Creative Corner

@lessthan3

A wind blew past, kicking up some of the snow that had been laying on the ground. It rattled the branches and non-existent leaves on the trees as I trudged through the slush that was on the sidewalk. Home was only a couple more blocks away and I could get warm again. No longer looking ridiculous would also be a plus.

Maneuvering to open the door was harder than I had expected, but once through I put my loot on the table and made my way back to find a nice warm shower.

“Where do you think you’re going? These aren’t gonna carve themselves.” The shrill voice of my mother cut through my thoughts. I stopped where I was and turned to face her.

“Do we really need more protection? I’m sure you’ve already laid the salt around the house and burned the sage. We shouldn’t really need any other protection for tonight.”

The cold stare I got in return was all the answer I needed. Her eyes seemed to cut through me and the blue only seemed to increase their resemblance to ice. It was moments like these that reminded me why she had always seemed more wicked than any of the spirits that came to visit us on this night year after year.

I broke eye contact first.

“Of course Mother,” I muttered to the floor. She hummed in satisfaction and turned to walk back to what I assumed was the parlor where her witch friends waited for her. I hadn’t proven they were actual witches yet, but it was only a matter of time.

I returned to the table and sighed. Carving all of the pumpkins I had just bought was going to take a lot of work. Especially by myself.

I cringed with each handful of guts I pulled from the squash. The skin was tough and I was beginning to wonder if I would ever finish putting the faces on them before sunset when the last piece fell from the pumpkin. I took a moment to relish in my accomplishment before placing the jack-o-lanterns outside the windows and the main doors.

A quick glance toward the sun told me I had just enough time to visit before I would need to lock myself inside for the night.

The headstone was still sitting in the backyard where it had for almost the past two years. My last offering of flowers was mostly buried in the snow.

“Hey sis. It’s been a crazy year huh? Gary didn’t ask me to the dance like I had been hoping, but I got to see that movie opening night. You know, the one based off your favorite book? It was pretty great.” The snow had begun to soak into my jeans at this point. The cold chilled me to my bones but I still stayed. I didn’t have much time left anyways. “I couldn’t keep my promise again this year. Sorry about that. Leaving this place means leaving you and I’m not sure I can do that yet. Of course if you were here you’d give me a solid kick out the front door and wouldn’t let me back in.” I let out a small laugh as a couple tears managed to make their way down my face.

My hand ran down the rough surface of the stone. The fading letters of her name could barely be seen in the fading light but my finger still knew the familiar shapes.

A moan broke through the still air followed shortly by a howl. I froze at the noise but quickly turned to find the sun. The light was fading fast and the sun was no longer visible on the horizon.

That was enough to get me moving.

I made a break for the back door but I was too late. Mother had already locked the door and nothing was going to get through it until morning.

The wind picked up, blowing out the light of the jack-o-lanterns and swirling the snow around me.

Guess I’ll be seeing you sooner than I thought sis. I thought as the spirits began to walk the earth.

I know the deadline has passed but I will have to judge tomorrow because I feel absolutely awful. I can't give a time tomorrow for sure so respond at your risk, you might get in before I judge or not. Sorry.

@Chrisondra
Oh, that's fascinating, I never would have thought of that! And the matriarch is so sassy, haha! I thought there would be more to the man than that, but I liked it! I don't really have any criticism.

@humanityxpeople
Ooh I love the way Dean and Cas are portrayed and the clear sense I got of their relationship despite the brevity of the story. Mechanically speaking, I was thrown off by the flow of the story, particularly with the sentence length - some were too long, some were too short, and the distribution was uneven. The use of second person also threw my a little. I also was left unsatisfied by the fact that nothing happened to the people doing the ritual, and the story seemed to end very abruptly. Kudos to you, though - I enjoyed the story very much regardless, which is high praise considering I am very strict when it comes to mechanics!

@Mypilot
I LOVE IT AAAAAAA

@PixieKnight3264
HOW DARE YOU. Also I want moooooore!!!!! Mainly in the detail. What EXACTLY is the nature of the relationship between the mother and daughters, what are the details of her sisters death, what kind of spirits are there?

