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INTRODUCTION

Welcome to the guidelines for the First Annual KMC Short Story Contest!

With each Short Story contest, there will be a genre that defines what the story must be about. The genre is completely decided on my whim and fancy, whatever I feel like choosing. And only I choose, or else!

Also, I might, from time to time, include a special rule in addition to the genre, such as 'You must use Stereotypes!' or 'This character that I made must be included!' and whatnot.

All whim.

Story length is 10,000 characters minimum (one post) and 20,000 characters maximum (two posts).

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NOTICE

Keep in mind that
THE RULES OF THE GENERAL FICTION SECTION APPLYas well as THE RULES OF KMC ITSELF Short Stories with explicit imagery or language must be censored (*'s for language, tags for passages).

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GENRE

For the First KMC Short Story Contest ever, the genre is...

...absolutely nothing!

You can submit a short story about whatever the hell you want to write.

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SPECIAL

No random whims have I for the first contest.

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JUDGES

For all contests, there will be a panel of three or four judges, depending on number of contestants and volunteer judges.

For the first contest, we have the following.

CAPTAIN REX - I moderate the GenFic and am hosting this contest, so why not?

LANA - Fellow moderator, skilled writer herself, and picky! She'll tear your story apart, so aim to please.

VINNY VALENTINE - He volunteered. Don't look at me, I have nothing to say other than he's written a story or two that I found good. ermm

DIGIMARK007 - Also volunteered, in the event that I should need a fourth judge. With the turn out we got, he's needed!

SYREN - She didn't know if there were any requirements besides "loving to read and having a near perfect grasp on grammar and punctuation." She got the job.

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CONTESTANTS

In order of showing interest via Private Message.

DanZeke25 x
Punkyhermy x
Diamonds x
The Phantom x
Thorinn x
SpikeSpiegel x
newjak86 x
Dusty x
The thinker x
Fëanor x
Spideys Sister x
TheKingofKINGS! x

The majority of the posters come from the OTF, but other members hail from places like the Star Wars Vs., Star Wars RPG, Comic Book Vs., Harry Potter forum, and the General Fiction forum itself (as well as its subsidaries).

EDIT- The list above shows only those that actually submitted.

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OTHER GUMF

Should be interesting to read everything entered.

The contest begins August 1st, 2006.

All stories must be entered by August 30th, 2006. Knowing me, I'll let a few slide if they come in late.

Good luck, writers.

SAMPLE

This is a sample story, written by Lana in February 2004 for her creative writing class. This is approximately how long your short story should be, more or less. Don't write a novel, we won't want to judge it.

In addition, this is the format.

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The Matrix: The Sadalsud
written by Lana

This was supposed to be a simple mission. Get in, get the potential rebel, get back out.

'As if anything could ever go that simple...' Charon thought to himself as he and two of his crew, Dragon and Andromeda, ran from the three Agents.

"You think we've lost them yet?" Andromeda asked as they turned into an alley.

"I don't know...but we need a way out." Charon replied, pulling out his cell phone. But before he could dial, it started ringing.

"Astraea, we need an exit!" he said into the phone.

"Yeah, I've got you one. It's a payphone inside a warehouse four blocks north of where you are. But we've got problems." Astraea replied. The sound of frantic typing came over the reciever.

"More trouble? What now?" Charon asked. The three of them burst out of the alley onto another street.

"Your little agent buddies called for backup, so you've got about 20 SWAT team members waiting for you. Not to mention the fact that there's some calamari snooping around the ship." Astraea replied, a hint of worry creeping into her normally sarcastic voice.

Charon swore, and responded, "Have that hardline ready for us."

"What's this 'more trouble'?" Dragon asked as Charon put his phone back in his pocket.

"SWATs and sentinels." Charon replied.

"So we're fighting our way out." Andromeda stated.

"Don't forget the Agents." Charon said.

"Like we could ever forget about them..." Dragon muttered. From somewhere very nearby they could hear a police siren. The three of them continued to sprint down the street.

"The exit's in that warehouse...LOOK OUT!" Charon shouted as they ran around a corner and were immediately met by a hail of bullets. They ducked back around the corner, drawing their guns.

"Looks like we're outnumbered by at least six to one." Dragon commented, checking to make sure his Glock was fully loaded. Charon, going more for heavy firepower, was carrying an M16. Andromeda was armed with an Ingrams, but since she was primarily a martial artist, on her person was a number of concealed knives and daggers.

"Let's go. Watch your back." Charon said.

"Don't worry, I don't intend to get killed by a few coppertops." Andromeda replied before dashing back around the corner, gun out and blazing. By the time her two male counterparts had caught up with her, three SWATs were already down and she was ducking behind a mailbox, reloadng her gun. While she reloaded, Charon and Dragon opened fire, dropping five more SWATs. They ducked down, reloading, as Andromeda ran out, quickly emptying her clip into two SWATs. Dropping the now-empty gun, she ran up to the nearest SWAT and kicked him squarely in the chest, dropping him, while Charon and Dragon each took down three more SWATs. At this point there were only three SWAT team members left. While Charon and Dragon reloaded, Andromeda drew a knife and lunged at one of the remaining SWATs. Before she could complete her attack, though, they opened fire on her. She tried to twist out of the way, but was unable to; she was hit in the arm and the side. She fell, and her knife only slashed across the SWAT's arm, instead of this throat, as it had been intended.

"Damnit!" Charon shouted, jamming a fresh clip into his assault rifle and firing on the three SWATs. He and Dragon ran towards them, both shooting, hoping to distract them from the wounded Andromeda. The SWATs fired back at them, but they never stood a chance; they were down before they could do anything but graze Dragon's arm with a lucky shot.

"You okay?" Charon as Andromeda, as he and Dragon helped her up.

