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[Timedog]

Power
Word Count: 351

"Get Alan Dershowitz on the phone now!" he snarled. His words echoed and faded into the ambience of the room, a sort of humid brown stench enveloped the aura of his surroundings.

"...no, but what I'm saying is that..."

"NOW!"

His tone demanded compliance. After a few minutes and some rustling and inaudible argument on the other end of the line, Mr. Dershowitz defeatedly answered.

"This is Alan. May I ask who is calling at this hour?"

"I'mma Hunk, Alan. I'mma bad boy, Alan. I'm gonna fuck your world, Alan. I'm gonna seesaw in and out and up and down. I'm gonna fuck your world, Alan. I'mma hunk."

"Listen pal, I don't know who you think you are or how you got this..."

"I'mma hunk, Alan. That's all you need to know, Alan. This isn't a conversation, Alan. See you soon."

He hung up on Mr. Dershowitz. Mr. Dershowitz held the phone near his face for a second and looked around the dark room. Some prank probably. For a split second he thought maybe it was some play for money from someone in leauge with the prostitute he had seen regularly for the past 6 years. He looked towards her and examined her face, her reactions to his. No, I would never have let anyone this close to me unless I had dirt on them worse than anything they could accuse of me. That's how it works when you're rich and you engage in illegal activity. When both hands are dirty the handshake can be assured clean.

Then he walked to the edge of his condo looked outside, as he was accustomed to doing during restless evenings. He looked out of the giant 20 foot floor to ceiling windows that lined his 58th avenue penthouse, as if the ether of the night sky held some intangible answer to the mysterious phone call. A few stray cabs danced around like little fireflies hovering near the dirt. Anyone up at this time of night is probably up to no good, he thought.

I wonder who could be so mad at me, down there?

 

[Cyan]

Play it Cool (~1900)

I stare at the screen, but it remains frustratingly empty. That's, what, four girls I've messaged this evening alone? (Five, counting HotGrrlVA, but that was only a few minutes ago) And not one has responded. I spent hours crafting that email template. Hours! Was it all for nought? Is my excellence doomed to go unrecognized?

I click on my profile again. I stare at my pic for a while--it's a sweet pic, makes it look like I lift, but maybe I should go with a different expression. Or maybe I need to push it a little nerdier? Bitches love nerds.

I walk to the bathroom, look in the mirror, splash a little water in my face. What time is it, anyway? Midnight? Later? I really need to go to bed.

Ding!

I race back to my computer, not even turning off the tap, and slide into the seat.

I stare at the screen again, this time in pure joy.

HotGrrlVA: hey cutie! what's up?

Oh my God. It's real. This is really happening. My palms are starting to sweat, but I'm gonna play it cool.

SexyRPGfan: Oh hey. Not much.

I hold my breath.

HotGrrlVA: u play games?

The "u" makes me cringe--what, she couldn't even capitalize it?--but I press on.

SexyRPGfan: Oh sure. I'm kind of an RPG fan lol

Should I have put in the lol? Will it seem too internetish? Too non-serious? Well, it's too late, I've already hit Enter.

HotGrrlVA: lol srsly? i luv rpgs too.

My God. She's hot. She luvs RPGs. My heartrate is rising, my vision blurring.

She's the one.

SexyRPGfan: We should meet up. Are you free tomorrow?

HotGrrlVA: lol i hav work tmrw. U?

She capitalized the "U"! Just like I wanted her to. It's a sign. We are meant for each other. She is my one, and I am hers.

I shake my hands to relax them--my fingers don't quite want to work right.

SexyRPGfan: haha, bummer. Maybe another day? I'm pretty much free. Don't have a job or anything like that to worry about lol

HotGrrlVA: ...

HotGrrlVA has disconnected.

I stare at the screen. Slowly, I stand up. I shut off the computer.

I fling myself down on the bed and play tower defense games on my phone until I fall asleep.