Winner: @Mypilot
Runner-up: since I know mypilot will come up with a prompt, the rest of you lot tie. BECAUSE GOSH DANGIT YOU'RE ALL AMAZING

I'm glad you liked it, 3! =D It was fun to write. ^.^

Next prompt: Lost at sea

Required words: Briny, broken, deep, exist, greeting, ink, light, sharp, song, wind

Deadline: The 13th, 23:59 FR time

@Sillywinter @SamIamLuvDov @humanityxpeople @Karika @Annalynn @Zodiac753 @SolusPrime379 @Lightshadow101 @demonslayr62 @Chrisondra @Mypilot @lessthan3 @PixieKnight3264 @coyearth

@Mypilot

The ship crested the wave, its cargo tipping precariously as it began to descend the other side. The wind howled against the sails as the crew struggled to get them tied down. The storm had hit them out of nowhere, giving them no time to prepare for its fury. More than that, the clouds had blocked the sun from the sky, stealing their light and any hope they had of finding their bearings in these harsh conditions.

They were lost at sea, with no salvation in sight.

But the captain did not despair, for the sea was his home, and he knew that its briny depths would carry him to where he needed to be, as long as he didn't fight it. The sea was his mistress, and he welcomed her with open arms. The storm could have its way with his ship in the meantime. It too, was an old friend.

Hours passed and the crew complained about their aching backs and arms. The captain worked beside them, keeping the ship in one piece, mostly, and picking up the broken pieces of mast and rigging as they fell, threatening to impale them all on their sharp splinters. Ah yes, the sea was a fierce mistress indeed, and an unforgiving one. And yet, he wouldn't have it any other way.

Eventually the storm let them be. The crew slumped to the decks where they were, completely tuckered out. The captain refused to show such weakness however, and he moved to lean casually against the rail, using its strength to keep him upright as he stared out into the suddenly calm sea.

It came softly at first, a sound unlike any that he had heard before, even in all his years of travel on the seas. If he had anything to compare it to, he might have called it a song. A gurgling, bubbling sound came from deep within the sea, its sound singing out with a joyous tone, greeting him, welcoming him to its waters.

He did not know what it was, but there was a creature down there, calling to him.

"What sort of a creature would exist, with a song to tempt the heart of a sailor, when the sea herself claimed me long but a year ago?"

He was perplexed, his eyes straining for any sign of movement below, but the calm waters did not stir.

His crew, upon hearing his words, came to investigate themselves. But no matter how long they stared across the water, nothing changed. One by one they grew bored once more, and wandered off to find food and to prepare the ship to sail once more, for they knew that this lull was only temporarily. The winds would return.

And return they did.

When you were far enough out at sea to call yourself truely lost, you could not trust the calm, any more than you could trust the storm to destroy you. They were a hardened crew, and they knew this well. And yet, as the wind caught the sails once more, the captain's eyes were still on the sea, from where the song called to him.

As the ship was whipped away once more onto the next adventure, the captain could have sworn he saw a trace of ink staining the horizon. A farewell from his new friend, perhaps?

One day, they would be lucky enough to meet again.

The mast was broken, split in half. It had crushed the rail of the ship during it's fall, the main sail floating in the dark waves that hungrily lapped at the ship's hull. Mathias watched the sail drift gracefully in the open ocean, his green eyes dull, shoulders sagging with the burdening reminder of their loss. Even now he could hear the crew preparing the body, wrapping it up in white sail. They were lost at sea, and now, they were preparing to throw their navigator overboard, a stone tied to his ankles. His knuckles whitened as his grip tightened on the railing.

He turned to look over his shoulder and silently watched as a few men hefted the wrapped body onto their shoulders and approached the ship's edge. They were friends of the deceased and he could see how heavy the body was. He could see it in their face. Mathias forced himself to loosen his grip. He could feel that a few splinters had already decided to pr1ck his skin, the pain feeing sharp, bitter. The men paused at the railing, the wind kissing their cheeks softly, drying their tears. Mathias swallowed thickly.

And then, they tossed Tobias overboard. The captain watched the body briefly dance with the lost sail, before it was swallowed into the inky abyss. "Cut the mast loose." He ordered softly and Mathias turned back to face his men, brushing black hair behind his ear. There was a quiet murmur, before someone grabbed a small hatchet and began to hack away at the wood that had not completely snapped away. They finished their task quickly and everyone watched as the mast was pulled into the deep after Tobias.

