Monthly Writing Assignment (May Edition)

[Croswynd]

Beware, these stories may contain spoilers on Gears fiction and game. Please DO NOT USE THIS THREAD AS A CONVERSATION THREAD, as this will be used for entries only. Conversation thread can be found here: http://forums.epicgames.com/threads/...ary-Edition%29

This is the Monthly Assignment, April Edition. We are continuing again, because the turn out last month was pretty good. Now, on to my regular spiel. I wonder if anyone reads this anymore? Ah, well, nothing new til right above the topic, so you can skip this if you read it last month. Enjoy. I lied: Bananans. That's new! Also, bacon. Mmm... Another edit: Ponies! EDIT THE THREE: They told me I could be anything, so I became a monthly assignment.

Writing is why most of you may have clicked on this thread. Boredom may be another factor, but the point remains. As of late, there has been a distinct lack of writing on this forum. Whether that be because people are bored with their stories, want a break from the forum, or just because they don't write in the first place, I have a solution.

The Monthly Writing Assignment.

Originally developed on another writing forum, I've noticed great success in its functions and capabilities. Writers from all over the forum all come to one thread, ready to duke it out to see who can craft the best story, judge the stories, or just to look for some feedback on their writing skill. That last part's the important bit for most of us, I'd bet.

Usually three judges are the norm for this assignment, but since we have a shortage of any regular attendees of the forum, I will take it upon myself to be the constant judge for these Assignments, until we find someone who would like to judge with me. If such a case arises, I may trade in for being an entrant. We'll see. However, should you wish to nominate yourself for judging, please say so. The more the merrier and I'm absolutely sure people want as many views on their work as possible.

Rule Time:

Now, each monthly assignment will be based around a single topic, such as vague topics like "Survival", or even specific ones such as "Stranded". As a rule, you must conform to the month's topic in order to have a valid entry. Being a judge, I will see how well you conformed to the topic and rate your score accordingly.

ANY WRITER IS FREE TO SUBMIT ONE ENTRY, BUT NO MORE THAN ONE. That said, I hope many of you decide to submit something. Writing is fun, trust me! And don't feel as though you're not good enough for this. Anyone can enter!

YOU CAN NO LONGER EDIT ONCE YOU HAVE SUBMITTED. MAKE SURE YOU FINISH ALL EDITING BEFORE POSTING. Anyone with an edit tag beneath their entry will be disqualified. This is to teach you to edit before posting anything, and if you have something wrong, you must live with it.

At the end of the month, the winner will be decided based on how good her/his score is and will be able to pick from a pool of suggestions the topic of the next month. The reward for winning is to pick the next topic! So try your best, guys! Also, thanks to a generous Flak and Epic Games, winners receive a signed Gears of War novel.

Now, for some guidelines, which have been changed. Be sure to read them.

- Must be prose. Recommended to be above 1000 words and below 10,000 words.
- Must be based around the month's topic.
- Must be in before the deadline, which is the end of the month. (May 31st, in this case)

Simple enough, eh? Just write, make it something good, since you're going to be spending a month on it. Make it the best thing you've ever written, even! Still, if you just want to shove something in at the last second, I'll still grade it to tell you how you did.

Speaking of grading, here's the template I'll use when judging your entries, which has been modified to make it easier on the judges:

Grading guidelines:

Spelling & Grammar - /2
Ease of Read - /2
Use of Topic - /1
Entertainment - /5
Originality - /5
Quality - /5

Total -- /20

Judges:
Croswynd

So there you have it. If you have any questions at all about the assignment, please feel free to send me a private message or post in the Discussion thread. Again, please DO NOT USE THIS THREAD AS A CONVERSATION THREAD, as this will be used for entries only.

Got all that? Good, now let's get some entries on the following topic!

