OK, so i had inhouse over the last 2 days, and i felt bored and wrote a pretty long story. Sorry i cant have proper punction/paragraph formating, PhPbb Boards dont let me.
Anyways, its long, but hope you enjoy!
________________________________________________________________
To Begin the End
How we, no, how I got here is something I’ll never be able to subdue. As I looked into a shuddering tree, shivering in the wind, I began to get relapses of memories of what I’ve been doing these last few months. The tree had so much beauty to it, something seen so rarely in this time and age. Tiny drops of water perspired from the crackling leaves, as if they were almost weeping.
Sometimes I wish I could do the same. But I know what I have to do, and what is going to happen. Sometimes, I wish I could just go back to the way things used to be. I want to go back to my house, go back to my village… go back to my life.
I walked over frozen blades of grass, standing straight up in the morning sun, as if they were worshipping a sun god. I collapsed against the weeping tree. I looked around at the mountain scenery that was surrounding me. Across the horizon of the mountain peaks, enormous towers belched out gulfs of smoke. Clouds of haze and pollution painted a black veil over the surrounding landscapes, casting an eternal overcast of gloom and sorrow.
I looked at the sky above me, and realized I was in one of the last untainted places in this world. A warm wind brushed the morning foliage, causing the silent worshippers on the ground to sway in unison. The shivering tree rustled its leaves and slowly danced to the leaves tune. Such peace, such serenity, it was a faint reminder of what I’m doing, what I was going do, and what was going to happen.
I gazed up into the dancing tree, and began to recall the faces of my friends, the faces of my enemies, the actions taken in the past few months. Everything seemed to be coming together as I stared into the leaves abyss. I wanted to help; it’s all I’ve ever wanted to do. But I can only recall what happened the last time I tried to help someone I cared for, and it never seemed worth the price. All I want to do is tell her I’m sorry, that I shouldn’t have cared so much.
With a grand yawn, I arched my back and the familiar tone ringing in my ears. I felt blood rushing all over, and my fingers cracking as I pulled each one of them back towards my wrist. Grabbing my ankle, I stretched my leg back behind me to my waist. Finally, I was all stretched out. Feeling a tiny bit better, I began to work my way back towards our campsite.
Walking on that dusty trail only brought back more memories. Zoe, Lynn, Yasmin, Nilli, Heiro, everyone came to my head as I continued to hike up that dusty road. Even some of my old questions, things I’ve thought I’ve finally overcome began to emerge. I still wonder how come I had to end up here. Why did everything have to change for me? Why couldn’t have I just lived a normal life back home? Why did I ever come to here? Why? It’s all I could ask, but I knew I couldn’t change the past, but only the future. And the future is something I will make sure will change.
This new world, this new life. These two things I want to change for everyone, not just myself. Along my travels, I’ve seen so much that has changed; the twisted rules, the chaotic laws, and the lopsided amount of power in this world. Seeing all the suffering of the little people, the common people, the townsfolk, they all are constant reminders of what we’re all fighting for.
As I approached the campsite, I discovered all my new companions I’ve made on this journey sitting down on the sandy barren grounds. They looked over at me, as I approached them, expectantly. And in a silent motion I took a seat in front of the campfire. I leaned back and let my hands and arms support my weight. I looked at my shoes in a deliberate effort not to look at anyone surrounding me. I don’t know why, but for some reason, I felt ashamed. I felt like I couldn’t help, like all I’ve been telling them has been nothing but a false hope and a lost dream.
I dug into the soft soil my hands were laying on. I felt the moist dirt slip through my fingers as I clenched it tighter and tighter. Everything that bothered me, everything about this new life, everything I thought I had gotten over suddenly began to boil over again. I felt the anger crescendo inside of me, and I squeezed that clump of dirt inside of my hand like I was attempting to strangle it, as if it could somehow change the way everything was.
“Ahhhh”! I screamed in despair, anger, and sorrow. I heaved that chunk of dirt I’ve been squeezing into the air. Everyone looked at me, but no one uttered a reverberation. I took in several deep breaths, and felt the blood from face and head begin to drain out and cool off.
Through the smoldering campfire’s smoke, I could see past the furious sandstorm we had just had some much struggle crossing. Gusts of red sand blew with no mercy, willing to swallow everyone who attempts to cross it. We had nearly lost Yasmin during that epic. Losing your friend, that’s something I’ve never wanted to experience ever again.
