ElijahRyne
A Hermit that’s NOT that Lazy, currentlycomplainen
- Joined
- Aug 12, 2021
- Messages
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This is a story that I wrote into 100 walls. It is disjointed and feels like it is going in 20 different directions. It has some of my best writing, trapped in all of that. I am certain a more confident or experienced writer could bring the story justice, none the less here it is. Please share your thoughts on these chapters, and enjoy, if you can.
Chapter 1 - Introduction (Part 1)
Thursday
5:00 p.m.
October 12th, 200x
…
*tick* *tick* *tick* *tick* *tick* *tick* *tick* *tick* *tick*
The small school library was quiet, yet not quite silent. That potential silence was broken by a few sounds like the weak, but persistent, ticking of the grandfather clock in the corner of the library as well as the occasional muffled voices of people passing by its doors. Nevertheless, the noise was a persistent distraction from my homework. One that forced me to focus on my task, yet that focus was strained and waning due to its constant use.
My eyes grew heavier and heavier, as I fought to keep myself on task. I went here directly after finishing my classes for today. I was practically forced to research some obscure nonsense for 3 different papers. All of the three were unfortunately assigned to me today. One was for my English class, one was for my Spanish class, and another was for my history class. I had finished my research and notes for my English essay and was now working on the Spanish one. I looked up from the aged animal encyclopedia to look at the clock. It was 4 p.m. I had been on this for only half an hour. With my eyes on the clock silently despairing my luck, my fingers stumbled as I tried turning to the next page.
*flip*
Eventually, I looked back down to the new page. It was about tapeworms. Even if it was only something recorded on this old paper, the concept of any parasites' existence, coupled with an image of their disgusting forms forced me to quickly turn the page.
“Yo, Terry! How are you doing? Want to go fishing?” A loud energetic voice distracted me from my boring task. It was Page, or rather ‘Pagen Caprice’, an old friend of mine. He is lanky, about 1.8 meters tall, with dirty blond hair. Normally I would enthusiastically greet him but my tiredness, as well as how his name reminded me of my unfortunate task, simplified my greeting to nothing more than a grunt and a nod.
“What are you reading today?” He looked over to the encyclopedia. “Tapirs, huh, you know they look pretty strange. Like a gross mix of a hog and an anteater.” He continued in a faux expert voice.
“I guess they look kind of strange. I was researching info for a paper. I have been here for more than an hour now.” I began to yawn after my sentence.
“What for? You aren't taking a biology course at the moment, right?”
Ah yes, he asked the dreaded question that I have been asking myself. One that I have pondered on and off for the past hour now. I don’t even want to think about it anymore…. Get back to work and ignore it… Ignore him… No, this is enough info for this paper, at the very least I don’t want to continue it… Let’s move on to the last paper.
Ugh, I really want to get this over with and sleep right now, but I guess Page is a worthy enough distraction.
“The Spanish professor assigned us to write a 6-page paper today. Over… well, an animal. Their abilities, their habits, and their habitats, what we think about them, as well as their history. All in APA format, with in-text citations. It is due in 5 days.”
“Monday, hmmm…. Ha, I bet it is Professor Hayan, right? Last year we were given a similar assignment. Our class had to create a 6-page essay on the various qualities, properties, and applications of Boron.” Page said before he leaned towards my ear and began to whisper.
“I hear he does something like this every year, while. And I know that Jorge gives the writers of what he deems ‘the best three essays’ a reward. Anyone who has finished his class knows that. Yet, no winner is known, and the people who claim to have won all refuse to show their prizes.” He leaned his face close to my ear before whispering.
“The big rumor is that the people who win will disappear, forgotten by all. Some people believe that Professor Jorge sacrifices them for the creation of the philosopher’s stone. A few believe that he eats their brains to gain their knowledge. While others believe it to just be a glitch in the Matrix.”
“Well, while that story sounds interesting, it is filled with holes,” I said as I pushed him away. “If he wanted to give out a prize, why this assignment? Why have I heard nothing of any prize, much less mysteriously missing people? If there was going to be one, why not announce the prize and the conditions to get it before giving us a 6-page essay from nowhere? Why not put this on the syllabus? And even if there is a prize at the end of this, I doubt it would be nothing grander than a pen or a piece of candy.” I yawned and stretched before looking back at the encyclopedia.
“What are you working on? The outline? Introduction? The source page? I could help you know.”
*sigh*
“I have yet to choose an animal.”
“Wha… and how long have you been here? I knew you were indecisive, but this is a whole other level.”
“I had other things to work on before this, Page.”
“Let me guess you finished that ‘other stuff’ 40 minutes ago, before taking out this here encyclopedia and reading it. You are telling yourself that you need to look through the entire encyclopedia before you have enough info to cho—”
“You know, that’s not true this time. At the very least, I have found quite a bit that I will not choose.”
“An entry in an encyclopedia takes up a page, you are on page … 507. So how many have you ruled out? Let me guess twenty-tw—“
“Anyways Pagen, thank you for the info, but I have two other essays that were assigned today. I need to go back to working on them.”
“That will take you forever to do if you don’t combine some of your essays bro. Anyways Godspeed!”
‘Hell, that is actually a good idea! Now all I have to do before I can go home and sleep is finish the preliminary research for this paper… At the very least there is no page requirement for this one. I can feel my bed already!’ I thought.
*tick* *tick* *tick* *tick* *tick* *tick* *tick* *tick* *tick*
The clock ticked on, as I continued my research. I sighed as I closed the animal encyclopedia and opened a history textbook. I wrote notes as I read through it.
I had ‘finished’ my research an hour later. I hurriedly said my goodbye to the small library as I made my way outside.
The cold autumn wind clawed at me as it passed by. While turning my head to look up to the sky, I could see that the sun was setting. Perhaps, I might have wasted another day.
I slowly stumbled my way back to my dorm, after buttoning up my coat. My tired mind protested along the way, but the cold wind kept me awake. At least somewhat so, I did almost trip and fall when stepping from the elevated sidewalk to the brick road. I also dozed off for a bit because of the 10-floor wait I had in the elevator. Despite that, eventually, I entered my room. I then locked the door, took off my glasses, and fell asleep.
…
Thursday
6:36 p.m.
…
An aged figure was browsing the books in the library Terry had recently left. The setting sun dyed the room red.
“What is the fool even trying to do with that damned portal experiment, and why the fuck did the association send me to watch over?! His pursuit is flawed and bound by that flawed tradition. Fucking hell! Did that alchemist not learn from the lesson the first time!?”
“No, but he, and the old ‘alchemists’, are not entirely wrong on planar travel. They have just been blinded, bound to the whims of this particular plane.” An ethereal voice sounded out from one of her many bracelets.
“You always talk of ‘being blinded’? Being bound to this plane is just that. A necessary sacrifice for stability.” The old woman spat out.
Thursday
5:00 p.m.
October 12th, 200x
…
*tick* *tick* *tick* *tick* *tick* *tick* *tick* *tick* *tick*
The small school library was quiet, yet not quite silent. That potential silence was broken by a few sounds like the weak, but persistent, ticking of the grandfather clock in the corner of the library as well as the occasional muffled voices of people passing by its doors. Nevertheless, the noise was a persistent distraction from my homework. One that forced me to focus on my task, yet that focus was strained and waning due to its constant use.
My eyes grew heavier and heavier, as I fought to keep myself on task. I went here directly after finishing my classes for today. I was practically forced to research some obscure nonsense for 3 different papers. All of the three were unfortunately assigned to me today. One was for my English class, one was for my Spanish class, and another was for my history class. I had finished my research and notes for my English essay and was now working on the Spanish one. I looked up from the aged animal encyclopedia to look at the clock. It was 4 p.m. I had been on this for only half an hour. With my eyes on the clock silently despairing my luck, my fingers stumbled as I tried turning to the next page.
*flip*
Eventually, I looked back down to the new page. It was about tapeworms. Even if it was only something recorded on this old paper, the concept of any parasites' existence, coupled with an image of their disgusting forms forced me to quickly turn the page.
“Yo, Terry! How are you doing? Want to go fishing?” A loud energetic voice distracted me from my boring task. It was Page, or rather ‘Pagen Caprice’, an old friend of mine. He is lanky, about 1.8 meters tall, with dirty blond hair. Normally I would enthusiastically greet him but my tiredness, as well as how his name reminded me of my unfortunate task, simplified my greeting to nothing more than a grunt and a nod.
“What are you reading today?” He looked over to the encyclopedia. “Tapirs, huh, you know they look pretty strange. Like a gross mix of a hog and an anteater.” He continued in a faux expert voice.
