Collaborative fan fiction - Read, enjoy and contribute!

[Swippity_Swappity]

A small little town, mainly used as a rest stop for travelers on their way back to the mainland. Maybe it has a couple of small hotels? Wouldn't be a bad place to find some supplies tbh.

[upnorth]

@Catlover
feel free to make it up if you have an idea, otherwise we could just leave it for now. Besides trying to be consistent with the details of the story, I don't think we need any rules. Just creative freedom and hopefully some interesting contributions

[Catlover]

Just now, Swippity_Swappity said:

A small little town, mainly used as a rest stop for travelers on their way back to the mainland. Maybe it has a couple of small hotels? Wouldn't be a bad place to find some supplies tbh.

That'd be cool. Maybe because of being used as a rest stop, there would be mainly food and gear shops for that sort of thing instead of the usual commercial things in most towns. I kind of imagine it surrounded by woodland, so perhaps there could be lots of fauna, wolves, bears and whatever that could casually try slaughter our characters.

I'd love to contribute more to this small town we're creating, but I can't think of anything interesting. I'll try come up with a bit lore for the town later, unless some has already been thought up.

[Swippity_Swappity]

"I was gonna head off to one of those hotels. Quite a number of them, no doubt some people left some useful stuff." Erik said.

His boots crunched in the snow, leaving a trail of footprints. As they walked, Mocha seemed to get more and more uneasy. Erik suddenly stopped. 

"Is that... a wolf?" Amy asked somewhat uneasy.

"Looks like it. It hasn't noticed us yet, so walk away, s l o w l y."

The group slowly walked backwards, and then turned around and moved more quickly towards the van.

"Well, that was an unexpected setback." Erik said, breathing heavily. "Glad I thought of a backup plan. There's  a camping goods store about not too far. Should be able to get some better warm clothing there."

[Catlover]

1 minute ago, upnorth said:

@Catlover
feel free to make it up if you have an idea, otherwise we could just leave it for now. Besides trying to be consistent with the details of the story, I don't think we need any rules. Just creative freedom and hopefully some interesting contributions

Yeah, if I think of any ideas, I'll just let you know. I just like fully fleshing out things, haha, though I do agree that it would be better to focus mainly on the story and its details  and not where it takes place. I do like this go-with-the-flow way of the story

[Swippity_Swappity]

I'm having a lot of fun with this, really neat idea to make a group fan-fic like this.

 

[Catlover]

Amy found that she was trembling slightly from the sudden wolf sighting. Erik was right, there was something..different about the canines. 

Mocha was sharing her nerves, her ears pinned back as a low growl rumbled from her throat. It was a good idea, to have a dog with them. She had picked up the wolf scent long before any of them had been aware of it.

"Are you gonna save us?" Amy spoke softly to her dog, stroking her neck as she stopped growling, seeming to calm down.

Before long, they pulled up at the camping store. Eerily, the usually busier part of town was desolate and empty. What had driven them to a sudden departure? 

"Do you think dogs will be allowed?" It was a silly thing to be worried about, but Amy didn't want to get forced out by an angry co-worker, despite the incredibly low chance of that happening. She didn't want to risk getting banned from the store, as it was mainly where she bought her supplies. 

"I don't think anyone will care." Erik pushed open the door, and Amy was slightly disappointed when the usual blast of hot air didn't greet them despite expecting the place to have lost its heating during the aurora. 

Slightly worried about being seen with a dog and stealing, she stayed with Erik as they gathered several flares and several warmer items of clothing, including a ski-jacket each and thermal pants. 

"I think we got enough." The man said, as they got a few energy bars.

Amy nodded, and they headed back, opening the doors and heading for the van. All the way back to the van, she couldn't shake the feeling that they were being watched, and she felt Mochi press up against her, a low growl in her throat. She glanced around, but saw nothing, climbing into the van and quickly closing the door behind her.

"What's up?" Erik asked, noticing how on edge she appeared.

"I just had the feeling that something was watching us.. I think Mocha had as well." She shook her head, as if to rid herself of the memory, "It was probably nothing, but something's not right with this town."

"What, aside from the lack of people and power?" There was a slight hint of amusement in Erik's voice as he started the van, "A lot isn't right with this town, and I wouldn't be surprised if it started long before the aurora."

