I
Incinermyn
Round-Robin Short Story Contest I
Rules and Entry Requirements
1.) Round-Robin writing is a short-round contest in which up to eight people attempt to write the best short story based on a given theme/genre without exceeding the preset word limit. All entries are due by the date given after this thread has been started, and at least two are required for voting to commence (otherwise, the contest is over).
2.) Like the Haiku & Short-Poem Contest, entries will be taken on a “first-come first-serve” basis, meaning that slots will be filled depending on the order in which entries are received. All submissions are to be made directly to me ([mod]Incinermyn[/mod]) via PM before 3:00 PM Central Daylight Time on the Wednesday they’re due on. Whatever entries I receive will then be randomized and posted here anonymously sometime later that day.
3.) Voting will be conducted via poll. The poll will be left open for about a week, and depending on how many votes are made, the winner will be determined based on their point value. In the event of a tie, I will be the one to make the final decision of who wins.
4.) Lastly, the winner of each round will not be allowed to enter the one that immediately follows it. This is to prevent consecutive victories and to give other people a chance to win.
Due Date: Wednesday, June 6th, 2012 at 3:00 PM CDT
Word-Count Limit: 750 words
Theme/Genre: Pokémon/None
You have three weeks, writers! Good luck and Godspeed!
~Incinermyn
Entry List
1.) By Lucky Fire
Agonizing Nightmare
Only so soon as Selena fell into deep sleep, she found herself in a nightmare. It was completely dark, with only a dim, red light to guide her. Selena knew someone was behind her; heavy, large footsteps shook the floor that Selena walked on. And glowing, red eyes were following her. It drooled sticky drool on the Fraxure's head. It reeked of rotten cheese. Selena was just about ready to cry.
After several minutes of weeping, a voice called out. It was her mother.
"Selena! Wake up! Selena!!!"
Selena could feel herself being dragged out of bed and wet water on her face. Yet when she reached to touch her face, it was dry. She sighed and looked behind her. The red eyes were gone, and the drool had disappeared.
"Mom!" Selena cried. "Mom! MOTHER!"
The shiny Fraxure never knew that originally, she had slipped into a coma, unable to wake up on her own.
---
The mother of Selena tried to douse Selena in several ways for over a hour. Finally, she gave up, and took Selena to a Chansey. The single Haxrous, with two daughters, was shocked to discover that her twelve-year-old daughter had a form of severe coma. Fearing that the poor Fraxure would never wake up, she asked the Chansey if there was any cure. He said that yes, maybe, but it was really hard and expensive to get. The mother agreed to buy the medicine for five thousand, and tubes were inserted into Selena.
But the tubes would only cause more harm.
"So," Mother said. "I hope this will cure her. She's late for school. And she'd be hungry too. It was a good idea to do this after all."
"Indeed. You will get a refund if the medicine fails. And sympathy," the doctor said. "This has worked once, but it'd never been tested."
Mother frowned. "What happened to the last Pokemon who took it?"
"He did wake up, but after three weeks he died. He complained of pains while he was sleeping."
Mother realized her shiny Fraxure was going to die. The Haxorus roared, "This had better work, or I'm going to kill you!"
The Chansey shuddered. "Now, ma'am, I never invented this medicine. John did."
The Haxorus folded her arms and went to sharpen her claws.
---
Selena kept groaning, trying hard to not give in to the pain. After a moment, the pain disappeared. Then the darkness turned into what the reflection of purple water would look like from a pool in a dark room. The waters glimmered so, and it was beautiful. The shiny Fraxure looked at the purple waters. They were clear, glowing, but put a feeling of uneasiness in Selena. She wondered if she would ever recover from this again. It was so confusing. The purple waters had the colors of... a Gengar! Selena realized the ghastly color, but it was too late. The water suddenly jumped above the shiny Fraxure and fell on her.
"N-n-no!" she said, trying to get the water off her. "My eyes feel itchy. I hate saltwater. They make my scales rust."
Selena now knew that this wasn't any freshwater. "Gengar, whatever you are, come out!"
