Deviant Art Account
Sheezy Art Account

I (That's the actual title)

Sweat ran down his face, his eyes wide as the scene played out before him. Only minutes before was he laughing with his friend, then they had attacked. Now pieces of his friend floated around in low gravity, the lone alien grabbing at them, and with a screech that pounded into his head, grabbed what used to be his friend's head and ripped it out of the helmet. Blood, as red as the ground around them, pour out and clouded up the glass visor of his friend's helmet.

What am I going to do? I'm going to die. Gotta report it. Have to. Gonna die gonna die gonna die. He thought, panicked. Were there more of them? Did they know he was here?

Eyeing around where they had camped, he noticed their transmitter. On the other side of the camp. On the other side of the alien and the bloody remains of his friend. He was going to need to distract it somehow, but with what?

He spied his solution, as a dismembered arm floated by him, their platoon's insignia torn, but still legible. How far could I throw this? He thought without even meaning it, before gagging in his suit. Throwing his best friend's arm? To make sure he survived? He didn't want to, but, what choice did he have?

He grabbed the arm, and wound up like a pitcher would when throwing the final strike of a game. With a grunt, he threw the arm as hard as he could in this low gravity, and it caught the attention of the alien. Problem being, it caught the attention of another one. Problem being, it noticed where the arm had came from, and it new the thing that threw it was still alive.

...Well shit. He thought, his eyes reflecting the new arrival as it stalked towards him. Its head was large, smooth, black, yet it looked as if it had just gotten out of the water, like how a snake's scales looked. Drool ran down its chin as it eyed its food, claws extending from its fingers as it neared. He was going to die. I'm gonna die. I'm gonna die. O holy shit I'm going to die by this thing.

Time dragged on, each step of the creature seeming to drag out for decades, eons even. He was frozen in place, unable to move, every cell in his body shaking as death stared him in the face. Death was apparently a hideous looking alien with a large head and retractable claws, meant for killing. It opened its mouth, showing large, sharp teeth. He wondered if he would feel anything as they bit easily through his suit. In any case, he'd be joining his friend in but a few moments.

The first alien had caught the arm, and while gnawing on it, crushing the bones with a horrible snap, it noticed the other alien, and the new food. It instantly dropped the cold meat and stalked towards the fresh one. The only thing in the way was its brethren, and that wasn't going to stop it. Bringing its arm back, it swung forward and with a great slash, tore flesh away from the second alien's back, and its green blood flew out and floated in the low gravity.

The second alien screeched, swinging around to look at its attacker. The explorer watched as the fight took place, fear still rooting him in place. The two aliens were biting each other, scratching each other with those deadly claws, even kicking to dislodge the other. Instinct finally took over, and he knew this would be his only chance to escape, or at least, warn others. The two aliens clung to each other, claws embedded into one another, green blood spraying out, mingling with the red blood to form a sickly dark red mist.

He ran for it. He ran as fast as gravity would permit him to. To the left of the aliens, then straight ahead towards the small transmitter in what would have been his tent. He hoped to God that they had not noticed him, that they were still fighting each other. Luck wasn't on his side today. Both noticed as their prey attempted to flee, and both made to make sure it didn't.

He heard their ear-splitting screeches, and knew he wouldn't live. Have to at least warn Mother. Have to do that. Have to have to have to. He didn't dare look over his shoulder, not that his suit would allow him anyway, and straight through the open door of his sleeping quarters. His shadow stretched over the transmitter, and he reached a hand out to flick it on. Two other shadows joined his.



At main base, everyone was talking, talking about what they would do as soon as their shift was done. Then the transmission started, and everyone went silent, waiting for what was to come. What had their explorers found on this new planet? What they heard wasn't quite what they wanted to.

Screaming filled the room, along with loud screeching that couldn't come from anything human. A horrible snapping sound. Gurgling. Then whispering, whispering of prayers. Prayers for salvation, for God to help. Everyone in the room was too scared to move, wondering what could have happened. Then the prayers ended, and were instead replaced with static

Mother looked over at others, a look of pure shock displayed on his face, stretching his wrinkles. This went on for several moments, before he cleared his throat.

"I want a fully armed crew ready to go in ten minutes. Find out what happened, see if either one of them survived. If you find out what killed them, be a hero, and show no mercy." Mother said which was followed with a, "Yes sir!"

Mother sat down in his chair and brought a hand up to his brow. This wasn't supposed to happen. No one was supposed to die. The paperwork is going to be hell.

II

Dear Diary...

January 8th

He looked at me today. Like, fully looked at me, not a glance. I swear my heart was in my throat, just waiting to fly out. His warm brown eyes, and long flowing hair... I bet you're bored of this by now, aren't you? I've told you about him so many times, but... This is the only place I can do it. My voice vanishes in the wind, I can only mumble and look shyly away when he tries to talk to me.

It was at lunch, and I was sitting with Patricia, we were talking about the last class with Mr. Starling, when I looked up, and saw him staring. Our eyes even caught. The room went silent; I could only hear the beating of my heart, only see his perfectly round face. Everyone around us stopped moving, I swear. Time stopped, yet, stretched for infinity in that moment. Then time caught up with itself, and when I blinked, he was talking with a friend of his, I guess. Patricia was giggling, and smirking at me. I asked her what was so funny and she teased me, making me blush and just look away.

The rest of the day, I was just floating. I don't remember a single thing from Chemistry, something about acids and salts or something, Ms. Yasinchuk was so boring. I couldn't concentrate, I could only think of his eyes. So warm, so kind. I want to meet the person behind those eyes, I want to stare in them, get lost in them, the way the brown seemed to be darker around the edges, and get lighter near the centre. I swear I will. One day. One day...



Dear Diary...

January 9th

Again, at lunch. Why always at lunch? He was sitting at our table. Patricia had the smile of a witch. Just seeing him sitting there made the blood rush to my face; I swear people around me would feel the heat. I sat down, nervous. I couldn't look up at him. His gorgeous face, so pretty. One day I'll wake up to that face...

So Patricia talked and introduced him and me, I merely mumbled when addressed, and tried to shrink into myself. I tried to be as small as a pill bug, curling up into a little ball. He seemed to notice, and asked if I was alright. I muttered I was. He said it was odd for a boy like me to be so shy. Again, my heart was in my throat. He asked another question, I couldn't hear. Thump thump. I asked what he said. Thump thump. He asked if I had a girlfriend, I said no quickly. He asked why, saying girls should be swooning at the sight of me. At that I stood up quickly, and mumbled something about needing the washroom. I couldn't stand it anymore. To be so near to him, to be so close to him, to be talking with him, seeing those eyes looking at me... It'd never be, not a guy like him. What would he see in me? He's not like me, he... he said I was pretty. Not directly, but, the meaning behind it...



Dear Diary...

January 10th

It's Friday, school's over, and the weekend's here. Mr. Mush loaded me with French homework, all about today's lesson, but, I couldn't remember a thing. Damn him! He just seemed to appear in the halls. Was he always there? Maybe I'm only noticing him. He doesn't really stick out... He's not that tall, not the MVP in sports, no math wiz... No one special, yet, he's all I can think about right now. I'm looking down at my French as I write this, and the first sentence escapes me. What does it say? Something about a cat being under the blanket. Maybe, I don't know.

He sat with Patricia and me at lunch again. Patricia still wore the smirk of the devil, happily chatting with him. She mentioned his name. I realized I had never known his name before. Todd. It suited him. Or maybe that's just my mind. Todd. Toddy Todd Todd. The name stretched across my mind, repeating itself, saying itself over and over and over again. It's right then that I realized I was just standing there, in front of the table, staring off to nothing. Immediately a blush came to my face and I sat down, muttering something about being sorry. Todd laughed and said it was alright, he spaced off plenty too. He asked if I was busy this weekend, and I said no. Asked if I'd like to maybe come over, play some games. I said maybe, the red so strong on my face it must've looked like my head was about to explode. I was so nervous; my hand shook under the table. I was looking down at my feet while replying. Todd said he had some good shooting games and I said I liked them. "Perfect!" he said, "then how about tomorrow around three o'clock? It'll be a date" he winked. I swear my head nearly did explode at that. He called it a date. Maybe there was hope. Maybe he saw in me what he said girls should. No, no that can't be it. Couldn't be. He just wants to be friends. He's not like me, it couldn't be real.

