The Dark

I clutched my suitcase tightly. Everything I owned was in my hands. Or rather, everything I wanted them to know I owned. My other possessions were long gone. Ever since the attack on my village, I had been running, both from the mechs and from the government's special "research gathering and civilian enforcement" squads, or as we magicians call them, "hunters". I can only be thankful it wasn't them that slaughtered everyone I knew. Now I'm truly on my own.  I'm one of the last shadow wielders and only person in known history (at least to my knowledge) that showed affinity to two separate classes of magic. I sat in the outdoor waiting area for the local transit station, having entered with a ticket the young man with the suit had foolishly kept in his hand. I never wanted to be a thief. None of us ever did. I would almost feel bad, if I didn't know he was part of their society. He deserved what he got. The night sky was cloudy, keeping the area slightly dark and very cold. I opened my suitcase hesitantly. Inside laid my two other sets of clothes, a few small books of magic, and my prized knives. The latter two would be especially useful and I knew it. Owning a book of magic was dangerous, and they fetched a high price on the black market. But only after I memorized their contents cover to cover. I tried to stay inconspicuous in the back corner, closing my suitcase silently and attempting to look busy with a string on my shirt. 

"Hey kid!" I looked up, and noticed two hunters approaching me.

"C-can I help you?" I squeaked, attempting to look scared. They usually leave you alone sooner that way.

"Well... I'm afraid we're in need of some extra funding." the first said. "And you can help. We'll just be taking your suitcase, and taking what we need, then returning the rest."

A robbery. Just what I needed. First day attempting to start anew in a civilized area and already getting mugged by the government. "I... This is all I have... Please sirs..."

They grabbed my suitcase, tearing it open. I smiled. The perks of the great outdoors... "You can drop everything right now." I said darkly, twisting my hands into a simple casting stance. "And that does include compensation for your troubling me. 

One turned. My smile turned into a feral grin. "Vengeance for my fallen friends, hunters. Nothing personal."

His gun came out of the holster, and his arm stopped suddenly. "What the-" 

"Shado-" the second fell silent as I cast my second favorite spell, binding him with his own shadow.

"Hush..." I said in the most derogatory voice my angered self could manage. "I just need a bit of metal. Your guns will do nicely." Taking their weapons, I gave their ranks a glance. "Fresh out of the academy, eh?" I put the barrels to their heads. "Pity. I suppose that explains your inexperienced attempts though." The fear in their eyes was disturbingly refreshing. "Best nobody knows this ever happened." I sent a burst of electricity through the guns, effectively knocking them both unconscious. They wouldn't remember this night well. If I was correct, they would only remember a vague bit about a magician almost killing them, and likely quit their jobs hunting my kind and move on. It will suffice. I thought as I collected my bag and moved on into the station. The time for me to show the enemy why the feared the dark was near.

  

Facing Futures Unknown - Bree

      I clutched my suitcase tightly. Everything I owned was in my hands. It felt strange being on my own. Before, I always had my parents with me, or my sisters, or my uncle, but now... no one was there to hold my hand as I stepped into my future. Literally.
      Five years ago, I couldn't wait for this moment. Now? I was terrified. I didn't want to be sixteen. It felt like I was too young to leave my family. To leave the world I knew.
      Everyone knows that on your sixteenth birthday you step into the portal. No one knows what happens to you afterwards. No one ever remembers. You just were to bring your few belongings with you, say goodbye to your family, and then... walk off into your future without knowing what you will face.
      A lady wearing a tight skirt and a frilly blouse smiled at me as she walked out of the building and gently grabbed my arm, leading me inside the building towards the portal. She was talking to me, but I didn't hear her. I was too scared, too sad to listen to anyone just then.
     The building was more like an empty barn at the edge of town lit with those boxy, white lights that flicker like a candle in the wind. I blinked my eyes to adjust to the darkness. Then I saw the portal.
     It wasn't what I had imagined it to look like - all colorful and swirly. It was sort of like an arched door with a grey wall behind it. It looked odd. But it was my future.
     A man was also there. His jaw was clean-shaven and he wore a black suit as if he was going to someone's funeral. My funeral. I blinked back tears.
     Nonsense, Ellyana. You're not dying. Just leaving, I told myself.
     Then, taking a deep breath and jutting my chin upwards, I closed my eyes and stepped into the portal.

I wrote two, but lost my first. This one's completely different. I like it better, though. v.v Ten minutes. ;)

At the Airport - Jamie

Leah clutched her suitcase tightly. Everything she owned was in her hands. She was tired of this... she had to admit. Three years ago she had sold all her furniture and everything unnecessary, canceled the lease on her flat, and vanished into a world of trains and airplanes and tickets. Her passport was well worn, and her most prized possession. Finding the correct gate, she took a seat and waited for the airline to announce boarding. The young woman took her passport in her hands and stroked it gently. “We’ve been through a lot together, haven’t we old friend?” she murmured to it. “But this will be your last stamp for the foreseeable future. I’m going home.”

