forums.rs

Forums

Darkest Secrets—Story Contest

Quick find code: 49-50-523-63770340

of 26
Eno Remnant

Eno Remnant

Posts: 5,832 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
1847 HOURS, SEPTEMBER 16, 2012 (AEST)\AUSTRALIAN MILITARY BASE [REDACTED], CANBERRA
The hall was empty; the last rays of sunlight creating fantastically elongated shadows within. The sounds of close order drill could be heard in the courtyard outside. Three military personnel entered the hall through a bulky door at one end: A young man with short dark hair, with captain insignia; a stocky man, young as well, with an olive complexion and dark hair down to his shoulders, his insignia marking him as a first lieutenant; and a very tall middle-aged woman with a pale complexion, blonde hair tied in a ponytail, and insignia marking her as a brigadier. Both of the men carried long, slender objects swathed in cloth.
As they entered the hall, the woman stopped and shouted at the two men.
“Captain Wolfe! Lieutenant D’Alphonse! Halt!” The shorter man stopped, turned and gave an informal salute with his free hand. His companion continued down the hall.
“Lieutenant D’Alphonse reporting, Brigadier Jones. I’m afraid the Chief and I are busy, so if you don’t mind-“
“Oh, I mind Lieutenant! I know you’re trying to leave the base, which you know is against the rules.” Captain Wolfe stopped now, and called over his shoulder,
“We have authorisation from Colonel James. If you have a problem, take it up with him.” The woman scoffed, obviously not convinced. She turned back to the door, and screamed.
The captain turned, dropped his bundle, and drew and raised the sidearm at his hip, the lieutenant doing likewise, as a black silhouette rose from the shadows. Lieutenant D’Alphonse shoved the brigadier out of the way, and both he and Captain Wolfe opened fire on the shadowy figure. Two clips were emptied into this unknown enemy. And yet it still advanced, raising dark arms to reveal appendages that were more like blades than hands, swinging them in ferocious arcs.
“This isn’t working!” The captain exclaimed, “Martino, get the brigadier out of here!”
“Right you are, Chief!”

11-Jun-2012 00:50:23 - Last edited on 28-Jun-2012 11:31:04 by Eno Remnant

Eno Remnant

Eno Remnant

Posts: 5,832 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
Martino grabbed the brigadier by the waist and slung her over his shoulder, then sprinted down the hall. Captain Wolfe continued to fire at the figure until the lieutenant and brigadier were out of sight, then ran after them, grabbing the two bundles from the floor. As he rounded the corner, he found them both standing in front of a door. The brigadier's earlier, stern expression had returned, and the captain smiled slyly.
“Glad to see you’ve composed yourself, ma’am.”
“That’s enough of that, Tomas. The door’s locked; any ideas in that o-so clever mind of yours?” Tomas frowned, then unwrapped one of the bundles, revealing a slender rapier.
"A sword?” Brigadier Jones frowned in turn, “what’s that going to do?”
“Respectfully, ma’am, do you have any better ideas?”
The brigadier was silent as Tomas dashed back around the corner at high speed, charging at the indistinct black silhouette in front of him. The figure raised its arms, executing a flurry of thrusts at a speed beyond anything the captain had thought possible. He ducked around them quickly, earning several small cuts, before delivering a thrust of his own to its midsection. Time seemed to freeze as the blow landed, as though the contact had struck with enough force to rip a hole in the temporal flow of the universe. Then a loud humming emanated from the blade, and the figure exploded, unleashing a terrible, spine-chilling scream.