I'm so nervous right now; all this writing looks like it was written by a three year old. I'm gonna try that homework again, and maybe sleep. God, what will tomorrow hold for me?



Dear Diary...

January 12th

It's Sunday night, and the past two days were the best of my life. As planned, I went over at three; my parents didn't mind me actually hanging out with some guys, instead of girls. They said I needed more males in my life. His wasn't huge, probably the same size as ours. The inside had some nice decoration done, I commented his mother must be a professional home decorator and Todd laughed. He took me to his room, and said I could sit on the bed. His mom came in, and offered drinks, and Todd said some would be good. He hooked up a PlayStation 2 up to his T.V. and popped in Time Splitters, which, happened to be one of my favourite games. I said this, and he just said that was perfect, he might have a challenge then. Halfway through the first round, I was winning by three points, and just when I was about to snipe him, he bumped into me, making me miss. But instead of moving back, he just... stayed there. The volume on the T.V. wasn't loud enough; I couldn't hear it over my own heart. He must've heard it, it was so loud. I lost focus, and he got another kill on me. Laughing, he said I was slipping. I just smiled and told him I was gonna beat his ass. We played for another hour, before the tying started to bore us both. Todd got up, and said he was gonna grab a movie, and some snacks. We spent a few hours sitting on his bed watching Spiderman, eating a bag of chips. A few times we reached in at the same time, and our hands touched. My heart rate went up each time. God, I am such a freaking girl, but I have the wrong body parts for that. Once the movie was done, it was about half past six, and, he offered to let me spend the night. Agreeing, I made a quick phone call, and my mum said it was alright with her. I bet they were glad I had a male friend. We decided to watch the second Spiderman movie too. Near the end of the movie I was getting kind of tired, so I decided to lie down on the bed. So did Todd. He was lying right next to me, so close... yet so far. I drifted off at that point...

I woke up and saw those beautiful brown eyes looking at me. Todd said "Good morning sunshine" and must've seen me blush, because he stole Patricia's smirk right then. He rose and stretched, and said he was going to go make breakfast. He asked me how I liked my eggs, and I said scrambled. Todd likes them like that too. He was out of the room, and I was sitting there alone, with all these emotions flooding over me. He can't really be interested in me. No. Not a guy like him. He wouldn't be like that. Not Todd. Defiantly not Todd. Todd. Toddy Todd Todd..."

I spaced out. Todd was sitting next to me, scarfing down eggs when I came back down from cloud nine, and he just smiled and gave me a plate of eggs. The rest of the day was bliss, playing games with him, playing in his back yard, eating lunch (grilled cheese, he's a damn good cook), but even when I left it was bliss. He hugged me, said goodbye, and stayed there until my mum drove around the corner. At home I couldn't say a word; my heart was still thump thumping, in my throat, blocking my voice. I ate dinner quietly, and then raced to my room, mumbling about homework. I mumble alot. I've been telling you everything since. I think there's a chance. I think there really is a chance he likes me. Even though I'm not a girl. I think so I think so oh god I hope so. Waking up to those brown eyes was the best thing I've ever seen, and I want to wake up to them every morning for the rest of my life. I love him.

I need to do my homework now, though. I'll write more on Monday~! <3

(reposting for sake of keeping everything together)

III

Groggily he awoke, lying on the… floor? No, far too squishy… Then where was he? He remembered a shipwreck… With a groan he tried to rise, before a boot to his chest knocked him back down with an ‘omf’.

“Glad to see you’re awake. Because, I’ve got quite the tale to tell. Do you remember me? Or did all the alcohol rot your brain ‘til nothing remained? You see, it all began, nigh seventeen years ago…”



Thrown out of another bar, he climbed in the dirt, shaking the mud from his shirt.

“An’ stay out this time!” the angry patrons yelled once more. He paid them no mind. There were plenty of bars. If not bars, hotel. The whores were out, after all.

With a shuffle of his feet, Emmet scurried down, looking for where else to spend his money. What little money he could steal from the idiot drunks. No one suspects a teen to be able to pick pockets. Though they ought to. Then he saw the attractive woman on the corner of the street. She looked good enough for a lay. With a slouch to conceal himself, Emmet looked about himself, making no one was looking. Shady business, didn’t need to ruin what little reputation he had. Even though everyone knew what he was in to. Emmet tapped the woman’s shoulder, and with a start, she spun around to face him. My, yes, quite the pretty one. High cheek bones, big bosoms, the works. He took out his money, and asked, how much for a night. She took all the money in his hand, and asked where the hotel was. The rest need not be explained, as that is not how this tale goes.

Except, one detail must be explained. See, Emmet didn’t have a hotel to go to. So, with no place else, Aysel, that’s the prostitute by the way, led him to her very own home. The home which was supported by the money she got at night. With her three-year old son asleep, she led Emmet to her, and her late husband’s, bed. That’ll be as far as this explanation goes, I am sorry to say. Personal acts such as that need remain personal.



But there was one thing that no one expected. The young Aysel falling in love with this scallerent young man. Few could tell you why, as, the only thing this young man brought in was debts, debts, and more debts. Every night Aysel would bring home money from a stranger, and every day Emmet would waste it away. Perhaps it was his charm that let him get away with it; even if that charm vanished the moment alcohol touched his lips. How many times had he come home only to beat the woman which had taken him in?

Apparently, plenty enough. One night, Aysel came home, expecting to find her ‘loving’ man waiting for her, and she found nothing but her nearly four year old son. And letters. Angry sounding letters. Her house was going to be taken. Her life would be shattered. Her mind went.



As for Emmet, where did he go? Obviously, he was running. Gambling debts had finally gotten around to finding his living space, and he, rathering not to get beat by a gang of members with blunt objects, ran. It didn’t quite matter to him what happened to the woman that had loved him. It was her fault for falling in love!

But, where could dear Emmet run, so that no one could ever find him? There weren’t many places to run when half your city bordered with the ocean. The salty breeze whipped him in the face as he tried to think. Where? All exits from the city would be watched… His eyes gazed down to the water, crashing up against the boats… water… crashing… boats.

Finally his mind came up with a plan. Who could ever catch him when he sailed the ocean? No one! That’s who! He ran to the docks, and asked every captain, asked if they were hiring. No pay needed. Few were too suspicious to actually hire him, fewer more even listened. But finally, one captain, as big as his ship, allowed him on board. Emmet ran aboard, nearly slipping on the sea water and plunging off the side. At that sight alone, the captain nearly revoked his promise.

But, Emmet did stay. And he worked. Year after year, he worked hard. Moving up from swabbing decks, to actually being a recognized crewman by others, he was doing fairly well. Well enough to maybe get behind the captain’s wheel. The only problem there would be the captain in the way. Though, the only problem would soon become no problem at all. All problems have solutions; this one came as a knife in the middle of the night, and throwing the corpse overboard. Emmet cried for help, saying the captain drunk had fallen off the side. But it was too late. There was a crew, but, no captain. Most were too inexperienced, and haven’t been on this ship well enough to take up the title. Most, but not Emmet. He smiled his charming grin, and while being quite sad at their late captain, gladly took up the title. Three years at sea and already his own crew, not bad.

So from there on, Emmet sailed across the sea, landing at every port he could and wasting what little money he could scrounge up. For years he went un-noticed, until someone finally caught word of him. Whispers were on the wind, whispers of death, and Emmet could nearly decipher them. But for his ears, they were meant not. Instead, he went out, avoiding now bounty hunters. If the gangs couldn’t take him, no run of the mill bounty hunter would either.

