Contest [Issue 70] Continue The Story - Edition IV

[LOLKILLERTOTHEDEATH 1,921]

Only 2 stories great...

LOL, I think the whole "Everybody is a winner" logic will be applied here far too literally.

[kaisdf 3,320]

LOL, I think the whole "Everybody is a winner" logic will be applied here far too literally.

Still got about 3 weeks till the deadline... There'll be an influx of entries after Christmas, I'm guessing.

[LOLKILLERTOTHEDEATH 1,921]

I started something and then this came up. Let's have try.

Here is my entry:

 

 

 

The Twilight Zone

 

 

“There is a fourth dimension beyond that which is known to man. It is a dimension as vast as space, and as timeless as infinity. It is the middle ground between light and shadow, and it lies between the pit of man's fears, and the summit of his knowledge. This is the dimension of imagination. An area in which we call, The Twilight Zone.”

 

The place is here. The time is now, and the journey into the shadows that we are about to watch is the journey of Jānis – into The Twilight Zone.

 

 

Chapter one - The Keyboard

 

 

“Yahoo!” exclaimed Jānis, staring at the screen of his computer. “I won it, I’m the best!”

 

The exuberant boy jumped from his chair and dabbed victoriously.

 

A couple of minutes ago, he was filled with anxiety as he opened the web page of Tanki Online’s forum to check if the result of the contest were finally announced. He had put lots of effort in this contest to guarantee a victory. He was not deceived. He won the keyboard he coveted and this one does not come cheap.  

 

“The Keyboard Rhod 400 RGB, every ambitious gamer needs a keyboard with features gameplay facilitating functions, such as Anti-Ghosting or functional keys, and will additionally look great thanks to high quality backlighting and a unique shape,” claimed the product description on the leaflet. Surely it will be far better than the crappy one he currently owns. So far, he failed to impress at numerous clan training, and blamed his lack of results on the deficient equipment he possesses. Now it is a different story; his gameplay would be slick and his stats would improve. This new acquired equipment is a golden ticket to enter the best clan team, he knows it.

 

Jānis is what we call a “no-lifer” in the gaming world, he spends all his free time playing online games. Mainly massively multiplayer online game (MMOG), either MMOG first-person shooter game (MMOFPS), MMO real-time strategy game (MMORTS) or MMO role-playing games (MMORPGs). You name it, he plays it.

 

He lives in the centre of Riga, the Latvian’s capital, by the Daugava river in a small student bedroom and follows a curriculum at the Matemātikas un informātikas institūts (Institute of Mathematics and Computer Science). Jānis has no friend irl, but on TO, where he is known as Martins666 (a.k.a. Beast, because of 666), he has many. Mostly clanmates and other friends he made while playing on the many battles he fought.

 

A week later after the release of the contest results, the long-awaited package had arrived and he collected it late afternoon from the concierge. He quickly ripped off the yellow and brown pack, stamped with Russian letters, from the protective wrappings. Then without further ado he plugged and tried the brand-new keyboard. First verdict: smooth touch, streamlined moves and no key-ghosting, the bliss. After getting familiarised with it, he connected with his TO’s clanmates on Discord to prepare for a clan war.

 

Jānis is a good player, he can pull some stunts but he never really had the magic touch that would make him la crème de la crème, so he presently plays as a sub most of the time. His ambition is to be the best of the best, only if his teammate could see his potential. So, in the meantime he waits in the lobby until he is summoned by the clan leader. The moment came, but as he joined the game, a strange pop-up windows appeared titled: “Initiate Active Gaming Emulator System; Yes / No.”  

 

“What the Mult?” Jānis exclaimed.

 

Underneath the question, another sentence in small characters stated: “I have read the Terms & Conditions.”, accompanied with a kickbox. And then just below a button labelled “Start”.  The boy was perplexed, until a voice broke the silence in his earphones.

 

“Beast, are you playing or not?”, his impatient clan leader shouted at him.

 

“Sorry, I have something strange that just appeared on my screen!”

 

“Noob, I don’t care! Get your sorry ass here, NOW!”

 

“Ok, jā jā.”, he grumbled and he quickly selected “Yes”, ticked the box and clicked “Start”. Immediately, his eyes caught the intermittent red flashing light of a button on his keyboard where the special functional keys were lodged.

 

“What is that new thingy again?” he wondered, but he had no time to investigate this presently. “I’ll see to it later.” He took his eyes back on the screen and brought his focus on the fiery battle at work.

 

The five following minutes he played were the best he had ever played since he started TO. Everything he tried, did or planned actually worked out without any snags! He could not believe it. The keyboard turned out to be the best keyboard ever!

