The Empty Apartment Bed

"Beep Beep Beep!", went Travis' alarm clock. With a lazy wave of his hand, he hit the snooze button, just eager to sleep a little bit more. He didn't recall why he had even set his alarm last night, considering that it was Saturday, and he did not work weekends. Trying to fall back asleep, yet failing at it, Travis finally gave up and just sat up in his bed, still in a drowsy state. He looked to his right, looking for his faithful girlfriend, Emily, who usually was still sleeping before he woke up. The sheets on her side of the bed were undisturbed, and the small dresser where she had set some of her own things was completely barren of any sign that she had been there at all. It looked like it had when they both had moved into the apartment a year ago. Travis froze at this strange sight. "What could possibly have happened?", thought Travis. With a confused look on his face, he looked around the room. The room seemed more empty than usual. While it was true that both he and Emily didn't have much in their bedroom, it now seemed like there was even less. "Emily?" he called out the bedroom door, awaiting a response. But no response came. All was silent. "I've got to still be dreaming or something." he said to himself, hoping that he was right. Travis slowly got up off the bed, standing there in his pajamas, which consisted of a pair of shorts, and a old shirt that he barely wore in public due to its rough condition. He scratched his head of shaggy brown hair, and rubbed his dark brown eyes. He walked slowly out of the bedroom, still a bit sleepy. He glanced around the rest of the apartment. He realized something wasn't right. All of Emily's things were gone. Not a single thing left that he knew belonged to his beloved girlfriend. Travis froze, still trying to comprehend the scene in front of him.

 

           At that moment, he spotted something out of the corner of his eye. It was a piece of paper, sitting on the kitchen counter. It clearly was only a half piece of paper, considering the rip marks on the one edge of the paper. He walked over to the counter, and picked up the paper. It had something written on it in neat handwriting. Looking closer, he realized it had Emily's handwriting on it. He began reading. "Dear Travis," it said, "I can no longer be with you. As much as it hurts me to say this, I don't love you anymore, at least not like the way I used to. I know this will be hard for you to hear, and I can't begin to imagine how painful this will be for you. The spark in our relationship went out much farther back than you, or even I, ever thought it would. I did my best to make it work, and I have no doubt in my mind that you tried as well. Things just didn't work out the way we thought they would. There were nights that I just laid in our bed together, with you already passed out, thinking about us. I thought about our future together, and if we had gotten married and had kids, as well as us growing old together. But of course, reality hit me. We are both on two completely different paths in life. I wanted us to work, truly I did, but looking towards the future, I can't have a relationship in this career I am currently pursuing. I need to focus on my work, and I hope you can understand that. There were times, I will admit, that I wanted to forget that, and just stay with you. Unfortunately, we can't all just live out our dreams exactly the way we want them to. Our love and our relationship was important to me, but we both have to move on from this. I have already, and I hope you are able to as well. I won't forget the comfort and love that you gave to me, and I hope that you will not forget mine. These two years that we spent together were some of the best times of my life, but we can no longer live in the past. The past fades slowly, and the future comes quick. Those are words that I have recently come to live by. I hope you live a happy and successful life. Maybe someday we will meet again. But for now, this is the end. I have changed my number, and have left for New York. I will pursue my career there, looking for my dream job. Who knows exactly if I will find it or not? I wish you the best of luck in your future. Goodbye my love, for you are one person in my life who I will never truly forget. Love, Emily." Travis read the letter through multiple times, still having trouble comprehending this situation he was now placed in. He was alone, all alone, in the apartment where he had shared so many memories with Emily. He pulled out his phone, and called her number, still thinking that there was no possible way for this to be real. "The number you are trying to reach has been disconnected. Please hang up and try again.", said the recorded voice on Emily's line. "This can't be real.", he said to himself. He threw his phone down on the couch, and sat down beside it. Travis buried his face in his hands, thinking hard about what the letter had said. After a few minutes of deep thought, he stood up again. He walked over to the window in his apartment, and looked out to the city. His apartment was high up, so he had quite a view of the city. Looking down, he saw lights. Lights of cars in the streets, of streetlights on the corners, and the neon signs of entrances to restaurants or other businesses. He wondered if Emily was down there, just walking around, trying to find herself. When did she leave last night? Did I just miss her? Can I still catch up with her? ,  he thought to himself. He sighed, knowing it would be no use. She was out of his life for good now, and there was nothing he could do to change that. Turning away from the window, he sulked over to the fridge, and pulled out three beers. Closing it, he looked up on the fridge. His heart sank. Emily had forgotten something before she had left. It was a picture of the two of them held on the fridge by a magnet backed frame, happy as can be, with Travis kissing her on the cheek. He pulled the picture and the frame off the fridge, and  tossed it across the room. The frame hit the wall and broke, causing the photo to fall onto the floor, face-up. Travis dragged himself over to the couch, and sat down, opened one of his beers with a bottle opener, and took a swig. The taste was as familiar as it had been to him before, when he was still with Emily, when they had shared their drinks. With Emily gone, it was his only method of comforting himself. He took another drink, savoring the taste. This was now his life of loneliness. It would not be easy to find someone like Emily again, and he knew this, from the bottom of his lonely heart. Taking another drink, this one longer than the last two, he buried his face in his hands, and cried. He cried, while taking times in between to take another drink of his only way to cope. He soon finished his first bottle, and without hesitation, he popped open another one. He dug into his pocket, looking for his phone, but found something else. It was a small box, designed to hold jewelry. He opened the lid, and there it sat. The engagement ring he had been planning to give her on their next date. With tears rolling down his face, he let the box fall out of his hand to the floor, landing on its side. He took a huge swig of his new beer, and let it clang down hard on the table, when he put it back down. After he finished his second bottle, he popped open his third. Looking at it, he said through sobbing, "Two down, many more to go.", and took a drink.