For three years he ran, like the coward he always was. His crew was always changing, few remaining to endure his torturous ways. If they weren’t loyal enough to stay, Emmet didn’t want them. But more often now, his mind strayed. To a young prostitute back in the town where he had started his sea-faring adventure. Whatever became of her? Emmet shook his head; the past wouldn’t help him here. Running would, though.


Or so he thought. Surprisingly, it didn’t take much to track down a person who still frequently stopped off at every dock, and harassed every woman he could get a hold of. Emmet wouldn’t believe any description of his face when he saw the ship trailing behind him, getting awfully close. How? It wasn’t possible. He yelled at his crew, ridiculing them for not being able to pull their weight and make this floating piece of wood go faster.

In but a few days, the other boat caught up, and not on the best of days either. Wave after wave crashed against the hull, and lightning lit the sky up in a white flame. The other ship was planning on making contact and crossing over. Not bloody likely under Emmet’s rule. The command was clear. Take no survivors. Let the water be stained red tonight! And so his crew valiantly drew their muskets, and aimed in the darkness of the storm. But none were prepared for it. A roar from the ocean rose up, and many disregarded it as thunder. Except thunder comes from above, not below. Few looked down, and saw the shadow rise up. Everyone quailed, as the jaws rose up and crushed Emmet’s precious ship beneath his very feet. Without even a thought, he fell down into its jaws, cracking his head against the deck of the ship he had spent nearly half his life on, and slid down into the belly of the beast.


And that is how he came across to be in this sticky room in a lad whom he could never remember meeting, and yet, his story was clear. Tricky business, to harbour a vendetta against someone for seventeen years and still mean to kill them.

The last time Emmet saw this man, he was three years old and crying in his room, as he always did when Emmet hit him to shut him up. Apparently, children have good memories. Young Jacob, young no longer, felt the sting of Emmet’s hand long after he left. His mother had snapped. All traces of sanity lost. They were homeless. Not a possession to call their own. It took five years, but, she died. Her final breath was wasted on a wish that seemed impossible. To kill the man which had caused their suffering. This should be far too much for a young lad of eight years old to understand, but he took his mother’s words to heard and followed through with them.
Apparently not even God himself could stir him from his delusional thoughts. Employed by a priory, Jacob worked there until God answered his promises of murder. Emmet’s violations had made word, and people at sea knew his name. And so Jacob asked, and found the man they talked about to match his memory detail for detail. He begged to be taken aboard, and granted were his wishes.

Twenty months at sea must not seem like a long time when you’ve been waiting your entire life to kill a man, but even then, twenty months is an eon. So close was his goal. He could taste it, along with the salty ocean air.
Finally, he caught sight of the ship. Emmet’s ship. Jacob nearly got carried away and called forth for more speed, but remembered his place as a dockhand. Still, anticipation danced through him, and finally, the two ships were side by side. Each crew were cleaning their muskets, when they heard a bellow from below. The sea shook as the great beast burst forth, and before anyone had time to react, they all quailed as the massive jaws of the whale broke through both ships, and like Emmet, Jacob fell and cracked his head on his own deck, and slid down into the belly of the creature.


That is how Jacob and Emmet’s histories interweave, and how the both of them end up in a room where organs were the flooring and rib cages acted as the ceiling. Jacob finished his tale, never letting his boot up off Emmet’s chest. He leaned in close, for the grand finale of the tale. Emmet’s eyes were filled with fear, as he Jacob said one final thing.

“And now I’ll whisper the last words you’ll hear…”

Seke'olath - Prologue

Ever since the dawn of time, there have been creatures that walked among the light, and those who walk in the darkness. Always, these creatures of light have feared the darkness, for they could not understand it. Instead of attempting to learn about these eternally dark creatures, they found the means to destroy them. And so it has been, since man first walked the Earth, to the days when man found themselves more of a threat than those that lurked in the darkness. So it was, and so it shall end.

Millennia later, man has brought themselves to the brink of doom. Since the start of the 19th century, technology has increased by leaps and bounds. By the start of the 3000 AD, humans have made technology not even they can understand. They only know how to kill. Nearly all forms of plant life are gone, forests which used to be home to thousands of species of animals are but craters, leftovers of a war that has gone on far too long. Only three forces still stand strong, all aiming to disarm the other.

Mighty Britain, mother of the Americas, grown to power once more. Through tactical moves, Britain was able to invade many surrounding countries, expanding its territory All of Europe easily fell to their forces, and Africa couldn’t even put up a fight. The British Empire grew, as powerful as it once was in the days of old. But their actions weren’t taken lightly; as they intended to dig their claws in to the Americas, and take what they rightfully thought was their own: Canada. In an earlier invasion, the OAS, Organization of American States, formerly the USA, had taken control of all Northern America, and refused to let go of their new land. Britain feared the OAS attempting to take control over other continents with their brute force, and so convinced other nations within the UN that the OAS was too much of a threat, and so war was declared.

For many decades this war pressed on, Europe and Asia working together, as the mighty Amazon forest was burnt to the ground, ancient ruins of long-past Aztec people turned to dust. Mountains were reduced to rubble, entire populations nothing but radioactive waste. Nuclear winter was no longer a theory; it was a fact of life. Cities were required to have protection against the comings winters, until it just became another part of life.

But the OAS was standing strong against the combined forces of the world, and rumours spread far. The war started so long ago, few could actually remember the reason. Was it because Britain was afraid of the OAS spreading? Or was it because Britain wanted to expand further? Talk among the other United Nations spread quickly, until it was no longer a rumour that Britain was out for global conquest. Everyone believed that there reason for this war was both OAS and Britain aiming for domination over their planet. So a treaty was formed, uniting the last truly free countries of the world, and formed the Neo-USSR. Britain was the only member left in the UN, and so, still believing in the unity of their nations, Britain named its might empire the United Nations, and waged war with the OAS, and Neo-USSR.

The start of these wars was in the year 2892 AD. The year is now 3021 AD, though some are calling it 129 AP. After Peace. Technological advances were still being made, but not for the better of humanity. For the better of killing the enemy. America had been developing a weapon that few would believe. Dating back to the times of primitive humans, many remember a fear that they still have. A fear of the unknown, that which lurks in the darkness. Sure the idea was insanity. Use an ancient fear as a weapon? But still, military scientists of the OAS pressed on. They named the project Seke'olath, a word for darkness in a language that no one could remember. From a time when happiness rained throughout the land, instead of fear.

The year is 3021 AD or 129 AP if you prefer. This is the year that hell broke loose, though most will tell you that happened 129 years ago.






-~-~-~-~-~-

The original idea for this is actually ancient, from days of being a n00b. The original idea for the story still intrigued me, though, so I decided to touch it up a bit. And by a bit, I mean, a fxck load. I'm not even going to show the original work. It was pure and utter crap.

But Sammi and I have been thinking this up, and I actually got a backstory to this world now!

Visual aid, for fun:
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a177/RE-FS/WorldMap.png

Hotel

The clock on his dashboard read 23:52. Jake on had been on the road for the last five hours, and he was pretty sure he was lost. Damned desert looked the same no matter which direction you looked. There hadn’t even been a hotel for miles, and he was getting pretty tired. He was having difficulty concentrating on th-

Whoa truck! Just in time Jake wrenched the steering wheel to the right as he got back to his own lane. His eyes were wide open now, not a bit of tiredness left in him. His heart was pacing, he could hear what could have been his death crashing in his ears.

It was midnight, if he didn’t find a hotel in the next half-hour, he was going to sleep in his car. He didn’t care, he just needed to get off this endless road. Looking to his left, he made sure his briefcase was still there. There wasn’t a reason it wouldn’t be, but, it was late, he wasn’t thinking straight. That briefcase contained his entire future. Business meeting at ten o’clock in the morning tomorrow, August fourth, and if he wasn’t there, he was going to spend the next few years wrestling with hobos for some cheese.

Jake shook his head to free these thoughts. He looked at his clock again. Funny. It still read midnight. “Damn thing must be broken” he grumbled, bringing a hand and smacking it. Still refused to be fixed.

