writers needed! some collabrative fiction!!

i sat under the tree on the soft grass. the field of wheat streached out before like a never-ending sea, with the wind blowing waves not of water, but of the ripe head of the seed. the cloudless blue sky above me was a deep turquise, and the setting sun cast long shadows over the field.

i stood up, marvelling at the scence, and started to walk slowly back to the house. i reached my front gate, and walked up the garden path, smiling to myself.
"i have everything" i thought to myself "i must be the richest man in the world."
i walked into the house; flicking on the light swich in the hallway. i walked into the kitchein and made a cup of tea, then, i walked to my sitting room and turned on the tv. my cats, bobby and susie, came and sat with me, and we watched the news together.
"the situation with korea is getting worse as nuclear disarment talks fail..."
i wasn't really concertrating. nothing to do with me, i thought.
"...the stand-off is expected to get worse..."
i absent-mindedly stroked bobby.
"... nuclear war in now a possiblity."
i looked up. i never relised that it was that bad. then again, nothing bad would happen, it always sorted itself out. no-body would nuke canada.
i switched the channel over to the drama. the lastest eposode of lost was on. suddenly, a newsflash interupted my viewing.
"nuclear strikes have hit new york, and washenton dc. america has declared war on korea. china has declared war on japan, britain and america. canada is expected to declare war on korea, china, and thiland; thiland has deacred war on india, india has declared war on china, germany and france say they will support britain. canada is mobilising... this is war."
i jumped up, knocking bobby off of me. i was shocked. then i knew what to do. prepare for amercain refugees, stock up on water and food; get the faimly and freinds to meet up here... and then the harvest! the harvest neeeded tobe done, nuclear war or no nuclear war... i grabbed the cats, and runninng to my room, i put them on the bed. they just laid down. then i ran to the bathroom to fill up the bath and every avalble water container while the water was still on.

Sounds like a hoot. Here goes:

Jared knelt down before his girlfriend. Reaching out, he took her left hand in his. Her right hand still clutched tightly to the television remote, as though to let go of it would be to capitulate – to surrender to the reality that had burst upon them. Jared noticed that her knuckles were white and knew that she must be hurting herself as her fingernails dug and twisted into the soft flesh of her palm, but he could not allow himself to focus on such trivialities any longer. Stroking her hand gently, Jared spoke to her soothingly and evenly, as one would speak to a tiny child to comfort them after a particularly awful nightmare.

“Jessica, baby, we can’t stay here. We have to go, we … we have to get away. Sweetheart? Can you hear me?”
Jessica stared blankly at the muted snow of static that danced across the television screen. Her lips slightly apart, Jessica made no effort to reply.
“Jess, we have to leave now, angel, okay? It’s too dangerous for us to stay here. We have to get as far away as we can, someplace up north, where we can be safe”.
Outside, the bright sun and gentle warbling of songbirds belied the horror that was being played out in cities across the globe, a horror spun of the shattered essence of reality and the dark, fiery power that coiled within all matter and which had been unleashed through folly and pride to spew its flame upon the Earth. Jared could dimly hear his neighbours as they raced for their own cars in an effort to escape a madness that had long been held in check. He knew he was out of time.
“Baby, please”, he pleaded, as tears began to well at the corners of his eyes. “Please … we have to go now. You have to come with me, Jess, so that … so that we can be safe and so that we can be together”.
Jessica said nothing and still did not respond. Jared shut his eyes and ran his fingers through his hair. After an eternal instant of deep sadness, he resigned himself and began to reach for the remote control.
“Can we take Mr Bear?”
Jared exhaled deeply, although he had not been aware that he was holding his breath, and smiled for the first time in many days.
“Yeah baby, we can take Mr Bear. But only Mr Bear, okay sweety. We don’t have time to take anything else. You go out to the car and I’ll go to the bedroom and get Mr Bear, okay baby?”
“Okay”, Jessica replied, as she mercifully lay the television remote down on the couch and moved with small but ordered steps towards the front door.

Racing into the bedroom, Jared saw Mr Bear in his usual resting place on Jessica’s pillow, where he had slept with Jessica since Jared had given the plush toy to her as a birthday gift seven years ago. The old bear was no longer the deep, rich shade of brown he had been and he had begun to lose stitching around his face. But Jared knew that Jessica loved the old stuffed animal more than any other possession. He hoped it would grant her some measure of comfort in the tribulations which he knew lay ahead in their flight from incandescent death.

