Oh no. Never. That is why I'm taking so long. I refuse for it to be cliché. I want this to be original, yet easy to write about so everyone can join in
Right. I'm not sure what the title could be, but I figured this could lead somewhere. My greatest apologies if it is awful, but this was just something that popped into my head... ><>><>><>><>><> Snowflakes drifted onto her face. She didn't bother to brush them away. She sat on the pavement, staring at her home. Or at least, what used to be her llhome. Her father and mother stood a little way behind her, trying to comfort eachother, but to no avail. Her older brother sat next to her and wrapped his jacket around her. She hadn't noticed she was shivering. "Don't worry. It was the smoke that got him, not the flames. It should have been quite painless." She reached forward and picked up some of the ashes of their house. Everything had been burnt black. Her pale skin was a sharp contrast. "I hope so." She said nothing after that. Not for a while. She did not cry for her little brother. She felt that if she started crying she would never stop. They had all wanted to run back for him, but it was too late. The firefighters came quick enough to stop anyone from going back in, but not quick enough to put the fire out. Not quick enough to save him. "Jack..." "Yes?" "What is going to happen to us?" "I don't know..." Stephanie and her family were now homeless in the middle of winter. While she didn't know what was going to happen to her, she knew what was going to happen to her younger brother. If they could find a body. He would be put in a box. A four foot box. A foot for every year. The tears came streaming down her face, eventually freezing in the mixture of snow and ash. The firefighters left a little while ago, just in case any other emergencies occurred. Jack knelt by his sister, gently wiping the icy tracks the tears left away from her cheeks. He wanted to cry too, but he had to stay strong for her. While sadness prevailed through confusion, anger, and a assortment of other emotions, one thing was known to Stephanie Wicke. This fire was no accident, and she was determined to find out who has caused it. But when she proposed this to her brother, he brushed her away with a sad laugh. "Stephanie, accidents happen. Why on earth would an arsonist decide to burn our house down?" "Well, why wouldn't they?" Stephanie was quite bright, even for a 14 year-old, and she wouldn't assume something so serious without good reason. There didn't seem to be any other explanation. Little Maxie was asleep, her and Jack had been reading in the library. Her parents were in the kitchen making dinner and the fire had started in the living room. What else could have caused it? "Yes Steph, an arsonist decided to randomly burn our house to the ground." "Jack, think about it. None of us were in the living room when the fire started. None of the electricals were on. What else could have done it?" "Stephanie, just stop it. There are several ways it could have happened, and if you don't mind I would like to stop thinking about it." Jack let out a weary sigh and turned away from his sister, trying to get his mind away from the awful situation. Stephanie sat in the snow, deep in thought. Her brothers words ran through her head: "Yes Steph, an arsonist decided to randomly burn our house to the ground." But it wouldn't be random. Stephanie was sure somebody had caused this. Jack was 3 years older than her, why couldn't he realize it? But now she finally had a starting point. Why on earth would somebody want to burn her family's house down?
Okay Kira. You have a week to compile and post an update, but if you need more time, simply say so. And there is no "oh I will participate". You simply decide you would like to take part and request to write the next update. This is not a roleplay, there is no signing up.
Ah, but what if Kira steers the story in a completely different direction? I have decided that you can only announce you are writing the next update once the most recent update has been posted, to avoid confusion and queues. I hope that will be ok...
This sounds really interesting. ^.^ I probably won't write anything, but I can't wait to see where this goes.
Two weeks later... Stephanie blinked and felt her eyes burn as moisture was brought back into her eyes. It was the third night she had stayed up, just thinking who on earth would burn down her family's home. She got up needing a break from her thoughts, walking out onto the balcony. The penthouse was nice but it wasn't like home. The warm colors clashed with the depressing despair of her family. Max's funeral was quite large, everyone felt the need to try to comfort the mourning family. That was when Stephanie's mother took a turn for the worst. No care in her appearance and personality gone. A chair in the corner is where she resides almost 24/7. Her mother used to have bright auburn for a hair color now it has become dull and lifeless. The rims of her eyes red and cheeks shiny from the tears. What has become of Stephanie's father you ask? Well he hasn't been home since yesterday. Throwing himself into his work and taking on extra assignments. Even when he does come to the place the family is staying at, he barely speaks or acknowledges anything except for his work. As for Stephanie's brother, Jack he has now become the man of the family since his parents can no longer function. With the help of Steph they clean and cook grasping to hold onto their sanity. Books are the only things he enjoys now, because they seem to have happier plots. Stephanie snaps back into reality, had she fallen asleep or perhaps daydreamed? Either way several hours had passed. Walking back into the penthouse, sitting down on the wobbly chair. She liked this chair, it made her feel more at home like she was in the kitchen with her mother. Sadly Steph knew that those times were over and maybe one day she would have that moment again. Now it was time to do some more research. Pulling out a notebook that had been bent quite a bit, Steph flipped through the pages. Trying to find someone who had enough of a grudge to do something so horrid. No leads yet... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ This was basically what the family has become I didn't have anything too big happen because someone said they had an idea. I hope I didn't ruin your thought.
Oh, one more thing. When the person who is writing the next part updates, it is their responsibility to post on other people's walls to notify them of the most recent addition to the story. If this becomes popular and doing so will take a while, feel free to ask me for some help
Sure! By the way Fox (I think I can call her Fox) will be updating next, but probably after Christmas since there is so much to do. Bumping when this goes off the first or second page would be extremely helpful.