Great, now he didn’t know how much time had passed. He was ready to pull off to the side when he finally saw a hint of salvation up ahead of him. A bright light with an arrow. Vacancy. A hotel! Long last a blasted hotel. A hot shower was in order, maybe some late night television. “Oh who am I kidding, I got ten hours before a meeting and it’s still another two hundred miles from here. Which reminds me, where is here?”

Jake drove up to the hotel, the Flatland Hotel. How original and tacky. A bed is a bed is a bed though, thus he parked his car in front of a room and walked over to the head office. Place had better accept his card, or else it looked he would be sleeping in his car after all.

He reached his hand out and grabbed the icy cold handle of the door, and pulled it open with a good wrench. Hinges needed oiled. He walked inside, and noted no one behind the counter. So Jake did the obvious thing: He rang the bell on the counter. Strange, it was cold to the touch as well. Oh well, maybe the heater was broken. Just as long as there was hot water, Jake would be fine.

But none came to the sound of the bell. So Jake rang once more. Twice more. Thrice more before a body woozily made his way to the counter. “How would I be helping you now?” he queried.

“I require shelter from the night” Jake replies.

“Don’t we all” he cries, “You afraid of the dark?”

“Aren’t we all?” Jake sighs, and hands to the counter man his Master Card. “Room and bed for the night is all I ask.”

“Then you shall receive” he tries the card, accepts the money, and hands over a key. “Room 3 is yours for the night, have a good rest.”

“Always do.” And with blink of an eye, Jake had his rest for the night.

-~-~-~-~-~-

In his dream, a woman, one which he had never seen the likes of before. Her face carved of marble, her eyes chips of diamonds. Her hair a river of brown flowing down her back. She moves not a muscle as she watches the moon rise. Jake calls her name, and he gets no reply. He tries again, louder. Still she ignores. A more frontal approach is needed, and so Jake applies this new plan. He reaches out to her, and is slapped away. He holds his hand, the pain so real. Was this a dream? The Flatland Hotel sign loomed behind him, and a great courtyard in front. Women in white, black in men. Each a face of marble, the perfect example of symmetry. All sway and dance to the music, perfectly in line with one another as they waltz through the grand courtyard, roses blooming in their wake, roses dieing in their quake.

Again Jake offers his hand to the woman of marble, again his hand is hit away. She would not have him. And so Jake turns to meet the sign, only to find five men about to dine, glasses filled with California wine. “Will you not join us?” they comprise.

“No, I must be going” Jake denies.

“We offer you food and meat, will you not join us?” they again devise.

“I have had my rest, and I cannot be pressed” Jake replies, and exits for the door.

“We are your rest, will you not join us?” they revise, and make room for Jake.

“Good day to you all” Jake decries them, and exits through the entry. On the other side he finds a courtyard, with women in black, and white in men. Faces made of onyx, perfect examples of asymmetry. The woman again standing before him, silent as the sun rises. “Will you not tell me where I am?” Jake asks.

“You are nowhere” she masks, her voice the running water of spring. “You are nowhere and nowhen. This is the Dance”

“I do not wish to be here, I shall take my leave” he declares, and walks past the on-going Dance.

“And where shall you go?” She glares. “From here is nowhere, you are here.”

“If here is nowhere, then I shall go somewhere” Jake flares, and leaves the ever-happening Dance.

-~-~-~-~-~-

Jake woke up in his bed with a gasp, his breath shaky, hard to achieve. Such an odd dream, one he did not want to remember, yet could not forget. He looked at the clock. It read twelve o’clock. He was late for his meeting, and with a start rushed out of bed. Quickly he grabbed his best suit and put it on. Not even time for breakfast, he needed to figure out some way to ensure his future.

He exited his door, and noticed something odd. It was dark out. The sun was usually up at noon, was it not? He checked his watch. It said twelve o’clock. He checked a clock hanging on the wall. It too read twelve, but the second hand stood still. What were the chances? There had to be a clock somewhere.

Jake rushed out from his doorway and to the main office. He needed the time, had he slept for a day perhaps? Maybe it was only a few hours, hopefully only a few hours.

He stepped through the doorway, yet what reached his eyes were not the pale green that had greeted him before. Black and white and white and black waltzed before him.
“You come dressed for success” a river flows from Her mouth. “I asked you where you would go, and here you are.”

-~-~-~-~-~-

Four police officers stood around the crash. A black car had smashed heads on to a brown truck. Neither driver had a chance. From the way the crash was, it looked like the owner of the black car had swerved to the other side.

“Time of death?” one requests.

“Midnight, August fourth” another guessed.

Part 1

It was dark. Too dark Yet the dark was tinted with red. Was it? I dunno, I can’t even feel my own head right now. Or my chest. Or hands. I should be checking up on that. Now, where am I? Where was I last…

Let’s see, last I remember, I was in my car. I think. Yes, yes I was. I was driving towards… what was it… funeral? No. Wedding? Feasible, I think that bitch of a sister got hooked. That wasn’t until July though… was it July?

I’m getting off track. Driving. No one cares why. Speeding? Maybe, I don’t like going slow. Speeding, dirt road, ooooh. Oh. I know what happened. Fuck. I crashed, didn’t I? Yea, I did. Fuuuck.

I still can’t feel my toes. Did I break something? I can’t feel anything, so that’s either a very good sign that I’m healthy, or a very bad sign that I’ve broken my back. I’m going to try moving my fingers now… I… I think I felt something. Maybe I’m just telling myself I felt something. Oh damnit, I can’t even feel my tongue. Wait, could I ever feel my tongue? Only if I bit it… owshit yea I have feeling in my tongue. So, I’m alive. To some extent. I can move my fingers. Maybe we should get out of here? That might just be a good idea.

Right, I’m going to try feeling my way around. Leather seat, below me. How nice, I’m not upside-down. Gear stick, to the right of me, door on the left, and here I am, stuck in the middle of my car. Wait, I think I know why everything’s so dark. Haha, stupid me, I had my eyes close-whoa that… that is a lot of blood. That’s mine. I mean, I don’t see anyone else exce-oh that guy through the windshield might be a good source. Christ. That is a lot of blood. I’m guessing that’s just mine on the steering wheel… Huh. Forehead’s a bit sticky, but I’m fine other than that. I’m gonna poke that guy beside me. Mister. Miiiisteeeer. Wake up! Shit, he’s dead. Shit shit shit. I must have hit him. That would make sense. Christ, I must have been going faaast for him to go through like that. Think I should get out and maybe get some help? I mean, for me, not Mr. Corpse. Maybe he has some money on him… No! Jeez Jake, what’s gotten in to you? Pilfering corpses is NOT a good idea!

I’m opening the door and shit it’s really cold outside. Where’s my jacket? Oh right didn’t bring one. What was the time? Couldn’t be too late, could it? This is a back road though, so not much chances of being found… Damnit but the chances of some random bastard walking were apparently pretty good! Okay, right. I’m getting out of the ca-

Oomph! Okay, maybe not a good idea. I can’t feel my legs. Oh Jesus. So not a good sign. There has to be a branch or something nearby… Oh hey! Crutches. Christ, I hit a handicapped person. Not cool. Oh man that god he’s dead, or I’d be sued in an instant. Wait, what am I saying? People being dead isn’t good! Okay. Upsy-daiseeey. One crutch, two crutch. Red crutch… bloody crutch. Cripes. Not my night. Okay, first priority is to get the hell out of here. Did I have anything I need? Gun? No, don’t carry one, might kill someone-oh whoops. Briefcase? Come on Jakey, you’re not a business type person. Your jeans kind of give that away! Your blue, matted with blood pants. What did you do to them? What did I do to them? Need to get out of here.

One, two. One, two. One, two. Okay. I’m good. I can get the hang of these crutches. No probably. One, two. One, two. God, hope I wasn’t too far from a town. Why would I even take a back road? Right, no coppers. Hell if some fucker in a blue suit is gonna pull me over and fine me for having a little fun. Heey, maybe I can get a wheelchair after all this. Assuming there is an after all this. Hopefully that bitch had a nice wedding while I sat there knocked cold.