 

                                                                                     

A Glacial Tundra - Chapter 1

 

Chapter One - The New World

 

 

          Garrow looked out the window of his small, yet cozy home. The ground was still covered in snow. He didn't really expect much difference. Outside had been that way for many years now. Many years before he, as well as his friends, were even born, the world was in a rough state. The weather kept getting unnaturally cold, and no matter what scientists did, they soon realized they could not stop the inevitable. This event was the next Ice Age. In the span of several days during the beginning of the month of December, the world soon became covered in a very thick blanket of snow. Obviously, humans were not prepared for this to happen, and many perished in this event. The technology of the world had mostly been frozen solid, so humans had to get used to living a more primitive lifestyle. Garrow grew up this way from birth, and knew nothing else but that. Coming back to reality, he heard the sound of the door opening and closing, with the subtle gust of the wind going on outside. "Brrr... it's cold out there!" said a familiar voice. Garrow turned from the chair he was sitting in to see who had just walked in. It was a boy about Garrow's age, 18, with brown eyes, and black hair. "Oh really now Colt, I had no idea." said Garrow sarcastically, with a grin on his face. The boy frowned, clenching his fists. "I told you! My name is Coltanis! Not Colt! You know I hate that nickname..." Garrow smiled. Colt was one of his friends from the village they lived in. After the Ice Age started, people began forming villages in order to create some sense of community in the newly frozen world. Eventually, when the children grew old enough, they left the homes of their parents, and formed their own villages to display their independence. Garrow lived in a village with most of his friends, and enjoyed it very much. It was nice seeing a bunch of familiar faces every day, knowing well that these people could be relied on. "I know dude, I know. You know I'm just messing with you right?" he said. Coltanis swung his arm with a friendly punch to Garrow's shoulder. "I know man, I know. Hey, the guys are outside. We were going to go hunting. You wanna go?" Garrow thought for a moment. While he did want to go hunting, he did want to visit the girls of the village later. He was friends with all of them, but especially wanted to see two of his closest friends, Ellwyn and Diamera. He also wanted to see some of the others, but mainly these two. "Sure dude, let's go!" The two boys gathered their necessary gear, which consisted of daggers for each of them, as well as a bow and arrows, and went out the door, making sure to shut it behind them.

