Here’s the introduction of my original work, ‘Drive’. Please enjoy it. Feel free to share whatever comments you may have. I’m all ears.
I know you’ve been there.I know you’ve been swept into a storm when you stepped onto your porch, expecting a sunny day.I know you’ve struggled against a wave when you expected calm tides.Yeah, I know you’ve been there. I’ve been there too.My best friend and I moved into a new Realm, thinking that we would bring our dreams to life without a single problem.Damn it, were we wrong.When we stepped into the Ardigo Realm, we didn’t expect to land in the center of a tornado. When one hears of golden shores and calm waters, one does not expect to end up amongst raging tides. Oh sure, the sun was high and mighty for a minute, but things changed in the blink of an eye. Before we knew it, we were cast into the squall of the ages.Wanna know more? Well, follow me. You’ll be amazed to see how easy it is to change a world’s fate.
Those words were written through the eyes of a main character, the singer named Tobias Halmuron. Here’s the first chapter. Please enjoy.
Stage One: Initiation The eyes of Illian Maldas scanned his current environment, searching for a defect that would have earned instant elimination. Gales of bloodied, broken bodies were scattered throughout the streets he had been assigned to, but none of them were earning any pity from the duteous officer. Without a single emotion in his eyes, he focused upon the possible discovery of a living body-a flame he most certainly would have snuffed out, without the slightest bit of hesitation. His eyes weren’t without an assistant, however. On the very end of his nose sat a black visor, one that enabled him to view the information he needed.Crimson red smoke lingered within the air as he surveyed the bloodied streets, ignoring the secretive language of the elusive wisps as he continued his search.
A minute elapsed before he found himself releasing a sigh, a smile spreading across his face. Turning to his teammates, he spoke in a voice that held the aftermath of a long, hard struggle. “Well done, men.” he began, smiling. “Not a single bug has been left alive. Looks to me like they’ve all been wiped out.”“Are we certain about that, sir?” a younger officer, one that was clearly ready to impress all but lacked the knowledge to truly do so, asked. Trying to keep himself composed, he clutched his weapon of choice to his chest. “Shouldn’t you run another scan? I mean, there’s the possibility of a ‘bluff’, sir. Some of them could be playing it safe, just to keep out of danger.”Illian scowled at the other’s words instantly, wiping away the other’s concern with the wave of a hand. Speaking in a tone that demanded unwavering respect from the members of his squadron, he pierced the other’s face with his eyes. “Ah, the possibility of finding a single breath amongst our group is nil.” the officer assured the younger one. “There’s no chance of finding a twitching body amongst that sea of blood. And even if there was, would you enjoy stomping on that particular bug?”
At those words, the younger officer stiffened. Fear had caused him to silence himself. Illian took the opportunity to continue, bearing an almost fatherly grin about his face. “I didn’t think so, Lieutenant Fordescue.” he said merrily, silvery green eyes twinkling. “Technology doesn’t lie, and even if my Life Scan is on the fritz, why bother? We’ve spent enough time gunning these cockroaches down. Let them rot where they are, dead or alive. I couldn’t care less.”Lieutenant Fordescue answered him with silence, still holding his gun as though it were his lifeline. Fear soared through his amber brown eyes as he listened to the dirges of the streets-the frantic storm of footsteps, the orders of Guardians piercing the air, the requests for support. His eyes frenetically scanned the environment as those sounds continued, drawing him deeper and deeper into a world he felt fated to die in.
Many others had already lost their lives. Not a single shred of compassion fell onto the slaughtered souls, though. They were the recipients of anger, excitement and indifference, all because they had passed from the world they had inhabited. The streets of their world were plagued with their bodies, drowning in the sea only known as blood. Guardians throughout the Ardigo Realm were examining their assigned areas, happy to see that none of their prey had made it out alive. So many had lost their lives at the end of old-fashioned weapons-flamethrowers and guns included-and the world they had dwelled in had been responsible for wiping them out. The Realm had targeted a group of residents, giving them a time limit to escape from a world that no longer them. Discarding the modern weaponry of the Ardigo Realm, all Guardians took up arms and forced the unwanted beings from their homes-giving them mere minutes to reach a ravaged Sector of the Realm. The North, South and West Sectors were soaked in thick bloodbaths in a matter of seconds, due to the bullets that ripped through the cold air-and the blades that pierced the skin of many.
