1983 by David Peace

This extract is definitely an attention grabbing one, mainly because it immediately starts off with suspense where the reader wants to know what is going on. Also the idea of the repetition going on through the plot at the end is reversed giving it a unique, although graphic idea. Knots and Crosses was also favorable due to the simplicity of it which adds just enough curiosity to keep you reading and the atmosphere of it, giving a rather classic crime fiction vibe.

Not Just a Dream...

There I was breathing heavily, as he held the trigger just centimetres away from my face. I was so scared I couldn’t move, thinking that if I had even moved a muscle that trigger would probably have been pulled. The heat was unbearable, the room felt so stuffed that if an old man had been there he probably would have suffocated. Still holding the gun in his hand, with an evil threatening voice, the man said to me,

“No worries, you’ll be joining your ancestors in just a matter …of …sec-” As he said the last word, he had pulled the trigger and the final word he said was blown out by the sound of an explosion. I woke up. My face was full of sweat and my heart was beating as fast as the drums of a rock and roll band. It was just the dream again, this reccurring nightmare coming to haunt me.

Morning came as I drove on my way to work, I work as a crime investigator. In the past 2 weeks there have been 4 murders predictably by the same murderer. First murder, April 12^th, Brooke Thatcher. April 15^th Margaret Shields, April 21^st Bobby Smith and April 23^rd Katie Baker. All murders took place in the middle of the night at their house, all were killed the same way, they were shot twice in the neck. The latest murder, Katie Baker, happened to be a close friend of mine, she told me before died that she got an unknown message saying that shes ‘next’.

Jack, my partner, barged into my office.

"Miss Current, there has been a report of another murder of a young boy by the name of Sam Maurice. Two bullets found in his neck."

“Sam Maurice, Sam Maurice…hm” I said, as his name sounded vaguely familiar. “Sam Maurice! Hes in the same class as my son! Poor boy, we must find out who this murderer is and stop him!”

The day went by as I got into bed. I breathed heavily and calmly closed both my eyes. Right before me, I see his face. He reloads the trigger, turns around and tells me;

“My, my, my… these days have been just far too busy for me, first Thatcher, then Shields, then Smith and the list goes on… but don’t worry my dear, I’ve still got time for you…” He points his gun to my direction, pulls the trigger, the bullet exits the gun and I wake up. Its morning.
I get out of bed and check the mail. I get a message with no postage stamp or name, all it says is that it is addressed to me. I open it up and in letters cut out from magazines and newspapers the letter seems to read out:
“Your next… From, the man of your dreams”

LOVE

The sun shines quite strongly in the summer,

The birds sing while spreading their mighty wings,

The scent of divine flowers and lovers,

The feeling between two people can bring.

An unexplainable definition,

In which words cannot seem to interpret,

Adrenaline, working on a mission

With the heart and mind hoping to be worth it.

People fall in love, so keep up ahead,

The goal of life, to have a longtime friend.

Love is in the air, as always is said,

Cliché it may seem but true in the end.

The comfort when you look into their eyes,

The feeling no one can ever despise.

Happiness

The feeling is the best feeling there is

No matter where you are or how you feel

The feeling shall come to you with strong bliss

The feeling makes everything seem to heal.

The feeling is the strongest in the world

The feeling will lead you to pure success

And will make you shine as strong as a pearl

The feeling is absolute happiness.

Giraffe

Brown and yellow polka dotted creature,

As tall as the trees or maybe taller.

Long legs and long neck as its main feature,

Compared we humans are so much smaller.

A Special Place

The powerful blue waves struck the sea shore,

The sun shines as it always did before.

Sand is as golden as the sun,

A land of nothing but great fun.

In all this poverty,

Smiles are lit gracefully.

The night life starts,

All looks like art.

So fine,

Its divine.

Open Waters

What a beautiful summer night it is, on this luxurious cruise ship. The oceans breeze, the stars in the sky and the most important people I have to spend it with, my loving family and friends.
The cruise boat stopped for a short break.
‘How ‘bout we go for a swim?’ said Sam.
‘Let’s do it!’ I replied.
All four of us agreed to jump into the calm dark blue ocean. A huge splash jumped up from the water as all of us jumped in. All four of us were fooling around in the water just having a great time. Sam dared us to do a swimming race and I accepted. I love competition!
“On your mark. Set. GO!” Yelled Markus. In that instant I immediately dipped my head into the water and got my legs kicking! How quiet it was under water, such serenity and calmness… Enough about the water though, I gotta win this race! I made it to the finish line and as I got out of the water I noticed I won! Yes! After me came Jeremy, Liam then Markus. As they all arrived Markus tried convincing us that the only reason he lost was because he was the one who had to start us off. Suddenly we hear the siren of the boat beeping its chimney out. Oh no! It’s leaving! We all swim as fast as possible to the boat but its moving away too fast! We stop and scream on the top of our lungs
‘WAIT! WAIT! WAIT!’ but it makes no difference. The boat disappears into the darkness and everything turns silent. We’re alone in the middle of nowhere and there’s nothing but silence.

Opening 7

I liked opening number 7 as the bizarreness that is happening seems quite interesting showing a mysterious point to why he is in the aeroplane in the first place and with the use of first person narrative it shows how he tries to figure out whats going on even though he doesn’t seem to know. It creates a grabbing attention for an introduction as it is subtle but has suspense since it makes you want to know what’s going to happen next. I also liked opening 2 and 5 as they both seem so casually written, explaining the characters and how they feel. It shows a rather sarcastic/ humorous tone yet still casual and simple.