          It took Coltanis and Garrow a while to find the others, due to a minor snowstorm blowing around that day. The chilly wind was blowing the snow diagonally, but the two boys only struggled a bit, due to it being something they dealt with several times a week. Obviously, with the drastic changes from the new Ice Age, the boys wore bulkier clothing to keep warm. Fur from skinned animals was often used as the main source for this clothing. Garrow and Coltanis, as well as the other boys usually wore large fluffy wolf fur coats, with a evenly not too-thin and not too-thick white hare fur shirt underneath. Soon, the two boys spotted familiar figures not too far off in the distance. Then, all of a sudden, their view changed. A giant white figure had appeared near the group of boys. Garrow and Coltanis ran over to help, but stopped in their tracks as soon as they realized what it was. It was a polewolf, a mixed breed of a polar bear and a wolf. It had the bulky body of a polar bear, but had the speed of a wolf. It's face was shaped like a bear's, but had the characteristics of a wolf's, like it's sharp, cold and piercing eyes, as well as it's large black nose. It was a fearsome creature indeed in this new Ice Age. The animal's eyes were red with rage, and was circling the boys, looking for an opening to attack. Garrow pulled out his dagger, while Coltanis readied his bow with an arrow, set to fire. With precise aim, Coltanis shot an arrow right into the side of the polewolf's thick neck. Roaring in pain, the creature scanned the area, looking for which of these foolish boys would even dare to fire at such a creature as powerful and deadly as it was. Thankfully, this was exactly what the other boys were looking for: a moment to fight back. One boy with a skinned wolf fur covering from the top of his head to the bottom of his back charged forward tossing his dagger at the fearsome creature. It hit the side of the polewolf's head, but didn't stick. Bouncing off the large nose of the polewolf, the boy's dagger landed in the snow. The polewolf took notice to the dagger, which only felt like a toothpick poking it in the side of its head. It turned, towards the direction of the dagger thrower. Two of the other boys began firing arrows from their own bows at the creature, who appeared to be ready to charge the dagger-less boy. The arrows stuck in the polewolf's neck like Coltanis', but were unfortunately not fatal shots. The polewolf began to charge at the boy, but just before it got close enough to take a bite out of the boy with the wolf pelt hood, the creature jerked its head back, let out a loud yelp, and fell forward, with blood coming out of the top of his head. The cause for this bleeding, came from a dagger stabbed into the now dead polewolf's head, at the spot that most likely rested just above the creature's brain. The boy who had almost became polewolf food glanced up to see one of the boys standing on top of the polewolf's head. The dagger was obviously his, as the boy pulled it out of the creature's head. "Well that was fun." he said. His name was Andros, a boy just a year older than the others, and had green eyes, with short brown hair. He was a bulky-looking guy, and grinned as he looked at his kill from atop it's head. Andros jumped down from the polewolf, and went over to help the boy in from of the polewolf up. He extended his hand out to the boy, and he grasped it. "Thanks Andros, I thought I was gonna be that ugly mutt's snack." said the boy, still wearing the wolf pelt on his head. Kerrick, the boy's name, was a average-sized young adult, with blue eyes and short blond hair. He was often the group's loudmouth, but the other boys still treated him as their brother. "Don't mention it, Kerrick. I know you would have done the same for me." Kerrick chuckled. 'True, but I'm not crazy enough to even dare to climb atop something that huge." Andros and a few of the other boys began laughing as well. It was at that point that Garrow and Coltanis had finally made it over to the others. Besides Coltanis firing the one arrow at the polewolf, they hadn't done much else except run towards the boys to help up close. When they had finally arrived, the polewolf had been killed. "Whoa! Awesome job guys! You took down a polewolf! Guess we won't be hungry for a long time now!" said Garrow, with an enthusiastic smile on his face. "Hold on", said Coltanis. "What is that?" He pointed at something on the polewolf's neck. Everyone glanced over, and couldn't believe what they saw. It was a collar. A collar that they had not noticed before, or had ever seen on any creature in the arctic wilderness. The boys crept closer to it, but jumped back a moment later. A small circle on the collar opened up, and a blue light shot out. A figure formed from the blue light, and soon, in hologram form, was a tall and thin man with grey eyes, and extremely pale skin. The man had slightly long, shaggy snow white hair, with a beard and mustache to match. He wore white robes, and stood with his arms tucked into his robes like a monk would. He had a solemn, yet also stern, look on his face. "Greetings gentlemen, I am known as Caelus. It would seem that you have killed my faithful pet polewolf. Pity." The boys were at a loss for words. This man owned such a creature? "Hold on a second." said Coltanis. "Caelus is the name of one of the first Roman gods of the sky." The hologram Caelus chuckled. "Very good boy. I am not the actual god however. But I am close enough to it." This thoroughly angered one of the boys. Derrus was his name. He was an average sized boy, with short brown hair and brown eyes, and was quite intelligent. He did not like that this white-haired man claimed to be almost a god. "What the hell is that supposed to mean? You're just a human, just like us. What makes you any better than us?" Caelus chuckled at this statement. "Oh my dear boy, you know nothing. Nothing at all. Fools, that's all you are. Each and every one of you." Caelus put his right hand out, and displayed it palm-side up. His hand tensed up, with his fingers curling almost to make a fist, and out of thin air, a floating ball of snow appeared in his hand. It was not compressed like a snowball. It was instead encased in what appeared to be a small bubble of some sort, with little bits of snow circling the bubble. The boys all gasped. How could this man do such a thing? In this primitive planet they now lived on, how could anyone possibly have that much power? "What the hell are you?" spat one of the boys. His name was Serith, and while he was younger than most of the other boys, he fit in just fine. He had short black hair, brown eyes, and was decently strong. Yelling at Caelus now, Serith's fists were clenched, angry at this man who just seemed to keep toying with them. Caelus spoke back with a evil grin on his face, "If you mere mortals must know, I am a member of the group that goes by the name The Sub-Zero. We Sub-Zero are much more different than you pathetic ordinary folk, and will one day conquer all of this icy planet, eliminating all mortals, especially the ones who foolishly attempt to stand in our way." The man in white clenched his fist, causing the ball of floating snow to dissipate into thin air. "And now you gentlemen have been added to the list for killing my precious pet. If you can take down such a powerful creature, you are a threat in the eyes of the Sub-Zero. Consider yourselves warned." Kerrick yelled back at Caelus, furious at this crazy old man's decision to have them killed just for killing the man's precious pet, which clearly tried to kill them in the first place, "So just because we defended ourselves from your precious poley-wolfy, now we are going to die?!?" Caelus smiled once again. He seemed to do a lot of that, probably because of his belief that he was far more superior to these "average" people. "Precisely. However, we Sub-Zero are not as savage and primitive as you, so therefore we do not intend to kill you in such a way. Besides, we have better ways to deal with pests than just wipe them out so quickly." Garrow finally spoke up. "What exactly do you mean by that?" Grinning once more, Caelus responded to the brown-haired boy. "Oh you shall see soon enough. Farewell for now." The hologram of Caelus flickered, and disappeared in moments. The boys glanced around at one another. They were now all very confused, and at the same time, a little bit scared. What had they brought upon them? If they had not killed that polewolf, it would likely have killed them all. Had that been Caelus' plan the whole time? To entice them into becoming targets by the Sub-Zero by setting his pet loose on them? The boys discussed the whole issue with constant interruptions, as well as pointing the blame towards others. "Nice job killing Caelus' precious pup, Andros!" yelled Kerrick, obviously still angry at what Caelus had said, and was taking it out on Andros. "Hey! I'm the one who saved your sorry ass from being that "pup's" next snack, so you should be thanking me!" spouted back Andros. "For what? Dooming us to a fate worse than that? Oh yeah, I'm real grateful for that." argued Kerrick. The two boys were in each others faces now and it looked like a fight might break out. "Guys, stop it! Just stop!", called Garrow. The two feuding boys took no notice. It was at that point that he had had enough of this. "ENOUGH!", bellowed Garrow. "We have just recently learned of this new threat to us, one that clearly wants us wiped out, and what do we do? We argue! Don't you see what this is doing? We are playing right into the hands of Caelus and his group, the...uh...what was their name again?" He scratched his head, trying to recall the name. "The Sub-Zero.", responded one of the boys. His name was Jaross, but all the boys had called him "The Mountain" from a young age, thanks to his last name. With a stern look on his face with its short brown hair and brown eyes, The Mountain looked around at all the boys, now staring at him. "Thank you Jaross.", Garrow turned back towards Andros and Kerrick, who had ceased arguing at his outburst. He still called The Mountain by his real name from time to time, especially when things were serious. "Anyways, we are playing right into their hands by arguing like this. They would have discovered us eventually anyways. They will easily exterminate us if we fall apart by fighting. Our only choice is for us all to stick together. Otherwise, we have no chance at all of surviving." The two boys looked down at the ground, thinking about what their friend had said. Kerrick turned back towards Andros, and extended his hand. "Sorry for snapping on you like that, dude. The whole pressure of this new situation just got to me. We good?". Andros stood there for a moment, and then smiled, extending his own hand to shake Kerrick's. They both shook hands, and he responded with a hearty " We're good." Garrow smiled, happy to see his two feuding friends make up. "Let's get back to the village, and tell the girls all about this. I hope they take it well." The girls were a tough bunch, but he was still not sure how they would react to the whole situation.

