FiB (original) (raw)

(no subject)	[Jan. 23rd, 2006\|10:46 am]Tall Tales
“You never forget your first.” James remembered what the chief had told him after his first death. There was a terrible car accident and 5 minutes after the flatline, James was still pumping the man’s chest with all his energy. In the presence of death, even the most logical terra firma doctor felt the chill of a different world opening the portal for a new member to enter into. Today, Dr. Channing woke up with an uneasy feeling that only grew stronger as he entered the hospital. Someone is going to die today. He paid special attention to all his patients, looked over everyone’s medical records twice, and called his mother; everything was fine. Then she had walked in, the gorgeous accent with haunting sad eyes.Dr. Channing heard his name was being paged overhead, ordering him to the Neurology floor. As soon as he came out of the elevator, the charge nurse informed him that Charles was missing. No one saw anything and Theresa was pacing the hallway in front of Charles’ uninhabited room. “Who is she?” James asked. “Charles’ ex-wife,” answers an accented voice from behind. James looks around to see Maggie walking towards the empty room with Tristan in her arms.
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(no subject)

[Jan. 23rd, 2006|10:46 am]Tall Tales

“You never forget your first.” James remembered what the chief had told him after his first death. There was a terrible car accident and 5 minutes after the flatline, James was still pumping the man’s chest with all his energy. In the presence of death, even the most logical terra firma doctor felt the chill of a different world opening the portal for a new member to enter into. Today, Dr. Channing woke up with an uneasy feeling that only grew stronger as he entered the hospital. Someone is going to die today. He paid special attention to all his patients, looked over everyone’s medical records twice, and called his mother; everything was fine. Then she had walked in, the gorgeous accent with haunting sad eyes.Dr. Channing heard his name was being paged overhead, ordering him to the Neurology floor. As soon as he came out of the elevator, the charge nurse informed him that Charles was missing. No one saw anything and Theresa was pacing the hallway in front of Charles’ uninhabited room. “Who is she?” James asked. “Charles’ ex-wife,” answers an accented voice from behind. James looks around to see Maggie walking towards the empty room with Tristan in her arms.

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(no subject)	[Jan. 4th, 2006\|03:01 pm]Tall Tales
"It is okay. I was a friend of Roger's." Hearing his father's name, Charles turned to face the stranger. The waning strains of sunlight filtering through the blinds made it difficult to make out her face. She stepped cautiously forward, into the dim lamplight. "Do you remember me? I was at the funeral." She had strong Mediterranean features that did not seem immediately familiar but evoked long undisturbed memories which he couldn't quite place. "Yes. I remember now. You were there, across from me, in the second row.""Good. You remember. The blow to your head hasn't robbed you of your most precious asset."Charles moved his hand to the bandage on his head. "Did you?""No. That was another. But there is little time to explain. Your family is in danger. Can you walk?" She proffered her hand to him. He reached out and, touching it, thought of a night long ago, his parents' laughter, and that of a third. "My name is Elaina." She grasped his hand and helped him out of bed. He stood there for a moment, testing his legs and then remembered something else."There was someone at the funeral with you. A man.""Yes, Jason. He is watching over your newborn. We must go quickly."
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Meanwhile,	[Dec. 30th, 2005\|01:24 am]Tall Tales
Charles woke with a start in his dimly lit room. He experienced a brief moment of panic before realizing he was in a hospital, inferring what had probably happened since he had last lost consciousness. For the first time in months, he felt at peace. And despite his recent head injury, his mind was clear and unencumbered.He wondered how his beloved wife and child - children, he corrected himself - were. He marveled that he could have discarded them so easily. It was as though a fog had suddenly rolled in one day eleven months ago, obscuring the very people and things which had always been so important to him - one that had lifted as suddenly as it had come with the reading of the letter.He stretched his arms. He felt free.He played the contents of the letter through his mind, sifting through the words until they jogged an old memory. It was a conversation between his parents he had overheard as a young child. He paused a moment, making the obvious connection. Suddenly, he understood how the family curse had come to be. And he knew what he had to do. Testing his strength, he prepared to lift himself out of bed. The creak of a chair released of its occupant made him freeze. He was not alone.
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Maggie's charge	[Dec. 28th, 2005\|04:23 pm]Tall Tales
“Help me! Somebody tell me where my baby is! Where is he?” Theresa was hysterical and screaming at the nurses who rushed in to see what the commotion was all about. “What is going on in here?” bellows the head nurse, Ms. Betsy Gale. Her large frame and strict manner commands the attention of everyone in the room and Theresa instantly calms down to explain her newborn’s disappearance. Rolling her eyes and not hiding her annoyance, Nurse Gale explains that Tristan was taken back to the Nursery until Theresa awoke. Down the hall, Maggie emerges from her restroom stall in a trancelike state. She carefully washes her hands, splashes water on her face, practices smiling in front of the mirror, and gives her hair one last disheveling toss before leaving the W.C. She passes Dr. Channing who is reviewing a record; their eyes meet over his clipboard and she gives him a subtle look that would distract any young man in his prime. Quickly, she scans the hospital signs toward the Nursery. Her flashbacks in the loo sporadically revealed to her the events that happened to Charles in his attic. In her vision, Maggie realized the plans of Cassandra Latham, the wise woman of Cornwall. The head witch required the sacred life water of Charles’ kin and this task was Maggie’s charge. Cassandra needs Tristan’s blood, all of it.
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Maggie's charge

