Hey everyone, it's me again and I want to teach you how to write a good story. I will go into detail on how to get a theme, an original idea, etc.
The reason why I'm doing this is because the previous story competitions (by Tacosbefriends, zRinne and Elenahh) were not really that succesful, in spite of all their effort to make it a little more popular. And since I love writing stories, I want the Competition team to host more story competitions. I mean, anyone could make a selfie, but writing a story is something else. It's another piece of creativity you need to posess in order to write a good story, and that's why I think writing stories is so valuable. Writing a cool story could really make you stand out in certain competitions, and writing in another language like English makes you practise the language in a fun way. Isn't that awesome? Okay, that was enough propaganda about the essence of writing, now I will start with the first part of the guide.
Of course, you'll have to get a great idea before you can write a story. Mostly, when I am planning on writing a story I basically make a draft in my head when I am trying to sleep. When you relax, you come up with the greatest ideas. But the problem is: You can't put everything in the same story. Some things just don't match with each other and you'll have to take that into account before you start writing. Make a selection in your head or write it down with the best ideas you've come up with yet. I underlined 'yet' because before you start writing, a lot of ideas pop up, but sometimes, even more appear when you've started writing a story. Sometimes you'll have to calm down a bit and think 'Okay, I can think of these things. Which are the best and which will I put into my story?'. That's what I mean by making a small selection of ideas. If you can't come up with any good ideas, ask yourself these questions:
- Am I stressed? When I can't come up with any ideas, I mostly go outside and play football for like 30 minutes and go inside again to try again. But you could do anything to make yourself forget your stress. If you like singing, you sing a song, if you like reading, you read a story for an hour, etc. (Tip: Take a shower! That will make you relax.) But do not continue thinking of ideas! The fact that your ideas aren't good will make you even more stressed, and that certainly won't benefit the story. So just take a break and continue thinking later! It'll be alright if you started early enough. (If you want to take part in a story competition of course)
- Am I hungry or thirsty? Sometimes when I'm trying to come up with ideas, I get headache in the front of my head. This could have reasons other than being hungry/thirsty, but when this happens to me I have to get myself a drink or some slices of bread. Keep in mind that headache distracts you a lot and that you've got to take good care of yourself! Yes, writing a story is a time-consuming job, but first take care of yourself, and then of your story.
- What emotion do I have right now? If you're sad, you should focus yourself on your sadness, and whilst doing that, the most beautiful ideas will just pop up in your head. If you mix your sad ideas with other ideas, you've already made a great start. Another pro: If you clear your heart by thinking of ideas, you will forget your sadness! That's awesome, isn't it? (Do not write when you're very angry, because anger gives you some kind of stress which won't contribute to your story in a nice way.)
- Has anything remarkable happened to you the last few days/weeks/months? The occasion could inspire you to write a story.
If the things I've mentioned above didn't help, you can always ask me or someone else who's experienced with writing stories to get some other tips and tricks on how to come with good ideas. Asking for help is never wrong, keep that in mind!
That's a very good question, because that could mean a lot. In this case, I mean: "Should I write a detailed story, a professional story, a short-story, a poem, etc.?".
I could give you some examples from the previous story competitions.
Explaination on stories that are completely dedicated to Cube: Mostly, when someone hosts a story competition, there is a requirement that it should be partially about Cube. Well, this is a perfect example of a story like that! Most people find it hard to combine a pre-chosen theme and Cube in one story (at least that's my own experience) but this story is perfect if you only look at that part of the story.
These were some stories you could read to get inspired. Although you could base your story on one of these, stay original please! Nobody likes to read a boring, unoriginal story.
Also, keep in mind that choosing what kind of story you'd like to write should depend on the pre-chosen theme. If a moderator hosts a horror story competition, you shouldn't write a story about holidays. May that be clear.
You've thought of ideas, you've made a selection of them, and you've selected a certain kind of story. But you're not even halfway yet! Writing the story will take a lot of time, and could take several days or maybe even days. But that's not a big problem, as long as you write a cool story! As I've said, when you are writing a story, a lot of ideas will basically pop up in your head during the process. That is a very good thing! Now, I will explain how I write my stories.
That's a very good question, because that could mean a lot. In this case, I mean: "Should I write a detailed story, a professional story, a short-story, a poem, etc.?".
I could give you some examples from the previous story competitions.
The Opal
He moved his hands to gently rest on his black pants, staining them with sweat. He bent backwards into the cushioning of his chair, tilting his head forward. The wood of the chair beside him creaked softly when his mother sat atop the mauve cushion. Dark fabric spilled over the edge of the chair as she shifted to focus on him. A wave of silence filled the cold air.
The older woman let her lips part, a soft whimper escaping her mouth. He found his hands reaching for his mother’s. He held them tightly. Allowing his face to relax into a faint smile, he drew his hands back to his lap. His mother sniffled and tentatively brought a used tissue to her eyes. Her hand dropped to rummage in her leather handbag, before her slender fingers reappeared. She opened her palm in the direction of her son. The black chain dropped from the shaking limb, falling quietly into his own outstretched hand. He studied the chain, turning it around to gaze into the creamy swirls of a white opal. He immediately recognised the chain.
It was his brother’s. Found stuck between rocks, powdered with sand. He and his brother had become quickly attracted to the milky gemstone. His brother, a year older, had elected himself as the rightful owner of the chain. The opal had sat there, resting against his chest, until three days ago. It was three days ago that his brother had been announced dead.
~~~
It had been a humid day - in the middle of summer. He was sat in his mother’s living room. His brother had announced a last-minute trip to Indonesia with his friends. They were celebrating their recent graduation from university.
The summer had been tedious that year. With his brother gone, he and his mother had no stable form of income. At the start of spring, he had applied for a job at a nearby office. His brother had lent him the opal - “for good luck”, he had claimed. He was given the job almost instantly, investing in an air conditioning unit for his small family - they had never had one before. When the spring rains had ended, and the flowers began to wilt in the heat, he had received the news that his position had been terminated. Unable to work elsewhere, he and his mother had been forced to spend yet another long summer in the blistering heat.
They had been gripped with the absence of wealth for most of his life. His mother, a recovered alcoholic, had been abandoned by his father when he was young. He had wanted, when he was older, to sell the opal. But it was pointless - others described the opal as “bad luck” and refused to purchase the item. Now, struggling to find the money to keep their house, the air conditioner sat lifeless and unused.
The knocking that fell upon their door that afternoon had lifted them from their mild conversation. His mother had later returned from the door with wet eyes, collapsing against him.
~~~
He gave his mother a toothless smile, chewing on his bottom lip. The woman ran an arm across her face, drying her tear-stained cheeks. He stretched his own arm towards his mother. The chain fell onto her thighs between his separated fingers and he stood. Granting her a saccharine smile before he disappeared from her sight.
~~~
It was when the heat had dulled, the sun guarded by grey clouds, that he had been called to stand by his mother’s side in her hospital bed. A single vehicle accident had left her in intensive care. Outside, the air was fragile - plagued with dark clouds.
His mother gripped his hand in her weak grasp. He stared into her glazed eyes, pleadingly. “Don’t leave me.”
She pulled her lips into a thin line. The skin below her eyes was stained with black from her mascara and her nose had become reddened and irritated. Her leant downwards to press his dry, cracked lips against her sweaty forehead. His mother shivered violently beneath him. He pulled away to brush the tips of his fingers across a thin cut on the side of her head. Flakes of dried blood fell from her matted hair. He placed his lips on her cheek and returned to a standing position.
Her eyes squinted with the sound of thunder in the distance. He knelt beside her, his arms resting on the threadbare blanket. With the finality of her strength, she lifted the chain from around her neck, holding it towards her youngest son.
~~~
His body swayed with the rocking of the waves. He had convinced himself of the opal’s responsibility in the passing of his family. He was but a stranger to the history of the opal. At first, he had doubted the superstitious properties of the gemstone - just a simple rumour spread by diamond traders. As time continued to flow, however, he had felt more inclined to believe the tale.
His brother had been involved in many ‘unlucky’ scenarios. Though not one of them had been life-threatening (before his death), his sibling had been left to feel misfortunate at times. It was when his mother had been admitted to hospital, wearing the opal, that he had felt certain of the theory.
The water stilled as the ferry reached land. He stepped onto the small dock and traipsed towards the beach.