 

“Beast, you were on fire today! Really impressive stuff you draw off. Well done!” commented his clan leader at the end of the last round. After that his clanmate left but he stayed and played a few more amazing battles. He finally went to bed past midnight, a little more tired than usual.

 

It was the best day of this life, ... or was it the last one?

 

 

To be continued...

 

 

I think we have a winner.

[Viking4s 10,791]

I think we have a winner.

TY, but never sell the bear's skin before one has killed the beast.

Edited December 13, 2017 by Viking4s

[BlueDragon_tamki 3,204]

TY, but never sell the bear's skin before one has killed the beast.

what?

[LOLKILLERTOTHEDEATH 1,921]

what?

he/she means to say that I shouldn't crown him winner in my opinion or congratulate him I think.

[Viking4s 10,791]

what?

he/she means to say that I shouldn't crown him winner in my opinion or congratulate him I think.

"Never sell the bear's skin before one has killed the beast" is an expression or saying meaning “don't celebrate too early.”

En Français: Il ne faut pas vendre la peau de l’ours avant de l’avoir tué.

Edited December 13, 2017 by Viking4s

[BlueDragon_tamki 3,204]

"Never sell the bear's skin before one has killed the beast" is an expression or saying meaning “don't celebrate too early.”

En Français: Il ne faut pas vendre la peau de l’ours avant de l’avoir tué.

kk thx for the explanation

[Aerodynamics 10]

Wait... so... To win, others have to add to our story or do we just have to post a first chapter regardless of whether people respond?

[Aerodynamics 10]

Also, can we write more than one story?

[C.O.N.Q.U.E.R.O.R 3,845]

Get me out of here! Get me out of here! GET ME OUT OF HERE!!! Alyssa spelled that phrase out in her head at least ten times before she realised it was hopeless. She would be stuck in the pew for the remainder of the sermon. Already, she could imagine how her boyfriend, Blaise, would mock her when he came to pick her up from church. "Why the heck do you let your step-mom drag you to church every week? You should've just flat-out punched her in the face." Hell, she wanted to. Ever since she'd moved into the house, there'd been heavy animosity between them. Alyssa'd never know what her dad had seen in the woman. Additionally, the wretch forced her to attend church each week, faking tears to her dad if she even tried to refuse.

 

Blaise was her only comfort in all of this. He'd been the one to take her shopping and give her lifts whenever she needed them, since her stepmom didn't trust her with a car. At school, Alyssa felt like Blaise was the only person she could confide in; all the others would just laugh it off. She still remembered the day that they met at the local supermarket. Blaise had literally bumped into her with his shopping cart, immediately apologising and offering to buy her a donut. She chuckled softly to herself as she reminesced about that day; it was the best day of her life, without question.

Suddenly, she realised it was deathly quiet. Finally. I guess they're praying... that means that the message is over. Then she became aware that it was literally silent. Too silent. As she stood and gazed around, she thought, Where are the birds singing in the trees? Why is the preacher so still? WHY IS IT SO QUIET?? She slowly sat back down onto the hard pew, vaguely aware of tears pouring down her cheeks.

 

That's when Alyssa heard a soft voice immediately behind her, saying, "Time is frozen." She promptly let out a scream and bolted up from her seat. Seeing a buff young man in a futuristic suit, she felt yet another scream building up in her lungs. The cute guy in front of her swiftly placed his right hand on top of her mouth and shushed her. "Time is frozen, but we're going to fix it. Besides that, if you wish to be alive tomorrow, you'll save the questions for later. Plus, there's a man outside who wants to know why there's a blip on his tracker that's telling him that there's one person who isn't frozen in time like everyone else."

 

"Why the hell aren't I frozen too? I'd rather be frozen like them if I'm about to be killed!" She began to sob, tears falling down her cheeks yet again. Gawd, why am I doing this? I'm at church, where I never wanted to be in the first place, I'm crying in front of the CUTEST guy I've ever seen, and time is frozen. TIME IS FROZEN. WHAT THE HELL?!?!

"I told you to shut up. Stay calm."

 

"Why should I? I froze time somehow, and I'm supposed to stay calm?"

"You didn't freeze time." Seeing Alyssa's mouth opening to ask another question, he placed his hand over her mouth again. "I know you want to know why time is frozen and why you're still moving, but I cannot give you any information. Right now, I'm just going transport you back to a world that hasn't had time frozen. See you in the past,'' he quipped before pressing a button on his jumpsuit. As she watched herself fade impossibly, she heard a soft voice saying, ''Please.. for all of time's sake; don't say a word of this to anyone.''