I collapsed onto my back and stared up at the crimson sky, watching it slowly ignite by the morning sun. Charcoal clouds were blowing in overhead, blocking some of the last beauty I’ll ever get to see. I shut my eyes and took in a deep breath. As I held it in, I began to reflect on everything that has happened up to this point. A hurricane of memories began storming and swirling in my head. I began to see random faces I’ve met, villages, towns, cities, they all began to appear and disappear as fast as I could envision them. Slowly, the storm of thought began to subside, and I could see things much more clearly. I began looking back on all of this, and where it started. Remembering where it started. Remembering where it started. Why couldn’t I think of where it started?! I thought hard, and the storm of memories began to grow in power again. All of the sudden it hit me. Seville. That one night in Seville, that’s where it all began.
Seville.
Seville
The night was clear. A deep blue shrouded the night skies, speckled by tiny glowing stars. A pure, glowing crescent moon shined across the treetops, exposing an eerie silhouette as the shuddered in the light breeze. A calm wind blew in through my window into my shady room, and I lay tucked in my bed between floral designed poofy blankets. I tumbled around in my blankets every few minutes, and I just couldn’t seem to go to sleep. I stopped for a moment and looked up at my ceiling, and my mind began to roam.
I began to think of some of the most random things. A flooding river, a fire burning down a small cottage, a woman’s corpse on an alter, none of them made any sense. Things kept appearing at random. A concert hall with an orchestra playing, a gigantic tower seeming to stretch to the sky, I still couldn’t understand any of it.
The drapes started waving and whipping, clashing against the window. Then it just stopped. Trees stood still, not a single living thing made a move. Everything was quiet. An eerie silence rang in my room, and my eyes darted across my room, scanning everything.
I don’t know why I was panicking.
Ever so quietly, crickets began chirping their luminous tune, and clouds slowly blew in and gradually covered the moon and erased its faintly glowing light. As the shadows of the night grew darker, so did the sound of the crickets, the whistling of the breeze subsided, and it was slowly morphing back into that haunting silence. Sound seemed to have vanished into thin air, and all that was left to prove time hadn’t stopped was my staggering breathing.
I sat up and pulled my blankets close to me. Floral designed covers aren’t exactly the most comforting source of security. I backed up against the wall and began peering into every detail of my room. Everything was in place, normal. My dresser stood still, my desk sat in its position, unfazed by anything. Everything was normal. Nothing was missing. Nothing suspicious happened. I tried to settle down, using the haunting silence as a lullaby. I closed my eyes, but I never fully shook the thought something was wrong. Something had to be.
I faintly opened my eyes. Something was glowing on my dresser. An orange flame had been lit on a candle sitting next to my mirror. It flickered in the silence. A breeze blew through my room, and caused that tiny flame to dance maniacally. Flickers of light raced across the room, faintly lighting up the mirror, the walls, the desk, everything. The room seemingly became lively with energy emitting from that tiny flame. The wind held no mercy, and the flame was extinguished by it.
Everything returned to its frozen state. Only a small stream of smoke was rising up from where that luminous flame had its short life. Smoke was lurking its way onto the ceiling in twisting ribbons, and it reflected against the mirror is had been sitting by.
I watched that tiny ribbon of smoke rise expecting something to happen. The drapes on my window fluttered in the breeze, and an icy draft of wind blew in. The smoke rising from the candles smoldering wick split apart in the middle of the stream. Something was crawling out of the mirror. I couldn’t see much of it, but something was there.
It looked like a shadow of someone walking towards the reflecting glass. The room was freezing, the drapes on the windows started whipping around in the icy bursts of wind. The wind was howling, trees started snapping in the powerful gusts of wind, leaves clashing with the leaves of rivaling trees nearby. A prevailing burst of wind formed a blizzard of leaves that were blowing into my room. I glanced at my mirror again, and something was crawling out.
Through the storm of leaves swirling in the center of my room, I could see the figure of a disembodied man. His hair was a nappy strangle of hair and foliage, reaching down to his shoulder, shrouding his face. He wore grey, tattered remains of clothes, and his arms bore several deep gashes, and a hole in his torso, caused by an impalement of some sort of object bled into his clothes.
He sluggishly raised his slashed arms upwards and approached me. I scrambled to get as far away from him as I could in my bed. I was frightened, scared, horrified. Blood was pumping everywhere through me, and I began to panic. Rapidly breathing. Heart racing. Eyes dashing around the room. Hoping I wasn’t going to perish. All these thought raced through my head.