"Yeah." she replied, holding her hand over the bullet wound in her side. Charon's cell phone began to ring.

"Get to that hardline, now." Astraea said as soon as he answered it.

"What's wrong now?" Charon asked.

"The squiddies are starting to get nosy...and the Agents have almost caught up on you. Oh, and Andromeda's vital signs are starting to go erratic; I think that bullet hit something important." she replied. He looked over at Andromeda, who was indeed looking considerably worse than she had only moments before.

"Okay." he said, hanging up and putting away his phone. "Come on, our exit's in here."

"Are you sure you're okay?" Dragon asked as they moved toward the warehouse as quickly as they could. He was helping Andromeda walk, and she was leaning rather heavily on him.

"Yeah, I'm fine." she responded, despite the fact that she winced with pain with every step they took and her face was a chalky white.

"Astraea thinks that the bullet hit one of your vital organs." Charon said as he picked the lock on the warehouse door. On the far wall, near the other door, was a payphone; it was ringing. The had made their way about halfway across the large area, when --

"There they are."

"The rebels."

"Do not allow them to escape."

Agents.

All three of them.

"Damnit..." Dragon said. "Could anything else go wrong?"

No sooner than he had said those works, the three Agents drew their Desert Eagles and opened fire. The three rebels ran for what little cover they could find, but not before Dragon was hit in the shoulder.

"I...ahh...think we're in a bit of trouble..." Dragon commented. Charon chose to ignore this, and glanced around the room. There was very little cover between where they were hiding and the payphone, a distance of about 250 feet.

"Thank you, Captain Obvious..." Andromeda muttered in response to Dragon.

"We're just going to have to run for it." Charon stated. "There's almost no cover so be careful and take whatever you can."

Andromeda peeked around the corner of the crate they had ducked behind, and quickly drew her head back when a bullet hit about an inch from where her face had been.

"I think the Agents are starting to get a little bit pissed." she said, glancing back the the others. Dragon snorted in response, and muttered something along the lines of, "And you call me Captain Obvious..."

"How far from us are they?" Charon asked.

"About halfway between us and the entrance." she answered.

"Okay. This is what we're going to do. You two will run to the hardline, and I will distract the agents." he stated, knowing that his two crew members were not going to like this plan.

"What do you mean, you'll distract the agents?" Andromeda asked, narrowing her eyes.

"I'll fire at them to try and keep them away from you so you can get out." Charon said. "Look, you two are both injured--"

"Ha, it's only a flesh wound." Dragon broke in.

"--and I'd rather like for all of us to get out of here alive. Now, we're wasting time that we don't have. I'm the captain and I say move!" Charon continued, glaring at Dragon and Andromeda before leaping out from behind the crate, firing his M16 at the agents.

"He's insane." Andromeda simply said.

"No kidding...c'mon, let's get the hell out of here." Dragon responded. They began running across the room as fast as Andromeda could, when she looked back and noticed something.

Charon was only fighting one Agent.

"Shit...where'd they go..." she said. Dragon glanced at her, and they both heard Charon shout.

"LOOK OUT, THEY'RE TO YOUR LEFT!"

Charon almost forgot the fact that he had been fighting an Agent as he watched what was happening in horror. As soon as he yelled his warning, the two Agents stepped out from the shadows, guns extended. A moment later, it was over, both Andromeda and Dragon lying on the ground. Charon didn't know if they were still alive, but he knew that if they were, it wouldn't be for too much longer. Enraged, he spun back around to face the Agent he had been fighting.

"Weak humans...as if there is any doubt of our superiority." the Agent stated arrogantly, smirking. Charon charged at the Agent. With one hand he swung a fist at the Agent's head, while the other hand drew a hidden gun--a Desert Eagle. The Agent, blocking the punch, didn't notice the gun...and fell to the ground as Charon shot him in the chest. The body briefly flickered green, and then became that of a young police officer. Charon looked up and over to where his two fallen crew members were; the two Agents were gone. He didn't know where they were, and frankly, he didn't care. He sprinted to where they lay, and dropped down beside them.

"Oh, damn...Dragon, Andromeda, you better still be alive..." he mumbled. Neither were moving, and they both appeared to be unconcious. He felt Dragon's neck for a pulse, but there was nothing. Clenching his fist in anger, he turned to face Andromeda. He checked for a pulse, inadvertantly letting out a sigh of relief when he found one, though it was very faint.

"Andromeda...wake up..." he said, hoping that she would, though deep down he knew she wouldn't. She had been hit three times by the Agents, twice in the stomach and once in the chest. He waited a few seconds, and then checked for her pulse again; it was gone. He jumped as his cell phone rang.

"Yeah?" he said, answering it.

"They're gone. Both Dragon and Andromeda are gone." Astraea responded. She waited a moment before continuing. "Charon, please, get out of there already. I don't know where the hell the Agents went, just get out of the Matrix already before they come back."

"Okay...I'm leaving." Charon said. He stood up and pocketed his cell phone. Looking one last time at the two fallen rebels, he walked over to where the payphone was ringing. He put it to his ear and was gone in a flash of green code.

When he woke back up, he was sitting in his chair aboard the Sadalsud. Astraea stood near him, and she looked as though she had been crying. Charon glanced away from here and over to the two chairs where Charon and Andromeda's bodies were, a horrible feeling of guilt washing over him.

"Charon..." Astraea began, helping him up.

"It's my fault they're dead." he stated. Astraea narrowed her eyes at him.

"No, it isn't. The whole mission was screwed over from the very beggining when you found out the potential rebel had been captured by Agents. You tried your damnedest to get out of ther there safe. Plain and simple, it was no one's fault but those bastard Agents." Astraea said, her tone sharp.

"But I let the Agents get them." Charon said.