Light was already fading and still much remained to do. "Back to work, everyone." Mathias ordered quietly, pulling himself away from the railing before he remembered what it was like to drown. He could still feel the thick briny taste of saltwater. An ocean's proper greeting; a brush with death. Quietly, the crew began to work on fixing the ship, repairing the necessities first and tending to lesser priorities later. Mathias worked as well, but it was hard to focus.

It was frightening, how easy it was for someone's existence to be wiped from this world. It was- A song interrupted his thoughts and the captain realized the crew was beginning a sailor's chant. It was Tobias's favorite, his tribute to his death. With a grim smile, Mathias joined in and soon found himself singing his heart out, like many others that worked around him. They sang late into the night, their grieving voices drifting across the water, soon to be lost at sea.

An infinite forever, an infinite prison.

It was only a matter of time before they too were to be swallowed whole.


@Mypilot - I hope you don't mind I used inky instead of ink and existence instead of exist haha. It;s pretty short to cause I struggled with a bit of inspiration, but here it is.

Extending the deadline another almost day! You now have until the 14th at 18:00 FR time.

@mypilot

I don’t know what was worse, the cacophony of terrified voices or the raging symphony of the storm that threatened to drown them.

We shouted at each other over the wind that battered our rigging, yelling for rope, help, and anything that might hold our ship together against the briny rage of the sea. Clouds thick and black as ink billowed overhead, silhouetted in quick flashes of brilliant light while rain thundered down upon the deck.

“Man Overboard” had ceased being a plea to help the lost soul. It only served as a hopeless countdown of crew members remaining to see the vessel through the crashing waves. The sea was slowly and steadily taking us all.

A sharp crack shattered the night as the shouts of the crew hushed in silent horror. Another crack resonated with the first and then wood groaned in a death song as the main mast teetered, pulling her restraints. Men cried for assistance as they clung to the rope, but too many gave into the dire situation and let go.

Screams were carried off by the raging gusts as men flew into the air, too stubborn to release the ropes. The mast crashed over into the sea.

I knew we were lost.

Another wave rushed over the deck as the remaining men, battered and broken by the will of sea, looked to one another for any ideas, anything that might save us from the fury of the deep.

The storm continued her thunderous serenade as she pummeled the ship. We all heard the hull give to the waters. We all saw the giant wave lift us almost vertical, setting the ship on its aft as in offering to the sky. Between the gloom of the roiling clouds, in that eternal moment, I saw a small scattering of stars twinkling defiantly. I took the sight as a greeting from where I was bound when I ceased to exist on this world. I closed my eyes, imagining my love and our pair of swings hanging from that lovely tree. I vowed to visit her in spirit if I could.

My feet slipped on the sodden upturned deck, and I fell into the rabid maw of the frothing waves.

I HAD TEN MINUTES OK

also scal'ed that's the closest i could cometo an accent mark on the "e"

@Mypilot

Deep and dark in the briny broken sea
a haunting hollow voice calls to me
a darkening to be sung
against my reckoning to be hung
for tho i did commit the act
it was not for goodness that i lacked
the ink that would have spared me up in flames
a blaze fanned by wind to support my infame

so this sharp and wild song
calls me far and away ere long
deep in the depths where nothing can exist
around the hellvents where monsters persist
the siren girl greets me there
with scal'ed skin and seaweed hair
but there is nothing left of me
a rotting corpse on which to feed
for i forgot i cannot breathe

@Karika - Ooooh I loved it, especially the sea-loving captain. Don't see characters like that a whole lot, just boring sailors/pirates. lol

@Sillywinter - Goodness, that was sad. =( I don't usually get emotional over short stories because, well, they're short, but I feel bad for poor Tobias and his captain.

@Chrisondra - Ooo, vivid descriptions you've got there. You made the sea sound so cruel, but it was bound to happen. Being lost at sea isn't generally a favourable thing. =D

@lessthan3 - A splendid poem, especially written in such a small time limit! I am in love with poetry, however you forgot the word 'light'!

The winner of this round is Sillywinter for making me sad! Runner-up is Chrisondra. ^.^ Lovely submissions everyone! =D