The purple waters took the form of a horned monster with glowing red eyes. "Heh-eh. Pleased to meet you," it cackled.
"What do you want? I've had enough of this. I want to wake up. I hate it," Selena complained.
"Heh-eh. So you haven't heard?" the Gengar snickered. "How tragic."
"Heard what?"
"Ha. You're...in a coma. And within three weeks after waking up, you... will die. Heh-eh," the Gengar chuckled. "You're in for some agony."
"What?!" the Fraxure said, running towards Gengar. Instead, she stayed where she was, unable to move. "You're lying! Hold on... I remember you. I've seen you before."
"Yes," the Gengar smiled. "When was the last time you had seen me?"
"It was in a dream," Selena said, trying to recall where she'd seen this Gengar before.
It'd been a sunny day. Selena was 10 years old. She was an Axew, and had been a cheerful Pokemon, always following her parents' orders. During that day, Selena ran in the fields within the fence. Her parents had forbidden her to go beyond the gate. The shiny Axew was lying in the flowers when a voice spoke to her.
"Selena..."
Selena jumped out of the flowers and looked around. Nobody was there.
"Selena, can you find me?"
The Axew excitedly looked around. She had few friends to play with. "Hints! Hints!"
"Heh-eh. I'm in tall grass."
Selena looked at the fence. There was tall grass. "I'm coming!" she said, running towards it.
"Hot! Hot! Very hot! You're burning!" it said, the tall grass shaking. Selena was about to run into the grass when a Haunter came out. "Boo!"
Selena screamed and ran away as fast as she could. Her mother had told her that Haunters were dangerous.
"Hey, wait... I won't lick you," the Haunter groaned. "Aw, I thought I'd finally found a friend. Oh well." It vanished into the air.
Now Selena remembered. "Oh. I never knew..."
"I came to warn you... heh-eh. Anything that happens to you in the real world, you will feel it. Heh," the Gengar smiled. "Want me to tell them to stop it?"
"Yes! I want to wake up-! Hey, wait!" the Fraxure shouted. But there was nothing there.
Not even a trace of Gengar.
Only so soon as Selena fell into deep sleep, she found herself in a nightmare. It was completely dark, with only a dim, red light to guide her. Selena knew someone was behind her; heavy, large footsteps shook the floor that Selena walked on. And glowing, red eyes were following her. It drooled sticky drool on the Fraxure's head. It reeked of rotten cheese. Selena was just about ready to cry.
After several minutes of weeping, a voice called out. It was her mother.
"Selena! Wake up! Selena!!!"
Selena could feel herself being dragged out of bed and wet water on her face. Yet when she reached to touch her face, it was dry. She sighed and looked behind her. The red eyes were gone, and the drool had disappeared.
"Mom!" Selena cried. "Mom! MOTHER!"
The shiny Fraxure never knew that originally, she had slipped into a coma, unable to wake up on her own.
---
The mother of Selena tried to douse Selena in several ways for over a hour. Finally, she gave up, and took Selena to a Chansey. The single Haxrous, with two daughters, was shocked to discover that her twelve-year-old daughter had a form of severe coma. Fearing that the poor Fraxure would never wake up, she asked the Chansey if there was any cure. He said that yes, maybe, but it was really hard and expensive to get. The mother agreed to buy the medicine for five thousand, and tubes were inserted into Selena.
But the tubes would only cause more harm.
"So," Mother said. "I hope this will cure her. She's late for school. And she'd be hungry too. It was a good idea to do this after all."
"Indeed. You will get a refund if the medicine fails. And sympathy," the doctor said. "This has worked once, but it'd never been tested."
Mother frowned. "What happened to the last Pokemon who took it?"
"He did wake up, but after three weeks he died. He complained of pains while he was sleeping."
Mother realized her shiny Fraxure was going to die. The Haxorus roared, "This had better work, or I'm going to kill you!"
The Chansey shuddered. "Now, ma'am, I never invented this medicine. John did."
The Haxorus folded her arms and went to sharpen her claws.