            Back at the small village, the girls were all gathered inside the meeting house. It had become routine for the boys to meet them there with the meat they gathered from hunts. Since a few of the boys had mentioned that they were planning on hunting that day, they had just decided to wait in the meeting house. Naressa and Rachelle, two of the girls, were chatting on the makeshift couch that they all had created for the time being till they could find something better. Diamera and Ellwyn, two of the quieter girls, were relaxing, enjoying the time they had to just sit back and do nothing. The other girls were spread throughout the meeting house, doing a wide variety of things. "Hope the boys make it back soon.", said Ellwyn, glancing out one of the windows. Diamera chuckled, putting her feet up on a table, blowing her brunette bangs away from her face, "They'll be fine, Ellwyn. They've done this plenty of times before, and dealt with  plenty of danger. They know nearly everything out there, what would possibly be different about this one time?" The brunette with dark brown eyes, and lightly tanned skin, looked out the window again, then back at Diamera. "Yeah, you're probably right." Ellwyn looked back down at the floor, obviously still worried. "Damn straight." said Diamera, with a smile on her face, as she rested her head on the back of the chair. Ellwyn glanced back up at Diamera again, and decided to follow her example by taking a nap. She rested her head back, and closed her eyes, hoping this nap would ease her worried feelings. Unfortunately, that nap never came. The door to the meeting house burst open, startling everyone. "Group meeting! Now!" bellowed Garrow. The other boys rushed in behind him. Diamera got up slowly from her chair, obviously not happy about having her nap cut short, and walked on over. Ellwyn was a bit cranky as well, but figured she could have time later to make up her nap. "What's so damn important that you have to slam the door open? Some of us were trying to sleep." said Diamera, glancing at Ellwyn at the end of her statement, looking for someone to back her up. Ellwyn caught Diamera's glance at her, not sure how to respond. "Yeah, but it's got to be pretty important, since they burst in like that. What's up boys?" she said, glancing back over at Garrow and the others. Before Garrow could speak, one of the other boys ran out in front. "A group of powerful people is after us now, and want us all dead!" This boy's name was Regal, and was a few years younger than the others. He had a bit of a husky body, with brown curly hair, and light blue eyes. As seen by his statement, he sometimes blurted things out at the wrong time. The result from Regal's statement caused an uproar. The girls all gasped and exchanged frightened looks. Some appeared more frightened than others, so some of the more calm ones tried to comfort the not-so calm girls. "QUIET!" bellowed Garrow. The room became completely silent. All that could be heard was the sound of the wind outside, blowing some of the loose snow around. Everyone turned towards the obviously agitated Garrow. "What the hell is Regal talking about, Garrow?" demanded Diamera. With her brown eyes to match her brown hair, Diamera had the appearance and attitude of a tough girl. She wanted to know exactly what was going on, and didn't want to wait any longer. "Now that everyone is quiet, I will tell you." responded Garrow, glaring at Regal for a moment. He told them the whole story of what had happened on their hunt, and everything that Caelus had said. The eyes of the girls grew wider with every detail. Once Garrow was done speaking, all the girls, including Diamera, had worried looks on their faces. The first girl to speak up was Ellwyn. "So what does this mean? Are we just going to wait here till they come and wipe us all out? I sure as hell don't want to." she said. She didn't plan on giving up that easy, and hoped that the others would agree with her. "I agree." said Diamera, "Those cold heartless bastards won't take us down that easily. I say we fight back." The other girls chimed in, agreeing with Diamera and Ellwyn. Garrow smiled, and called out to everyone in the room. "Exactly the attitude I wanted to hear! Everyone start getting weapons ready! Let's show this Sub-Zero group that we won't go down so easily!" Everyone cheered, and spread out, looking for supplies to gather. Garrow remained standing where he was, and it appeared he wasn't the only one. Diamera was standing still, with her arms folded, and a small smile on her face. She strolled casually over to Garrow and stood by him. "I hope you know what you're doing, Garrow." she said glancing around at the others, then back at him. Garrow glanced around at everyone, who were gathering food and other supplies, including weapons. Spears, bows and arrows, and small daggers comprised most of their weapons.  They would hopefully find more off bodies of Sub-Zero members that they killed. The boy sighed, hoping all these fine young adolescents were up to the task. "I hope so too, Diamera. I hope so too." he said, glancing back at her, one of his closest female friends, with a small smile on his face to match hers.