“I guess they look kind of strange. I was researching info for a paper. I have been here for more than an hour now.” I began to yawn after my sentence.
“What for? You aren't taking a biology course at the moment, right?”
Ah yes, he asked the dreaded question that I have been asking myself. One that I have pondered on and off for the past hour now. I don’t even want to think about it anymore…. Get back to work and ignore it… Ignore him… No, this is enough info for this paper, at the very least I don’t want to continue it… Let’s move on to the last paper.
Ugh, I really want to get this over with and sleep right now, but I guess Page is a worthy enough distraction.
“The Spanish professor assigned us to write a 6-page paper today. Over… well, an animal. Their abilities, their habits, and their habitats, what we think about them, as well as their history. All in APA format, with in-text citations. It is due in 5 days.”
“Monday, hmmm…. Ha, I bet it is Professor Hayan, right? Last year we were given a similar assignment. Our class had to create a 6-page essay on the various qualities, properties, and applications of Boron.” Page said before he leaned towards my ear and began to whisper.
“I hear he does something like this every year, while. And I know that Jorge gives the writers of what he deems ‘the best three essays’ a reward. Anyone who has finished his class knows that. Yet, no winner is known, and the people who claim to have won all refuse to show their prizes.” He leaned his face close to my ear before whispering.
“The big rumor is that the people who win will disappear, forgotten by all. Some people believe that Professor Jorge sacrifices them for the creation of the philosopher’s stone. A few believe that he eats their brains to gain their knowledge. While others believe it to just be a glitch in the Matrix.”
“Well, while that story sounds interesting, it is filled with holes,” I said as I pushed him away. “If he wanted to give out a prize, why this assignment? Why have I heard nothing of any prize, much less mysteriously missing people? If there was going to be one, why not announce the prize and the conditions to get it before giving us a 6-page essay from nowhere? Why not put this on the syllabus? And even if there is a prize at the end of this, I doubt it would be nothing grander than a pen or a piece of candy.” I yawned and stretched before looking back at the encyclopedia.
“What are you working on? The outline? Introduction? The source page? I could help you know.”
*sigh*
“I have yet to choose an animal.”
“Wha… and how long have you been here? I knew you were indecisive, but this is a whole other level.”
“I had other things to work on before this, Page.”
“Let me guess you finished that ‘other stuff’ 40 minutes ago, before taking out this here encyclopedia and reading it. You are telling yourself that you need to look through the entire encyclopedia before you have enough info to cho—”
“You know, that’s not true this time. At the very least, I have found quite a bit that I will not choose.”
“An entry in an encyclopedia takes up a page, you are on page … 507. So how many have you ruled out? Let me guess twenty-tw—“
“Anyways Pagen, thank you for the info, but I have two other essays that were assigned today. I need to go back to working on them.”
“That will take you forever to do if you don’t combine some of your essays bro. Anyways Godspeed!”
‘Hell, that is actually a good idea! Now all I have to do before I can go home and sleep is finish the preliminary research for this paper… At the very least there is no page requirement for this one. I can feel my bed already!’ I thought.
*tick* *tick* *tick* *tick* *tick* *tick* *tick* *tick* *tick*
The clock ticked on, as I continued my research. I sighed as I closed the animal encyclopedia and opened a history textbook. I wrote notes as I read through it.
I had ‘finished’ my research an hour later. I hurriedly said my goodbye to the small library as I made my way outside.
The cold autumn wind clawed at me as it passed by. While turning my head to look up to the sky, I could see that the sun was setting. Perhaps, I might have wasted another day.
I slowly stumbled my way back to my dorm, after buttoning up my coat. My tired mind protested along the way, but the cold wind kept me awake. At least somewhat so, I did almost trip and fall when stepping from the elevated sidewalk to the brick road. I also dozed off for a bit because of the 10-floor wait I had in the elevator. Despite that, eventually, I entered my room. I then locked the door, took off my glasses, and fell asleep.
…
Thursday
6:36 p.m.
…
An aged figure was browsing the books in the library Terry had recently left. The setting sun dyed the room red.
“What is the fool even trying to do with that damned portal experiment, and why the fuck did the association send me to watch over?! His pursuit is flawed and bound by that flawed tradition. Fucking hell! Did that alchemist not learn from the lesson the first time!?”
“No, but he, and the old ‘alchemists’, are not entirely wrong on planar travel. They have just been blinded, bound to the whims of this particular plane.” An ethereal voice sounded out from one of her many bracelets.
“You always talk of ‘being blinded’? Being bound to this plane is just that. A necessary sacrifice for stability.” The old woman spat out.
Chapter 2 - Introduction (Part 2)
Friday
6:00 a.m.
October 13th, 200x
…
*beebeeebeeep* *beebeeebeeep* *beebeeebeeep*
A familiar noise sounded out. The blue walls swiveled as the grey books danced. The skin of my hands pulsated to its rhythm.
*beebeeebeeep* *beebeeebeeep* *beebeeebeeep*
The skin of my hands, in its pulsations, frayed like an old cloth. The dancing grey books, they circled me. The swiveling wall lost its blue and became the night sky.
*beebeeebeeep* *beebeeebeeep* *beebeeebeeep*
With each swivel stars disappeared. My hands had turned into a knotted mass of thread. The dancing books opened their covers.
*beebeeebeeep* *beebeeebeeep* *beebeeebeeep*
I groggily stood up from my bed and waddled to my alarm clock. Which was on the other side of my dorm room, under the spare bed that was left after my roommate dropped out. I crouched down and turned it off. When I did so, I was greeted with the persistent shaking of my windows, probably due to the wind.
After stumbling around a bit, I found and put on my glasses. I looked out the slits in the blinds that covered my window. There were no clouds in that dim morning sky, at least from what I could see.
I put on some slippers before heading to the elevator. It was hashbrowns and breakfast pizza today.
…
7:30 a.m.
…
After I ate breakfast, I went back to my dorm and got ready for the day. I put on my backpack and a jacke—
*Shreee tun tun tun*
I somewhat worriedly looked at my window for a moment, it was still rattling against the wind. I searched for about a minute before finding my umbrella next to my cane. I grabbed my umbrella, hurried to the elevator, and then left the dorm building for class. The wind was strong enough to occasionally push me off balance, and invert the canopy of my umbrella before launching it out of my hands.
“…”
I checked around me for a bit and saw that the sidewalk was empty before picking it up. I put the strap of the umbrella on my wrist and opened it again to see what would happen. Almost immediately after, the umbrella wobbled around as it tried to escape my grip. It swayed back and forth as the wind blew, then it would settle when it stopped, before swaying back and forth once more. It was quite fun trying to keep it steady.
After a while, I became curious about what would happen if I let go of the umbrella. I waited until the wind picked up and let go. The umbrella glided a bit in the air, tethered to my wrist, before falling on my head. I closed the umbrella as I continued to class.
…
7:48 a.m.
…
When I got to my first class, the room was strangely completely empty. Which made the large semicircular room and its hundreds of empty chairs slightly unsettling. I went to a seat on the edge and waited for a couple of minutes before hearing a rhythmic metallic clicking & clanking before the doors opened. I looked over to see that someone, with a ton of bracelets on, had joined me here. It was a peculiar hunchbacked old woman who only had a few thin tufts of hair remaining. She wore a grey robe that resembled a quilt due to its numerous stitchings and patterns.
“Class was canceled for today, you can leave now.” She said while pointing towards the door.
I was slightly perturbed before leaving. The wind seemed to have died down. I hurried to my dorm before checking my emails on my laptop. All classes for today were canceled due to the weather.
*sigh*
‘If only I didn’t have those essays to write, that would be very good news.’
…
10:22 a.m.
…
*ringringring*
*click* “Hey, Terry! Whatch ya doing?” Sarah said.
“I’m still ‘working’ on those essays.”
“Wanna head to lunch with me and the gang?”
“Where?”
“I was thinking about a picnic on those old tracks, at Will’s tree.”
“What happened? It’s quite rare for us to meet there…”
“Something big is happening, really big, it is important for you to come.” Her voice sounded worried.
“When?”
“If we don’t want rain, we should be there by noon.”
“I will be there.”
“Do you need a ride?”
*click*
The ‘tracks’ are a 5-mile-long set of abandoned railroad tracks. It is about an hour's walk from here for me or a minute drive for them. Besides Page, since Will and I fell through that… It has been a bit difficult for me to accept help from them.
My window rhythmically clicked as the wind pounded away on it like it was waiting eagerly for me to let it in. I took my umbrella before I once again left my dorm. A massive storm cloud hovered right above my dorm. Giant wispy tendrils wavered back and forth in the wind. The dark grey cloud was massive, if my dorm building wasn’t there to give me a sense of scale, I might’ve reached out to touch it. The awesome size of the cloud made my feet go cold.