---
Selena kept groaning, trying hard to not give in to the pain. After a moment, the pain disappeared. Then the darkness turned into what the reflection of purple water would look like from a pool in a dark room. The waters glimmered so, and it was beautiful. The shiny Fraxure looked at the purple waters. They were clear, glowing, but put a feeling of uneasiness in Selena. She wondered if she would ever recover from this again. It was so confusing. The purple waters had the colors of... a Gengar! Selena realized the ghastly color, but it was too late. The water suddenly jumped above the shiny Fraxure and fell on her.
"N-n-no!" she said, trying to get the water off her. "My eyes feel itchy. I hate saltwater. They make my scales rust."
Selena now knew that this wasn't any freshwater. "Gengar, whatever you are, come out!"
The purple waters took the form of a horned monster with glowing red eyes. "Heh-eh. Pleased to meet you," it cackled.
"What do you want? I've had enough of this. I want to wake up. I hate it," Selena complained.
"Heh-eh. So you haven't heard?" the Gengar snickered. "How tragic."
"Heard what?"
"Ha. You're...in a coma. And within three weeks after waking up, you... will die. Heh-eh," the Gengar chuckled. "You're in for some agony."
"What?!" the Fraxure said, running towards Gengar. Instead, she stayed where she was, unable to move. "You're lying! Hold on... I remember you. I've seen you before."
"Yes," the Gengar smiled. "When was the last time you had seen me?"
"It was in a dream," Selena said, trying to recall where she'd seen this Gengar before.
It'd been a sunny day. Selena was 10 years old. She was an Axew, and had been a cheerful Pokemon, always following her parents' orders. During that day, Selena ran in the fields within the fence. Her parents had forbidden her to go beyond the gate. The shiny Axew was lying in the flowers when a voice spoke to her.
"Selena..."
Selena jumped out of the flowers and looked around. Nobody was there.
"Selena, can you find me?"
The Axew excitedly looked around. She had few friends to play with. "Hints! Hints!"
"Heh-eh. I'm in tall grass."
Selena looked at the fence. There was tall grass. "I'm coming!" she said, running towards it.
"Hot! Hot! Very hot! You're burning!" it said, the tall grass shaking. Selena was about to run into the grass when a Haunter came out. "Boo!"
Selena screamed and ran away as fast as she could. Her mother had told her that Haunters were dangerous.
"Hey, wait... I won't lick you," the Haunter groaned. "Aw, I thought I'd finally found a friend. Oh well." It vanished into the air.
Now Selena remembered. "Oh. I never knew..."
"I came to warn you... heh-eh. Anything that happens to you in the real world, you will feel it. Heh," the Gengar smiled. "Want me to tell them to stop it?"
"Yes! I want to wake up-! Hey, wait!" the Fraxure shouted. But there was nothing there.
Not even a trace of Gengar.
2.) By HolyMackerel
The Tale of Celebi
Do you ever wish you could go back? Do you ever think that if you could take just one moment, and do it over, everything would be better? Of course you do. Everyone does. Who wouldn’t want a second chance? Who wouldn’t want to have a second try at their lives? However coincidental, this was just what Lei was thinking when everything crashed.
You see, whenever she says everything crashed, she means it. On a highway, there isn’t much competition between a mini-van and a semi. It was winter and they were only traveling to visit relatives for the holidays. Lei was having an argument with her brother about the better starter. She liked Tepig, but he liked Snivy. It was pointless to argue with him, but she needed something to entertain her for the next few hours. She couldn’t really look out the window and daydream like she usually did, since the blizzard had covered the car window in snow. Her parents were having the same problem, except the windshield wipers were working on full steam, and the window was still getting covered in snow. They were driving slowly since the bridge was covered in ice. Her mother commented on the beauty as they were looking at the view of the famous Ilex Forest. Lei sighed, because again, she couldn’t see anything, and wiping her dark brown bangs out of her face didn’t help.
