Welcome to the Steemit Story Chain

Good afternoon to all you Steemers! It's time for another Steemit Story Chain where I usually invite you guys to continue writing a story I start. Last week I did something a little different though as I got you to also write the first part of the story so you had total control over it. I am pleased to say it went very well and I shall be doing the same again this week. So instead of me starting the story you will.

I want to say a huge thank you to everyone who participated in last week's story chain, I have to say having run this contest for almost five months now the quality of writing in last week's story chain was the best I have witnessed yet. There were some outstanding pieces and we clearly have some very talented writers within the Steemit community. However, where the quality of writing was hugely impressive the narrative was lacking, the story development didn't take us that far. I would like to say a big thank you to @tenebrisplay, @byn, @sunnyali, @magicmage, @citizenzero and @ayamohammed. You all contributed some great writing. After an intense deliberation I have now determined a winner.

@citizenzero

You write with a firmness and eloquence which made the piece really stand out. The dream like sequence which became more bizarre as the principal character awoke in the hospital was written in great detail helping to vividly illuminate the scene in my mind. And the introduction of the shadowy character at the end of the part added a nice sinister piece of narrative.

You have won 100 Whaleshares. Please reply with your Bitshares account information and I will send the Whaleshares to your account immediately. Enjoy! If you don't have an account don't worry it's very simple and completely free to set one up here - https://bitshares.openledger.info/?r=akrid-1.

A reminder of the winning part is detailed below:

Part 4:

From the depth of unconsciousness I swam toward the surface struggling for a breath. It seemed far above me and I feared I would gasp in the foul waters of the deep long before I got there. I did gasp, but I didn’t drown. My eyes opened once again upon the world.

A green sky hovered above, a glowing incandescence. The sound of a gurgling brook and the strange, pulsating whistle pushed its way into my head. I couldn’t smell the earth or the sweetness of the long grass. My nostrils filled instead with the sharp scent of alcohol and disinfectant. I felt cool and comfortable and extremely calm. Where was I?

“Anna?” I tried to speak and almost choked. I bit down and felt the rubbery resistance of a tube running down my throat. To my left was a metal tower supporting a bottle filled with pink liquid and a tube that wound its way down and into my arm.

Hospital. I’m in a hospital! With great effort I turned my head to face the strange sounds. As I suspected, I saw the electronic monitor and the wires connected to my body. But something wasn’t quite right. It didn’t look like any vitals monitor I’d ever seen before. Instead of the spiky sine wave indicating my cardiac function, a prismatic bar pulsed through a select spectrum of color. The numbers that should have indicated my pulse rate and other parameters were as unintelligible to me as Sanskrit. What was wrong with me? If this was a hospital room it was like no other I’d ever seen before.

I felt no pain, but my body sensations were fully alive, fully awake. The bed was so comfortable, almost too comfortable. I felt I was floating yet a slight downward press with my arm met resistance without the softness of a sheet, only pressure. I moved my legs and arms as much as I could, but they felt strapped down, as did my head. I wiggled my fingers and toes. Without seeing them I knew they moved. Nothing broken, nothing missing.

From what I could see, my room had no corners, only rounded walls that, like the ceiling, emitted a somber, green glow. To my left I spied one area that stood out: an arched, unlit semicircle. As I tried to discern what it meant, it emitted a whoohishing sound and slid from view. A dark shadow stood in the doorway.

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Now let's move on to this week's new story chain entitled again, for the moment, Your Story. As mentioned previously I am going to ask you to start the story as well as finishing it, that way you have total control of what the story is and what its destination will be. If you would like to take part in the contest then please make sure you upvote and resteem this post. Then use the comment box to start and continue writing the story. Please ensure you number which part of the story you are writing. Be as creative and as original as you can. You can write in any genre and mix things up as much as you want. And make sure you flex that creative muscle and have fun.

This contest is sponsored by Whaleshares and I owe a big thank you to @akrid and @officialfuzzy. There are 100 Whaleshares for the winning entry. If you would like to learn more about Whaleshares and how they can increase your post rewards please visit https://steemit.com/whaleshares/@eirik/guide-on-how-to-use-whaleshares-updated-version where @eirik will gladly explain more to you.

What I am looking for in order to determine the winning entry is as follows:

• A strong sense of imagination
• Creative intelligence
• Originality
• Narrative fluidity (ensuring the story chain links smoothly)
• Use of language, grammar and syntax (we need to understand what you're saying!)

The winner will be announced in a week's time. A new post will be published then announcing the winner along with a new story chain.

Part One of Your Story

Please begin writing the story.