Maybe I should have at least removed that guy from my car… I mean, it’d be the polite thing to do. And not steal his money. Ohohoh, no. That’d be bad. Might take a look in his wallet though… I mean, need to look at his ID don’t I?

Wee spin around on the cru-oomph. Bad idea. Right, on the ground. Dirt in my mouth. Not near my car, need to find a way to get up. How do wheelchair people live like this? Gonna try grabbing those crutches… Might be able to push myself up. Aaand success! Great. I’m still facing the wrong way damnit. Okay, go about this slowly Jake, you can make it… There. Great. Fantastic. Not we’ll just mosey on over… Take a look in to his wallet… Ignore the money… So, Mister… Nick Abner? Funny name. Okay, so now I know the name of the person I killed. Come on body, get the hell out of my window now. Please? Fine, I’ll help you… Lazy bastard. Just hop on the front of the car, pull you out… oh. Oh my. That’s… that’s a fair amount of blood you have there Mr. Abner. You might want to get that checked out, because… whoa. Seriously, that can’t be healthy.

Right, you’re out of my window at least. Now on to the ground you go… Okay, good. Now what Mister Smart Guy? You’re still stuck in the middle of nowhere, and you’re still next to a dead body. And you’ve been talking to yourself this entire time. That really isn’t a good sign. I’m going to stop now.





Jeeez this is a long road. No wonder I liked riding it. Damnit, talking to myself again!





Hey, a bridge. Neato. Might mean I’m getting close to somewhere. Wonder how long it’s been? Shame my watch is pretty much gnarled in to my wrist right now. Hey. Have I been leaving a trail? Oh, yea… I’ve… been leaving a trail. Hooboy. Please don’t let my anus be bleeding. Oh thank god just my back. No, wait… cancel that thank you. That looks really painful. Nearly wish I could, you know, feel it. Oh well, um. Nothing to do about it right now. Onwards and outwards!





Okay, this is a really, really, really freaking long road. This sure as hell wasn’t any shortcut. Why was I on it? I mean, if I was in a rush, even if it was to that bitch’s wedding, why would I take such a long road? Maybe it’s just the crutches taking forever, but jeeeeeeeez. Someone is going to hear about this. Hopefully. God I need a smoke. Fuck! Fucking fuck fuck. I left my smokes back there!





I think I see my taillights up ahead. I can’t believe it. That nicotine addiction is a bitch. Didn’t feel like that long walking back though. Funny. Oh well. Smoke. Please. Now.





Hey Mister Abner, would you care for a smoke? I mean, sure, they aren’t good for you, but hey. Everyone has to let loose sometime, right? And this is sure one hell of a time. So, you gonna tell me what the hell you were doing out here? I mean, seriously. You were in crutches man! That’s hardly a way to travel. So, going to tell me why? Huh huh huh? Fine, be a cock and don’t talk. Hey, haha, that rhymed. Okay Mister Abner, fuck you, I’m getting out of here. And taking my damned smokes with me, you aren’t getting a single one.

Onwards! To new lands! Or to the hell off this god forsaken road. I really want to know how long I’ve been out here. Stupid trees keep blocking out the moon, so I can’t even tell. Oh well, it’ll be daylight soon enough, and that’ll tell me. If I’m not dead by then, Christ, that was quite the trail I was leaving behind.





Wonder if anyone even went looking for me. Doubt it, they’re probably toasting my missing…ness at that damn wedding, that bitch. And that whiney man she engaged, jeez, I thought she had better tastes than that. Hey, what was that up ahead…?





I’m pretty sure I’m starting to see things. Could’ve sworn I saw some headlights up ahead, but then they vanished. Whoooooo blood-loss.





No, no now I’m sure I saw something up there. Unless two little bastard kids are flashing lights up there. Okay, seriously, this talking to myself thing is really starting to weird me out.


But now I’m lonely. Jeez that thing is sticking out of me quite a good bit. Okay, those were headlights. Maybe someone just has bad headlights that keep dying? Then why the hell are they on a road like this? Hey, now that you mention it… I think I had bad headlights too. Hey, what do you know, I thought I was the only one.

Okay, they stopped blinking. I can see them pretty damn good now. Okay. Getting close. Getting really close. Buddy. Buuudddy buddy buddy. Way too close there buddy. No, wait. Never mind. Christ my depth perception is off. He has to be at least a mile down there. Jeez, this is a long road. Amazingly straight too, go figure. Oh well, I can probably hitch a ride with this guy in to town. Go to a hospital. Get something to eat. Damnit on my last smoke. Buy more smokes, and maybe grab a bite to eat. Okay, no, he’s defiantly a lot closer now. Jeez, slow the hell down buddy, someone’s going to get hurt, and it sure as hell isn’t going to be me.

Okay no really buddy you’re going way too

Part 2

Dear Diary…

February 16th

I’ve been going over to Todd’s every weekend now for the past month. It’s… amazing, every morning there I wake up to those brown eyes. He cooks us breakfast, and we just sit and relax. School’s been a breeze, everything is just… perfect. I still don’t even know how he feels about me though… I mean… He probably just wants to be friends. He can’t see much in me. Short, skinny. Sure, Todd isn’t that tall either, but still… his hair just flows down his back, all natural like. I’ve never seen a girl match it. But you know all about that, don’t you? I’m just worried nothing will come out of this… What if we just stay friends? Will I ever find someone who can even equal up to him? I’m not going to think about it… Patricia is still teasing me about it, about how I keep staring off in class. Anyways, that’s all for today. I need to go do my socials homework, or else Ms. Skands is going to have my head.

Dear Diary…

February 17th

Todd wasn’t at school today. I’m worried. He might be sick, but… he never gets sick. I’m… just so used to him being at school, to seeing him, that it’s weird when he’s just… not there. I hardly even talked to Patricia, which I’ve never done before. I hope he’s alright, I could hardly concentrate in math class. It’s only Tuesday, I’m sure he’ll show up…

Dear Diary…

February 18th

Oh thank god, he just had a cold. He’s still sneezing a little, but, he’s still okay. Hopefully I don’t catch it… ‘cause… he hugged me today. It wasn’t the first time, but, still… every time he does my heart just flutters up and won’t stop. He said he was okay, but I was still all worrying over him. And of course, Patricia was teasing me about it next class. She’s just jealous.
Todd mentioned something about a carnival coming in this weekend and perhaps we could go to it together. It’s like an actual date! We could go on the merry-go-round, bumper cars… the ferris wheel. It’s going to be so gorgeous with all the lights at night, I can’t wait! Oh, mom’s calling for dinner, so I guess that’s all for today.

Dear Diary…

February 19th

Great, Todd did get me sick. I’ve spent the entire day hacking away in bed, watching lame movies on the television. I’m going to be pissed if this cold stays until the weekend. All I’ve eaten today are some scrambled eggs, which, didn’t seem to agree with my stomach. Damned cold. Patricia called wondering if I was okay… so did Todd. I only just got off the phone with him. I don’t even need to see him, and he still finds ways to make me light headed. We were on the phone for an hour, talking about school, how I was doing, how home was. He asked if tomorrow, if I’m feeling up to it, he could spend the night here, then on Saturday we could just head to the carnival. I’m hoping mom says yes… Though it’ll be the first time he sees my house. Oh gosh, I need to clean my room up. I don’t want Toddy to think I’m a total slob. Teehee, I called him Toddy. Toddy Todd Todd.



Okay, the room’s all cleaned up, should do for when he gets here. I need to think of what we could do together… Trampoline out back, PS2 in the house. I’m not much of a cook though… I could still try, I mean, after all those delicious breakfasts he’s cooked me. I suppose we’ll just go with the flow and go where it takes us.

