The Storytelling Game (10 words! Competitive!)

[dknight818]

Hola Señors y Señoritas! It is finally time for me to post the 10 words (of doom) and officially kick off the 5th installment of the "Big Time Storytelling Competition!" (now fortified with vitamins and minerals.) Here come them words! (Can't stop the words!)

quit
check
website
system
broadcast
saved
quiz
group
book
hear

Totally random these words are! (actually...I used the mess of emails sitting in my Yahoo mail inbox. So there's that.) YOU ALL KNOW THE RULES BY NOW! so gets to writin'! We'll still give all of you competitors 48 hours on this one...*ding*

[jenn]

The system was down now. That was a good thing; they couldn’t reach her through the screen for the moment. She thought about turning on the radio, but as her hand reached it, she quickly pulled it away. They would be there waiting for her, the group of voices that haunted her every waking moment. She couldhear them in her sleep lately, so there was really no escape. They were always there quizzing her over and over. The things they told her were saved in her memory now. The horrible things they made her do, she had to do them it was the only way to make the voices quit. Again and again she heard them broadcastin her mind, telling her things she didn’t want to hear, forcing her to do things she didn’t want to do.
She saw the book lying there, and picked it up. Reading would take her mind off of the voices. She quickly opened the book hoping for some relief, anything to make them go away. She hastily threw the book down as if it were burning her hands. Damn them how had they gotten into her house, leaving messages for her in books, what could she expect next. She could understand the website anyone could leave messages there. She got up to checkthe rest of the house. She quietly walked through the living room, to the kitchen. Everything seemed normal, there was nothing out of place maybe she had imagined the book. Perhaps she had imagined the whole thing.
She walked into the bathroom, thinking a hot shower would help clear her mind. She couldn’t listen to them tonight; she would go insane if she had to do their bidding this night. She grabbed a towel, and turned toward the mirror, she froze, as the words appeared before her. She had to make them stop terrorizing her. She only wanted the voices to leave her alone. She picked up the razor blade that gleamed from the edge of the sink. She knew she had to do it right the first time, if she messed up they would keep haunting her. She watched as the blood ran down the drain, her blood this time. There had been so much blood since the voices came, and they always demanded more and more. They were never satisfied. She wondered how long it would take before her world would go black. She couldn’t do the atrocious things they asked of her any longer. She watched the blood pooling in the sink, and became dizzy the end was near she could feel it now, and she let it take her away to a better place with no voices

[barrie]

“Check the broadcast system.”<br>
“Is this a pop quiz?”<br>
“Check the fucking broadcast system, asshole.”<br>
“Okay, I hear you!”

The sound of a book being paged through came over the line. “You’re looking it up in the manual, aren’t you?”<br>
“Huh? No, just , uh, give me a sec, k.”

Now the sound of keys clacking could be heard in the background, “What, now you’re looking for the website? Try http://www.andyisanidiot.com.”<br>
“Quit, quit. Mmmmm.”<br>
“I don’t even want to know, just check the broadcast system. Now.”<br>
“Oh baby, I’m gonna come!”<br>
“Jesus, Em, that was my fucking unit leader!” Andy groaned as Emily eased a finger up inside herself and slid it along his length. “Oh God, you are so crazy.” He rescued his book as it slid from beneath her.

“Oh Jesus, oh fuck, fuck me, baby, fuck me. Fuck me, fuck me, fuck me, fuck me!”<br>
Andy briefly wondered if he saved the text that Em’s fine little ass had just typed for him if it would qualify as literature, art or porn. Then his mind blanked as he joined Emily in that one completely mindless moment of ecstasy. When he recovered enough to contemplate flipping her over and seeing what else she could type, his phone buzzed, “Figured you’d be about done now, you never could last very long. Broadcast system. Now”<br>
“I’m on it.” Andy was talking to dead air.

“Fucking bitch! Goddamned fucking cunt!”<br>
“Baby?”<br>
“Not you, Em.”<br>
“Was that that group leader person again?”<br>
“Unit, honey, unit leader and yeah that was her.”<br>
“Your group leader is a her?”<br>
“Unit leader, baby and yeah, my unit leader is my ex-fucking-wife.”

[Monkey]

MK1

GET HACKIN'

"I QUIT!" yelled Thomas, hot and tired and sweaty, and he threw down his dull shovel at Boss-Man Cobb's feet.