Screams went by uncared for, only bringing about greater excitement from the Realm’s Guardians. Hands were trampled upon in desperate attempts to flee, resulting in accidental killings as the insects fled from their homes. Not a single soul was spared in those events; even children were the victims of gunfire and blades, dying even within the arms of their parents.The world they had dwelled in, the world they believed to be a shelter, had now become a haven of blood. Regardless of the massive slaughter, however, they were survivors. Weary feet and broken bodies had managed to flee from the chaos, entering the Sector they had been forced to accept as their new home. Despite the glimmer of hope that had been born upon the forced discovery of their new home, anguish prevailed. Their new home, which had been the Realm’s most beautiful Sector prior to the chaos, had been transformed into a desolate wasteland.
The ether was not the proud blue it had once been-it had been turned into an ocean of scarlet blood, one that led the Sector’s inhabitants to eternal despondency. Not a single bird could be found within the air, for only the insect kingdom saw fit to walk amongst the devastation. The animal kingdom assumed that it would instantly die off in such an environment, and they had every right to believe so.The native inhabitants of the East Sector weren’t detached from the day’s bloodbaths. Clouds of hatred had brewed within the previously bountiful Sector, and it had unleashed itself against the unwanted insects of that very Sector. Determined to keep themselves pure, the angered inhabitants did everything they could to extinguish-or at least subdue-the bugs of their Sector. The old fashioned methods of Earth weren’t utilized here, though. Arts of every element were used against the enemies, ranging from Flame to Thunder. The casting names of Arts pierced the cold air as screams ripped themselves from throats, pleas went by unnoticed and triumphant smiles flooded every home.
Not even Sanctums were safe from the annihilation-High Priests, Priestesses and their Apprentices, if they opposed the new order of the Realm, had their lives taken without a moment to defend themselves. Even children participated in the slaughter, unable to use potent Arts but able to utilize the power of words. One word was a large favorite amongst the children.Burn.The bloodbaths had only come to an end a few minutes ago. The survivors of other Sectors were seeking shelter, running on legs that were no longer suited for walking, let alone running long distances. Bloodied, ravaged bodies were crowding into buildings that were shadows of their former selves, seeking help from their comrades. One particular pair of legs was making its way into a desolate building, one that had the look of a florist shop. The owner of those legs felt as though he had dragged himself through the Demon Abyss, and had no chance of regaining his former spirit. His heart was dangerously about to give out, screaming and pounding against its cage as though it were a desperate prisoner, seeking an escape from an oncoming hunter. Even his veins were pulsating with pain, working as though they were using their last breaths.
His body was no longer his own, torn by the devastation it had witnessed.Seconds went by with strange attributes. They were small elements of life, but to him they were no better than hours. Merciless and cruel they were, taking him closer and closer to his unknown fate. The shoes upon his feet were burning, no longer suitable for efficient use due to the flight they had endured. He realized this as he tripped upon an object and fell to the ground with a violent thud, instantly realizing what had caused his fall. Cobalt blue eyes widened as he looked upon the object-the lifeless body of another victim. Something else became painfully clear as well-its gender was unidentifiable, due to the loss of critical body parts. Carefully he continued to examine the body, tears brimming. His heart came to a violent stop, his mind registering another important fact.
A Flame Wielder must’ve targeted that person’s genitals. They’re nowhere to be found. Chest, lower half of the body-I don’t see a damn thing.
Grief gave birth to a desire for regurgitation. Covering his mouth, he slowly withdrew his presence from the body with wide, sorrowful eyes. Rain water fell from his cobalt blue oceans, hands trembling as his feet slowly carried him further away from the fallen body. Words left his mouth as whispers before he resumed his flight.“I’m sorry.”Burning, bloodied feet dashed into the abandoned florist shop. The owner of those feet fell against a wall, chest heaving and body burning from exertion. Sweat poured down his forehead as he slumped against the wall-instantly realizing that it had become the victim of flames and inscriptions. Words-no, curses-had been splattered all over the black walls, written in blood. He kept his eyes from examining the curses, not bearing a desire to break the remnants of his sanity. The smell of burning corpses and blood was already enough to break him down-why add more to the pot?Ragged breaths tore themselves from his chest. “I feel as though a Flame Wielder used their magic against
me.” he said to himself, his voice even weaker than a breeze.