It was this beach, on the western side of the tiny island, littered with rocks and grass, in which his brother had found the chain. Sitting on the soft sand, his hands moved to wearily press into his smooth skin. He let his thoughts wander - to fully assess the opal. His mother’s doctor had been quick to argue against his belief. An aneurysm, apparently. He rolled his eyes mockingly. It wasn’t as if he were naive, or gullible.
He stood, straightening his back, stretching his joints. He stared out into the horizon, taking a hurried breathe, before running forward and hurling the opal into the sea.
~~~
He and his brother had become closer over a mutual interest in video games. Yet, even now, their bond dripped with a tinge of irony.
There was a branch in his heart that would always reach out towards the shared games on CubeCraft. And, so, the oldest of his memories had wound themselves tightly, rustling like leaves within him.
Every game had a way to tweak the chances - just as he had learnt with his brother beside him, laughter falling from their lips. If life was a game; he was merely turning his luck in his favour.
That night he walked home over the powdered rocks.
~~~
Soft skin wrapped around the black chain, eagerly. A small girl plucked the chain from the sparkling water. She shivered in the cold air, bringing the chain closer to her face. Smiling into the shining chain, she raced towards a middle-aged man, enthusiastically. “Look what I found, daddy.”
He moved his hands to gently rest on his black pants, staining them with sweat. He bent backwards into the cushioning of his chair, tilting his head forward. The wood of the chair beside him creaked softly when his mother sat atop the mauve cushion. Dark fabric spilled over the edge of the chair as she shifted to focus on him. A wave of silence filled the cold air.
The older woman let her lips part, a soft whimper escaping her mouth. He found his hands reaching for his mother’s. He held them tightly. Allowing his face to relax into a faint smile, he drew his hands back to his lap. His mother sniffled and tentatively brought a used tissue to her eyes. Her hand dropped to rummage in her leather handbag, before her slender fingers reappeared. She opened her palm in the direction of her son. The black chain dropped from the shaking limb, falling quietly into his own outstretched hand. He studied the chain, turning it around to gaze into the creamy swirls of a white opal. He immediately recognised the chain.
It was his brother’s. Found stuck between rocks, powdered with sand. He and his brother had become quickly attracted to the milky gemstone. His brother, a year older, had elected himself as the rightful owner of the chain. The opal had sat there, resting against his chest, until three days ago. It was three days ago that his brother had been announced dead.
~~~
It had been a humid day - in the middle of summer. He was sat in his mother’s living room. His brother had announced a last-minute trip to Indonesia with his friends. They were celebrating their recent graduation from university.
The summer had been tedious that year. With his brother gone, he and his mother had no stable form of income. At the start of spring, he had applied for a job at a nearby office. His brother had lent him the opal - “for good luck”, he had claimed. He was given the job almost instantly, investing in an air conditioning unit for his small family - they had never had one before. When the spring rains had ended, and the flowers began to wilt in the heat, he had received the news that his position had been terminated. Unable to work elsewhere, he and his mother had been forced to spend yet another long summer in the blistering heat.
They had been gripped with the absence of wealth for most of his life. His mother, a recovered alcoholic, had been abandoned by his father when he was young. He had wanted, when he was older, to sell the opal. But it was pointless - others described the opal as “bad luck” and refused to purchase the item. Now, struggling to find the money to keep their house, the air conditioner sat lifeless and unused.
The knocking that fell upon their door that afternoon had lifted them from their mild conversation. His mother had later returned from the door with wet eyes, collapsing against him.
~~~
He gave his mother a toothless smile, chewing on his bottom lip. The woman ran an arm across her face, drying her tear-stained cheeks. He stretched his own arm towards his mother. The chain fell onto her thighs between his separated fingers and he stood. Granting her a saccharine smile before he disappeared from her sight.
~~~
It was when the heat had dulled, the sun guarded by grey clouds, that he had been called to stand by his mother’s side in her hospital bed. A single vehicle accident had left her in intensive care. Outside, the air was fragile - plagued with dark clouds.
His mother gripped his hand in her weak grasp. He stared into her glazed eyes, pleadingly. “Don’t leave me.”
She pulled her lips into a thin line. The skin below her eyes was stained with black from her mascara and her nose had become reddened and irritated. Her leant downwards to press his dry, cracked lips against her sweaty forehead. His mother shivered violently beneath him. He pulled away to brush the tips of his fingers across a thin cut on the side of her head. Flakes of dried blood fell from her matted hair. He placed his lips on her cheek and returned to a standing position.
Her eyes squinted with the sound of thunder in the distance. He knelt beside her, his arms resting on the threadbare blanket. With the finality of her strength, she lifted the chain from around her neck, holding it towards her youngest son.
~~~
His body swayed with the rocking of the waves. He had convinced himself of the opal’s responsibility in the passing of his family. He was but a stranger to the history of the opal. At first, he had doubted the superstitious properties of the gemstone - just a simple rumour spread by diamond traders. As time continued to flow, however, he had felt more inclined to believe the tale.
His brother had been involved in many ‘unlucky’ scenarios. Though not one of them had been life-threatening (before his death), his sibling had been left to feel misfortunate at times. It was when his mother had been admitted to hospital, wearing the opal, that he had felt certain of the theory.
The water stilled as the ferry reached land. He stepped onto the small dock and traipsed towards the beach.
It was this beach, on the western side of the tiny island, littered with rocks and grass, in which his brother had found the chain. Sitting on the soft sand, his hands moved to wearily press into his smooth skin. He let his thoughts wander - to fully assess the opal. His mother’s doctor had been quick to argue against his belief. An aneurysm, apparently. He rolled his eyes mockingly. It wasn’t as if he were naive, or gullible.
He stood, straightening his back, stretching his joints. He stared out into the horizon, taking a hurried breathe, before running forward and hurling the opal into the sea.
~~~
He and his brother had become closer over a mutual interest in video games. Yet, even now, their bond dripped with a tinge of irony.
There was a branch in his heart that would always reach out towards the shared games on CubeCraft. And, so, the oldest of his memories had wound themselves tightly, rustling like leaves within him.
Every game had a way to tweak the chances - just as he had learnt with his brother beside him, laughter falling from their lips. If life was a game; he was merely turning his luck in his favour.
That night he walked home over the powdered rocks.
~~~
Soft skin wrapped around the black chain, eagerly. A small girl plucked the chain from the sparkling water. She shivered in the cold air, bringing the chain closer to her face. Smiling into the shining chain, she raced towards a middle-aged man, enthusiastically. “Look what I found, daddy.”
Australia
Chapter 1
“Hi mom, I’m home!”, said Tom. Tom was super excited because tomorrow, they (Tom and his family) would go from the Netherlands, all the way to Australia to celebrate their vacation! It would be his first time in an airplane, which made him even more excited. “Hey Tom, how was your day at school?”, asked his mother, but Tom ran upstairs to pack his bags as fast as he could, so he totally forgot answering her question. The family was in a hurry because a lot of things still had to be packed, but eventually, when everyone packed their bags, the family was relieved because that job was done.
The next day Tom and his family would drive from a small village near the capital of his county to Amsterdam, the capital of his country. They would leave early to go sightseeing in Amsterdam, because the airplane they would fly on would depart in the evening. Tom had once been in Amsterdam, but didn’t remember a lot of it because he was only 4 when he visited the city. When they arrived in the city the first thing they saw was the massive number of tourists in the city; Asians, Americans, British people, they all were there! “The number of people around here is impressive!”, Tom said. They first went to the Rijksmuseum, one of the biggest, if not the biggest museum of the country. When they finished looking at paintings of the biggest painters of the world, they wandered around for some hours until Tom’s father took a look at his telephone. “Sh*t! It’s 6 PM already and the airplane departs within an hour, at 7 PM!”, shouted Tom’s father. The family ran to the car and drove to the airport as fast as they could. When they finally arrived at the airport Tom was shocked: He could not find his mobile phone! “Guys, I think I forgot my mobile phone in the museum we visited!”, said Tom.
“Are you sure it’s not in the pocket of your jacket?”, said his mother. “No, it’s not there! Maybe it’s in your bag?”, said Tom. “I think you’re unlucky because I can’t find it and we have no time to go back. If I were you, I would buy a new one. You have saved money, right?” said Tom’s mother.
“Yes, I have saved money, but money’s not the problem! How am I supposed to play CubeCraft now? You know that’s my favorite Minecraft server, right?”, said Tom.
“Don’t complain about that stupid game now, Tom.”, said his mother. “Not being able to play a game is not the end of the world and after all, we’re going to Australia! You will be able to entertain yourself in the swimming pool and by fighting with kangaroos, right? There’s so much more to do than playing mobile games on your phone.”