The man suddenly made a move and swooped at me. Inches away from my face, he stopped. I was panicking, breathing like crazy, but frozen in fear. He began to slowly life his head, his tangled hair pulling back, revealing his face. What I saw, I saw a face. I saw that face. A face. His face. I saw his face.
His face, it seemed to have been totally mutilated. Skin on his cheek swayed in the breeze as a chunk of it hung on by only a few small, narrow folds of skin. His jaw was nearly torn off. It swung freely as he moved, and a bone along the middle of his jaw splintered out of the middle of his chin. All across the remains of his head were large trails of blood. His eyes. They slowly rolled upwards towards mine. When we locked eyes, I saw some of the most horrific memories. They all flew through my mind so fast I couldn’t pick up on everything. Places started appearing in the midst of his thoughts. A canyon, a house, a river, a cliff, a temple, a beach, and a woman laughing maniacally on top of a factory, a lake lay behind her. He lunged out at me, and everything froze.
Of the New World
I shot up out of bed. I breathed frantically, and with wide open eyes they shot all over the room I was in. This wasn’t my room. This place, I’ve never been to it. I stared at these new surroundings and observed everything I could. An animal’s pelt was draped across a wall, a small fire burnt lazily in the middle of the house. The floor was nothing but dirt. The room, the house, it was warm, and it was very dimly lit.
An intoxicating aroma filled the room, and the scent of onion and meat boiling made my stomach growl. Slowly, I scooted back against a wall. I made contact, and realized the wall was nothing but dried out plants and mud. Thatched wall? Dirt floor? What was going on?
Through the room I could see sunlight shining through a cloth put up over an entrance to the house. The material swayed in a light wind, and I got up off of the floor and began to explore my new surroundings. I stretched my aching muscles, and popped my tense bones. I began to walk around the room slowly, naturally drawn towards the boiling pot of food. It was being heated by yet another small fire smoldering under the stove. The scent of boiling vegetables and meat wafted from the pot, and my stomach growled at me at the delicious aroma that surrounded me.
The tapestry covering the door flipped open at the entrance to the house and a young woman, dressed in a rather strange outfit of clothes appeared. She was a short woman, not taller then about 5’5”. Her hair was parted on each side in the form of two large braids. Her sandy brown hair fell just a little lower then where her shoulders were. She wore a large sky blue T-shirt, her right wrist bearing a loose bracelet bearing the design of a crescent moon. Around her waist a blue and orange tie-dye style skirt wrapped around her, dropping to half way down her legs. The only thing covering her feet was a pair of tattered, low cut shoes.
She looked at me strangely, like I was some sort of stranger. Well, I’m sure I am as much a stranger to her as she is to me. She just stared at me for a moment, stoically. Suddenly her eyes lit up and a smile appeared on her face. She giggled for a moment, then welcomingly said
“Good morning sleepyhead.”
I blinked a few times. She giggled again, knowing that I had no idea where I was or how I got to her house. I was lost. I didn’t know what to say, so I just stared at her for a moment.
“Well aren’t you the chatterbox?” she said rolling her eyes jokingly. “Well, if you aren’t going to say anything, I suppose I should. *Ahem* Why, Hello there. My name is Zoe. What is your name?” She said sarcastically.
Once again, I just stood there, still dumbstruck. Something in my head finally clicked, and I snapped out of my dumbfounded trance. Words started flooding out, I had so much to say, and it all came out in several words of pure gibberish.
“Hey, hey, hey! Slow down there, buddy!” Zoe exclaimed. Those few words seemed to stop my jabbering. “Alright then, let’s try this again. I’m Zoe. You are…?” She left me hanging there to answer the statement.
“Oh, uhh…” My name seemed to have slipped my mind.
“Don’t tell me you forgot your own name!” Zoe scolded
Out of the blue, my name just slammed into my head, and I sputtered out
“Marnel, My name is Marnel.” I finally answered her.
“Well then, Marnel, Nice to meet you.” She said cheerfully. “So,” she started to say, “How did you find your way all the way out here? I haven’t seen anyone out here in ages!”
“Huh?” I asked curiously. I had no idea where I was, nor what she was talking about. I was just in Seville last night. Then the haunting memory of that night arose again, and I remembered everything that happened before I blacked out. I started to wonder where I was, too.
“Well,” Zoe said “I found you lying out in the middle of the Arid Forest.”
“What?” I asked “I was just at my house last night!”