"There wasn't anything you could do about that...and what were you thinking taking on three Agents by yourself anyway? Did you have a death wish? And if you want to die so badly, you may just get your chance." Astraea replied. "I think the sentinels have found us."

"Damn..." Charon said, forcing himself to put his feelings of guilt behind him. They both moved to the bridge and took their seats. Charon swore when he looked outside; outside the ship several dozen sentinels idly flew around, occasionally extending a sensor.

"Charge the EMP." he said. "And don't make any sudden moves." She nodded, and slowly turned and began charging the EMP, their main weapon against the machines. Charon began powering up the ship as quietly and carefully as possible. The ship was nearly completely powered up, when one of the sentinels looked directly at the ship. One by one the other sentinels followed suit, sensors extended.

"Oh shit..." Charon said. Astraea looked up frantically.

"The EMP isn't fully charged yet!" she responded.

"Then we'll have to try and run." he answered. Taking the controls of the ship, they began to move.

"If they didn't know for sure that we were here before, they certainly do now..." Astraea muttered, trying to hide her nervousness. The ship was now flying through the tunnel, sentinels following behind them.

"Bastards are staying just out of EMP range..." Charon commented as he piloted the ship.

"Just our luck..." Astraea added.

"Is that EMP charged yet?" he asked.

"No! It shouldn't take this long, either!" she replied. Suddenly, the sentinels swarmed the ship, latching on and using lasers to cut through the engines.

"It's charged!" Astraea shouted.

"Hit it!" Charon ordered. She hit the red button, and a blue electromagnetic wave swept through the ship and the machines outside. The Sadalsud came to a rocky halt against the side of the tunnel, tilted to one side.

"Astraea? You okay?" Charon asked.

"Uhh...yeah..." she replied, wiping blood from a cut over her left eye and pulling herself back into her seat. She looked out the window and her eyes widened.

"What is it?" Charon asked, afraid to follow her gaze. She just pointed, silently, and he forced himself to look. Not all the sentinels had given chase, and now a group of them were moving towards where the Sadalsud lay.

"I don't think we're going to be able to get out of this mess..." he said, looking at Astraea. She nodded in response. The EMP had also knocked out all the ship's systems, and left them sitting ducks. The swarm of sentinels flew at the crippled ship, and Astraea shrieked as one broke through the hull of the bridge. She tried to run for it, but the machine was faster than she; she was pinned to the floor, impaled through her lower back by a metal tentacle. Charon managed to get out of the bridge, but he knew there was no point to running now. He heard a distinct whistling sound that he recognized as a bomb.

"This is it..." he mumbled to himself. He closed his eyes as he felt the impact on the side of his ship, and was quickly overtaken by the fireball of the explosion.

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Once again, good luck.

Lastly....

Please only post your entry in this thread. Discussion of the contest can go HERE in the General Fiction Discussion thread.

I'll reopen this thread on August 1st.

I Pray, Never Forget
Disclaimer: The song and characters do not in any way belong to me, credit goes to Amanda Perez and JK Rowling. I am not making any money from this.

You know with each day that passes by, I pray to god I'll never forget who you are. You mean everything to me.
I love you...
Oooooh, Ooooooh
Ooh I pray, mmmmmm


"Harry!" she cried. She reached out, out, out...
Ginny Weasley screamed as he fell to the floor, lifeless.
"HARRY!!!" This time, she screamed his name.
"Ginny!"
It was her mother.
Ginny opened her eyes. A dream, just a dream...but no. It had happened, and Ginny had to face that fact.

You were in my dreams,
Before I even knew there was a you and me,
Now I can't wait to see your smile,
When I wake up each day,
It makes it worth while (ooh),
With the kinda love you plant inside,
Especially with a heart so empty as mine.
All the soft tenderness,
Is the one thing that I don't wanna miss.

"Mum, oh, Mum..." she breathed.
"I know, darling, I know," Molly Weasley sat on the bed and pulled her daughter into a hug. "It's going to be alright," she whispered into Ginny's hair, and rocked her back and forwards.
"No. No, it's not," Ginny pulled away and looked at her mother, "What time is it?"
"It's..." Molly looked at her gold watch. An anniversary present, from her beloved husband, "Half two...why?" Realisation hit her.
"Ginevra Weasley, there is no way you are going down to Godric's Hollow, not at this time of night. I will not allow it. Not at all."
"I have to," Ginny whispered, "I need to see it...the place where th-they...d-died. I can do it. In thirty minutes, Harry Potter will have been...gone, for twenty-four hours. I need to be there. I loved him. I still love him. Please. I need to see all their graves."
"Fine. But Tonks will take you. You-Know-Wh, oh, scratch it, Voldermort may be gone, but there have to be a few Death Eaters that escaped and are hungry for success, as was Voldermort, out there. We cannot be too careful."

I pray,
When it's time for me to say goodbye
I'll never forget looking in your eyes,
I pray,
That I feel your touch
And that God doesn't forget in our love,
I pray,
When I close my eyes,
I can still see visions of you on my mind.
I pray,
That I see you in another life,
I pray that you're still by my side.
Oh I pray.


Fifteen minutes later, Ginny and Tonks were standing side-by-side, about to disapparate.
"Ready? Are you sure you want to do this?" Tonks asked.
"I'm as ready and sure as I'll ever be."
"Here we go, then...on three...one, two, three!"
A pop, a cough and the feeling of being squeezed through a tube later, Ginny and Tonks were standing in front of a gate. Behind the gate were nine new-looking gravestones; Harry's, Aurthur Weasley's, Charlie's, Lupin's, Neville's, Mad Eye Moody's, Fred's, Hermione's and Fleur's. Also behind the gate were two old, battered gravestones: Lilly's and James'. There was a memorial for Dumbledore, too. They brought tears to Ginny's eyes. She shivered, but not because it was freezing temperature out there.
"I-I d-didn't bring anything..." she stuttered. "How can I give something? I'm not using my wand, you know I won't."
"They may be gone, Ginny, and I know you vowed never to use your wand again, but look. If you're in trouble, what are you going to count on? Even for the simple things, like to wash the dishes, you use your wand for practically everything. You have the right to use your wand. You do have it, don't you?" Tonks said quietly, but it sounded like she was shouting in the silence of the area.
"Of course. I just...I just feel bad. They used their wands to kill some of Voldermort's most trusted followers, but they all died, in turn, by a wand."