When Jared got to the car, he was pleased to see that Jessica was already sitting in the passenger seat. Her face lit up when she saw Mr Bear and when Jared gave her the old worn bear she hugged it to her chest as though it were an infant. She sniffled once and then turned to Jared and asked
“So where are we going?”
“We have to go someplace that isn’t going to be a target. Someplace far away from …”.
His words trailed off, not out of fear, but out of a realisation that the thing which had been unleashed upon the coasts was a concept monstrous and alien that remained beyond his ability to translate into speech. In the end Jared merely said
“We’re going to Canada”.


[edit on 10/9/05 by Jeremiah25]

after reciveing the phone call from his brother in canda, jarded was determened to get there; he knew that his brother would need help with the harvest as well; maybe they could earn their keep. of course, she would need care.

he thought that in happer times how he would have brought tom a present. he smiled as he drove into the open country
"not long now"

[edit on 9/14/2005 by blue_sky_9]

[edit on 9/14/2005 by blue_sky_9]

To the east lay a half circle. A huge orange half circle. It is the sun setting. Its light dances onto the sky. Turning it red. A hazy yet beautiful red. And the red is most extreme on the east but slowly over its stretch across the sky it fades. And where it dissipates one can see the coming of the star spangled night. And as well as that, a field lay gold and shiny. Fields which danced in the wind, the warm wind pushed it around, much like that of waves in an ocean, a gold swirling wheat ocean. And in the middle of the crop was a house, a huge old wooden house. It stood high in the field, almost like it was the last house on earth. Like many would flee to it in a time of peril. And yet this was a time of peril, a very bad time. Some of the windows were smashed, some were cracked yet most were fine. The house’s wood would creek every few moments in the warm wind. Around the house lay a tractor, it was rusted all along its sides. The orange paint that had been put on it many decades ago was chipped all over. It was missing its left wheel which caused the tractor to lean to its right. And to the tractors left was a small dirt driveway, which led onto the distant main road. The road itself had not been used in years. A family had once lived and drove around the house and road. But now they were gone, all gone. The house had not been used in over 60 years. It was abandoned. And that is exactly why its current occupant was there.

“Texas has apparently begun to withhold hundreds of thousands of refugess”Al Becker looked up at the radio from a cracked old chair, his cowboy hat nearly falling of his head. Al was 37, a heavy set man. His eyes were a swirled blue, quite large as well. The mans eye brows were very high on his fore head, black in color. His face was smooth, like that of a baby’s. Some people had called him Baby Face Al, for that reason but never to his face on account of Al’s huge muscular arms. He wasn’t a very tall man, about 5 foot 2. Al wore a white tank top, and torn blue denim jeans.

“…The Prime Minster of Canada has advised all Citizens to remain indoors upon further instruction is heard” Al was Thinking. At first he tried to take in the information of the radio, but he just couldn’t. He still couldn’t believe what he first hear though. He never thought he would have lived long enough to witness what was happening. At first he thought it was a joke, like the Orson wells incident in the 30’s. That was until…well Al didn’t much want to think about that. All looked around the room. He was in the 2nd story of the house, a small bedroom. It was the only room that had any furniture in it. But even then, there wasn’t much. Only a mattress, a chair and an old oak dresser was in the bedroom. That was it, he had brought the radio with himself when he traveled up to the house. It now lay on the old dresser next to the 30 30 Winchester rifle he had taken with him as well. Once again Al tried to listen again but could not. He needed sleep, it had been a long day.

Meanwhile in the heartland of America panic was beginning to take over in the streets of the cities. When the war first broke the good christian people of the bible belt were more than willing to jump in & help the victims, but as things grew worse & worse christian charity became less Christlike & more worldly.
As people begin to move towards the country to get away from the horrors of the cities, they found that FEMA had rushed in to prevent any such evacuation in order to protect the natural wildlife. Those that were in the country were being rounded up & moved in to tiny concentration camps called "Evacuee Shelters".
Sitting at her table deep in the woods was a little old lady who sat patiently waiting, she had not been shocked or surprised when she had heard the news. This was something she had long been anticipating & she was prepared. Others had come & gone but she had held onto the knowledge the LORD had given her that this time was surely coming & she must be prepared.
Above her stood her home of 50 years. She had raised many a child there & seen most of them walk away in disgust at her "faith".
Everyone had thought she was crazy when she had started digging "her hole" about 20 years ago until finally they had all left because they could not stand her "hoarding". They didn't want to "save for a rainy day", afterall it may never rain again they would say with a laugh as they ate & drank up everything in sight.
Well yes, she was alone just as they had all said she would be, but she knew in her heart it would not be for much longer & she was ready....

i was prepared. i hated violence, but i knew that to protect myself and my property, i would have to use it. i moved my furnature and bed into the basement and all of my food that i had, i threw into the freezer. it might be a long time before i saw anymore, i reasoned. the water that i had collected went into a dark cuboard. that would stop aligy. i found my steritabs from my days as an expedition leader, and threw them in aswell. i did not bother phoning anyone, as i knew that they would phone me. i moved my communications down there as well, and found my sword. i never kept a gun in the house, as i was against violence in the home. but being an enthusatist on anceint weaponary, i had plenty of bows and swords. i hid them under a stone in the basement. better they were not used-very messy.