[Dec. 28th, 2005|04:23 pm]Tall Tales

“Help me! Somebody tell me where my baby is! Where is he?” Theresa was hysterical and screaming at the nurses who rushed in to see what the commotion was all about. “What is going on in here?” bellows the head nurse, Ms. Betsy Gale. Her large frame and strict manner commands the attention of everyone in the room and Theresa instantly calms down to explain her newborn’s disappearance. Rolling her eyes and not hiding her annoyance, Nurse Gale explains that Tristan was taken back to the Nursery until Theresa awoke. Down the hall, Maggie emerges from her restroom stall in a trancelike state. She carefully washes her hands, splashes water on her face, practices smiling in front of the mirror, and gives her hair one last disheveling toss before leaving the W.C. She passes Dr. Channing who is reviewing a record; their eyes meet over his clipboard and she gives him a subtle look that would distract any young man in his prime. Quickly, she scans the hospital signs toward the Nursery. Her flashbacks in the loo sporadically revealed to her the events that happened to Charles in his attic. In her vision, Maggie realized the plans of Cassandra Latham, the wise woman of Cornwall. The head witch required the sacred life water of Charles’ kin and this task was Maggie’s charge. Cassandra needs Tristan’s blood, all of it.

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Sorry Jina, gotta keep this going.	[Dec. 27th, 2005\|10:30 am]Tall Tales
Dr. Channing stood for a moment looking at the door to the women's bathroom. She's cute alright. James was a sucker for British women; he had been ever since he did that one year stint in London several years ago. A little on the crazy side though. Or maybe I'm just tired. James had been at the hospital for 12 hours now, which wasn't unusually bad, but he had already had two 30-hour shifts in the ER in the past week and he was looking forward to some time away from dealing with life or death issues. He shook the fog from his head and moved off to Radiology to check on those x-rays he had ordered.Theresa lay in the darkened room next to her newborn, Tristan. Theresa's face was a portrait of exhaustion painted in dried tears. He mother had just left after lecturing her for over an hour about her good-for-nothing-husband Charles. It wasn't enough that he had admitted to her that he had had an affair, he had the gall to leave her not more than an hour out of delivery. She could only assume that he had gone off to see that woman, Maggie. She was more frustrated than furious, they had drifted so far apart in the last year, she found it difficult to care at all what he did. She looked over at Tristan, sleeping soundly in the infant bed, before succumbing to fatigue.When she awoke again, not more than half an hour later, she screamed. The infant bed was empty; Tristan was gone.
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Sorry Jina, gotta keep this going.

