RRRR Story render contest *closed*

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Comments

  • kyoto kidkyoto kid Posts: 40,954
    edited December 1969

    ...thank you Melanie. Yeah it's difficult, especially considering there are only a few weeks left but doing my best to not let it get to me.


    My entry in the Rendo Holiday Contest was kind of a working out of my feelings in a creative way.

  • JaderailJaderail Posts: 0
    edited December 1969

    @MelanieL and all others in and lurking in the thread, I know you lurkers are there.

    I hit a stone wall after my last post, I was reading up to post about all the stories and and other nice comments, had plans to get the Entry posted as well. Then our weather here went on the fritiz, in one small night it changed from cool dry winter to very much WAY too warm with large rolling thunderstorms the very next night. I'm not a fan of bad weather or major lighting storms, we were lucky here that was all we got. But that sudden change was a major downer for me, the bone gnomes went to work in a major way, and as the weather has done yet another full 180 degree change the buggers are still driving me insane. Living up to my Admin duties has been all I could manage, and fun and rendering has taken a back seat. The bone gnomes are in their full glory and so far they have me beat. I had a plans but so far my body is in command. I will be back and get caught up, this is too much fun to miss.

    If I miss a few more days, HAPPY Holidays to EVERYONE.

  • kyoto kidkyoto kid Posts: 40,954
    edited December 1969

    ...ow, I hate it when Uncle Arthur makes his presence known.

  • GopherusGopherus Posts: 1,108
    edited December 1969

    Thanks Jindi and Melanie
    Shouldn t be any problem with TOS, pretty tame

    Nice story, Melanie, so that was Mark Spitz s secret

    Good Luck with the new year KyotoKid, wish you well.

    It aint gonna rain no more, no more.... I know what you mean Jaderail
    But fortunately only mildly

    Merry Christmas Everyone

  • kyoto kidkyoto kid Posts: 40,954
    edited December 1969

    ...everyone, thank you very much for thee kind words of encouragement.


    ...and a Happy Christmas to all as well.

  • SasjeSasje Posts: 835
    edited December 1969

    Thank you MelanieL
    and best wishes everyone :-)

  • Ken OBanionKen OBanion Posts: 1,447
    edited December 1969

    MelanieL said:
    Well, I actually sat down and went through all the posts so far at last. Sorry for the extreme lateness of some of my comments.

    Ken OBanion - now that's what I call plain over-achieving - three stories almost complete and they're all linked, don't be giving
    Totte any more bright ideas with that! >:(
    #1 "With Friends Like These..." - great start
    #2 "Recovering the Ronin (Further In the Adventures of the 'Repo-Man')" - even better, I think you missed your metier as a writer :)
    #3 "In-Laws and Out-Laws" Parts 1 & 2 - gripping stuff, have you been at the Raymond Chandlers? (or maybe just the Jack Daniels?)

    Thank you, MelanieL for your kind comments. But I would have you know that absolutely no Jack Daniels was harmed in the making of these images; I'm more a Ketel One kind of guy! %-P (Searching for a Smiley that looks a bit tipsy.... Or out-and-out hammered, as the case may be.)

  • Ken OBanionKen OBanion Posts: 1,447
    edited December 1969

    So..., here we go with story number 3! My pull:
    1077 - Lily Nymph for Genesis (What, again!?)
    1921 - The FREAK Dark Paladins Styles
    82 - Amaree Style
    2174 - Vivien for Laura
    2196 - West Park Day Room Recreation
    2199 - West Park Morgue
    1191 - Mall Girl for Genesis
    752 - Foyer Living Room Furniture Poses

    TAG: obanion#03
    Story Title: In-Laws and Out-Laws

    -- Image 3 --
    Image Title: Doubling Down on Unpleasant Encounters

    Used from the pull:
    Mall Girl for Genesis
    Vivien for Laura
    Dark Paladin Styles
    West Park Day Room Recreation
    Amaree Styles (the Paladin's 'moll')

    Also used:
    School's In outfit for Young Teens (Laura)
    Andy Hair
    David 5
    Pure Hair Punk
    Dark Moods for Genesis
    Full and Feathered Hair
    M4 Business Suit
    GQ Event Hair
    Hipster for M4 Urban Wear
    Mark Hair
    Coco for V4 (Hair, texture and face morphs)

    The Story Continues...