On the inside and outside, his body screamed for mercy. His clothes, which were once black and elegant, were almost unidentifiable themselves. He looked as though he had dragged himself through the flames of the Abyss-perhaps he could pass for a Flame Wielder’s victim.Seconds passed before he balled his hands into fists. “What am I doing?” he whispered, shivering from the inhospitable atmosphere. The mere fact that he was speaking his thoughts out loud was frightening-never before had he delivered his thoughts into the air, merely keeping them to himself. “I’ve got nothing to be whining about, even though I wish…damn it, I wish…some fucking bastard had burned me to death.”The familiar chime of his communication device entered his ears. That simple sound had now become foreign.And simple operations had become mechanical. With a shivering hand he removed his device from his pocket, surprised that it was still able to hold anything after the torment it had endured. His handheld device was also the recipient of surprise, its small monitor displaying information that brought a microscopic breath of relief. The information of the caller was met with a small, almost invincible smile, and with the press of a small button.
“Sarusan here.” he said, surprised that he was still able to speak. There were several factors that contributed to the difficulty of speaking. His ravaged throat should have been enough to prevent the passage of the word ‘the’.“Good. Glad to see you made it.”“I wouldn’t say that I made it. I’m physically here, but my spirit’s dead. It was left with my sister’s body.”A gasp came from the other end. “You mean to tell me…that Elya didn’t make it? They got to her?”“They most certainly did, the rotting bastards.”He ran a hand through his damp brown hair, releasing a heavy sigh. Tears threatened to overtake him, but somehow he managed to hold them back-in favor of anger. “I tried to save her, but nothing I did helped. A novice Thunder Wielder can’t really do too much against good, old fashioned weaponry.”
His voice was thick with sarcasm, coupled with pain and sadness. His companion took a second to digest his facial expression, the words he had just used, and the death that had just taken place. “Aw man.” he said after a moment of silence, reality weighing upon him as a ton of bricks. “Jeez. I can’t tell you how sorry I am, Ryu. Man, I feel just terrible.”“Yeah, well…”Ryuichi Sarusan’s hoarse, shivering voice was loaded with even greater sorrow and hatred. “I’m not the only one that lost someone out there. A lot of people died out there, Beldan. My pain is only a quarter of the pain that’s out there-and that’s speaking volumes. I’d die for the chance to bring my sister back.”“You said something about ‘old-fashioned weaponry’, am I right?”“That’s correct, good pal of mine. Guardians…they tossed off the usual array of Arts and Tomes…using artillery from Earth’s ages. Don’t know why, don’t care to know why. No reason is good enough to justify what they’ve done.”The sarcasm had died down, but the anger within his voice had become stronger. It erupted as a volcano, bringing his hoarse voice to a surprisingly high volume. “So where’s this angel of yours, Beldan?” he began, rain pouring from his eyes. “Isn’t about time for him to step in, or is he still waiting on his cue?”“Calm down, Ryuichi. I’ve got something to tell ya. I just got the base up and running. Everything’s running smoothly-all systems are a-go.”
His companion’s tone had managed to soften the storm, but the submission was fated to be temporary. “You mean to tell me that you’re ready? Everything’s finally up and running?”“Right you are, my friend. Now all I need to do assemble the players, and our stage will be ready for the play.”The one named Ryuichi scowled, biting his bottom lip. He was straining to keep a lid on his anger-his voice made that apparent. “Are you sure you know what you’re doing? Even if you plan on using Oion telepathy, the Atelier’s got its eyes out. You can’t be too careful, Beldan.”“Come on. Of course I’m sure. They promised me everything’s gonna be fine. They’ve given me that promise at least a thousand times. It wouldn’t hurt to have more faith in them, you know.”
