openers

 

Openers are vital in ensuring that people continue to read a book after reading the first couple of lines. It has to be written in a way such that it immediately captures the reader’s attention, hooks them to it and ensures that the book sells.

• 1. Blood is already making a huge mess on the seemingly white floor. Manning’s body lay motionless. Is he dead? Or is fate being a little nicer to him this time? His lean fingers seems to be shaking, more like vibrating but nothing else indicates that he’s even partially alive. Black silhouettes approaches Manning and a silent scuffle suddenly breaks out only to be hushed down by a deep murmur, “STOP! He has what we want. Blackmoore, get him alive. Have you got the epinepherin?” Beneath the dim corridor light, someone burly steps forward and slowly injects the tube of epinepherin into Manning’s already injured arm.  A couple of minutes past and slowly, Manning stirs as if resurrected from the dead…

• 2. The little boy picks up the grains of rice scattered like little dots mapping the world’s oceans and trenches. His eyes are empty, devoid of emotions and sometimes he trembles when he picks up the grains, as if picking it up is already eating up his soul. From the corner of the street, a wounded soldier drags his dead feet and slowly staggers towards the boy. In his hand is a round object, like a ball perhaps. Only that it isn’t. It’s a head.

• 3. The crumpled newspaper drops onto the floor. Intrigued by the bold headlines plastered across the paper, Adam’s hands idly picks it up. ” Professor dies a tragic death. Police rules it as suicide”  
          

      ” Father? That can’t be. My father died years ago” 
 


 

• 4.  Carl completely catches Sharon off-guard and pounces her to the brick wall. A loud crack echoes throughout the chilly night air. A broken rib perhaps. “Tell me, where is Brookes? Did you arm him with the information he needs to blow up the president’s car?” Trying to contain her tears, Sharon replied with that panache no women in her place could possibly do. “The president is not dead. He’s alive and breathing and as much as that sucks for you, get a grip and face it. Cause for once you need to screw your egoism and look at the facts. Brookes’s not the mole. Nina is.” As if stabbed in the back, Carl staggers backwards and falls on his knees onto the hard concrete floor. Lost in the thought that his fiance actually betray him….
 


 

• 5. She twists and plays with the little pieces of diamonds in her palm. It held too much memories for her. Seeing the ring in little pieces makes her feel so empty. Seeing the ring in little pieces is like seeing “them” disappear into the abyss.  
 


 

• 6.  Ann closes her bible and looks out the window. She sees someone whose silhouettes reminds her of her father and almost instantaneously a palpable sense of loss sweeps her from reality and brings her closer to the little shred of past she holds closely to her. The hospital bed stinks of deodorant from the other occupants and she longs for fresh air. She looks down from her window again searching for something familiar until she came across that silhouette again. The one she saw earlier. ” noo, it can’t be. FATH……”




 

• 7. Kell flickers his wand here and there, as if anticipating something incredible to happen. His little audience watches in amusement as the tiny dove flies from his magician cap to across the hall. But, little did they know, the magic show ended hours ago. And now his little product of magic lies beneath the same floorboard he is standing on. Stabbed and soaked in blood. Dead.  




 

• 8. “Please, have mercy on me Sir. I will retrieve the blade of life even if it means putting my whole family in jeopardy.” Brickman closes his eyes, hoping for a word of acknowledgement but instead all he got was silence. One should know that silence in this situation means death. A lanky guy with an eye of deep allure steps into the light, his cheeks scarred by an imprinted mark of swirls and cursive words. When he speaks, his tongue slithers with words of death and destruction, as if to say his life revolves around the sadness of life. “Beware young man. For I am not your god but a servant of god too. Your effort would be looked upon but do not disappoint me and the other fellow members of this group. Do not walk with trepidation as company, for the blade of life is something so pure. It has been aeons. We’ve waited for so long. ” Brickman nods and for the first time ever, looks up and stares directly into the menacing young man’s eye. He starts to shake uncontrollably as the young man steps onto his burnt thighs and with a swish, Brickman screams in….


 

• 9. “I was heavy on weeds”

”And what did you do about it?”

”Nothing. I was heavy on sex too”  Behind the veil, the pastor shakes his head. He hasn’t seen the boy yet but something about his voice and his words reminds him of someone he once knew. Himself.

 

• 10. Ben carries the tiny black box into the yard. There has been too many commotions about the insides of the black box. He knows he has to get rid of it. His superior will not like it, evidences will be lost. But it has to be done. For a greater cause. For the survival of manhood. Slowly, he takes out a lighter and it flickers for a second, catches fire with the piece of newspaper and became destructor of the ….

 






• 11. Milo Pressman caresses the board of the circuit and looks up to the sky. Occasionally he glances at Nadia who happens to be sitting right opposite him, with dreamy eyes and a tired expression. It’s been almost two hours they sat here, waiting for any signs that indicate Dean is inside the building with the terrorist. “I think we should call in Bill” Nadia interrupts Milo’s daydreams. ” Whaa? oh yea, Bill just updated the satelites transmission into my pda. Dean’s definately in there. With a couple of other guys” Milo scratches his stubble and before he could say anything else, the shrilling voice of Nadia fills the empty air, “And why didn’t you update me on this information? you do know that we need to be prepared if Dean comes out of that building with information vital to stop the terrorist from acquiring the nuclear device!!!” Her voice must have triggered the unknown men’s alarm because seconds past and gunshots was heard. “NADIA! LOOK OUT! He has the key” Nadia, with an agility of an eagle and a grace of a ballet dancer sweeps across the empty lawn while Pressman covers behind her. She feels an inching pain in her left knee and looks down, only to see reds everywhere….

 

• 12. “With a father like that, you can get anything you want.” Lis quips as she loads the box of soft toys into the boot. Inching towards her with another box, he smiles and replies, “Funny how I can’t get you”…..

Nurulhuda Azzis

S10052477J

FSV – T1B1