Leah looked out the window at the vague outline of the plane hidden in morning’s dusk. She stared out the window, contemplating entirely unrelated topics like barking dogs and the mythical writer’s block and the debate about whether it truly existed or not. She’d been sitting there for twelve minutes, there was three more minutes until boarding began.

She lifted a book from her suitcase and began to read. How far can one get through in three minutes?

So It Began... -Addi

I clutched my suitcase tightly. Everything I owned was in my hands.
There wasn't much, now that I think about it, but then it was my whole world.
Part of me ached, I think sensing what was to come, but I was mostly excited. Thrilled.
I was free, adventure was on the horizon. I didn't look back on the orphanage where I had spent all my life.
Oh, how naive I was. Young, innocent still. I wish...
But I must get on with the story.
I skipped out the gate, the black iron fence glaring at my back as I left. It was sunny, I remember, the first sunny day in weeks. Everything surrounding me was the dull city grey. The buildings, the sidewalks, the street. Occasionally there were browns and blacks, but for the most part it was the same dreary grey.
How did I stand it? I suppose because it was all I knew.
The streets were almost bare in my old neighborhood. The old beggar man everyone knew stood at the corner. I'm ashamed to say that in the ten years I'd seen him, I never spoke to him. Not once.
A woman hurried a little boy down the street. I smiled at his freckled little face.
Once I got to the market, the streets were far more crowded. I held my suitcase closer to my body. I managed to dart between people, thankful once more I was small.
The noises almost overwhelmed me. Of course I'd been to the market before, on errands, but I never really got used to it. People yelling about what they have to sell, dogs barking, ladies chatting away... There was so much.
I slipped through, grabbing a bit of food on the way.
And then I was out. Breathing a sigh of relief, I kept walking. I knew where the city wall was, and I headed there. Almost out.
That city was small, but to me it felt huge. I had no knowledge of the world outside. It was a bit after noon when I got to the wall. The gates were open, but there was practically no traffic. It wasn't an important city at all.
I finally looked back. One more step, and I left it all behind.
I took a step.
The road stretched in front of me, and I could where it curved up ahead. I continued, musing over things. I don't remember what I thought about. Probably the girls back at the orphanage. I didn't get along with them, except Gretchen. I would miss her. Her and Andrew, the boy who used to deliver  groceries and stuff. But he had left about a year ago.
I was patient, back then. I just walked, all day. When nightfall came, I opened the suitcase and pulled out a blanket and curled up by the side of the road.
It was the third day before anything happened.

The Tree of Stories and Round Three! - Jamie

http://www.tolkienprofessor.com/wp/lectures/introduction/

You are all required to listen to this 28 minute lecture. U_U Absolutely mandatory. All SS folks MUST listen.

Because we are sub-creators. Because we're busy unfolding the leaves of stories. Because the rage for originality in our modern world eats away at us if we don't reject it. I want to hear more about why Tolkien thought it was a sign of the corruption of our age... it makes sense, it rings true, but I don't know why.

A predictable story is not less valuable, if it's well-written! If you predict how things will go, and the writing is poor, it's disappointing. But a well-written predictable ending can be very satisfying. x) Not that unexpected twists aren't necessary as well, but that's inevitable. There's no way the reader can predict exactly what each character will say and do, even if they have the general picture.

All tales derive from the Great Tree of Stories, not from the writer... they're all leaves. Undeniable. They're all leaves. Butttt! No two leaves are the same.

No two leaves are the same. It's impossible to write a story which isn't original. Just try to write a story exactly like someone else's! Impossible. Similar situations, similar plot elements, etc...? Of course. They're all leaves. But each leaf is unique. No one else has what you have to offer, no one else can unfold this leaf you have before you. If you don't unfold it, we'll never know. Stories have been told for thousands of years, and will continue to be told. Your story is just as valuable as the ones before it, and the ones that will come. No one else has what you have to offer!

We are made in the image of a maker. And we all have sub-creations to offer to the world. For us gathered here, our sub-creations are writing. We here are those who unfold the leaves. x) Not everyone sub-creates by writing. Not everyone writes, everyone has potential in different areas. But we gathered here are the writers! And I love that. ^,_^

So! Let's do another round of freewriting! =D

We can talk about soapboxing later. For now... just write. Just write.

Prompt:

I clutched my suitcase tightly. Everything I owned was in my hands.