Everything that you give to me,
Only comes in a fantasy,
It seems like life goes so fast,
But in this time I wanna make it last. (I pray)
I hate that we live to die,
But only God knows why (I pray)
We all have a purpose,
And to see you again It'll all be worth it.

She took out her wand and rolled it around in her fingers.
"Let's go in."
The gate swung open as Tonks entered the small 'garden' around a tiny cottage, swamped in ivy. It was probably all the ivy and weeds growing up the walls that was keeping the house standing.
Ginny tore her gaze from the building, and looked at the gravestones instead. She silently walked along the line of headstones and back again. Once more she made her way up the line, but stopped at the middle. This gravestone, the biggest of the new, was Harry's. On the very top, there was a lightning bolt the exact shape of Harry's scar, only much thicker. Underneath, there was his name and a description:

Harry James Potter
Harry James Potter died in the event of killing the Darkest wizard of all time; Voldermort.
Mr. Potter annihilated "He Who Must Not Be Named" but died himself shortly after, of exhaustion, against his father, James Potter's, grave.
Potter first weakened Voldermort considerably at the age of just one, and became the Boy Who Lived. He then lived for ten years in a Muggle household, the Dursley's, who where his aunt's family. He was, apparently, bullied and forced to do everything for these Muggle's since he could walk. Nobody knows the full story of what went on, but it was awful.
May his soul live on.

I pray,
When it's time for me to say goodbye
I'll never forget, looking in your eyes,
I pray,
That I feel your touch
And that God doesn't forget our love,
I pray,
When I close my eyes,
I can still see visions of you, on my mind.
I pray,
That I see you in another life,
I pray that you're still by my side.
Oh I pray.

"You avoided death so many times, Harry, why couldn't you do it again?" Ginny asked. "I loved you. You know I did. And still, you went and died, leaving me alone. You promised me everything would be all right! You PROMISED! YOU SWORE TO ME, YOU - you made me believe you - I TRUSTED YOU!"
Ginny tried to cast a spell at his grave, to cause damage to it, but of course, she couldn't do it. All that came out of her wand were orchids, roses, lavenders, lilies and all sorts of different petals.
"I love you," she whispered, tears falling down her cheeks, her anger gone. "Tell me if you love me. If you do love me, if you are Harry Potter, The Boy Who Lived, you'll be able to show me."
I would say it what happened was sudden, but it wasn't, not really.
The temperature around Ginny warmed, and a breeze wafted around her feet, whirling leaves around. The air washed over her like a warm bath, and she felt comforted by this. It was like looking into Harry's eyes all over again. It brought tears to her own eyes.
'Who would have thought it?' Ginny mused to herself, 'Ginny Weasley, Gryfinndor's gossip queen, who had a different boy every month, who never, ever cried, is standing at a gravestone, crying over Harry Potter.'

I wish that I could stop time,
I wish that I could rewind,
To the very beginning of every second of my life.
To ask God on my hands and knees,
To never let me forget, all my special memories.
See I'm only promised today,
And if it's my time to go,
I don't want the love of my life, to ever fade away,
So one last time,
Let me open my eyes.
To see, what my life used to be like.
Oh God.

The wind around her feet got stronger, and travelled up her body, to her head. Her whole body was encased in pleasant heat, and it was fantastic after the cold she had just felt.
"Ginny..."
"Tonks?"
"Hmm?"
"What did you say?"
"I didn't say anything, Ginny."
'Wait...what was that, then? I'm hearing things, I must be,' Ginny thought.
"I love you, Gin...bye..."
The warm breeze gradually stopped, and the ice cold gripped the air once more. Ginny's insides, however, stayed warm.
She looked around, and at her feet, the flowers and petals had been rearranged into words:
"I love you, G,
Never forget me,
H"

'That wasn't the wind...' Ginny's mind felt smoothed out, like it had been ironed -which was a great improvement on the tangled mess she had been feeling for the last 24 hours.
"Harry..." she whispered.

I pray,
When it's time for me to say goodbye
I'll never forget, looking in your eyes,
I pray,
That I feel your touch
And that God doesn't forget our love,
I pray,
When I close my eyes,
I can still see visions of you, on my mind.
I pray,
That I see you in another life,
I pray that you're still by my side.
Oh I pray.

Ginny knelt on the soft, warm earth in front of Harry's grave. She ran her fingers over the writing and the scar, and her tears vanished.
"I know, Harry. I know. Never forget," Ginny pressed her hand just below the scar, "I love you."
Ginny stayed where she was, reading and rereading the writing on his stone.
"Ginny."
She looked up, and saw Tonks, who was resting a hand on her shoulder.
"Come on. We've been here nearly an hour. Your mother will be worried."
Ginny got up and smiled at Tonks.
"Yeah. You're right. Come on."
She linked her arm through Tonks'. Her best friend, One True Love and most of her brothers were gone, but Tonks was there for her, and she had to make the best of that. They walked to the gate, but Ginny held back.
"Wait one sec, there's something else I want to do," she said.
She ran back to the grave and conjured up some more flowers. She cast a spell and they were rearranged to a heart with Harry written across the top, and from the y, there was Ginny's name going down.
While she was walking back to Tonks, she looked over her shoulder and at the stones once more.