          Caelus walked up the white hallway of the castle that the Sub-Zero resided in. The walls displayed portraits of the higher ranked members of the group, and carried torches containing blue fire. The whole place had a real "royal" look to it. He was smiling walking down the hallway, with his arms still tucked into his robes. "What foolish children." he thought. "It will be a pleasure wiping each one of them out. But first, we must hurt them where it really hurts. Their loved ones." He knew exactly who to talk to. He had to ask permission from the head of the Sub-Zero, his master and leader, Boreas. This man took the name of the Greek God of winter and the North Wind. It was quite common for the members to take names from ancient gods. Boreas ruled the Sub-Zero with a cold and dark rule, very rarely showing compassion, only thinking what was best for himself, and the Sub-Zero. "Greetings my lord." said Caelus, as he walked up to the throne of his mighty ruler. He bowed at the bottom of the several steps leading up to Boreas' solid ice throne. Two pale-skinned women cloaked in white dresses stood by the throne, one on each side. Holding his mighty white staff, complete with four solid ice prongs at the top of it, Boreas answered his humble follower. "Speak." he said, with a chilling tone to his voice. He was dressed in snow white robes, much like Caelus', but more royal-like. Upon his head, he wore a crown with several sharp icicles attached, to symbolize his status in the Sub-Zero as their fearless and heartless leader. His skin was pale, like Caelus', but was a much more pure form of white, as if to match the snow outside the castle. With his short white beard, he awaited a response. Caelus answered, "I have discovered others, my lord. Others outside our lands, ones not as pure as us, who live a much more primitive lifestyle than our own. They are mere adolescents, but know well enough how to fight. They killed my precious pet polewolf, who was only out hunting. They must pay for what they have done, for even daring to try to make themselves appear better than the obvious superior race, which is clearly the Sub-Zero." Boreas listened to what the man in white said, and after a brief pause responded. "What is it you ask of me then?" Caelus answered, with a fire in his eyes. "I ask my lord, for you to give me permission to send an army of our soldiers to attack a village. Not their village, mind you. I intend to make them hurt where it really hurts, the one where their loved ones reside. I want them to suffer before we wipe them off the face of this cold, dark world that we live in. Do I have your permission, my lord?" He glanced up at the face of Boreas, eager to hear an answer. "Do what you must, my brother. Make them suffer for what they have done to such a noble race as us. Wipe them all out. Every last one of them." said Boreas, with power in his cold and cruel voice. Caelus smiled, thanking his king, "As you wish my lord. I thank you for allowing me to do this and I will not fail you. I will summon the troops at once." He bowed once more, and turned to leave the room. As he left the royal chamber, Caelus smiled an evil smile. Everything was going according to plan. The extinction of the primitive race of normal humans was inevitable, and he planned on making it a point with this massacre, to show those foolish children what the Sub-Zero could really do.