"CHECK the attitude you ignorant high-school drop-out stoner-loser PUNK!!" snarled Boss-Man Cobb chewing on a cigar butt.

Boss-man Cobb had seen this type of attitude - too many times - when you first interview these young punks it's always the same ol' BS story - "Oh sure Boss-Man Cobb I don't have a problem digging graves or cutting up bodies, I can handle it Boss-Man Cobb, it doesn't bother me none" was the usual lines he'd hear, but then once these young punks actually put in a hard day's work out in the fields, hot as hell, hacking up, digging and burying bodies it was a whole different story. These young punks usually learn of boss-man Cobb's operation through the secret website his organization maintained. (Most operations like Cobb's were not exactly broadcast on CNN for obvious reasons) The usual procedure was that the applicants filled in an application online, took a short quiz, were entered into the system, and their data was saved - later, all the applicants were taken in secret as a group in a remote undisclosed location, those that could read were given a rules book which most tossed aside unread.

Boss-Man Cobb got right in the punk's sweaty face - "Pick up the shovel, dig a hole, cut off the legs, arms and head, put them in the bag provided for you, toss it in the hole, fill in the hole - how friggin' hard IS that punk!?"

Thomas, barely sixteen, was intimidated, just as Cobb thought he would be.

"I'm sorry Boss-Man Cobb" he said, wiping sweat from his brow and picking back up his shovel "You're right - it's good money - easy work"

"Great" said Boss-Cobb, and surveyed the site - looking for the next young punk to get out of line. They had 412 bodies left to dispose of, and only 3 more good hours of sunlight left. "GET HACKIN' - GET CRACKIN'!!!" he yelled.

[Tricia]

TW1

It took me quite a while to get where I have in life, longer that most of the people around me.

I’ve never been what people call ‘book-smart’, but I’ve always had common sense. That sounds funny now seeing the crazy route my life has taken. I got pregnant at fifteen, married at sixteen and was divorced by twenty.
Yeah, I lived a lot of years during my youth!

While my friends were at the senior prom, I was at home with Jamie. She had Colic and I stayed up all night crying because I couldn’t do anything to make her feel better.
I ended up setting up a system of working two jobs and sleeping while she was in nursery school, so I could spend time with her.

I spent a couple of years when she was little working a second job at Speedy’s gas station on Route 2. My friends were either off at college or getting married.
During the summer they would stop by to get gas on their way to or from the beach.

That’s the problem with Route 2; it is the main highway between our town and the beach.
People can be cruel without realizing it sometimes. They’d come by, a big group of my old high school friends and ask me to check the weather broadcast for them, because they were planning on taking the ferry out to the Point and sleeping on the beach that night. Man, I wanted to go so bad.

I wouldn’t let on, but I knew they would talk about me after they left. “Poor kid, she never goes anywhere anymore. She used to be so much fun. Remember that time we went out drinking and she …”. Of course, they wouldn’t want me hear them… they weren’t trying to be mean, that’s just what people do.

Then one day he came along. Not exactly my knight in shining armor, but almost as good.
I know what you’re thinking…he swept me off my feet, right? No, not exactly.

I had been taking a class on-line. I was learning to create websites.
Big whoop right?

Well, I had gotten a second hand laptop at a pawnshop and I was actually getting pretty good. I had aced all of my quizzes and was almost ready to try to set up my own little web design company out of the house.
I was going to call it Jamie’s Mom’s Web Design…yeah, dorky I know, but she was the reason I never quit getting up every day and she was what kept me going when I didn’t feel like rolling my ass out of bed in the morning. So, yeah, it was for us.

One day this guy comes by the gas station, he’s older, not all that good looking. Definitely didn’t feel any fireworks, ya know!
But he was checking out some of the work I was doing on my tiny little craptop and he liked what he saw.

I guess you could say he saved us. In a way, maybe he did.
He would never tell you that though. He’ll tell you, I saved myself… he just happened to have an eye for talent!
He’s a sweetheart, probably the nicest person I’ve ever met.

He offered me a job working as a designer for his company. Starting salary was crap.
But, after gas station wages, Jamie and were absolutely convinced that we had hit pay dirt!

So now, after ten years of working as a web designer, I’m sitting here reminiscing on the good old days. Being sarcastic of course!
Jamie is packing up our bags for the beach. I work out of the house a couple of days a week and on some summer days the beach is the ‘house’!