*

Another day, another shot. I lay in bed for a while after waking up. I look up at the ceiling, arms behind my head, as I think about where I went wrong.

Still thinking, I get up, flip on the computer, and toss up a few forum posts about how totally successful online dating is for me, and how I'm pretty sure this new HotGrrl is the one. I eat some crunchy morning cereal, crank out a few more forum posts, and head outside.

I shield my eyes from the sun's terrible gaze, but I'm all but blinded anyway.

It doesn't matter. This is my time. I'm going to go out and meet girls in person. Forget the internet and dating sites and pics. When they see the real me, when they see the real man behind SexyRPGfan, they will be all over me like a fat kid on cake.

I take a hard breath, and set off.

The street is mostly empty, except for a blue sedan coming up from the right. I wave, but the driver turns out to be an older black guy, and he just gives me a wide-eyed stare, then speeds up.

Whatever. I move on, walking past the old video store, empty and gutted thanks to Netflix and Redbox, and on along the path next to the park. It's quiet and sparsely populated, I guess because most people are working or in school.

Wait. I do see someone. Yes, a girl--really cute, Hispanic, wearing a nice tight shirt and jeans--and she's on her phone. Maybe playing a game? My hands clench. She's pretty, about the right age, the right height, the right... everything.

I think she might be the one.

Play it cool. I gotta play it cool. We're getting closer, and I'm going to have to say something. She's the one, I know it. I can do this. This is my moment.

I give her my biggest smile. "Hi," I say, confidence dripping from my voice. "How are ya?"

She glances up, gives a slight nod, then looks back at her phone. She walks past, and I crane around to stare at her butt as she walks onward. The moment is gone. She's gone.

Damn it.

Well, I tried. Back to the computer.

I slide back into my seat, type out a forum post or two about the Hispanic girl I just met, how into me she was, how I'm pretty sure she's the one. But my mind's not really on it. I know what the problem is, now. It's definitely not my pic, and it's obviously not my handle.

No, the problem is my email template. I've been aiming it too high, thinking that everyone else is on the same level of intelligence and nerdiness as I am. No more. I'm going to go back, dumb it down, make it readable for the lowest common denominator. I'm picky, but the world has clearly shown me that I'm being a little too picky. What's the point of holding standards no girl can meet?

I'm midway through the email revamp, sucking down a Dew and eating some carrots, when--ding!

My breath catches. I swap windows.

MidwestSauce: Hey I got you're note.

I remember to breathe. It's ok. I can do this. She's human too. Hell, her grammar sucks. Ha ha! All right. Play it cool.

SexyRPGfan: Oh hey. Not much.

No! Idiot! Damn, what am I doing? She didn't say what's up or even ask a question! Damn damn damn!

MidwestSauce: lol your funny

Oh. All right. She caught the charm and coolness underneath the words. I'm still good. Keep it up, and I'm in.

SexyRPGfan: Thanks, yeah. I do my best, right? Haha.

MidwestSauce: lol
MidwestSauce: you play games

Is that a question? A comment? There's no question mark, what am I meant to infer? I don't want to screw this up. A question, it was probably a question.

SexyRPGfan: Oh yeah, I play a lot of RPGs. If you couldn't tell lol

I hold my breath.

MidwestSauce: me too! I love mmos

My hands start to shake. It's her. She's the one. We love the same things, she's pretty, she's smart, she's fun. We could talk for hours, we have so much in common.

Wait. That handle.

SexyRPGfan: Are you in the Midwest? That's kind of far away from me.

MidwestSauce: lol don't worry
MidwestSauce: I can fly you out here I know where to get cheap tix
MidwestSauce: I think we are meant to b

A single tear runs down my cheek, but my heart is singing. She sees it too. She sees that I'm the one, just as I see that she's the one.

I hardly know what I'm doing as I pack up to fly out and meet her. Change of shirts and underwear, laptop, phone. Which reminds me that I need to toss up a few forum posts about my girlfriend.