Alone in the City (A Bioshock Story) Chapter 2

Chapter 2

 

          Paul began using his telekinesis power to levitate a book that had been lying on the floor. The cover was singed from the explosion, and the binding was falling apart, but it was still readable. He knew he would soon have to inject EVE, the fuel that refueled his power, if he kept just using it to toss objects in the house around. ADAM was the reason he had gained the power of telekinesis, but it was only for that purpose. Without EVE, the power would not work. The scientific reasoning behind it was unknown to Paul, but he just went with it. He flashbacked again to when his parents had first given him money to go and buy a Plasmid. He was hesitant at first with doing it after seeing what Plasmids had done to people, but just accepted that it was a choice that had to be made. He knew about all the side effects, with the  repulsive facial deformities and descending into insanity, but was not worried. He knew it was inevitable to have one to survive against the splicers, the people who had lost their minds from becoming addicted to ADAM. While they could be fought off with firearms, he had seem that would result in an unfortunate end without having a Plasmid equipped along with it, after once seeing his one Plasmid-less neighbor overpowered by a dozen or so splicers. He had also given up on the hope long ago of Rapture ever being restored to it's former glory, and was prepared for the worst. When he arrived at the Gatherer's Garden, he heard the familiar advertisement. "My daddy's smarter than Einstein, stronger than Hercules, and lights a fire with a SNAP of his fingers! Are you as good as my daddy, Mister? Not if you don't visit the Gatherer's Garden, you aren't! Smart daddies get spliced, at the Gardens!" Ignoring the voice, Paul looked inside at his choices. Electro Bolt, Incinerate, and Winter Blast were just a few of these choices he could choose from. He remembered seeing in brawls between splicers outside, and with what carnage and gore those plasmids could cause, he decided to look for something a bit..."cleaner". At that moment, he spotted the Telekinesis Plasmid. He had made his choice. Telekinesis was the one he wanted. While it could still cause a decent amount of bodily harm, it was better in his mind to use that rather than frying someone's eyes out of their sockets with Electro Bolt, or igniting someone with Incinerate, engulfing them in flames. No, he was going to survive in Rapture, and this was the Plasmid for him. He paid for it, and went home.

          Paul came back to reality, hearing a loud brawl going on outside. He peered out one of the openings between the boards. "It's mine! MIINE!" yelled a female splicer, pulling on a can of potted meat. "No it's mine, you stupid bitch!" yelled a male splicer, pulling on the other end. The female pulled out a pistol from a side pocket, and shot the male point-blank in the forehead. The male jerked back, and fell over dead, causing a pool of blood to form on the floor. The female splicer cackled, and ran off with the can. It was a sad state of affairs with how things had become in Rapture, and Paul knew this from seeing events like the previous brawl occur daily, much more often than he wanted. He looked back from the small peephole, and sat back down in the slightly charred chair. "I have to leave this place...there's too many memories here in this house..." he said to himself. Getting up out of the chair, he looked around at what was left in his house. The bodies of his family members still laid where they had before, since he refused to disturb their bodies. Decaying on their unburied graves, Paul walked right past them, trying not to look at what used to be his family. He had to find some supplies somewhere before he left. He began to scavenge throughout the cupboards, looking for anything that would help him survive in the mad world just outside. After searching, he had found only the shotgun he had fired at his brutish father, ammo for the shotgun, several EVE Hypos, and a few First Aid Kits. What else could he possibly need? A friend would be nice... thought Paul. If only everyone in this damn city hadn't lost their goddamn minds to ADAM... Deep down, he hated the fact that he was immune to the side effects of ADAM. He had seen so many others besides his family lose it, and he had made himself basically immune to feelings and emotions, now that he had lost so much. What was there to care about besides himself anyways in this wreckage of a city? Paul looked around once more for anything else he might need. He spotted a small radio that his father had used at his old job to talk back and forth with his fellow workers, and he went over and grabbed it, and attached it to his belt. Who he would be able to contact with it, he did not know. Maybe... he thought. Maybe hearing someone else's, anyone else's voice, will make me feel just a bit better, knowing that there is someone else in this horrible city that hasn't completely lost it yet... Turning it on, he listened for any other voices, longing to hear someone else on the other end of the radio static. Nothing at all. All of a sudden, he heard another noise outside. It was a male splicer, moping around, singing a church song. "Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so. Little ones to him belong, they are weak but he is strong!" The splicer walked off down another hallway, yet Paul could still hear him singing. Oh the church... thought Paul. He himself had never been that religious, but at a time where he had nothing left, he wished he could find one of these holy places in this mess of a city, so he could finally feel calm for once. Most of the churches, however, had become hosts to cults like the Saturnines, who were a bunch of Houdini, or able to teleport, splicers who wore masks made of twigs, straw, and leaves and worshipped ancient Roman gods, as well as nature. They were crazy enough that members within the cult would often end up getting into fights with one another, as well as do very strange things like drink human blood or make cocktails that contained a variety of Plasmids, which the members called ambrosia. Paul did not want to get caught up in that, so he would do his best to avoid the cult.

