Harris Burdick Writing

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Harris Burdick Writing

Harris Burdick Writing Contest!!

I don't know if anyone else here has heard of the mysteries of Harris Burdick. I reccomend the book, so right here I'm going to give a short synopsis about him.

He gave these picture to a guy with the captions and said that he would arrive the next day with the stories. But he never did. And he was never found again.

Various authors have written stories with the pictures.

Contest:

Pick a picture and write a story with it. The deadline is May 1, 2017. I'll post an example of a writing afterwords. At the end, it will probably take a week of judging to find out who won.

 

As soon as this posts, I'll post the pictures!! 

 

On your mark, get set, WRITE! 

 

This sounds like a fun idea, but we can't post any illustrations you may have copied from another website or book. How about drawing your own original pictures and asking people to write about them?

Admin

submitted by Child_of_light
(March 22, 2017 - 7:53 pm)

@Admins

Can I draw the pictures, but use the same title and captions?

 

No, that would be copying someone else's ideas and words. Come up with your own titles and captions.

Admin

submitted by Child_pf_light
(March 23, 2017 - 10:26 am)

Here is a drawing similiar to one of the pictures called Captain Tory.

 

Here is the drawing: 

image.jpeg
submitted by Child_of_light
(March 23, 2017 - 11:16 am)

This is my title for the last picture:

The Ship of the Night

 

Caption:

Even though the sky was pitch black, the ship seemed to be giving off an eerie light.

 

Admins, is this OK? 

Yes.

submitted by Child_of_light
(March 23, 2017 - 11:18 am)

Here's an example I did for The Ship of Night. I actually did this for the actual drawing, but it's similiar.

 

Prologue 

Six years ago, March 2010

I woke up in the middle of the night. There were screams downstairs. The smell of acrid smoke filled my bedroom.  The smoke was getting so thick that it was getting hard to see.

The smoke burned my throat, skin, and eyes like citric acid. The walls of the house burned like weeds set a fire. My dad opened the door to my room, picked me up, and carried me downstairs. A bunch of overly hairy men crowded our house, looting us of the treasures that made our house ours. 

My dad quickly opened the wood door, and threw me out into the freezing night. He told me stuff that no seven year old should ever hear. He told me to leave, that I was a disgrace to the family name. That he would call the cops if I ever turned up in this part of town ever again. He called me a traitor, that I had led these people to him. 

One thing thing that he said made no sense whatsoever. He said that I carried something in my from Mom’s side, and it would cause the death of him. He said that I had plagued him with my telekinetics. What in the world is telekinetics?!?

I did the only rational thing at the time. I turned around and ran as far as my feet could take me.

 

March 2016

I stifled a scream. The strange man swung the poorly lit lantern three times, and slowly the schooner appeared. The scream got caught in my throat. The ship looked like the Black Pearl, straight from Pirates of the Caribbean. I wouldn’t have been surprised if undead Captain Jack Sparrow was on the ship.

The bright lights warmed my face. It was early March, and the air coming off the East River was freezing. From where I was standing, I could see the magnificent  Empire State Building. The fog coming off the water made us look like we were something out of a nightmare. Or possibly, out of the Realm of the Dishonorable Dead, but definitely not Valhalla.

My hands were shackled behind my back with military grade handcuffs. They chafed into my skin, irritating it like crazy. I knew that I would not leave this journey unscathed. That was, in fact, if I came back. For every child my age, in Brooklyn, had been warned not to imagine. For once you do, you are at the point of no return. 

The wind howled as we stepped onto the ship. I wondered if Alex Stowe, from  The UnWanteds, had felt this way when he traveled to the Death Farm. I could only hope that there would be someone like the eccentric Mr. Today where I was going. Probably not.

As we took off from the dock, I realized that this might be my last night in busy NYC. If the stories that I had heard were true, than I was as good as a dead person.I know that life is unfair, but come on! I knew that if I made one wrong move, than New York would go from my city to h.e. double hockey sticks.