A growl came from the exhausted Sarusan. “My faith in them isn’t suffering. It’s my faith in the rest of this damned world. Damn it, Beldan! I wish your hero would hurry up and get out here!”“Now now. You know what they say. You can’t rush fate, right?”“That’s ‘art’ you son of a-”A second later, his heart dropped to the bottom of his feet.Nausea crashed into his body, transforming his blood into ice.“Ryu? Ryuichi? Are you still there?”The urgent tone of his friend went by undetected. The communication device was no longer of any importance. The building Ryuichi had tossed himself in had become cold, unbearably cold…and the scent of blood had become intolerably heavy…“Help…please help me. Please…h-h-help…”
Wide blue eyes pasted themselves to a hand-a hand that had wrapped itself around his foot. Its fingers, seeking relief, crawled against his leg as silvery black eyes pierced cobalt gems, signaling the inevitable arrival of death. The eyes belonged to a young male, one that possessed a head of short black hair. Ryuichi released a sharp gasp as his eyes took in the other’s body. The male could hardly be identified as a human-his hair had been incinerated, his skin had become deathly pale, and his eyes were no different from the eyes of a lifeless fish. Pushing disgust clear out of the way, sorrow took the responsibility of giving birth to nausea.
Trembling, eyes widened to their limits, he looked upon the frail human.“H-h-h-help…p-p-please…I…n-n-need it…really…”With the press of a button, Ryuichi silenced his communication device. He brought himself to the other’s level, bringing the shivering frame into his arms. Instantly he wished he could perform two actions: kill those that had tormented the young one and heal the young one’s pain. He felt the tremors of the other’s body, felt the other’s hands slowly wrapping themselves around his waist, seeking warmth and comfort…“P-p-please…please help me…”Smiling was excruciatingly difficult. “What do you need? What is it?”The passage of seconds made life even harder.
Ryuichi could barely keep himself from breaking into sobs. “Take…t-t-take this…t-t-to Soto…please…”A shivering, frail hand went into the remnants of a pocket. Realizing the young one’s target, Ryuichi took the opportunity to remove the desired object himself. His heart came to another violent stop as soon as the object was identified. It was a small jewelry box-velvet, to be exact-and inside of it was…The Sarusan found a ring, resting within the satin lining of the box.He felt as though he were about to drown himself.“Please…p-p-p-please…give it to him…”“Give it to who?” Ryuichi whispered, fearing the answer with all of his soul.“S-S-Soto…D-D-Desoto…my Soto. Tell him…I love him…with…everything…I am.”
A bag of bricks fell onto Ryuichi’s heart.“Wait! Wait! Who’s Soto?!”Soto was never identified. Nausea shot through Ryuichi’s body and paralyzed it, rendering him unable to do anything but breathe. The one before him fell limp, eyes open and tears flowing…fated to never see the light of day again. Holding the object that had been entrusted to him, the Sarusan allowed every last one of his tears to flow from his eyes. Rain water seemed to be eternal as it coursed from his eyes, flowing just as birds soared throughout an unhindered sky.“I’m sorry…I’m so sorry…”I’m so sorry…I couldn’t do anything to help. I don’t even know who Desoto is. I’m so sorry.Tears poured and poured. His body shivered, almost convulsive from sorrow.
Mechanically it doubled itself up, turning itself into a ball of grief. “I’m sorry…” he whispered, shivering, tears flowing. “I’m…sorry…”Urgent ringing pierced his ears a minute later. He growled as he whipped out his communication device, giving it a glare that would have incinerated a planet. Pressing a single button, he spoke to his companion as though he had emerged from the Abyss. “What do you want, Beldan?!” he roared, eyes screaming with rain water.His companion, although wounded by the other’s tone, kept up a calm and affectionate tone. The caller knew the atmosphere wasn’t the best type of atmosphere for his friend-that fact also served in the prevention of his wounds displaying themselves. “Listen to
me.” he said urgently, eyes emitting the deepest concern. “Get yourself out of there. That’s not where you should be right now. You’re in danger, kid!”“
Why?! Is it just because I’ll keel over and die from the smells?! I’m not wearing any protective Arts?! Should I even give a damn about myself when so many, included my sister, were just killed! For no reason at all?!”The caller released a soft sigh.I can’t even begin to fathom what you must be going through.“Listen to me, Ryu. We’ve known each other for three years. I know you can’t even stand to see a damn housefly keel over. I know you’re upset. How can you not be?”“You’re damn right I am, Beldan.”The one on the other laughed. “You know, you’ve never cursed so much in your life. From what I can remember, you’ve never really cursed at all.”“Look, you. This is no laughing matter. I’m still pissed off about this ‘hero’ business of yours. Do you even know who this ‘Beacon’ is?! Do you even know what it is?! For all you know, it could be a fucking ghaba! An over bloated, rotten ghaba!”