I do it in the taxi ride to the airport. I know my online pals will be really excited for me, just as they were for my previous girlfriends.

The flight is uneventful. The flight attendant tries to flirt with me, but I shrug that bitch off. My heart only has room for one girl. Only one.

*

She's beautiful. Just like in her profile pic. She's there to meet me when I get off the plane, and she walks up to me and takes my hand and says hi, and that's enough right there. We just stand like that for a while, holding hands and looking into each other's eyes, until a security person walks up and asks us to quit holding everyone up. Not very nicely, either.

We grab my bag and head for the taxi stand--not even talking, just enjoying each other's company and the warm pressure of our hands clasped together.

While we wait for a cab, she finally speaks up. She looks up at me shyly through her lashes, and says, "So, how about a hotel room?" She blushes the most delicious shade of rose.

I laugh, and my heart races, and I give her a nod and a mischievous grin, which just makes her blush harder.

I wait nervously in the hotel room while she rounds up some drinks for us. I flip the tv on and off, splash some water in my face, check on my internet forums, though I'm too worked up to post anything.

She walks back in with a bottle of wine and she's somehow had a chance to change clothing, and it's incredible. She's wearing a deep blue dress, low-cut and hugging her in all the right places, and my mouth must've fallen open because she giggles and then winks at me as she uncorks the bottle and starts to pour the wine.

We sit facing each other on the hotel bed, eyes reflecting eyes reflecting eyes, and we clink glasses and drain them. And then she smiles, and leans into me.

And we kiss.

My heart is pounding, and my hands are clasped behind her head, and my whole body is on fire and I don't want it to ever stop, and oh God I think I might be about to faint.

Fade to black.

The world returns. Slowly. Painfully. Item: me, head throbbing, whole body sore, incredibly cold. Item: hotel bathroom? Yes, I seem to be in the bathroom. The ceiling tiles and fan, the mirror, the bathtub full of ice.

Wait. Bathtub... full of ice?

I'm in a bathtub full of ice, and everything hurts, and there's something scrawled on the mirror in lipstick. I strain to make it out without moving too much.

"Don't move. Call hospital. Tell them you were harvested."

I didn't want to move anyway. I lean back into the ice, and the throbbing in my head recedes almost imperceptibly.

What is this?

My pants and shirt are sitting next to the bathtub. I reach out, strain to reach them, can't quite make it. I catch my breath, try again.

I think I might've damaged something. My body is screaming at me, but this is my only chance. My phone is in--or should be in--my pants pocket.

I try again, heave up out of the ice, drag the pants back toward me.

I take a deep breath and pull my phone out of my pocket. I fire up the internet. My forum buddies will know what to do. I follow the bookmark, get ready to type up a post.

You have been banned for the following reason:
Dumb shit. Stop doing it.

Banned. I've been banned? Oh my God, I'm banned.

I'm banned, and now I'm going to die.

The ice is starting to feel almost warm. That's a bad sign, isn't it? I think that means the end is near.

I concentrate on my breathing. Breathe in, breathe out. Breathe in, breathe out. Don't worry about the ice, don't worry about the girl, don't worry about being banned. Play it cool.

I lean back into the ice, and close my eyes.

 

[Ashes]

"Alexis" or "You are already in love."

 

[kehs]

Cyan, you can't use my post history as a story.

 

[DumbNameD]

Unlike Them (1988 words)

The red and orange blobs over the surface of the topographic display expanded and contracted like the breath of a living organism. Samuel tap-tapped the keys on the computer as he looked at the series of numbers. For ten minutes, he ran a finger along the numbers as the display highlighted the corresponding coordinates. He sighed and scratched his cheek before rubbing the underside of his chin with his knuckles. He stared without blinking as the display lit his face in a strange glow.