“Yes, I think you are right. This is gonna be the best vacation ever!”, said Tom.
Although the family almost missed their flight, they managed to reach the airplane in time, and landed safely in Australia. Losing his phone was not a big deal anymore, because in the airplane there was a WI-FI connection and there were special tablet screens which allowed him to play on CubeCraft. He could tell his friends about the things he had experienced in Amsterdam, and he told them about losing his phone, and how terrible it was. And of course, about the airplane, which had this great tablet he was playing on.
Chapter 2
When they finally landed at the airport of Brisbane, they had flown 20 hours. Not bad for your first time in an airplane! The family was delighted to be in Australia and drove to a place near Nudgee Beach, which is near the centre of Brisbane, and is very close to the Tasman Sea.
Tom was lucky because when it’s summer in the Netherlands, it is winter in Australia. But even in the winter it’s still hot there, so he basically spent the afternoons there chilling in his room with his mom’s mobile phone. After 4 days of being there, Tom played CubeCraft on his mom’s phone, and almost got in the first place of the Bedrock SkyWars leaderboard! Only one more win and he would be there! But then, all of a sudden, he got a call of his uncle, who told him to give the phone to his mom, to talk about something serious.
When Tom’s mom and his uncle finished talking, his mom convened the family to talk about something. “Hi, I have called you together to talk about something. I have just spoke with your uncle and he told me that your grandmother, so my mother, is sick.”, said Tom’s mother.
“Okay, but that’s not a huge problem, right?”, said his sister. “It’s not just sickness, she was diagnosed colon cancer.” The family was shocked when they heard the bad news and nobody knew what to say really. Then Tom asked what they were going to do in the following days. His mother replied that they were gonna stay in Australia, because everyone needed a vacation, and granny would probably not have any troubles until they were back in the Netherlands. They had experienced this kind of situations before when they went to one of Holland’s islands. Tom’s mother had to go back to the coast to take care of her sister, who was dying. Eventually, her sister made it and is still alive. The years after the sister-incident Tom’s family didn’t want to go far from home when it came to vacations; they were scared of another incident. But this year, nothing would stand in their way. They would have the greatest vacation ever in Australia! Some days passed and granny seemed to become even healthier than before, until they received a call from Tom’s uncle: Granny passed away. The family was in turmoil and had to pack their bags, to return to the Netherlands again. Then, the doctor who took care of granny called. He told Tom’s mother that granny’s sickness was detected too late and that colon cancer is very progressive. Some may survive months or even years, and some only a few days or weeks. Tom’s family was very sad and when they drove to the airport everyone was quiet, and trying to handle the grief. Tom was also very quiet but was also playing on his mother’s phone. Normally, she didn’t want Tom to play too long on her phone but in the car, she didn’t mind, for obvious reasons. This time, the family got to the airport on time. “This was supposed to be the best vacation ever”, said Tom. “But it turned out to be a real nightmare.”, and then his father put an arm around him, trying to comfort him.
Chapter 3
When the airplane departed, everything seemed to be fine. Of course, there was some turbulence around the plane, but that is a common thing. Tom was playing on the tablet of the airplane again and was flexing with his first place on the Bedrock SkyWars leaderboard. As a matter of course, he was still sad, but CubeCraft comforted him, because if he played Cube he could talk about his sadness with his friends. Everything went well on the plane. After all they booked business class seats so everything was supposed to be fine. Tom was just chilling with a coke in his left hand and a tablet in his right hand when the pilots announced that they were at ½ of the flight. Tom was a little bored of playing SkyWars so he decided to put his coke and the tablet away, and he slept for some hours, until he heard a lot of noise. He woke up confused when he saw that a duck flew into one of the plane engines. It wasn’t a pleasure for his eyes, let that be clear. Anyways, this meant that the plane was forced to make an emergency landing near Poland. “Phew!”, thought Tom. “Luckily Poland isn’t that far away from the Netherlands! Hopefully the emergency landing won’t take that long, and hopefully the problem won’t take long to be solved.”
Then he fell asleep again, and when he woke up, he was dizzy and had a severe headache. Then he opened his eyes. “What the heck!?”, thought Tom. The plane crashed near the airport! He looked around him and searched for his family, but he couldn’t move. “What is all of this!?”, thought Tom. “Why can’t I move? Is this a horrible nightmare?”
Then he went knock-out again. When he woke up he was in some sort of hospital. A couple of doctor-looking men were standing around him and were talking Polish, so he couldn’t understand them. “You English?”, asked one of the doctors. “No, I’m Dutch!”, said Tom. “And where i s my mother? My father? Where is my family?”
Then everything went black and Tom realised that he was knock-out again. He heard some voices around him. Apparently the Polish hospital also had some English doctors, because he heard them shouting at each other. “Heart beat dropping! Blood pressure is no longer measureable!”, they shouted. “The patient is in some sort of shock! Is there anything we can do to save him?”
Then he heard and felt nothing for quite a while, when suddenly he heard an English man shouting that the patient was waking up again. “What a miracle!”, the doctor said.
Tom asked the doctor what happened to his family and he said that his mother didn’t survive the crash, but that his father and his sister were in intensive care. The doctor also said that Tom had some organ transplantations because some of his organs didn’t funcionate anymore after his shock. He barely got off the hook, but hey, Tom managed to survive so that was a good thing. “But,”, said the doctor. “I also have some bad news for you. Try to move your legs and your back.”
“I can’t!”, said Tom. “That is true.”, said that doctor. “Miraculously you managed to survive both the crash and the shock, but directly after the crash your spine broke. Unfortunately, we couldn’t save your legs. Luckily, your neck didn’t break so you can still move your arms.”
“Yeah, that’s another way to look at it. I have to stay positive.”, said Tom.
Chapter 4
2 months had passed after the plane incident, and Tom and his family were still recovering from their injuries. His sister was still in intensive care, but his father recovered faster than she did. Miraculously he was able to walk again. In spite of this miracle, he did lose an arm and a leg, but he didn’t really mind. All he wanted was getting his precious wife back, which was obviously not a possibility. Tom was very happy that he could still use his arms; he could still play the game he loved, which was Minecraft. Although Tom was a very good player and was still in the lead of the SkyWars leaderboard, he was constantly disrespected and harassed for never coming outside and always playing Minecraft. Although he had obvious reasons for this, as he was still recovering, he didn’t want to tell the story to anyone else but his dearest friends. They supported him whenever he needed help, but of course, they couldn’t always be online, just like every other normal kid, so Tom was still bullied by other players who were jealous of his place on the leaderboard. After the bullying continued he quit Minecraft. He was proud of his first place on the leaderboard but didn’t want to be bullied anymore. His sister and father had both already recovered from their injuries, and were ready to go outside again, as 4 months had passed already. They went to the grave of their grandmothers and mothers/wife, as they both were in one grave, because Tom’s mother died one day after his grandmother. There they stood. For the first time after 4 months, they had the possibility to get near granny and mother again. Tom’s father carried his sister with the arm he still had, and Tom sat in a wheelchair.
They cried.
~The End~
Chapter 1
“Hi mom, I’m home!”, said Tom. Tom was super excited because tomorrow, they (Tom and his family) would go from the Netherlands, all the way to Australia to celebrate their vacation! It would be his first time in an airplane, which made him even more excited. “Hey Tom, how was your day at school?”, asked his mother, but Tom ran upstairs to pack his bags as fast as he could, so he totally forgot answering her question. The family was in a hurry because a lot of things still had to be packed, but eventually, when everyone packed their bags, the family was relieved because that job was done.
The next day Tom and his family would drive from a small village near the capital of his county to Amsterdam, the capital of his country. They would leave early to go sightseeing in Amsterdam, because the airplane they would fly on would depart in the evening. Tom had once been in Amsterdam, but didn’t remember a lot of it because he was only 4 when he visited the city. When they arrived in the city the first thing they saw was the massive number of tourists in the city; Asians, Americans, British people, they all were there! “The number of people around here is impressive!”, Tom said. They first went to the Rijksmuseum, one of the biggest, if not the biggest museum of the country. When they finished looking at paintings of the biggest painters of the world, they wandered around for some hours until Tom’s father took a look at his telephone. “Sh*t! It’s 6 PM already and the airplane departs within an hour, at 7 PM!”, shouted Tom’s father. The family ran to the car and drove to the airport as fast as they could. When they finally arrived at the airport Tom was shocked: He could not find his mobile phone! “Guys, I think I forgot my mobile phone in the museum we visited!”, said Tom.