I hurried to the tracks, as the wind buffeted me. Perhaps it was urging me to go back, yet it wasn’t too long before I arrived.
…
11:57 a.m.
…
Four people were waiting. One was Page next to his white truck, he was talking to Jane. She is Page's cousin, and although we have known each other since 6th grade, we have always been a bit distant, mostly because she knows I am not one of faith. Next is Fred, he was reading a book while sitting on the tracks. Fred is about my height at 5’11. He was Will’s boyfriend. I am surprised he showed up. After Will left us, he was the first to distance himself from the group. Finally is the person who called us, Sarah. She is 5’8 and has black hair. Sarah and Will used to be the glue that held this group together.
“Hey, he’s here!” Sarah yelled. Everyone glanced over before going back to what they were doing before. Sarah waved me over.
“Still can’t drive? You know you could have asked me for a ride?”
“It’s difficult to be in one you know.”
“I get that, but it is hard for me, as a friend, to see you walking without your cane. It is dangerous and you know it.”
“Hey, it’s no big deal, I can live without it. I made it here pretty quickly too, Jon and James have yet to arrive.”
“They aren’t coming, Terry. Seriously I don’t want to see you like that in the hospital again. Use your cane, ask for help, we are here for you.”
“But—“
“Terry, she is right,” Fred interjected. He stood up before waving at Page and Jane. “Let’s hurry, to the tree, I want to get this done before it rains.”
Friday
6:00 a.m.
October 13th, 200x
…
*beebeeebeeep* *beebeeebeeep* *beebeeebeeep*
A familiar noise sounded out. The blue walls swiveled as the grey books danced. The skin of my hands pulsated to its rhythm.
*beebeeebeeep* *beebeeebeeep* *beebeeebeeep*
The skin of my hands, in its pulsations, frayed like an old cloth. The dancing grey books, they circled me. The swiveling wall lost its blue and became the night sky.
*beebeeebeeep* *beebeeebeeep* *beebeeebeeep*
With each swivel stars disappeared. My hands had turned into a knotted mass of thread. The dancing books opened their covers.
*beebeeebeeep* *beebeeebeeep* *beebeeebeeep*
I groggily stood up from my bed and waddled to my alarm clock. Which was on the other side of my dorm room, under the spare bed that was left after my roommate dropped out. I crouched down and turned it off. When I did so, I was greeted with the persistent shaking of my windows, probably due to the wind.
After stumbling around a bit, I found and put on my glasses. I looked out the slits in the blinds that covered my window. There were no clouds in that dim morning sky, at least from what I could see.
I put on some slippers before heading to the elevator. It was hashbrowns and breakfast pizza today.
…
7:30 a.m.
…
After I ate breakfast, I went back to my dorm and got ready for the day. I put on my backpack and a jacke—
*Shreee tun tun tun*
I somewhat worriedly looked at my window for a moment, it was still rattling against the wind. I searched for about a minute before finding my umbrella next to my cane. I grabbed my umbrella, hurried to the elevator, and then left the dorm building for class. The wind was strong enough to occasionally push me off balance, and invert the canopy of my umbrella before launching it out of my hands.
“…”
I checked around me for a bit and saw that the sidewalk was empty before picking it up. I put the strap of the umbrella on my wrist and opened it again to see what would happen. Almost immediately after, the umbrella wobbled around as it tried to escape my grip. It swayed back and forth as the wind blew, then it would settle when it stopped, before swaying back and forth once more. It was quite fun trying to keep it steady.
After a while, I became curious about what would happen if I let go of the umbrella. I waited until the wind picked up and let go. The umbrella glided a bit in the air, tethered to my wrist, before falling on my head. I closed the umbrella as I continued to class.
…
7:48 a.m.
…
When I got to my first class, the room was strangely completely empty. Which made the large semicircular room and its hundreds of empty chairs slightly unsettling. I went to a seat on the edge and waited for a couple of minutes before hearing a rhythmic metallic clicking & clanking before the doors opened. I looked over to see that someone, with a ton of bracelets on, had joined me here. It was a peculiar hunchbacked old woman who only had a few thin tufts of hair remaining. She wore a grey robe that resembled a quilt due to its numerous stitchings and patterns.
“Class was canceled for today, you can leave now.” She said while pointing towards the door.
I was slightly perturbed before leaving. The wind seemed to have died down. I hurried to my dorm before checking my emails on my laptop. All classes for today were canceled due to the weather.
*sigh*
‘If only I didn’t have those essays to write, that would be very good news.’
…
10:22 a.m.
…
*ringringring*
*click* “Hey, Terry! Whatch ya doing?” Sarah said.
“I’m still ‘working’ on those essays.”
“Wanna head to lunch with me and the gang?”
“Where?”
“I was thinking about a picnic on those old tracks, at Will’s tree.”
“What happened? It’s quite rare for us to meet there…”
“Something big is happening, really big, it is important for you to come.” Her voice sounded worried.
“When?”
“If we don’t want rain, we should be there by noon.”
“I will be there.”
“Do you need a ride?”
*click*
The ‘tracks’ are a 5-mile-long set of abandoned railroad tracks. It is about an hour's walk from here for me or a minute drive for them. Besides Page, since Will and I fell through that… It has been a bit difficult for me to accept help from them.
My window rhythmically clicked as the wind pounded away on it like it was waiting eagerly for me to let it in. I took my umbrella before I once again left my dorm. A massive storm cloud hovered right above my dorm. Giant wispy tendrils wavered back and forth in the wind. The dark grey cloud was massive, if my dorm building wasn’t there to give me a sense of scale, I might’ve reached out to touch it. The awesome size of the cloud made my feet go cold.
I hurried to the tracks, as the wind buffeted me. Perhaps it was urging me to go back, yet it wasn’t too long before I arrived.
…
11:57 a.m.
…
Four people were waiting. One was Page next to his white truck, he was talking to Jane. She is Page's cousin, and although we have known each other since 6th grade, we have always been a bit distant, mostly because she knows I am not one of faith. Next is Fred, he was reading a book while sitting on the tracks. Fred is about my height at 5’11. He was Will’s boyfriend. I am surprised he showed up. After Will left us, he was the first to distance himself from the group. Finally is the person who called us, Sarah. She is 5’8 and has black hair. Sarah and Will used to be the glue that held this group together.
“Hey, he’s here!” Sarah yelled. Everyone glanced over before going back to what they were doing before. Sarah waved me over.
“Still can’t drive? You know you could have asked me for a ride?”
“It’s difficult to be in one you know.”
“I get that, but it is hard for me, as a friend, to see you walking without your cane. It is dangerous and you know it.”
“Hey, it’s no big deal, I can live without it. I made it here pretty quickly too, Jon and James have yet to arrive.”
“They aren’t coming, Terry. Seriously I don’t want to see you like that in the hospital again. Use your cane, ask for help, we are here for you.”
“But—“
“Terry, she is right,” Fred interjected. He stood up before waving at Page and Jane. “Let’s hurry, to the tree, I want to get this done before it rains.”
Chapter 3- Introduction (Part 3)
Friday
12:04 p.m.
October 13, 200x
…
Silently, we walked through long grass and tall weeds that poked out through the degraded railroad’s ballast. The road's wooden ties were rotten and ruined. The rusted rail marked our path. The old symbol of progress and modernity reclaimed by nature, nothing more than a fading scar.
Fred was the first of us to reach Will’s tree before the rest of us caught up. We solemnly stood looking at the old twisted tree, until someone let out a barely audible sigh.
“So, what are you worried about Sarah?” Page asked.
“I wanted to wait until we began eating first, *sigh* but it doesn’t look like we have the time.” Sarah looked up to the darkening sky before sighing once more.
“The reason I brought you here is that I need to tell you guys something serious, even if it makes me seem crazy in your eyes.” She looked into our eyes before continuing.
“Recently, as in the past couple of weeks I have had nightmares similar to last ti—”
“You can’t be serious, this is not the place to joke around!” Jane's face began to go red.
“I know that. I am being serious!”
“If you were serious then last time you would have been the one t—“
Fred stepped forward before interjecting, “Calm down you two, not here, don’t yell. Let’s listen for now, and save the anger for when we leave.”
“Yes.”“I will try…” they replied.
“Sarah, could you continue?”