Mystified by his words, Amy sat in silence as he began to drive back.

Edited December 24, 2020 by Catlover

[Catlover]

22 minutes ago, Swippity_Swappity said:

I'm having a lot of fun with this, really neat idea to make a group fan-fic like this.

 

I agree. I've done quite a few on different things, but the Long Dark is an interesting thing to make a group fanfiction thing of. I'm looking forward to getting further into it, towards a potential climax. I've no idea where the story is going, and I'm enjoying it quite a bit so far.

[Swippity_Swappity]

Merry Christmas, or happy holidays everyone!

[upnorth]

17 hours ago, Catlover said:

Mystified by his words, Amy sat in silence as he began to drive back.

I assumed cars doesn't work any more as they need electronics. Did I miss something or is this an intentional exception/mystery?

[Catlover]

6 hours ago, upnorth said:

I assumed cars doesn't work any more as they need electronics. Did I miss something or is this an intentional exception/mystery?

I had noticed that as well, but I suppose that this aurora could be a bit different or something maybe. Also, Merry Christmas everyone!

Edited December 25, 2020 by Catlover

[upnorth]

1 hour ago, Catlover said:

I had noticed that as well, but I suppose that this aurora could be a bit different or something maybe. Also, Merry Christmas everyone!

Someone provided us with a reaonable technical answer and then removed it, but I think we are covered

Yeah, Merry Christmas, hope everyone is doing ok. Hell of a ride this year!

[upnorth]

- Lets see if we can reach 911 now, Christine said to Emma as they got back home and inside.

- Are you going to call the ambulance for me? Emma wondered

- Does it still hurt? Christine enquired

- No, it just itches! Emma replied

- Ok, that's good! That means your body is healing! Christine answered with relief. They needed to stock up on supplies...

- 911, what's your emergency? The operator finally answered.

- Hi! Not really any emergency yet, but in desperate need of news about what happened yesterday evening and what the state of things are. We haven't had any news about what happened and if there are plans in effect to deal with it, or information to the public in general...

- Yes, I'll forgive you for calling in regard to that. We've been working all night on the few landlines we still have, a lot of people are worried and don't know where else to turn. We honestly don't know much, but the electrical blackout seems to be fairly wide spread, not just a local phenomena at least. Hard to tell the scope, but the emergency services have been scrounging to find vehicles that still work, a lot of the modern ones are too dependent on electronics it turned out. The police have had to deal with a lot of stealing by doomsday-preppers. You might have a hard time finding food and medicine if you aren't well stocked already unfortunately. There are of course some contingencies in the government for events like this, essentially stuff that most countries worried about during the Cold War era. I think you could expect some old school military "parades" eventually, not that we have martial law or anything, they just have some older transportation. I heard they even went to museums! From what we have heard from the military no foreign power has been suspected of any sort of attack, but with so much communication and transportation out of order it's hard even for us to get currrent information and supplies out. We haven't got many details yet, but with the few things still working they can't seem to identify a single active satellite, national or foreign. Whatever happened smells more natural disaster than military operation, but who knows, it would be a pretty good disguise. Please call and report any suspicious activity you notice, we could really use as much information as possible.

Christine proceeds to sum up their experiences so far.

- Thank you. I would urge you to check on your grocery store by the way, you live in a small and fairly remote place but I'm sure you have elements that are already thinking about looting and prepping right now. Otherwise you might want to spread word around to locate and help anyone old or sick in your area. Hopefully things will be back to normal fairly soon, but don't hold your breath. And also, we have reports of very aggressive wildlife during the aurora from more than a couple of surprised hunters, so don't take any chances. Good luck!

Christine thanked the operator for the information and promised to call back with any news.

- Ok. At least we aren't completely isolated, who knew it would be useful to keep this old thing. She mentioned with a smile to Emma who seemed a bit annoyed with her healing wound.

- Right, we better head to the store. We need to secure some supplies and perhaps there are probably nice people in need of some warm clothes and blankets too. I don't think everyone was able to leave town actually, we did see a few people out and about with Amy earlier... I wonder if she heard anything interesting from that guy at the fire.