          While it seemed that Paul had all his gear ready, he still kept thinking to himself, What happens when I leave here? To what used to be my home? My family's bodies just get looted and tossed around like nothing? He had to leave this dump, but he had so many memories here. This was where he had lived for the past several years or so. He also couldn't stand the idea of other splicers just looting through his family's pockets just to find little "trinkets" or whatever it was that they were looking for. He finally knew what he had to do. If he was going to leave this place forever, he wouldn't let anyone else find the house. He looked around for something to use to cause the roof to collapse and cave in. Unfortunately, he could not find anything that would cause this to happen. All of a sudden, he had an idea. The roof itself, was already weakened due to the several years that Paul and his family had stayed there. His father had always warned him to be careful about the roof, as he had been a construction worker back up above, and knew which boards mainly supported the roof. Paul prepped his gear and prepared to leave. He stood by the boarded up entrance, and prepared to leave once and for all. Taking a quick glance out the small opening between the two boards, Paul saw no splicers around. However, a noise this loud would definitely cause the splicers to come running, as it was in their primal nature. Paul knew he would either have to hide, or run when he stepped out of the house. Either way, he was in for a fight. It was time for Paul to finally leave this cramped house, and eventually leave Rapture as well. He aimed his Plasmid hand at the roof, and let a burst of Telekinesis out at the main boards. In an instant, one board had been ripped off the roof, and floated just feet from Paul's hand. Dropping the board, Paul prepared to rip another board off. He let out another burst, and another board was removed. After dropping another board, Paul leaned back against the boarded up entrance to the house, which he had made himself. Since he did not inherit the knowledge of proper structure building from his father, it was quite poorly crafted. Thankfully, the splicers had not figured this out. He knew one good shove would make the boards break off, creating an opening to escape. He prepped for the last board removal. He could already hear the board straining and creaking from not having the other boards to help it hold up the apartment above. He was surprised, but also impressed at how the roof still stayed supported, minus two large supporting boards. Paul knew he would have to act fast if he wanted to get out before being buried in the rubble from the above apartment. Paul walked over to the other end of the apartment, facing the doorway. He did not have as much room as he wanted, but hoped it would be enough. He charged towards the door, while at the same time, using one last burst of Telekinesis to pull off the last wooden board. In what seemed like slow-motion, Paul hit the boarded wall, and heard two things. The sound of a caving in rooftop, and the sound of boards breaking.

          Paul burst out from the apartment just in time. Looking back, he watched his escape entrance soon blocked by a large pile of rubble. "Well...no one's getting in there ever again...", he said out loud to himself. "That's where you're wrong, buddy!" called a voice. Paul turned, and to his horror, saw a Brute Splicer, the same kind of creature his father had become on the night Paul's world became absolute hell. A few shotgun blasts would take care of it, but not soon enough before the Brute would be able to create another entrance to Paul's old home, allowing anyone, or anything, to get in. Paul aimed for the splicer's head, hoping that he could get lucky with one shot, and blow the creature's head off. The Brute roared, preparing to charge. But just before he pulled the trigger, someone else did. Someone who had a different gun. In a blink of his eyes, there was now a hole, point-blank, through the Brute Splicer's head. The Brute appeared to be as surprised as Paul was for a moment, before finally falling forward, dead. Paul glanced over in the direction where he had heard the shot come from. Standing there, was a girl, who looked about his age. Her face was partially covered by her tangled, dirty brown hair, although Paul could just tell by the look of her that she was an ADAM user. She had brown eyes, with a tiny smile on her face, and wore what looked like the remains of an old checkered blue dress. The dress was tattered, torn, and quite dirty from what Paul could tell. She appeared to be satisfied with her kill, but turned her attention to Paul, and walked forward a few steps towards him. Before Paul could say anything, she spoke first, with the Mona Lisa-like smile still on her face. "Well? Aren't you gonna thank me? I just saved your ass from that lumbering brute." She still smiled, and Paul was not quite sure why. Maybe she was just teasing him. Snapping out of his gaze, Paul responded. "Oh yeah...umm, thanks...for the help, I guess..." The girl still smiled. What is her deal? thought Paul. The girl giggled, but not like a typical giddy schoolgirl giggle. It was more of a calm, cool, and collected giggle, one that didn't make the girl seem so flirty. She said to Paul. "You're welcome, hun. My name's Dana, by the way. What's yours?" "Paul." he said. "It's Paul." The girl still kept that same tiny smile on her face, like it was frozen that way. "You don't say much, do you Paul? Well, at least you're not infected, so that's a plus. Now come on, let's find somewhere safer to talk. "She grabbed Paul's hand, and yanked him to follow along. In that moment, Paul saw the covered half of the girl Dana's face, as she turned her head quickly, sending her hair back out from her face. It was covered in several small scars, as well as what looked like the start of a rash, like Paul had seen on other splicers. But this girl was different. She still seemed sane. As he let the girl drag him along, he glanced back, at what used to be his home, for one, last, time.

END OF CHAPTER TWO

Gameboys and Girlfriends (Chapter 1)

              He was a gamer, she was not. Skylar Woods had always loved playing video games since he got his first handheld system when he was six. Evelyn Maures had never played a single video game in her life, and despised them with all her heart. She saw no purpose for wasting time pressing buttons, playing a game that would have absolutely no impact on her life whatsoever. How she and Skylar had ended up together was something that many of their friends questioned. But as it has always been said, opposites attract. They were both now 19, but they had met back in high school.

