Young adult runners up c.., p.1
Young Adult Runners-Up Collection 2024, page 1
Runners-Up Collection
Oxfordshire Libraries’
eBook Short Story Competition
2024
Young Adult category
Contents
Ghost Grid by Sophia N. Irwin
Parisian Heartbreak by Amelie Smith
A Sea of Help by Emily Wang
Ghost Grid
by Sophia N. Irwin
November 6th, 1588
Capital City Eldriach
Dariya, Vyasklan Empire
Wind rattles the door in its peeling frame. It batters the window shutters and howls through the chinks in the windows, the cracks in the walls. Light sparks, then flickers and rises with a sigh. A solitary flame sways through the lantern’s frosted panes. Soft snores creep out from under thick woollen rugs.
Another light shines in the same room, a reflection of the lantern in bright olive eyes gazing out from under a mop of brown curls.
“One more story, please?”
A shadow in the doorway grunts. “Not tonight. Maybe tomorrow.”
“Please?”
A second grunt. Then, a quiet sigh. “Fine. But a short one.” The shadow steps forwards into the lantern light and becomes a man. The dim glow accentuates every wrinkle and crease, planes of his face knife-sharp. He sits heavily on the bed, drawing creaks from its wooden frame as he does so.
“I may have mentioned this before. Within the known world, there are many kingdoms and empires, our own being one of the largest. And of course you know about Catharsis to the west, and Manzhu to the south.”
The boy’s eyes widen as he drinks in these details, as if learning these details again brought exhilaration not even his own games did.
“Well, there was a time when the Manzhu Dynasty wasn’t so big. There was a country between us, called Tailuon. It was ruled by the Honsenzu Empire.”
The lantern flame sinks, just a little lower.
“It’s a strange place. Their home country, Honsenzu… not many go there, it’s so far out east. Fewer make it out alive. They say it’s cursed. The people there have eyes of fire, and host demons in their souls. The land is governed by savage tribes fighting for power. There are places, whole streets of buildings devoted to their primal mating instincts…” he trails off. His gaze, so intense he might be a savage warrior himself, bores into the boy’s own eyes. Emotions on display, so raw that the boy couldn’t stop himself from asking-
“Have you ever been there?”
The man hesitates, shakes his head. “No. but I’ve met one of them. An old man on a trading ship.” He shakes his head again. “But that’s a different story for a different time.”
“Will their empire ever take control of Tailuon again?”
Again the man pauses, before answering, “I don’t know. But I pray to the Holy Mother that they don’t, for we will be very close to them if that happens.” He rises from the bed and walks towards the door. Footsteps echo, uneven from an old battle-born limp.
“Sleep now, Lev. We’ll talk again tomorrow.”
As he shuts the door, taking the light with him, the boy lays back onto the bed.
Outside, a silhouette of shadow and fog leaps silently from the roof where it once perched. Red eyes gleam and blink out like tiny flames, as it takes off.
As it flickers and sprints away, taking these stories away into the night.
April 23rd, 1604
Capital City Shoguo
Honsenzu
My city is beautiful at night. Hundreds of people come to gather under the flaring red streetlights. The courtesans begin their processions through the crowds, graceful cranes gliding through the masses of ducklings. Colossal torii gates flash with cyan beads of light, crystal barely glimpsed through painted crimson wood.
But tonight, the streets are quiet. Tension sparks like lightning. Rumours glare like the summer sun. the whispers, normally so quiet and harmless, are dauntingly real. Vyaskla have moved against us, they murmur. The North-West empires are going to war. Even as I return home, tripping over my feet in haste, the night guards call after me teasingly. “Be careful! You don’t want to run into those Vyasklan spies.” Their laughter rings behind me, snorting at the irony of their warnings. Honsenzu’s technology surpassed the Western nations’ centuries ago. Anyone coming into Honsenzu unregistered would be identified immediately.
I freeze, one leg still outside, hakama* flapping in the breeze. “Mizuchi, where were you for the last few hours?” I turn, face my mother as her stern gaze bored through me. “Just on the main streets.”