“Are you sure it’s not in the pocket of your jacket?”, said his mother. “No, it’s not there! Maybe it’s in your bag?”, said Tom. “I think you’re unlucky because I can’t find it and we have no time to go back. If I were you, I would buy a new one. You have saved money, right?” said Tom’s mother.
“Yes, I have saved money, but money’s not the problem! How am I supposed to play CubeCraft now? You know that’s my favorite Minecraft server, right?”, said Tom.
“Don’t complain about that stupid game now, Tom.”, said his mother. “Not being able to play a game is not the end of the world and after all, we’re going to Australia! You will be able to entertain yourself in the swimming pool and by fighting with kangaroos, right? There’s so much more to do than playing mobile games on your phone.”
“Yes, I think you are right. This is gonna be the best vacation ever!”, said Tom.
Although the family almost missed their flight, they managed to reach the airplane in time, and landed safely in Australia. Losing his phone was not a big deal anymore, because in the airplane there was a WI-FI connection and there were special tablet screens which allowed him to play on CubeCraft. He could tell his friends about the things he had experienced in Amsterdam, and he told them about losing his phone, and how terrible it was. And of course, about the airplane, which had this great tablet he was playing on.
Chapter 2
When they finally landed at the airport of Brisbane, they had flown 20 hours. Not bad for your first time in an airplane! The family was delighted to be in Australia and drove to a place near Nudgee Beach, which is near the centre of Brisbane, and is very close to the Tasman Sea.
Tom was lucky because when it’s summer in the Netherlands, it is winter in Australia. But even in the winter it’s still hot there, so he basically spent the afternoons there chilling in his room with his mom’s mobile phone. After 4 days of being there, Tom played CubeCraft on his mom’s phone, and almost got in the first place of the Bedrock SkyWars leaderboard! Only one more win and he would be there! But then, all of a sudden, he got a call of his uncle, who told him to give the phone to his mom, to talk about something serious.
When Tom’s mom and his uncle finished talking, his mom convened the family to talk about something. “Hi, I have called you together to talk about something. I have just spoke with your uncle and he told me that your grandmother, so my mother, is sick.”, said Tom’s mother.
“Okay, but that’s not a huge problem, right?”, said his sister. “It’s not just sickness, she was diagnosed colon cancer.” The family was shocked when they heard the bad news and nobody knew what to say really. Then Tom asked what they were going to do in the following days. His mother replied that they were gonna stay in Australia, because everyone needed a vacation, and granny would probably not have any troubles until they were back in the Netherlands. They had experienced this kind of situations before when they went to one of Holland’s islands. Tom’s mother had to go back to the coast to take care of her sister, who was dying. Eventually, her sister made it and is still alive. The years after the sister-incident Tom’s family didn’t want to go far from home when it came to vacations; they were scared of another incident. But this year, nothing would stand in their way. They would have the greatest vacation ever in Australia! Some days passed and granny seemed to become even healthier than before, until they received a call from Tom’s uncle: Granny passed away. The family was in turmoil and had to pack their bags, to return to the Netherlands again. Then, the doctor who took care of granny called. He told Tom’s mother that granny’s sickness was detected too late and that colon cancer is very progressive. Some may survive months or even years, and some only a few days or weeks. Tom’s family was very sad and when they drove to the airport everyone was quiet, and trying to handle the grief. Tom was also very quiet but was also playing on his mother’s phone. Normally, she didn’t want Tom to play too long on her phone but in the car, she didn’t mind, for obvious reasons. This time, the family got to the airport on time. “This was supposed to be the best vacation ever”, said Tom. “But it turned out to be a real nightmare.”, and then his father put an arm around him, trying to comfort him.
Chapter 3
When the airplane departed, everything seemed to be fine. Of course, there was some turbulence around the plane, but that is a common thing. Tom was playing on the tablet of the airplane again and was flexing with his first place on the Bedrock SkyWars leaderboard. As a matter of course, he was still sad, but CubeCraft comforted him, because if he played Cube he could talk about his sadness with his friends. Everything went well on the plane. After all they booked business class seats so everything was supposed to be fine. Tom was just chilling with a coke in his left hand and a tablet in his right hand when the pilots announced that they were at ½ of the flight. Tom was a little bored of playing SkyWars so he decided to put his coke and the tablet away, and he slept for some hours, until he heard a lot of noise. He woke up confused when he saw that a duck flew into one of the plane engines. It wasn’t a pleasure for his eyes, let that be clear. Anyways, this meant that the plane was forced to make an emergency landing near Poland. “Phew!”, thought Tom. “Luckily Poland isn’t that far away from the Netherlands! Hopefully the emergency landing won’t take that long, and hopefully the problem won’t take long to be solved.”
Then he fell asleep again, and when he woke up, he was dizzy and had a severe headache. Then he opened his eyes. “What the heck!?”, thought Tom. The plane crashed near the airport! He looked around him and searched for his family, but he couldn’t move. “What is all of this!?”, thought Tom. “Why can’t I move? Is this a horrible nightmare?”
Then he went knock-out again. When he woke up he was in some sort of hospital. A couple of doctor-looking men were standing around him and were talking Polish, so he couldn’t understand them. “You English?”, asked one of the doctors. “No, I’m Dutch!”, said Tom. “And where i s my mother? My father? Where is my family?”
Then everything went black and Tom realised that he was knock-out again. He heard some voices around him. Apparently the Polish hospital also had some English doctors, because he heard them shouting at each other. “Heart beat dropping! Blood pressure is no longer measureable!”, they shouted. “The patient is in some sort of shock! Is there anything we can do to save him?”
Then he heard and felt nothing for quite a while, when suddenly he heard an English man shouting that the patient was waking up again. “What a miracle!”, the doctor said.
Tom asked the doctor what happened to his family and he said that his mother didn’t survive the crash, but that his father and his sister were in intensive care. The doctor also said that Tom had some organ transplantations because some of his organs didn’t funcionate anymore after his shock. He barely got off the hook, but hey, Tom managed to survive so that was a good thing. “But,”, said the doctor. “I also have some bad news for you. Try to move your legs and your back.”
“I can’t!”, said Tom. “That is true.”, said that doctor. “Miraculously you managed to survive both the crash and the shock, but directly after the crash your spine broke. Unfortunately, we couldn’t save your legs. Luckily, your neck didn’t break so you can still move your arms.”
“Yeah, that’s another way to look at it. I have to stay positive.”, said Tom.
Chapter 4
2 months had passed after the plane incident, and Tom and his family were still recovering from their injuries. His sister was still in intensive care, but his father recovered faster than she did. Miraculously he was able to walk again. In spite of this miracle, he did lose an arm and a leg, but he didn’t really mind. All he wanted was getting his precious wife back, which was obviously not a possibility. Tom was very happy that he could still use his arms; he could still play the game he loved, which was Minecraft. Although Tom was a very good player and was still in the lead of the SkyWars leaderboard, he was constantly disrespected and harassed for never coming outside and always playing Minecraft. Although he had obvious reasons for this, as he was still recovering, he didn’t want to tell the story to anyone else but his dearest friends. They supported him whenever he needed help, but of course, they couldn’t always be online, just like every other normal kid, so Tom was still bullied by other players who were jealous of his place on the leaderboard. After the bullying continued he quit Minecraft. He was proud of his first place on the leaderboard but didn’t want to be bullied anymore. His sister and father had both already recovered from their injuries, and were ready to go outside again, as 4 months had passed already. They went to the grave of their grandmothers and mothers/wife, as they both were in one grave, because Tom’s mother died one day after his grandmother. There they stood. For the first time after 4 months, they had the possibility to get near granny and mother again. Tom’s father carried his sister with the arm he still had, and Tom sat in a wheelchair.
They cried.
~The End~
"Gray, can you please come to the living room?" Gray looks up from his drawing. He sighs. "And take Emma and Little Annie with you!" he hears. Gray stands up and lifts Little Annie from te ground.
"Hey Em, we have to come." Gray walks to his sister's room. "Yo Em." He says a little louder. Emma takes of her earphones. "What?!" She says annoyed. "Let's go downstairs, mom asked us to come." He goes downstairs with Little Annie in his arms. When everyone is downstairs, mother Rebbeca says: "I have to tell you guys that we're going to move. To another town."
"What?!" screames Emma. "No way, I'll stay here. I'm not going to move in a million years." She protests. She's swiping on her phone. "Sorry my dear, we have to. Your father has got a new job.. and there for we have to move. I'm so sorry, but I'm sure the children there are really nice. We've already found a house!" says Rebbeca. Gray says nothing. Little Annie claps in her hands. Emma looks angry.
