The Writing Contest Club!! discussion

Killer Frost can post their writing here!

Killer Frost let me know if you need me to change anything on this topic!

So I'm probably just gonna post a bunch of short stories and/or scenes from my books. Pls comment if u have an suggestions for me

The Eye of the Storm

It was dark. Cold. Wind was howling, trees we bending at its mercy. Thunder clapped and lighting lit up the whole sky not even seconds later. The storm didn't bother me. In fact, it was home. In the eye of the storm, you will thrive when no one else does. Those were my mom's last words before she joined my dad in heaven. I never really understood those words. Not at first anyway. After a while I knew what she ment.

My name is Rain. Which I guess my parents chose for a reason. In seven days--one week--I'll turn 18. Then I can get out of this place. I can leave and live my own life at the top of a mountain where I will be closest to the clouds the thunder and the lightning.

I sat by the window sketching a picture of a sparrow. All the other girls were either fast asleep or hiding from the storm under their ratty blankets. No one cares about us here at Claridon's Orphanage for Unwanted and Troubled Girls.

As I drew I hummed a song to myself. The lullaby my mom used to sing to me every night. The night went on and the storm didn't calm. It got stronger and stronger. Around five in the morning there was a loud crash from outside. I parted the curtains ever so slightly to see a tree had fallen and knocked down the metal fence around this rundown building.

if they had been asleep, they weren't anymore. Every single girl in the hall shot up, wide eyed.

"Just a tree." I told them, "Go back to sleep." I'm the oldest girl here. All of the other look to me like I'm their older sister. That makes me feel kind of bad for abandoning them in a week.

"Rain." One of the youngest, Maria, who was only three called out to me.

I put down my drawing and walked over to her bed. "It's okay. The wind is just making its presences known."

"Im scared." Thunder crashed and she hugged me tight. "I don't like the thunder."

"I know, sweetheart. I know."

"Rain?"

"What?"

"What happens when you turn 18? Everyone says you're gonna leave."

"I have to." I said. It broke my heart to have to tell her that. "But I promise, someday. I'll come and I'll find you. I just have to find some where to live first."

"When is some day?"

"Soon. I'll find you a home soon."

how does a three year old ave the same vocabulary as me XD?

She's a very smart three year old?

I sat with Maria until she fell asleep again and then went back over to the window to finish my drawing. Morning came and Mrs. Granite, the old lady who runs this place, woke everyone up with her extremely annoying bell.

"Up and Adam ladies, we've got a long day ahead of us!" She yelled and left the room probably to make sure breakfast was burnt enough to serve.

"One hell of a day its gonna be." Violet muttered. She's only a few months younger than me, but she looks way older. Probably because she's been here longer. I've only been here for seven years. Shes been here for over twelve.

OMG!!!! Please make more of that!!! I have to read it! I am soooo hooked!!!! You need to teach me!!!!! You are really good with description! Can you edit some of my work? Only if you want to of course! That is super good! Is it going to be a novel or a short story or something else?

Thank you! I can edit if u want me to and I have no idea if this is actually gonna end up as a book. But thanks, it means a lot.

Breakfast was burnt toast and over salted eggs, as usual. Then it was straight to work. Since I'm the oldest, I always get the most daunting and tiresome tasks. Today it was fixing the metal fence. And working with the boys from the Other Side to move the tree. That was the only time we ever really interact, working.

"These idiots need to learn how to work for themselves." Jasper, one of the boys, said as he hacked away at the thick trunk of the tree with a dull axe.

"I know, right?" I broke off the smaller limbs by kicking them then took them to the firewood pile. In the winter, that would be the only source of heat. In the hot, humid summer months like the ones we suffer through now there is no AC. No ice cold lemonade waiting for us when we get back inside.

"How long until you fly?" Jasper asked me. That's a term we use for leaving this hell. Flying. When we finally get to leave the nest and live our own lives.

"A week." I threw more branches into a pile. "Then I'm outta here."

"Wish I could come." He said.

