completethestoryideas-blog

[completethestoryideas-blog]

Joon Skies

It flashed through the sky and then it was gone. Lucy was sure she had seen a UFO and was equally sure aliens were here to make contact with a human being. Maybe they would choose her. Maybe she would get to visit their ship. Maybe they would take her and her big brother away from their awful foster family for good. Regardless, it was a beautiful sight amongst the starry sky in the warm June evening in the rural countryside.

But maybe she had imagined it.

This was the explanation for everything beautiful and intriguing young Lucy seemed to witness, according to her foster parents. She wasn’t even sure her brother believed her, but if he didn’t he didn’t show it. He was only twelve, but he was practically an adult. He was her protector and took good care of her but treated her stories like gold. It didn’t matter if he believed or if he simply loved them because he wanted to believe them - it made her feel accepted and important.

“Lucy, what are you doing? You’re gonna get in trouble!”

Sonny’s spiky-haired head was poking out of the window of their bedroom on the top floor of the house, his glasses falling halfway down his face. Their room was essentially an attic, with the walls angling upwards until they met at a point, but they had a window so it was far less scary. Lucy, sitting on the slant of the rooftop cried back to him. 

“Sonny, I saw a spaceship! It was here and then it zoomed away!”

“Luce, that’s really cool but you have to come back in! What if you fall? Or what if Marion and Chris see you up there? We won’t eat for a day! Come back in and be careful.” He stretched out a hand in her direction in case she needed some help, though he knew she didn’t She was only 8 but she was smarter and more nimble than most her age. He watched as she tested her footing on each shingle-covered area before putting her weight on it and made her way over before helping to steady her as she came back in through the window.

“What kind of spaceship was it this time?” He asked. “Another saucer? I love the drawings of the saucers.”

Lucy began frantically sorting through an art box for a new sheet of paper. “Not this one. It looked almost like a submarine. No propellers, just the shape.” She grabbed a handful of crayons and began outlining the ship.

“How do you know what a submarine looks like?”

“One of the books on Marion’s bookshelf has one on the front.”

“Lucy, you know you shouldn’t be going through their things. They hate that.”

“I know,” She said, switching between crayons, “but it just gets so boring reading the same ones over and over again. We’ve been here for two years and we don’t have anything new. I’m past that vocabulary level already.”

“I know, Luce. But remember, if we get adopted-”

“When.”

“When we get adopted, they’re going to have the upper hand. They can tell the people who want us whatever they want. They’re adults, they’re going to believe them.”

“Ohhhhkayyyyy,” she groaned, setting the crayons aside. “Anyways, look. This is what I saw.”

Sonny observed the paper as she turned it to face him. This was different than her usual spaceships. It really did look like a submarine. Though it was a light orange color as if it was dusted with rust on the edges and grew brighter towards the middle. “Strange color for a spaceship.”

“I know, I thought so too. I tried to make it look metallic. It was metallic.”

“This just looks so different than what you usually show me. You’re positive it was a UFO?”

“Sonnyyyyy. Don’t tell me you don’t believe me anymore. I know it’s different. Because it is different. It looked different and moved different and sounded different. It’s like they were watching. Just for a second. And then they were gone. I wish I could meet them.”

“And what if they’re dangerous?”

“Grandpa said there are no dangerous aliens, just curious ones.”

“I remember. Still, why would they come here? Earth’s not that great.”

“Yeah....”

“Get ready for bed, they’ll be up to check on us soon.”

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Sonny awoke with tired eyes. There’s no way it was morning yet, and yet the room was illuminated with a golden-yellow light and.....was that......buzzing? He sat up, rubbed his eyes awake and looked to the other side of the room. Lucy was already up. He turned himself to rest his feet on the floor and looked up. Lucy was standing in front of the open window, in slight wake of blinding light. It took him a moment to find his glasses and adjust them on his head before looking at the clock and seeing that it was just a few minutes short of 3 o’clock in the morning and realizing that the light wasn’t coming from the sun of the new day. He crept closer to his sister and the window.

“Lucy, what are you doing? It’s the middle of the night. Why is the window open? And what.......is that? Is that your ship?!” Jaw to the floor, Sonny stared out the window to see a tall, lanky figure with a misshapen physique standing directly opposite of Lucy who, Sonny realized, hadn’t said anything.

“Lucy! Lucy, can you hear me?! LUCY!”