"So....this is the house..?" Gray looks to the old, remote building opposite him. "It was very cheap." His mom says. Dad Parker is taking the luggage and heading to the front door. Emma is still sitting in the car, and it looks like she's never going out of there. Gray opens the car door. When he goes out, he accidentally steps on Emma's feet. "AUCH! Stupid jerk, look out." She snarls.
"Sorry... god you're so irritated." says Gray. He walks trough the house. When he goes in, he smells something weird. An old, dusty and weird smell. It's a really big house, black furniture, big stairs, old carpets. And you can't even see what's painted on the paintings?! Gray shudders. "Grayson! I've found your room!" Little Annie runs down the stairs, to Gray. "Come with me! Mommy said this is your room, so if you follow me, you'll know!"
Gray smiles and follows his little sister.
Gray is unpacking his luggage. He's pretty pleased with his room. Fortunately it's not that weird compared to the rest of the house, and that's the only thing he wants. It's also big, just like the other rooms in the house. So he can left his toys here and place his PC and TV. Finally Emma came out the car, and she's walking through the corridor, searching her room. In the course of the day, she gets less cranky. Gray bets it's because of the big house.
In the afternoon mom and dad don't want to cook after that long day, so they offer some pizzas. Everyone is already used to the house. Except Gray. He isn't sure what he has to think about this house. He thinks it's creepy... something's wrong...
That night Gray wakes up by a weird sound. He turns on the light, but there's nothing in his room. Gray yawns, looks around and turns off the light. "What are you doing here?" He suddenly hears. "What the..." Gray quickly turns on the light. "Anybody here?" He says. Silence. He slowly turns off the light again. "You have to go away Gray!" Gray opens his eyes and he sees a girl with torn clothes. She gives light. She looks pretty nice, but she lookes worried. "Why do I have to go... I'm here for less than a day!" Gray says. "It's not save here." The girl says. "This is a haunted house, do you mean?" Gray asks. The girld nods. "If you don't leave, they'll catch you, you and your family, if you don't go...." Then suddenly Gray's door opens. It's his dad. "Grayson Michael Patterson." He says. "People here are trying to SLEEP. You should sleep too. Tomorrow is a new day to explore the house and monday is your first day of school. Don't make a mess of it." His father slams the door. Gray's heart is beating in his throat. He swallows. "I knew something was wrong with this house..." He whispers. After thinking a lot, he finally falls asleep.
'I have to save my little sister. I have to warn my older sister, LOL.' Gray scratches that sentence. "OK, Gray. Now serious." He tells himself. But he can't imagine what to do. That girl said: they'll catch you, you and your family. Who are 'they'? Are they big, small, or what kind of creatures are they actually?! Gray doesn't know what to do. Maybe it was all a joke of his sister. Maybe he dreamed? That the girl wasn't real? Gray throws away his notebook. "I bet there's nothing really to worry about..."
Gray is exploring the house. First his room, of course. He discovers a secret room under his bed, a kind of basement. Maybe he can save his toys there. Wow, what a big room here! It's a little bit smaller than his own room. He keeps his toys in the basement and also other important stuff he doesn't want to lose. Like an old golden ring he got from his grandmother. For the rest he discovers rooms in the house that are not really important. Gray is pleased with the house. "You see Gray, nothing to worry about. You only had a dream about the house because it was the first night you slept here." He tells himself.
In the evening his mom made vegetables. “Ew, I don’t like vegetables.” Gray says. “Me neither.” Little Annie responses. “Guys listen, tomorrow is your first day of school, so you have to be fit.” Their mom says.
That night, Gray has to go to the toilet. It’s dark in the corridor. He takes a flashlight with him. After going to the toilet, he hears a strange sound in the livingroom, that is down the stairs. Gray walks downstairs. “Hello?” He says carefully. He shines with his flashlight. Then he sees a text on the wall opposite him. ‘Welcome in my house, Gray.’ Gray gasps for breath. It’s blood. He’s looking around and runs back to the stairs. A new text on the wall by the stairs: ‘Your sister is so cute when she’s sleeping!’
“Little Annie…” Gray whispers. He runs to Little Annie’s room. Annie doesn’t lay in her bed. “Shit.” Gray goes to his parents, who are sleeping peacefully. “Mom!” He hisses. “Little Annie isn’t sleeping!” Rebbeca wakes up slowly. “Then give her a kiss and tell her to sleep.” She answers. Rebecca turns around and continues sleeping. “Dad!” Gray’s trying to wake up his dad. “Little Annie doesn’t lay in her bed!”
“Grayson, not again. Not like yesterday. You were talking to yourself in the night! And now you’re telling me Little Annie isn’t in her room…Leave us alone, tomorrow is your first day of school!” Gray swallows. He leaves the room. “Annie can’t be that far away.” He says. “Maybe she’s just in Emma’s room. I bet she couldn’t sleep so she went to Em.”
Then, at the end of the corridor, Little Annie’s head lays on the floor. There’s a text on the wall behind the head: ‘Now she’s sleeping. You should thank me.’ Gray’s eyes get bigger. He screames. “Emma! Emma!” He runs to Emma’s room. If he opens the door, he sees Emma. Well, Emma’s feet. With a text behind it on the wall: ‘My feet doesn’t hurt anymore now since you stood on it.’ Gray is getting dizzy. He walkes backward and stumbles. BAM! Moments later Gray wakes up, in his bed. Tied with ropes. He can’t move. He starts biting the ropes. Then he hears a scream. Gray can take the pocket nife out of his pocket. He slices the ropes where he bit them and goes to the corridor. There’s a plate on the ground. He sees two eyeballs, six ears and four noses. ‘Here Grayson, you didn’t like the vegetables so we made another meal for you.’ Grayson screames. He wants to hide. But where? He knows his sister are….
Then he hears a weird sound in the scullery. Slowely he opens the door…..
Two skeletons are looking at him. One of them has got a hat, it’s his father’s hat. The other one got a necklace, his mother’s necklace. “Welcome in my house, Gray.” He hears. “You can’t escape anymore.” Then he hears someone laughing. A dark and deafening laughter. Gray grabs the phone and runs upstairs, to his room. He shelters in the basement under his bed. While he’s crying, he calls 999. “Help me please! My sister are killed just like my parents! I don’t know what to do!” Then he hears someone coming in his room. Gray ends the call and stays as quiet as he can. “Gray! Where are you!” It’s Emma. “Em?” Gray says slowly. “Are you under the bed little brother?” Emma says. “Yeah... are you OK?” Gray responses. “Yes I’m, can I come into there?” Emma askes. Gray says nothing. “OK.” He finally says. Gray hears some rumbling. The hatch opens and Emma comes in. Gray screams.
Emma has no eyes anymore. Her mouth is bigger than it was. Blood dripping from her mouth and her eyes. She has got a knife in her hand. She makes an frightening sound. “She became a zombie...” Gray whispers. “Please don’t kill me, I’m your brother.” Gray cries. Emma laughs, not with her own laugh, but with a dark, frightening laugh. She comes closer to Gray.
Yesterday the police got a call from a crying boy, about 12 years old. The police went to the house immediately. We found two skeletons, a little girl without a head and without fingers and toes. In one of the rooms, in the basement, we found residual limbs of the boy who called the police. We called the family of the boy and they said the boy also had another sister. She isn’t found yet. Of course there will be more research.
"Hey Em, we have to come." Gray walks to his sister's room. "Yo Em." He says a little louder. Emma takes of her earphones. "What?!" She says annoyed. "Let's go downstairs, mom asked us to come." He goes downstairs with Little Annie in his arms. When everyone is downstairs, mother Rebbeca says: "I have to tell you guys that we're going to move. To another town."
"What?!" screames Emma. "No way, I'll stay here. I'm not going to move in a million years." She protests. She's swiping on her phone. "Sorry my dear, we have to. Your father has got a new job.. and there for we have to move. I'm so sorry, but I'm sure the children there are really nice. We've already found a house!" says Rebbeca. Gray says nothing. Little Annie claps in her hands. Emma looks angry.
"So....this is the house..?" Gray looks to the old, remote building opposite him. "It was very cheap." His mom says. Dad Parker is taking the luggage and heading to the front door. Emma is still sitting in the car, and it looks like she's never going out of there. Gray opens the car door. When he goes out, he accidentally steps on Emma's feet. "AUCH! Stupid jerk, look out." She snarls.