Over the years we've been here together, we've always fantasized about running away together. Unfortunately, he's still got a year before he's allowed to fly. So we decided that in that time I would go and find us a place to live. Somewhere far away from here in the mountains. And we would take Maria with us so she doesn't have to suffer like we have for all these years.

Killer Frost wrote: "She's a very smart three year old?"

XD. Sure that mkes sense LOL

The rest of the day was spent working. We don't get breaks. There's only the fifteen minutes you're allowed in the middle of the day to eat whatever half-moldy fruit is provided for lunch. We're not allowed to stop until eight when dinner is served. Salted meat and runny mashed potatoes. The usual meal.

A night there was another storm, as there was most summer nights. Halfway through the night, Maria toddled over to me with her blanket and beat up stuffed lion that I've had to sew together too many times.

"I can't sleep." She said and climbed into my lap.

"Do you want me to tell you a story?" I asked.

"Yes!" Maria loves hearing stories from my past. The years before I was sent here, and I liked telling them. It reminds me of what I had. Most people don't like that reminder, but for some reason I do.

"It was a dark, rainy night, just like this one." I began. "My Dad was out hunting and my Mom was with me inside. She taught me how to draw that night. Sleep had been hopeless because of the thunder...." I slipped into the world of my past. Recalling every last detail exactly how it had been that night.

Eventually, Maria fell asleep in my arms. I kissed her forehead and carried her back to her bed, tucking her in before returning to my spot. I don't get much sleep. I never have. I've never needed it really. I'm usually fueled by only three or hour hours every couple of days. Drawing is far more relaxing.

Morning comes and all the girls are woken by the bell again. Breakfast. Work. Break. More work. The usual day. The night was different, though. Once a month, on a random day the boys and the girls come together and there is a performance. A skit usually. Sometimes a singer or a comedian will come.

Tonight it was a singer. Two of them. One with a high angelic voice and one with a deep, rich voice. Together they sounded amazing and it reminded me of when my parents would sing to me when I was little. I warmed me on the inside.

"Please tell me your not crying." Jasper said as he walks up behind me.

"I don't cry." I insist, "I have allergies."

"Since when?"

"Always."

That's the thing. He knows me too well. For too long. In the worst way possible. The way we met, even. I hit him in the face with a gardening shovel when we were probably eleven. He has the worst black eye for weeks. The old ladies that "take care of us" didn't do anything about it. He's still got a dent in his face on the rare occasion that he smiles.

"Yeah, right." The lines begin to separate. Boys and girls. to the other sides of the grounds. Once again for another dreadful night

The day finally came. The day I got to fly. Far away. I gathered all my things, a pair of clothes, my sketchbook, and an old photo album. That's all I have.

"Do you have to go?" Maria asked, crying.

"I do." I said sadly. I never thought it would be so hard to say good bye, but here I am, trying to hold back tears.

"Come back?"

"Of course." I kiss the top of her head and give her one last hug. "One day, I'll see you again."

Jasper was waiting by in the hall. "See you in a year." He says.

"See you in a year." I agree. We stand there for a second before he awkwardly hugs me. I kiss him, which I think he wasn't expecting because it takes him a second to kiss me back. "See you." I say and walk a way with a small wave.

I stepped outside the gates. For the first time I since I came when I was seven. Its been eleven years since I stepped outside the boarders of Claridon. Now I'm here. I'm free. Finally. I remember the streets like I was just here yesterday, though. Left. Right. Keep going straight for three blocks, left again, four more blocks, right, one block, right.

After about an hour of walking, I found my self in the woods. The woods my father used to hunt in when I was little. I kept walking and found our cabin. Abandoned. I walked up to the porch and sat. And for the first time in years, I cried.

You don't realize how much you hold back into you let it all go. It was hours before I had nothing left to cry about and no tears left to cry.

I walked down the path past the cabin to a clearing and climbed up a few branches in one of the trees. It was still there after years of storms and wind. My bow and quiver were still wedged in between two branches. I grabbed them and jumped down. The fall wasn't very far, but the impact still hurt.