[Impalement]

[N1ssassa]

This expedition was a horrible disaster. Command's intel had been wrong on all fronts. This was not a locust camp, it was a full fledged outpost. They would not be leaving here alive. Eric looked down at the corpse lying next to him in the trench, the officer in charge of this attack. Lieutenant Hendrickson had been too hungry for glory. He'd been passed up for promotions several times, and was too determined to earn his stripes on this assignment. Maybe if he had been more patient, he'd still be alive. Eric told himself. But here he was, huddled in a hole in the earth with the remainder of his squad: his enlistment buddy Harmon Lensher, a big strong redhead with pale skin and a strong jawline; and Jacob Salverton, a slender young man who had joined their company only a few weeks earlier.

The journey had gone as planned, until they arrived at the site of the camp they were to destroy. But rather than a camp, they happened upon a small fortress, bristling with troikas and other assorted locust weapons. Against the advisement of every soldier in the group, Hendrickson had insisted on a full frontal attack. "We'll take them out, or we'll die trying!" he had said. Guess we know which of those we'll be doing, Eric grimaced. A hammerburst round thunked into the dirt at his feet, and he raised his lancer over his head to fire a few rounds in reply. This had been dragging on for hours; the locusts would unleash a heavy barrage of projectiles at the entrenched COG soldiers, Eric and his comrades would return fire, then the pace of combat would die down to a shot or two every few minutes. They would run out of bullets soon, and the locusts knew it.

Shots began ringing in their ears, the deadly metal slugs raining down on the COG position like razorhail, causing them to instinctively lean closer in to the protective wall of dirt they hid behind, lest one of these deadly little pieces of metal strike them down. "We gotta get outta here soon, man." Harm yelled over the raucous noise of gunfire, "This little mound ain't gonna hold up much longer."

"We'll make a run for it next time they let up." Eric replied. "No way we could make it out alive with them dumping this much firepower onto us."

A few minutes went by, and the incessant barrage of bullets finally slowed. "If we're gonna go, we need to do it now." Jacob stated.

"Alright; Harm you take the lead. Jacob, you follow after him, and I'll bring up the rear. Everyone ready?" They both replied with a thumbs up. "Alright, GO!" Harmon took off at a break-neck pace, Jacob quickly following behind. Eric pushed off from the dirt wall he had been huddled up against, pushing with all his strength to reach the tree line 30 meters ahead. Suddenly, the crack of a rifle rang out in the still afternoon sky, and Jacob went sailing headlong through the air, landing face first in the dirt and doing a small roll before coming to a halt. Eric looked over his shoulder for an instant, slowing just enough to see a locust sniper taking careful aim out of a window. Eric faced forward again, focused on his destination, just in time to see Harm tumble to the ground as another shot was heard from behind. He caught up to Jacob, draping his arm over his shoulder and attempting to carry him.

"Captureeee." The sound of a theron guard's hiss came from the fortress, but Eric dared not turn around. He and Jacob continued to hobble on, desperately trying to catch up to Harm, who was on all fours crawling as fast as his hands and knees could take him. Eric felt a sharp pain on the back of his skull, and slowly collapsed to the ground. His eyes fluttered, then all went black.


Eric's eyes suddenly opened. He was inside some sort of human-sized container, like a standing coffin, unable to move more than a few inches. A giant boomer with a huge butcher's knife was pacing back and forth just outside the bars covering the only opening to this coffin, looking at him as if he were a piece of meat about to be prepared and cooked. A row of other manholes covered with bars could be seen across the room, and he could make out Harm's face through one of the openings. "HARM!" he whispered loudly, trying to get his friend's attention without the enormously fat creature noticing. Harm was still unconscious, and did not stir. The repulsive, fat boomer waddled over to his cage, banging on the bars inches from his face with his giant blade.