"Sorry... god you're so irritated." says Gray. He walks trough the house. When he goes in, he smells something weird. An old, dusty and weird smell. It's a really big house, black furniture, big stairs, old carpets. And you can't even see what's painted on the paintings?! Gray shudders. "Grayson! I've found your room!" Little Annie runs down the stairs, to Gray. "Come with me! Mommy said this is your room, so if you follow me, you'll know!"
Gray smiles and follows his little sister.
Gray is unpacking his luggage. He's pretty pleased with his room. Fortunately it's not that weird compared to the rest of the house, and that's the only thing he wants. It's also big, just like the other rooms in the house. So he can left his toys here and place his PC and TV. Finally Emma came out the car, and she's walking through the corridor, searching her room. In the course of the day, she gets less cranky. Gray bets it's because of the big house.
In the afternoon mom and dad don't want to cook after that long day, so they offer some pizzas. Everyone is already used to the house. Except Gray. He isn't sure what he has to think about this house. He thinks it's creepy... something's wrong...
That night Gray wakes up by a weird sound. He turns on the light, but there's nothing in his room. Gray yawns, looks around and turns off the light. "What are you doing here?" He suddenly hears. "What the..." Gray quickly turns on the light. "Anybody here?" He says. Silence. He slowly turns off the light again. "You have to go away Gray!" Gray opens his eyes and he sees a girl with torn clothes. She gives light. She looks pretty nice, but she lookes worried. "Why do I have to go... I'm here for less than a day!" Gray says. "It's not save here." The girl says. "This is a haunted house, do you mean?" Gray asks. The girld nods. "If you don't leave, they'll catch you, you and your family, if you don't go...." Then suddenly Gray's door opens. It's his dad. "Grayson Michael Patterson." He says. "People here are trying to SLEEP. You should sleep too. Tomorrow is a new day to explore the house and monday is your first day of school. Don't make a mess of it." His father slams the door. Gray's heart is beating in his throat. He swallows. "I knew something was wrong with this house..." He whispers. After thinking a lot, he finally falls asleep.
'I have to save my little sister. I have to warn my older sister, LOL.' Gray scratches that sentence. "OK, Gray. Now serious." He tells himself. But he can't imagine what to do. That girl said: they'll catch you, you and your family. Who are 'they'? Are they big, small, or what kind of creatures are they actually?! Gray doesn't know what to do. Maybe it was all a joke of his sister. Maybe he dreamed? That the girl wasn't real? Gray throws away his notebook. "I bet there's nothing really to worry about..."
Gray is exploring the house. First his room, of course. He discovers a secret room under his bed, a kind of basement. Maybe he can save his toys there. Wow, what a big room here! It's a little bit smaller than his own room. He keeps his toys in the basement and also other important stuff he doesn't want to lose. Like an old golden ring he got from his grandmother. For the rest he discovers rooms in the house that are not really important. Gray is pleased with the house. "You see Gray, nothing to worry about. You only had a dream about the house because it was the first night you slept here." He tells himself.
In the evening his mom made vegetables. “Ew, I don’t like vegetables.” Gray says. “Me neither.” Little Annie responses. “Guys listen, tomorrow is your first day of school, so you have to be fit.” Their mom says.
That night, Gray has to go to the toilet. It’s dark in the corridor. He takes a flashlight with him. After going to the toilet, he hears a strange sound in the livingroom, that is down the stairs. Gray walks downstairs. “Hello?” He says carefully. He shines with his flashlight. Then he sees a text on the wall opposite him. ‘Welcome in my house, Gray.’ Gray gasps for breath. It’s blood. He’s looking around and runs back to the stairs. A new text on the wall by the stairs: ‘Your sister is so cute when she’s sleeping!’
“Little Annie…” Gray whispers. He runs to Little Annie’s room. Annie doesn’t lay in her bed. “Shit.” Gray goes to his parents, who are sleeping peacefully. “Mom!” He hisses. “Little Annie isn’t sleeping!” Rebbeca wakes up slowly. “Then give her a kiss and tell her to sleep.” She answers. Rebecca turns around and continues sleeping. “Dad!” Gray’s trying to wake up his dad. “Little Annie doesn’t lay in her bed!”
“Grayson, not again. Not like yesterday. You were talking to yourself in the night! And now you’re telling me Little Annie isn’t in her room…Leave us alone, tomorrow is your first day of school!” Gray swallows. He leaves the room. “Annie can’t be that far away.” He says. “Maybe she’s just in Emma’s room. I bet she couldn’t sleep so she went to Em.”
Then, at the end of the corridor, Little Annie’s head lays on the floor. There’s a text on the wall behind the head: ‘Now she’s sleeping. You should thank me.’ Gray’s eyes get bigger. He screames. “Emma! Emma!” He runs to Emma’s room. If he opens the door, he sees Emma. Well, Emma’s feet. With a text behind it on the wall: ‘My feet doesn’t hurt anymore now since you stood on it.’ Gray is getting dizzy. He walkes backward and stumbles. BAM! Moments later Gray wakes up, in his bed. Tied with ropes. He can’t move. He starts biting the ropes. Then he hears a scream. Gray can take the pocket nife out of his pocket. He slices the ropes where he bit them and goes to the corridor. There’s a plate on the ground. He sees two eyeballs, six ears and four noses. ‘Here Grayson, you didn’t like the vegetables so we made another meal for you.’ Grayson screames. He wants to hide. But where? He knows his sister are….
Then he hears a weird sound in the scullery. Slowely he opens the door…..
Two skeletons are looking at him. One of them has got a hat, it’s his father’s hat. The other one got a necklace, his mother’s necklace. “Welcome in my house, Gray.” He hears. “You can’t escape anymore.” Then he hears someone laughing. A dark and deafening laughter. Gray grabs the phone and runs upstairs, to his room. He shelters in the basement under his bed. While he’s crying, he calls 999. “Help me please! My sister are killed just like my parents! I don’t know what to do!” Then he hears someone coming in his room. Gray ends the call and stays as quiet as he can. “Gray! Where are you!” It’s Emma. “Em?” Gray says slowly. “Are you under the bed little brother?” Emma says. “Yeah... are you OK?” Gray responses. “Yes I’m, can I come into there?” Emma askes. Gray says nothing. “OK.” He finally says. Gray hears some rumbling. The hatch opens and Emma comes in. Gray screams.
Emma has no eyes anymore. Her mouth is bigger than it was. Blood dripping from her mouth and her eyes. She has got a knife in her hand. She makes an frightening sound. “She became a zombie...” Gray whispers. “Please don’t kill me, I’m your brother.” Gray cries. Emma laughs, not with her own laugh, but with a dark, frightening laugh. She comes closer to Gray.
Yesterday the police got a call from a crying boy, about 12 years old. The police went to the house immediately. We found two skeletons, a little girl without a head and without fingers and toes. In one of the rooms, in the basement, we found residual limbs of the boy who called the police. We called the family of the boy and they said the boy also had another sister. She isn’t found yet. Of course there will be more research.
One day, me and my friend, IndigoManiac83, were searching the internet for a Minecraft server to play on. After a while of searching and seeing all the same servers we had played on before, we found one we had never before seen. It was called Cubecraft Games.
It seemed normal besides the fact it had popped up in a pop-up window. "Come and play all your favourite games Mine craft free!!! Multi playar, Parcour, Skywars, and MORE!!! ABSOLUTELY FREE!!! 100℅ virus-free!!!" it read. In the upper corner was a blue cube, probably the server's logo. At the bottom of the window was the server's IP and website URL. Thinking it looked like fun, me and Indigo went onto Minecraft and entered the IP, not knowing we had made the biggest mistakes in our lives...
Loading up the the server, there were no other players at all around that we could see. There were signs pointing in different directions all around us which had the names of different games and other activities.The only game we were looking for was Parkour, and even though the server ad had promised it, there was no sign for the Parkour. We checked through all the signs several times and still no sign of Parkour. When we turned back around, a player stood before us.
The player's username was @Efcluke94. The name was colored a dark, blood-like red. His skin was that of a smiling gingerbread man. "H-hello? We're looking for the Parkour, sir..." me and Indigo spluttered to the player.
"Parkour, eh? We closed that down a while ago due to..." he paused, and laughed the creepiest laugh me and IndigoManiac had ever heard. "Well, you kids best be going to find another game to play. I recommend the Skywars." He laughed again, and pushed us towards the sign for Skywars. He then ran off and after a while we could no longer see him.