    The girls were taken to an old, abandoned hospital -- a mental hospital, in point of fact. They were led into the day room by David and his two subordinates (or 'goons', as Laura had come to think of them). Lydia's demeanour was one of confidence bordering on cockiness, and that helped to keep Laura's fear in check. But the truth was that both girls were absolutely terrified. But there was no way that either girl would let their captors know that.

    Lydia was curious about the woman in the room with them. She was not surprised by her presence, however; Lydia was just naturally inclined to assume that every 'super-villain' was pretty much required to have a major babe lolling around the lair for decoration (union rules, or some such, she suspected), but she would have thought that, knowing as much about the Paladin as she did, he would have enlisted someone with better fashion sense. That dress looked downright dowdy on her!

    "Well, well, well," the Paladin said pleasantly as the girls were brought before him. "It's been a long time, Princess."

    "Not long enough," Lydia replied. She gave him a disdainful glare. "Looks like you got to Wet Seal before I did. Intersting look you got going there. Doesn't suit you all that well, but then again, style has never been your long suit."

    David managed -- albeit barely -- to stifle his giggle.

    "Ever the plucky one, aren't you," the Paladin responded. His voice hardened. "But there are limits to the degree of impertinence that I will tolerate, even from you." He turned his gaze upon David. "That goes for all of you."

    Laura stepped a bit closer to Lydia and whispered, "Is this guy for real? He looks like an extra in a Batman movie on bad dope!"

    "No argument there," Lydia whispered back. "But that doesn't make him any less dangerous." After a brief moment, she felt obliged to voice what Laura had already pretty much figured out for herself: "We're in a lot of trouble right now." She turned her attention back to the Paladin. "So why did you kidnap us?" she asked him.

    "Well," the Paladin said, "taking your friend, here," he gestured towards Laura, "wasn't specifically on our 'to-do' list. But, we didn't want her to raise the alarm too soon, so.... As for why you are here, let's just say that I needed a bit of leverage against your mother. And that's all either of you needs to know." He turned to David. "Take them down to the basement," he instructed. "You don't have to lock them into the drawers, or anything." An evil, sadistic grin split his face. "Unless, of course, you just want to."

    RRRR_Story_03-03.png
    800 x 600 - 723K
  • zawarkalzawarkal Posts: 1,018
    edited December 1969

    MelanieL said:

    Zawarkal #1 "Game of Life" - wow, that series has such a unique look, and I had to read it three times to be sure I'd got it all (or maybe not?) - really thought-provoking stuff there. OT: was very moved by your real-life story too.

    Thanks for the comment. Hoping to bring more of my outlook into my future images. That and some of the wild dreams! :)

  • SasjeSasje Posts: 835
    edited December 1969

    Tag: Sasje #2 P3

    Lizzy: Jim Jim I found it, Foeffus has it.
    Tim: Ooh Roeffus look what you’ve done to it, it’s wet and slimy
    Lizzy: HIHIHI gniffel Roeffus clean it for you.
    Tim: not funny Lizzy
    Both find a towel and dry the hoover now both Have a toy and play nicely on the farm.

    Pull 2
    - Sailor Uniform for A3 (used)
    - Martial Arts Weapons
    - The Construction Site
    - Fantasy Camp III
    - Treadz for Genesis
    - The Caged Cart
    - Toys of Yesteryear (used)
    - H4 Hovertank (used)

    For the rest
    - Barn Yard
    - Genesis 3x Clothes and hair
    - mill dog

    RRRR_P3_Dec_barn.jpg
    1066 x 800 - 196K
  • hawkonthewinghawkonthewing Posts: 136
    edited December 1969

    Dumpster Diving
    Scene 4: Home Sweet...Home?

    All pulled items were used previously.

    Also used: SWAM's Faery Wings
    Retro Devil's Beautiful Butterflies (renderosity)
    3-d-c's clipboard smartprop (freebie at ShareCG)
    Bow Dress
    Other items listed in entry 1.