Suddenly though, Lei wasn’t so worried about the scenery. She heard a loud screeching sound, and suddenly she was falling, she could tell from the sick feeling in her stomach. She realized what was happening, and she knew that they were falling off the bridge into the frozen lake. They were in the middle of nowhere. With the temperature and isolation, they would never be found alive. This was it; her last moment. She expected to feel a giant thud, most likely causing her original wounds to deepen, but nothing happened.
She opened her eyes. She didn’t realize they were squinted shut. They say that before you die your entire life flashes before you, and time seems to stop. But Lei wasn’t so sure this was it. It literally seemed as though time had stopped, like from the stories about legendary Pokemon. She saw that no one else in the car shared the feeling, since it looked like they were frozen along with everything else.
Lei was shocked, and didn’t know what else to do than to get out of the car and inspect the situation. Maybe this was the afterlife. She didn’t really know. It was awkward getting out of the car, since it was upside down, she was able to unbuckle herself and use the handle without incredible difficulty. She was slightly relieved to see that there was ground beneath her feet, but was a little nervous, since it took the saying “on thin ice” to a literal standard. She stepped down carefully in her tennis shoes and stepped back to look at things.
She saw that the car was a few inches before hitting the ground. Her family looked terrified, as Lei imagined she did whenever falling. She couldn’t really make heads or tails of it. She had been so terrified of death, yet was ready to face it. Before everything just…stopped. She wiped the tears on her face since she had only just she noticed them from the cold feeling. She looked at the ground, not knowing what to think, when she noticed the ground was very dark. Like a shadow. Something was above her. She turned around, only to respond to the sight with a scream. Above her, the semi was only inches from her face. Half of it was off the bridge, half was on, but wouldn’t be for long as soon as the time was released. If it was released. It was right above the minivan. If the freezing temperatures and injuries from falling off a bridge didn’t kill her family, being crushed by a semi would.
Lei felt the tears rush down her face as the shock left, and the grief set in. She was left with a miracle and a curse at the same time. She could leave now, and whenever time was released again she would be safe from harm. However, no matter what she did, her family had their fate. She opened the door frantically, trying to drag out her mother first, then her father and brother. But they wouldn’t budge. It was as if they were stone statues, glued to the seats of the van.
“Don’t bother.” Lei jumped at the voice, since without time there was no sound, and she had been shocked by the interruption of the silence. She looked all around her, and only saw a figure in the sky. She couldn’t make it out, since the thing’s back was to the sun, leaving its face in shadow. It wasn’t human, it was too small. It might be a Pokemon, but it wasn’t like anything she had ever seen before.
“Who are you?” She asked, shielding her eyes from the sun as she looked at the figure. It flew down, and Lei recognized the face. Had she seen it from somewhere before? Maybe a story book? It was a green fairy like creature, and it floated so that it was only a few inches above her height. Lei looked up at the creature, wondering what it was doing here and why.
“I’m the protector of the forest, Celebi. It’s my job to make sure this forest remains alive and healthy.” The Pokemon began. She recognized the name, it was from a storybook. She didn’t think they were real, just myths like the Easter Bunny and Santa Claus. However this moment made her swallow her previous opinion.
“I’ve been to the timeline where your family crashes before I can save you. The forest ends up completely tarnished by humans attempting to find your bodies. I’m trying to prevent that.”
Lei lifted up with joy. “So you’re going to save my family?”
The Pokemon’s face fell. “No. I cannot, because if I save them all, then your family ends up in trouble later.”
Lei stared at Celebi, not entirely sure what to believe.
“What?” she said, in a simple way of explaining her confusion.
“They end up getting accused for fraud. It’s hard to explain.” Celebi shook his head then sighed. Then he looked towards the girl and said, “Take my hand.”
Lei did so, hoping for some sort of magical explanation. Instead, the Pokemon lifted her up to the top of the bridge.
“I’m going to release time now, so when I do I need you-“ the Pokemon was interrupted.
“What?! No! You can’t just leave my family down there, I them to be with me…” she paused, considering her decision, but not taking too much time. “Or I’ll go down with them.”