The wind blew my caramel colored hair into my face. At this point, I didn’t care. I was only thirteen! And the thing is,life had not been kind to me. 

My mom had died when I was very young. And as if that wasn’t enough, my dad had left me to fend for myself at age 7. I felt like Promi, from Atlantis Rising. A nimble pie-thief, who has a way with knives. The fact that I can say that is depressing.

I looked up. We were nearing the Atlantic Ocean now. Once we got out to sea, I would no longer be a thirteen year old girl. Everything I had done in my life (even if it hadn’t been a lot) would be for nothing. It didn't take an Artemis Fowl to figure that out.

The strange man shoved me towards a small wooden door. It had a sign on it that said Cargo Hold. Most likely, it was a place where they took prisoners, and kept them there until the ship reached the ocean. The book, that took me many difficulties to get, said that they only took thirteen year old children that imagined because they were the most powerful at the Magic in all ten worlds.  And I don’t mean pulling rabbits out of hats. I’m talking about telekinetics, time travel, etc. Kind of like the Fairlies from the Kingdom Keepers Disney at Dawn. Minus the fact that they’re orphans, and they get tested by military officials at Barracks 14, and are probably backing up the Overtakers.

Just as I was being shoved down the slimy cargo hold hatch, I saw him. Great, just what I needed! I might as well have hung myself, right then and there. Not even my luck could be that bad. 

Before I knew it, I was in a cell. My badly bruised hands were uncuffed. I was able to slip the old, sharp hunting knife out of my sleeve. I quickly loped off some of my long, straight hair. Maybe that would keep him from recognizing me.

I sat up against the rough, splintered wall. Thoughts swirled around in my head. Cass Williams, Eloise Williams, Aly Black, Jack McKinley, Marco Ramsay. They had to deal with problems worse than mine. If they could put up with the fact that they were going to die at age 14, then I could put up with with being trapped to the ship forever. Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Sailor is what they call Aly, Jack, Marco, Cass. I’m a sailor through and through.

The minutes ticked away. We must have been reaching the Atlantic, which deemed my end, when the ship stopped abruptly. There were shouts above deck. There were only two reasons that we stopped. Another pick-up or we had run aground in the shallow water. Neither option seemed good. 

The ship got quiet again. Through a small, barred window in my cell, I saw an abandoned factory that reeked of oil. The strong smell of saltwater pierced the air. We were definitely getting close to the Atlantic now. I could feel the magic of the ship ebbing into my soul. From legend, I knew that I was the first female pirate on the ship. I wondered how the other pirates would look at that. Not kindly, I presumed.

The door to the cargo hold banged open. A dark, hooded figure rushed down the stairs. It was him, again! He held a key in his hand. My dad looked up at me, warning his eyes. Apparently the hair trick didn’t work.

“Aly! You’ve got to get out of here! I’ve silenced the other by sending them down to the mess hall. They are going to indulge themselves in fish stew, but it won't take them long to figure out that they were tricked. You have approximately 21 minutes to get out of here, before you're trapped just like me,” my dad whispered, tears coming to my eyes.

When he said that he had silenced them, I thought that he had killed them. Just another example of how messed up my life is if I think that someone had committed murder by “silencing” them.

At that moment, I realized why he left. He didn’t leave, he was adult-napped (or something like that). Six years of built-up anger left my body. It quickly returned though, making me want to punch those pirates in the face. They were obnoxious jerks (kind of like Aunt Beatrice from the 39 Clues).

I nodded at my dad. As quiet as a mouse, he opened the cell door. I crept out, and the floorboards creaked. The boat rocked, making me feel queasy. Yep, definitely a Cass.

I rushed up the steps as if it was Ragnarok. Then again, if I didn’t make it off the ship, then it would be Doomsday. Lovely thoughts that you have when you walk to the prow of the ship. Then again, Doomsday could come any day now.

Then, suddenly, I stopped. I felt a warm breath on the back of my neck. It smelled strongly of rum. Don’t I ask me how I know. I just do.