"Oh well, I've never heard of this game before, maybe it will be fun! Let's try it." I said to Indigo. We headed in the direction the arrow on the sign was pointing, and ended up on a small, floating island after crossing a long bridge. When we turned back around, the bridge was gone, leaving us stranded on the floating island.
As we looked around us, there were other islands of the same nature circling ours. There were no other players around. Suddenly, a countdown from 5 appeared on-screen. Once it reached 1, the text then read "Welcome to the Underworld."
The sky turned a Crimson, dark red. Random symbols started cluttering up both me and Indigo's screens. Other players suddenly appeared on the islands. An orange, tiger-like creature in a suit. Another tiger creature of the same nature but blue and in a prisoner outfit. Various humans in different outfits. The gingerbread guy from earlier. And they were all carrying weapons that didn't exist in Vanilla Minecraft. Morningstars, chainsaws, nooses.
The players suddenly started floating slowly toward us off their islands, as if they were in Creative mode but going much slower. Me and Indigo frantically tried to comprehend what was happening and what to do. "The games have begun, can you survive?" read on-screen text. Me and Indigo burrowed into our island and covered ourselves. The players were getting very close.
Suddenly, the players came straight through our island and were just inches from us. As they neared closer, a photo suddenly appeared on our screens. It was an IRL photo of me and Indigo, but heavily mutilated and hanging by nooses. Me and Indigo quickly hit the X on the corner of our screens, and the game closed. The crash log came up, and was filled with random repeating symbols. Me and Indigo were too frightened to go back.
Curious, after Indigo went back to her house, I entered the URL for the server's website. An error message appeared on the page. It said that the website did not exist and never existed. I went back to the server list and found a normal server to play on by myself. I have not seen the Cubecraft Games server or the pop-up window ever since, and neither has Indigo.
It seemed normal besides the fact it had popped up in a pop-up window. "Come and play all your favourite games Mine craft free!!! Multi playar, Parcour, Skywars, and MORE!!! ABSOLUTELY FREE!!! 100℅ virus-free!!!" it read. In the upper corner was a blue cube, probably the server's logo. At the bottom of the window was the server's IP and website URL. Thinking it looked like fun, me and Indigo went onto Minecraft and entered the IP, not knowing we had made the biggest mistakes in our lives...
Loading up the the server, there were no other players at all around that we could see. There were signs pointing in different directions all around us which had the names of different games and other activities.The only game we were looking for was Parkour, and even though the server ad had promised it, there was no sign for the Parkour. We checked through all the signs several times and still no sign of Parkour. When we turned back around, a player stood before us.
The player's username was @Efcluke94. The name was colored a dark, blood-like red. His skin was that of a smiling gingerbread man. "H-hello? We're looking for the Parkour, sir..." me and Indigo spluttered to the player.
"Parkour, eh? We closed that down a while ago due to..." he paused, and laughed the creepiest laugh me and IndigoManiac had ever heard. "Well, you kids best be going to find another game to play. I recommend the Skywars." He laughed again, and pushed us towards the sign for Skywars. He then ran off and after a while we could no longer see him.
"Oh well, I've never heard of this game before, maybe it will be fun! Let's try it." I said to Indigo. We headed in the direction the arrow on the sign was pointing, and ended up on a small, floating island after crossing a long bridge. When we turned back around, the bridge was gone, leaving us stranded on the floating island.
As we looked around us, there were other islands of the same nature circling ours. There were no other players around. Suddenly, a countdown from 5 appeared on-screen. Once it reached 1, the text then read "Welcome to the Underworld."
The sky turned a Crimson, dark red. Random symbols started cluttering up both me and Indigo's screens. Other players suddenly appeared on the islands. An orange, tiger-like creature in a suit. Another tiger creature of the same nature but blue and in a prisoner outfit. Various humans in different outfits. The gingerbread guy from earlier. And they were all carrying weapons that didn't exist in Vanilla Minecraft. Morningstars, chainsaws, nooses.
The players suddenly started floating slowly toward us off their islands, as if they were in Creative mode but going much slower. Me and Indigo frantically tried to comprehend what was happening and what to do. "The games have begun, can you survive?" read on-screen text. Me and Indigo burrowed into our island and covered ourselves. The players were getting very close.
Suddenly, the players came straight through our island and were just inches from us. As they neared closer, a photo suddenly appeared on our screens. It was an IRL photo of me and Indigo, but heavily mutilated and hanging by nooses. Me and Indigo quickly hit the X on the corner of our screens, and the game closed. The crash log came up, and was filled with random repeating symbols. Me and Indigo were too frightened to go back.
Curious, after Indigo went back to her house, I entered the URL for the server's website. An error message appeared on the page. It said that the website did not exist and never existed. I went back to the server list and found a normal server to play on by myself. I have not seen the Cubecraft Games server or the pop-up window ever since, and neither has Indigo.
As Soul walked through the gates of the server guards into the server “CubeCraft”, she stared out at the lobby, taking-in its breath-taking beauty, she thought “Wow, the builders have really outdone their selves this Christmas”. Soul walked over to the huge portal labeled “GAMES”. Soul hated walking through portals, they made her nauseous and dizzy. Soul slowly stepped in, trying to stay on her feet so she did not fall down from dizziness. Soul got teleported to Lucky Islands. She had been obsessed with it ever since. But Soul did not go Lucky Islands, Instead she went to Skywars. Soul looked at all the choices of maps. Trees, flowers, snowmen. Snowmen! That reminded her of Christmas. Tomorrow was Christmas, she could not wait to open up her presents and see what goodies were inside. But Soul heard a strange rumble... RUMMBBLLEEE....it came again...louder this time, RUUUMMMBBBBLEEEEE. “What was that!?” everyone in the Skywars lobby yelled. Soul decided to just go to the lobby and see what it was about. Soul teleported to the lobby, and saw something strange, a crowd of people were staring at the wall, yelling over each other. Soul ran over to someone. “What is the fuss about?” Soul asked. The person replied with “Apparently there is a leak in the wall, but I don’t believe it.” Soul quickly ran over to the crowd and budged through everyone, eager to see what this leak was about. She finally got to the front of the crowd. “Wow! That leak is huge!” There was a huge crack in the wall, with some water coming out. Soul heard a loud and clear voice shoot out through the lobby. “Players of Cubecraft! Do not panic! Me and the admins will see what this leak is about!” Must be the owner, Soul thought. An admin flew over to the crack and asked everyone to step back. The admin gently banged on the crack. He banged harder on it. The crack quickly became bigger the harder he banged on it. The crack started to leak more...lots of water drained out from the crack. Everyone started to walk back, some even ran. Then finally.... WHOOOSHHH! The crack had became huge and water was pouring out from it as quick as lightning. There was screaming and shouting people everywhere. Soul started to run to high ground, but the water was up to her knees now and it was almost impossible to swiftly get to a higher ground without having the water rise up to their chests. The water kept gushing from the crack and from every corner you could hear shouting and cries for help. Soul was about to use her compass to teleport away but the compass was soaked in water and would not work no matter how hard she tried. Soul started to swim towards the “GAMES” portal. The “GAMES” portal was really close to the crack, so she was pretty much trying to swim upstream. The water was pushing at her face, and she was swallowing a lot of water, her legs and arms started to get tired and she weakly tried to swim to the portal. An idea suddenly hit her. “The gates!” she remembered. “Everyone swim towards the gates! Its safer there!” Soul yelled. Someone else yelled back to her “We can’t! The water is too strong and it’s up to our chests now! If we try swimming to the gates we will drown!” Soul saw that the persons face looked as if he had just figured out he was in a dream. “I have an idea!” he yelled. “Everyone swim towards where the water is pushing us, and once it hits a wall, grab the wall and do not move!” Soul saw that at least 60 people had heard him and were following his instructions. Others who had not heard just followed the others. Soul decided to do what he said, but she thought “What would we do after?”. She didn’t ask anymore questions and just swam downstream. When she got to the end, she noticed the water just stopped at a wall and most people were holding onto the wall. Soul grabbed the wall, slippery, but dry enough to hold onto it. The water was at out necks now and Soul realized that the guy who had told us the instructions was saying something again. Soul couldn’t here all of it but she heard “Sunset.....ladder....with eachother.....careful. Soul asked the person beside her what he said. They replied with “He told us to create a ladder up to the high ground up there” They pointed up, where there was a cliff. It wasn’t too up high. Soul asked “A ladder out of what?” “Ourselves of course!” Soul saw that everyone started to climb onto each others necks and standing on them. “Strongest people will be part of the ladder!” The guy yelled. The “Human ladder” was reaching up to the cliff and people started to climb it. Soul swam over to it and climbed the ladder faster then she ever had. She got up to the cliff where she could see other people climbing up the ladder. Soul stared at the flooded lobby. It was all flooded with water...buildings broken, portal damaged, everything was gone. Finally when everyone got up we all helped the people who were part of the ladder up onto the cliff. Everyone stared in silence at the horror of the lobby. She was soaking wet. People coughed up water and lay their heads on other peoples shoulders. Soul realized the person who told us the instructions was an admin. Soul asked “Couldn’t you have flown away? Since you’re an admin and all”. He replied with “Admin powers don’t work in water, especially when you don’t want to abandon all these people.” The look on his face was completely just grief. We had lost our lobby, and lots of people. Soul felt it too. Suddenly, a loud voice rumbled through the loud water and lobby. “Survivors of Cubecraft! Please head to the gates. We have drained that area and put a border so no water can get in it. Everyone started to trek to the gates, slowly but surely. Soul heard people mumble as they walked “On Christmas Eve...why on this day?” Soul stared up into the sky. It was twilight and stars were just starting to show. Soul looked down at where the gates were. It was at least a 20 minute walk down. So they all walked slowly and glumly to the gates....
