Here are the final 8 with a review of why I liked it. The way that I got to these 8 was I erased the ones I didn't think would win and that left me with 64. I mixed these up and took them 2 at a time, choosing which one I liked the best. Then when I had the 32 I mixed them up and did the same thing. Once I got down to the 8 I sent an email around to a few choice individuals here at work and the one they choose will be the winner.
"I'm sorry," the mad priest said. "You saw her naked and so they must be cleansed." The needle smelled of ammonia as it pierced my eye.
This one is all kinds of creepy. The feeling of helplessness and fear as the mad priest does his cleansing. Good imagery.
Arms pinned now, the cold water reached her chin. She looked to the distant light trying to remember when the sound of rain calmed her.
This one speaks to fears - death, drowning, being trapped. The bittersweet ending is what makes this one stand out. The stark differences between the fear and the remembrance makes this one cool.
He couldn't hear her anymore, but the shape of her face, pressing up from the beneath the surface of wall, kept screaming as he walked away.
This one is very Edgar Allan Poe. It reminds me a lot of The Cask of Amontillado.
I don't recognize myself anymore. These hands are not my own, this face is that of a stranger and monstrous to me. God help me for loving it.
Have you ever done something you immediately regretted? What if you liked what you'd done? This one speaks to all of us on a very animalistic level.
I looked into the mirror, and said to my reflection, "I don't know if I can do this." As I turned away, I heard it whisper back, "I know."
Is the person insane or is there more going on here? This story hints of something larger but still conveys the tension of the moment.
It had been hard, caring for so many cats. Now, as she fed them one last time, she wondered what they would do once her bones were clean.
Crazy cat ladies (real ones, not Zen) are looked at as potentially unstable. This one takes it a step further and gives herself fully to the animals she cares so deeply about.
She giggled. No one would look in the dark closet. Through his noose-bent neck, the hanging man shared the laugh and reached towards her.
This one has wonderfully creepy imagery. The little girl playing hide-n-seek is oblivious to the evil being sharing the confined space. I particularly liked the word play with "noose-bent neck".
Union soldiers crested the hill. Behind them rose a dark shadow, swatting away our musket fire. I held my ground as it swallowed Ryan whole.
This one making the list surprised even me but I love the play of alternate history and the "monster" angle.
I should have an answer and award sometime today.
---------- Post added at 08:58 AM ---------- Previous post was at 08:46 AM ----------
Okay, this was faster than I thought. There were two total standouts. The first is the contest winner and the second was one that didn't really fit the parameters of the contest but was very moving and well done.
The contest winner of a $100 gift card to the online store of their choice is...
FUN SIZE!
The winning entry was this one:
She giggled. No one would look in the dark closet. Through his noose-bent neck, the hanging man shared the laugh and reached towards her.
I think the image and wordplay of the "noose-bent neck" is what drew people to the entry.
Congrats, Fun Size!
The second entry that deserves recognition is from DocSeverin.
My world explodes, incredible silence follows, and two friends gone. I walk away without a scratch...how can I live?
Maybe it's because I'm former military, but this one struck a chord deep within me. For 140 characters this entry has pain, confusion, loss. It's frankly an amazing entry and shows what you can really do with the Twitter medium.
Thanks to all who participated and I hope you all had a lot of fun with it!