    It was deafening. More so than before, and Sylia felt as though she was being turned inside out by the noise. The dumpster tossed and heaved much more than the other jumps. Finally, there was a screeching whine, and the dumpster hit something hard. Sid fell on top of her, and she almost blacked out.
    When she finally felt like her body had righted itself, she reached up and shook Sid. “Hey. Hey, Sid, come on. Sid, come on, wake up.” He let out an agonized groan. “SID...you're crushing me, get off.” Sid blinked, looked around, realized his clothes were still gone and launched off Sylia. He ricocheted off the lid of the dumpster, knocking it open.
    “Identity confirmed. Chief Engineer Sid. Captain Sylia. Alert terminated.”
    Sid scrambled up the ladder of the dumpster and looked around. Behind him he almost heard Sylia say “Sid, why do you have...wings...”
    “Sylia, it's the lab, we're back in the lab!! I did it! I got us home!!”
    “Something's not right, Sid...”
    He looked around, confused. Sylia climbed out of the dumpster, and he noticed she had changed.
    “Oh...oh no...I...Sylia.” He looked around closely, then started to cry. “I forgot...I forgot to calculate for it. That's why...and now...I can't fix it, but...oh, I'm...so sorry!!!!!” Sid started to bawl.
    Sylia sighed and patted him on the shoulder. “Tell me, Sid...what didn't you calculate for? I'm lost here.”
    Between sobs, he managed to say “The...butterfly effect!”
    Sylia looked at her new wings. She thought for a minute, then started to laugh. “It's ok, Sid. I did always want to fly.”

    Dumpster_Diving_4_entry.jpg
    1000 x 800 - 916K
  • luci45luci45 Posts: 2,738
    edited December 1969

    Visiting Tomorrow
    tag:luci45#3

    pulled:
    Victorian House
    Michael 4 for Genesis 2 Male
    Sky Deck
    Mafioso Unimesh Fits
    L'Orangerie
    Genesis 2 Female Body Morphs
    Billboard Poses for Michael 6
    Classic Deco

    Part One
    Because he dreamed of a future world with flying cars, alien races, and towering buildings, Adam was both amazed and dazed when Sal and Angela invited him into the future. One morning in July of 1959, a mysterious little conservatory building showed up in the backyard of an unoccupied home in his neighboorhood. Young Adam, thirteen years old at the time, was wandering around in his usual restless state when he noticed the little building - and he noticed that it had a vaguely nebulous quality and a bit of sparkle. He jumped a fence and went to check it out and surprisingly was greeted by a booming voice.

    "Hey, kid, yah gonna come over hea' an' visit o' not?"

    Adam noticed them then, a short dark man wearing a red sportcoat with a tapestry vest and a very tall woman in a black shiny dress wearing a lots of makeup. Kind of a bizarre couple he thought, but they were smiling at him and there was something about them...
    To keep this story somewhat brief - introductions were made; Sal and Angela took a strong liking to young Adam; they invited him to come back with them to their future world home; he agreed; off they went in the little building which, yes, was a kind of time machine.


    Used:
    Victorian House
    Michael 4 for Genesis 2 Male
    Mafioso Unimesh Fits
    L'Orangerie
    Genesis 2 Female Body Morphs
    Classic Deco

    Also used:
    IanPierre
    Cigar from Steam Cowboy
    Man in the Mirror
    Smoking Room Pose
    Angela Texture
    Gia Morph
    Rayne V6 Face Morph
    Gia hair
    Premium Portrait Poses
    Paige Dress
    Growing Up for Genesis 2 Male(s) / M6
    Hunk Texture
    K-Nicky Hair
    Cool and Squaresville
    Ron's Energy
    Photoshop and FilterForge

    tomorrowland.jpg
    1600 x 1200 - 862K
  • luci45luci45 Posts: 2,738
    edited December 2013

    Visiting Tomorrow
    tag:luci45#3

    Part Two
    For the next two and a half years later Adam accepted things as they came, though life in the future, this future anyway, was not as exciting as he had dreamed, and it was kind of dirty and grimey. It was great at first to not have school (public school was not mandatory, hooray!), but the replacement, doing grunt work at Sal's Air Car emporium, was usually more boring and repetitious than school had been. He normally had a happy smile though and enjoyed the friendly bantering and heckling with the other sentient species, and he also loved watching the air cars and cycles and the big cruisers departing and arriving from distant worlds.