I’ll stop and get gas from Speedy’s on Route 2. Now there’s some punk kid with a goatee and a Mohawk working behind the counter.

I’ll ask him to check the weather broadcast for me, then Jamie and I will haul ass out of town and down to the ferry.


Yeah, I took the long way around, but I got here just the same.

[Collin]

CB1

The website promised to put me in touch with the love of my dreams. I honestly don't even know how I got there. One link just led to another as they sometimes do.

I can't explain what it was about the site that captured my attention. It seemed like just another scam designed around getting lonely people to hand over their money for a slim chance at happiness. I was certainly lonely, but I had no chance at happiness with anyone. Not even in my dreams. I'm a lifelong member of that invisible class of people known as the terminally shy. Get me in a group of people and you can actually watch me fade from view. As a matter of fact, the more people who look, the faster I disappear. It's amazing but true.

'Sorry guys, good luck with the next sucker,' I thought to myself as I moused my way to the close tab. Even if they could find me the woman of my dreams, there is no way I would have the courage to talk to her.

As my finger was about to close this site another window popped up as if to block my exit. I paused, somewhat surprised by this. I had a reliable pop-up blocker installed. I thought this must be something new before I registered what I was reading.

"You may want to reconsider leaving. We are offering you the real thing for next to nothing. Just take a few minutes to check it out. Our specially tailored quiz will help you find a love like no other. The love of a lifetime."

I tapped my finger on my mouse for a few moments, considering. Did I really have anything to lose by looking? What is the worst that could happen? I might get some more spam in my already overflowing spam engulfed in-box. It was almost time for me to change my account anyway, so I really had nothing to lose, and possibly something to gain.

Having reached my decision I clicked on the 'enter' button, and as I did the blocker page vanished. Then everything vanished. I felt as though I was being pulled down a long dark tunnel. My brain felt like a million microscopic fingers were poking it in a pattern that I could just comprehend, but would never understand. Images were flashing through my mind as I fell through the blackness. Something was reading me like a book.

... There I was at the age of five, secretly watching my babysitter make out with her boyfriend when I was supposed to be in bed. She caught me and threw a shoe at me while yelling, "Get to bed you little pervert!" I ran away, scared to death of having been caught.

... There I was at the age of nine at my first boy/girl party at the school's gym. I spent the night looking at Jessica Stone when she was looking anywhere else. She was so beautiful in her blue flowered dress. Whenever she happened to glance in my direction my eyes would drop to the floor. When I finally had worked up the courage to go talk to her, Stain came up behind me and gave me a huge wedgie. Everyone laughed. Even Jessica. I wanted so hard to be able to turn invisible.

... There I was at the age of 13 about to experience my very first kiss. The girl's name was Eliza. We were hiding in some bushes in her backyard. I wasn't even sure how we had gotten to this point. She was one year older than me, and I had been attracted to her since she had moved into our neighborhood three years earlier. She had come up to me 15 minutes ago and had asked me to meet her here. She wanted me to help her learn how to kiss. My lips were an inch away from hers. I could feel her breath on my cheek. My pulse was hammering so hard through my veins that I was sure everyone in the world could hear it. I felt the briefest touch of her lips to mine when a hand crashed down on my shoulder and yanked me away. Her father growled out, "Eliza, go straight to your room!" He then propelled me ahead of him to my house where he informed my parents that he had caught me making out with his daughter in the bushes. They were so disappointed in me. I spent the night in my room crying. I never got to speak to Eliza again.

... There I was at the age of 20 with some woman I had picked up in a bar. My friends had egged me on until I had given in. She was pretty attractive in the bar light, and she smiled when I walked up. I stammered out an offer to buy her a drink and she casually reached out, caught my tie, drew me in close and whispered, "I have a better idea." She led me to a hotel across the street from the bar where she had a room. I had just finished kissing her when I made the discovery that she was a man. My shout of shock and surprise was the signal that my friends had been waiting for. The burst into the room laughing and taking pictures of my expression. It turned out this man was a professional they had hired thinking to somehow break me out of my shell. I stopped going out after that.