Edited December 26, 2020 by upnorth

[upnorth]

By the way. If anyone is interested in illustrating the story with art rather than joining in writing it, that would be pretty cool too

[Catlover]

That's a really cool idea! I'll get to illustrating soon, hopefully! Also, I hope this part isn't too bad.

They pulled up after fifteen minutes at Erik's house. Not that she'd call it that. It was more of a shack, a tumbledown, wooden shack compared to the cosy wooden cabins around the town. 

"Welcome to my humble abode," The male gave a grin, seemingly uncaring about the state of his cabin, "Want to come in for a bit?"

Amy shook her head, ruefully. She wanted to get back to her own house after a night and nearly a day without it, "I really should get back."

"Fair enough," Erik shrugged, "Do you want me to drive you back?"

"I know the way," 

Calling her dog, she left the van, thanking the young man briefly for the supplies before following a well-known path towards her house. Though she had not been around this part much, she soon turned onto a lane that she recognised. 

A tendril of smoke rose ominously in the air as she headed towards her house. However, it unbothered her despite the mass of it. It was probably from a fire caused by the aurora. Though she was filled with a sense of dread as it seemed to be coming from her own street. 

Soon, her brisk walk turned into a sprint down the snowy path as she saw where the smoke came from. 

Two cabins were completely ruined, their walls now little more than knee height, charred and black. A line of telephone wire lay next to it, sparking occasionally in the snow.

Though she didn't notice any of that, her gaze wide with horror as she stared at one of the houses. 

It was hers. 

Several firemen stood beside the houses, still squirting jets of water from a hose. They acknowledged her, one nodding apologetically as she hurried over.

"What..What happened?" She struggled to force the words out, starting to shake. Her house had been ruined, nothing but a bunch of charred wood.

"Some of the wire snapped during the aurora and landed on the houses. The sparks probably started the fire. We managed to get to the scene before the others caught fire but we were too late for these. One of them yours?"

Too overwhelmed to speak, Amy nodded, mutely. 

"I had assumed so. We managed to save these from the fire." The fireman held out a blackened photo frame, containing a picture of her and her boyfriend. What would she tell him when he returned? If he returned. In the other hand was a mug. Just a simple, slightly charred, previously white china mug that meant the world to Amy. It was the only gift that she had been given by her late grandmother, and she had always treasured it. Other people had priceless necklaces and such as heirlooms. She had a mug.

She took them, not bothering to thank the kind man. Holding them close to her chest, she lifted her gaze to face him, she waited for him to continue, which he did.

"Do you need accommodation? There are several hostels that are still in use." 

"No." She managed to speak, turning away and heading off down the street, not wanting to look at the ruined houses. 

She did know someone who would maybe let her stay for a bit. Several people actually, but Amy knew where she was going. 

Several minutes later, she arrived at the house of Christine and Emma's. Nervously, she knocked on the door. No answer.

They were probably out. The hopelessness of the situation suddenly wiped away the numbness that had covered her. Now she was homeless, stuck in the middle of an even more isolated island, with a boyfriend that was probably not coming back any time soon.

Unable to fight off the tears, she sank down on the doorstep, waiting for them to come back, her arms wrapped around her husky, who whined and licked her face, her tail thumping. 

All she could do now was hope that they would let her stay with them for a bit longer. If not, she could only hope to make it the long walk to Erik's and not get mauled by a wolf along the way.

Lifting her tear-stained gaze from the ground, she watched as two figures emerged from the dusk fog that had thickened with the oncoming night, the people who she had been waiting for. 

Running a sleeve across her face, she stood, somewhat shakily, and tried to force away the panic, the fear that she'd be declined.

This is probably unlikely, that it would burn houses down, but whatever! I thought it would be a way to start bringing characters closer together. Though if you dislike this, I'll change it!

 

[upnorth]

The grocery store was located near the town center, a few blocks away from Christine's house. They couldn't see anyone out and about on their way, just the sound of a couple of crows. No sight or sound of the wolves from last night either.

- I'm cold! Emma complained.

- Yes, me too, let's get inside quickly! Christine replied.