“*cough* um..yes. So for the past couple of weeks, I have had a recurring nightmare, similar to the ones I had before Will and Terry… You know.” Sarah looked at the ground shortly before continuing. “In it, the nightmare I mean, I see all of us dying before our campus slowly turns to ruin. We die separately. The first of us to die was me, I am engulfed in flame in the science building. I search frantically before running to a window, b..before I leap out of it a..an….” Sarah’s face began to pale. Page and Fred were exchanging concerned looks. Though, I couldn’t tell if it was for the content of what she was saying, or how it was affecting her.
“…It was a 7-story drop, and I saw, felt heard, ta..experienced everything. I was there, in my body, without control, lying on the ground for three minutes, before I died.” Sarah paused to collect herself. She was shivering, and I began to grow worried.
I had never seen Sarah act like this. Although I have always been dubious of the ‘prophetic’ nature of her dreams, I knew what she was saying was not a lie. She believes she had experienced this death and believes that something similar will happen. If she didn’t she wouldn’t have brought us here. I looked at Will's tree and its branches and orange leaves that danced ignorantly in the wind until they were torn from their home and blown to the ground. An intense panic grew before disappearing.
‘I hope that wasn’t his experience.’
“After I died. I saw the Science building catch flames before it collapsed. While the nightmare continues after this point, I need to tell you why I called you here.” Sarah glanced at us, meeting our eyes before she continued.
“Today, about two hours ago, I thought that this just a very bad nightmare. I don’t anymore. While I was working in a chemistry lab, in the shared lab, an unattended beaker behind me exploded. Whatever was in there instantly caught flame as it spread across the room. Some of it had gotten on my jacket. I panicked for a moment before remembering the dream. I quickly removed the jacket before pulling the fire alarm.”
“So you believe this nightmare to be prophetic?” Fred asked. Jane snorted.
“The nightmare switched perspectives. It was night, and I was watching Jane through her room's window. She was frantically trying to barricade her door. Something had chased her, and the door's barricade did not stop that blob of green shadow and its floating eye from passing through the open window. Jane was engulfed by the shadow before it replaced her left eye with its own. Jane bled out.”
“Seriously, Sarah!?” Jane intervened once again. She was seriously agitated. She clenched her fists before releasing them. “You guys can continue, I am heading home.” Sarah’s panicked face turned almost completely white.
“Please don’t go there!”
“You two, not here.”
“I get it, I am leaving.”
“If you are going home, leave the dorms before sundown! Please!”
“I’ll see…”
We stood there in silence as Jane walked down the dilapidated tracks. Shortly after she disappeared from our sight, Page frantically began to pat his pockets.
“Wait, she has the keys…”
“Don’t worry I will drive you, please hurry Sarah. I think it has already begun to sprinkle.” Fred said.
“…Slowly the green shadow began to spread until it had filled the dorm building. It was then that it was Fred. You were walking in the park when a tree fell on you. It was not the only tree to fall. Then it was Page, you were pulled into the campus pond, while fishing. The pond flooded. Then it was Terry, you were taking a stroll outside when a semi hit and pushed you through a window. Cars skewered ruined buildings, everything was destroyed.”
An awkward silence engulfed us. Sarah, with clenched fists, was staring at the ground. It seemed as if she was shuddering. Fred was looking at the sky, while Page was looking between everyone until he met my eyes and then winked.
“Well then, I guess my evening plans are canceled.”
“I guess mine are as well.” Fred said.
“Are you ready to head back Page?” Sarah asked
“Yeah, the first to the car chooses lunch?.”
“Then let’s go.”
The two of them ran off. Sarah grabbed my arm as I began to follow after them.
“I think you should ride with me. I am worried about you walking home today.” She said, I was about to say no, yet, after looking at her tear-stained eyes I agreed. Her eyes squinted down as she smiled.
“Good! Want to get lunch?”
“Sure.”
“What do you feel like eating?”
“Well… I don’t think I have any preferences right now. Except, no alcohol, none at all.”
“What about Typo’s?”
“Sounds good to me.”
The rain began to fall, though only at a light sprinkle, halfway through our walk back. The rocky ballast became ever so slightly harder to balance on. After I stumbled a bit Sarah began to speak.
“By the way, we should keep in contact today. Just in case.”
“Okay, I shall be on the lookout for danger, captain.”
“You should also keep your cane on you, to ward off danger.”
“What is my cane gonna do, outside of being a potential weapon?”
“There is that too, but it can also keep you from falling at an inopportune time, which can help stop any potential injury.”
“I ain’t going to fall, there is no need to walk on eggshells or worry about a year-old injury. I know myself and my limits.”
“But still…”
“I. am. fine. Sarah.”
The drive to and back from Typo’s was filled with an awkward tension.
Friday
12:04 p.m.
October 13, 200x
…
Silently, we walked through long grass and tall weeds that poked out through the degraded railroad’s ballast. The road's wooden ties were rotten and ruined. The rusted rail marked our path. The old symbol of progress and modernity reclaimed by nature, nothing more than a fading scar.
Fred was the first of us to reach Will’s tree before the rest of us caught up. We solemnly stood looking at the old twisted tree, until someone let out a barely audible sigh.
“So, what are you worried about Sarah?” Page asked.
“I wanted to wait until we began eating first, *sigh* but it doesn’t look like we have the time.” Sarah looked up to the darkening sky before sighing once more.
“The reason I brought you here is that I need to tell you guys something serious, even if it makes me seem crazy in your eyes.” She looked into our eyes before continuing.
“Recently, as in the past couple of weeks I have had nightmares similar to last ti—”
“You can’t be serious, this is not the place to joke around!” Jane's face began to go red.
“I know that. I am being serious!”
“If you were serious then last time you would have been the one t—“
Fred stepped forward before interjecting, “Calm down you two, not here, don’t yell. Let’s listen for now, and save the anger for when we leave.”
“Yes.”“I will try…” they replied.
“Sarah, could you continue?”
“*cough* um..yes. So for the past couple of weeks, I have had a recurring nightmare, similar to the ones I had before Will and Terry… You know.” Sarah looked at the ground shortly before continuing. “In it, the nightmare I mean, I see all of us dying before our campus slowly turns to ruin. We die separately. The first of us to die was me, I am engulfed in flame in the science building. I search frantically before running to a window, b..before I leap out of it a..an….” Sarah’s face began to pale. Page and Fred were exchanging concerned looks. Though, I couldn’t tell if it was for the content of what she was saying, or how it was affecting her.
“…It was a 7-story drop, and I saw, felt heard, ta..experienced everything. I was there, in my body, without control, lying on the ground for three minutes, before I died.” Sarah paused to collect herself. She was shivering, and I began to grow worried.
I had never seen Sarah act like this. Although I have always been dubious of the ‘prophetic’ nature of her dreams, I knew what she was saying was not a lie. She believes she had experienced this death and believes that something similar will happen. If she didn’t she wouldn’t have brought us here. I looked at Will's tree and its branches and orange leaves that danced ignorantly in the wind until they were torn from their home and blown to the ground. An intense panic grew before disappearing.
‘I hope that wasn’t his experience.’
“After I died. I saw the Science building catch flames before it collapsed. While the nightmare continues after this point, I need to tell you why I called you here.” Sarah glanced at us, meeting our eyes before she continued.
“Today, about two hours ago, I thought that this just a very bad nightmare. I don’t anymore. While I was working in a chemistry lab, in the shared lab, an unattended beaker behind me exploded. Whatever was in there instantly caught flame as it spread across the room. Some of it had gotten on my jacket. I panicked for a moment before remembering the dream. I quickly removed the jacket before pulling the fire alarm.”
“So you believe this nightmare to be prophetic?” Fred asked. Jane snorted.
“The nightmare switched perspectives. It was night, and I was watching Jane through her room's window. She was frantically trying to barricade her door. Something had chased her, and the door's barricade did not stop that blob of green shadow and its floating eye from passing through the open window. Jane was engulfed by the shadow before it replaced her left eye with its own. Jane bled out.”
“Seriously, Sarah!?” Jane intervened once again. She was seriously agitated. She clenched her fists before releasing them. “You guys can continue, I am heading home.” Sarah’s panicked face turned almost completely white.
“Please don’t go there!”
“You two, not here.”
“I get it, I am leaving.”
“If you are going home, leave the dorms before sundown! Please!”
“I’ll see…”
We stood there in silence as Jane walked down the dilapidated tracks. Shortly after she disappeared from our sight, Page frantically began to pat his pockets.
“Wait, she has the keys…”
“Don’t worry I will drive you, please hurry Sarah. I think it has already begun to sprinkle.” Fred said.
“…Slowly the green shadow began to spread until it had filled the dorm building. It was then that it was Fred. You were walking in the park when a tree fell on you. It was not the only tree to fall. Then it was Page, you were pulled into the campus pond, while fishing. The pond flooded. Then it was Terry, you were taking a stroll outside when a semi hit and pushed you through a window. Cars skewered ruined buildings, everything was destroyed.”