    Sal and Angela treated Adam pretty well, though they didn't have a lot in common with him. They had also come from an earlier time, but from "another kind of life", as Angela put it. Sal was mostly honest, but now and then an unhappy customer complained and brought the law. Sal had "connections" though, so it always came to nothing.

    used:
    Michael 4 for Genesis 2 Male
    Sky Deck
    Mafioso Unimesh Fits
    Billboard Poses for Michael 6

    Also used:
    Hunk Texture
    Growing Up for Genesis 2 Male(s) / M6
    Voyager Outfit & Textures
    Crazy Male Hair for Genesis
    Banshee Flyer
    Sky Car
    Interceptor
    Air Bike
    Air Car Jumper
    Loretta and Lorenzo Lorez
    LoRez Cardinal
    LoRez Police
    Supersuit SciFi Shaders
    Varsel CLothes for Lorenzo (Rendo Freebie)
    Photoshop and FilterForge
    Skydome from Light n' Go - The Arc

    sals.jpg
    1600 x 1280 - 567K
    Post edited by luci45 on
  • luci45luci45 Posts: 2,738
    edited December 1969

    Visiting Tomorrow
    tag:luci45#3

    Part Three
    Though she appeared to be harsh and jaded, Angela was had a heart of gold. She noticed that Adam was not so happy any longer and decided that he should go back home to get an education and that maybe he and his parents might be missing each other too. Also she liked his thoughts about urban planning and had high hopes for so him making some changes before 2166 rolled around again. Sal protested as Adam was his "right hand man," but Angela, well, Angela was the boss. And so Adam returned to 1959 and later became a renowned urban planner and futurologist.

    Used:
    Victorian House
    Michael 4 for Genesis 2 Male
    Mafioso Unimesh Fits
    L'Orangerie
    Genesis 2 Female Body Morphs
    Billboard Poses for Michael 6
    Classic Deco

    Also used:
    Ian Pierre Texture
    Man in the Mirror
    Angela Texture
    Gia Hair
    Basic Hair
    Gia Morph
    Rayne V6 Face Morph
    Dreamy Night for Summer Night outfit
    Leather Shader (JG)
    Dystopia City Blocks (window reflection)
    World Cruise Suitcase
    City Roads
    Growing Up for Genesis 2 Male(s) / M6
    Hunk Texture
    Ron's Energy
    Photoshop and FilterForge

    going_home.jpg
    1600 x 1200 - 611K
  • MelanieLMelanieL Posts: 7,346
    edited December 1969

    I see some people have managed to sneak a little render time away from the Christmas duties...
    @Jaderail - sorry to hear about the "bone gnomes" - my mother was a martyr to them which I SO hope I haven't inherited
    @gopherus - thanks - Mark Spitz: there's a blast from the past!
    @Zawarkal - yes, and those "wild dreams" could be quite a help with RRRR!
    @Ken - aha, part 3 - ooh err, looking scary for those kids - will Uncle Martin come to the rescue in time???
    @Sasje - mmm, slobbery dog - my Aunt used to have one of those
    @hawkonthewing - part 4 - well, I wasn't expecting that ! Nice use of the clipboard there by the way :)
    @Luci - #3 - nice one, love the sparkly bits on the Orangerie in parts 1 & 3, and plenty of details to look at in part 2.

  • zawarkalzawarkal Posts: 1,018
    edited December 1969

    Hey everyone. I had an idea for another variation on this contest. Not completely sure if it can be adapted to work, but here are some thoughts for some brainstorming if this idea is of any interest.

    the RRRR Kitbash

    if first item pull is a prop, you keep drawing until you pull a total of 3-5? props you then kitbash the props into a new prop item
    if first item pull is clothing, you keep drawing until you pull a total of 3-5? clothing items you then kitbash into a new outfit
    if you draw a scene type item which has props it could be treated similar to how we now handle bundles
    can still pull for other elements to also be used in completing the image if wish

    like I said it needs some work
    any thoughts??? and yes, it is okay not to like the idea

  • luci45luci45 Posts: 2,738
    edited December 1969

    Zawarkal said:
    Hey everyone. I had an idea for another variation on this contest. Not completely sure if it can be adapted to work, but here are some thoughts for some brainstorming if this idea is of any interest.

