The biggest winner was no doubt 'A Normal Halloween' by HammerHips and JamesRamsey. This lovely duo won THREE categories! More on why that is later, but first, let me gush over this story for a bit.
From the moment I started reading 'A Normal Halloween', I was sold. I couldn't stop. It was so different and so intriguing, that it sucked me right in from the very start. Every step of the way, I tried to imagine what would happen next. Of course, I read the summary and knew something was going to happen on her babysitting adventure. I just never expected what did though.
From the moment she steps into that house, you can tell something's off. The kids are watching an autopsy for crying out loud,...while eating! If that doesn't scream 'WRONG', then I don't know what does. All the while, I kept wondering what I had to focus on. Were the children really going to be the monsters in this story, or was it the thing in the forest, that Bella had sensed on her way over?
The parents leave, the kids settle down and everything has the making of just another regular evening, where you have to stay in a stranger's house and look after said stranger's kids. Suddenly, the cat makes a mad dash for the basement, and Bella is the one to go fetch it. And then BAM, the plot unfolds. What that plot is, you'll just have to find out for yourself!
Now, I promised y'all I would explain exactly why this story won those specific categories. So let's take a looksie at the contest banners and I'll offer you a word with each one.
I don't think that one really needs an explanation, judging from my recap above. But just because I love the story so much, I'll tell you all about how it made me feel. Fucking jittery, that's how! I couldn't look away from my screen, I didn't take a potty break until after I finished reading it and I even held my breath multiple times throughout a scene. Not throughout the whole thing of course, or I wouldn't be here to tell you about this amazing story. This awesome piece of writing had me sitting on the edge of my seat and going, "What the fuck?", "Hell yeah!", "Oh crap!" more times than I can count. Not so eloquent, but I was reading, so there was no room for monologues in between.
If you don't believe me, here's a segment that might show you how suspenseful it can get;
I was broken out of my misery, not by the numbness I craved, but by the sound of Damien's shouts and the sound of him pounding down the stairs.
"Jeffy D, come back!"
I turned to see Damien chasing a black and white kitten. He skidded to a halt when the cat ran through a door that I hadn't noticed before.
He turned to look at me, "We aren't supposed to go in the basement. Can you go and get him? There's rat poison down there and I am afraid he will eat it." His immature voice was calm and almost instructional.
Finding the cat would distract me from my pain, so I took a deep breath and quickly moved to the basement door.
Alva's emotionless voice followed me into the dark stairwell. "Please hurry, Bella. Don't let him get hurt."
The steps were narrow and dark, so I tried the light switch but nothing happened. It must be burnt out. As much as Alva and Damien wanted me to hurry, I knew my clumsiness would claim me if I tried to run down these stairs in the dark. There was a dim light in the distance as I reached the bottom of the creaking stairs. My senses were momentarily overwhelmed by the smell of cleaning products, the unmistakable scent of ammonia making my eyes water.
I caught a glimpse of the cat at my feet before it took off between rows of shelves. My focus on the elusive cat, I hurried after it not paying attention to my surroundings. The place seemed like a bit of a maze as I weaved through the dimly lit basement chasing a cat that didn't want to go back upstairs.
The aisle way between shelves was narrow, and it wasn't long before I saw the cat chewing on something at the base of a damp concrete wall in front of me. Worried that it had gotten into the rat poison, I scooped it up in my arms just in time to hear a heavy metal gate clang shut behind me.
I spun clutching the cat to me, my heart beating loud in my chest and echoing in my ears. I was in a cage.
I dropped the cat and it slipped easily between the thick metal bars. I pushed at them, confused about why they were there, but they didn't open. The latch rattled loudly in the lock as panic built up in my chest and my breath caught in my lungs.
"Damien? Alva! I'm – I think I'm stuck!"
Do you want me to add to that? Very well. OH CRAP!
I loved the gore in this fic. There wasn't too much of it, but just enough to get the point across. And it was done tastefully, which I really admire. Anyone can write about blood spraying in your face, and guts falling to the ground. Hell, maybe a dog could eat it too. But true horror is about so much more. In this case, it was perfectly portrayed in Bella's emotional observations, and the creepiness of almost every character in this story.
Another example? Alright, here you go;
I plopped down on the couch as Alva turned on the television and leaned back into her seat. I stiffened and sat up as I saw the images that filled the screen: black and white videos of the holocaust, a gang beating, a woman being brutally raped, animal dismemberment, someone being burnt alive. I began to shake all over as the images reflected off of Alva's eyes. I couldn't believe she was sitting there watching so casually. At first, I thought it was possibly some sort of Halloween video her parents had made, but I didn't think she shouldn't be watching it .
"Are you sure you're allowed to watch this?" I asked her, revolted by the images I was seeing. A five year old shouldn't be subjected to this kind of thing.
"My mother and father say that it's important to study history. We can learn a lot from it." She turned her head from the gruesome images on the TV to look at me. "You have nice hands."
Her voice was flat, automatic, emotionless. Creepy.
"Thanks?" I couldn't help that it came out sounding like a question. It was such an out of the blue comment.
"I like hands, especially fingers." She stated before licking her lips and turning back to the TV, watching an execution by electric chair that was now on the screen.
I mentally shook it off. How other people raised their kids was no concern of mine. I wandered over to the book shelf thinking that I might find a book to pass the time. I hadn't picked up a book since Ed- he left.
I perused the spines and started to notice a trend: murder mysteries, stories of true crimes, a copy of the Maleus Maleficarum or Witches Hammer, the Druid Book of Shadows, forensic manuals, anatomy texts, the Anarchist's Cookbook, stories of the Spanish Inquisition, and some books on taxidermy and field dressing animals.
Unease slithered up my spine. My vampire family hadn't even had books this bizarre.
The ending will truly make your head spins. It turns and twists constantly, and when it finally happens, you won't be able to believe it. It's brilliant, it's perfect and downright genius!
Of course, I'm not going to tell you too much on how she dies, because that would simply ruin it. But then again,...I'm not even really sure if she's dead. Is she? HammerHips? JamesRamsey? I'm dying to know here! Or is there maybe a second chapter in the making?
What? A girl can hope, can't she?
Now go read this awe-inspiring fic and leave HammerHips and JamesRamsey some love. They deserve it!
Peace out!
No comments:
Post a Comment