[Dec. 27th, 2005|10:30 am]Tall Tales

Dr. Channing stood for a moment looking at the door to the women's bathroom. She's cute alright. James was a sucker for British women; he had been ever since he did that one year stint in London several years ago. A little on the crazy side though. Or maybe I'm just tired. James had been at the hospital for 12 hours now, which wasn't unusually bad, but he had already had two 30-hour shifts in the ER in the past week and he was looking forward to some time away from dealing with life or death issues. He shook the fog from his head and moved off to Radiology to check on those x-rays he had ordered.Theresa lay in the darkened room next to her newborn, Tristan. Theresa's face was a portrait of exhaustion painted in dried tears. He mother had just left after lecturing her for over an hour about her good-for-nothing-husband Charles. It wasn't enough that he had admitted to her that he had had an affair, he had the gall to leave her not more than an hour out of delivery. She could only assume that he had gone off to see that woman, Maggie. She was more frustrated than furious, they had drifted so far apart in the last year, she found it difficult to care at all what he did. She looked over at Tristan, sleeping soundly in the infant bed, before succumbing to fatigue.When she awoke again, not more than half an hour later, she screamed. The infant bed was empty; Tristan was gone.

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More than 6-7 sentences when the story is so melancholy/dramatic	[Dec. 23rd, 2005\|10:42 am]Tall Tales
Maggie was hardly unattractive, and she retained the youthful look of her mid-twenties despite her thirty-seven years. Dr. James Channing, who had just recently completed his residency and had yet to see the older side of thirty, was hardly oblivious to her physical charms, and so he detoured to see if she might need any assistance. Or a date, since he was nearing the end of his emergency room shift. He could, he decided, certainly use a bit of companionship, especially after the last week.Maggie tried to think quickly; she needed to be alone and sort things out. Ever since her bout of depression and membership in the Witches of Cornwall cult, she had frequently had episodes of confusion, after which her memory was always a bit ratty, and today was no exception. So she asked for the nearest loo, and was obliged to think she would be able to examine the contents of her pocket once she was in the privacy of her own stall.After entering the W.C., she immediately entered the last empty stall and locked the door, sitting on the toilet before extracting her bloody hand. She gasped. She was holding a small, silver orb marked with intricate Celtic designs. She had seen these before.She covered her mouth with her unbloodied hand and began to weep.
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More than 6-7 sentences when the story is so melancholy/dramatic

[Dec. 23rd, 2005|10:42 am]Tall Tales

Maggie was hardly unattractive, and she retained the youthful look of her mid-twenties despite her thirty-seven years. Dr. James Channing, who had just recently completed his residency and had yet to see the older side of thirty, was hardly oblivious to her physical charms, and so he detoured to see if she might need any assistance. Or a date, since he was nearing the end of his emergency room shift. He could, he decided, certainly use a bit of companionship, especially after the last week.Maggie tried to think quickly; she needed to be alone and sort things out. Ever since her bout of depression and membership in the Witches of Cornwall cult, she had frequently had episodes of confusion, after which her memory was always a bit ratty, and today was no exception. So she asked for the nearest loo, and was obliged to think she would be able to examine the contents of her pocket once she was in the privacy of her own stall.After entering the W.C., she immediately entered the last empty stall and locked the door, sitting on the toilet before extracting her bloody hand. She gasped. She was holding a small, silver orb marked with intricate Celtic designs. She had seen these before.She covered her mouth with her unbloodied hand and began to weep.

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Untangling the story lines (apologizes on the length)	[Dec. 22nd, 2005\|08:52 am]Tall Tales
Maggie's thoughts struggled for coherence as she walked down the sterile corridor. What the hell is going on? She had arrived in the States a little less than a year ago to take a job and a law firm in Chicago. It wasn't long after she had started that she had met Charles. It was at the Christmas party and she was properly smashed when one of the partners introduced them. After a few more drinks and about an hour's worth of forgettable conversation, they ended up checking into a room in the hotel. She left hastily in the morning and it wasn't until she had started engaging in some light gossip around the office that Monday morning that she realized he was married. Charles' wife, Theresa, had been at home taking care of their toddler, Benjamin, that night. When Maggie confronted Charles with this, he broke down and started crying. His marriage was crumbling. They had married much too young and with a little one and another one on the way, it was too much strain on the relationship. He had thought about getting a divorce, but with two kids to raise, had been out of the question. Maggie wasn't sure anymore how a one-night stand had become an affair, but over the months she had grown very fond of Charles. They had often talked about him one day getting a divorce and moving to a new city and starting over. Charles had been very close to coming clean with his wife about the entire affair and asking for a divorce when his father passed away.The funeral was a disaster. Not moments after the casket had been lowered into the ground a fight broke out among the three half siblings over the sizable inheritance. Under so much emotional strain and with a half-empty whisky flask in his pocket, Charles had hastily admitted his affair to Theresa. The shock of it all must have done it, because it was then that her water broke and they rushed quickly to the hospital. How did I ge here? To be in a hospital with a dying boyfriend, his wife and newborn child in the maternity ward, his other child suddenly stricken with a mysterious ailment? Her hand slipped idly into her coat pocket and caressed the smooth metallic shape there. She stopped abruptly. Wait. What is...? She pulled her hand out and saw her fingertips were covered in blood. A sudden stream of images flashed in her mind. Standing over Charles. Dragging the chest down the stairs. Placing the chest in the trunk of the car. "Excuse me, miss." She wheeled around quickly, shoving her bloodied hand in her pocket. It was that doctor, James. "Are you lost?"
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Untangling the story lines (apologizes on the length)