“Oh!” she exclaimed “Well then, do you know how you could have gotten all the way out here, Marnel?”
I remembered everything that happened last night, but I chose not to talk about it. I didn’t want this girl, nor anyone else to think I’m crazy. So I told her
“I have no idea.”
“That’s a shame. Well then, can I ask you something?”
I told her “Sure.”
“Well, what town are you from?”
Proudly, I said “I’m from Seville!”
She looked at me for a minute with a blank face, then she must have remembered where Seville is from, and her face just lit up again.
“Oh, so you’re a big city boy then!”
That was a little awkward thing to say. Seville isn’t exactly a big city, its just a small farmers community. It’s a decent size I suppose, but I wouldn’t have called it a big city.
“Well, yeah, I guess.” I said stupidly.
She laughed “It’s alright, Marnel, there’s nothing wrong with being a city boy.”
My stomach growled at me again. Zoe chuckled at my roaring stomach.
“Want some stew for lunch?” She invited politly.
What could I say? I was starving, confused, and a little worried. Maybe some lunch would ease my mind just a tiny bit. On top of that, the aroma of the boiling soup was making me crave it more and more, so what choice did I have?
“Sure” I accepted.
She led me outside, where I found myself in unfamiliar surroundings. Outside was carpeted in grass, and a shining sun shone across the ground. Flowers along a dirt path that cut its way through the ground were blooming cheerfully. Trees swayed lazily in the soft breeze. Birds projected their song across the grassy plain, and gently rolling mountains painted the horizon.
Zoe led me to an enormous oak tree and sat me down under it. It's shady leaves provided a cool sanctuary from the heat, and before I could fully sit down on the ground, she had already spread a blanket across the earthly floor. It was a beautifully crafted quilt, with an enormous sunflower stitched onto it. I sat myself on that quilt, and just as I did, Zoe pulled two ceramic bowls, and handed one to me.
I started getting eager to eat. My stomach growled at me, ordering me to get something to eat. Out of a basket she withdrew a small pot of the cooking. I lit up, and I silently urged her to hurry up.
Actually, I found out it wasn't that silent. I had practically shoved that bowl in her face before I actually realized what I was doing subconsciously. She just laughed at me. What choice did I have? I laughed as well. She filled my bowl with that stew I had been craving for what seemed an eternity, and as soon as she left that bowl into my custody, I gobbled down the entire contents in a lapse of thirty seconds. Delicious! Once again, Zoe started laughing at me again.
"Slow down there, turbo!" She laughed at me as I ate. I could care less. Amongst my rudely devouring of my lunch, Zoe managed to eat hers fairly quickly as well. I set my bowl down next to hers, and I collapsed onto the quilt to look up at the leaves.
"So what's the big city like?" Zoe questioned.
I felt a little stupid, feeling as if I had to make up a phony response. I don't know what I should say, Seville is just a small community, not some roaring, bumbling city. So I chose to give her a false response.
"It's interesting I suppose. It's really nothing too special once you get used to it. It's just an everyday thing for me, I guess." I paused. I felt like an idiot lying to this girl. "Well, what can I say?" I laughed. "It's just home to me."
She just smiled at me with cheerful eyes. "I've always wanted to go to a big city." She stopped looking at me and gazed into the sky. "I've always wanted to see all the building, all the lights, everything." She said.
This left me a little confused, but I also knew she was telling me what she's wanted to do for a long while. So instead of interrupting her, I let her continue her monologue.
"I've always been a country girl, you could say." Zoe paused for a moment. She sighed. "I was really hoping you could tell me more about it. I've just been stuck out here in Halcyon." She looked at the ground, silently. I could tell she didn't like it out here. "The town here isn't that bad, I guess, but nothing ever happens here."
That threw my thought out the window.
"It's just… everyday here, it's the same thing. People go work at the same jobs, kids play the same thing, and there's never anything new or exciting here. Sometimes," she stopped for a second.
I felt sorry for her. She's lived her whole life out here where everything is the same everyday. I wonder if she's even experienced real excitement, or if everything she has been enjoying has all be a false hoax.
_____________________________________________________________
Thats as far as i've gotten.
I'll take ideas for town names, character names, and also a good title for the story would be great.
Also, a few side notes:
I have near all of this that i have typed up so far rought drafted into my math notebook. it's not like that paper isnt going toget any use. The total page count for the rought draft is now i think 11 pages.
Halcyon is actually a word meaning Calm or Tranquil.