No one was waiting at the store. But then again, they usually opened a bit later in the day and used the morning to re-stock shelves and prepare the cashier. No signs of a break-in either, although there were plenty of footprints at the locked main entrance, hard to tell from how long a go though. Christine pulled out her keys and opened the back door. Emma tried the light-switch as they got inside, it didn't work.

- Yeah, we will have to do with daylight for a while I think. Christine commented.

Slightly disappointed, Emma walked in to the office and jumped up on a chair to continue her drawings that she usually spent her time with while visiting the store.

- I'll be in the store, just yell if you need anything, ok? Christine told Emma as she got ready to figure out the rest of their day and what they would do going forward...

As she opened the store and spent a few hours checking her wares, nothing seemed to be missing. Although they were low on a few things. Remembering the warnings from the call earlier that day, she went behind the cashier and got her fathers rifle. There were also a couple of boxes of ammunition and a cleaning kit.

- Ok. Do I just keep opening the store as usual or prepare for the worst and get as many supplies as I can back home? Christine said out loud to think more clearly.

- We know that all electricity was somehow knocked out last night. Some vehicles apparently still work, but we have no idea which and until we find one we are stuck here. It would be suicide to try to leave town by foot. The landlines does still work, but not many people still have them. I guess my priority should be to secure supplies for our survival until we can figure out the more long term problems. No regular deliveries will probably arrive anyway, so we will have to make due either way.

- Emma, do you want to make a sign that the store is closed until further notice? Christine thought a friendly sign could be a nice change of pace for anyone coming by.

- I don't know how to spell that! Emma complained.

- Oh, no worries. I'll help you! Christine walked into the office and aided Emma in making a nice sign. She grabbed a couple of plastic pockets and a staplers, just to make sure it wouldn't be ruined in a snow storm or fall off. They also added a note summarizing what she had been told by the 911 operator.

No one was around as she went out to put up the sign. Perhaps people are just waiting at home for the electricity to be repaired, most people probably didn't think to call the emergency services.

- Ok. We should take as much as we can carry of food and medical supplies and head back home, Christine noted to Emma. It doesn't look like anyone is coming to the store today. I think we will be safe at home for a while. Luckily we just got a shipment of MRE's, I know you don't like them much but they will keep us fed for a couple of weeks. But we should probably grab the medical supplies and some water purification tablets. We don't have everything we need in the store, but it's a start.

They found a couple of old backpacks and filled them up with some essentials. It was only the day after a possible natural disaster, but for some reason it felt like they had just spent the first day in a completely different world. Everything was so quiet. They locked the back door as they left and started walking back home. It was cold, a fog had rolled into town and they couldn't see or hear much. Luckily they knew the way very well.

Edited January 3, 2021 by upnorth

[upnorth]

- Is that Amy? Christine asked aloud when they approached their home.

- I think so! Hi Amy! Emma shouted.

As they approached the slumped over women on their doorstep and her dog between her leg they got a sense that something was wrong.

- How have you been, did you find out anything from that guy we met this morning? Christine asked.

- I... I... Amy stammered.

They waited for her to get her composure. Christine noticed she was clenching a dark cup between her hands.

- He took me along to loot a store for supplies, then he drove back home and invited me in. But I felt bad about it and just wanted to get home... Amy quietly told them.

She started sobbing.

- It's burnt to the ground! My house is gone! I don't know what to do. First the power outage last night and now this, what is happening!? Amy finally told them, with her dog trying to console her.

- I'm so sorry! Of course you are welcome with us, let's get inside! Christine helped her gather her things and opened their door.

The last 24 hours had been odd to say the least, she couldn't imagine how Amy was feeling. The guy Amy had spent the day with apparently had a working car and hadn't used it to leave town yet, she wondered why. But enough for one day. For now they just needed to get warm, get feed and get rested. You don't survive well without a clear head after all, her father had warned her plenty of times.

Edited January 7, 2021 by upnorth

[upnorth]

@Catlover@Swippity_Swappityand others that might want to contribute. I have a couple of plots and some TLD lore I think would be interesting to explore, but I also try to limit how much and often I contribute to the story to make it easy for everyone else to jump in with your ideas as well. Don't want to control the story too much.

[Catlover]

@upnorthFirst of all, sorry for not contributing lately. I've been pretty busy working on other things but I'll add to this topic soon!