[Dec. 22nd, 2005|08:52 am]Tall Tales

Maggie's thoughts struggled for coherence as she walked down the sterile corridor. What the hell is going on? She had arrived in the States a little less than a year ago to take a job and a law firm in Chicago. It wasn't long after she had started that she had met Charles. It was at the Christmas party and she was properly smashed when one of the partners introduced them. After a few more drinks and about an hour's worth of forgettable conversation, they ended up checking into a room in the hotel. She left hastily in the morning and it wasn't until she had started engaging in some light gossip around the office that Monday morning that she realized he was married. Charles' wife, Theresa, had been at home taking care of their toddler, Benjamin, that night. When Maggie confronted Charles with this, he broke down and started crying. His marriage was crumbling. They had married much too young and with a little one and another one on the way, it was too much strain on the relationship. He had thought about getting a divorce, but with two kids to raise, had been out of the question. Maggie wasn't sure anymore how a one-night stand had become an affair, but over the months she had grown very fond of Charles. They had often talked about him one day getting a divorce and moving to a new city and starting over. Charles had been very close to coming clean with his wife about the entire affair and asking for a divorce when his father passed away.The funeral was a disaster. Not moments after the casket had been lowered into the ground a fight broke out among the three half siblings over the sizable inheritance. Under so much emotional strain and with a half-empty whisky flask in his pocket, Charles had hastily admitted his affair to Theresa. The shock of it all must have done it, because it was then that her water broke and they rushed quickly to the hospital. How did I ge here? To be in a hospital with a dying boyfriend, his wife and newborn child in the maternity ward, his other child suddenly stricken with a mysterious ailment? Her hand slipped idly into her coat pocket and caressed the smooth metallic shape there. She stopped abruptly. Wait. What is...? She pulled her hand out and saw her fingertips were covered in blood. A sudden stream of images flashed in her mind. Standing over Charles. Dragging the chest down the stairs. Placing the chest in the trunk of the car. "Excuse me, miss." She wheeled around quickly, shoving her bloodied hand in her pocket. It was that doctor, James. "Are you lost?"

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New Chapter - Family Ties	[Dec. 21st, 2005\|08:53 pm]Tall Tales
The alternating frequencies of the ambulance sirens startled his fading spirit - noise reserved for certain disaster and danger brings ironic peace and hope to Charles. "You'll be okay," she whimpers in his ear. As his strength fails, he reaches out for the only remnant of his mother's past, the letter. Maggie, misunderstanding his struggling movement as an invitation for her embrace, quickly moves to hold him in her arms and there he lies until help arrives. "He's lost a lot of blood and some damage to his left temporal lobes. We won’t know the extent of memory loss until he wakes, but you must be prepared to face the reality that he may not recognize you right away or ever at all.”James knew the women standing before him was only hearing the noises coming out of his mouth but wasn’t listening to his words. Something about her manner made him uneasy but there were other patients to attend to. As he walked down the hallway to his next stop, a persistent worry caused him turn around just enough to see Maggie continued down the hall, past Charles’ room and toward the pediatrics ward.
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New Chapter - Family Ties