A light could be seen dacing on the wall of the cold old house. Al awoke stuck with adrenalin. Looking around he grabed the 30 30, and crounched behind the the bed. the only words he heard were "can we take Mr.Bear" it was a womes voice. It sounded shaken and tired. And with that Al caoked the 30 30, if they were freindly he would let them in,if they werent hed shoot them dead on the spot. And from their tone he could tell they were from the city,country folk wouldent be as fear struck. City folk just couldent be trusted...

As the old lady sit waiting, her mind drifted back to happier times. Back when the children were little & believed everything she said. When did they start questioning her wisdom, when did they decide that she was not worth listening to. Although she could not pinpoint when they stopped listening she could remember why.
They had all become to educated for their own good, they didn't need some old lady telling them how to run their lives, so one by one they stopped hearing anything she had to say & eventually they just stop coming around at all.
She missed the children most of all, they had always made her laugh & God knows she did little of that these days, but just the thought of children brought a slight smile to her wrinkled old face.
Their parents had thought it best that the children didn't learn about the old ways, they had to learn how to live in a new evolving world, so eventually they stopped bringing them to see her.
She looked around & thought to herself how long it had taken to dig this hole that was to be her home for awhile, it was warm & safe & she had been storing supplies for years knowing this time would come.
She couldn't get out much anymore, so she had come to depend on the kindness of others to bring her the things she needed, & sadly that kindness was about as rare as a thing could be outside of extinction.
She remember the night the bombs had started going off in the cities, she knew it would not take long before the violence & chaos begin to spread into the countryside, desperate times make desperate people.
She had started moving the rest of the things she would need into the hole not knowing just how much longer she might have before her home was no longer safe. For the past week she had waited until dark & snuck into the house to see if things had been disturbed, so far no one had looted her home but she knew it was only a matter of time so she was very careful.
She had left all the valuables & enough food to satisfy someone looking for such things in hopes they would just take them & look no further, although she had hidden the entrance to the hole pretty good, anyone looking hard enough could find it, she had spent a lifetime worrying about the details she couldn't let old age trip her up now.
She had been living in the country by herself for so long she had pretty much been forgotten, the world had passed her by because she had refused to move in the same direction.
She was not concerned about discovery although she knew to be found would most likely mean death, she knew to much & they knew she knew to much, but she had never been a danger to them before.

i woke. i grabbed the gladius beside my bed. like a cat, a climbed out. there were voices. mens voices.
"where the # is the food?"
"who cares? lets just grab some sleep."
"yeah, its been raining and i am wet!"
the last voice was a childs voice
"ok son, you get some sleep while your uncle and i check this place out"
"stay were you are"
i creep nearer to the noise, and look though the crack in the basement door. i can now see the 3 people. they are 2 black men and a black child. the child is lieing down on some washing that i left in front the machine. i step out.
"nobody move."
"dad!"
the child ran to his father, and grabbed him.
"what do you want?" i say
"we have travelled from america, and we saw your house and looked for shelter."
i relax.
"is that all?" i ask with a smile
"yeah."
"names?"
"the kid is bob, iam the father and my name is peter, and this is my brother carl."
"wecome to my humble home!" i say "you dont want to sleep there, kid, thats dirty. there is a bed in the basement."
they look at me questionanly
"your in my home, you might as well make yourself comfortable!"
"we dont accept charity, man."
i sigh. then i have an idea.
"ok, so you want to work? there is a harvest that needs bringing in outside, in payment, i look after you. fair?"
the men grinned; and nodded.