She continued staring dead ahead at the figure, her face emotionless. He watched as the figure’s hand started to slowly rise from its’ side towards his sister. He hugged her and held tight, trying to move her back and away from the window, but her body was frozen in place as if she were made of stone. He looked back to the figure.

“What are you doing?! Let her go! LET HER GO!” 

Lucy’s skin started to become translucent and shimmery.

“Please let her go! Don’t take her from me! You can’t have her!”

Sonny’s gripping arms soon ran right into each other as Lucy’s body dissipated from his hold. He looked up only to see her coming back into view next to the figure as the ship itself began to fade from existence. It took Sonny a moment to catch his breath and think. He needed to find his sister and get her back. She was the only family he had left. But how do you find an alien that doesn’t want to be found? He didn’t have a spaceship or know what it was or where it was going. He didn’t even think aliens existed until now.

Grandpa’s notes.

He bolted to Lucy’s art box and dug to the bottom until he found the journal. Before his passing and while Sonny had been sick when he was only five years old and Lucy was just an infant, their grandfather had given him a journal. Sonny was always under the impression that he had written it to entertain them as children and so that they would always have a piece of him. However, they had never shown it to their parents per his wishes He regretted this now. If only their parents had still been alive. It might have changed everything. But Lucy had always gotten more out of the journal than he ever did. It sparked within her a fascination with the unknown. Now, it didn’t seem so strange. In the journal, there were puzzles and riddles for them to solve. Some were specifically created for them to solve as they got older “when the time was right” as he had marked on the inner cover. Sonny flipped through the pages and knew that if he were to find Lucy, this is where he’d have to start. He started opened the journal and started reading.

[completethestoryideas-blog]

The Doctor’s Daughter

The doctors had never seen anything like it. She was a perfectly healthy little girl who just happened to have two hearts. The only explanation they could offer was that she had originally been a twin, but something had gone wrong during the fertilization process. She had gained her twin’s heart, and that’s all she wrote. But Rose knew better.

This was nothing involving a genetic abnormality so much as a genetic difference. It was clear to everyone she knew that her love for the Doctor was unlike any other. However, none of them were aware of it’s physical existence. Compared to all of the other experiences they’d shared together, it seemed so short and minute despite it’s power and intensity. And now there was something to commemorate it, or, someone. 

How would she ever explain this to Rickey? This would be in her baby’s medical records and surely it wasn’t something that could be hidden otherwise. She would have to tell him. Her only saving grace was the hope that Rickey hadn’t started to believe that their love was mutual; that he still knew that Rose had agreed to marry him out of comfort when there was no sign of recovery after her and the Doctor’s permanent separation and no desire to relive the feeling of falling all over again, though the possibility of such an outcome becoming a recurring one was slim to none. A new start for her love life just wasn’t plausible at this point and Rickey knew her well enough to help her handle her demons, which is why they had agreed to a partnership to begin with. They still had their affectionate moments but while it was wholesome for him, it was always for her mind or her body, never her heart. Rickey had always known this in the past. She could only hope he would still know this now that there was a child to raise.

With a burst through the door, Rickey came rushing in. “I’m so sorry, I drove as fast as I could.” He stopped and gazed down at the newborn, not taking into account that she hadn’t inherited one ounce of darker pigmentation from him. He looked back up at Rose, a smile from ear to ear. “She’s here.”

“Rickey. We have to talk about......her,” she said nodding towards the baby.

“Why? Is something wrong? What’s wrong?”

“No! No.....nothing’s wrong. But.....you may want to sit down.”

[completethestoryideas-blog]

Frostbitten

The wind whispered through the dark, empty trees like a warning in a foreign language. Winter was coming, and with winter came death. Caithe allowed herself a moment to think. Was it just her or were the seasons changing early this year? The Sylvari hadn’t nearly enough time to make preparations. How on Earth would they hold the ability to keep themselves safe agains tthe Frost before finding refuge for the winter? Too many Sylvari lives were taken each year, despite their nobility and willingness to allow the Frost full control; but the Frost soldiers were merciless killing machines. They cared little about the other races and species of the world. Their pride overshadowed the reality that the land was to be shared throughout the year. Perhaps this was the reason behind the premature takeover - less Sylvari and more Frost meant less of a challenge, less of a hassle, and potentially more time to rule.