Also, a personal note, this forum is a bit more welcoming to me then the a0.com forums, where practically anything i say is quoted and flamed.
Anyways, its long, but hope you enjoy!
________________________________________________________________
To Begin the End
How we, no, how I got here is something I’ll never be able to subdue. As I looked into a shuddering tree, shivering in the wind, I began to get relapses of memories of what I’ve been doing these last few months. The tree had so much beauty to it, something seen so rarely in this time and age. Tiny drops of water perspired from the crackling leaves, as if they were almost weeping.
Sometimes I wish I could do the same. But I know what I have to do, and what is going to happen. Sometimes, I wish I could just go back to the way things used to be. I want to go back to my house, go back to my village… go back to my life.
I walked over frozen blades of grass, standing straight up in the morning sun, as if they were worshipping a sun god. I collapsed against the weeping tree. I looked around at the mountain scenery that was surrounding me. Across the horizon of the mountain peaks, enormous towers belched out gulfs of smoke. Clouds of haze and pollution painted a black veil over the surrounding landscapes, casting an eternal overcast of gloom and sorrow.
I looked at the sky above me, and realized I was in one of the last untainted places in this world. A warm wind brushed the morning foliage, causing the silent worshippers on the ground to sway in unison. The shivering tree rustled its leaves and slowly danced to the leaves tune. Such peace, such serenity, it was a faint reminder of what I’m doing, what I was going do, and what was going to happen.
I gazed up into the dancing tree, and began to recall the faces of my friends, the faces of my enemies, the actions taken in the past few months. Everything seemed to be coming together as I stared into the leaves abyss. I wanted to help; it’s all I’ve ever wanted to do. But I can only recall what happened the last time I tried to help someone I cared for, and it never seemed worth the price. All I want to do is tell her I’m sorry, that I shouldn’t have cared so much.
With a grand yawn, I arched my back and the familiar tone ringing in my ears. I felt blood rushing all over, and my fingers cracking as I pulled each one of them back towards my wrist. Grabbing my ankle, I stretched my leg back behind me to my waist. Finally, I was all stretched out. Feeling a tiny bit better, I began to work my way back towards our campsite.
Walking on that dusty trail only brought back more memories. Zoe, Lynn, Yasmin, Nilli, Heiro, everyone came to my head as I continued to hike up that dusty road. Even some of my old questions, things I’ve thought I’ve finally overcome began to emerge. I still wonder how come I had to end up here. Why did everything have to change for me? Why couldn’t have I just lived a normal life back home? Why did I ever come to here? Why? It’s all I could ask, but I knew I couldn’t change the past, but only the future. And the future is something I will make sure will change.
This new world, this new life. These two things I want to change for everyone, not just myself. Along my travels, I’ve seen so much that has changed; the twisted rules, the chaotic laws, and the lopsided amount of power in this world. Seeing all the suffering of the little people, the common people, the townsfolk, they all are constant reminders of what we’re all fighting for.
As I approached the campsite, I discovered all my new companions I’ve made on this journey sitting down on the sandy barren grounds. They looked over at me, as I approached them, expectantly. And in a silent motion I took a seat in front of the campfire. I leaned back and let my hands and arms support my weight. I looked at my shoes in a deliberate effort not to look at anyone surrounding me. I don’t know why, but for some reason, I felt ashamed. I felt like I couldn’t help, like all I’ve been telling them has been nothing but a false hope and a lost dream.
I dug into the soft soil my hands were laying on. I felt the moist dirt slip through my fingers as I clenched it tighter and tighter. Everything that bothered me, everything about this new life, everything I thought I had gotten over suddenly began to boil over again. I felt the anger crescendo inside of me, and I squeezed that clump of dirt inside of my hand like I was attempting to strangle it, as if it could somehow change the way everything was.
“Ahhhh”! I screamed in despair, anger, and sorrow. I heaved that chunk of dirt I’ve been squeezing into the air. Everyone looked at me, but no one uttered a reverberation. I took in several deep breaths, and felt the blood from face and head begin to drain out and cool off.
Through the smoldering campfire’s smoke, I could see past the furious sandstorm we had just had some much struggle crossing. Gusts of red sand blew with no mercy, willing to swallow everyone who attempts to cross it. We had nearly lost Yasmin during that epic. Losing your friend, that’s something I’ve never wanted to experience ever again.
