Anybody down for a writing competition?

I’d be happy to participate if y’all need more poeple.

Maybe Sunday night by 1200, so everyone has tonight and the entire weekend?

I’ll join. What qualifies as magic? Do scientifically inflicted gifts (a la Eleven) count?

So I am tragically terrible at magic… so ghosts count right? Anyways here it is:

“Jack!” He seemed to fall in slow motion. He jerked each time a projectile ripped through him. There was no space in my head for the moment. Not me, not my men, not hailstorm of bullets all around us.

“Ma’am! You can’t,” one of them called out as he grabbed my arm and yanked me back.

“Let her go,” said another. “Cover her. Return fire!”

I reached him on my hands and knees, rifle slapping my back at every movement.

“Jack, baby it’s me.” I began to move my hands over his body. “Where are you hit?” I ripped open his med pack and pulled out the tourniquet with trembling fingers. Blood seeped onto my hands as I found each hole. Left arm, right thigh. Thank God, he was wearing his IBA. I worked furiously to secure his tourniquet to his thigh, twisting the lever with all my might. “Stay with me. Jack I need you to stay awake.” I ripped into my own med kit for my tourniquet and started again.

I fished the sharpie from my inner pocket and pulled off the cap with my teeth. I glanced at my wrist. 1346. I scrawled it on his forehead.

“Chandra,” he wheezed. “I’m not going to make it. They are going to overwhelm us. Soon.”

“Shut up!” I put my hand on his cheek. “Shut up, you can’t know that.” There was so much blood.

“Protocol. You went against p–” He spat up blood. Each breath was labored.

“I need you to stay with me. Alice and Andy are back home waiting for us.”

The sound of gunfire was still tearing about us, but the air seemed to still. It was too bright. Or too dark. I don’t know. But it was just us.

“There is so much I had to tell you. About them.” He was growing so faint. “So much you don’t understand. I’m sorry you had to find out this way.”

“I – I don’t –” I stammered. Suddenly there was a pain searing through my neck and radiating across my shoulders. I tumbled backwards and fell next to him. I tried to speak. I tried to ask ‘Who will take care of them?’ But there was only a gurgle.

“You will.”
~
Everything was so bright. And soft. And not Afghanistan. Slowly things began to come into focus. There was, shag carpeting, a small bed, and a mountain of stuffed animals. The cotton curtains were a soft pink I picked out almost four years ago. Mr. Fluffs was sitting there, both of his ears flopping down – one of them was a little worn where little Alice like to chew on it. I reached out to grab it and it wavered, like a mirage. I tried again and still I could not touch it. I looked down, I was still in my ACUs, my boots were still on.

There was a thud and I heard happy chatter. There was the clatter of keys in the dish by the door, the plunks of shoes falling off little feet. I moved towards them but I couldn’t grab on to the doorknob. “Screw it.” And I walked through the door.

“Mama?” His little face lit up like a Christmas tree. Oh, he was so big. I had missed his fifth birthday. My sister sent us pictures but seeing him now made me realize just how much I had missed. “Look Alice, it’s Mama!” Oh my baby, how she beamed. Her little brown curls were messy, windblown, and they bobbed up and down as she raced to me. She raced right through me. Andy did too. “Mama?”

I just wanted to hold them close. “What are you guys playing at, huh?” my sister asked.
“Auntie Carol, Mama’s here, but she’s funky.”
~
I watched them drape the flags over our coffins. The only two that were not crying were Alice and Andy. “Mama?” Andy whispered. “I don’t like this.”

I looked down at my brave little boy, holding his sister’s hand, and he blinked back up at me. “Don’t worry. I will always be here.”
~
For the first time in years, I felt something. There was a hand on my shoulder; the weight of it was so familiar. “Hi Jack. It’s been awhile.” I did not bother to look at him, I was too busy watching Alice chasing around the little blond boy from down the street. In class she was drawing his name in hearts in her journal while she should have been studying for her spelling test. The little twerp had tried to get me to tell her the answers.

“I’m sorry Chandra. I couldn’t get away until now.”

“What happened? I don’t know whether to thank you or kill you.” I finally turned to him and he enveloped me in his arms. “What are you?”

“A Spirit Walker. I didn’t plan on meeting you, on Andy and Alice. That day in Afghanistan was the Warlocks coming for me; I was 3 years over the limit. You weren’t supposed to be there.” I felt his arms tighten around me. “I couldn’t leave them alone. The laws of my magic couldn’t save you, this was the best I could do. I’m sorry.”

“I still don’t understand, but I forgive you.” I kissed his cheek. “You gave me my children. Twice.”

“I have to go. Promise me you will keep them safe. They need to be safe.” He’s right, there was still so much I did not understand.

“No matter what, I will be there for them.”
~
“Hi Mama.” Alice flopped down on her bed and groaned.

“Hi baby. What happened today?” I sat on the edge of her bed.

She opened up an eye and glared at me. “You know what happened.”

I laughed, “Nope. I was spying on Andy today.”

“Okay, so Stacy was acting all googly eyes over Tommy, even though Debbie called dibs. So they were super mad at each other. But long story short, Tommy asked me to Prom and now they both aren’t talking to me. I don’t even want to go with stupid Tommy. Dylan is the cute one.”

“Don’t pick Dylan. He picks his nose in Spanish class.” I chuckled as she groaned again.

“Ugh, why can’t boys be more like dad?”

I settled next to her. “Eh, he was human too. Wonderful, but flawed. But he gave me a second chance to be with you guys.”

“So perfect, right?” If I could have, I would have swatted her. “He was probably the best gift giver at Christmas. I’m glad that you’re here with us.”

@kat, I know I'm not a judge, but that was so great! Also, I hope you're not writing the entirety of your stuff on google docs. While great for school assignments and the like, I would highly discourage using google docs for anything that you are thinking about publishing. They have some sneaky clauses in their terms and conditions that states that they have the rights to a portion of the profits that you make from anything written on their platform.