She sighs.
“You have dirt on your sleeve. Wipe that off, and join your father in the governors’ meeting. You’re fifteen, not six. It’s time you started shadowing what he does.” With a grateful nod, I run down to the meeting room.
I slide the door closed behind me as I enter, kneeling at Father’s side. He nods in acknowledgement before continuing the meeting. “We’ll have to send someone over to Vyaskla, find out when they’ll mobilise. A kunoichi* would be ideal; they don’t expect much of women over there.” A voice from the other side of the room booms off the delicately painted walls.
“Could I suggest one of my own students?” The voice belongs to a tall man with fiery hair cascading down his shoulders, amber eyes flaring like small, wild suns. I search my memory, settling on a name that was previously faceless; Seijuro Teiwaku, the first warlord of his clan after the civil war. “You mean old Hisato’s son?” Another voice, this time from a more reserved participant, silver kimono immaculate. Teiwaku shakes his head.
“No. Ren Yahiro.”
A pause. Silence cloaks the room. “She’s only thirteen, isn’t she?” This time a silver-haired man, most recent member of the council, tears the silence apart. Teiwaku counters this with ease. “She’s young, yes, but stronger than most girls of her age. Remember, she passed the Patron Choosing Ceremony ranked second. Another pause. A ripple of emotion passes through the room, as memories of the battles fought to gain their eternal companion surfaced. The silver-haired man raises his head, combing his fingers over his scalp. “Any child who passes so young deserves the chance to prove themselves.” Father dips his head.
“It’s decided, then. Ren Yahiro will undertake this task.”
April 25th, 1604
Capital City Eldriach
Dariya, Vyasklan Empire
The soldiers rise as their major strides through the door, heading towards a new addition to the regiment. Brown curls frame his face, remnants of childhood still clear under his unruly hair.
“Lev Kovalenko, you’re to find and detain a girl from the Eastern territories. Thirteen years old, Eastern attire. Name unknown. Go with the other men in your squad.” The boy nods, disappointment flickering over his face.
Thirty men, for a single girl? The major continues. “She’s a spy of Honsenzu, more dangerous than you think.”
As Lev slides his sword into his belt, another soldier approaches. “New mission, hm?”
Lev nods. “Well, at least you’re coming too, Nikolai. It sounds more interesting than guarding the walls.”
Nikolai grunts.
“It’s just a girl. We’ll deal with it.”
They trudge through the frostbitten undergrowth, positioning themselves carefully behind the trees. A girl crouches in the centre of the clearing, head lowered, murmuring softly to the stray cat weaving around her. Nikolai strides towards her.
“You have been found guilty of treason against the Empire of Vyaskla, and therefore the Regent himself. You have the right- “
He crumples backwards, as the girl rises and flickers an arm out to slam the heel of her palm into his stomach. His eyes are glazed, unfocused. The girl dusts off her hands, eyes clouded with indifference. Her hair cascades down her shoulders like ink, as she raises her head to fix her gaze on the gnarled trunk Lev crouches behind.
She…
Smiles.
It’s a gentle smile, the kind you would offer to a beggar huddled on the roadside. A smile that says, I’m sorry, but I don’t care enough to safe you. He shudders, suddenly aware of the weight of his sword at his belt, the rustling of his comrades, the bite of the wind at his neck. His shoulders lift as he stiffens. Like a mouse, he’d scurried through the bushes without realising the cat was waiting at the other side.
He was being hunted.
The girl’s eyes narrow as she begins to speak. Her voice is melodic, and yet so wrong, like a chord played on a broken instrument. As if something else speaks from within her. Her words are sharp as they shatter the silence like glass.
“Aren’t you here for a reason?”
Soldiers pour through the undergrowth, brandishing swords and shields. Ren closes her eyes, sounds magnifying before unsheathing her blade. She feels the whirl of air on her face, the wind pushed forwards by a sword swinging around her neck. She ducks and rolls forward through the legs of another soldier, slashing at his calves with ease. He grunts and heavily crashes to the ground. Already blood is spraying through the air, as she twists around to strike at the outstretched arms above her head. Three more men fall. Shields rise overhead. She leaps, flipping overhead and catching the branch extending above them, before dropping down and slicing down. Wood splinters, leather splits. Snow darkens from silver to crimson.