Diary Entry: the Fireball and the Lantern

The clouds hovered like evil angels, something malevolent in the red from the rising sun. I'm no sailor, but the adage holds firm: red sky at morning.

The grand rising sun reflected its splendor to the serene oceanic waters giving the water a movement of still, evil redness. The red shimmer of the tranquil blue ocean is what commences daily.

Here I am, sitting in a small brown boat, writing out my thoughts and observations to the morning view before me.

The view is comparatively resembled as Monet’s exquisite painting; Impression: Sunrise. The focal red sun spreading its beam across the sky and reflecting its ray to the surface of the ocean. The morning sky blended in with the white angelic clouds and sharp rising redness. Though the image implies calmness, the real thing is mixed with a touch of turpitude coming from the distinct colour scheme equivalent to fire.

The view of the striking sun mixed with the original blue sky seems to represent the state of mankind. The evil gradient to the virtuous, the good colliding with the bad and the love clashing with hate of the daily world. The balance of earth can be contemplated through this striking view.

As time passes by the red surrounding fades to become a singular fireball lighting and wakening the earth. The sun lies there, still and calm but shining and radiant.
Thereafter a stretch of time, the fading of the fireball melts into the dark blue ceiling and is taken over by the sky’s lantern, bringing the earth to its state of slumber.

The view of the grand white moon opposes to the morning view, not only dark but as if the universe changed. There’s the glorious moon and little sparkles here and there, some shining more than others, some bigger than others and some so small you could hardly see them.
The view was similar to Van Gogh’s semi- abstract piece; ‘The Starry Night’. The dark blue sky with yellow circles and swirls representing the lights rays, the stars and focal moon give off.

As the hour arrives at the time of day once again, the procedure repeats; and so the clouds hovered like evil angels, something malevolent in the red from the rising sun. The adage holds firm: red sky at morning.

Stars

It was a dark and starry night. She was looking out the window watching the beautiful night sky; the sky was so much clearer compared to the city, one could see everything. The stars were like a painting, a painting with sparkles. She stares at the sky each time she thinks of her father. Somehow she manages to find a solution when she looks at the dark glitter painting.
Tomorrow would be her first birthday without him. How she wished he’d be there to celebrate with her. She decides to close her eyes for a bit. As she opens them slowly she looks out the window and suddenly sees the stars move. The stars start to scatter and form a shape. She can’t make out the shape but all the stars that are moving get bigger and brighter. She looked next to her drawer desk and held the picture of her and her father closely in her hand. It was a picture of them playing on the swings together. She smiled heartedly as she remembers the memory. Once more, she looks out the window and sees the dazzling stars, she observes them closely trying to find a meaning or hint in the vivid atmosphere she perceives. Finally she sees it, the stars are formed creating the image of the picture with her father, the joyeous moment she can not help but miss. Inspite of being rather surprised and curious, she laughs as she looks out. The stars start changing form again but this time they write out words.
“Happy Birthday. Love Dad” is what the stars seem to read. She smiles gratefully to find herself opening her eyes waking up. She looks in her hands and sees the picture held securely. One last time she looks at the sky and sees one single star, brighter than the rest and smiles as she knows who that star belongs to.
Dreams are not always just pure imagination.

Freedom

One day I found myself awake in the deep and dark night to the sound of gunfires and the sound of panic and fear. As I walk out I see my people scattered and afraid. I see bright red explosions contrasting to the night’s sky. I run through the violent streets so shocked of my surroundings until I find a block of wood to shelter and hide me. In my place I stop and watch. I see a soldier, a soldier knocking down a door to a house. The soldier enters. As I keep watching I see him come out with a woman in his grip, dragging her outside with a gun pointed at her head. The woman screams as tears stroll down her face. Her right arm reaching back as if she wants to get a hold of something. As she leaves I see a child at the doorstep, a child crying and scared reaching for his mothers hand. Carelessly the soldier keeps dragging her away as the young child cries in fear and pain. What should I do? What is happening? They took away so many parents from so many innocent children and for what? For war? Does this violence make them feel superior? Where is their heart? When will we finally be free from this nightmare?
I keep looking around myself in this scary place and see all these views of death, killings, cries, pain, blood, destruction, guns, tanks, and dust in the air from all the explosions covering everything like fog.
All of the sudden, I see a soldier above me with a gun pointed at me. I look at him curiously. Why is he doing this? What have I done to him? If he thinks he’s in the right, then lets appraise. I stand up infront of him as he moves his gun along the way I move until he stops and points it at my chest. I close my eyes and lift my head up fearlessly as the gunfires, screams and pain surrounding me is all that is going on. He keeps the gun pointed at my chest for a while as he stares at me, until I sense as he lets go of the trigger, puts his gun down and takes a couple of steps back. Just as I open my eyes I see him walking away with his gun on his back and head facing down finding his way back to his vehicle and leaving the territory.

Summer Days

It was a late summers night when they all decided to jump into the pool with their pyjamas still on. The freezing cold water splashing all over the warm dry floor, like an explosion of a million water drops. All the laughs and hilarious moments. All the smiles and happiness expressed. These are the memories that will remain forever to be remembered. Those warm, fun, memorable summer days. The moments I am truly blissful of where I am and who I have. Those are the memories that last in my mind. Those are the friendships that stay in my heart.