Celebi simply shook his head. “It can’t work either way, I’m afraid. If I rescue all of you it’s fraud and if I rescue none of you it’s destructive. I need to just rescue one, to be a worthy witness and proof of the accident, with no real need for an investigation. It’s perfect.” The Pokemon summed it up as though he were simply repeating the items off of a grocery list, with no emotion whatsoever.
“No…” she said in a shaky tone as tears filled her eyes once more. “How can you not care about us? We’re just like you, what if it was your family?”
The Celebi chuckled darkly. “I don’t have a family. My job is to protect the forest, and that’s exactly what I’m doing. Goodbye, Leila Dennis.” She felt the rush of time come back as fresh snow hit her face and she felt something warm and wet dripping down her chest. Noise filled the hair as the minivan broke through the ice, with the semi soon following it. She watched as the two vehicles slowly drowned in the water, with salty tears creating a coating over her eyes. She looked at her shoulder and saw what was producing the warm wet stuff on her chest. A piece of glass was in her shoulder, causing it to bleed.
Exhausted, she lay on the ground, not knowing what to do. There wasn’t really a point in living anyways. She was an orphan, and the “protector” Pokemon had planned it all out. She wasn’t sure how long she lay on the side of the highway, waiting for something to happen, before she heard the sound of an engine. She saw the tires of a car screech and stop within a few feet of her. She didn’t have enough energy to speak, nor to point to the water. She listened to their worried tones while calling the authorities as she drifted into unconsciousness.
Do you ever wish you could go back? Do you ever think that if you could take just one moment, and do it over, everything would be better? Of course you do. Everyone does. Who wouldn’t want a second chance? Who wouldn’t want to have a second try at their lives? However coincidental, this was just what Lei was thinking when everything crashed.
You see, whenever she says everything crashed, she means it. On a highway, there isn’t much competition between a mini-van and a semi. It was winter and they were only traveling to visit relatives for the holidays. Lei was having an argument with her brother about the better starter. She liked Tepig, but he liked Snivy. It was pointless to argue with him, but she needed something to entertain her for the next few hours. She couldn’t really look out the window and daydream like she usually did, since the blizzard had covered the car window in snow. Her parents were having the same problem, except the windshield wipers were working on full steam, and the window was still getting covered in snow. They were driving slowly since the bridge was covered in ice. Her mother commented on the beauty as they were looking at the view of the famous Ilex Forest. Lei sighed, because again, she couldn’t see anything, and wiping her dark brown bangs out of her face didn’t help.
Suddenly though, Lei wasn’t so worried about the scenery. She heard a loud screeching sound, and suddenly she was falling, she could tell from the sick feeling in her stomach. She realized what was happening, and she knew that they were falling off the bridge into the frozen lake. They were in the middle of nowhere. With the temperature and isolation, they would never be found alive. This was it; her last moment. She expected to feel a giant thud, most likely causing her original wounds to deepen, but nothing happened.
She opened her eyes. She didn’t realize they were squinted shut. They say that before you die your entire life flashes before you, and time seems to stop. But Lei wasn’t so sure this was it. It literally seemed as though time had stopped, like from the stories about legendary Pokemon. She saw that no one else in the car shared the feeling, since it looked like they were frozen along with everything else.
Lei was shocked, and didn’t know what else to do than to get out of the car and inspect the situation. Maybe this was the afterlife. She didn’t really know. It was awkward getting out of the car, since it was upside down, she was able to unbuckle herself and use the handle without incredible difficulty. She was slightly relieved to see that there was ground beneath her feet, but was a little nervous, since it took the saying “on thin ice” to a literal standard. She stepped down carefully in her tennis shoes and stepped back to look at things.
She saw that the car was a few inches before hitting the ground. Her family looked terrified, as Lei imagined she did whenever falling. She couldn’t really make heads or tails of it. She had been so terrified of death, yet was ready to face it. Before everything just…stopped. She wiped the tears on her face since she had only just she noticed them from the cold feeling. She looked at the ground, not knowing what to think, when she noticed the ground was very dark. Like a shadow. Something was above her. She turned around, only to respond to the sight with a scream. Above her, the semi was only inches from her face. Half of it was off the bridge, half was on, but wouldn’t be for long as soon as the time was released. If it was released. It was right above the minivan. If the freezing temperatures and injuries from falling off a bridge didn’t kill her family, being crushed by a semi would.