 

 

When she woke, Alyssa was in her bed, feeling a slight pain in her stomach. The first thing she heard was her stepmom screaming at her to come down to dinner. Yeah, I don't think I'm eating with this stomachache... But, she headed down the stairs and guessed that her dad was still at work, so she sat across from her stepmom. She uttered a short prayer to appease her stepmother's wrath, but then froze when her stepmother asked, ''So why didn't you come to church? You told me you were getting a ride from, what's his name, that jock named Blaire or something. You're in big trouble if you two spent that time at his house alone, young lady.''

 

She attempted to explain, but as she opened her mouth, she realised it was futile. Her step-mom would never understand. Her only way out of this was to try to get Blaise to figure this out with her. She glanced at her phone and said, ''Uh, well, I actually have an important phone call to take... see you later, I guess.'' 

 

''We'll have a talk later, young lady.'' 

 

 

She quickly called Blaise, who picked up after two dial tones. ''Oh my god, Blaise, you'll never guess what just happened! I just travelled through time and my stepmom says I didn't go to church but I did and oh my god, Blaise, help me, please!''

 

''I know.'' 

 

Alyssa fainted.

 

 

 

 

Word Count: 867

Edited December 21, 2017 by C.O.N.Q.U.E.R.O.R

[opidude 437]

 

 

---

Get me out of here! Get me out of here! GET ME OUT OF HERE!!! Alyssa spelled that phrase out in her head at least ten times before she realised it was hopeless. She would be stuck in the pew for the remainder of the sermon. Already, she could imagine how her boyfriend, Blaise, would mock her when he came to pick her up from church. "Why the heck do you let your step-mom drag you to church every week? You should've just flat-out punched her in the face." Hell, she wanted to. Ever since she'd moved into the house, there'd been heavy animosity between them. Alyssa'd never know what her dad had seen in the woman. Additionally, the wretch forced her to attend church each week, faking tears to her dad if she even tried to refuse.

 

Suddenly, she realised it was deathly quiet. Finally. I guess they're praying... that means that the message is over. Then she became aware that it was literally silent. Too silent. As she stood and gazed around, she thought, Where are the birds singing in the trees? Why is the preacher so still? WHY IS IT SO QUIET?? She slowly sat back down onto the hard pew, vaguely aware of tears pouring down her cheeks.

 

That's when Alyssa heard a soft voice immediately behind her, saying, "Time is frozen." She promptly let out a scream and bolted up from her seat. Seeing a buff young man in a futuristic suit, she felt yet another scream building up in her lungs. The cute guy in front of her swiftly placed his right hand on top of her mouth and shushed her. "Time is frozen, but we're going to fix it. Besides that, if you wish to be alive tomorrow, you'll save the questions for later. Plus, there's a man outside who wants to know why there's a blip on his tracker that's telling him that there's one person who isn't frozen in time like everyone else."

 

"Why the hell aren't I frozen too? I'd rather be frozen like them if I'm about to be killed!" She began to sob, tears falling down her cheeks yet again. Gawd, why am I doing this? I'm at church, where I never wanted to be in the first place, I'm crying in front of the CUTEST guy I've ever seen, and time is frozen. TIME IS FROZEN. WHAT THE HELL?!?!

 

"I told you to shut up. Stay calm."

 

"Why should I? I froze time somehow, and I'm supposed to stay calm?"

 

"You didn't freeze time." Seeing Alyssa's mouth opening to ask another question, he placed his hand over her mouth again. "I know you want to know why time is frozen and why you're still moving, but there's only one thing I can tell you right now."

 

"Well?"

 

He took a deep breath.

 

She grabbed his shirt and shouted, "SPIT IT OUT!"

 

"You're what we call a Dissident."

 

Alyssa fainted. 

 

Word Count: 492 words

I might change my entry later... This isn't exactly my best work.

 

 

Your entry must be 700 to 900 words long

Edited December 18, 2017 by opidude

[marc.jp_44 20,837]

TY, but never sell the bear's skin before one has killed the beast.

I like this new expression xD

In English, a more common figure of speech is "don't count your chickens before they hatch" or "it's not over until the fat lady sings."

[C.O.N.Q.U.E.R.O.R 3,845]

Your entry must be 700 to 900 words long

Where'd you hear tha? O.o

[BlueDragon_tamki 3,204]

I like this new expression xD

In English, a more common figure of speech is "don't count your chickens before they hatch" or "it's not over until the fat lady sings."