An awkward silence engulfed us. Sarah, with clenched fists, was staring at the ground. It seemed as if she was shuddering. Fred was looking at the sky, while Page was looking between everyone until he met my eyes and then winked.
“Well then, I guess my evening plans are canceled.”
“I guess mine are as well.” Fred said.
“Are you ready to head back Page?” Sarah asked
“Yeah, the first to the car chooses lunch?.”
“Then let’s go.”
The two of them ran off. Sarah grabbed my arm as I began to follow after them.
“I think you should ride with me. I am worried about you walking home today.” She said, I was about to say no, yet, after looking at her tear-stained eyes I agreed. Her eyes squinted down as she smiled.
“Good! Want to get lunch?”
“Sure.”
“What do you feel like eating?”
“Well… I don’t think I have any preferences right now. Except, no alcohol, none at all.”
“What about Typo’s?”
“Sounds good to me.”
The rain began to fall, though only at a light sprinkle, halfway through our walk back. The rocky ballast became ever so slightly harder to balance on. After I stumbled a bit Sarah began to speak.
“By the way, we should keep in contact today. Just in case.”
“Okay, I shall be on the lookout for danger, captain.”
“You should also keep your cane on you, to ward off danger.”
“What is my cane gonna do, outside of being a potential weapon?”
“There is that too, but it can also keep you from falling at an inopportune time, which can help stop any potential injury.”
“I ain’t going to fall, there is no need to walk on eggshells or worry about a year-old injury. I know myself and my limits.”
“But still…”
“I. am. fine. Sarah.”
The drive to and back from Typo’s was filled with an awkward tension.
Chapter 4 - Introduction (Part 4)
…
Friday
1:38 p.m.
October 13, 200x
…
When I got back to my room, Jane was waiting outside the door. She was pacing back and forth before she saw me.
“Terry, we need to talk.”
“Okay?”
I was a bit confused, despite knowing each other for more than a decade we have barely had a conversation one on one. So, this was strange not to mention the fact that we haven’t really spoken since the last… no second to last time we met at Will’s tree.
I unlocked and opened my door and Jane quickly entered before turning and pulling me into the dorm. My windows were still rattling in their frame.
“What was that for?”
“Sarah was too late with that talk, once again.”
“What?”
“What I mean is her vision has already happened.”
“Then how are-“
“I am alive because her ‘visions’ are not accurate. What she described was a dream that I experienced yesterday. Not to mention….”
“What?”
“Nevermind, look at the ground.” Jane said after snapping her fingers.
My mind was swirling in confusion. I had yet to catch my bearings. Yet every word was more confusing than the last. So, I looked down and saw her shadow. Her green shadow. Wait, her green shadow? She isn’t wearing green, though I doubt that that could create this phenomenon.
“Your shadow is green. Why?” I asked before my brain could reboot itself.
“Like hell I know! …all I know is that this started because of my dream from last night, and that I can do this now. She snapped her fingers again and a green half sphere apperated in her palm. Her shadow went back to normal. I collected myself before talking again, something was off.
“Why tell me this? No matter how I think about it, we aren’t really close enough for this.” I asked after deciding to just go with the flow.
“It was instinct if not something more divine, I had been planning on coming here since I realized this happened to me. I felt that you would know what to do.” She said whilst snapping repeatedly, her shadow changing with the movement.
‘Yeah whatever today might as well be a fever dream.’
“So what else can you do?” I asked.
“I don’t know, that’s why I came here.” She said with an expression somber enough to fit right in at a funeral.
“Have you tested anything?”
“No.”
Seriously what goes on in her head. This is potentially a dangerous ability. If she doesn’t understand it she could hurt herself or someone else without knowing.
“Well we might as well start then, see if you can pass me that green dome.” I said. Jane reached out after snapping, hesitated for a second, and then gingerly laid the dome in my left hand. I felt nothing as the ground grew towards my face.
…
Terry fell to the ground, I barely managed to keep his head from hitting the ground. I quickly snapped my dream back to my shadow.
…
I was trapped in a dorm room, it wasn’t my room. The door was barricaded, the window was open. I searched around for a minute before realizing I was probably in Jane’s room.
‘Is her power teleportation?’
I went over to the window to look outside and check my surroundings. What I could see of the sky was a brilliant purple, but it was mostly blocked by the clouds of fire. Yes fire clouds, green fire clouds. A bolt of lightning hit the blood vessel looking tree, as it condensed into a floating green shadow. I heard a snap as everything flipped. The sky was below me, a flickering green light engulfed me as my second nose fell out of my foot.
“Terry, Terry!” Jane was whisper shouting while shaking my shoulder.
“Where am I?”
“Are you okay? Did I hurt you? Oh lord, did I damage your brain!? How many fingers am I holding up? What’s my name? Do you remember your name?”
“Jane, what happened?”
“You held my dream and fainted. Are you okay?”
“I think so? Wait your dream is that mini-dome. Why didn’t you say anything about that?”
“You didn’t ask, and I thought you had figured it out… What happened when you fainted?” She asked in a slightly guilty voice.
“I randomly teleported into your room, the door was blocked and the window opened. The sky was on fire and lightning created a green blob. Then everything flipped and my second nose was lost.”
Jane looked at me before patting my head. I could swear she whispered something like ‘Don’t worry I will still be your friend even if you have brain damage.’ I gave her my blankest stare before pointing at her hand.
“What is this for?” I asked.
“Everything will be fine Terry, I am sure your second nose will grow back.”
“What second nose?!” I exclaimed as I grabbed the hand on my head. Her face slowly grew pink as she took her hand back. The room grew silent as the seconds passed.
“Well, did you figure anything out?” Jane asked.
“Let me think… Sarah said something about this dream right? A green shadow with an eye… Have you tried putting that dream of yours on your eye yet?”
“No…” Jane replied before holding the dome to her right eye. Nothing happened.
“I think Sarah said something about the left eye.” I said. Jane’s hand moved as a green light enveloped the room. My left hand grew hot as the light grew in intensity,then it disappeared. Jane shook her head as if waking from a bad dream.
“I have to go.” Jane hurriedly whimpered before rushing out of the dorm room. I couldn’t say anything before she left. I gently touched my left palm, the world went white as a hundred people screamed. Their voices were my voices. I quickly moved my right hand back. My head spun and I went to sleep.
When I woke up I ate before I fell asleep, before I knew it it was Sunday.
‘Shit my essays’
…
Friday
1:38 p.m.
October 13, 200x
…
When I got back to my room, Jane was waiting outside the door. She was pacing back and forth before she saw me.
“Terry, we need to talk.”
“Okay?”
I was a bit confused, despite knowing each other for more than a decade we have barely had a conversation one on one. So, this was strange not to mention the fact that we haven’t really spoken since the last… no second to last time we met at Will’s tree.
I unlocked and opened my door and Jane quickly entered before turning and pulling me into the dorm. My windows were still rattling in their frame.
“What was that for?”
“Sarah was too late with that talk, once again.”
“What?”
“What I mean is her vision has already happened.”
“Then how are-“
“I am alive because her ‘visions’ are not accurate. What she described was a dream that I experienced yesterday. Not to mention….”
“What?”
“Nevermind, look at the ground.” Jane said after snapping her fingers.
My mind was swirling in confusion. I had yet to catch my bearings. Yet every word was more confusing than the last. So, I looked down and saw her shadow. Her green shadow. Wait, her green shadow? She isn’t wearing green, though I doubt that that could create this phenomenon.
“Your shadow is green. Why?” I asked before my brain could reboot itself.
“Like hell I know! …all I know is that this started because of my dream from last night, and that I can do this now. She snapped her fingers again and a green half sphere apperated in her palm. Her shadow went back to normal. I collected myself before talking again, something was off.
“Why tell me this? No matter how I think about it, we aren’t really close enough for this.” I asked after deciding to just go with the flow.
“It was instinct if not something more divine, I had been planning on coming here since I realized this happened to me. I felt that you would know what to do.” She said whilst snapping repeatedly, her shadow changing with the movement.
‘Yeah whatever today might as well be a fever dream.’
“So what else can you do?” I asked.
“I don’t know, that’s why I came here.” She said with an expression somber enough to fit right in at a funeral.
“Have you tested anything?”
“No.”
Seriously what goes on in her head. This is potentially a dangerous ability. If she doesn’t understand it she could hurt herself or someone else without knowing.