Lei felt the tears rush down her face as the shock left, and the grief set in. She was left with a miracle and a curse at the same time. She could leave now, and whenever time was released again she would be safe from harm. However, no matter what she did, her family had their fate. She opened the door frantically, trying to drag out her mother first, then her father and brother. But they wouldn’t budge. It was as if they were stone statues, glued to the seats of the van.
“Don’t bother.” Lei jumped at the voice, since without time there was no sound, and she had been shocked by the interruption of the silence. She looked all around her, and only saw a figure in the sky. She couldn’t make it out, since the thing’s back was to the sun, leaving its face in shadow. It wasn’t human, it was too small. It might be a Pokemon, but it wasn’t like anything she had ever seen before.
“Who are you?” She asked, shielding her eyes from the sun as she looked at the figure. It flew down, and Lei recognized the face. Had she seen it from somewhere before? Maybe a story book? It was a green fairy like creature, and it floated so that it was only a few inches above her height. Lei looked up at the creature, wondering what it was doing here and why.
“I’m the protector of the forest, Celebi. It’s my job to make sure this forest remains alive and healthy.” The Pokemon began. She recognized the name, it was from a storybook. She didn’t think they were real, just myths like the Easter Bunny and Santa Claus. However this moment made her swallow her previous opinion.
“I’ve been to the timeline where your family crashes before I can save you. The forest ends up completely tarnished by humans attempting to find your bodies. I’m trying to prevent that.”
Lei lifted up with joy. “So you’re going to save my family?”
The Pokemon’s face fell. “No. I cannot, because if I save them all, then your family ends up in trouble later.”
Lei stared at Celebi, not entirely sure what to believe.
“What?” she said, in a simple way of explaining her confusion.
“They end up getting accused for fraud. It’s hard to explain.” Celebi shook his head then sighed. Then he looked towards the girl and said, “Take my hand.”
Lei did so, hoping for some sort of magical explanation. Instead, the Pokemon lifted her up to the top of the bridge.
“I’m going to release time now, so when I do I need you-“ the Pokemon was interrupted.
“What?! No! You can’t just leave my family down there, I them to be with me…” she paused, considering her decision, but not taking too much time. “Or I’ll go down with them.”
Celebi simply shook his head. “It can’t work either way, I’m afraid. If I rescue all of you it’s fraud and if I rescue none of you it’s destructive. I need to just rescue one, to be a worthy witness and proof of the accident, with no real need for an investigation. It’s perfect.” The Pokemon summed it up as though he were simply repeating the items off of a grocery list, with no emotion whatsoever.
“No…” she said in a shaky tone as tears filled her eyes once more. “How can you not care about us? We’re just like you, what if it was your family?”
The Celebi chuckled darkly. “I don’t have a family. My job is to protect the forest, and that’s exactly what I’m doing. Goodbye, Leila Dennis.” She felt the rush of time come back as fresh snow hit her face and she felt something warm and wet dripping down her chest. Noise filled the hair as the minivan broke through the ice, with the semi soon following it. She watched as the two vehicles slowly drowned in the water, with salty tears creating a coating over her eyes. She looked at her shoulder and saw what was producing the warm wet stuff on her chest. A piece of glass was in her shoulder, causing it to bleed.
Exhausted, she lay on the ground, not knowing what to do. There wasn’t really a point in living anyways. She was an orphan, and the “protector” Pokemon had planned it all out. She wasn’t sure how long she lay on the side of the highway, waiting for something to happen, before she heard the sound of an engine. She saw the tires of a car screech and stop within a few feet of her. She didn’t have enough energy to speak, nor to point to the water. She listened to their worried tones while calling the authorities as she drifted into unconsciousness.