Dear Diary…

February 20th

Can’t stay for long, Todd’s over! I’m still sneezing a bit, and he’s still worrying over me. But that’s normal for friends, right? Mom commented on what a handsome boy Todd is, I think we both blushed. Hopefully no one noticed. Don’t need my mom asking questions, not yet at least.

So I’m in the bathroom right now, I just… I just needed to get these things off my chest. He keeps sitting so close to me, there has to be something there. My face keeps exploding in a rush of red, he’s probably noticed by now… Oh, someone’s knocking on the door. I gotta go, I’ll see you Sunday night then!

Dear Diary…

February 22nd

The carnival was beautiful! There were so many things to do, Todd and I hardly knew where to start. Mom gave us both some money and just dropped us off, so we were all alone there. The sun still hadn’t set, so the sky was lit up with such a fantastic colour of red, I could hardly believe it. Todd suggested the merry-go-round first, so, we went. We rode on the same horse, he was in front… I had to reach around him to hold on to the poll. It felt so nice being so close, so nice to hear his laugher in my ears. He apparently found it hilarious how we were riding the little kid’s ride. Oh well, I don’t care, it was still nice.

Next we went to the bumper cars, splitting up this time. There were a few other kids in there as well, and they kept picking on me. They would all chase after me and ram me in to a corner, I couldn’t do anything. Todd had to come save me by ramming his car in to the others, so I could get out. Even with those assholes, it was still really fun.

Todd wanted to go on the Salt and Pepper Shaker, which is thing big ride where there’s two car things, one on each side, and then they swing up in to the air and go upside down and all sorts of ways. I said I couldn’t do it, I couldn’t handle the upside down and the up high in there air. I just didn’t want to throw up on poor Toddy. I suggested the Gravitron next, and we both agreed on that. We both went up, and of course, picked side by side… seats? I don’t know what you would call them. Anyways, once it filled up, it started to spin. Of course. Todd decided to start a little challenge. Who could move the most while it was spinning at its fastest. How could I refuse? He won in the end, because… well you can hardly move, and my head snapped to the side… and I was staring right in to those big brown eyes of his. I forgot all about the carnival and suddenly it was just about him. Then he said something, and next thing I knew, we were stumbling out of the Gravitron together, holding on to each other for support. That didn’t work out too well, and we ended up sprawled out on the grass. On each other. I rolled off him, blushing so badly. He asked what I wanted to do next, so, I suggested some light carnival games until I could feel my stomach stop moving.

Now let me tell you this, Todd and I are both very fond of first person shooters, but damn that boy can shoot down a target with ease. He won a huge stuffed cat, and… gave it to me. The night was so clichéd, but it was so… so… I can’t even find the word to describe it all. After the shooting game we went to one of the bowling games, where you try to roll a ball up in to one of the rings for points. I beat Todd by fifty points, so, he demanded a rematch. I beat him by seventy that time. He grumbled about being sore from lying in the grass, and I just laughed. We decided on Whack-A-Mole next, and decided to cheat. He stood on one side, I stood on the other. I think we beat the high score together, shame there wasn’t a prize.

So, at this point, it was getting pretty late. I don’t even know when the sun set, I was having too much fun. We decided, one last ride, then back to my place. Of course, the one ride picked was the ferris wheel. It was so nice… when we reached the top, you’ll never believe it. Fireworks started going off, the sky was bathed in such beautiful colours. And… and… he… he leaned over, and… I can’t even believe he did it. I’m not sure if I’m just making it up, but I can still feel it… He kissed me. Not even on the cheek. I think I blacked out after that too, all I can remember is his warmth… and all the fireworks going off outside.

When I came too we were nearly at the bottom again, and my head was in his lap. Though I didn’t have much hair, he was stroking it anyways. His big brown eyes are so pretty, I want to be able to stare in to them forever.

After that, we called for a ride. When mom came up, she asked why I looked so woozy. Todd just said we had a little too many runs on the Gravitron. I was lying in the back of the car the whole way, and pretty much stumbled all the way to my room, and just collapsed on to my bed. Poor Toddy, I don’t even know where he slept.

Sunday morning and I wake up to find Todd already out and about. He even cooked us breakfast, some french toast. It was so delicious, he knew just how I liked them. Maybe mom helped him with that. After breakfast we just hung out in my room… he kept sitting so close to me again as we were watching Office Space. Today was just a massive haze, all I could think about is how he… it was amazing.

He kissed me. Actually kissed me, on the mouth. Maybe he is like me. Maybe he does have feelings for me. He didn’t do anything as drastic today, but… I want to feel his lips again.

Heey Double update.

Part 3

Today, we step in to the ordinary house of an ordinary man. This one happens to be named Joseph Mael. He lives a fairly normal life. Goes to work. Gets yelled at. Forgets to do the cover paper of a few reports. Again, ordinary man. Fourteen years of his life he’s been working at that company, sitting in the same cubicle. No promotion, oh no. He doesn’t know it, but today, he’s going to get fired. That should be fun to watch.

But for right now, we come to him in the act everyone does. Shaving. How easy he makes it look. The razor just gliding along his… oh. Oh no. He seems to have cut himself. Oh my, that’s a fair amount of blood. The bleeding won’t stop. Ew, it’s even on the mirror now. And it just won’t stop. Joseph tries to cover it with a towel, but a red stain can be seen spreading out through the white towel. That must be painful. It’s at this moment that Joseph begins what we’ll call, a bad day.

Now, now Joseph knows what he’s going to do. It’s all so simple. He saw what must be done, all in the nick of a razor. The bleeding stopped, finally. Joseph grabs another towel, and cleans up the blood that had gotten over his sink and mirror. Threw the two towels he had in to the laundry, grabbed a band-aid, and fixed himself up. Got dressed, snazzy blue suit. He got in to his car, a nice red sedan. And he drove to work. Just like every other day. Except this one was special.

“What do you mean, fired?” Joseph asked.

“Exactly what it sounds like. You’re out. Sod off.” Joseph’s boss said. “We want you out by ten.”

Joseph was horrified. His mouth was open, words were dying in his throat. He hadn’t missed a single day. He even came in on Saturdays. This… this is how they repaid him?

“But why? There’s… no reason to!” Joseph said.

“Of course there is! You’re replaced. Some new guy, can do your job a hell of a lot faster than you. Now, go clean out your desk, and get the hell out of my building” and with that, Mr. High-and-Mighty turned his attention towards his computer screen. Joseph’s shoulders were slumped, he walked out of the office. Thoughts from this morning came flooding in. Should he? Could he? He decided he could. Might, in fact. Tonight sounded lovely.

He walked to his cubicle, and gave it one last glance. No pictures, his parents had disowned him, and his sister rejected him. All that was on his desk was a laptop, and some files. The files he just swept off the desk on to the floor, and grabbed his laptop. The only problem was how to do it? Not like he was born with the natural instinct of how to do this sort of thing. It was only nine thirty in the morning, there was plenty of time to think everything over.

Joseph walked out of that building feeling something he hadn’t in quite a long time. He couldn’t describe it, it was something in his gut. He had the name of it on the tip of his tongue. Ha… haa… Happiness. That was the word! He felt… happy. Joseph walked out of that god forsaken building a new man. A man who knew what must be done.

The car beeped. Door opened. The seat was still warm, Joseph hadn’t even been gone that long. Engine roared, tires squealed. There was business to be done. He straightened his tie, and went out in to the world. Right in to a traffic jam. Usually, Joseph would be honking his horn along with the rest of the idiots. But no, not today. That was the old Joseph. This new one merely sat there with a grin, tapping his fingers to the wheel. Something by Dan Le Sac was on the radio, with a rather nice beat.

He didn’t return home until about noon. If Joseph hadn’t been afraid of being mugged, he’d take the half hour walk to work instead of waiting in traffic. He threw his laptop on to the floor, he wouldn’t it be needing it any longer. He went to his bedroom, and began his work.