I collapsed onto my back and stared up at the crimson sky, watching it slowly ignite by the morning sun. Charcoal clouds were blowing in overhead, blocking some of the last beauty I’ll ever get to see. I shut my eyes and took in a deep breath. As I held it in, I began to reflect on everything that has happened up to this point. A hurricane of memories began storming and swirling in my head. I began to see random faces I’ve met, villages, towns, cities, they all began to appear and disappear as fast as I could envision them. Slowly, the storm of thought began to subside, and I could see things much more clearly. I began looking back on all of this, and where it started. Remembering where it started. Remembering where it started. Why couldn’t I think of where it started?! I thought hard, and the storm of memories began to grow in power again. All of the sudden it hit me. Seville. That one night in Seville, that’s where it all began.
Seville.
Seville
The night was clear. A deep blue shrouded the night skies, speckled by tiny glowing stars. A pure, glowing crescent moon shined across the treetops, exposing an eerie silhouette as the shuddered in the light breeze. A calm wind blew in through my window into my shady room, and I lay tucked in my bed between floral designed poofy blankets. I tumbled around in my blankets every few minutes, and I just couldn’t seem to go to sleep. I stopped for a moment and looked up at my ceiling, and my mind began to roam.
I began to think of some of the most random things. A flooding river, a fire burning down a small cottage, a woman’s corpse on an alter, none of them made any sense. Things kept appearing at random. A concert hall with an orchestra playing, a gigantic tower seeming to stretch to the sky, I still couldn’t understand any of it.
The drapes started waving and whipping, clashing against the window. Then it just stopped. Trees stood still, not a single living thing made a move. Everything was quiet. An eerie silence rang in my room, and my eyes darted across my room, scanning everything.
I don’t know why I was panicking.
Ever so quietly, crickets began chirping their luminous tune, and clouds slowly blew in and gradually covered the moon and erased its faintly glowing light. As the shadows of the night grew darker, so did the sound of the crickets, the whistling of the breeze subsided, and it was slowly morphing back into that haunting silence. Sound seemed to have vanished into thin air, and all that was left to prove time hadn’t stopped was my staggering breathing.
I sat up and pulled my blankets close to me. Floral designed covers aren’t exactly the most comforting source of security. I backed up against the wall and began peering into every detail of my room. Everything was in place, normal. My dresser stood still, my desk sat in its position, unfazed by anything. Everything was normal. Nothing was missing. Nothing suspicious happened. I tried to settle down, using the haunting silence as a lullaby. I closed my eyes, but I never fully shook the thought something was wrong. Something had to be.
I faintly opened my eyes. Something was glowing on my dresser. An orange flame had been lit on a candle sitting next to my mirror. It flickered in the silence. A breeze blew through my room, and caused that tiny flame to dance maniacally. Flickers of light raced across the room, faintly lighting up the mirror, the walls, the desk, everything. The room seemingly became lively with energy emitting from that tiny flame. The wind held no mercy, and the flame was extinguished by it.
Everything returned to its frozen state. Only a small stream of smoke was rising up from where that luminous flame had its short life. Smoke was lurking its way onto the ceiling in twisting ribbons, and it reflected against the mirror is had been sitting by.
I watched that tiny ribbon of smoke rise expecting something to happen. The drapes on my window fluttered in the breeze, and an icy draft of wind blew in. The smoke rising from the candles smoldering wick split apart in the middle of the stream. Something was crawling out of the mirror. I couldn’t see much of it, but something was there.
It looked like a shadow of someone walking towards the reflecting glass. The room was freezing, the drapes on the windows started whipping around in the icy bursts of wind. The wind was howling, trees started snapping in the powerful gusts of wind, leaves clashing with the leaves of rivaling trees nearby. A prevailing burst of wind formed a blizzard of leaves that were blowing into my room. I glanced at my mirror again, and something was crawling out.
Through the storm of leaves swirling in the center of my room, I could see the figure of a disembodied man. His hair was a nappy strangle of hair and foliage, reaching down to his shoulder, shrouding his face. He wore grey, tattered remains of clothes, and his arms bore several deep gashes, and a hole in his torso, caused by an impalement of some sort of object bled into his clothes.
He sluggishly raised his slashed arms upwards and approached me. I scrambled to get as far away from him as I could in my bed. I was frightened, scared, horrified. Blood was pumping everywhere through me, and I began to panic. Rapidly breathing. Heart racing. Eyes dashing around the room. Hoping I wasn’t going to perish. All these thought raced through my head.
