OBR - The Regulator - Day 3 The cliffs were a good choice. For the rest of day two he had annihilated a huge number of contestants in comparison to his first day. He was feeling alive with the killings, stronger and more confident. It had never been about the winning to him. This entire area was a playground for killing, and he intended to stay for as long as possible. It was becoming more and more difficult for him to blend in with the rock as his skin had now transformed to a pinkish red. During the night he had been attacked this time rather than crawled over. Not that any of those attackers survived. The cliffs were a huge flat area of land. He could see for about a mile in all directions without obstacle, able to see any challenger. His next attacker was closing in now, the distant figure slowly growing in the shimmering heat. He was small, human; easy. The human finally reached The Regulator and stood facing him, eyes darting around, inspecting his target. He appeared to have no weapons. Where was the fun in that? The man started to circle the beast, analysing every aspect of his rock exterior. The Regulator was getting impatient now. What was he trying to do? “Regulator?” the man asked inquisitively, “Regulator of what exactly?” So the man could understand the Warrior Race’s native tongue. His name had been engraved on the back of his neck when he was born, part of the ritual. “Regulator of #life, of death. Of consequence,” the demonic titan replied in earthquake tones. The man did not respond, instead he seemed almost bored, eyes still analysing. Eventually the colossal man gave in. “What are you doing?” he roared. “Looking for your weaknesses” The monster laughed and huge chunks of rock tumbled from the cliff edge with every inflection. “I have no weaknesses.” It was the human’s turn to laugh now. “Well then already you have one. Your failure to identify and acknowledge your own weaknesses. Your arrogance will lead to your fall.” He walked near the cliff edge, then took a wild jump towards him. The Regulator reacted defensively, even though the human hadn't actually touched him. "So why is it that you do not attack unless you are attacked yourself? Is it an attempt to justify your actions? Make it okay to do what you do?" The Regulator swooped his angry fist down towards the human simply to defy his logic. He quickly jumped out of the way, leaving a cracked outline of the gargantuan hand imprinted into the cliff edge. "You call yourselves the 'warrior race'. There is no war. You kill to kill. Coward." The Regulator's eyes burned with raging embers. He slammed both clenched fists at the puny human, who again manoeuvred out the way. "All you are is a piece of vermin." The beast's arms were trembling now. Eyes glowing demonically. He lifted a foot and stamped down hard, another miss. He screamed in anger as the human simply jumped to the side, conserving his energy. the cracks in the rock were showing deep now. "You weak," another miss, "weak," a raised arm, "vermin." The Regulator's fist exploded to the floor. He looked up, breathing heavily. Strike. He smiled the largest smile since his arrival on the island. The human's lower legs were trapped beneath his stone hands. "Who's weak now, human?" The human looked up at the demon, face twisted in pain. "Your blindness..." he paused to breathe, "leads to your fall." His eyes lowered to the cliff edge, and The Regulator's followed suite. The ground started to shake as the realisation unfurled. The cliff had cracked all around him from his powerful hits and began to sink and tumble away. "No," he roared, afraid for the first time, "NO." He scrambled at the loose rock face as the floor crumbled around him. In a final fit of anger, he raised his arm high and brought it down onto the humans grinning skull, pulverising it into the ground. The hit triggered the final push. The rushing sound of crashing waves engulfed him as he fell into the depths. His weight dragged him further and further, darkness growing denser and denser. He hit the bottom of the ocean with a thud and stayed motionless. From nearby a flurry of commotion erupted. Peering through the darkness he could just about make out the outline of some enormous creature, the likes of which he had never seen. It's serpentine figure arose from its sea bed, disturbed from its ancient sleep. It stared into The Regulator's soul, then charged with all it's might. The red burning eyes extinguished immediately. #OBR