You know with each day that passes by, I pray to god I'll never forget who you are. You mean everything to me.
I love you...

"I love you."

~Fin~

The First Ones...


My name is Markus Aurelius, I am the patriarch of the vampire line. I ruled Rome in the first century A.D., and thought to have died of old age, but in my last travels back to Rome, I encountered a band of gypsies, they cursed at me calling me all sorts of vile names in there native tongue. In my anger, I had my men slaughter them all, but with one old hags dieing breath she cursed me, she said I would not make it out of the forest alive, I laughed, but said nothing. Seven day's later we came to the end of our journey through the dense forest, only to be attacked by hundreds of feral bats, I was bitten by hundreds of them, in my mind I thought of the old hag who had cursed me to never leave the woods alive, and she was correct, the bats drained me of my blood, and then as if acting on some strange command, regurgitated the blood back into my mouth. All I could do was convulse and choke on my own blood, I knew I was dieing but some strange sensation came upon me, it felt like I was starting melt inside, like my organs were filled with fire, I convulsed so long I was out on the snowy ground, writhing in the snow, getting frost bitten, and then as suddenly as it started it stopped. I lay there for hours, my men were driven deep into the forest by the bats, my guess was none were alive, my only chance for hope would be the scouts would come back in a few hours, if I could survive that long. I drifted in and out of consciousness, until I finally I could see myself lying on the ground, the light gone from my eyes, my skin so pale, and the thousands of bite marks all along my arms and neck. Then I saw the spirit of the hag, and she spoke in words of her native tongue, but I could understand them, she said" I curse you for eternity, forever with blood-lust unquenchable, you will not die, only until the ending of the world." It scared me to suddenly see myself awake on the ground, I no longer felt the cold, nor the pain of my wounds, in fact I had no wound anymore, I quickly gathered my armor and ran off on horse back to the scouts ahead. I heard the galloping of the horse as if elephants were stampeding the ground, the air whistling by sounded as if thunder where in my ears, and my vision was unlike anything before, I saw the scouts coming back, but I knew they could not see me yet, as I was still along side the valley and mountains, and they were up on the mountain ridge at-least 6 kilometers away. Instantly when we met, an emptiness came over me, and I needed to fill the emptiness, I felt as my teeth grew canines, and my brow ridged, in my minds eye I knew what I looked like, some horrid demon from Hattie's. My men were terrified at the very site of me, they tried to flee, but I leaped from horseback onto both of them, easily the could have taken me together, but my strength was brilliant, I over powered them, I had one named Antonio by his neck like a vise grip, and I was drinking the blood of the other, who's name escapes me. After the bloody onslaught, I was disgusted with myself, I tried to up-heave the blood, but my body was welcoming it with warm embrace.


I made my way back to the main camp were the army was at, but something in me needed rest, as I had been traveling all night. I went to my tent, and I ordered no disturbance. I slept all day, I had awoken the moment the sun had gone down, and I knew only one creature who drinks blood and sleeps during the day, I was a vampire. It seems my eyes can adjust to the darkness, it was as clear as day, every curve and every layer, I could see all in great detail. My general asked me when the offensive would begin, I said to him" Octavius, gather your troops and meet me at the cliffs end, let Corthineas take the bulk of the army to the valley".

"Sire, the men escorting you, where have they gone?" asked Octavius
"You needn't worry Octavius, I have sent a search party to see if they are alive." replied Markus
"Alive, what happened to you sire, why would they not be alive?" questioned Octavius
"I said you need not worry, go with your troops and stay where I have instructed." said Markus

"Sire!!" called the man known as Antonio.
I turned around in astonishment at the sight of him, he was pale and his eyes glowed an eerie blue, just like mine. I answered" How can this be, I killed you last night?"
He answered" I am dead sire, I cannot feel a pulse, nor do I see my breath in the mist of this cold."
"Nor do I, I have not paid it any mind, and the other guard?" I asked
"He stayed dead sire, apparently I was strong enough to overcome what you did to me." he said wrath venomously.
" I do not like your tone of voice Antonio, nor do I care for your thoughts of ways to kill me." I exclaimed
He was in shock at my mentioning of his thoughts, I had discovered this gift when I was sleeping during the day, all the thoughts of the men were like a flood of rain. I had also discovered that upon awakening, I had a terrible hunger, only until now had I been suppressing with great discomfort. I told Antonio what he was, and that he was the second of the creations, at first he did not like it, but by the first couple of nights it was like second nature to him.

We hunted together, and to make sure no others turned we would decapitate them, and burn there bodies. The war soon started against the barbarian Germanics, and it would make for a perfect opportunity for Antonio and I to feed upon the dieing. Upon the field thousands of barbarian Guamanians lay dieing or mortally wounded, To my surprise I read the thoughts of their general, who went by the name Freigen. In his dieing thoughts I read and saw the victories and the presence he had among his people, this man was a true warrior, and had war in his nature, he could be of use to me. I saw the horror in his face as my face changed and my teeth grew, I bit his neck, and heard the sickening crunch of the breaking of the skin and veins, i drained him, and all my will was bent on him turning that night. For a few minutes I sat there watching him twitch, then he began trembling and convulsing, I knew his body was dieing, I could practically feel it, then he sat up and stared at me with those eerie blue eyes. For an instant he wanted to fling himself on me and kill me, but the moment past and he submitted his will to me.