"Quiet!" the creature bellowed, then went back to eyeing the humans in the surrounding coffins as a farmer would his stock of cattle. The whole room shifted slightly, as if they were on some sort of ship. They're transporting us! he silently realized. But when did the locusts start taking prisoners, and what do they want with us? The room jolted sharply, as if coming to a sudden stop. The door to his cell opened abruptly, and he walked out into the middle of the room, the fat boomer standing at one end, and two theron guards standing at the other. Four more doors opened. Jacob hobbled out of one, a Stranded out of each of the other two, and out of the fourth the still unconscious Harmon tumbled, landing with a firm thud on the floor. Eric hurried over to him, shaking him until he stirred.

"Get up man, you've gotta stand up." Eric whispered to him, frantically trying to shake him into sentient consciousness.

"You. Up." The boomer spoke in his deep booming voice, waddling over toward Eric and Harm. "Up!" it bellowed, kicking Harm firmly in the stomach. He groaned in pain, rolling over onto all fours, then attempting to stand. He raised himself up onto his legs, then collapsed once more to the ground, the bullet wound in his back causing him to writhe in pain. Eric watched in horror as the butcher lifted it's massive foot, bringing it down firmly on Harm's head, putting all it's weight onto his skull until it popped like a puss-filled sore, blood and brain making a sickening splatter as it hit the wooden floor of the room.

"Move. Now!" the creature ordered the prisoners, motioning toward the end of the room where the therons stood, barring their escape. Eric stood staring at Harm's lifeless body for a moment, stunned by what had just happened, unable to move until a hard shove from the boomer brought him back to the present moment. He hurried to Jacob's side, allowing his comrade to brace himself on his shoulder. Together they trudged to the ramp the therons directed them to, emerging out onto some sort of platform suspended from a giant blob-like creature. The therons shoved them toward another ramp, leading off of the barge and onto a plateau of sheer rock. He noticed it was dark, and looked up to reveal that they were deep underground, in some sort of massive cave. They walked for what seemed like miles, surrounded by countless standing coffins similar to those they had been imprisoned in earlier. Groans and wailing emanated from the rows of these metal prisons, the humans inside them helpless to do anything but cry out in anguish. They arrived at a series of cages, and the theron guards pushed them into one, slamming the door behind them.

They waited for what felt like an eternity, none daring to speak. The stranded huddled together in a corner, whimpering like caged animals. Jacob drifted in and out of consciousness, his wound obviously infected and getting worse. Eric felt his forehead to check for fever, and withdrew his hand from Jacob's hot skin with a worried expression on his face.

The gate clanged open, and another fat butcher boomer strolled in, fresh blood dripping from it's tattered leather smock, brandishing a huge meat hook attached to a long chain. It raised the hook high above it's head, then brought it down swiftly, digging it into Eric's thigh until it protruded out of the other side. He writhed in agony, helpless to react or resist, able only to cry out and scream. The pain was almost unbearable. The monster pulled him along the ground behind it, laughing at him as it went, amused by his helplessness as he floundered around behind it like a fish being pulled along the ground from a fishing line. He felt himself getting dizzy, then his eyes closed as he passed out from the loss of blood and the unbearable pain.

Eric awoke to find himself hanging from chains, manacles clasped tightly around his wrists as he dangled like a slab of meat in a slaughterhouse. He looked around, unable to see anything clearly in the dimly lit room. He cried out in agony as he put weight on his legs in an attempt to lift himself up and breathe, remembering that he had a gaping hole clean through his thigh. He looked down to see blood dripping down his leg, oozing out of the festering open wound. He saw a hulking shape move in the shadows, and watched as the huge monster with the hook emerged from the darkness brandishing two small, shining, deadly sharp knifes. It lumbered over toward him, a deep chuckle coming from it's mouth as it came, jagged teeth forming a menacing smile. The repulsive boomer stroked Eric's cheek with one of the blades, causing him to wince as the fine, razor-sharp blade sliced into his skin. The creature put one of the knives down, seizing him by the top of the head with his free hand, and holding him in place as it began to cut slowly and surely along his jawline and across his forehead. He screamed in agony as his tormentor dug it's long, filthy fingernails under his skin, peeling his face up from the bottom. It stuck at the mouth. Eric could feel the skin of his lips stretching as the butcher pulled, until it finally gave way with a sickening tearing sound. He opened his mouth as the sadistic monster pulled the rest of his skin off of his face with a brutal yank, letting out a bloodcurdling scream of agony. His head slumped down, the now naked bone that had been his chin resting on his chest. He was in unspeakable pain, but had not the strength left even to cry out.