He highlighted three areas on the topographic display. The insides of the computer grunted as if it were clearing its throat. Samuel crossed his arms as he stood and watched a slot. A keycard popped from the slot, and he pulled it free. Two more appeared, and he took ownership of both. He fanned out the three keycards in one hand as he brought them up to his face. He stared at them for a moment. His hand didn’t shake. Months ago, it used to. Months ago, he felt the weight of his decisions. He knew there was gravity to it all. After all, in his hand, he held over three million lives.

Maybe something had changed. Samuel walked down the corridor of the space station. His boots clacked against the floor. He took a brief peek at the activity in the cargo bay, but it did not interest him. He clutched the three keycards as he walked across the observation deck. Two crewmates leaned against a railing and looked through the widescreen window out into space. Samuel hurried past to avoid looking at the planet below.

“Just the analyst I was looking for,” said Caldwell, the captain of the space station. Caldwell took the keycards from Samuel. He scowled at how warm they were coming from Samuel’s hands. Caldwell gave a nod to Samuel as he slipped the top keycard from the stack and flopped the other two onto his desk. He slotted the card into his desk console. A laser scanned his eye, and the computer gave a satisfactory beep. A map appeared on the display behind the captain, and a section of the map became colored in green. He pressed a button on his console. “Sizemore,” said Caldwell. He thought for a moment as he tried to remember the work schedule for the bridge crew. “Sizemore, fire up the laser. I’ll be on the bridge in a few.”

Samuel wasn’t sure if he should be standing or sitting. He usually just handed the three keycards off to the captain and went on his way for these weekly meetings in the captain’s office. Now it seemed like an eternity.

Caldwell gave a slight shake of his head. “This here,” he began. The screen behind him displayed some correspondence. “This is disturbing.”

FREEDOM FOR ALL. INCLUDING WORMS.

Samuel gave a confused look on his face, though he had seen the i-comm before. “Sir, you get on one mailing list, you get on them all,” he said, shrugging.

“You had it opened for 40.4 seconds,” said Caldwell. “You read it.” He tapped his fingers on his desk as he waited for a response.

“Maybe I went to get a drink. Left it opened,” said Samuel. “You can’t really say I read it.”

“No,” said Caldwell. He gave a knowing smile. “No, we can’t prove that.”

But you know, thought Samuel. At least, you think you know.

“Samuel, you’re a good analyst. You’re a good guy,” said Caldwell. “You do good, careful work. You check the equipment and make sure it’s all running right. But you’re still new here. Newer." He clapped his hands together. “New people and these people write this trash, they don’t know firsthand of the importance of what we do. We can’t let them run amok. After all, look at what they did to Earth.”

“Sir, it’s not my place, but wouldn’t it be easier just to carpet nuke the entire planet?” asked Samuel.

Caldwell hissed. “You ever notice through all our travels throughout the various galaxies, that we haven’t met any other sentient life forms other than the Worms?” asked Caldwell. “We aren’t like them, Samuel. We don’t exterminate whole civilizations.”

It started with a blip decades ago. The unmanned science station on Pluto had picked it up. But really most everyone had given up on there being any blips at all. Most had resigned to the fact that we were alone in the universe. The station had been scheduled to be shuttered in a few months. There had been the belief that some desperate astronomers had faked the signal and that this had been a last gasp to keep their livelihoods. Even though the scientists had been jailed for fraud, the blip kept reappearing.

The ships were already into the asteroid belt when the Martian colonies realized that there were many more blips. The Martian Planetary Defense scrambled. Missiles were fired. Two of their spacecrafts were hit. One staggered but remained intact though it was dead in the water. The other buckled from the impact and scattered into neon bits.

By the time the Martians reloaded for another salvo of missiles, the fleet of spaceships flew past and gathered around Earth. By all accounts, the preemptive strike against them should have been the opening shot of a war. They could have vaporized Earth from on high, but they didn’t. They said that they had evolved past that. They said in the past, they had met many civilizations in their travels through space, and they had wiped them all out. But that was in the past. Now, the Worms wanted to help.