    the RRRR Kitbash

    if first item pull is a prop, you keep drawing until you pull a total of 3-5? props you then kitbash the props into a new prop item
    if first item pull is clothing, you keep drawing until you pull a total of 3-5? clothing items you then kitbash into a new outfit
    if you draw a scene type item which has props it could be treated similar to how we now handle bundles
    can still pull for other elements to also be used in completing the image if wish

    like I said it needs some work
    any thoughts??? and yes, it is okay not to like the idea

    Hmmm, I dunno. It could work OK. I just like to keep things as simple as possible. I like to draw all the items a once as it kind of gives me a thrill to see what I get. Weird, huh? But I could be persuaded...

    Would you only use the 3-5 prop combo (or clothes combo) as your required products then?

  • zawarkalzawarkal Posts: 1,018
    edited December 1969

    Luci45 said:
    Zawarkal said:
    Hey everyone. I had an idea for another variation on this contest. Not completely sure if it can be adapted to work, but here are some thoughts for some brainstorming if this idea is of any interest.

    the RRRR Kitbash

    if first item pull is a prop, you keep drawing until you pull a total of 3-5? props you then kitbash the props into a new prop item
    if first item pull is clothing, you keep drawing until you pull a total of 3-5? clothing items you then kitbash into a new outfit
    if you draw a scene type item which has props it could be treated similar to how we now handle bundles
    can still pull for other elements to also be used in completing the image if wish

    like I said it needs some work
    any thoughts??? and yes, it is okay not to like the idea

    Hmmm, I dunno. It could work OK. I just like to keep things as simple as possible. I like to draw all the items a once as it kind of gives me a thrill to see what I get. Weird, huh? But I could be persuaded...

    Would you only use the 3-5 prop combo (or clothes combo) as your required products then?

    well see that's where the ideas come in...
    you still have to create an image so you can still pull items for the image
    we would just be adding the twist on top of what we do already
    and as part of the twist it would also be required to use as much of the additional pulled prop of cloth items
    keeping in mind that they must create a physical outfit or prop
    and not just be additional items added into the scene which is more the normal rrrr concept

    we could make it where we pull ?-8-? items with the first four being mandatory normal rrrrr pulls
    and then from the ?-8-? items we must kitbash either a prop or clothing item in the scene
    so if we pull clothing within the first items we must use the clothing item as we do now in the rrrr
    and then depending upon the full however many drawn items we also add our twisted kitbash item into the scene we create
    with the additional items pulled not being required anywhere else within the scene other than the kitbash item itself

    so this would be saying first 4 in image and additional for kitbash, but think any and all of the pull is eligible for the kitbash with it being required that the additional items are used in the kitbash

    but this is where it gets tricky because if you draw a light set you cannot kitbash a light
    so pull four for image and then pull additional to fill the quota of the kitbash items similar to how mentioned in first post ???

    I was just trying to explain the idea to my son and I mentioned how funny it would be if say we drew a piece of armor and a skirt

    there was that one image before where I took a building and tried to make it look like a dress (the one about the gov't shutdown)

    anyhow I have probably made this more confusing
    just looking for thoughts and ideas about how we could add a kitbash twist to the rrrr

    I have trouble with funny images and this might just be what I need to do even if it is not required

    thoughts welcome.......

  • kyoto kidkyoto kid Posts: 40,954
    edited December 2013

    ...I would limit it to a minimum of two kitbash items (though one would be free to use more if they wished) due to time constraints. Also, keep in mind not everyone is skilled with modelling software.

    Post edited by kyoto kid on
  • Ken OBanionKen OBanion Posts: 1,447
    edited December 1969

    I dunno.... Seems like overly complicating things just for the sake of overly complicating things.

    I think I'll sit this one out.

  • zawarkalzawarkal Posts: 1,018
    edited December 1969

    Kyoto Kid said:
    ...I would limit it to a minimum of two kitbash items (though one would be free to use more if they wished) due to time constraints. Also, keep in mind not everyone is skilled with modelling software.

    there is no modeling involved in the kitbash

    you just use pieces of several products and create an image

    example of a prop kitbash
    pull tree from one product
    pull hat from a different product (could be clothing or prop - grey area)
    pull broom from another product
    pull fence from another product

    create an image of a tree wearing a hat on its branches (head) with the fence around its trunk like a skirt and the tree has the broom in its branches like perhaps it a sweeping up the fallen leaves

    this sounds like an interesting image to me already, lol

  • zawarkalzawarkal Posts: 1,018
    edited December 1969

    I dunno.... Seems like overly complicating things just for the sake of overly complicating things.

