Continue the story - Best Chapter Wins!

by **Arianna** 8/25/2009, 2:16 pm

Contest Approved by Akeria (IE: It's Akeria Approved people, go ahead and enter. )
Here's the deal - I'm going to give you one paragraph, and that's the prolouge. Then you write chapters, only one chapter at a time, though you can post more than once. EDIT: You continue as of the end of the last chapter, so check all posts so you know the story. The person who has written the best chapter will win a total of 20 TwigBucks, and a custom made avatar and signature set!
This contest will be judged by me, and it will end when we reach a total of 20 chapters.
A chapter shouldn't be too long or too short. I'm fine with anything between 1000 to 2000 words, but you can go a bit over or under it.
This will all be in third person, please continue in this way. Smile

After you read the prologue, feel free to enter!

Dana's eyes skimmed around the darkness around her nervously, trying to make out the scene which she knew was happening not so far away. Not now, she thought, trying to convince herself it was just a dream, but that wasn't working.
I have to help, she said, getting up from her place on the damp ground and almost instantly breaking into a run. I can't let them die.

That was the prologue. Have fun!

by **Akeria** 8/25/2009, 2:55 pm

Dana kept running, her lungs were frozen, from the cold air that hung around her head, keeping her sweating down to a minimum. Her legs followed the pattern that she had set. Left, right, left, right, left, right. She said to herself over and over again. Go. Find Merdock. Go.

The sun was starting to rise, the suns rays warming the air around her, making it more comfortable to run. She kept going, she was nearly there. She tore into the the library, and ran up the stairs, avoiding the librarian, Mrs. Pynce, who was carrying twelve library books.

"Dana! Slow down!" She called after Dana.

Dana still didn't slow. She tore up the next flight of stairs into the observatory at the top. She ran into the office.

"Merdock!" She cried. "Merdock! Where are you?"

"Right here, child." A tall man, with dark hair emerged. He was burly, but older. His eyes were a dark gold color, and they showed years of planetary wisdom.

"I... I was too late... I couldn't stop him." Dana said. She sat down into the chair in front of Merdock's desk.

"You... failed?" Merdock asked. His face grew very grave. "Dana, did I not explain to you the how severe the consequences would be if you failed? Was I not clear?" The volume of Merdock's voice continued to climb.

"I... I'm so sorry.... M...Mer...Merdock." Dana stuttered.

"No time for apologies." He said. "Follow me." He walked through an archway on the right side of the circular room, into a larger room.

Dana gasped at the sight in front of her. It was an enormous Hour glass, standing from ceiling to floor. There were constolations painted all over a star map on the floor, and they continued up onto the ceiling. Dana reached out and touched the hour glass. The sand was on the top, which was weird...

"Get in." Merdock said.

Dana turned her head and noticed a door into the hour glass. She stepped inside and closed the door. The room turned black, and the hourglass started spinning. But there was no sand, there was water. She felt herself being tossed and turned, and she crouched down to the floor in a ball.

"Dana? What's up with you?" Craig asked.

Dana opened her eyes, looking around. The sun was lower in the sky, and she was standing at the entrance of the woods again.

"Oh my god." She said.

"What?" Craig answered.

"Come on, Craig! We're going to be too late!" Dana said, breaking into a run and sprinting through the forest to where she had fallen last night, or was it later tonight? She knew that she was back in time. She was before the accident, before Craig was taken by them. She sprinted forward, to where she had seen the yellow lights, heard the screams.

She looked into the sky, down to the ground, but saw no trace of the beings, the tall ones, with their faces made out of pure glass, easy to crack, but not easy to kill. They weren't here. Yet? She didn't know.

"Dana, you're scaring me." Craig said. Dana turned around to face him, knowing that she had to save him in just a few hours. "What's going on." He asked.

"Serious deja-vous." Dana answered simply.

by **Arianna** 8/25/2009, 2:59 pm

Nice chapter, Keri Very Happy

I can't wait until others enter!
And thanks for approving it Wink

by **Akeria** 8/25/2009, 3:04 pm

No problem! Thank you!
(Even if I don't win, would you mind If I used my chapter and maybe re-wrote the prologue for a story? I want to keep going XD)

by **Arianna** 8/25/2009, 3:04 pm

Sure, that's fine! If you want to make it your own story, I'm fine with that Very Happy

by **Akeria** 8/25/2009, 3:06 pm

Huzzah!