As she sat remembering better times she heard a knock at the front door, still deep in thought she rose to answer out of habit before she remember where she was & what was happening, she stopped & listened, careful not to make a sound.
The knocks grew louder & more urgent, but somehow did not sound threatening, she crept closer to the trap door to where it was just above her head when she heard the front door to her house open & two sets of footsteps enter, strange the more her eyesight failed the better her hearing became.
She listened carefully as she heard one set of the footsteps cross the house quickly & return to the front door. She heard the gentle sobbing of a woman & the hushed words of comfort being spoken to her in an attempt to keep her from becoming hysterical. She could tell they had been running & were looking for a place to hide, but who was chasing them & how far behind were they?
Her first instinct was to help, but years of experience told her to wait, it would not be wise to let her presence be known quite so soon. Her old legs were beginning to feel weak from standing so she return to her rocking chair & sat back down. As she sat there she could hear their voices clearly, they where whispering, but she could hear every word they said.
"Why did they do that?" she heard the woman gasp. "I don't know, I don't know!" said the man.. "But we didn't do anything, we were only trying to get help! Why did they shoot at us?" "I DON'T KNOW! I wish I knew but I don't". "But that was the military, they are suppose to be here to help, aren't they? Isn't that what we have always been told?" the woman asked with a hint of hope in her voice, like she still wanted to believe although she had seen the truth with her own eyes.
"What are we suppose to do now?" the woman asked, although she really didn't expect an answer cause this guy didn't seem to know any more than she did. "Wait" he said, as though that were an answer. "Wait for what?" she asked, "I don't know" he said, somehow that did not surprise her.
The old woman sat quitely waiting for the conversation to continue, but several minutes past before either one spoke again.
"No one home." said the man. "What?" said the woman. "I said, there doesn't seem to be anyone home here." He looked around the room & then back at her. "Nice place" he said, "Yea, real homey. Kind of reminds me of my grandma's house"she said. "Wonder where the people who live here are, they haven't been gone long, the place is to well taken care of" "Probably left when the chaos started in the cities, no one wants to be out here by themselves at a time like this" she said.
"I'd rather be in a place like this than some of the other places I have been lately" he said. "What is that suppose to mean?" she said. "Where have you been?" "I escaped from a FEMA camp." he said. "A what?" she asked, although she was pretty sure she knew the answer. "A Federal Emergency Management Agency Camp, the place where they take the "dislocated" to relocate them back into society. I wasn't so easy to relocated so I decided to relocate myself." "What do you mean?, it's not like they were holding you prisoner or anything, they are trying to help." she said. "Yea, just like those guys in uniform this morning where "helping" us, well I tell you, I don't need their damn help, I will help myself!"
The old lady cringed back into her chair at the anger in the man's voice & was glad she had waited before revealing herself, although she understood the anger, she only prayed he would direct it properly.
"So what should we do now?" she heard the woman say & realized she had dozed off, she glanced over at the clock & saw that several hours had passed & the couple were still in her house, if they had any intention of looting the house & leaving they would have done it already, so it was obvious they were intending to staying. Not only would that be dangerous for them, but it would also draw unwanted attention to this area & she did not need that. There was only one thing she could do & that was to bring them into her shelter & pray that it was the right thing.
She walked back to the trap door & slowly lowered herself to her knees, "Dear LORD, You have always been good to me & shown me the way & I have never gone wrong when I obeyed Your voice, I believe this is Your voice because it is what my heart tells me to do. So LORD I leave this in Your hands & open my home to these people. Thank You Jesus, Amen".
She lifted herself gently as she reached for the ladder that would take her into her kitchen under the big oak table that Josh had build as a wedding present so many years ago, the one that had hid the legs of all her children as they gathered around the dinner table together laughing & sometimes crying. That old table hid many secrets & many secrets had been revealed sitting at that table, now it was about to reveal the biggest secret of her life to two complete strangers, but it is what her spirit told her to do, so it must be right thing.
Climbing up the ladder wasn't an easy job for an eighty year old woman, but she managed to make it & push away the heavy rug that covered the trap door. The tablecloth on the table made it impossible for anyone to see under, so she was hidden from sight.
Knowing that she would in no way appear as a threat to the couple she was still careful not to startle them, she slowly lifted the tablecloth & gently cleared her voice to get their attention as she crawled out from under the family table into her living room.
Jane heard a noice behind her & jumped up & spun around in fear expecting to see anything besides what she saw. Stephen was looking that way when the old lady first appeared, thinking he had finally lost it he blinked his eyes a couple of times, but she was still there.
He knew he had checked under that table when they had first gotten to the house & there definitey was no old lady hiding under there. But there she was crawling across the floor heading toward them.
He jumped up & ran to help her up off the floor realizing she was probably having a bit of trouble rising. Jane meanwhile stood there at the point of hysterical laughter thinking she had now indeed seen everything.