The Worms were sacks of gooey liquid filled with neurons floating about. They were several feet long and had stalks of drooping feelers with olfactory sensors and mild light receptors. Their feelers could also sense human emotions. They knew of the distrust and fear that humans felt toward them. Still, they persisted in helping.

The Worms started with medicine. They cured cancer and AIDS and diseases of all sorts. They already had the human genome mapped out, as they had watched Earth for awhile. It seemed that all that was left was violence and old age and the common cold. They said there was no cure for time, and no one really wanted a cure for violence. However, the Worms found the cure for the common cold. At least, they thought they did.

The cure caused a particular strain of the cold to mutate. It became not only more virulent but also more invasive. It began to disfigure and warp the human species at a genetic level.

Thank god for the stockpiles of nuclear missiles. After the failed experimental cure, the nukes went up like golfballs at a driving range.

The Worms retreated. At least, the ships that survived. They were serious about peace. It should not have surprised them, but it did. When their fleet left the solar system, a human fleet of spaceships matched them. The Martians had salvaged the alien ship that they had crippled. It didn’t take long to adapt the technology for human usage. The humans chased them back to their home planet and laid siege to them.

Samuel worked at the end result. It was one of several orbital laser platforms surrounding the planet. The space station was built like a tank; its hull could take a beating and survive. Its purpose was population control. The laser could vaporize a million Worms in a single swath. For the months since he had arrived, Samuel would analyze the planet below and the Worm population upon it. It was his job to offer Captain Caldwell the choice of three targets for the laser. And Samuel did his job without much question. That was, until he heard it.

It started with a buzz. Barely a buzz, it was so faint, like the hum of a refrigerator. But it was there. A signal from the planet. It was intermittent, on and then off, yet consistent in its pattern. And then it was gone. He stayed awake by the comms for over twenty hours until he heard the signal again. The next day, he found it again. He triangulated the signal and found from which sector it originated. He tried to contact it.

Over the next few weeks, Samuel held his breath as the captain confirmed the target coordinates for their laser. Maybe he was just seeing what he didn’t want to see, but Samuel could see a hole the size of Phobos on the map displaying their target zones. In the middle of that hole was the signal.

He wondered if the captain knew that he was hiding something.

----------

Julia worked on the supply ship. She came, delivering vital stuff regularly. She was through and through a descendant of Earth. She was enough a mix of all the races of humankind that she was pleasing visually in some regard to most everyone who met her. Still, she was a bit distant in conversations. Perhaps, flitting about in space fit who she was.

Samuel checked his equipment quite frequently. If there was even rust on a solenoid, he put in a request for parts. It often brought her to the station sooner than later. She was a bright spot for his world. Maybe he had fallen for her; maybe not. At the very least, it kept his mind off the signal from the planet.

Once he had gone to the mess hall and gotten food though he wasn’t hungry just to have an excuse to sit with her. He remembered that conversation. It seemed to stick out like the signal from the planet.

“They had a language once,” she said.

The statement took him by surprise. “If you can call grunts and shrieks a language,” replied Samuel.

“Well, communication then,” she asked. “If you want to call it that.”

“How do you figure?” he asked.

“They had science,” she said.

“I suppose,” he said.

“Do you think they had art?” she asked.

----------

For a month, he had monitored the signal. He had tried to contact it. He had a hand in the extermination of over six million Worms from his perch. He wondered if it was as painless as they said.

Then, the day came; he knew it would come. After all, they knew he had that i-comm open for 40.4 seconds. How long could he really keep the existence of the signal from them? They found him out. His mind was all abuzz. He really didn’t pay attention to the words the captain spoke. He remembered disappointment and fear and a big security guard entering the room from behind him.

The guard escorted him from the captain’s office and toward the brig. They passed the hangar. Maybe, at least, he could see Julia, but she wasn’t there. There were some new guys on the supply ship. Samuel’s career was gone. It had landed in a crash. He would probably never see Julia again. He could feel the station shake as the laser powered up. In a few minutes, in a whip of light, the signal would be gone too.