    I think I'll sit this one out.

    np

    I like your rules signature

    here's one I like

    x -- remember rule number 6
    z -- what's rule number 6?
    x -- don't take yourself so seriously
    z -- sounds good, what are the other rules?
    x -- oh, there are no other rules

    I heard this from Dwane Dyer

  • kyoto kidkyoto kid Posts: 40,954
    edited December 1969

    ...I have to agree with Ken, it does complicate things a bit.

    Not everyone has the time and not all pulls will be things that could easily be combined together without a lot of extra work.

    For example, my Diner submission took several weeks to combine both sets and get everything to fit properly together and look right. As I am one who is not very skilled with modelling, I depended on the Polygon Group Editor to define new surfaces and remove parts of meshes.(by zeroing the opacity) that couldn't simply be "turned off" without turning something I needed off.. That was very very tedious work especially if a mesh had an inside and outside layer and was composed of a lot of small polys.


    If I am not correct, there is also already an annual kitbash challenge that I believe is hosted by FirstBastion.

  • TotteTotte Posts: 13,877
    edited December 1969

    I think it will just make things complicated and without any true spirit of the fun part. I do kitbash all the time and we all kitbash props we pull.

  • zawarkalzawarkal Posts: 1,018
    edited December 1969

    Okay. np

    just an idea

  • luci45luci45 Posts: 2,738
    edited December 1969

    Thanks, MelanieL
    Ken Your writing is as funny as the stories. I look forward to the ending.
    KaribousBoutique That is just wicked! I love it!
    Sasje Nothing like some doggie drool To make a toy not fun. Nice story and renders!
    hawkonthewing I really enjoyed your wacky story. As always, your compositions, color and lighting are great!
    MelanieL I love the story about Great Grandma and her oldest son. LOL, Great subtle ending.

    My last pull:
    Shayarin for V4
    Lynette
    Lemur
    Scottish Hinde (a freebie I picked up somewhere)
    Freak 4
    Dies Nefastus
    Davy Jones Locker
    Baroque Grandeur Poses

  • MelanieLMelanieL Posts: 7,346
    edited December 1969

    Thank you, Luci - looking forward to seeing your final story! (I still haven't managed to start on my second one)

  • zawarkalzawarkal Posts: 1,018
    edited December 1969

    here is my second pull... if find time

    the Girl 4 base
    moon gate
    m5 starter bundle
    faces and hands for G4
    FW cassie
    rock demon
    darkwoods heroine
    barbarian king

  • Ken OBanionKen OBanion Posts: 1,447
    edited December 2013

    So..., here we go with story number 3!

    My pull:
    1077 - Lily Nymph for Genesis (What, again!?)
    1921 - The FREAK Dark Paladins Styles
    82 - Amaree Style
    2174 - Vivien for Laura
    2196 - West Park Day Room Recreation
    2199 - West Park Morgue
    1191 - Mall Girl for Genesis
    752 - Foyer Living Room Furniture Poses

    TAG: obanion#03
    Story Title: In-Laws and Out-Laws

    -- Image 4 --
    Image Title: The Cavalry Arrives

    Used from the pull:
    Mall Girl for Genesis
    Vivien for Laura
    West Park Morgue

    Also used:
    School's In outfit for Young Teens (Laura)
    Andy Hair
    David 5
    Pure Hair Punk
    Dark Moods for Genesis
    Full and Feathered Hair
    M4 Business Suit
    GQ Event Hair
    Hipster for M4 Urban Wear
    Mark Hair
    Good As Dead Poses for M4
    Narquelir'Kiir for M4
    Rock Star Hair
    West Park Basement
    Steampunk Aviator for V4
    Construction Tools
    Adventure Hero for Genesis 2 Male (but it fits Stephanie 5, thanks to Auto-Fit!)


    The Story Continues...