“Well we might as well start then, see if you can pass me that green dome.” I said. Jane reached out after snapping, hesitated for a second, and then gingerly laid the dome in my left hand. I felt nothing as the ground grew towards my face.
…
Terry fell to the ground, I barely managed to keep his head from hitting the ground. I quickly snapped my dream back to my shadow.
…
I was trapped in a dorm room, it wasn’t my room. The door was barricaded, the window was open. I searched around for a minute before realizing I was probably in Jane’s room.
‘Is her power teleportation?’
I went over to the window to look outside and check my surroundings. What I could see of the sky was a brilliant purple, but it was mostly blocked by the clouds of fire. Yes fire clouds, green fire clouds. A bolt of lightning hit the blood vessel looking tree, as it condensed into a floating green shadow. I heard a snap as everything flipped. The sky was below me, a flickering green light engulfed me as my second nose fell out of my foot.
“Terry, Terry!” Jane was whisper shouting while shaking my shoulder.
“Where am I?”
“Are you okay? Did I hurt you? Oh lord, did I damage your brain!? How many fingers am I holding up? What’s my name? Do you remember your name?”
“Jane, what happened?”
“You held my dream and fainted. Are you okay?”
“I think so? Wait your dream is that mini-dome. Why didn’t you say anything about that?”
“You didn’t ask, and I thought you had figured it out… What happened when you fainted?” She asked in a slightly guilty voice.
“I randomly teleported into your room, the door was blocked and the window opened. The sky was on fire and lightning created a green blob. Then everything flipped and my second nose was lost.”
Jane looked at me before patting my head. I could swear she whispered something like ‘Don’t worry I will still be your friend even if you have brain damage.’ I gave her my blankest stare before pointing at her hand.
“What is this for?” I asked.
“Everything will be fine Terry, I am sure your second nose will grow back.”
“What second nose?!” I exclaimed as I grabbed the hand on my head. Her face slowly grew pink as she took her hand back. The room grew silent as the seconds passed.
“Well, did you figure anything out?” Jane asked.
“Let me think… Sarah said something about this dream right? A green shadow with an eye… Have you tried putting that dream of yours on your eye yet?”
“No…” Jane replied before holding the dome to her right eye. Nothing happened.
“I think Sarah said something about the left eye.” I said. Jane’s hand moved as a green light enveloped the room. My left hand grew hot as the light grew in intensity,then it disappeared. Jane shook her head as if waking from a bad dream.
“I have to go.” Jane hurriedly whimpered before rushing out of the dorm room. I couldn’t say anything before she left. I gently touched my left palm, the world went white as a hundred people screamed. Their voices were my voices. I quickly moved my right hand back. My head spun and I went to sleep.
When I woke up I ate before I fell asleep, before I knew it it was Sunday.
‘Shit my essays’
Chapter 5 - Introduction (Part 5)
A middle-aged man walked slowly towards a nascent crack that hovered in midair. He was barely carrying a tome that was thicker than his thigh. The book moved about randomly. Sometimes it would switch from open to closed like a bird flapping its wings. Occasionally it would flip pages back and forth. One time the pages stuck straight out before swaying back and forth, like a dancing peacock.
…
Monday
9:04 a.m.
October 16, 200x
…
It is Monday morning, and classes were canceled again. Yesterday I spent the small amount of time I had left finishing the rough drafts for the three papers. I feel pretty good about the English and History papers, but the Spanish one feels like a giant train crash. Not to mention Friday’s events…
I have started the Spanish essay three different times, with three different animals, before now, but had struggled to get past three pages. Nowhere close to that 6-page requirement.
Seriously though, I doubt my solution will work. After the third try, I gave up and decided to finish the drafts of the other two papers. Then I started actually writing the English paper, I had to write a paper describing what I thought about when writing and reading. It had no minimum size and ‘twas very quick to complete. The history paper, however, required a minimum of fourteen pages all about Ptolemaic Egypt.
Altogether it took six hours to finish those papers. After this, I found the solution for the Spanish essay. After all, the History papers did describe a certain animal in the end.
…
4 hours later
…
‘Hermes Trismegistus … Coptic Egypt… mystery cults…flying mummies on chariots… a fire filled green sky… flesh trees.’
My consciousness was wavering back and forth as I turned in my essays. The intense rattling of my window, and the occasional crackle from thunder, were all that was keeping me awake, as it has done for the past three days. It wasn’t long before I turned off all the lights and went to sleep… then I heard a faint sound in the distance.
*Vrooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooahm*
My heart plummeted as all sense of drowsiness disappeared into nothing. I put on my shoes and a thick winter coat before leaving my dorm room.
*ding ding ding* “All residents head to the basement immediately. This is not a drill.” *ding ding ding* “ All residents head to the basement immediately. This is not a drill.” *ding ding ding* …
I rushed to the elevator. There was no room. Maybe I should wait.
“—to the basement immediately. This is not a drill.” *ding ding ding* “All residents—“
The good thing about living on the top floor is that the stairway is never crowded. The bad thing is that 3 of the four walls are basically just steel and glass. Besides the fact, the stairway is often ungodly hot… If that thing happened to be carrying something and happened to pass by here the windows would not just shatter, but its broken fragments would be launched at more than 100mph. If you were not launched out of the building outright.
*Vrooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooahm*
I looked out the window as the siren was drowned out by an ominous buzzing.
“Is that a semi—!?”
*Chraump*
Everything went dark.
*************************************************************
“Hayan! You old maggot-eyed thorn-n-the-ass bastard! Stop fucking around and stop your shit-brained ‘experiment’!”
“No way! It’s almost finished!”
“Fuck off! Someone has died because of this!”
“Don’t worry, that’s what the soul array and that cage over there are for!”
“How the hell is that even remotely supposed to be helpful!?”
“I don’t know? Isn’t that your job?”
************************************************************
*ting**ting**ting*
Strange sounds echoed in the distance as I tried to open my eyes. A painful ripping sensation, like that of pulling a tooth off its root, passed through my body.
“—ester—y a mas—ve —— tornado passed through Bryan-Cross University in —nnings, —br—ka. Fou-ty-four people were injure—-nd thirteen -eople are missing. Rescuers are still searching for survivors.”
Am I in a hospital? Thank the heavens! I thought that semi was the end of me. ‘Is anyone there!’ I tried to shout, but nothing came out. Hell, I couldn’t even feel my mouth or throat. Shit, am I comatose? I tried to move my neck but couldn’t feel anything at all. No sense of touch, smell, heat, cold, nor any feeling of balance.
*ting**ting**ting*
Wait, is someone speaking?
“—uck him and his itty-bitty portal.‘Isn’t it your job?’ ‘I’m only an alchemist trying to visit the heavenly spheres. How can I know anything about soul-binding.’ Like hell I know how! I am only a trainee exorcist!”
It was a sharp but old voice echoed around me. The sounds surrounding me seems to be the only thing I could sense, no feel.
“Maybe we could bind this soul to a Void-form, mistress. It could balance the pressure of the Aether while giving them a form to stop planar erosion.”
This voice was hollow, it was missing something important…
“And why don’t I sacrifice 33 virgins to bring forth salvation!”
“Mistress, -hat’s not what I mea—“
“Void-forms are naturally expelled by planes, unless they are summoned and sealed with an array made from the lives of the targeted plane's inhabitants. After which they try to burst the planer shell apart, before frolicking back to the Void Sea. Don’t try to trick me.”
“What about Alchemist Hayan’s portal?”
“I know your tricks, little devil. Throw this soul into that portal unprotected, and it will be pulled apart by the portal's energy.”
“Then what will you do, mistress?”
“………….Fuck it, I will seal their soul in that book and throw it to his mass murdering portal. I have had enough of that bastard and headquarters can just go fuck itself if they wish for me to deal with his mess.”
As the old voice spoke, something changed, the sound around me faded to nothing as my body began to warp. It was as if my insides were being wrapped around a flagpole. Like a thread wrapped around a spool. I wanted to scream, but I couldn’t. I wanted to run but I couldn’t. I wanted to cry, barf, bargain, pray, faint, and curse, but I couldn’t. Maybe it was a day, maybe an hour, before it stopped. I felt wrong as if there was something logged in my gut. Like a painful splinter. Slowly the pain began to vanish as my consciousness faded out.
A middle-aged man walked slowly towards a nascent crack that hovered in midair. He was barely carrying a tome that was thicker than his thigh. The book moved about randomly. Sometimes it would switch from open to closed like a bird flapping its wings. Occasionally it would flip pages back and forth. One time the pages stuck straight out before swaying back and forth, like a dancing peacock.
…
Monday
9:04 a.m.