... There I am at the age of 53. I've died of a heart attack in front of my computer system. The TV in the living room is just broadcasting static. When the neighbors have the police break down the door two weeks later they discover that my dog has managed to survive by eating bits of my body. He is taken to the pound where they have to put him down. I'm taken to the morgue where I'm filed away in a drawer until they can determine the cause of my death. Once it has been ruled natural causes they try to find my nearest living relative, but have no success. I was very good at turning invisible. I'm cremated and my ashes are put with the other unloved, invisible, dead people.

Then the fingers quit their probing. I'd stopped falling and was hovering in the darkness. I heard a voice in my head.

'We have concluded the quiz. You have hated yourself for most of your life. You've closed yourself off from anything you thought might hurt you without realizing that you are hurting yourself more than anything else possibly can. You've now seen where this will lead. It's easy to avoid however. Just turn away from your computer, open your door and reenter the world you left so many years ago. Find out what life among people has to offer. Learn who you are, and most important learn to love yourself. You can't love anyone else until you do.'

And then the darkness was gone. I was still sitting at my desk with my hand on the mouse.

I shut off my computer, stood up and went out my door to rejoin the world as I had been advised. I had no guarantee that I would live a longer life than I had foreseen, but if I could find a way to finally love myself then I could at least live a better life.

My only regret is that I hadn't saved the link. Then you could try it yourself. If you want to find it yourself you can try following some random links for awhile. It only took me ten years.

Or go out and meet some new people. It's up to you.

[Heather]

INTEROFFICE MEMO
TO: ALL EMPLOYEES
FR: SHIFT MANAGER
RE: OFFICE POLICIES

I have a few items I'd like to discuss with all of you. First of all the new WEBSITE is business BROADCASTS only! It is not to be used as an online dating SYSTEM. Whoever used my name on the message board will set things straight with Gerta at once. I do not appreciate having a 250 pound cleaning woman vacuuming my office naked singing "Let's Get It On" and winking at me!!!

Second, the calling in dead will QUIT immediately. Sure it's funny to HEAR my secretary Bunnie give her condolences that you've passed on and then ask you what Heaven is like but when she rushes out of the building screaming "Raymond's trapped in Hell! He must be SAVED!!!", we have a problem.

Third, will the GROUP that sent out the "Is Your Boss A Homosexual" QUIZ please get with me? I have a few questions about our c.e.o. that I'd like to CHECK out.

Finally, be advised that the president of the company will be here tomorrow morning at 9 am sharp. Make sure we're all on the same page of the rule BOOK, people.

Signed,
Mr. S.F. Pantz

[dknight818]

DK1
"So, what I'm hearing from you is that...You feel I'm not performing?"

"Oh, no...You weren't really listening were you? What I'm saying is that you are a completely incompetent MORON. I cannot BELIEVE that I hired you. I don't know WHAT you've done to the phone system, it's completely fried. You've managed to fuck up everything from the company website to the Human Resources group in the 4 and a half hours that you've been employed here. I don't know how you did it, and I don't care, either. I want you gone...Now...You're fired."

"Oh, no, you can't fire me, Sparky, because I already quit,"

"What? When the hell did you do that?"

"Back when you were jabbering on about...something...I dunno...I said it in my head: 'I quit.'"

"Quit, fired, what's the difference? The point is this: YOU DON'T WORK HERE ANYMORE! EVER!"

"OH, DON'T YOU RAISE YOUR VOICE AT ME! I CAN PLAY THAT GAME TOO! I..."

"Hey, shut up!"

"OH, DON'T YOU TELL MEEEEE TO SHUUUUT UUUP! I'LL BROADCAST IT ALL OVER THIS FUCKING OFFICE! I QUIT, I QUIT, I QUIT! FUCK YOU ALL!"

"Dude, what the Hell?"

"Quick quiz, asshole...Do you know where your little collection of paperweights and Kama Sutra books got off to?"

"Oh, you goddamn little MONSTER...What did you do with them!?"

"Oh, no, you take back what you said about my being fired and I'll tell you..."

"You...I...I can't fucking believe this...ARE YOU ACTUALLY TRYING TO BLACKMAIL ME!?"

"Hell yes I am...Look, I can't go home and tell my Mom I've been fired. She'll kick my ass."

"Your...Mom?"

"ARE YOU LAUGHING AT ME!? I SWEAR TO GOD, I'LL COME OVER THIS DESK! HEY! WHO'S...LET ME GO!? WHERE ARE WE GOING!? I STILL GET MY CHECK FOR WORKING TODAY! I KNOWWWW MYYYY RIIIIIIGHTS..."