I nocked an arrow and aimed to another tree on the other side of the clearing. I drew back the bowstring and released it. It hit the middle of the target carved into the tree's trunk. Bullseye. I still had it in me. I still have a chance at survival.

Its been months. And honestly, Im dyeing. I've had barely enough food to get by and not enough money to but what I need. I've had to rely on hunting, fires, and a steam that's not to far from the cabin.

I'm starting to wonder if ill make it long enough to save Maria and be with Jasper. In a few months, Jasper will be able to fly, but if our life is going to be like this, Maria will be better off at the orphanage, as much as I hate to admit it. I can barely feed myself much less her and Jasp as well.

So, I'll get A job. Cant be that hard to find one right? Im good with handy work. Im strong and I can clean. Kids love me. Maybe a rich family is looking for a maid or a nanny?

in the morning I went into town first I went to a hunting shop that had a 'help wanted' sign on the door. They didn't want someone my age or a girl. "Sorry, Las." They said. "We ain't lookin for a young woman"

Then I went the the market to see if anyone needed a helping hand at something. No one did.

About another week passed and I was walking down the streets when a man walked up to me.

"You're the girl so desperately lookin' for a job aren't ya?" He asked.

"Yes." I nodded. "Anything really."

"Whatcha good at?"

"I can hunt, build, clean, take care of kids, fight, work a cash register. Ill do anything. Im a quick learner."

"What's your name, Las?"

"Rain."

"Pretty name. Look, I have a daughter. A little more than eight months old. My wife has to work again soon and we cant afford the daycare. I ain't gonna be able too pay you much, but it'll help us both a great deal."

"Are you offering me a job?"

"What else would I be doin? You got all these skills but you can't put two and two together."

"Two and two is four." I say

"So literal. So what do ya say? We have a deal?"

"Deal."

His name is Henry. His wife is Marcia and his daughter is Reggie, short for Regina. They're a nice family and live in a small house at the bottom of a hill not to far from my cabin.

When you climb to the top of the hill, you can see the orphanage. Little people working hard from dawn to dusk out in the distance. I can pick Jasper out of the group from a mile away. Its the way he walks he has a limp from when he fell from a tree a few years back, but you can only really notice every three steps.

I've been working for the Gleeson family for a few weeks now. I've fallen in love with Reggie. She's such a sweet little girl, even at six months old. You always know what she wants just by the way she cries. Her babbles always seam to make sense even though they really don't. And she loves it when I sing. Especially the lullabies my mom used to sing me.

Henry and Marcia are great people as well. Henry works at the market selling guitars he crafts and Marcia is a secondary teacher at the school house. And at least for now, they are my new family and this is my new home.

It's been almost six months since I left Claridon. Six more months until I'll see Jasper and Maria again.

It was around five a clock and I sat at the top of the hill, watching the kids working.

"You spend a awful lot of time up here." Marcia says. I didn't realize she was standing there and it made me jump. She laughs. "Sorry, didn't mean to scare you."

"Your fine." I say. "Im just watching over them."

"Who's them?" Marcia sat next to me. Shes 26, her brown hair falls over her shoulders in soft curls and her blue eyes are like the ocean.

"Jasper and Maria." I say. "I came from the orphanage. Left the day I turned 18. Jasper's still got a little more than six months before he can leave. Maria's like a daughter. Shes three, turns four next month. Sweetest girl you'll ever meet. We've got this plan, run away. Go to the mountains somewhere. Leave the orphanage behind us. Get married, have a family of our own. A fantasy really. Jasper hasn't been outside the gates since he was three, so fourteen years. I hadn't in long time until it got to fly. I guess you don't remember how...hard the real world is until you have to live in again."

"I hope your plan works out." Marcia says. "And you're welcome to stay here for as long as you need. Im sure Henry can get Jasper a job at the market if he needs one when he gets here."

"I never thanked you. You and Henry saved my life. So, thank you."

"You have nothing to thank us for." She said. "But, your welcome."

