you said about the word limit and how "slightly over" 500 is okay. Does that mean like up to 550 or around there?

Bluebird13 · May 15, 2016

Bloodshed

Chapter 2: Apprising

Walking. Filled with tension, I try to hide my jittery emotions through a peculiar, solid walk. The museum was affixed to a decrepit library, and I needed to find a way in. Through that very library I’d heard that there was a passage which would allow me easy access to the museum. And here I was, in the library, covered by the gloom of the night. No torch, just moonlight. The gleaming surfaces of the polished stone walls and cedar bookcases utterly surrounded me, no matter where I paced.

Two days earlier, Maximus had been deemed inept to continue leading Stefan’s case. Suffering internal bruising around the neck and grievous head wounds, it had taken him over a day to regain consciousness. And unsurprisingly, Stefan had absconded.

As Stefan made his exit from the police station, he took time to make sure Randy, guarding the door, was slumped out cold on the concrete floor. Just like everyone else. Liam was in a critical condition with his bullet wound, and I… fainted, notably. Not my fault, considering my injuries. As a result, no one saw Stefan’s escape path. The backup police were queerly alerted too late, and it seemed that nobody was in the immediate vicinity when police investigated the scene ensuing the breakaway.

However, Maximus had known more about Stefan than he had disclosed during the interrogation. Once awake, he treated everyone to a large spiel about Stefan’s habits.

“Stefan… there are some things you should all know about him,” Maximus was rather weak; not his usual authoritative self. “We,” he hesitated, “Liam and I were following up on some leads about Stefan’s pastimes… I kept some irrelevant information secret from all of you.”

Randy and I perked up, alert. I was especially overwrought. Stefan’s trail had gone cold, hadn’t it? Well, we had thought so.

Maximus continued, “It seems like Stefan has a little hideout in a proximate museum. He practically lived in that place,” he paused briefly, “and probably returned there. You might have heard of the library it’s connected to; the Heritage Atheneum…”

His weary voice became a whisper in my head, drowned out spontaneously as my mental state slowly shattered. Swirls of vivid thoughts rushed through my mind; pictures of myself finding Stefan, and…”

Now here I am, in the Heritage, searching for the doorway that’ll lead me directly into Stefan’s hidey-hole.

“Police obtain search warrants, and search places. I should be doing that, should I not? As a policeman, I have the right to…” the apprehensive voice inside my mind trailed off.

But this trip was unauthorised. Randy had no clue about my impetuous decision to turn up here, alone, without help. Stefan had sparked something inside me; something that made my stomach churn. “Has my memory been altered…?” I sighed the question into the night.

Circling around an over-sized bookshelf allowed me to behold a decaying set of double doors.

Here's my entry. I've spent years working on it, so I'm hoping for the best, or second best. Good luck to everyone; may the best win. Also, my word count is around 490. Nothing's wrong with this entry? Thanks :) .

Edited May 15, 2016 by Bluebird13

Challenge	Start Date	End Date
1	15.08	29.08
2	29.08	05.09
3	05.09	12.09
4	12.09	19.09
5	19.09	26.09
6	26.09	3.10
7	3.10	10.10
8	10.10	17.10

Pumpkin Grenade

Bots

Discounts

Special event modes

Special offers

Epic Containers

Special Missions

TASK

REWARD

TASK

REWARD

TASK

REWARD

TASK

REWARD

TASK

REWARD

TASK

REWARD

TASK

REWARD

TASK

REWARD

TASK

REWARD

TASK

REWARD

TASK

REWARD

TASK

REWARD

TASK

REWARD

TASK

REWARD

TASK

REWARD

TASK

REWARD

TASK

REWARD

TASK

REWARD

TASK

REWARD

TASK

REWARD

TASK

REWARD

TASK

REWARD

TASK

REWARD

TASK

REWARD

TASK

REWARD

TASK

REWARD

TASK

REWARD

TASK

REWARD

TASK

REWARD

TASK

REWARD

TASK

REWARD

TASK

REWARD

TASK

REWARD

TASK

REWARD

TASK

REWARD

TASK

REWARD

TASK