[Issue 54] [Contest] Continue the Story III, Part III.

[GoldRock 6,165]

 

 

 

 

 

Welcome to the third Continue the Story 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 the final chapter of a story. This 3rd part of the story will be the last chapter of this contest. This should form a logical succession to the previous two chapters, authored by @Daniel898 and @Lethal_Injection:

 

Bloodshed

Chapter One: Dubiety

by @Daniel898

 

“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.

___________

 

Bloodshed

Chapter Two: Hallucinations

by @Lethal_Injection

 

    I slowly regained my consciousness. The pain in my chest was excruciating. I didn’t want to know how many of my ribs I had broke after Stefan had threw me against the wall.

    Darn it! Where’s Stefan? I thought, my vision still blurry. Suddenly, the building went dark, but just for a moment. The emergency red lights flicked on and a siren blared through the hallways. 
    “Prisoner break from interrogation chamber A5!” a frantic voice cried over the intercom. “Fugitive is armed and ruthless, request immediate backup!”

    My brain was overloaded with stimuli. The pain, the alarm, the dim, ominous, flickering red lights, the footsteps of guards sprinting towards the equipment room. I remembered then the emergency medical pack that was always kept in each of the interrogation rooms. I crawled over to the corner and ripped out the morphine, injecting myself immediately. The pain relieved, I crawled over to my fallen comrade Liam. I felt his neck for a pulse. Nothing.

    Guards and a medic then burst into the room. They surveyed the scene, and ran over to check Maximus. It was about then that I once again slipped into the realm of unconsciousness.

 

    I awoke again. Only I was not awake, that much I was sure about. The fugitive, Stefan, was standing right in front of me.

    “It’s true, you know, that I murdered Juniper,” he paused, letting the confession sink in. “Who cares anyway, she was annoying as hell. One could never get any work done with her in the adjacent cubicle.”

    “Monster!” I lunged at him, but my legs would not obey. They were stuck in a surreal muck, invisible shackles holding them in place.

    Stefan chuckled. “Fool! You shall never catch me!” He pulled out the pistol that he stole from a guard and pointed it at me.

    I struggled against my invisible restraints. “One day, mark my words, you will atone for your crimes. For it is not only Juniper you killed. My friend and comrade Liam is dead by your hand, and I shall make you pay!”

    “Such noble words you speak, my friend,” he paused. “However, such ignorance you still continue to display. You are equally as guilty as me, you know.”

    “What you said about my memory… what did you mean?” But I never received an answer.

 

    The next thing I knew, I was lying on a bed in the prison’s infirmary, bandages generously swathed around my abdomen. I sat bolt upright, sweating at my subconscious encounter, and then shrieked in pain.

    “Stay down. You broke three ribs in your encounter with the fugitive. You also kinda overdosed on that morphine, you were probably hallucinating for a bit.”

I looked up and saw my commanding officer standing beside me.  “Commander! How is the situation? Where is Stefan?”

The commander gritted his teeth. “Stefan has escaped the facility. He was not alone. He had an accomplice among the staff.”

    “Do we know where Stefan is and who his accomplice was?”

    “Police have set up a 10-block perimeter around the prison. Stefan can’t get far. As for the accomplice…” He trailed off. “Our primary suspect is your friend Liam.”

 

 

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 of July! Late entries may not be considered!

 

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

 

Good luck!

 

[Lethal_Injection 586]

Am I allowed to continue my own story?

[Quarks 2,255]

Sweet, no word limit. Will enter in later.

[BlueDragon_tamki 3,204]

I gave up on this one

Edited July 2, 2016 by BlueDragon_tamki

[i_am_awesome_XXX 0]

where is chaptre 2 and how do i enter?

[Metaphor 538]

where is chaptre 2 and how do i enter?

 Chapter 2 was already written and submitted, but the candidate that entered it accidentally labeled it as chapter 1( perfect example of the need for proofreading). As for entering, just post it on this contest page in the same format as the previous chapters and add the word count for credibility. 

