The Cliffhanger Collaborative Thread

Welcome to the Cliffhanger Collaborative Thread

In the following thread you will read a story written by ATS members with only one purpose,
to leave the reader hanging.

If you are one of ATS's famed writers, and know where the story should go, the next post is yours. If you are a member of ATS, have yet to join us in the writing forums, and have something to add to the tale, it's probably time to contact a moderator and get your writers status so that you may post the next chapter in this thread.

For those of you not ATS members reading this and "lurking" around the site,
...quit lurking...join us in the forums, and add to this tale.





The rules are simple:

This thread and it's story is open for anyone to add to.

Try to keep your post to a moderate length and pack as much as you can into just a few paragraphs.

Give each of your additions to the story a Chapter Name.

Build up the story and characters, and add new ones (or remove) when needed.

Leave your post with something unresolved and suspenseful so that the next poster has a place to start.

Please wait for at least two post after a post by yourself before adding another post so that other writers get a chance to add their parts and that the story may be as diverse as possible.



Don't forget: The intent of this thread is to leave the reader in suspense upon finishing your post.


...and now, on to our story:

The First Day of the Dark Spot

Just as every morning before, the sun rose, bringing warmth and light to the people of the Earth. Little did those inhabitants know that this day would be different than the rest. Parents awoke their sleepy children to start getting them for school, and to prepare themselves for the daily grind, while the birds chirped loudly in the morning's breeze, for even the birds were unaware of what was to come.

It was a young boy who first noticed the event. If he hadn't become so fascinated with the shape of a passing cloud he noticed while waiting for the school bus, he would have missed the dark spot that appeared in the morning sky. Not knowing what to make of the sight (not that he could have, for it had never been witnessed before), he turned to his father who was standing beside him, and ask what the dark spot near his cloud might be. In just the few moments that he had taken his eyes off the sky to get his father's attention, the spot had doubled in size.

Stunned, the father had no reply to give to his son. He could see the dark spot in the sky growing before his eyes. It was almost as if a battle between day and night had begun, and night was slowly overpowering day. Again the boy asked his father what it was the formed the dark spot in the sky. The father's only response was to grab his son's hand and run towards the house.

The first drops of the black acid rain began falling immediately. Wisps of smoke rose from every touch of the dark,
pelting goo. Trees and fields, lawns and crops, all suddenly withered under the onslaught. Farm animals bolted away from the deluge, screeching whenever touched by the downpour.
Anything alive caught outside quickly died.

Inside offered shelter, but that appeared to be temporary at most.

Build-up of the black goo on the roof, both in acidity and weight, began to take its toll.

Everything smoldered !

Ten minutes later the black droplets turned to tar-balls, about the size of golfballs.

The exterior roof caved in on itself, showering the upstairs with smoking debris and goo.

It was apparent the basement was the safest place to be and the family made its way down the narrow stairs and shut and locked the door, at last able to get their second wind. Above them terrible wrenching noises wailed, as the second floor began its collapse onto the first floor.
Inky black ooze now fell directly to the floor above them !