          Caithe let out a shudder at these thoughts. If the Frost were planning some kind of slow and spread-out hostile takeover, the land would surely die and with it, the Sylvari. Without the Sylvari to protect all of the living things of Earth, no life would be spared and no creature that wasn’t Frostbitten would survive. She needed to run. She needed to tell Mother Tree. The howling winds were echoing in her ears like a warning. They would have approximately one week before the first wave of the Frost.

          Caithe’s emerald-colored feet broke into a sprint, snapping twigs and disturbing the fallen leaves as they went. She dodged the trees in her path, leapt over rocks, and finally ran up alongside the spring she used to rely on as a Sapling as guidance to find her way back home.

          Almost there.

          Her legs and lungs were nearly burning as they held tightly to her pace, struggling to slow down as she suddenly became overwhelmed with a sense of endangerment. She managed to slow herself down and once stable enough, climbed her way up into the canopy of the nearest tree. She knew she wasn’t much farther from home and moved slightly in slow, quiet motions until she caught sight of the gates. Her heart stopped and her mind froze knowing why her senses had warned her to stop so abruptly. Right at the gates of Sylvan Glad stood the Royal Family of the Frost.

[completethestoryideas-blog]

Dig

          At first, we thought the black liquid was oil, that we’d struck it rich and that we’d be able to retire and live in leisure. We actually started writing down all the ways we’d spend the money. Our first choice was to open our own construction company and run it the way we wanted to; no more unpaid overtime, no more missing lunch breaks, and no more jobs that were outside of our jurisdiction. Though after thorough consideration of the fact that this particular side job led us to such a rewarding discovery, we decided it would be bad karma to give our boss the competition. After all, he was responsible for the fact that we were out there.

          The next idea was to multiply our fortune by buying stocks in the pharmaceutical industry. In this day and age, we knew there was no way such a profitable industry would tank. Every block had at least two or three prescription drug addicts. This also seemed like the “less harmful” option, provided we kept up on our research and only used a fraction of our funds.

         “Think about it,” I said. “A lot of money is good but a lot more money is better! We’d have so much more than we started out with! It could open up so many more opportunities for us!”

          David held his stare towards the ground. I could tell the gears were turning, considering every detail of the potential outcome from this hypothetical endeavor. However, knowing my brother, I was drowning in the overwhelming feeling that he’d find a flaw big enough to turn him off from the idea completely.

          “Isn’t that kind of along the same lines as what we’d risk with the company? You know, the karma and all? We’d be trying our luck with stocks which would only have a higher potential of biting us in the ass one day. No. Let’s not test our luck. Not together anyway. We’ll split it evenly and do what we will with our own shares. I’ve got a family to support now, Manny. There’s too much at stake for me between Gina’s hours being shorted and trying to care for an infant on top of it. They’re counting on my support. I’m sorry, Mann. This is a situation where we.....I, anyway.....need to be grateful for what I’m getting and leave it at that.”

          We held eye contact for a few seconds until I flashed him an understanding grin and nodded. He was right. He had a world full of responsibility now. Growing up we’d never held much attachment to anything. Our father was a deadbeat alcoholic that our mother kicked out of our lives (for our safety, of course) and when she got sick at the young age of 39, we knew what was going to happen. We couldn’t afford insurance and in turn couldn’t afford her treatment. She passed when I was 18 and David was 20. We spent the years following taking care of each other. We started working our current positions after coming to terms with the fact that we’d be responsible for supporting ourselves. Everything was shared, nothing taken for granted, we never made time for anyone else. David and Gina had met in high school, but didn’t really hit it off until a union meeting we had attended where we learned that she was the daughter of our foreman. Learning to cope with the fact that David was starting a life of his own was difficult, but he was more deserving of happiness than anyone. I, on the other hand, hadn’t found the desire to venture into that lifestyle yet and it was starting to show. 

          Manny gave a light smile and even lighter punch to my shoulder and pulled me in for a quick hug. We parted and our gazes turned back to the oil and we stood in silence until our eyes grew tired and it began to look as though the surface was gently vibrating. Still, we stared. We stared until the vibrations grew stronger, almost appearing as though it were really being shaken up. The vibrations turned into small waves, and the waves began to gradually intensify as spikes began blossoming in and out of the surface. We paused to look at each other, equally concerned and confused. We turned back to the oil and started to become more aware of the fact that what we were both witnessing was actually happening. It was no tremor, it was no illusion, and it most definitely wasn’t just oil.