I never heard of these either :mellow:

[BlueDragon_tamki 3,204]

Where'd you hear tha? O.o

[C.O.N.Q.U.E.R.O.R 3,845]

But it said limit,, misleading... k watevs

[BlueDragon_tamki 3,204]

But it said limit,, misleading... k watevs

k lol

[BabyG0D 106]

The Curse Of the Ice

 

Chapter 1: The Kingdom of Ice

 

It was a really cold winter morning, the icy breeze was making my feet numb. This didn’t seem like my home at all, after a few moments I finally gathered up enough energy to sit up. I rubbed my eyes open still feeling very drowsy I looked about. My heart nearly skipped a beat and a cold shiver went through my spine. Where the hell was I?
 
I tried to recall how I had reached here as I sat in the midst of the seemingly endless plateau of snow. My memory seemed completely hazy, like a swirling mist. But one thing I did remember “Red eyes” I muttered to myself as I faintly recollected my encounter last night with a strange creature that had red eyes. I pinched myself once again to ensure I was not dreaming, but I felt the pain alright. There was no use thinking about it here I had to find shelter somewhere warm before I freeze to death. 
I took small steps through the snow trying to find a cave where I could warm myself up and think properly about what I should do. But it was in vain there was no way I could discern anything in this storm. I kept walking forward as much as I could, I could no longer feel any part of my body it had all gone totally numb. “thudd” I toppled onto the snow. My strength was failing me I tried but couldn’t get myself up anymore. The sound of the wind howling in my ears died away as I slowly blacked out. “It’s over for me, I wish I could have lived longer” but the words wouldn’t come out of my mouth.
 
Ready to wake up in the afterlife I geared up to ask some question about the strangeness of the things that had happened to me. I felt the warmth of a fire on my skin, “Is this the afterlife? I expected more” I asked as loudly as I could still salty about the strange things that had happened to me over the past hours.
 
“You aint dead yet kid, but you would be if I hadn’t carried you in here” said a coarse and grumpy voice.
“I am really grateful sir “I replied feeling stupid and at the same time trying to take a closer look at the person I was talking to.
“So where are ye form? You don’t look like someone from around here lad” he inquired.
“I am from London sir its in UK, could you please tell me where I am at the present??”
“London never heard of it, you are in the land of ice the prosperous kingdom governed by her majesty the queen of ice herself”
“Queen of ice !!! What do you mean? Also prosperous lol there is nothing but snow here”
It seemed I had unsettled the man a bit now. The lantern that illuminated the shack was now shining down on the other man. I nearly let out a shriek. It was a man of sturdy build as I expected but I couldn’t believe my eyes “he was fully made of ice.. solid ice”. 
“Don’t you dare disrespect our queen kid these are the out lands the central kingdom is about a mile away from here, now drink up that soup and come with me to the castle”
 
I didn’t bother asking any questions and as I quickly gulped down the soup. Now I was finally beginning to feel alive again. After a few minutes he gestured at me to follow him. He took me to a strange looking vehicle which kind of resembled a motorbike, however it had no wheels nor an ice ski. Still confused at how he was going to move the vehicle i got on with him. To my surprise he pulled out a shiny crystal of ice and stuck it in an opening of the same size. WHOOSH the thing began to fly. I held on tight as he vroomed the bike across the icy lands. 
 
“Don’t tell me where you come from you aint even got flying bikes lad”
Not sure how to reply I stayed silent but the other man continued
“Seriously  kid are you telling me you can’t even use magic ?”
“Magic ??” I exclaimed. I can do magic tricks alright but you mean you can use real magic ?.
“Of course I can, everyone here can use ice make magic. Especially us warriors we protect our lands with the magic the land has gifted us”
 
As I looked down I could see a shiny castle of ice in the distance. The crystals shining in varied colours it was truly a beautiful sight. The man began to lower the vehicle onto the ground. I followed him as he got off and started heading towards the main castles. In a few moments I found myself stand in front of a big ice wall. The guy called out to the castle guard who opened the gate for us. We headed straight for the throne room to meet the queen. 
The other man kneeled on to the floor so I ended up doing the same. I looked up and sneaked a peak. A women dressed in white covered in crystals of ice. She was younger than I had expected but man she was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. 
 

To Be Continued...

 

Edited December 19, 2017 by BabyG0D

[BabyG0D 106]

Word Count - 900

Category - Fiction/Fantasy

 

Hope you guys like it. 