Joseph’s ex-boss sat down in his cozy recliner chair, and well, reclined in it. This was a man who knew how to be comfortable. He switched on the TV and flipped through the channels until he found one showing the stocks. His had gone up, yet again. Kane smiled, today had been a fantastic day. Firing an employee always put him in a chipper mood, but this was the bee’s knees. Had he really just described it as that? Wow, he must really be happy.

What Mr. Rich here didn’t know, however, was that this elated feeling wasn’t one to last. There is a reason you should never corner an animal when it has nothing to lose. The only escape is forward. Kane’s smile vanished as his house was blanketed in darkness. A power outage? He looked out the window. There was power in other people’s houses. Perhaps he had blown a fuse.

Kane exited his comfy recliner chair, and made his way in the darkness. He wasn’t used to not having lights, and he had only recently bought this house and was still figuring out the proper way to decorate it. He stumbled through, nearly tripping over some expensive rug he had bought. He didn’t even know what kind of rug, he just thought it looked pretty. His fuse box was in the garage, which wasn’t a far journey from his living room. Kane staggered in to the garage. He couldn’t see, but something felt… off. Perhaps it was that dark silhouette that suddenly clubbed him over the head.

Joseph stood over his oppressor’s body. He couldn’t believe what he had done. He couldn’t believe how… good he felt either. He stooped down and checked Kane’s pulse. Still alive. Perfect. It would have been rather anti-climatic for him to die right here and now. Joseph flicked the breakers on, and power returned to Kane’s house. Joseph wanted Kane to see. With a heave, Joseph picked up Kane’s unconscious body and dragged it towards the bathroom.

“Wakey wakey” Joseph said, giving his ex-boss a hard slap across the face. Kane instantly awoke, eyes wide, as he looked in to that grinning face. “We’re here to have some fun. Shall we?”

“You… no…” Kane wheezed. His breathing was coming a bit hard. And… he was wet. And warm. Oh god, had he pissed himself? No… no he could hear running water. “What… what do you want?”

“Kane Rich, the CEO of Schmidt Corporation. Making a profit from the misery of the little people. Did you ever stop and think, maybe, just maybe, I had a family to support?” Joseph hovered over Kane, looking him dead in the eyes.

“I’m…. I’m sorry! I was… I was just doing my job. Please… please don’t…” Kane felt really weak. Was he in the bathtub?

Joseph stood up, and straightened out his suit. “It’s too late, now. Do you know what I saw this morning? It only took a split second to realize it too. I’ve been alive for thirty five years, and yet, it only took the cut of a razor to realize my purpose in life. And do you know what that is?”

“Please… no… why… is the water… red…”

“We all have a purpose in life. Some find it later than others. You… you aren’t going to have the chance to find it.” There was a plunk, and Kane felt something against his leg. It was metal… sharp… it… was his razor. Kane realized why the water was red. Why he felt so weak.

“Oh please God no…. Save… me. Please God, save me” Kane’s vision was going. Going, going… gone.

“Goodbye, Mr. Rich.” Joseph walked out of Kane Rich’s house. He didn’t take anything. He had already taken the only thing he wanted.





“Yea, hey, mom. It’s me. No don’t hang up, mom, mom, mom. Fine you bitch” Joseph threw his cell phone across the room, watched as it shattered on impact. Cheap little things anyway. Joseph grabbed his coat and keys. He stepped outside of his house, and locked the door. He stepped back, and looked over his house. He didn’t know it, or perhaps he did, but he’d never see that house again. He strolled to his car, wind blowing a calm breeze. Such a nice day. He could hardly keep his mind from straying. He had an idea. He should pay his family a visit.





Joseph lived in Walpole, Massachusetts. His destination was Montville, Connecticut. His father and mother lived there, had all his life. Never moved once, they were both born and raised in that town, and decided to die there as well. It was very quite convenient for Joseph. He’d always know where they’d be. Hell, they probably had the same jobs too. Joseph knew their hours. He had this all planned out, and knew exactly what to do.

He kept on smiled, tapping his foot to the beat of the song on the radio. He couldn’t name the band or the song, but damn it was catchy. He was only an hour away, and the roads were clear. Today truly was a beautiful day.

After the song had ended, the news came on. “Today, the body of a Kane Rich was found in his bathtub, the cause of death being suicide by slitting his wrists. There weren’t many close to Mr. Rich, police suspect this may have been the reason for his suicide, even though he was the CEO of the local Schmidt Corporation. He will surely be missed.”





Mrs. Mael stepped out of her little car, and made her way up to the doorway. She was only fifty-five, but moving had been getting harder and harder these days. She was afraid that she might have to retire early if it gets worse. She had the keys in the lock, when suddenly, her phone rang. She hoped to god it wasn’t work calling her in on Saturday or something. She flipped open the cell, and raised it to her ear.

There was a pause, before a voice spoke, “Yea, hey mom, it’s me”

“You! I told you never to call. We don’t want anything to do with you anymore” she said, and flipped her cell phone off. The nerve of him. He knew what he had done. He knew never to bother them again. She didn’t know it, but, she may as well have thrown her life away at that moment. She unlocked her door, and stepped through. Closing it behind her, she went to the kitchen, and made herself a drink. Her husband should be home in about three hours. Ms. Mael looked over at the clock, only four o’clock. A quick nap might be good for her.

Two hours later, Joseph Mael stood in front of the house that had been his home for fifteen years. He hadn’t seen it for twenty years, but he still had it memorized. The house you grew up in leaves quite the imprint on your mind. He didn’t have a key, so he was wondering how he would even get in to the house. The answer was sticking out of the door knob. His mother had forgotten to take the key with her. Not like she was going to need it any longer.

Pocketing the key, Joseph quietly slipped in through the doorway he hadn’t passed in two decades. With hardly a sound, he crept down the hallway. The kitchen came first, he peeked around the corner. No sign of his mother, though her bottle of bourbon was still on the counter. Typical. Through the kitchen was the living room, and Joseph could see a foot poking over the side of the couch. Bingo. Preparations had to be made first however. Joseph checked the clock, it was six o’clock. His father, punctual as ever, should be home in one hour. That was more than enough time, as Joseph slunk over to the bathroom.

His father’s razor, just where he knew it would be. He grabbed it, and removed the actual razor, and held it in his hands. He looked at himself in the mirror. He looked at what he had become.

And he liked it.

Joseph was amazed at just how easy this all was. Rich hadn’t even been a problem, the stupid oaf. Why hadn’t he thought of this all before? How could it take him so long to finally realize his purpose? But he had discovered it now, and he would live it out to the fullest. He crept out of the bathroom, razor in hand, and made hardly a noise as he went to where his mother slept. She would die here, in the city she was born in, just as she had always wanted.





Mr. Mael stepped in through the doorway, and boomed out, “Hello, Janet! I’m home!” Odd. There wasn’t a reply. She must be sleeping, though she never sleeps in this late. He couldn’t even smell dinner made. “Janet? Are you there?” Mr. Mael hung his coat up, and carefully took off his shoes. “Come on Janet, this isn’t funny.”

Though, there was an odd smell in the air. He couldn’t quite name it. But he knew what it was, something deep inside him knew what it was, but refused to tell him. “Come on, Janet? Where’s dinner, I’m sta-“ Mr. Mael noticed his wife’s foot over the side of the couch. Sleeping! She was sleeping! “Janet, wake up! It’s seven o’clock!” he stormed over to where his wife lay, and stood over the couch. “Janet, wake u-“ he couldn’t finish. His wife was lying on the couch, one arm on her stomach, the other over the side. Blood. So much blood. She was dead. Were wrists were slit, the razor… the bloody razor on the floor.
“Hello, father.” His son said behind him, before covering his mouth with a cloth. He recognized the smell on that cloth. He’d name it, but the next moment everything went black.

When Mr. Mael woke up next, he was very wet, and couldn’t feel anything past his wrists. He tried to recall what had happened to him over the last hour. He came home from work, normal. He called out to his wife, normal. He didn’t get a reply, not normal. He found his wife dead, definitely not normal. Then his own flesh and blood knocked him out with chloroform. Not exactly one of his best days.