OBR - The Regulator - Day 2 It was only the second day but The Regulator’s grey stone exterior was already covered in dried blood, drenched in the war paint of his kills. He had slept at the base of the mountain at the point where the woods ended, blending perfectly into mounds of rock. At some points during the night he could even feel the tiny footsteps as competitors crawled over him to reach higher ground. After the fourth occurrence he arose fully, head ablaze with rage and crushed the trespasser between hugged arms and chest. He probably had the best rest of anyone on the island. As if he needed another advantage. Since awaking fully he had seen a number of weary contestants, physically and mentally exhausted but too fuelled by paranoia to even close their eyes. He laughed at their weakness. Somewhere to his side he saw a flurry of movement. Out of a nearby cave danced a lizard like man, tauntingly and mockingly hopping on his toes from side to side. A small sword protruded from his belt. The Regulator waited for the first attack. In a burst of movement, the creature leapt onto his back and stabbed wildly at the solid skin. The tiniest flecks of rock quietly tumbled from the hit. The Regulator smiled and turned to face his attacker. The jolly little creature danced again before taking a second lunge. This time The Regulator caught him, holding his brittle arm in giant stone fists. “She loves me,” he growled maliciously, and plucked one of the creature’s arms from their socket. A gush of blood sprayed forth and covered his already blood-soaked hand. “She loves me not,” another arm removed. The tiny creature screamed in agony. “She loves me,” this time a leg. It still twitched and writhed on the floor, spewing out its bloody soul. He grabbed the other leg and tugged it straight off. “She loves...” Before he could finish he was interrupted by a peculiar sight. Before his eyes the first limb that had been removed seemed to be growing back, spewing from within the creature’s body in a sickening mass of flesh. The small creature smiled a wicked smile. A limb regenerator. Interesting. The Regulator bent down towards the creature, face contorted in curiosity. “How very fascinating," he growled mockingly, "I’ve never met one like you before. Tell me, does your head grow back too?” The creature looked up in terror. Question answered. The colossal being reached forward and ripped the scaly head from its torso, throwing it at the base of the mountain where it exploded into mush. The Regulator brushed his hands together to get rid of some of the flecks of matter. A familiar trudging movement from behind suddenly caused him to turn around. Another of his species was there, climbing up the mountain slowly. This one seemed more tattered, his body was chipped, huge chunks of rock were missing from his back and a small arrow lay embedded in the back of his head. He was heading towards the top of the mountain. A foolish decision. Their pinpoint red eyes suddenly caught each other for a long moment, then The Regulator nodded his head. He allowed him to pass, knowing that he wouldn’t have much longer to live. The Regulator picked himself up and headed in a different direction; towards the cliffs. #OBR

OBR - The Regulator - Day 1 “You have three days” The speakers declared. “Last man, woman or child standing gets to leave this island, if more than one is left you all die.” An evil grin crept up the side of The Regulator’s face as he surveyed the chaos. People screaming, running in all directions, brandishing their puny weapons. Some were fearful, others defiant; some expert, the majority amateur. He stood patiently, waiting for his victims to come to him. For a long while no one approached him, his mountain-like figure and colossal height clearly too intimidating to challenge alone; he more than doubled the size of the next largest competitor. Finally he heard the sound of frantic whispering coming from several different areas. He turned slowly. Four or five children – around 11 years old he guessed – all attempted to hide behind various tree trunks. He knew no one would dare take him alone, they had to group together to even stand a chance. He waited patiently for their first move. Hurtling from the trees spun an axe. It collided with the rock of his left shoulder, instantly blunting and scattering off into the mud. His red eyes glowed a satanic red and he grinned from stone cheek to stone cheek. His footsteps imprinted inches into the soft ground, pulverising loose branches into dust. He grabbed the tree behind which the attacker had hidden and tore it from the ground. He smacked the roots into the child’s trembling body and knocked him into a nearby bramble bush. At that the others came out of hiding, charging at him with screaming chants. He threw the uprooted tree and it rolled into three of them, pressing them into the mud, unconscious. One was face down, possibly his first kill here. He looked over to the terrified fifth child and grabbed him by the head, holding him metres up into the air. “Give up,” he commanded in a bellowing roar. He whispered back timidly, “no.” The regulator sighed. It was always a shame when they were so young. Oh well. He held the boy’s face tightly and squeezed. #OBR