For the next 2 hundred years Rome conquered, first Europe, and then the island of Britannia, I was no longer Emperor, and I was glad to be rid of the position, my son took the throne but was usurped by the senate. In the two hundred years that followed, I and my two fellow companion vampires had made others, I made an immortal wife for myself, who's name is Pandora, an Indian woman of great beauty, and we birthed an Immortal son, who I named Markus Aurelius the III. Antonio had taken two brides, both of Spaniard decent, just like him, and Freigen, who renamed himself Kolester made his own wife from when he was mortal, and birthed 5 sons and one daughter, who is to be married to my son. Together we make the first of the Immortals, we are the three Elders of the Vampire race, each of us with our own coven, I am the strongest and eldest, rule Europe, Antonio who left for The new world now rules a coven in America, and Kolester, who went to the south, now rules a coven in the Arabia's.Many vampires exist now, I alone rule ove 6 thousand in Europe, Kolester 4300 or so, and Antonio rules over 12,000. In the year 1645 I left Rome to go to my new home in England, there I fought off invasions from the Scottish, and from the British, I fended off invading slayers who wanted to destroy me, and my kind.

That brings me to the Slayers, who at the time had nearly been around for 3 hundred years in 1645, they caught me unawares on a journey to see Kolester in Egypt, I was nearly in Jerusalem when their leader Holtz caught me and my caravan camped in the desert, at the break of dawn they attacked, knowing that me and some of my men could not stand and fight for long. Holtz's men came upon us like a swarm of angry wasps, they caught us from the north with arrows, and instantly lost 30 of my men, but the vampire in me and my personal guard snapped to attention, with only moments before the sun would burn us to dust. With all of my preternatural strength I came down upon the first soldiers, I moved so fast I was a blur, the soldiers could only try to anticipate my moves, but anticipation hardly works when your adversary cannot be seen.Neck after neck I snapped, I unsheathed my sword and disemboweled and dismembered every soldier in my sight, my vampire warriors took cue from me and used their strength and speed to there advantage, quickly dispatching the enemy with ease, Holtz, a veteran warrior in his own right was killing off my human guard, I leaped at him from across the fighting field, and fought him, it was no match, with all his knowledge in war, it did him no good against my power. I toyed with him at first, letting him think his amulets slowed me down, and we matched skill against skill, after I let him win that match he swung the sword at me hoping to cut off my head, I dodged the swing, and gripped him by his neck, lifted him in the air and told him," I am going to bite you, and watch, with hopeful eye's that you turn into the thing you hate most."

I watched him go through the changes, as the others did, and in less than a few minutes he was a vampire. During that day he awoke and killed himself in the sun, suicide was more appealing to him than eternal life. To me it did not matter, I would have had to kill him sooner or later, those of his army that were still alive fled back to Rome, where the order of Slayers began. When we arrived in Egypt, our welcome was that like when I was emperor, grand and themed, the streets of the city were cluttered with rose pedals from Spain, they sacrificed virgins and had a great feast in our honor, Cairo would be a safe haven for me and my kind throughout the centuries. I would stay with Kolester for 3 months, and during my stay there it was absolute paradise, the people willing to be your next meal, and to be clothed in the finest of garments, absolute heaven. I journeyed back to England, and met with a overlord in Ireland about some rebellions in a village outside Galloway, after some time dealing with the locals, and quelling some upheavals, I rested for a century, and when i awoke it was 1756 and my affairs were in disarray.

"I have been asleep for a hundred and eleven years, and you tell me that Galloway and half of Scotland now have been taken back by the humans." I screamed.
"Sire, we could not hold them without your presence, when the humans found out you were sleeping they rebelled against us, we dispatched men to the hot spot areas, but to no avail, they were just to many, and they attacked during the day." said Marius the lord of my manner.
"So you could not send for more troops, and quell the uprising?" I asked rather pissed off.
"Sire, more troops came, but we cannot swell our numbers, too many vampires now aren't doing what they're told, they rebel against our authority, an kill and lay claim to the position of overlord.." exclaimed Marius.
"Than the problem isn't with the humans, it's with the ignorant vampires that have been created by lesser immortals."

I would have to cleanse Europe of nearly two thirds of the vampire line, it would take me 14 years tracking down all the rebellious vampires, and in that time I had been called a traitor to my own kind, many of the overlords wanted to send me into exile, but at first sight of my power, they trembled like cowards at my feet, and embraced me once more. My son and his wife were expecting there first child in the late 1700's, I was to be a grandfather, I planned to give the crown to my son, and let him rule as Elder of Europe, of course the next most powerful would be Antonio, but he would swallow his pride and let my son rule as Eldest vampire. The ceremony came and went, my son Markus would rule until 1877, when the Britain's made another war on us, they came with there canons and guns, we were ill equipped for the onslaught, my son was burned to death in the manor. It was a grave year for me, I ordered the others to sleep or hide until I resurface, the old ways were dieing out, and the new order of things were coming in, an age of guns and machines, I slept through both world wars, and through the wars in the east.


When I awoke in the year 2006 I found that much had changed, there were things that I had not even imagined could be true, humans had discovered a way of traveling without horses, and with great machines that could fly in the sky. Much of my old world was in history books, and I was known as a butcher, a ruthless emperor known only for war mongering, but that life was when I was human, my life as an Immortal would not be in any history book, nor mentioned in any book. I met with Antonio and Kolester, and I told him of the old women from when I was Journeying from Bavaria to thr front lines of Germany, and told them how the hag had put a curse on me, saying I would live forever and always be bloodthirsty, and how throughout my existence I had always been waring with someone.

They could do nothing to console me, but I knew each of them knew I would have not picked this life for anyone, not even my worst enemy. Antonio informed me of an uprising in Japan, and in Europe, the vampire community was falling apart, and once again needed my guidance, and my sword. When I arrived in London, all the vampires who were loyal to me came, and we slaughtered the mad ones, the ones with no self control, once the mere sight of me would have been enough to scare then in submission, now they challenge me openly, fools they are. Twenty vampires surrounded me while another 20 were dealing with Antonio and Kolester, they thought that with there combined strength they could fell me, I moved twice as fast and hit them so hard there skull shattered to pieces. Three vampires leaped on me and tried to drain me, but to no avail, I grabbed one by the throat and slammed him through a concrete wall, shattering his bones, the other two I cut down with my sword.