Without thinking about it, I kicked the guy behind me with my heel. He groaned and immediately tossed his cookies over the side of the boat. I didn't have time to think about how gross that was. I had to get to the front boat, and quickly. If not, I would be a dead man (or girl, it really doesn’t matter).

More pirates came from the mess hall. My feet were constantly kicking them in the stomach. Some of them missed the side of the boat, and retched on my black, calf-high boots. Now that was gross.

I finally made it to the prow. The moon glowed silver on the water. The pirates came rushing behind me. My dad was bleeding and bound to the mast. All the pirates were holding large swords that they had drawn from their sheaths.

Quickly, I made sure I had the Book of the Magic. I put it into my waterproof bag, and stuck that into my jacket. Looking behind me, I tried to tell myself that this was a good idea. For some strange reason, I couldn’t. 

“Trying to escape, girl?” asked Captain Barnacle. He was the nastiest captain around, besides Captain Davy Jones. I’m pretty sure you get the reason why he’s called Captain Barnacle. His body was coated in slimy, underwater crust.

“Leave her be!” my father groaned in agony. His face was pinched in discomfort. It was obvious to see that he was in pain.

“Aly, jump!” my dad demanded. His body was racked in pain. As he trembled with fear, blood dripped ever so slowly onto the dirty floor.

My steel blue eyes met his soft brown eyes. NO NOT BLOOD SPILT! This will be the undoing of the universe, all because of me. Why on this day/night did this have to happen.

“Blood spilt will be the undoing of us all, for the Magic’s fate will be the Chosen’s fall.” I murmured in a trance. Golden light billowed from arms, lightning up the night. My hair stayed still, despite the strong wind coming in from the harbor.

“Her soul will stay in a jar sealed tight, only to be opened on the final night.” I continued, feeling exhausted. The golden light faded. Meanwhile, the Pirates were gaping at me, their eyes filled with terror. What had shaken them so bad?

“And on that night, darkness shall stay, for the end of the world happens this way.” I finished. My sight turned watery, and my legs buckled beneath me. I paused, the silver light from the moon, contrasting with the fair golden light, just shimmering off my body, like golden glitter on a black poster-board.

I paused for too long. The ugly pirates were closing in. Their braids were littered with blood, dirt, and gold. It was now or never. I took one last look at my dad. He winced and nodded in consent, a look of regret on his face. He wanted to come with me, but he knew that for my safety, he couldn’t. I took one last look at the glowing moon, held my breath, and I jumped into the freezing cold , oil black East River.

 

Epilogue 

Later that night

My head broke the surface of the water. The ship was a smudge in the distance. Even still, I could hear the vexing of the pirates on the ship, which burned my ears. No one should ever hear what they said, it was that nasty.

As I swam to shore, I thought if I should go back and rescue my dad. I mean, he did save me and all. But if I went back, I might be captured again, and put him in even more danger.

I pulled myself out of the freezing water. As I sat upon the rocks, looking out at the ocean, I made my decision. It made my heart break into pieces.

Before I could start crying, I got up. Turning around ever so slowly, as if not to alert any strange beings in the area. And I ran, to wherever my feet would take me. But there would never be a way out of my cruel, calculating mind.                      

Also later that Night

The Professor held up a small, turquoise amulet that trapped many wicked, malicious spirits. Swinging it back and forth, making horrors arise from the Earth. The Prophecy had been spoken, and he could no longer help the Chosen One. He could only drag her down to the depths of the ocean, wring her pretty neck, and hope to drown her. Aly wouldn’t see her own pathetic, miserable death coming. 

Prophecy:

Blood spilt will be the undoing of us all

For the Magic’s fate will be the Chosen’s fall

Her soul will stay in a jar sealed tight

Only to be opened on the final night

And on this night, darkness shall stay

For the end of the world happens this way

 

 

Sorry for the typos. Hope you like it!  

submitted by Child_of_light
(March 23, 2017 - 11:22 am)