Footsteps pound closer still. You haven’t learned, have you?
The girl stands in the middle of the clearing. Rusted stai
This girl is a living horror story, a fairytale monster come to life.
A voice speaks from somewhere deep in her mind, as Ren straightens up and flicks the blood from her blade. “You know, this will make everything worse than it already is. Westerners fear that which is not human. They believe we Patrons are demons, although we are only the guardians of a select few.” A sly laugh flickers like a candle in the wind. “Well, we’ll see.”
A rush of air beats against Lev. He stumbles backwards, narrowly escaping the slice that nearly exposed his guts. The girl sidesteps to score long gashes over his arms. Every breath rasps against his throat, his much-loved uniform coated with dirt and blood. He glances at his comrades scattered around the clearing, as they stagger forwards only to receive another beating from this infernal child. He was the last man standing, a dead man walking. Soon he’d make a wrong turn, and find the girl’s narrow blade piercing his throat.
He caught a glimpse of Nikolai slowly reaching for his sword, unsteadily rising to stand next to him, scanning the clearing. Muttering, “none dead” in Lev’s ear. His eyes widened meaningfully.
Even though this unnatural girl could have slaughtered them all in minutes, none had been pushed to the limit, merely toyed with until their strength was gone. At every chance to kill, she had faltered.
And he understood.
The girl sprints towards them once more. Lev forces his arms down, refuses to make a desperate parry, instead throwing himself forwards. The blades carve through him, as if he’s made of nothing but air and dust.
Maybe, this is a good death.
He thinks longingly of his father’s bedtime stories as he falls.
The soldier crumples in the snow, a sail without wind. An onslaught of images pour through her mind, so achingly familiar that they could be memories of her own. Stone-faced soldiers as far as the eye can see, the groan of a man suppressing agony in vain, the flash of a knife sinking into the stomach of the warrior who holds it as she falls down, down, down into never-ending darkness. A voice from above her, screaming that she must survive as the waters close above her head and she sinks down, down, down into the cold depths, always struggling to the surface, always alone. She’s drowning, a storm of death raging above her head as the clearing around her turns to the bottom of that cold, cold, cold lake, and as a jarring blow strikes her head and she sinks gracefully into the snow, she can’t help but feel relief that the images have fled to the fog of her mind.
April 30th, 1604
Capital City Shoguo
Honsenzu
Cold fingers flutter over my face. “Mizuchi, Father’s calling you.” I open one eye to see a bright silver eye hovering above my own. I scramble upright as my sister raises her head and continues, “He wants you in the main room in a few minutes, full dress. Lord Teiwaku’s also there.” Her eyebrows crease with concern. “He looked really stressed, I think it’s something important.” I nod, giving her hand a small squeeze. “Go back to sleep Hina. Thanks for telling me.” With a brief smile, she hurries out of the room.
Father dips his head as I enter. “Mizuchi, thank you.” He turns to the pacing form of lord Teiwaku in front of him. “So, what happened?”
“Ren has stopped responding to my contacts. Her connection to the Grid is still stable, but she’s… vanished. Even her written messages have stopped. She was last seen outside the city walls.” His voice Is tight. I can feel the panic he’s struggling to extinguish; his care for his students rages like a wildfire, threatens to overpower reason. “There’s no way of tracing her without incriminating her further.” Father tips his head to the side, considering this.
“Then we’ll have to send in someone else to infiltrate. Mizuchi passed his Patron Choosing Ceremony ranked first. He’s learned enough about Vyaskla to blend in as a traveller.” He turns to me. “You will infiltrate Eldriach’s walls with Hinata. No, Mizuchi, don’t argue. Your sister can defend herself, and she can go places you cannot.” I nod, a familiar tightness rising in my chest. Hina’s young, and she has to be protected. But I couldn’t refuse.