ENTER PEOPLE! I wants to find out who wins. Very Happy

by **Arianna** 8/25/2009, 3:07 pm

Yep, enter! I want to know who'll win! Even though I'll be choosing the winner. xD

by **DreamCatcher81** 8/25/2009, 4:34 pm

Ooh! This looks cool! I'm writing the next chappie. Very Happy

by twilighter3000 8/25/2009, 9:34 pm

Wait, do you go off the last person's chapter, or your prologue?

by **DreamCatcher81** 8/25/2009, 11:11 pm

Here's mine. Omg! I just had this crazy wierd idea but what if we all pitched in and published this story!!! It seems really cool now! Not in Shadows of Inspiration, but as an actual story! It would take a super long time and would probably only be like 2-300 pages. . . But would be totally worth it if we did!!! cheesy

Craig looked at her funny, his eyes narrowing and his chestnut eyebrow’s arching curiously above his deep blue eyes. “That doesn’t explain anything,” he complained. “I’m not moving until you tell me what’s going on.”

“No, Craig, please don’t do this!” Dana squealed in horror. “You don’t understand. We have to leave now!”

“And what if we don’t,” Craig threatened stubbornly, a mask of defiance worn on his face, distorting his perfect features slightly.

“You don’t want to know,” Dana replied before grabbing his arm and jerking it. “Now come on!” Her slight body didn’t help to move him; she had always been more of a runner and had no chance when it came to tug-a-war with Craig.

“No,” he declared, staring her down. Her head swam as she looked into his ocean blue eyes but she shook it to clear her mind.

“Come on!” Her voice raised an octave higher, the anxious fear building inside of her until she thought she would burst from it.

“Tell me what’s happening,” he demanded, his face full of suspicion and distrust. He had known Dana for a long time, and she had always seemed a bit strange. Just a teensy bit different and offbeat. But as much as she had been, she had never done anything this outlandish before.

“If we stay, you will-” she hesitated, her heart wrenching in anguish and terror- “d- die. You can’t stay Craig.”

He stared at her, keeping absolutely still for several long moments. Then he let out a long, harsh laugh like a bark, trying to ignore the knot forming at the pit of his stomach. “Die?” he exclaimed loudly, ignoring her when she tried to shush him. “You think I will die? Well than what mighty beast will do that to me?” he questioned. “Surely not you and your tiny body. You can’t kill me!” Suddenly, an ear-piercing scream rent through the otherwise peaceful forest.

“I can’t,” she murmured, staring forward with wide violet eyes. “But they can.” She stood dazed, in a trance, as the sound of underbrush cracking reached the two teenagers ears. Suddenly she gasped and shook her head. “GO!” she screamed loudly at Craig, whipping around to yell at him full in the face. “Run for your life! They’re coming!” Craig wanted to ask who was coming and why he should run but he couldn’t. His legs stood frozen as the cracking grew louder.

“What about you Dana?” he whispered quietly, as he realized she was prepared to stay alone and face whatever was coming.

“Believe in me!” she yelled back. “I’ll be fine.” When he hesitated, she pushed him into the shadows of the trees. “WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR! LEAVE, GO!” And then she watched as he broke out into a full out sprint, leaving her behind.

She turned as a creature stepped out of the bushes only seconds later. She knew what would happen now. There was no question. But Craig, yes, Craig would be safe. At least she hoped. These creatures were powerful, but not swift. But she didn’t have the chance to run now like Craig could. She never had. These abominations needed to be destroyed, and destroyed now. They had always needed to, and she would sacrifice her life for the many other lives that would be sacrificed if she did not destroy the creatures now.

“Well what do we have here?” asked the creature. His voice was faint and whispery just like his wispy limbs. They were like a thin gray mist, floating in mid air. Above the fog that made his body, sat a large glass face, made of pure black, but she could hardly see it through the fog several shades lighter, that surrounded his body. She could easily see the two, beady red eyes staring out viciously at her though. She took a deep breath and greeted the creature.

“Garthe,” she said, shivering as the creature cackled as he sensed her fear in the air. Suddenly, hundreds more poured into the clearing, all looking exactly like Garthe. The clearing was suddenly filled with a chill from the cool mist invading it; this was going to be difficult as the only way she could harm them physically was from their faces. She would have to resort to magic against the thingsThese things were known as Phantom Creatures, although they weren’t ghosts coming to haunt her, as easily as it would have been for Dana to believe it. They were just evil, pure evil, bent on the destruction of her kind.