“Ah. You’re awake finally, you pile of shit” a voice rang out, before blazing pain went across his face as something smacked him. “Fifteen years of hell, then you disown me. What right did you think you even had to do something like that?” more pain across his face, but this time… more concentrated. Thin. A line across his face.

“Jo… Joseph. What… why? Why would you kill… your own mother?” Mr. Mael coughed out, his breathing was getting raspy.

“You even need to ask why? Look at me. Look at me!” Joseph grabbed his father’s head, and forced his eyes open. They stared directly in to each other’s eyes. Joseph’s father shivered, and looked away. “That is why. I discovered my purpose, father,” Joseph started to chuckle, “I finally found it! You said I’d never be able to find a reason to live. You spent all of my life in this house complaining I was a waste of breath. Coming to bite you in the ass now, isn’t it, father dearest?” Joseph slapped his father across the face once more with the razor.

“Please… Joseph… stop… You don’t… you don’t have to do this. Money? You want money don’t you? I… I’ll do anything. Please… just… just spare me” breathing was getting really hard. The room was started to fade.

“And that’s why you’re the waste of breath.” With a final slice across the face, Joseph walked away from his father, putting away all the hardships. There was just one final thing to do, to finally put away all the memories.

Joseph drove away from where he had been raised, drove away while his memories burned to cinders. He could hear the sirens already. That grin of his never left his face. There was just one last thing that needed to be covered, and that was about an hour away in Hartford.





Abbie Mael worked at the Hartford Department Store, in the clothing section. She helped people pick out appropriate clothing, did the cashier, and took home some pants every now and then. Abbie had a boyfriend, who conveniently worked in the store right across from her clothing department. At breaks, they’d like to just hang out, maybe grab something from the food court. Abbie got off around eight o’clock, and usually she hung out with Mr. Perfect, but tonight she thought she’d relax with a nice bubble bath, and maybe some late night TV. The boyfriend could wait until tomorrow.

At about seven thirty, her cell phone rang. She didn’t recognize the number call display gave, and usually she didn’t answer, but she was adventurous tonight.

A pause, before someone said, “Abbie? Abbie it’s me, Joseph.”

Abbie nearly dropped her cell. She hadn’t heard from her brother in twenty years, but she’d never forget his voice. He never talked to any of the family, not after what had happened. She didn’t know what to do. “Jo-Joseph? Is… is that really you?”

“Who else would it be? Listen, think I could come up and visit? I know it’s been awhile, two decades, but come on. Care to have a cup of tea with your little brother?”

Abbie was shocked, “No… No Joseph I can’t. I’m busy.”

“Tomorrow then, perhaps?” he sounded so cheery, not the brother she recognized.

“No… No Joseph. Never. Stay away, don’t come here. I don’t want to see you.”

“Well that’s a shame, because, I’d like to see you.” Joseph said, and hung up. Abbie started to shiver, her stomach churned. She had to sit down, she couldn’t stand up. Why did it bother her so much? It was just her brother, right? Her brother she hadn’t heard from in twenty years. She just sat there, for half an hour, before closing up and going home. She locked the door, which she usually didn’t do. She just didn’t feel… safe.





Joseph Mael hung up the phone. He turned on the radio, and switched to the news. “A house in eastern Montville burnt to the ground today, with the owners still inside. Is it suspected that this was an act of arson, however there are no official statements, and no suspects at this time.” Joseph switched channels, to something catchy. His fingers just tap tap tapped along, and he just grin grin grinned at the world. The sun had gone, and the moon was high in the air. Such a beautiful moon, it hovered over the end.





Joseph parked his car about two blocks away from where his sister lived. Twenty years, and he could still recognize his sister. It was easy to tail her. Take her cell phone number from his parent’s house, drive to where his sister lived, phone her cell, and watch who picked up their cell phone. Then it was just a classic scene of following her car to where she lived. The problem here was her house was locked. Unlike his mother, Abbie wasn’t stupid enough to just leave the key in the doorknob. This wasn’t going to be as easy. He had put Abbie on the edge with his phone call. He had meant it though. He just wanted to see his sister. Even if she didn’t want to see him, she would see him.

Joseph waited outside well in to the night. The clock on his dashboard read midnight. It was time. Midnight signalled a new day, a new start. Joseph would have his new start, as soon as he finished his old life. With a calm stature, Joseph stepped out of his red sedan. Such an ordinary car. He was still wearing his blue suit, a suit for an ordinary person. But Joseph Mael was no longer an ordinary person. He was that morning, but no more. It was time for a new start, under a new moon.

Joseph walked the two blocks quickly. If someone were to look outside right now, they might think it’s a bit odd for a man in a suit to be out at this time of night, but they would probably think nothing of it and go back to whatever they were doing. Joseph walked calmly up to his sister’s house, and knocked on the door, three times. Knock, knock, knock. No answer. He didn’t expect one, but, by no means would it stop him. He tried again. Knock, knock, knock. Still no answer. Joseph shrugged, and went around to the back. Was his sister smart enough to remember to lock the back door?

The answer would be no. The back door was unlocked, but, Joseph didn’t enter yet. That would bring too much attention. He had to be careful with his sister. Instead, he sat in front of the door. He counted, for thirty minutes. Surely, Abbie must think that whoever was knocking had left. Now was the time to strike.

Joseph slowly opened the door. It creaked. He halted, waited, before opening it the rest of the way. He was now in the kitchen. He didn’t know Abbie’s house, so he’d have to be even more careful. Staying low, Joseph snuck out of the kitchen, in to a hallway. He went around the whole floor, and couldn’t find a bedroom. That must mean she was upstairs. And stairs had a tendency to creak. He’d have to risk it. He had what he needed, he just needed to find his dear sister now. Up he went, creeeeak. Creeeeeeeeeeeeak. Creak. Silently he cursed every step as he made his way upwards. Creeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeak. He reached the top. He couldn’t hear a thing. Another hallway, only three doors this time. One at the end and one on either side. Joseph guessed that the master bedroom was the one at the end.

Slowly, he made his way down the hallway. It seemed to take ages. In reality it took him only a minute of slow movement to cross. He grabbed the handle of the door, and twisted it, slowly. He opened the door a sliver, slowly. There his sister lay, in bed, turned away from him, sleeping soundly. Finally, he could end it all here. All his pain, all his misery. It could end here, tonight, all with her. The moon shined in through the window, as Joseph opened the door further and slipped in, razor in hand. This was his purpose. He would fulfill it here. The moon glinted off the razor in his hand. The floor here was steady, his feet didn’t make a sound as he crept up to the bed. This was it. Here. Now. He was ready. No need for talking, no need for safety now. Now! He grabbed the head of his sister, pulled it back, razor in hand, and did the deed.

Joseph stepped back quickly before he could get blood on himself. He would not stain his hands. It was done. His purpose was done. Her body lied in the bed as she choked, blood soaking the pillows, her quilt, her sheets. Joseph stepped away. His history, dead. His past, dead. There was nothing more connecting him to the past. Nothing, except for his memories.

He knew what he had to do. He knew how it would end. He had to destroy every trace of his past. He saw this, this plan, how it would start, how it would end. All it took was the nick of a razor to show him all this. He would finish it, but not here. He exited his sister’s house. He left her to be found in her bed. He walked swiftly to his car. He went in to his car, and sat down. He looked in the mirror, stared at himself, stared at what he had become.

He liked it.

The final act was now. Joseph reached in to his pocket, and grabbed the only object that had meaning to him now. The razor that had cut him. It had started this, and it shall end it.





Joseph Mael’s corpse was found in his car, two blocks away from where his sister was found dead. The cause of death was a single slice to the jugular, he died within moments. A razor with his blood on it was found on the floor, along with his blood covering the windshield.

This is what a perfectly ordinary man is capable of, if only given the chances and reason to. One bad day can cause the end of a man. Now, let us depart from this scene. There is much else to be seen.