Secondly, I'd love to hear the lore and plot ideas! I'll try to come up with some of my own as well.

[upnorth]

22 hours ago, Catlover said:

@upnorthFirst of all, sorry for not contributing lately. I've been pretty busy working on other things but I'll add to this topic soon!

Secondly, I'd love to hear the lore and plot ideas! I'll try to come up with some of my own as well.

No worries, just wanted to check that everyone wasn't waiting for me or something. Also, I want to avoid discussing ideas openly too much, or it will risk becoming too "meta" and not very immersive to read the story.

[upnorth]

- Mommy, can I see Willy today? Emma asked as they started preparing breakfast.

She had not realized this yet. The normal childhood for Emma might not be. Playing with friends. Pre-school. School. Getting excited for a career and exploring life in general.

- I don't know Emma. I don't think they have a landline but we can try to find their number in the phone book. But finish your breakfast first, ok? Christine replied.

- I'm sorry for Mocha biting Emma, she just gets nervous around strangers sometimes. Amy said trying to break the ice after way too much stress the past couple of days.

- No worries, the wound seems to have healed. You tried to help her pet her in a safe way after all, Christine replied.

- What happened to your house, if you don't mind me asking? Christine continued.

- I don't know. The firemen just gave me what they had managed to save, it looked like some wire had fallen and ignited a fire somehow... Amy answered, still tired from yesterdays events.

- Ok. Well, you are welcome to stay here. I think we have enough to keep warm, fed, and healthy for a while now. But we need a plan. Even if most of town have left we still have limited supplies in the store. Or any establishment for that matter. I have a gun and some ammunition but it won't last forever. We should probably try to check in with the authorities and see if we could get some news. About that, are you sure you don't have anyone you want to call Amy?

Edited January 20, 2021 by upnorth

[Catlover]

The reason I randomly had her house vanish was mainly to get to hopefully create a friendship or whatever between her and Christine (Though whatever happens happens) and I had also seen many burned down places in the actual map, which made me wonder how they actually burned down.

"Pretty sure." Part of her wanted to call her boyfriend, but she was afraid of saying the wrong thing when he picked up. If he picked up.

Christine looked as if she didn't really believe her, though picked up the phone, dialling the number to speak with the authorities. An automated message responded after several rings. She gave a sigh, "They're busy. Everyone still in town is probably calling them right now."

"What do you mean 'everyone who is still in town'? Surely people haven't left already?"

"I saw some cars driving off earlier that hadn't been affected by the aurora, somehow. I doubt that they'll be returning."

Amy was about to respond when Emma, who had evidently been eavesdropping, chipped in,

"Why are people leaving?" She asked, glancing over at her mother, confused.

"I'm not sure, honey." Christine gave a convincing smile and Emma seemed satisfied, resuming her breakfast.

"What's the plan for today?" Amy asked, after a brief silence had passed between them. She preferred planning out her day rather than acting somewhat impulsively. To her, spontaneity greatly resembled chaos, something definitely not desirable right now. 

[upnorth]

1 hour ago, Catlover said:

The reason I randomly had her house vanish was mainly to get to hopefully create a friendship or whatever between her and Christine (Though whatever happens happens) and I had also seen many burned down places in the actual map, which made me wonder how they actually burned down.

I'm fine with anything that make sense within the lore of the game, but perhaps some stuff happened before the Aurora too. The Grey Lady mentions "quakes" so it's not the first natural disaster in the region I think?

[Catlover]

I haven't played wintermute much yet, so I apologise if I make up 'lore' that has already been explained through that. 

I think I got to around Grey Mother, before I stopped playing it. I'm just not a fan of story mode games, though I might try it again someday. 

[upnorth]

20 hours ago, Catlover said:

I haven't played wintermute much yet, so I apologise if I make up 'lore' that has already been explained through that. 

I think I got to around Grey Mother, before I stopped playing it. I'm just not a fan of story mode games, though I might try it again someday. 

Haha, ok. Didn't think of people writing and reading with only survival mode as a reference, makes sense. Well, feel free to write more about the relationship between Chiristine and Amy if you wanted to explore that. I'm more into mystery and exploration myself