It took nearly 3 years to wipe out all of the vampire in Europe and Asia, but now the population was just me Antonio, Kolester, and Marius. Antonio had always been a very good leader, the Americas had there problems, but Antonio could handle them, it was no wonder why I chose him to be the reigning Elder while I slept through the ages. My gift to him would be to drink from my veins, so that only he would have the power close to my own....




Epilogue...
It has been 600 years since I have last seen Markus, he buried himself in Budapest, but all trace of him has been wiped clean, some thought they saw him in New London, and others thought they saw him in Japan, but where ever he is, I'm sure he is drinking deeply

Okay, the judges have all given me their answers. Here's how the system works...

The five judges each got to pick their top five favorites. Their #1 got 5 points, while their #5 got 1 point. I will not reveal these listed pickings for the sake of not wounding anyone's pride.

Once the five judges pooled their results, I divided the points by five. The winners were, you can assume, voted for more than once by a judge. Their ranking in the judges' scores also mattered greatly, as I will mention after I reveal the winners.

THE TOP FIVE WRITERS OF THE FIRST KMC SHORT STORY CONTEST

1. DUSTY - Flashy Storytelling
Commentary: I felt that Dusty captured the feeling of noir perfectly, down to grammar, word choice, and sentence structure. The plot starts off, leaving me thinking 'Where is this going?' and ending with my astonished applause. Dusty places a well-deserved first with his tale of Red's revenge.

2. FEANOR - Two Men and a Baby Diaper
Commentary: I must say, I enjoyed Fea's style immensely. Lots of big words, ooo, ahhh. Hehe. I'm a big fan of imagery and descriptive writing, which Fea did quite well, and the humor gave me quite a few chuckles. Well-structured and a great read, congrats on the Silver Medal, Fea!

3. DIAMONDS - I Pray, Never Forget
Commentary: Diamonds can't go wrong with a Harry Potter fanfic! Digi felt that it would have been better without the familiar characters, while Syren thought it was better because of the familiar characters. Wooo impasse. The use of verses was an intriguing addition as well. Good work!

4. THE THINKER - The Encounter
Commentary: I felt that what this story had going for it was the descriptiveness and the atmosphere. I couldn't connect with Jakem, but provided Thinker only had so much space to write in, I'm sure he would have been further developed. In any case, I don't want to visit J18. Ever.

5. THE PHANTOM - False Love
Commentary: Last but certainly not least, we have a tale of demons, comradery, deception, and...well, killing leeches. It was an entertaining read and, from reading it, I'm sure TP was dying from not being able to write more. Congrats on fifth place!

===

Well, that's the August 2006 First Ever KMC Writing Contest. If you didn't rank in the top five, just know that I enjoyed reading each of your stories immensely. The purpose of the contest was not to see who was best, but to see how many people I could get interested and what they would write. It succeeded marvelously.

I DO have an honorable mention, though.

SpikeSpiegel - Thermopylae, four out of five judges voted for you. Just didn't have enough points to beat these five, though! Sixth place to you, my friend.

===

Now, announcement!

Seeing as it took FOREVER for us five judges to make up our minds, I will make the contests bimonthly. The next contest will begin October 1st, 2006. As a hint at the next topic, think bullet time.

===

Now, discussion! This thread will remain stickied until October, for the purpose of everyone commenting on the stories and so on, but first and foremost to congratulate the winners!

See you in October.

OOoh! We get to comment!


Well, kudos to everyone! I didn't read everyones story, but I read 4 of the 5 winners so . Anyways, you all did well, and if you didn't, that sucks.


Bullet time....I won't be entering.

Tsk tsk, already two writers bowing out.

Maybe next one will be one I can do.

Bullet time? O_O

Congrats to the two people I actually know, Phantom and Diamonds for placing in the top five.

I'll try to do the Oct. one if i manage my time wisely

You know, moving in slow motion, running on walls. tongue_ss

*flips off a wall*

*Falls backwards*

I practically have a story for the *AHEM* bullet time...

I'm currently running a free-word RPG based on the so said subject

AWESOME!!!! i've never placed second before. actually, i've never placed ever, now that i think about it. thanks everyone. thank you!

can someone explain to me what "bullet time" is?

W00t - Honerable mention, the best kind of mention.

I too shall have to bow out of the next one seeing as I start Uni next month, but I will be back for the one after that.

Although.....bullet time -maybe I could find a way around it

Creative Writing -> short story competition -> Creative Writing.....I think I might be able to work something out

And also

Originally posted by Captain REX

Welcome to the guidelines for the First Annual KMC Short Story Contest!

Originally posted by Captain REX
You know, moving in slow motion, running on walls. tongue_ss

Yeah I so knew that.

(i am so screwed O_O)

AWESOME!

Good job all!

Nice sig

OK guys I was wondering if I could get some Feedback via PM from the Judges.
Just want to know what everyone thought and where they think I need to improve.

Originally posted by newjak86
OK guys I was wondering if I could get some Feedback via PM from the Judges.
Just want to know what everyone thought and where they think I need to improve.
Yeah, ditto

Originally posted by newjak86
OK guys I was wondering if I could get some Feedback via PM from the Judges.
Just want to know what everyone thought and where they think I need to improve.

Did I already PM you, jak? I can't remember

Anyway, here's my Top 5 -

when was the next contest? I've a back-story in the works for a Character of mine from the X-Men Role Play... been in the works for a while now

*adopts a spooky voice*
The Melbourne Massacre - The History of the Alchemist

Originally posted by Captain REX

===

Now, announcement!