Edited July 2, 2016 by Metaphor

[Lethal_Injection 586]

 Chapter 2 was already written and submitted, but the candidate that entered it accidentally labeled it as chapter 1( perfect example of the need for proofreading). As for entering, just post it on this contest page in the same format as the previous chapters and add the word count for credibility. 

Hmmm I thought I wrote "Chapter 2." whoops my bad :P

[Ninja 10,468]

My entry, total of 400ish words. Feel free to spot any mistakes & say if you hate love it! :wub: Hugh thanks to for helping me with my horrendous grammar mistakes. :D

 

 

 

 

Chapter Three: SCO19

 

 

 

"But sir, Liam tried to shoot him, I saw him with my own eyes" I protested "you and I believe one thing, the law has its own mind" he replied "he is still the suspect".

 

 

Four days later:

 

Every time I breathed the pain was sharp in my lungs. I was discharged last night, the doctor told me to take painkillers and hold a pillow to my chest if I ever needed to cough. I heard a knock on my window, looked around, there staring straight at me was Stefan, he held a serrated knife in his hand. ''your memory is rather bad'' he said quizzically, it wasn't a hallucination this time. ''h..h...how did you get in?'', I stuttered. I didn't wait for a reply, reaching for my Glock I shot him in the knee. He fell screaming; two minutes later SCO19 officers burst into my home instantly restraining myself & Stefan. The medic saw to Stefan's knee while the other officers systematically searched my home for anyone else, then they bundled me into a waiting van and drove me to the nearest station.

 

 

 

"I want to hear your side of the story" said the female interviewer "was Stefan arrested?" I replied ignoring the question, "we know what happened at the moment he's in a secure hospital, I just need your story", she repeated. I took a deep breath trying to calm myself, but only succeeding in making my pain worse and I began...

After my interview I asked, "is Liam still suspected?" "no" she replied, "we reviewed the CCTV footage, he tried to shoot Stefan but was shot himself, your commander also vouched for him so he's cleared". I sighed with relief feeling the all too familiar pain, got up, shook the interviewer's hand, then left the station and took a taxi home.

 

 

 

EPILOGUE:

 

MAXIMUS: Max suffered slightly from a fractured collarbone, but made a quick recovery.

 

 

 

STEFAN, Stefan was convicted of multiple counts of murder & attempted murder, he was subsequently given a life sentence with a minimum of 25 years.

 

 

 

JUNIPER & LIAM: Juniper & Liam's funerals were held together after a post mortem examination. 600 people attended due to media coverage.

 

 

 

As was found out later, a neighbour summoned the police following shots from the Glock.

 

 

 

GLOSSARY:

 

 

Glock, A popular firearms manufacturer.

 

 

Infirmary, Hospital.

 

 

 

SCO19, Specialist Firearms Command of the London Metropolitan Police.

 

 

Morphine, A form of pain medication.

 

 

Edited July 20, 2016 by Ninja

[Metaphor 538]

My entry, total of 400ish words. Feel free to spot any mistakes & say if you hate love it! :wub:

 

 

 

 

Chapter Three: SCO19

 

 

 

"But sir, Liam tried to shoot him, I saw him with my own eyes" I protested "you and I believe one thing, the law has its own mind" he replied "he is still the suspect".

 

 

4 days later:

 

Every time I breathed the pain was sharp in my lungs. I was discharged last night, the doctor told me to take painkillers and hold a pillow to my chest if I needed to cough. I heard a knock on my window, looked around, there staring straight at me was Stefan, he held a serrated knife in his hand. ''your memory is rather bad'' he said quizzically, it wasn't a hallucination this time. ''h..h...how did you get in^''^ I stuttered. I didn't wait for a reply, reaching for my Glock I shot him in the knee. He fell screaming.^ 2 minutes later SCO19 officers burst in to my home instantly restraining myself & Stefan. The medic saw to Stefan^s knee while the other officers systematically searched my home for anyone else^ then they bundled me in to a waiting van and drove me to the nearest station.

