posted
Okay here are the rules. I wrote a story (or to be more specific, I took an excerpt out of a larger story I'm working on, just didn't have the creating juices for a REALLY short story tonight), everyone who wants to play should read the story, and then write one of their own, but here are the rules:
1. You must either use the same characters that I used, or use the same plot that I used. Hence the thread title, all the stories will be variations on a theme. The writer after you will then either choose to use your new characters or your new plot, with the old characters or old plot, and create something new, and so it will go on and on, like a game of literary telephone.
2. Before you write a story, please please post your name on the thread first to claim your next spot in line so to speak. I don't want a dozen people writing off the same story. So post your name, write your story, then the next one comes along.
3. They can't be too long, as this is a message board. Mine is just under 1,500 words, and on the thread it still looks enormous to me. But I suck too much as a writer to make a 500 word story, I tried and failed. So I'm going to say the word limit is 500-1500 words. That should be workable.
4. Please take no longer than three days to write it. It isn't THAT long of a story, and if others are waiting in line, I'm sure they'd appreciate the expediency.
5. Have fun! It's an experiment, and I'm interested to see what crazy directions my literary seed will grow.
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In the Lonely City, people didn’t talk to one another, didn’t rile up fights, and there was no racial tension, because there was no interaction on a large scale between the people. After the Gorans came, and conquered, the hand of the rebellion had struck hardest at Cita Leone, and fittingly, the fist of Goran retribution fell heaviest there as well. Alex knew that ex-rebellion figures were rife in the city, but that most had gone silent. He figured there must be an underground there, and hoped it would be easier to access than any in Carra Resu might have been.
It was with this hope that he’d arrived in Cita Leone, six months ago. He’d quickly and easily fallen in with a local gang, believing them to be patriots of Magna Publica. They’d readily adopted his desire for freedom, and eagerly followed his lead as he directed them to trash Goran supply depots and hoarded the loot in their base of operations. Upon returning from the meeting at Jack Rifle’s workshop, he was worried that there might be some resistance to joining into a larger rebellion, but he felt that these men were ready to take things a step further.
“I’m back!” He called upon entering the abandoned warehouse he called home.
“Well well well, we thought for sure it was a Goran trap. Didn’t expect to see you as anything but a hood ornament on the general’s car.” One of the boys sneered.
“Now now, that’s no way to talk to our celebrated leader. Come Alex, tell us what was said at this meeting you attended,” said another boy sarcastically.
Alex gave a sidelong glare at the second boy, who was quietly laughing along with the first. Clearly there had been some opposition to going to this meeting, but the opposition had actually been from the most stalwart of his supporters, who feared for his life. Those that had encouraged him to go were always pushing for his removal from leadership, and chief among them were Emric Davies and Charles Wallace.
“It went well. The two old guys Rifle was talking about might just be the real deal.”
“And? You didn’t agree to anything did you?” Wallace asked in an almost worried tone,
“Of course not. Today was just about formalities, a meet and greet.”
“Meet and greet? Looks like somebody thinks he’s back at home in the palace,” Davies sniggered. “What’s next, will we all be invited to attend the ball so we can get to know each other better?”
“You’re quite noisy for someone who’s never been outside Cita Leone.” Alex lanced back.
“And you’re pretty bossy for someone who has only been in town for six months.” Davies answered, his face impassive.
“Last I checked, I was bossy because I was the boss. If there are any other qualifications, you’ll be sure to let me know.”
“Qualifications?” Wallace sniffed with a smile on his face. “There’s only one qualification necessary.”
With that he ripped a revolver from his belt and trained it on Alex. Following this was a chorus of metal on leather as guns flew from their holsters all over the room. Alex glanced around to see Davies backing up Wallace with a sawed off shot gun, but behind them were three of Alex’s most trusted lieutenants. Alex could see from the looks on their faces that this was no trifle insubordination.
“So, mutiny already? You guys didn’t even wait for a job to try and kill me on. Try and make it look like an accident and all.” Alex shook his head, and pulled his own weapon from his belt. Most gunslingers in Magna Publica used simple six shooters, because they were the easiest to maintain, and gunsmiths in Cita Leone were an endangered species. Weapons with more power were almost strictly controlled by the Gorans, though in a trained hand, a six shooter was just as deadly as anything more powerful. Alex however used a fully automatic magazine fed pistol. It held more than three times the bullets of six shooters, and could wipe out a small gang in seconds with a steady hand. Alex didn’t expect he’d have to fight very often, but when he did, he wanted to be ready.