October 16, 200x
…
It is Monday morning, and classes were canceled again. Yesterday I spent the small amount of time I had left finishing the rough drafts for the three papers. I feel pretty good about the English and History papers, but the Spanish one feels like a giant train crash. Not to mention Friday’s events…
I have started the Spanish essay three different times, with three different animals, before now, but had struggled to get past three pages. Nowhere close to that 6-page requirement.
Seriously though, I doubt my solution will work. After the third try, I gave up and decided to finish the drafts of the other two papers. Then I started actually writing the English paper, I had to write a paper describing what I thought about when writing and reading. It had no minimum size and ‘twas very quick to complete. The history paper, however, required a minimum of fourteen pages all about Ptolemaic Egypt.
Altogether it took six hours to finish those papers. After this, I found the solution for the Spanish essay. After all, the History papers did describe a certain animal in the end.
…
4 hours later
…
‘Hermes Trismegistus … Coptic Egypt… mystery cults…flying mummies on chariots… a fire filled green sky… flesh trees.’
My consciousness was wavering back and forth as I turned in my essays. The intense rattling of my window, and the occasional crackle from thunder, were all that was keeping me awake, as it has done for the past three days. It wasn’t long before I turned off all the lights and went to sleep… then I heard a faint sound in the distance.
*Vrooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooahm*
My heart plummeted as all sense of drowsiness disappeared into nothing. I put on my shoes and a thick winter coat before leaving my dorm room.
*ding ding ding* “All residents head to the basement immediately. This is not a drill.” *ding ding ding* “ All residents head to the basement immediately. This is not a drill.” *ding ding ding* …
I rushed to the elevator. There was no room. Maybe I should wait.
“—to the basement immediately. This is not a drill.” *ding ding ding* “All residents—“
The good thing about living on the top floor is that the stairway is never crowded. The bad thing is that 3 of the four walls are basically just steel and glass. Besides the fact, the stairway is often ungodly hot… If that thing happened to be carrying something and happened to pass by here the windows would not just shatter, but its broken fragments would be launched at more than 100mph. If you were not launched out of the building outright.
*Vrooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooahm*
I looked out the window as the siren was drowned out by an ominous buzzing.
“Is that a semi—!?”
*Chraump*
Everything went dark.
*************************************************************
“Hayan! You old maggot-eyed thorn-n-the-ass bastard! Stop fucking around and stop your shit-brained ‘experiment’!”
“No way! It’s almost finished!”
“Fuck off! Someone has died because of this!”
“Don’t worry, that’s what the soul array and that cage over there are for!”
“How the hell is that even remotely supposed to be helpful!?”
“I don’t know? Isn’t that your job?”
************************************************************
*ting**ting**ting*
Strange sounds echoed in the distance as I tried to open my eyes. A painful ripping sensation, like that of pulling a tooth off its root, passed through my body.
“—ester—y a mas—ve —— tornado passed through Bryan-Cross University in —nnings, —br—ka. Fou-ty-four people were injure—-nd thirteen -eople are missing. Rescuers are still searching for survivors.”
Am I in a hospital? Thank the heavens! I thought that semi was the end of me. ‘Is anyone there!’ I tried to shout, but nothing came out. Hell, I couldn’t even feel my mouth or throat. Shit, am I comatose? I tried to move my neck but couldn’t feel anything at all. No sense of touch, smell, heat, cold, nor any feeling of balance.
*ting**ting**ting*
Wait, is someone speaking?
“—uck him and his itty-bitty portal.‘Isn’t it your job?’ ‘I’m only an alchemist trying to visit the heavenly spheres. How can I know anything about soul-binding.’ Like hell I know how! I am only a trainee exorcist!”
It was a sharp but old voice echoed around me. The sounds surrounding me seems to be the only thing I could sense, no feel.
“Maybe we could bind this soul to a Void-form, mistress. It could balance the pressure of the Aether while giving them a form to stop planar erosion.”
This voice was hollow, it was missing something important…
“And why don’t I sacrifice 33 virgins to bring forth salvation!”
“Mistress, -hat’s not what I mea—“
“Void-forms are naturally expelled by planes, unless they are summoned and sealed with an array made from the lives of the targeted plane's inhabitants. After which they try to burst the planer shell apart, before frolicking back to the Void Sea. Don’t try to trick me.”
“What about Alchemist Hayan’s portal?”
“I know your tricks, little devil. Throw this soul into that portal unprotected, and it will be pulled apart by the portal's energy.”
“Then what will you do, mistress?”
“………….Fuck it, I will seal their soul in that book and throw it to his mass murdering portal. I have had enough of that bastard and headquarters can just go fuck itself if they wish for me to deal with his mess.”
As the old voice spoke, something changed, the sound around me faded to nothing as my body began to warp. It was as if my insides were being wrapped around a flagpole. Like a thread wrapped around a spool. I wanted to scream, but I couldn’t. I wanted to run but I couldn’t. I wanted to cry, barf, bargain, pray, faint, and curse, but I couldn’t. Maybe it was a day, maybe an hour, before it stopped. I felt wrong as if there was something logged in my gut. Like a painful splinter. Slowly the pain began to vanish as my consciousness faded out.
Chapter 6
…
“Wake up.”
My groggy mind felt a distant voice brush against it.
“You seem like an interesting addition to my experiment.” A whisper of the voice scratched again. “Your heading to an unrecorded plane, your goal is to help me gain data on it.” The voice grew farther and farther away as it tapped its message.
…
It was a boring day at the university. I had 4 hours of psychic training before lunch. Training consisted of floating through 7 obstacle courses, phasing through electronics without interfacing, interfacing with 5 trees and 2 rocks, and a lecture on the practical uses of those exercises. I don’t know if I am lucky that training programs are tailored to the individual. If they had me on any of my classmates' programs, maybe they would finally allow me to flunk out. I never wanted to be here in the first place, but my family signed me up when they realized that I had a slightly above average skill in psionics. Now I am forced to work for the University for a minimum of 3 years after my training. Despite the fact that my capabilities and understanding of my ability has not improved in my four months of ‘studies’.
I floated up into the sky to clear my mind. The strong cold wind paired with the slight falling feeling in my ankles has always calmed my mind. It reminds me of the exhilaration I felt jumping off swings at the height of their momentum when I was a kid. Except now I don’t have to touch the ground until I want to.
I always found it strange that the blue sky could obscure the ground above us during the day. There was about two hours before the light fades. I looked up at the sky squinting trying to see the continent above me. I floated as high as I could. It was impossible for me to reach the point where everything flips, but that didn’t stop me from trying. The atmosphere became thicker to the point it felt like I was swimming.
It became difficult for me to breathe so I stopped and looked around. The thick blue atmosphere shimmered and rippled as the daylight danced through it. It was then that I saw something falling from what looked like a fracture in the blue sky. I hurriedly caught up with it. It was a rectangular object that was falling fairly slowly. As I neared I realized it was a book, yet the cover was closed. I plucked the book from its fall before looking back to the fracture in the sky. There was nothing there, as if it was a fragment of my imagination. Looking back at the book, it was an old thick book. It was large enough for me to require two hands to hold it. It had a black leather cover, with an eye and ear stitched into both sides with a green thread. I let myself slowly fall to the ground before trying to open the book. The cover refused to budge. I tucked the book in between my left arm & shoulder, before Itried phasing my right hand and interfacing with the book, but my hand couldn’t pass through.
I walked back to my dorm to drop the book off before heading to lunch. There was something strange about this book. I didn’t want anyone else to have it. I hurried to my room before putting it on a shelf. I made sure to lock the door behind me.
…
As the message faded, I began to fall. I couldn’t see anything as I did. I must have been falling fast as my ears heard the growing roar of the wind. Then it stopped. A hand caught me by half my face. The tip of their fingers touched my ear, as my eye was held by their palm. Then they used their other hand to flip my spine. I was spun around as I felt myself float to the ground. Then the hands tried to rip me open. Then my head was tucked in their armpit before they began to walk. After a couple of minutes I was sat down before I heard a door shut and lock. What the fuck just happened.
What the fuck just happened.
What the fuck just happened.
What the fuck just happened.
Calm down Terry. Let’s go through this slowly. There was a tornado siren, and as I was evacuating to the basement I was hit by a flying semi-truck. Next thing I knew I heard an old voice (Was it a nurse?) cursing someone out before saying that they were going to bind a soul (My soul?) to a book, and that I was not their responsibility. Then a random voice said something about an experiment before I fell and was caught and brought here. Cool did I miss anything?
Yeah, I can’t see, and consist of nothing but a head… no, I am a book.
What the fuck just happened.