Reggie started talking a few weeks ago. She says mama a lot. She calls me Rai. She refuses to say dada though. Kitty has also become part of her vocabulary. The Gleesons have a cat named Lucifer, after the cat from Cinderella. The cat hates everyone, but Reggie loves the thing.

"Rai!" She laughs. Reggie holds a crayon in one hand, A wooden spoon in the other, and has a mixing bowl on her head. He curly blonde pigtails peak out from under the bowl. Her smile could light up the whole world.

"What?" I ask in a playful tone. Taking care of her has definitely softened me up. The more time I spend the more I realize I want this life. A family. It's not perfect, but its all I need.

"Kitty!" Her attention turns from me to Lucifer. The spoon hits the floor as she throws her little arms around the grumpy tabby cat.

I smile, putting some blocks back into a bin so Henry doesn't fall over them when he comes home in a few hours.

Not much can keep Reggie occupied for more than a few minutes. But she's like Maria. Kind of. She'll be restless, full to the brim with bubbly excitement and energy until she sits on my lap and I tell her a story. Then she never wants it to end.

Her attention turns back to the spoon and bangs it on a metal pot also on the floor. She has the same fascination of music as her father does. When Henry plays his guitar, the house is silent except for the chords.

A few minutes pass and Reggie toddles over to me with her little mischievous grin. She's gotten big since we first met. Its been only four months, but she's a little more than one now.

She tries to climb into my lap and I pick her up, setting her there. "Do you want to hear a story?" I ask.

She squeals, which translates to a yes.

As I speak, it starts to rain. Wind howls. Thunder. Lightning. If the weather keeps up, it could be another hour extra before Henry gets home. His horse hates the rain more than he hates carrots. And that horse freaks out if the carrot is even in his line of vision. Why? I have no idea.

Marcia gets home an hour later. I've told Reggie at least three stories by then and she's almost asleep in my lap, but as soon as her mom calls 'I'm home' the girl is wide awake and half way across the room before I can even blink.

Marcia picks up Reggie and kisses her cheek. "Rain, let me put Reggie in her room, then we need to talk."

I suddenly had a thousand questions. But one stood out in my mind: Did I do something wrong? I hate being punished. Mostly because at Claridon's punishment is they hang you from the ceiling by caining your wrists to a hook and then they beat the crap out of you.

Marcia came back into the living space. "You didn't do anything wrong."

A truck was lifted off my chest.

"It's about Claridon."

"What about it?" I ask. I didn't know Marcia even knew that much about that hell.

"Not about the place. It's who's in it." She says. "Theres a news bulletin hung everywhere in town. They're over populated. No space for any more kids."

"Yeah, that's happened before." I say. "They cut our rations and make some of us sleep on the floor."

"They've already done that." Marcia says. She's deathly pale. "Theres too many older children."

"What do you mean?" When I left there was only a little more than a dozen kids over fifteen.

"Crime rates have gone up for teens and they're solving that problem by sending them to the facility." Marcia says in a quite voice. "They can't deal with that."

"So are they going to let more people fly? Seventeen-year-olds I mean."

"No." Marcia shakes her head. "They're selling all children above age 16 into slavery in the next village over."

I've heard of this happening before. A really long time, probably 50 or 60 years, ago. Why now? It's illegal now. Now they can all go to jail. Good. They've been neglecting hundreds of kids for almost a century. But what happens when they're gone? No one's going to be there to take care of the little kids.

"Rain." Marcia's voice reminds me that I'm still in the living room.

"They can't do this." I say "Its illegal. So many kids are there. The older kids take care of them. They can't be sent away. And then the adults there. They hate us all, but they keep is alive. What happens if they get arrested? Oh no. no no no no no. Jasper..."

When we first heard about this happening, Jasper promised me something. He promised me that if it came between slavery and death, he'd kill himself before they had the chance to put him to work. He can't kill himself, though. He only has a few months left. Only a few months until he can fly. He can't do that if hes dead. If he commits suicide to save himself from slavery.