The man suddenly made a move and swooped at me. Inches away from my face, he stopped. I was panicking, breathing like crazy, but frozen in fear. He began to slowly life his head, his tangled hair pulling back, revealing his face. What I saw, I saw a face. I saw that face. A face. His face. I saw his face.
His face, it seemed to have been totally mutilated. Skin on his cheek swayed in the breeze as a chunk of it hung on by only a few small, narrow folds of skin. His jaw was nearly torn off. It swung freely as he moved, and a bone along the middle of his jaw splintered out of the middle of his chin. All across the remains of his head were large trails of blood. His eyes. They slowly rolled upwards towards mine. When we locked eyes, I saw some of the most horrific memories. They all flew through my mind so fast I couldn’t pick up on everything. Places started appearing in the midst of his thoughts. A canyon, a house, a river, a cliff, a temple, a beach, and a woman laughing maniacally on top of a factory, a lake lay behind her. He lunged out at me, and everything froze.
Of the New World
I shot up out of bed. I breathed frantically, and with wide open eyes they shot all over the room I was in. This wasn’t my room. This place, I’ve never been to it. I stared at these new surroundings and observed everything I could. An animal’s pelt was draped across a wall, a small fire burnt lazily in the middle of the house. The floor was nothing but dirt. The room, the house, it was warm, and it was very dimly lit.
An intoxicating aroma filled the room, and the scent of onion and meat boiling made my stomach growl. Slowly, I scooted back against a wall. I made contact, and realized the wall was nothing but dried out plants and mud. Thatched wall? Dirt floor? What was going on?
Through the room I could see sunlight shining through a cloth put up over an entrance to the house. The material swayed in a light wind, and I got up off of the floor and began to explore my new surroundings. I stretched my aching muscles, and popped my tense bones. I began to walk around the room slowly, naturally drawn towards the boiling pot of food. It was being heated by yet another small fire smoldering under the stove. The scent of boiling vegetables and meat wafted from the pot, and my stomach growled at me at the delicious aroma that surrounded me.
The tapestry covering the door flipped open at the entrance to the house and a young woman, dressed in a rather strange outfit of clothes appeared. She was a short woman, not taller then about 5’5”. Her hair was parted on each side in the form of two large braids. Her sandy brown hair fell just a little lower then where her shoulders were. She wore a large sky blue T-shirt, her right wrist bearing a loose bracelet bearing the design of a crescent moon. Around her waist a blue and orange tie-dye style skirt wrapped around her, dropping to half way down her legs. The only thing covering her feet was a pair of tattered, low cut shoes.
She looked at me strangely, like I was some sort of stranger. Well, I’m sure I am as much a stranger to her as she is to me. She just stared at me for a moment, stoically. Suddenly her eyes lit up and a smile appeared on her face. She giggled for a moment, then welcomingly said
“Good morning sleepyhead.”
I blinked a few times. She giggled again, knowing that I had no idea where I was or how I got to her house. I was lost. I didn’t know what to say, so I just stared at her for a moment.
“Well aren’t you the chatterbox?” she said rolling her eyes jokingly. “Well, if you aren’t going to say anything, I suppose I should. *Ahem* Why, Hello there. My name is Zoe. What is your name?” She said sarcastically.
Once again, I just stood there, still dumbstruck. Something in my head finally clicked, and I snapped out of my dumbfounded trance. Words started flooding out, I had so much to say, and it all came out in several words of pure gibberish.
“Hey, hey, hey! Slow down there, buddy!” Zoe exclaimed. Those few words seemed to stop my jabbering. “Alright then, let’s try this again. I’m Zoe. You are…?” She left me hanging there to answer the statement.
“Oh, uhh…” My name seemed to have slipped my mind.
“Don’t tell me you forgot your own name!” Zoe scolded
Out of the blue, my name just slammed into my head, and I sputtered out
“Marnel, My name is Marnel.” I finally answered her.
“Well then, Marnel, Nice to meet you.” She said cheerfully. “So,” she started to say, “How did you find your way all the way out here? I haven’t seen anyone out here in ages!”
“Huh?” I asked curiously. I had no idea where I was, nor what she was talking about. I was just in Seville last night. Then the haunting memory of that night arose again, and I remembered everything that happened before I blacked out. I started to wonder where I was, too.
“Well,” Zoe said “I found you lying out in the middle of the Arid Forest.”
“What?” I asked “I was just at my house last night!”
“Oh!” she exclaimed “Well then, do you know how you could have gotten all the way out here, Marnel?”