 

 

 

"I want to hear your side of the story" said the female interviewer "is Stefan arrested?" I replied ignoring the question^ "we know what happened at the moment he's in a secure hospital, I just need your story"^ she repeated. I took a deep breath trying to calm myself, but only succeeding in making my pain worse and I began... After my interview I asked ^"is Liam still suspected?" "no" she replied^ "we reviewed the CCTV footage, he tried to shoot Stefan but was shot himself, your commander also vouched for him so he's cleared". I sighed with relief feeling the all too familiar pain, got up, shook the interviewer^s hand^ then left the station & took an taxi home.

 

 

 

EPILOGUE:

 

MAXIMUS: Max sufferd slightly from a fractured collar bone ^but made a quick recovery.

 

 

 

STEFAN, Stefan was convicted of multiple counts of murder & attempted murder, he was subsequently given a life sentence with a minimum of 25 years.

 

 

 

JUNIPER & LIAM: Juniper & Liam's funerals were held together after a post mortem examination. 600 people attended due to media coverage.

 

 

 

As was found out later, a neighbour summoned the police following shots from the Glock.

 

 

 

GLOSSARY:

 

 

Glock, a popular firearms manufacturer.

 

 

Infirmary, hospital

 

 

 

SCO19, the armed division of the London Metropolitan Police.

 

 

Morphine, a form of pain medication

 

 

 

• Comma
• Colon
• Semi-colon
• Capitalization
• Apostrophe
• Misspelled word
• Hyphen
• Compound word
• Question mark
• Needs to be put in past tense
• Numbers that are under 10 should be in letter form

Edited July 3, 2016 by Metaphor

[Ninja 10,468]

 

• Comma
• Colon
• Semi-colon
• Capitalization
• Apostrophe
• Misspelled word DONE Thanks
• Hyphen
• Compound word
• Question mark
• Needs to be put in past tense
• Numbers that are under 10 should be in letter form DONE Thanks

 

Can you help correct my mistakes?  :(

Edited July 3, 2016 by Ninja

[Metaphor 538]

Can you help correct my mistakes?  :(

Of course, I  am pretty sure I color coded them within the spoiler. Feel free to ask me any that were color coded that you need help with.

[Ninja 10,468]

Of course, I  am pretty sure I color coded them within the spoiler. Feel free to ask me any that were color coded that you need help with.

Oh, thanks very much I didn't realise.

[Metaphor 538]

Oh, thanks very much I didn't realise.

No problem ^_^

[Ninja 10,468]

Of course, I  am pretty sure I color coded them within the spoiler. Feel free to ask me any that were color coded that you need help with.

All done, I've sent you a gift as a word of thanks for helping me.  :)

[Metaphor 538]

All done, I've sent you a gift as a word of thanks for helping me.  :)

Oh thanks! That is very kind of you :)

[AhmadBinTahir 186]

Hey wait a sec. Where do I post mine? HERE?

[Ninja 10,468]

Hey wait a sec. Where do I post mine? HERE?

Yes.

[KillerGnat 3,135]

I think I successfully made a plot twist. Honestly, I like my idea better than the quality of the writing, but whatever.

 

 

Clarity

 

 

 

Isabel listened intently as the narrative closed. The air in the small questioning room was stuffy, and she wished she had a fan to get the air moving. Across the table sat the only living witness of the A5 shootings, Mark Johansen, chewing his lip in obvious agitation.

 

“Please just tell me what’s goin’ on, detective!” He burst out, unable to contain his confusion any longer. “I knew Liam, he was a good man. Not the type who’d aid a criminal like Stefan.”

 

Isabel cooly regarded the man sitting opposite her. Fiddling with a pencil on the desk, she wondered where to start.