As the sound of Horace's manic cries faded away, Francis reclined in his chair and tried to regain his composure. It certainly had been a surreal day, never before had a new hire done so many things so very wrong in such a short period of time..."That's the last time I hire a Palmer graduate," he thought decisively to himself...Getting up from his desk to have a look around, Francis suddenly remembered what Horace had said about his "collection." "Aww, crap," he thought. "I wonder what the little asshole did with my stuff...I saved for WEEKS to buy that last book...My wife's gonna KILL me..."

[dknight818]

OK, folks, game's over...Time has expired for this round...Big thanks to all who participated! The voting phase of this story competition begins (looking at watch) now!

*ding!*

We'll have another 48 hours (or so) to vote for your TWO favorite stories (based on the number of entries) and voting is open to EVERYBODY, not just competitors. Good luck folks! Look for final results on Friday!

[Tricia]

Somebody here reminded me of this:

"Who's motorcycle is this?"
"It's a chopper baby."
"Who's chopper is this?"
"Zeds"
"Who's Zed?"
"Zeds dead, baby, Zeds dead"


I love that... heheh

[barrie]

Oh-kay then, I'm feeling a bit outclassed! I was going to just slink off into the abyss of the internet but a) you all know where I "live" ;p and b) I'm sort of fascinated by this whole thing, the different ways people approach the "assignment" and the way the words really do prompt a story once you start to string them together.

So, I figure I'll stick around for a while and perhaps you guys will rub off on me...umm...that didn't come out the way I meant it! Ahem, perhaps playing this game will help to improve the caliber of my writing. There, was that better?

With no further lame-assed, self-deprecating, blah, blah blah humor...drumroll please...my first vote absolutely goes to TW1: extremely well-written, Tricia made excellent use of the words without the reader even realising it and it was just a nice story

I am having a horrible time deciding who to hand my second vote out to!!!! Jenn's was nice and creepy (very H.P. Lovecraft!) DK1 was quite amusing and eminently readable!!! I totally got sucked in by Collin's time warp. I really loved that one! And I had a really hard time deciding between Collin's and Heather's but I'm just gonna have to go with Heather's! That was just TOO cute and TOO clever and perhaps I got swayed by how well it fits in with a sort of silly novel I happen to be reading but for whatever reason my heart says Heather gets my second vote

[Heather]

Another tough decision but....I'm a sucker for big mushy stories soooo....that said, my first vote goes to Tricia and my second vote to Collin.

[Collin]

My first vote has to go to MK1: Very interesting story, but you left us wondering! Why Monkey, why? I hope you eventually flesh it out.

And, as usual, the last vote is difficult.

Jenn's was great because I like the creepy, horror style. She captured the crazy, as it were.

Barrie's was also very interesting. A bit confusing at first. It felt as though it came from the middle of something, but I did like the last line.

Tricia's was not as depressing as her other stories, however I would really like to see her try her hand at funny. I suffered this time for you, you be funny next time for me.

Mine I can't vote for, so there I go. Not that I would anyway. I'm too wordy these days (can you tell?)

Heather's was funny, and very short. I like it. Especially the first paragraph.

And Derek is frikin' Derek. Once again a great story for a last minute entry! You suck.

I just can't narrow down a second vote. It's always been that you can vote up to a certain number. I'm stopping at one this time. My vote is for Monkey.

That said, I still wish there had been more stories, especially from the people who had posted before; Justin, Wendy, Diana... and any member who didn't post a story! We love you! Post!

[jenn]

Voting Sucks! I loved everyones stories and this has taken forever to decide. I have to go with Tricia's story, well because it was such a happy tale, and we all know that was a test for Tricia to see if she really could do happy! I just have to go with Barrie for my second vote lets face it there was sex, and I like sex!

[Tricia]

Vote one: Barrie... yeah thats the Zed's dead thing... you freak! Very Pulp Fiction

Vote two: JS1... man that was freaky...
dark voices, that was me stupid telling you to do those things ...Demon Queen's friends heheh

Vote three: you suck...I want three.
Can I have Collin's, he's not using it!
CB1: I've spent the whole week thinking about things I wish I had done differently... like a vulcan mind meld buddy.

Please people... I need more sex in these stories.. them's the rules. I vote for sex...hell, everybody votes for sex!