When they got there, they were greeted by the owner and a few admins. “Just through here” an admin said. “Oh and also, please go through the sixth door in the 4th lane of servers. There will be a different server greeting us. We will all stay there while the builders repair the lobby.” Everyone just walked through without saying a word. We all walked through the door. A guy with a nametag labeled “Pippet” greeted us. “He must be the owner” Soul thought. He lead us through the lobby into a forest. Soul could see lights up ahead. “Was that a campfire?” Soul thought. As they got closer she realized it was. Pippet showed us all camps we could stay in. He lead us down to the campfire to get warm. Soul sat down by a guy named “Alex”, Alex said “I’m sorry about what happened to your lobby”. “It’s alright...” Soul replied. “I still don’t understand what caused the flood.” Soul thought hard but she could not think of a reason. She was too tired. Alex said “It’s Christmas tomorrow, we will all be giving out gifts to eachother.” “Gifts!” Soul thought. She did not have any gift to give to anyone. Soul felt even more worse then she already was. Alex kept asking Soul questions. “How did your lobby look?” “What games were there?” “What you wanted for Christmas”. Soul said she wanted her friend back. Her friend, Jessica, back when the water was going absolutely crazy, she lost sight of her when the water first started to pour out of the crack. She couldn’t see her anywhere in the camp. “Well” Alex said “I hope tomorrow will be a great Christmas for you”. “I hope so too” Soul whispered to herself.
When she woke up, she noticed everyone from the other server was exchanging gifts to the Cubecraft people. Soul turned around and saw Alex with a small present in his hand. He handed it to her and said “Merry Christmas.” and smiled. Soul unwrapped the box and saw a note in it. In neat handwriting, it said “I can’t give you your friend, but I can give you a friend.” Soul smiled at the sweet note and tucked it safely into her pocket. She looked at the gift inside. There were two small doves carved out of amethyst. She picked one up and stared at the amazing beauty. Alex said “As long as two people have a dove, they will be friends forever”. Soul stared wide-eyed at Alex and the doves. “Thank you so much!” Soul almost teared up at the amazing gift. Alex took one of the doves and put it into his box. “Now we are going to be friends forever”.
When they got there, they were greeted by the owner and a few admins. “Just through here” an admin said. “Oh and also, please go through the sixth door in the 4th lane of servers. There will be a different server greeting us. We will all stay there while the builders repair the lobby.” Everyone just walked through without saying a word. We all walked through the door. A guy with a nametag labeled “Pippet” greeted us. “He must be the owner” Soul thought. He lead us through the lobby into a forest. Soul could see lights up ahead. “Was that a campfire?” Soul thought. As they got closer she realized it was. Pippet showed us all camps we could stay in. He lead us down to the campfire to get warm. Soul sat down by a guy named “Alex”, Alex said “I’m sorry about what happened to your lobby”. “It’s alright...” Soul replied. “I still don’t understand what caused the flood.” Soul thought hard but she could not think of a reason. She was too tired. Alex said “It’s Christmas tomorrow, we will all be giving out gifts to eachother.” “Gifts!” Soul thought. She did not have any gift to give to anyone. Soul felt even more worse then she already was. Alex kept asking Soul questions. “How did your lobby look?” “What games were there?” “What you wanted for Christmas”. Soul said she wanted her friend back. Her friend, Jessica, back when the water was going absolutely crazy, she lost sight of her when the water first started to pour out of the crack. She couldn’t see her anywhere in the camp. “Well” Alex said “I hope tomorrow will be a great Christmas for you”. “I hope so too” Soul whispered to herself.
When she woke up, she noticed everyone from the other server was exchanging gifts to the Cubecraft people. Soul turned around and saw Alex with a small present in his hand. He handed it to her and said “Merry Christmas.” and smiled. Soul unwrapped the box and saw a note in it. In neat handwriting, it said “I can’t give you your friend, but I can give you a friend.” Soul smiled at the sweet note and tucked it safely into her pocket. She looked at the gift inside. There were two small doves carved out of amethyst. She picked one up and stared at the amazing beauty. Alex said “As long as two people have a dove, they will be friends forever”. Soul stared wide-eyed at Alex and the doves. “Thank you so much!” Soul almost teared up at the amazing gift. Alex took one of the doves and put it into his box. “Now we are going to be friends forever”.
These were some stories you could read to get inspired. Although you could base your story on one of these, stay original please! Nobody likes to read a boring, unoriginal story.
Also, keep in mind that choosing what kind of story you'd like to write should depend on the pre-chosen theme. If a moderator hosts a horror story competition, you shouldn't write a story about holidays. May that be clear.
You've thought of ideas, you've made a selection of them, and you've selected a certain kind of story. But you're not even halfway yet! Writing the story will take a lot of time, and could take several days or maybe even days. But that's not a big problem, as long as you write a cool story! As I've said, when you are writing a story, a lot of ideas will basically pop up in your head during the process. That is a very good thing! Now, I will explain how I write my stories.
- I begin by thinking of possible ideas, just like I've explained on the first part of my thread. I do this by relaxing and just letting the ideas pop up. Take your time for this!
- If I've 'collected' ideas, the time has come to make a small draft. This is not the definitive version, so you can change a lot.
- So, I've collected ideas and I've made a small draft. Now it's time for me to think of a character. What's their name? What's their behaviour? What does his family (at home) look like? Ask yourself those things and you'll see it isn't that hard.
- After I've decided what kind of story I want it to be, I start writing the final version of the story in a Google Document. I do this because Google Documents makes an autosave after every change, so you'll never lose the story you put so much effort into.
- When I've finished my story, I read it properly. And not once, but twice. I do this to detect mistakes in my stories, because I want a perfect story. Sometimes I read a story and think like 'Hey that sentence is not right', so I change it. It takes some time but it's worth it, so I recommend you to proofread your stories once or twice!
- After I've succesfully edited all mistakes, I copy+paste my story into a comment on the story competition thread. Then I've got to wait until the winners are announced!
Extra information: I like to write 'detailed' stories. I try to avoid too much dialogues because I don't know what to put into them really. I want to explain what's around the character, what they are doing, what they feel like, etc.
Nothing is right or wrong, because some people don't like things like dialogues and some people do.
A guide is no guide without some extra tips and tricks! Here are some I use.
Nothing is right or wrong, because some people don't like things like dialogues and some people do.
A guide is no guide without some extra tips and tricks! Here are some I use.
- Listen to music! You can decide what kind of music you'd like to listen to. I mostly listen to calm songs by artists ike Post Malone and other Dutch rappers. Music could really inspire you to write something great!
- Ask someone else to proofread your story! 4 eyes see more than 2 eyes (Dutch saying) and help is always a good thing. Although you could have to edit a huge part of the story, another one's view is always necessary, because a friend could see things you don't.
- Get youself some snacks and a drink. As I said above, writing stories is a very time-consuming job so you better get yourself some consumables before you have to leave your keyboard and lose your inspiration!
- Take a break every now and then. Your brain and body need to relax after an hour of constant writing. Do something you like, like playing music or a sport.
- Use other stories as a source of inspiration! There's nothing wrong with that, as long as you don't copy anything.
That's it from me now! Thank you very much for reading and have a great day,
Sheep