 

"Mr. Johansen," she began slowly, "I do wish you'd stop lying to me." She addressed the floor as she said this, but now her eyes scrutinized the man attempting to pinpoint any subtle change in his manner. 

 

Johansen started and stared at her quizzically. "Excuse me, I... I don't quite understand your meaning." He answered with a small laugh. "I've recounted my story as best I could -- now please, can I go home?

 

Isabel continued to examine the floor in contemplative thought. "It doesn't seem the slightest bit odd that there would be only one witness to the shootings, and that the said witness would be the only one in the room with ties to Juniper? Quite strong ties too, I might add, I believe this witness would have profited greatly from her death. A quick look at the victim's bank account will show a monthly deposit from an untraceable source, a common occurrence in blackmail cases."

 

This time Mark's agitation was visible, and the glance that he shot Isabel held a mixture of fear and incredulity. 

 

"And that this witness," she continued, raising her voice, "was 'absent from his house' during the exact hour of Juniper's murder? It seems mildly suspicious, does it not? We have a motive, we have an opportunity, and we simply require a scapegoat. Enter Mr. Stefan. No family, no friends, an extraordinarily quick temper, and easy access to the facility Juniper was at work in. Forge some incriminating papers making up a motive, slip them into Juniper's office, and there we have it, the perfect crime."

 

Mark sat speechless. "Y-you must have made a mistake, officer," he stuttered. 

 

Isabel smiled at the success of her conjectures. She noted with satisfaction the bewildered look of her suspect, reminding her of a cornered cat. "The perfect crime excepting one thing," she resumed. "Stefan recognized you as you exited the building after placing the 'evidence'. You knew even a less-than-smart individual like Stefan would put two and two together eventually, so you requested a place as the guard in the trial. Your aim was to disrupt the trial somehow and get Stefan killed off, but your plans came to naught when Stefan, in a fit of rage over the outcome of the case, did your job for you. At that point, he must have realized what you had been doing in the office. Overcome with fury, he flung you across the room, and nearly took his revenge on you, when the sirens blared. Scared lest he should again be caught and forced to suffer an even worse sentence, he sprinted out of the room and left you." 

 

Isabel looked at Mark. Gone were his pretenses of curiosity over the case, and he sat in dumfounded silence, fists clenching the table.

 

"How did you find out?" he whispered. The blood had drained from his face, 

 

"I have my methods," she smiled and began putting papers in a briefcase. Two guards walked in and escorted Mark out.

 

 

601 words in all. Ik, super long.... And even with all that it still had an abrupt ending. Had a lot of fun writing throughout this contest though, a big shoutout to Grey for the opportunity to do it.

Edited July 6, 2016 by KillerGnat

[greyat 2,972]

plot twist i submit an entry

[KillerGnat 3,135]

^I can already see my chances of winning drifting away....  :lol:

[Lethal_Injection 586]

Greyat, or GoldRock, or whoever runs this contest, well...

 

 

Am I allowed to continue my own story?

[NewbieCake 3,067]

 

• Comma
• Colon
• Semi-colon
• Capitalization
• Apostrophe
• Misspelled word
• Hyphen
• Compound word
• Question mark
• Needs to be put in past tense
• Numbers that are under 10 should be in letter form

 

The misspelled word isn't technically misspelled. There are two ways to spell neighbor, the way I did, and neighbour.

Edited July 7, 2016 by NewbieCake

[olixu 124]

Greyat, or GoldRock, or whoever runs this contest, well...

Lustrous Mult runs it, but I believe you can.

[Metaphor 538]

The misspelled word isn't technically misspelled. There are two ways to spell neighbot, the I did, and neighbour.

I am used to referring to American English :P

[Ninja 10,468]

The misspelled word isn't technically misspelled. There are two ways to spell neighbot, the I did, and neighbour.

I knew that but decided to change it as the judges are probably more used to American English.