“Come on,” said the guard. “Quit dilly-dallying.” He gave Samuel a shove in the back.
There was a commotion after they passed hangar. The air popped with gunfire. The lights turned red, and claxons roared in response. Samuel's guard ran to the hangar. His face met a spray of bullets. His brain met the hallway behind him. The supply ship crew peeked around the threshold of the hangar door, and they saw Samuel. He ran as they fired at him.

Samuel turned a corner and kept running. He ran until an explosion rocked the station and knocked him to the floor. The station shook and made a terrible creak. He rolled. His face pressed against cold glass. They were falling. The planet had them now.

 

[Ashes]

Hey dnd.. Long time no see.

 

[Cyan]

DND! Woooooo!

 

[Cyan]

The Entries:
Mike M - "You're Gone Now"
toddhunter - "Unforgiveable Betrayal"
Nezumi - "Marriage gone wrong"
John Dunbar - "Backfire"
Copernicus - "Experiment Gone Wrong - It Just Works™"
Tangent - "The Job of Lodging Souls" or "Career Change"
Bootaaay - "The River"
FairyD - "Diary of a Martian"
Sober - "Third Period Science"
Timedog - "Power"
Cyan - "Play it Cool"
Ashes1396 - "Alexis" or "You are already in love"
DumbNameD - "Unlike Them"

 

[Ashes]

seconds late...

 

[Mike M]

Lots of stuff set in space. Guess that's not surprising with a prompt that immensely lends itself to sci-fi.

My votes:

1. The River: One of the concepts I was batting around and got partway through before abandoning it because I hated it was a time travel story. Glad someone carried the torch.

2. Backfire: Very close second for me. I think it could have perhaps been stronger without including the flesh-eating zombie stuff in service of the eventual punchline. Then again, I have no idea how it should have ended without it, so what do I know.

3. Marriage Gone Wrong: I'm a sucker for stories where magic is common place in an otherwise modern day setting.

---

Special bonus round story! The prompt reminded me of a real incident that happened to me, so I wrote up a quick anecdote about it. Wasn't strong enough to be an entry since I don't feel that just relating a true anecdote (well, mostly true. I embellished slightly for dramatic license.) is super creative, but there you have it.

 

[toddhunter]

Good reads all around. My votes:

1. Marriage Gone Wrong: Nicely written and I found it entertaining. I was thinking the food would have played out a little differently

Spoiler

I thought the bug might have been originally from India

. Also bonus points for the punch line.

2. The River: Very interesting and great writing. I thought it could have done with maybe 500 more words to flesh out what was going on at the end though. Didn't quite get the punch.

3. "Alexis" or "You are already in love": The premise got me thinking and the story was nicely understated. Worked well in a short format.

Honourable mention to "Play it Cool", almost got in on the strength of the first half.

 

[Nezumi]

Difficult, really difficult.

1.) John Dunbar - Backfire
A fun read. I really liked the idea of an smoking angel of the lord who carries around a plastic wrapped sandwich.

2.) The Job of Lodging souls- Tangent
As a big Pratchett fan I like the idea of a grim reaper who questions his job.

3.)Sober - Third period science
Your story stood out for me because of its more down to earth setting. And I love me some "slice of life" stories.

 

[John Dunbar]

1. Sober - "Third Period Science"
2. Bootaaay - "The River
3. Nezumi - "Marriage gone wrong"
HMs: Ashes1396, Tangent

 

[Cyan]

Mike M - "You're Gone Now" - Hahaha! Love the punchline. The beginning feels nice and dramatic, and then I got almost to the end and was like "oh no, he's not going to tell us what happened," and then bam! Nicely done. Might've trimmed a bit on the dramatics.

toddhunter - "Unforgiveable Betrayal" - Fun concept. Might've gone a little too far toward melodrama in the beginning part.

Nezumi - "Marriage gone wrong" - Oh man, that ending. I like your take on the punchline. The wife being a witch was a bit sudden as no magic had been presented to that point in the story. Might've mentioned it a little earlier.