[Dec. 21st, 2005|08:53 pm]Tall Tales

The alternating frequencies of the ambulance sirens startled his fading spirit - noise reserved for certain disaster and danger brings ironic peace and hope to Charles. "You'll be okay," she whimpers in his ear. As his strength fails, he reaches out for the only remnant of his mother's past, the letter. Maggie, misunderstanding his struggling movement as an invitation for her embrace, quickly moves to hold him in her arms and there he lies until help arrives. "He's lost a lot of blood and some damage to his left temporal lobes. We won’t know the extent of memory loss until he wakes, but you must be prepared to face the reality that he may not recognize you right away or ever at all.”James knew the women standing before him was only hearing the noises coming out of his mouth but wasn’t listening to his words. Something about her manner made him uneasy but there were other patients to attend to. As he walked down the hallway to his next stop, a persistent worry caused him turn around just enough to see Maggie continued down the hall, past Charles’ room and toward the pediatrics ward.

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The Letter, Part IV	[Dec. 21st, 2005\|09:16 pm]Tall Tales
He passed out again for a time and woke only when he heard his girlfriend, Maggie, scream. He had missed his afternoon tea, and she had presumably come up to lecture him when she found him on the floor, his head in a pool of dried blood. He sat up for a brief moment, then thought better of it when the vertigo and sharp, throbbing pain in his head threatened to blind him and lay back down on the sticky floor, ignoring Maggie's plaintives until he could hear sirens in the distance.He wondered if he had lost a lot of blood. He supposed he probably had, but didn't seem to care. The curse which had plagued his family for generations seemed to have finally turned its attention towards him. His father had disappeared when his family had discovered a second, illegitimate child (Charles' half-brother, Willie), and his mother had died days after giving birth to Charles' other half-sibling, Diana. He would, or so it seemed, find an early grave, just hours after his second child had been born.
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The Letter, Part IV

[Dec. 21st, 2005|09:16 pm]Tall Tales

He passed out again for a time and woke only when he heard his girlfriend, Maggie, scream. He had missed his afternoon tea, and she had presumably come up to lecture him when she found him on the floor, his head in a pool of dried blood. He sat up for a brief moment, then thought better of it when the vertigo and sharp, throbbing pain in his head threatened to blind him and lay back down on the sticky floor, ignoring Maggie's plaintives until he could hear sirens in the distance.He wondered if he had lost a lot of blood. He supposed he probably had, but didn't seem to care. The curse which had plagued his family for generations seemed to have finally turned its attention towards him. His father had disappeared when his family had discovered a second, illegitimate child (Charles' half-brother, Willie), and his mother had died days after giving birth to Charles' other half-sibling, Diana. He would, or so it seemed, find an early grave, just hours after his second child had been born.

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(no subject)	[Dec. 21st, 2005\|01:33 pm]Tall Tales
It is human nature to look at the person addressing you, regardless of what's being said. And so, despite being told not to move, he began slowly turning around, the letter still clutched in his hands."I said. Don't. Move." He froze. The voice was cool and feminine. The gun was cold and steel now pressed against the back of his skull. Wildly conflicting thoughts raced through his mind. What was his mother talking about? When had his father left them? Who was holding him at gun point? How did they get in and what could they possibly want? "Yesss." She said with a slight lisp. "Thank you for leading usss here and opening the box for usss." What was she talking about, he wondered. The box had opened so easily. "Now, I'm afraid our businessss is at an end." The gun was hard and heavy on his head and then it was dark.He awoke sometime later. A dust outline on the floor remained where the chest once sat.
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(no subject)

[Dec. 21st, 2005|01:33 pm]Tall Tales

It is human nature to look at the person addressing you, regardless of what's being said. And so, despite being told not to move, he began slowly turning around, the letter still clutched in his hands."I said. Don't. Move." He froze. The voice was cool and feminine. The gun was cold and steel now pressed against the back of his skull. Wildly conflicting thoughts raced through his mind. What was his mother talking about? When had his father left them? Who was holding him at gun point? How did they get in and what could they possibly want? "Yesss." She said with a slight lisp. "Thank you for leading usss here and opening the box for usss." What was she talking about, he wondered. The box had opened so easily. "Now, I'm afraid our businessss is at an end." The gun was hard and heavy on his head and then it was dark.He awoke sometime later. A dust outline on the floor remained where the chest once sat.

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