I remembered everything that happened last night, but I chose not to talk about it. I didn’t want this girl, nor anyone else to think I’m crazy. So I told her
“I have no idea.”
“That’s a shame. Well then, can I ask you something?”
I told her “Sure.”
“Well, what town are you from?”
Proudly, I said “I’m from Seville!”
She looked at me for a minute with a blank face, then she must have remembered where Seville is from, and her face just lit up again.
“Oh, so you’re a big city boy then!”
That was a little awkward thing to say. Seville isn’t exactly a big city, its just a small farmers community. It’s a decent size I suppose, but I wouldn’t have called it a big city.
“Well, yeah, I guess.” I said stupidly.
She laughed “It’s alright, Marnel, there’s nothing wrong with being a city boy.”
My stomach growled at me again. Zoe chuckled at my roaring stomach.
“Want some stew for lunch?” She invited politly.
What could I say? I was starving, confused, and a little worried. Maybe some lunch would ease my mind just a tiny bit. On top of that, the aroma of the boiling soup was making me crave it more and more, so what choice did I have?
“Sure” I accepted.
She led me outside, where I found myself in unfamiliar surroundings. Outside was carpeted in grass, and a shining sun shone across the ground. Flowers along a dirt path that cut its way through the ground were blooming cheerfully. Trees swayed lazily in the soft breeze. Birds projected their song across the grassy plain, and gently rolling mountains painted the horizon.
Zoe led me to an enormous oak tree and sat me down under it. It's shady leaves provided a cool sanctuary from the heat, and before I could fully sit down on the ground, she had already spread a blanket across the earthly floor. It was a beautifully crafted quilt, with an enormous sunflower stitched onto it. I sat myself on that quilt, and just as I did, Zoe pulled two ceramic bowls, and handed one to me.
I started getting eager to eat. My stomach growled at me, ordering me to get something to eat. Out of a basket she withdrew a small pot of the cooking. I lit up, and I silently urged her to hurry up.
Actually, I found out it wasn't that silent. I had practically shoved that bowl in her face before I actually realized what I was doing subconsciously. She just laughed at me. What choice did I have? I laughed as well. She filled my bowl with that stew I had been craving for what seemed an eternity, and as soon as she left that bowl into my custody, I gobbled down the entire contents in a lapse of thirty seconds. Delicious! Once again, Zoe started laughing at me again.
"Slow down there, turbo!" She laughed at me as I ate. I could care less. Amongst my rudely devouring of my lunch, Zoe managed to eat hers fairly quickly as well. I set my bowl down next to hers, and I collapsed onto the quilt to look up at the leaves.
"So what's the big city like?" Zoe questioned.
I felt a little stupid, feeling as if I had to make up a phony response. I don't know what I should say, Seville is just a small community, not some roaring, bumbling city. So I chose to give her a false response.
"It's interesting I suppose. It's really nothing too special once you get used to it. It's just an everyday thing for me, I guess." I paused. I felt like an idiot lying to this girl. "Well, what can I say?" I laughed. "It's just home to me."
She just smiled at me with cheerful eyes. "I've always wanted to go to a big city." She stopped looking at me and gazed into the sky. "I've always wanted to see all the building, all the lights, everything." She said.
This left me a little confused, but I also knew she was telling me what she's wanted to do for a long while. So instead of interrupting her, I let her continue her monologue.
"I've always been a country girl, you could say." Zoe paused for a moment. She sighed. "I was really hoping you could tell me more about it. I've just been stuck out here in Halcyon." She looked at the ground, silently. I could tell she didn't like it out here. "The town here isn't that bad, I guess, but nothing ever happens here."
That threw my thought out the window.
"It's just… everyday here, it's the same thing. People go work at the same jobs, kids play the same thing, and there's never anything new or exciting here. Sometimes," she stopped for a second.
I felt sorry for her. She's lived her whole life out here where everything is the same everyday. I wonder if she's even experienced real excitement, or if everything she has been enjoying has all be a false hoax.
_____________________________________________________________
Thats as far as i've gotten.
I'll take ideas for town names, character names, and also a good title for the story would be great.
Also, a few side notes:
I have near all of this that i have typed up so far rought drafted into my math notebook. it's not like that paper isnt going toget any use. The total page count for the rought draft is now i think 11 pages.
Halcyon is actually a word meaning Calm or Tranquil.
Also, a personal note, this forum is a bit more welcoming to me then the a0.com forums, where practically anything i say is quoted and flamed.
Comment