“Ryuichi, come on. Come on, pal. Calm down and get out of there. For me, will ya?”“Stop telling me to calm down! Fuck you, Beldan! My sister was just mowed down, right in front of my eyes! Gunned down like some beast that deserved to die! Someone just died after he asked me to give a ring to some Desoto, and I don’t even know who the fuck Desoto is! So don’t you dare tell me to calm down again, or I’ll throttle you the next time I-”Another familiar chime fell into his ears. A text message had made its way onto the monitor of his handheld device. Who could be sending him a message at this time?“Ryu, what is it? Something happen?”
Gentle taps of the button revealed the contents of the digital envelope.Ryuichi’s eyes widened with disbelief.“Unidentifiable sender…? That’s never happened before.”“Ryu, what’s going on?”“Someone sent me something, Beldan. And I place great emphasis on ‘someone’. There’s no name.”“What does he want?”“He told me…”Disbelief blossomed in Ryuichi Sarusan’s cobalt eyes.“…it’s beginning.”
“What?”
“He said…’it’s beginning’.”
As the last sentence states, that’s only the beginning of the story. The famed band Nickelback wasn’t the only one responsible for this story’s birth, however. This story came from a wide source of factors-my severe lack of interest in ‘normal’ romance, the absence of a boyfriend, writing stories about friendship during my childhood, my love for the ‘Gravitation’ series, and other factors played a huge role in this story’s creation. As of late, I’ve become thoroughly interested in matters that concern homosexuals. Just a few moments ago, I learned of an event that occurred within Moscow, Russia-thanks to a news feed on the CNN website.http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/europe/05/27/russia.gayrights.reut/index.html?section=cnn_latest
As a budding Activist, it’s good to keep up with the matters you’re concerned about. That’s not the only thing on my mind, though, and I’m out to prove that with ‘Drive’. Our situation with this planet’s animals and plant life isn’t much better than the situation against homosexuals.
Learning of the truth behind meat production has turned me into an organic lover. The truth almost turned me into a vegetarian. And now I understand why PETA fights the way it does, and how vegans can enjoy their lives. We can take comfort in the arms of such organizations like Chipotle, who thoroughly encourage the usage of organic products. If I’m going to eat meat, then I’d rather use it from an animal that wasn’t treated like a piece of garbage, thanks. To this day I find it difficult to eat hamburgers, thanks to what I found out about cows. Wanna know? Well, just imagine being crammed inside of teeny tiny box. Just imagine spending your itty bitty life there, right inside of that teeny tiny box. That’s all you get. That’s only the tip of the iceberg.
Chickens get even ‘better’ treatment. Imagine having your mouth chopped off, then tossed into some garbage bin somewhere. Then you get an even smaller box to spend the rest of your life in, while you’re stuffed with all kinds of yummy things. I bet you wouldn’t enjoy being filled with all kinds of chemicals, now would you? And we enjoy eating these poor, mistreated creatures, who are forced to live in their own waste? How horrid.
Now I shall take the time to reveal my plans behind ‘Drive’. The main characters of my tale are Tobias Halmuron and Mireille Aranai, who affectionately refer to each other as ‘Tobi’ and ‘Princess Mimi’. Withdrawing themselves from the depression and devastation of their previous lives, they enter a new city (known as a Realm) with the hopes of beginning anew. A new beginning is not easily attained, as they quickly find out.