Wallace and Davies tensed up a bit, and Alex’s supporters moved out from behind the two of them and around to their flanks to open Alex’s field of fire.
“Well, what now? Do I kill the two of you?” Alex asked.
Davies looked slightly worried, but Wallace merely smiled.
“You’re far too trusting Alex. You think Davies and I are the only two in the group who hate having an idiot like you for a leader? You’re a poster boy, pure and simple.”
As he was speaking, another three dozen members of their gang rushed into the room with weapons drawn, but to Wallace’s surprise, not all the weapons were trained on Alex. Though he still had a two to one advantage, a great many of those guns were trained on Wallace.
“Well, now we’re certainly in a pickle aren’t we?” Alex said casually, though his eyes said something entirely different. Constantly scanning the room, he saw that most of Wallace’s men had their concentration on him, whereas all of Alex’s men had their attention on the other people in the room. Should this come down to a firefight, Alex just might win, but most certainly he’d die to pay for it. And it wasn’t that he was a coward, but there was just too much left he would be leaving unaccomplished. It’s too early to die. He thought.
“Tell you what Alex, you and your people throw down those guns, kick them over to us, and we’ll let you walk out alive,” Wallace offered.
Alex snorted at that. “Right, and while you’re at it, I keep my life savings in a sock under my pillow.” He shook his head and narrowed his focus on Davies. “Emric, you know this isn’t going to end well. We aren’t putting down our guns. A lot of us aren’t walking out of here alive.”
Wallace laughed at that, but Davies’ gun hand started to shake. He realized that Alex was telling the truth. Wallace didn’t think he had it in him, but facing those stone cold eyes, Davies could see he was very serious indeed.
“Charlie, maybe we should all put our guns down and walk away. He’s not waving around a rubber band gun there, he could take out half the room with that thing if he uses it right, and he has enough people to really make a fight of it, it’s not worth it.”
Wallace turned with wild eyed surprise to stare at Davies. “Are you serious? This milquetoast idiot doesn’t even know what he has in his hand; it’s just a toy his mommy and daddy’s money paid for. And I’ll be damned if I’m going to be run out of my own warehouse by this rich boy traitor.”
At the word traitor, most of the heads in the room snapped to face his direction.
“Yeah, you heard me right! I said traitor! He’s a Carran. I’ll bet he got a good laugh playing gang runner with the riffraff for awhile, but that’s all you guys are to him, playthings.”
At this, the attention of Alex’s friends went directly back to training their guns on Wallace’s men. Alex laughed at Wallace’s reaction.
“Oh bravo, nice try really. I’ve made no secret of the fact that I come from Carra Ressu. And I think you’ve made no secret of the fact that you’re the real traitor here. You’re exactly what Jack was talking about: a petty gang lord wannabe who is far more interested in turf and gun running than in the real cause. Well that’s fine with me, go on wasting your time with trivial matters like that, it’s no concern of mine unless you get in our way. And right now, you are most assuredly in my way.”
Wallace’s stance faltered a bit then, as he realized that Alex was not in fact bluffing. But still he wondered why Alex hadn’t fired yet.
“Alright Alex, let’s do it your way. Keep your weapons, both sides slowly leave the warehouse.”
Alex knew what was being left unsaid. There were tons of supplies, including a healthy cache of weapons in the warehouse, but fighting over it would mean the death of most of his friends. He didn’t think it was worth the risk.
“Fine by me.”
With that, Alex signaled for his people to back off, and slowly they grouped together and moved towards the exit. On the other side of the warehouse, Wallace was directing the remnants of the gang to do the same, and soon the whole warehouse lay between them. With that Alex stepped out and slammed shut the door of the warehouse then turned his back and walked away.
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If anyone has any problems with the format, please feel free post ways to make it easier or more streamlined (as the idea occurred to me at work earlier to night, I haven't really polished it a lot).
For example, the next person in line could either choose to keep Alex, Wallace and Davies and use them in another story with a different plot, or they could write their own new characters in the same plot, a betrayal at a warehouse in the midst of a newly forming rebellion.
Have fun guys (if I get any takers at all that is )
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