11-Jun-2012 00:50:44 - Last edited on 28-Jun-2012 11:33:54 by Eno Remnant

Eno Remnant

Eno Remnant

Posts: 5,832 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
1932 HOURS, SEPTEMBER 16, 2012 (AEST)\NEW PARLIAMENT HOUSE, CANBERRA
Captain Tomas Wolfe thought he’d seen every kind of NCO and CO possible on that trip. After he’d vanquished the “shadow”, as he’d dubbed it, General Masson—senior officer at the base—had turned up to investigate reports of gunfire in the hall. After explaining the situation to him, the general ordered the three of them onto an armoured vehicle, which had taken them to Parliament House. They were quickly ushered into a lavish office, and informed that the Prime Minister would be with them shortly. The whole process had taken a mere half hour.
Now Tomas, Martino, Brigadier Jones and General Masson stood as Prime Minister Marcus Retsam entered the room. The Prime Minister gestured for them to sit, then took his place behind a red gum desk. He examined his visitors with intense scrutiny for a minute, before addressing Tomas.
“Alright captain, explain what happened.” The captain nodded and cleared his throat, then began to recite a speech designed to be both accurate and concise.
“Lieutenant D’Alphonse and I were going out to meet with the rest of Wolf Squad-“
“Wolf Squad, captain?” Tomas smiled lightly, answering,
“That’s what my squad calls themselves, sir. For my last name.” The PM nodded his understanding, and made an affirmative gesture.
“Of course. Continue.”
“As I say, Martino and I were going to meet the squad for a bit of fencing—something I got my squad into for recreational purposes—when Brigadier Jones intercepted us and accused us of attempting to leave the base when we were meant to be in bed. I told her we had a pass from Colonel Jones, but she wasn’t convinced and was about to press us for information when a… well, a shadow appeared. It rose from the floor, and tried to attack us. The lieutenant and I put two clips of 9mm rounds into it, without any apparent effect. I ordered a retreat, but we were stymied by a locked door."

11-Jun-2012 00:52:08

Eno Remnant

Eno Remnant

Posts: 5,832 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
"At this point, I drew my rapier and charged the shadow, running it through. And then it exploded, sir."
The Prime Minister nodded, and gestured to a painting on the wall, depicting a cave painting of two men.
“Do you recognise that image, captain?” Tomas frowned, and nodded slowly.
“Yes, sir. Those are the Twins, from the Aboriginal myth.” But the Prime Minister was shaking his head, and he stood to closer examine the painting.
“It’s no myth, captain. However, it’s not what the Aboriginal people think it is, either.”
“I’m not sure I understand, sir."
"This image depicts the first time people had shadows.”
Tomas looked at the general, then at Martino, unsure if he had heard the PM correctly.
“Say again, sir?”
“People didn't always have shadows, Tomas. Our shadows were once a people of their own, until some spiritual leader decreed them humanity’s enemy and imprisoned them. Using us as the prison.”
“So what I fought was an actual shadow? How is it my sword hurt it?”
“I have examined your blade. It is chased in gold, which is harmful to them, and what was used to bind them originally. As for the thing you fought, it is less a shadow and more a servant of the shadows.”

11-Jun-2012 00:52:53 - Last edited on 19-Jun-2012 22:41:27 by Eno Remnant

Eno Remnant

Eno Remnant

Posts: 5,832 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
Shigosuru Yusaka stopped reading the report as the Shadow Guard drew their blades, sparring with gaunt, black figures he now knew to be servants of the shadows. He stood quickly, toppling his chair as he reached behind him. From the wall, he took the gift he’d been given on his promotion to Secretary-General—A solid white gold katana. He joined his guards, fighting furiously, hacking apart shadow-kin after shadow-kin.
As the battle intensified, with guards and dark silhouettes alike pouring in through a now-broken door, a fierce wind blew in from the outside, blowing about the papers on Yusaka’s desk. One of these documents was the report he’d been reading, which had flipped open to its last page, one that’s words were almost indecipherable for all the dried blood on it:
I feel I must emphasise this sir. Those things can free people’s shadows. Whatever you do, Secretary-General, don’t look away from your shadow. DON’T LOOK AWAY.

*DEATH TO HUMANITY*

11-Jun-2012 00:53:18 - Last edited on 19-Jun-2012 22:43:15 by Eno Remnant

Cozmic

Cozmic

Forum Moderator Posts: 16,435 Opal Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
It doesn't matter whether an entry rolls over onto a second page or is more than 5 posts, as long as it isn't over 10,000 characters. I'd much rather people format their stories correctly than have to end a post mid-paragraph.

11-Jun-2012 05:26:40

Cozmic

Cozmic

Forum Moderator Posts: 16,435 Opal Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
Yep, I still need judges. Anyone can apply. No one other than myself has explicitly agreed to judge this contest yet. As usual, previous judges are free to participate.
I'd also like potential judges to please post a profile (maybe a couple of paragraphs, no strict requirements) on who they are so that we all can know who's judging. Relevant information includes: things you've done before in this forum, contests you've judged or participated in, stories you've written, any real-world writing related accomplishments (don't be location specific or personally identifying), and so on.

11-Jun-2012 23:52:35

Quick find code: 49-50-523-63770340 Back to Top