May 2nd, 1604
Capital City Eldriach
Dariya, Vyasklan Empire
A woman’s voice weaves through time, gentle words achingly familiar as they’re sung through years of discarded memory. A child opens her eyes and the words vanish, smoke waved away by a careless hand. Water trickles down the dank stone walls. The cold metal bars press against her back, columns of ice in the winter chill. The last of the tune slips away, leaves a yawning space where memory should be. High above her head, a ray of moonlight illuminates the dim cell. She stands. Shackles rattle as she leaps up, scrabbling at the top of the bars for a better grip. As she peers out, a voice echoes from down the corridor. “She’s at the window!” A key clicks in the lock, a broad-shouldered man grabs her ankles and yanks her back down to the ground, before delivering a slap that knocks her head aside like paper. He stands over her, sneering down as he spits at her. Laughing when she raises her arms to shield her face. “Just a little kitty who got lost, then?” He snickers, gesturing at the slits of her pupils; unnatural, feline. The blue-green glow of her eyes dims, narrows. The man leans closer- and falls back, scream catching in his throat as she lunged forwards, sinking her teeth into his throat. Blood sprays the cell. She grabs the keys from his belt, fumbling with the chains until they fall away with a quiet clink. Lights begin to glare around the corner, only a few moments left. Footsteps light, barely audible, she dashes down the cold hallways, stumbling as the uneven stone grated at her hare feet. A lantern confronts her; a yawning guard, snapping alert as she rolls, ducked under his elbow, leaps up the stairs. “THE TRAITOR’S ESCAPED!” More footsteps, heavier now. Several bobbing lights gravitate towards her, steel swords clinking in their sheaths. She takes one glance at the crowd, darts down an alleyway as the soldiers towards her path.
May 2nd, 1604
Kiyomori Bay, Capital City Shoguo
Honsenzu
Hinata’s voice awakens me from swirling thoughts. “How long do you think it’ll take?” I shake my head. “Maybe months. But hopefully not too long; Ren is a kunoichi, remember, and one of high ranking. She’ll figure out how to escape.” I meet her silver gaze. “It’ll be fine, Hina.” I rake my hair through my fingers, shiver at the unnatural feel of the wind at my neck. Men don’t keep long hair in the West, and Father insisted that we blend in. Scooping up my bag, I nudge her shoulder and head outside. Father stands waiting.
“It’ll take you a few weeks to reach Vyaskla, and some more days to get to the Capital. Be careful.” He pats down my shirt collar. “Make sure you take all precautions, Leave no trace, make sure Hinata is safe and well.” I nod, turn to Hinata, and take her hand. Her wrist is thin, fragile in my own hand, bones slight like a sparrow’s. Hinata dips her head and starts towards the jetty.
I glance back at the Capital once more, before following her. The crimson lanterns flicker under the deep satin sky.
*Hakama- a traditional skirt-like pair of pants
*Kunoichi- female assassin and reconnaissance worker
.
Parisian Heartbreak
By Amelie Smith
Our story starts with two young people on the brink of the rest of their lives. A girl, head over heels for a boy that isn’t. This is their story.
May 1st, 1998
I walk into school, my heart pounding. It is my last day to roam these halls, wonder the playground and see all my friends, every day. It is my last day of school. As I look around the canteen, I reminisce. I see my year seven self, entering the gates that seemed so tall for the first time, my year nine self, crying over a test that I can’t even remember now. My year eleven self, scared stiff about opening the rough brown cardboard envelope that held my GCSE’s. All for it to end up like this. And then I see him. Those pale blue eyes that I have fantasized about in all my selves since I met him. In his starched school shirt and the sun shining over his golden curls, he is an angel, in my eyes at least. As he walks through the canteen, I realise I will probably never see him again. Going to university in Paris guarantees that you won't bump into your school mates. He strolls nearer, and I realise this is my chance. The boy I have been mooning over forever will be mine, I know it. He takes another step. I take a deep breath. He’s closer now. Here we go. I step towards him and... he walks off without a word escaping my lips. Well, there that goes.