[shark_NOOB 2]

Wheres the start? Isn't this continue the story? :huh:

[BlueDragon_tamki 3,204]

Wheres the start? Isn't this continue the story? :huh:

this is the start xD

[Electron-9000 48]

I think I'll give this a go, 

Since I've just returned back to Tanki Online after a long 7 months, I might as well boost myself into the community with a win in this :P

 

 

The Chronicles of a Writer

 

Chapter 1: The Reveal

 

‘Meet me at my office at 2’ read the note. All kinds of emotions rushed through. “What does he want now?”, visibly confused, Gerald quickly glanced at the clock. “Half-an-hour left eh”. He reached out for his coffee mug. It was empty.  He moved towards the coffee machine to fill him up with some coffee. “Yo Stephanie, do you know what the boss wants to talk about today? Did he speak to you about anything?”. Stephanie just nodded a no and continued to converse on her phone.

 

 

This whole meeting thing was stressing Gerald out. He had never been called for a meeting before. Was he getting suspended? Even worse, fired? Gerald worked as a writer for a firm. He had been appointed to his role by his uncle, Oswald. He had done a few reports and that’s it. What the company did, or what their market was, was something Gerald has no clue about. Nevertheless, he waited for the hour to strike.

He knocked the boss’s cabin, asking permission to enter. The boss had his chair turned towards the fireplace, smoking a cigar, with his back towards Gerald. “Grab a chair young man”. His voice was cold. Gerald, not wanting to make things worse for himself, quietly pulled a chair and sat down. Every second passing seemed like an hour. At this point Gerald had begun to sweat.

 

 

The boss, back still turned against him, spoke: “Do you know why I called you here Gerald?” “Not really Sir!” Gerald replied. The boss turned around. He had large sunglasses on, which covered most of his face. A muffler was wrapped around his neck. He said, “Mr. Gerald, I know its been just 4 months that you have been working with us, I think now it’s time that I tell you what this company is all about” Gerald sat right up. Something wasn’t right. He could feel it. The boss let him have a few moments to sink it in.

 

 

Once Gerald regained his composure, the boss continued. He said, “We are a company that does ads for different clients, but we work as spies undercover for these clients. Blackmail, evidence collection, reports, etc. is all part of what we do here. And before you react or try to leave, let me tell you that once you are hired here, there is no turning back”. Gerald was shocked. Struggling to find some words to blurt out, he asked, “What.. What mm-makes you think I c-can’t run away?”. The boss smirked, and pulled out a paper which looked like the contract Gerald had once signed on. He continued, “Your uncle works for us as a talent recruitment officer. I must tell you, he does his job well, I mean look at you. Perfect talent”.

 

 

Gerald gulped. Memories were starting to strike back at him. Nearly 6 months ago, he had asked his uncle Oswald for a job. His uncle introduced him to this job. Even though the pay wasn’t all that good, Gerald had to take it because of his poor condition. After all, something is better than nothing right? He also remembered that in his state of desperation, he had forgotten to read the contract and just did whatever he was told at that time.

 

Back to the present, Gerald was furious. He had been played. But there was no other option at this point. With a heavy heart, Gerald asked the boss, “What do you want me to do?”. The boss laughed, and replied, “Now we talkin’, you have three objectives, each different from the other”. Saying this he threw three photographs in front of him. “The first photograph is of Joseph Carter, the second is Frank Callum, and the last one is of Kristi Elizer. Now here’s what you will be doing. Joseph Carter is an undercover spy for the G.E.N.E.X, an organization that collects ancient relics. You have to create a case against him, busting him with proof of his relation to the organization, and stuff like that… You get the point. Frank Callum, is a model who is rumored to be cheating on his wife. You have to prove this wrong, and support him with valid resources. Kristi Elizer is the daughter of the third richest man in the country. She has been missing for a few days now. You have to make a report on this event. Is that clear?”.

 

 

At this point, it was complete fade out for Gerald. Failure to accomplish these tasks would mean death. With no choice, Gerald picked up the three photos, and began to leave the cabin. As he left, the boss growled, “Oh yeah, one more thing, If you try to run away or call for help, my men will make sure you don’t stay alive to tell your tale”

Gerald closed the door behind him. He wasn’t hired for this. He went back home, set up his bulletin, and cleared his table. He was a different man now. His only hope and escape was if he finished these tasks. As darkness slowly took over the city, Gerald sat down, pen in hand, making notes as he surfed the internet. Progress had to made.. And Fast!

 

To be Continued…..

Edited December 20, 2017 by Electron-9000

[TriNitroToIuene 4,765]

Yay, my favourite contest ever!

[BlueDragon_tamki 3,204]

Yay, my favourite contest ever!

OMG the legend is back!!! :O