John Dunbar - "Backfire" - Awesome! There's the John Dunbar we know and love. The imagination on display here is awesome. The, er, revelation could maybe have used a little more space, I dunno. Nice punchline, though.

Copernicus - "Experiment Gone Wrong - It Just Works™" - Banned again, Copernicus? Wait. Were you banned over this story? You totally were, weren't you. SMH. Well, I found the story amusing, at least.

Tangent - "The Job of Lodging Souls" or "Career Change" - Death has a man purse. Oh man. Hahahahaha, this is awesome. Love the ideas. I do feel kind of bad for Than, though. Also, I think the story needed more breathing room--it was bigger than the space it was given. I want to know more about the CPR class, more about his day-to-day work, more about a lot of things!

Bootaaay - "The River" - A hoary tale, perhaps, but you gave it life with your usual panache. I think the final paragraph, as wonderful as its imagery is, kind of takes away from the ending. Spells it out a bit too much.

FairyD - "Diary of a Martian" - I like the idea of centering a scifi piece around low-level politics. It worked well. I would've liked to have a stronger ending, though, and for that I think a stronger throughline to the whole story would've been necessary.

Sober - "Third Period Science" - Awww. I wasn't really expecting it to go in that direction, but I think it worked nicely. I kept thinking it was going to go horribly wrong. So how did their science project go?

Timedog - "Power" - I hope Alan Dershowitz is fucking ready, that's all I'm gonna say. No one man should have all that power.

Ashes1396 - "Alexis" or "You are already in love" - That last line put a real smile on my face. You do relationships damn well, Mr. Ashes. Polish this shit up and start sending it out.

DumbNameD - "Unlike Them" - Your style is great as always. I had a bit of trouble following the story here, and I definitely wasn't sure what was going on at the end. Despite the explanation midway through, I still didn't entirely get what their purpose was. Howsabout coming back more often, hmm? Gotta keep your hand in.


Votes:
1. Ashes1396 - "Alexis" or "You are already in love"
2. John Dunbar - "Backfire"
3. Sober - "Third Period Science"

HM: Tangent

 

[toddhunter]

toddhunter - "Unforgiveable Betrayal" - Fun concept. Might've gone a little too far toward melodrama in the beginning part.

Then my work is done. I was worried I had not gone far enough

 

[Tangent]

1. Sober
2. JD
3. Ashes
HM: props! all these stories were fantastic.

 

[Cyan]

You've got like an hour or whatever, peeps!

 

[Sober]

1. Nezumi
2. Tangent
3. DumbNameD
HMs: duh, everyone else! Fantastic way to ring in another year, if you ask me.

 

[British Monsoon]

1. Ashes1396
2. Nezumi
3. John Dunbar

HM; Toddhunter, Mike M, Sober

 

[Ashes]

1. Sober
2. Cyan
3. Nezumi
Hmm. Bootz, j.d,

 

[Mike M]

Definitely getting in on this action this time.

Then I will feel inadequate compared to everyone else's contributions.

Then I will get discouraged and likely quit.

But first, getting in on this action this time!

Phase 2, complete.

Spoiler

Strangely, no impulse to quit yet.

 

[Cyan]

The Results:
1st Place (tie): Sober - "Third Period Science"
1st Place (tie): Nezumi - "Marriage gone wrong"
3rd Place: John Dunbar - "Backfire"

Vote Count:
Sober - 11 (3)
Nezumi - 11 (2)
John Dunbar - 10 (1)
Ashes - 8 (2)
Bootaaay - 7 (1)
Tangent - 4
Cyan - 2
DumbNameD - 1

And Sober takes the tiebreaker, with three first place votes! Congrats, Sober! First victory, yes? And against a pretty strong field, well done.

I look forward to seeing what you come up with!

 

[Sober]

I won? That's crazy. Anyways, next challenge is up!