Cool down, first I need to restore my sight. How? Do I even have eyes? I mean that hand sure did feel as if it touched some. Cool, all I need to do is open my eyes.
I strained my new face for a while before I heard a fierce snap. My eye took a minute to adjust. I looked around the second it didn't hurt to do so. I was sat on some sort of bookshelf, tilted towards the ceiling. It was a white ceiling with a couple faint cracks.
This, however, wasn’t enough to look around the room. I tried moving to get a better look, nothing happened. I was a book, how could I move? Maybe I could try moving my cover, and use it as makeshift arm-leg-things. I shook for what felt like thirty minutes straight. Then with a snap my cover flung open and I fell to the floor face, or cover, down. As time passed my eyes grew heavy and eventually I was claimed by sleep.
…
*click*
When I finished eating lunch, I hurried back to my room. When I got back I saw that book on the floor. It must have fallen. The book was open this time. I hurried to see what was in this strange book.
“?”
It wasn’t what I was expecting. The pages were covered in a strange scribbled language. In the upper left of the left page there was a strange painted symbol. A silver circle that contained three green arrows conjoined at the fletching would have been. The tips of the arrows were stabbed into what looked like a stick figure that had horns and no legs. I tried to turn the pages, but I couldn’t. I picked it up to return to the shelf. As I tried to close the book the cover wouldn’t budge.
“Strange.” I muttered as I put it on the desk. I stared at the strange book for gods know how long, before I caught my left hand tracing that strange image. As I looked away, I saw my collection of markers.
“Green, grey, and black they are all here, good.” Something muttered, no I muttered. My hand moved before I could think as I drew that symbol on my left hand. I grew woozy, but I continued to stare at my hand. The symbol warped and grew. It was a giant silver sphere filled with craters and lakes of mercury, that orbited around a giant disembodied head floating in a giant grey void speckled with tiny multicolored spots of light. I looked around me and saw a giant ball of fire, and then the headless body. My vision shifted again, and I was in a strange room. Green light filtered in through a window.
“?uoy era ohW” I heard a girl speak.
“What did you say?” I asked.
“?egaugnal ngierof a taht sI ?tahW”
No doubt that she is speaking a different language. I held out my hand so I could interface with her. No doubt the most useful of my abilities, interfacing allows me to become a part of what I interface with. With humans it allows me to experience the target's thoughts, and them my own. Anything we learn from that experience becomes a part of us when the connection is cut. Which really brings our everchanging relationship with the world to the forefront. Before she could respond and grab my hand, I felt as if a thousand hands were dragging me away. I resisted at first, but that force grew stronger as I was pulled towards the open window and to a giant green flaming cloud.
…
“Wake up.”
My groggy mind felt a distant voice brush against it.
“You seem like an interesting addition to my experiment.” A whisper of the voice scratched again. “Your heading to an unrecorded plane, your goal is to help me gain data on it.” The voice grew farther and farther away as it tapped its message.
…
It was a boring day at the university. I had 4 hours of psychic training before lunch. Training consisted of floating through 7 obstacle courses, phasing through electronics without interfacing, interfacing with 5 trees and 2 rocks, and a lecture on the practical uses of those exercises. I don’t know if I am lucky that training programs are tailored to the individual. If they had me on any of my classmates' programs, maybe they would finally allow me to flunk out. I never wanted to be here in the first place, but my family signed me up when they realized that I had a slightly above average skill in psionics. Now I am forced to work for the University for a minimum of 3 years after my training. Despite the fact that my capabilities and understanding of my ability has not improved in my four months of ‘studies’.
I floated up into the sky to clear my mind. The strong cold wind paired with the slight falling feeling in my ankles has always calmed my mind. It reminds me of the exhilaration I felt jumping off swings at the height of their momentum when I was a kid. Except now I don’t have to touch the ground until I want to.
I always found it strange that the blue sky could obscure the ground above us during the day. There was about two hours before the light fades. I looked up at the sky squinting trying to see the continent above me. I floated as high as I could. It was impossible for me to reach the point where everything flips, but that didn’t stop me from trying. The atmosphere became thicker to the point it felt like I was swimming.
It became difficult for me to breathe so I stopped and looked around. The thick blue atmosphere shimmered and rippled as the daylight danced through it. It was then that I saw something falling from what looked like a fracture in the blue sky. I hurriedly caught up with it. It was a rectangular object that was falling fairly slowly. As I neared I realized it was a book, yet the cover was closed. I plucked the book from its fall before looking back to the fracture in the sky. There was nothing there, as if it was a fragment of my imagination. Looking back at the book, it was an old thick book. It was large enough for me to require two hands to hold it. It had a black leather cover, with an eye and ear stitched into both sides with a green thread. I let myself slowly fall to the ground before trying to open the book. The cover refused to budge. I tucked the book in between my left arm & shoulder, before Itried phasing my right hand and interfacing with the book, but my hand couldn’t pass through.
I walked back to my dorm to drop the book off before heading to lunch. There was something strange about this book. I didn’t want anyone else to have it. I hurried to my room before putting it on a shelf. I made sure to lock the door behind me.
…
As the message faded, I began to fall. I couldn’t see anything as I did. I must have been falling fast as my ears heard the growing roar of the wind. Then it stopped. A hand caught me by half my face. The tip of their fingers touched my ear, as my eye was held by their palm. Then they used their other hand to flip my spine. I was spun around as I felt myself float to the ground. Then the hands tried to rip me open. Then my head was tucked in their armpit before they began to walk. After a couple of minutes I was sat down before I heard a door shut and lock. What the fuck just happened.
What the fuck just happened.
What the fuck just happened.
What the fuck just happened.
Calm down Terry. Let’s go through this slowly. There was a tornado siren, and as I was evacuating to the basement I was hit by a flying semi-truck. Next thing I knew I heard an old voice (Was it a nurse?) cursing someone out before saying that they were going to bind a soul (My soul?) to a book, and that I was not their responsibility. Then a random voice said something about an experiment before I fell and was caught and brought here. Cool did I miss anything?
Yeah, I can’t see, and consist of nothing but a head… no, I am a book.
What the fuck just happened.
Cool down, first I need to restore my sight. How? Do I even have eyes? I mean that hand sure did feel as if it touched some. Cool, all I need to do is open my eyes.
I strained my new face for a while before I heard a fierce snap. My eye took a minute to adjust. I looked around the second it didn't hurt to do so. I was sat on some sort of bookshelf, tilted towards the ceiling. It was a white ceiling with a couple faint cracks.
This, however, wasn’t enough to look around the room. I tried moving to get a better look, nothing happened. I was a book, how could I move? Maybe I could try moving my cover, and use it as makeshift arm-leg-things. I shook for what felt like thirty minutes straight. Then with a snap my cover flung open and I fell to the floor face, or cover, down. As time passed my eyes grew heavy and eventually I was claimed by sleep.
…
*click*
When I finished eating lunch, I hurried back to my room. When I got back I saw that book on the floor. It must have fallen. The book was open this time. I hurried to see what was in this strange book.
“?”
It wasn’t what I was expecting. The pages were covered in a strange scribbled language. In the upper left of the left page there was a strange painted symbol. A silver circle that contained three green arrows conjoined at the fletching would have been. The tips of the arrows were stabbed into what looked like a stick figure that had horns and no legs. I tried to turn the pages, but I couldn’t. I picked it up to return to the shelf. As I tried to close the book the cover wouldn’t budge.
“Strange.” I muttered as I put it on the desk. I stared at the strange book for gods know how long, before I caught my left hand tracing that strange image. As I looked away, I saw my collection of markers.
“Green, grey, and black they are all here, good.” Something muttered, no I muttered. My hand moved before I could think as I drew that symbol on my left hand. I grew woozy, but I continued to stare at my hand. The symbol warped and grew. It was a giant silver sphere filled with craters and lakes of mercury, that orbited around a giant disembodied head floating in a giant grey void speckled with tiny multicolored spots of light. I looked around me and saw a giant ball of fire, and then the headless body. My vision shifted again, and I was in a strange room. Green light filtered in through a window.
“?uoy era ohW” I heard a girl speak.
“What did you say?” I asked.
“?egaugnal ngierof a taht sI ?tahW”
No doubt that she is speaking a different language. I held out my hand so I could interface with her. No doubt the most useful of my abilities, interfacing allows me to become a part of what I interface with. With humans it allows me to experience the target's thoughts, and them my own. Anything we learn from that experience becomes a part of us when the connection is cut. Which really brings our everchanging relationship with the world to the forefront. Before she could respond and grab my hand, I felt as if a thousand hands were dragging me away. I resisted at first, but that force grew stronger as I was pulled towards the open window and to a giant green flaming cloud.
