Final Thoughts from Clive Barker

Odyssey. I can think of no better word to describe the journey that took place these past few months.
With the prologue, “They’re Mad, They Are,” I began work on a vessel that was not yet ready for sea. And on that holed ship, together we embarked over open waters towards an unknown destination.
What I then witnessed both touched and humbled me. You, the mighty crew of the HMS Odyssey, simultaneously crafted her and plotted her voyage with artistry and grace. No small feat.
The path we traveled was treacherous, to be sure. But we passed through the eye of the storm, and found ourselves in a new world. It was brutal, brilliant, and inspiring.
Thank you for sharing yourselves with me. You are among the finest shipmates I’ve ever had the privilege to work beside. Make no mistake; we’ve built something beautiful.
Though our paths must now diverge, we will forever be connected by this sweet and terrible ride through the eternal, collective universe of That Which Can Be Imagined.

Odyssey II
Chapters
Chapter 6
Something Worse than Nobody
Read Chapter 6
The Vision is Getting Clearer...
The inimitable author and artist, the fantastic Clive Barker, lent his special, brilliant madness to Odyssey Project 2.0 by writing the first “prompt” chapter of our experiment; setting the tenor for what would evolve into a weirdly wonderful and beautiful tale. We were honored by his participation.
For marioluevanos and I, This was our second effort at creating an ultra-collaborative short story fiction, our delirious, inspired version of the “exquisite corpse” salon game once played by the Surrealists. So far this incredible community of creative artists and storytellers have given life to two amazing “monsters”. The Grand Game will continue.
There were, once again, a whole host of minor glitches, particularly with so many entries needing to be read and fairly assessed in such a short time by so few judges (Clive himself was the ultimate arbiter this time). All of your suggestions for improving this endeavor that have been coming in are greatly appreciated. You all have been writing the rules of the next Odyssey project throughout this process.
“Baby steps” for now, but together, we dream mightily…
Of all the unforeseen collateral fallout surrounding our Odyssey endeavors contest, none has been more heartening than the many incidences of participants branching off from the main narrative of the “chosen” story to continue their own personal vision. Often in collaboration with other writers and artists, they discovered their own preferred narrative vein and finished out their own separate stories. The idea behind this project has always been all about sparking creativity in collaboration, not simply winning a place in the main story. That so many fresh new stories were born from the deviously germinated seed of a single Clive Barker chapter is precisely the magic we can all achieve together.
Many have been asking about the hard copy publication of Odyssey and Odyssey II, as well as the attendant charitable donations to come from those sales. I am preparing a separate article for everyone that will go out in the next two weeks which will outline the plans for publishing both works this fall. There will be digital versions as well as hard copy versions. We have also expanded the content to include a full explanation of Odyssey Project with a behind the scenes feature outlining the process and participants from the beginning. I will create a list of the timelines, elements, and structure that we can all discuss in the comments and I will also schedule a featured chat with marioluevanos and I so that we can all talk about it in real time.
Odyssey II
Poetry
Ascend
by puzzledpixel
This body,
against the rage of strongest winds
and waves of virulent assaults
will endure.
My feet,
through vicious aftershocks
shall grow roots
and when the eye of the storm
has looked me in the eye, I
will be left standing,
alone, intact,
whole.
My life is not my
own and this body,
is only worn.
I am
my spirit, ethereal
incorporeal
absolute.
Not by anything in this world
can I be touched,
you can not even bend me.
How can you destroy me?
A Subtle Shift in Course
by Beatleyperson
A subtle shift in course
That seemed quite insubstantial at first
Has given way, till you're far off path
And lost in a distant trance
What seemed inconsequential at the start
Has now made your life slowly fall apart
As you watch it crumble and crumple in your hands
You feel yourself loose your grip, and go mad
A certain paranoia sinks through the weary haze
You desperately try and slip away
As it grows into an uncontrollable panic
And you begin to grow drastic
And as the fear begins to grow
A soft voice in your head begins to echo
What did you do to deserve such a fate?
But put it out of mind, because it's too late
You're surly going to die by the hand
That you didn't see, didn't expect, and
The one you weren't afraid of
Brought this nightmare to life
And all of this came to roust
From a subtle shift in course
Inside Out
by portraitinflesh
Nausea, not me:
I boil within
my own skin
is a stranger
flaming and searing
me, not me.
The pain is in plain view
if only I weren’t hidden
if I could see me
would I recognize
or avert my eyes
knowing it has all
been taken away.
Me, not me
not since she,
or it, or them
Me, why me
a chosen vessel
without my consent
I may not have been much
but I’m all I’ve ever had
and now, no
nothing, nowhere.
The skin—my skin—
taken, broken
bruised, flayed
I fade
because of her
or it, or them
I will end;
even my wasted time
is torn away.
I’m tearing now
she-it-they want out.
I want to shout, scream
But my voice is alien to me.
Two of me
from me
of me
but not.
No longer.
Outray
by portraitinflesh
what’s mine is mine
to twist or unwind
I know what I hold dear
the end is near
if you had your way
each night you’d erase the next day
the price you had to pay
was far too high,
you ripped apart the sky
no explanation why
other than wanting to play God
you needed no encouraging nod
my ally was odd
even to you, yet she
also betrayed me
I can finally see
the truth you tried to hide
I saw once I died
so I turned the tide
you are out of time
what’s mine is mine
Outside In
by portraitinflesh
Look at the beauty
There is shit everywhere, every
breath drags it into me.
There is beauty all around
The ground under my feet is poisoned
I look up, and the sky is dying.
I see what you cannot
We avert our eyes, our
sighs we bottle up inside.
So much potential, so much
A shell of protection,
we’re so close to breaking apart.
You ignore your treasure,
this precious world, a shining
reflection of infinite possibilities—
you don’t deserve it
and you won’t miss
what you never noticed
Day in, die out
it’s all the same.
No one knows my name,
I’ve grown OK with that.
Life should make sense by now
instead, it drags me down.
A way in, that’s all I ask—
a path to your world, a
chance to taste neglected wonders
I wander through life,
everyone does—
it’s what we do when we don’t dream.
A seam to rip apart;
I’ll tear through you
Something has entered me
You may not make it
but you’ll create it
I feel so empty inside.