Scenes - Riverview 2/2 She stands up from her desk and walks towards the kitchen area in the office to make her fourth cup of tea that day. She seems nervous, her hand shakes as she collects the mug from the cupboard and smothers the tea bag in boiling water. Three sugars, up from just the one she had this morning. Something is wrong. Does she know? She returns to her desk by the window, steaming hot tea cupped in her hands. I put down my binoculars. My hand reaches into the folds of my jacket to retrieve the envelope I was given the day before. I open up the profile and study it, making certain that everything was correct. Leslie Valentine. Sales exec at Venture Telecommunications. Lives on Tannhauser Road. 37 years old. Recently divorced. 5”5. Black hair, short and sleek. Hazel eyes. Sharp cheek bones. This was definitely my target. I look down at my watch: 184. She was meant to have left by now, what was she doing? I grab the binoculars and look up at her desk by the window again. Empty. My stomach drops. Something’s not right. Everything about this job seemed suspicious; the client, the place she chose to meet, the target. It doesn’t add up. I pack up the envelope, dispose of the binoculars and dash off towards the office block. Speeding traffic almost catches me as I run to cross the road. A Doppler of angry car horns pans past. My heart is racing but I don’t have time to calm myself now. I run towards the office’s double doors, almost slamming straight into them as they open unbearably slowly. The receptionist looks up from her desk puzzled. “Leslie,” I say trying to mask my struggled breathing, “I’m meant to be meeting Leslie. Valentine.” She smiles and apologetically responds, “She’s just left, you might still be able...” But before she could finish I had already left, heading towards Riverview Avenue. Despite its name it wasn’t actually on a river, although it was close to one. You could almost hear the running water. The avenue is deceptively dark given its quaint name, surrounded on all sides by tall buildings and grubby metal bins. Ahead I see a woman walking: 5”5 minus the heals. Dark hair. It could be her. I walk fast towards her, knife held tight in my hand. 3.5 metres away now. She was almost up to the high street. I take a gamble. “Leslie,” I call. She stops but remains facing ahead. I move in, knife at the ready. 1 metre. Slowly she turns around. The first thing I see is not her face; not her hazel eyes, the short black hair, pointed features. It is her neck. A dazzling large ruby necklace hung from it and seemed to shine even in the shadows. I hesitate. Her eyes are almost as red as the necklace, a black tear runs down her face. The moment lasted long. Too long. I thrust the knife into her chest, my face still contorted in confusion. She stays standing for a moment, then falls to the floor almost without a sound. I stay in place, shocked. My client, my victim; one and the same. What do I do? Had I gotten the wrong person? I dropped the knife and ripped out the profile. It was her. Definitely her. I grabbed her bag and threw her things on the damp concrete. Tissues, lipstick, make up. I take out the phone and look at it. A reminder was up; ‘doctors’. I click on it and up pops a calendar. Almost every day is filled with doctor’s appointments. I pocket the phone and take out the wallet. As I do so a leaflet fall to the floor. "Living with Cancer" I fold the leaflet back up and return it to the bag. Before I leave I grab the necklace, gently close her eyes with my finger tips then turn and walk away.

Criticise Me! I have been on opuss for over a month now and have received nothing but praise (for which I am so thankful). But I would really love it if I could get some constructive (preferably negative) feedback so that I can hopefully try and improve! Here are some examples to help: "your stories never contain more than two characters at any one time" "the series 'scenes' isn't very good, why have you continued it?" "your characters are very 1 dimensional, consider giving them more depth and back story" "I find the way you describe things boring. It doesn't flow well." "do more poetry." "you're shit. Stop writing." Etc. Honestly I welcome any feedback and would really love it to keep on improving!