“The time for proper introductions is over Princess Dana,” Garthe said in his bone-chilling voice. Dana gasped. “Oh, so you didn’t know we knew you were royalty?” She shook her head. This hadn’t happened before! Of course, this had been a much different situation than before.

Then distracting her from her thoughts, the massive group of creatures slowly began to advance on the princess.

“Lightna, brightna,” Dana whispered, and immediately two violet rays shot from the palms of her hands and towards the sky where they formed a lavender cloud. From it shot darker streaks of lightning and sparks flew like raindrops, disintegrating anything it touched. But there were so many, all pouring out from the dark shadows behind their fallen comrades, filling their spots. For a moment, Dana paused in horror. But that was the wrong move. She didn’t see Garthe creeping up from behind. All she knew was that she felt a hard whack in the back of her head, and everything faded to blackness as the creatures ghosted forward.

* * * *

Dana blinked as she heard sloshing around her. Where was she? Suddenly a door opened and she tumbled out, riding on the crest of a small wave, and into Merdock’s study. The hourglass sat beside her and Merdock beside it.

“Oh,” she gasped, looking around in surprise at the familiar dark cherry red floors, and glossy paneled walls. “Oh,” she repeated. “I’m safe.” She leaned back against a table and brushed short strands of black hair out of her face and several aqua ones since she had a bit of aqua streaking the front of her hair to highlight her dark purple eyes.

“Well done,” Merdock congratulated her, but his green eyes shone uncertainly with a strange glint of worry.

“What’s wrong?” she asked Merdock, then suddenly she gasped as the scene around her changed, mist flowing and swirling around her, showing both Merdock’s cozy study, and a group of the creatures bent over her still form. Then suddenly it solidized to the clearing again and she looked up to find Garthe standing in front of her, his red eyes bright with victory. This couldn't be right! She was in the future now and this was in the past! Suddenly, with a sickening jolt she realized that she was trapped inbetween both dimensions, the past and the future.

“Ah the young one is awake,” Garthe spoke softly in his feathery voice, sending a slither down Dana’s slender back. She gulped as she stared around where she was laying, finding herself to be surrounded on all sides by a thick wall of the creatures.

by **DreamCatcher81** 8/25/2009, 11:54 pm

Haha sorry that was so crappily written. I totally rushed through it and it's like horrible but oh well! xD

by **Arianna** 8/26/2009, 1:47 am

It's really good! And if everyone wanted it to go on createspace, we could put it there Very Happy

by **DreamCatcher81** 8/26/2009, 1:58 am

Haha yeah. That would totally be awesome 'cuz I'm really starting to like it even though it's only two chappies in and I like how you don't know what's gonna happen next 'cuz everyone's always having different ideas about where the stories gonna go! cheesy

I would totally be willing to do all the work and publish it. I'm kinda having writer's block on BTW so I edited everything we have so far and added a new prologue since it wasn't really a prologue since we went straight off of it! xD

by **Akeria** 8/26/2009, 8:05 am

Wait... I don't get it. The person has to go off of the last chapter?

by twilighter3000 8/26/2009, 9:48 am

nm, I get it now!

by **Arianna** 8/26/2009, 9:50 am

Yep, that's how it works, Keri.

by **DreamCatcher81** 8/26/2009, 10:16 pm

Now someone else needs to write a chappie! I wanna know what happens! xD

by **DreamCatcher81** 8/28/2009, 5:44 pm

Seriously peeps! Someone enter! xP

by **Arianna** 8/29/2009, 1:44 am

Yep, just what Dream said Very Happy

It's not that hard nod

by **DreamCatcher81** 9/7/2009, 12:39 pm

Yeah! C'mon guys!!! xD

by **rattyjol** 10/1/2009, 8:15 pm

Ooh, this seems fun. IDK what to do next, though. Or if I can even write a 1000-word chapter. My chapters tend to be... really short. I supposed it'd be good practice for NaNo, but again, I have no idea what to do next, so...

by **Arianna** 10/2/2009, 12:54 am

Just write whatever you feel like! It can even be a free write Wink

by **xSophiexx16** 10/8/2009, 9:40 am

I would write a next chapter..
but it would look like a 3 sentence essay for kindergarters on what they thought of the series Dana and the Dimensions or something.