    It had been four days since Laura and Lydia had been abducted from the mall. Throughout that time, they had been kept in the hospital's morgue, although -- and fortunately for them -- they had not been "locked into the drawers", as the Paladin had semi-suggested to his minion.

    The girls had been well fed -- well, if you can call a diet of Mickey-D's 'food' -- and had not been maltreated in any way. (Save for being held captive in a disused morgue, that is; a situation that would have creeped out Freddie Krueger!) But the ordeal was wearing on their nerves, mostly due to the simple fact that they didn't know what was happening, or what was likely to happen; either to them, and their situation, nor with respect to the larger situation: why had they been abducted in the first place; what the Paladin's demands might be (if any) for their release, and what their respective families were doing to secure their freedom.

    Laura, at least, had one great hope to cling to: she was absolutely certain that her Uncle Martin was on the case, and that if there was any way possible, he would move mountains to get her and Lydia out of this mess. She had been trying from the beginning of their ordeal to convince Lydia of her certainty of this, and she felt that she had made progress in that effort.

    It was early on the morning of the fifth day of their captivity. One of David's 'goons' (neither girl had ever learned his name, and neither particularly cared to know, other than to make certain that they were spitting on the right grave) had given them their 'breakfast' about a half-hour earlier -- and Laura, for one, never wanted to even look at another Egg McMuffin, ever again -- when they heard a commotion in the hall outside their place of captivity. Shouts, running feet, the sounds of a brief scuffle, finally punctuated by several gunshots. The girls rushed to the door to see what was going on.

    Laura had never been so relieved to see a familiar face in her life, and it was doubtful that she ever would: her uncle, standing in the hallway, pointing a pistol at someone just beyond her field of vision. She made no effort to attract his attention; he was obviously focused on more immediate matters, and she didn't want to risk distracting him.

    Laura was surprised to see her uncle's old friend from school with him, however. She had known Alexis her entire life, but had never thought of her as a particularly intrepid sort; certainly not someone who would charge headlong into a hail of bullets. But there she was, looking and acting like she did this kind of thing every day. There was definitely a story here, and Laura was dying to hear it!

    Laura watched through the window as her uncle handed the gun to Alexis, who immediately focused her attention on the person beyond her view. Martin pulled his trusty pry-bar out of his back pocket and went to work on the chains that secured the room's double doors. Within moments, the chains were on the floor, and the doors swung open.

    Laura rushed out into the hall and flung her arms around her uncle's waist. "Oh, Uncle Martin, I just knew you'd come!"

    Martin returned his niece's hug. "Sorry it took me so long," he said apologetically, "but I got here as soon as I could."

    Lydia followed Laura out of the room, where she spied Leilani and ran to her. They shared an emotional embrace. "Your mother is going to be so relieved to hear that you're safe!" Leilani said.

    "So," Alexis said to nobody in particular, and gesturing vaguely with the gun, "what are we gonna do with this guy?"

    Martin threw a disgusted glance at David, then said, "Lock him in the morgue. It should hold him long enough for us to get out of here. Once we're well away, we'll call the police, and let him explain...," he waved a hand in the directon of the two bodies that littered the floor, "all of this."

    Alexis gestured with the pistol in her hand; David cast a brief glance at the two bodies on the floor beside him, sighed and nodded in acceptance, and apparently relieved that he was not about to join them. He walked meekly into the room the two girls had recently vacated. Martin re-fastened the chain that had secured the doors, using a length of wire in place of the broken lock.

    "But what about the Paladin?" Lydia asked.

    "Oh, him," Martin answered. "He..., will not be a problem any more."

    Laura looked sharply at her uncle.

    "Don't look at me in that tone of voice, young lady," Martin scolded the girl. "I didn't pull the trigger." He pointed to Leilani. "She did."

    "Um, can we get out of here now?" Lydia asked the group.

    "Sounds like a plan to me," Alexis said. She took a step toward the stairs. "Hey, is anybody hungry? I noticed a McDonald's up the road a ways...." She stopped speaking when she saw the incredulous looks on the girls' faces. "What? What'd I say?"

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    Post edited by Ken OBanion on
  • MelanieLMelanieL Posts: 7,346
    edited December 1969

    Nicely wound up, Ken.

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