"Rain, listen." Marcia says. "I know how much the people at Claridon mean to you. Especially Jasper. That's why I've already talked with Henry. We have some friends in the next town over, where the auctions are going to be happening. They have a lot of money and a lot of resources. We can do one of two things. One, we can get everyone in the town over to employ rather than inslave or set them free. The second option is that we can stop the whole thing and turn it into a riot. Rebel against it."

"And if we do rebel?"

"Then you'll have to understand something."

"What?"

"You will be the leader of the rebellion."

"I'll do it." I say. "I'll lead the rebellion."

"Are you sure?" Marcia asks, "Once you agree to this, you're not going to be able to turn back."

"Im sure."

"Okay. Ill let everyone know what your decision is. We'll rally up everyone we can get."

"Thank you."

"For what?"

"This. Telling me. Giving me the option to fight. Not many people understand."

"Yes, well. My history there goes back a bit further than you would imagine."

I'd never even thought of it before. Never even considered it really. But Marcia knew all about Claridon. She knew the slang, the way it worked, she even had the skills we're taught there.

"You went to Clarlidon." I say.

She nods, "I was able to fly when I was seventeen because everyone thought I was a year older than I actually was. I was lucky. Most aren't. I know how it is there and there's no doubt it's only gotten worse."

"Did they used to keep us separated?" I ask. "Boys and girls, I mean. Were we always forbidden to communicate."

"No. It wasn't like that when I was there. We weren't separated. When I was there, interaction was encouraged. The place was on the verge in shutting down. They used us. Trafficking. They needed more kids there, and they used the older kids to get that."

I'm speechless. I knew they were cruel, but forcing a bunch of teenagers to have kids just so they could keep up their evil practices. That's a whole new level of villainy.

"I know our first move." I say. "We need everyone to know what really happens at Claridon. Some news story or something. You and I both know firsthand the hell they put us through. We need to make sure the others know."

I spent all night writing my article. I never really went to school, so writing's not really my forte, but Marcias an English teacher and she knew what I meant.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" She asks me.

"How many times are you gonna ask me that? Yes. Im sure. They need to know."

"I'll have Henry take it to the post so it can be in the paper tomorrow."

"Thank you."

I, along with a few others, know the real torture of Claridon Orphanage for the Troubled and Unwanteds. That's the thing about Claridon, not many people can tell that story, because not many people live to tell it. Over the years, their methods have gotten worse only to make people think they've gotten better. Things have changed. Claridon is not the place you think it is. So am here to make sure you know.
I was at Claridon for thirteen years. There are some kids who have been there for more. And I can assure you, not one day was spent resting. Not one night was a good nights sleep in a comfortable bed. No full bellies. No one there to care. Taking care of the little kids falls into the hands of the older kids.
But that's not what I'm here to talk about. Yes, the methods are beyond words. But I'm here to tell you what they have done. What will happen. And what they can do.
Not more than 20 years ago, infact it couldn't have been a year before I got there, Claridon was about to shut down. Not enough kids were there, and they needed more. But there were no children being brought in my the police. There were no kids unwanted by their parents. So Claridon took the matter into their own hands, as they always do. Everyone older than 13, male and female were put together. They were trafficked. Forced to have sex and solve the problem of Claridon not having enough kids. Girls were 13 and had children that they weren't even allowed to take care of. Those kids who were born because of what they did were not given names. They were given numbers. The highest number was 26. 26 children were born because of this. And that's when it leads to overcrowding. And that leads me to the next subject, what is happening now.
Next week, over 50 teenagers are to be sold into slavery. Not only is that cruel, but it has been for over a decade. Kids there have taken their lives because of this. They would rather die than be inslaved.
So I need you all to understand something. Not for me, but for the kids. Claridon is not what you think is. It is hell. It is a place where kids are just alive enough to work. They don't care. There's a saying we have: Fly before you die.
Next week, in the next town over, kids are being sold. Just like property. Stop them. Save the kids. No matter what you do, anything will help. We meet this Saturday at the Market. Half past nine, after sun. I'll see you there.
~Rain