Seeing as it took FOREVER for us five judges to make up our minds, I will make the contests bimonthly. The next contest will begin October 1st, 2006. As a hint at the next topic, think bullet time.

===

Now, discussion! This thread will remain stickied until October, for the purpose of everyone commenting on the stories and so on, but first and foremost to congratulate the winners!

See you in October.

so does that mean it needs to be Matrix? or just a suggestion, I saw that before, just didn't see the dates for some reason... Thanks Sy

I'm not sure to be honest, I was't certain what 'bullet time' meant until I read Rex's comment about climbing walls and stuff

No problem

Originally posted by SpikeSpiegel
Although.....bullet time -maybe I could find a way around it

Creative Writing -> short story competition -> Creative Writing.....I think I might be able to work something out

And also



You know my short story that Rex used as a length example for this? I wrote that for my creative writing class I took two and a half years ago in high school

And...people don't know what bullet time is?

Look at mine, Rex's, and Aliies's sigs for a clue

It's Matrixness

But we're not talking Matrix fanfic right?

Mine was just a joke story.

Only dropped out because I'm not good at writing bullet time action scenes. Maybe if it were just action. (Plus I don't know Matrix that well)

Yeah. My sig is overkill.

Lana did the same thing, though.

Originally posted by Captain REX
You know, moving in slow motion, running on walls. tongue_ss Matrix story.....yes. w00t

Originally posted by TheKingofKINGS!
Only dropped out because I'm not good at writing bullet time action scenes. Maybe if it were just action. (Plus I don't know Matrix that well) Same for me (and the fact that I never really got the whole Matrix thing... yea)

Okay, since it's bullet time (which i'm still lost on) does it HAVE to do with the Matrix at all? Like a fanfic?

Originally posted by Syren
Did I already PM you, jak? I can't remember

Anyway, here's my Top 5 - Yes you did and once again thank you for your time

at Spike for quoting the 'Annual' comment.

Another idea about these story contests is to get people to attempt writing something, even if they have no real knowledge of the area or have never written on the subject before.

The general idea is the Matrix, yes.

Bullet Time usually entails the person 'performing' said act doing something insane that normally is not possible, such as dodging bullets, leaping from building to building, etc. Be creative with it.

You don't have to write it about the Matrix, either. It could be something totally unrelated and just set in the Matrix, if you wanted.

I'm always here for insight on such subjects.

I think I have a notion of what the one after will be as well; that one will start in December.

*laughs weirdly*

I actually came up with something today when I was bored in class that would work for "Bullet Time"....except not really. It would be a helluva long stretch, but I found it ironic.

Originally posted by Captain REX
at Spike for quoting the 'Annual' comment.

Another idea about these story contests is to get people to attempt writing something, even if they have no real knowledge of the area or have never written on the subject before.

The general idea is the Matrix, yes.

Bullet Time usually entails the person 'performing' said act doing something insane that normally is not possible, such as dodging bullets, leaping from building to building, etc. Be creative with it.

You don't have to write it about the Matrix, either. It could be something totally unrelated and just set in the Matrix, if you wanted.

I'm always here for insight on such subjects.

I think I have a notion of what the one after will be as well; that one will start in December.

So basically I just have to use "bullet time" in the short story, and it doesn't have to be set in the Matrix.

Originally posted by Mortalitas
So basically I just have to use "bullet time" in the short story, and it doesn't have to be set in the Matrix. or....it could be set like in a matrix like setting, but not necessarily having to do with Neo or whatsisname...you know? that guy?

Originally posted by Dusty
AWESOME!

Good job all! congrats to you...

Originally posted by Mortalitas
Yeah. I don't know much about the movies, but I know who Neo is. I've seen bits and pieces of the first movie. I've seen all three actually. And I've alreayd got a germ of an idea going already. Now I've got to figure out how to put "bullet time" in writing so as to seem plausible and mentally stimulating (does that make sense?).Originally posted by Dusty
Thanks.

Nice job to you, as well. Yer welcome and thanks...but your day is near at an end my friend. For I am your heels and I'm a chihuahua nipping at them. Nip! Nip!

Sounds fun I may have to try and get into this one.

OMG! i just remembered his name. Morpheus

Rex, do you want the term bullet time, or merely something that would fit into a bullet time category?

Also, must it be set in the Matrix, or could we write something with those sort of slow motion effects? (Like Equilibirium, maybe)

I think he specified The Matrix category.

I've already got my plot up.

What exactly is bullet time?

I'll be entering this contest.
I dunno if Rex remembers a certain conversation we had about this, kinda, but I'll be using that.

I've actually thought up something. I might just enter this contest!

Bah.

Just to confirm, Rex, it has to be set in the Matrix but maybe not even be about the matrix at all?

hey!
congrats dusy!


And thanks Syren.

I'd liek to hear how the judges crtiqued my story tho.

Originally posted by Punkyhermy

And thanks Syren.

I'd liek to hear how the judges crtiqued my story tho.



I don't know if you've seen this - I'm thinking you might have done because you thanked me but here it is again, just in case

hey...i wanna thanks Syren for her positive input and being fair in her judging. Thank you Syren.

Originally posted by Dusty
I think he specified The Matrix category.

I've already got my plot up.

He just said bullet-time. From what I gathered, it doesn't have to be in the matrix O_O

With the exception of Syren, I might be picking new judges this time around. Syren did an exceptional job, as did Digi.

shock

Thanking you

I very much look forward to it.

so will it be the same as the last contest as far as length limit and so forth? cause i'm already more than halfway on my story if the limit is still 10,000 characters or however you call it.

Yes, I think the limit shall remain the same.

Aha, found it