The monster disappeared into the shadows for a few minutes, then returned with a long lash, tipped with a vicious-looking rusty metal barb, still coated with the blood of the torturer's other hapless victims. It placed it's huge, rough, leathery hand under Eric's chin, lifting his face up to meet it's gaze, and rubbing his skinless cheeks with it's thumb and forefinger, causing excruciating pain. It looked into his tormented blue eyes, meeting their stare with it's own cruel, blood red retinas. It circled around behind him, and he could hear the whip crack in the air just before he felt the sting of it's barb dig into his back. Over and over again the sadistic monster slashed into his skin, until it was nothing more than ribbons of flesh hanging from his shoulders. He dozed in and out of consciousness, the sting of the whip always bringing him back from the pain-induced coma.

He didn't know how long he'd been there, hanging from those chains in that dark room, the smell of his own blood in pools on the floor nauseating to his nostrils. He hung there in silence, wishing to die, hoping the next time the butcher returned it would end his life. He was in constant agony. He could see his face sitting on a table a few feet away, and could see the strips of skin from his back plastered onto the walls and floating in pools of his blood on the floor.

He heard the sound of metal clanking, then saw the creature approaching with a large, circular wooden beam over it's shoulder. Perhaps it would beat him to death with it, finally putting him out of his misery and allowing him to escape into the comforting embrace of death. The chains suspending him from the ceiling were suddenly let loose, and he collapsed onto the ground, landing with a wet thud on the blood-soaked ground. Two locust drones appeared, picking him up by his hands and feet and lifting him onto a table, then securing his feet with leather straps. He lifted his head and looked toward his feet to see a giant crank at the end of the table. The creature lumbered over with it's beam, and Eric noticed that one end was pointed. The butcher placed the beam on the table below him, the pointed end aimed directly between his legs. Oh no… Eric thought to himself. He sensed what was coming would be the worst he'd endured yet. The butcher sauntered over to the crank, pausing for a moment to look at Eric and grin, his eyes glistening with sadistic pleasure. He turned the crank, and the straps pulled Eric down the table toward the spike. "No…" Eric spoke, the word sounding strange without lips to properly form it. The monster turned once more, pulling him further down and causing the spike to dig into his groin. "No no no…" Eric whispered nervously, as the creature continued to turn. "Nooo!!!" He shrieked as the spike buried itself in his body, digging deeper into his flesh with each turn. He could feel the wood burrowing through his stomach, screaming and shrieking in torment until it reached his lungs and silenced him. His lungs filled up with his own blood as he tried to scream, but no sound came. The spike pushed further and further, until finally his blue eyes glazed over, death releasing him from his agony.

The butcher continued turning until the spike had gone clean through his body, then unsnapped the bonds holding his feet and took hold of the spike. He lifted it over his shoulder with Eric's body still skewered onto it, the tip of the wooden lance protruding from the left side of his neck, his head pushed to one side. His limp body shook like a rag doll as the butcher waddled down the stone path. It laughed heartily as it walked, it's stomach shaking with mirth at the thought of the horrors he'd just inflicted upon this helpless ground walker. The wretched tormentor walked along the stone path until it reached the highway, then slipped the blunt end of the beam into an already prepared hole in the ground, next to the rows of other prisoners on display for the amusement of the horde as they marched to war. The savage murderer stopped for a moment to admire his latest work, then turned back in the direction he had come from, eager to get started on his next masterpiece.