             Skylar had always had a crush on her, ever since he first saw her in the beginning of freshman year. They were not in the same homeroom, yet somehow the school had placed them in the same class as if by destiny. English class was where he first laid his eyes on her. Her long, flowing brown hair, and her dazzling brown eyes were what caught Skylar's attention that first day of English class. The teacher began with rambling on about the same old stuff that teachers did every year with their new class. The whole "I hope we have a great year together.", and how "We have a lot of work to get done."; simple nonsense like that. Skylar was surveying the room looking to see if any of his old friends from middle school were in his class, as everyone usually does the beginning of the year. Then, he noticed Evelyn. He was in absolute awe at the beauty of this girl. She wasn't all dolled up, like many of the other freshman girls in his class, as well as the whole grade were. She had that look of just plain beauty, something that he simply had to admire. He wondered how many of the other guys in the class had noticed this, and soon figured that since she was so beautiful, she would be nabbed by some other guy before Skylar could even speak to her. He glanced away from her, and turned to face the teacher. She was still ranting about the same old stuff, but it was the only thing he could do to distract himself from looking back over at Evelyn again. The class bell soon rang, and Skylar got up, ready to get out of there quick. He was quiet and shy, and was worried about what he could possibly say to introduce himself. He was so caught up in thinking about this, that he didn't notice himself walking straight into her, bumping her shoulder causing her to drop her several books. "Oh my god! I'm so sorry!" burst out Skylar, panicking, believing he had completely screwed up his chance completely, and hated himself on the inside for making himself look like such an idiot. He started to bend down to help her pick up her books. "It's fine, just watch where you're going." said Evelyn, with a slightly stern voice. One that someone would most likely compare to sounding like a strict librarian. Skylar took this response as a slap to the face, and bent back up. He then turned and ran out the door of the classroom, leaving Evelyn there still with her books on the floor. He felt so embarrassed for making himself look like such a fool in front of such a beautiful girl. He ran down the hallway, off to his next class, not caring if a hall monitor tried to stop him. He wanted to get as far away as possible, and wanted the day to be over. He just wanted to go home, turn on his Gameboy SP, and play some Pokémon Sapphire. He would then be able to take his mind off of Evelyn, and her wondrous beauty.

 

                 A year had passed since that day, and Skylar had focused more on spending time with his friends rather than worry about relationships and girls. While he did catch glances of Evelyn throughout the year, he tried to put her out of his mind. He had never gotten over how embarrassing he had acted, and regretted his actions every day. "Why didn't I just help her? Why did I freak out so much? And WHY did I run away?" It constantly ate at him, but he never told his friends about it. While they were his friends, he feared that somehow word would get back to Evelyn, and he would become even more embarrassed. Unfortunately for him, fate had another plan to get him and Evelyn to meet once again. It was Social Studies Period 4 that started it all. The class was assigned a group project, and the teacher announced that she would choose the groups randomly. As always, the class groaned at the idea, as it would decrease their chances of being able to work with their friends, or even worse, pair them up with people that they have a strong dislike for. The teacher chose by having everyone write their names on small slips of paper, and put them into a plastic bucket that would normally be used at the beach. The teacher began pulling slips out, and as always, there were those few who did end with their friends, who cheered and hollered at hearing their partnership being announced. Skylar was zoning out, and attempting to avoid looking at Evelyn. He was so paranoid that he believed if he kept looking, she would think he was a creep, and then have no desire to get to know him. Then, as fate would have it, he heard the five words he dreaded to hear. "Skylar Woods and Evelyn Maures!" said the teacher in a booming voice. Skylar froze, and had no idea of how to react. Yes, he was super happy that they were paired up together, but at the same time was terrified of making himself looking like even more of a fool. He then noticed a figure of someone walking over to his desk. It was Evelyn, and he sat there agape as she sat down. She smiled at him, and said jokingly, "You're not gonna run off again, are you? We both need partners, you know." Skylar had no idea of how to answer, and just responded with a monotone "Uh-huh." Evelyn chuckled at this, and smiled again. "Well, I think this should an interesting partnership." She patted him on the back, got up from the seat, and walked back to her desk, as it was nearing the end of class, and they were all getting ready to leave. "What did she mean by 'interesting partnership'?" thought Skylar, panicking a little bit inside. He was thrilled that now he was going to be working with the girl of his dreams, but worried that he would just make himself look like even more of a loser in her eyes by behaving like some quiet little outcast.

 

               The next day in Period 4, Evelyn walked by Skylar and tossed a small folded up piece of paper onto his desk. Skylar glanced up, and saw Evelyn point at it, mouthing the words, "Open it." Skylar unfolded the paper, and couldn't believe his eyes. There, on the paper, was her cell number and address, with a smiley face off to the side of the last digit of her number. "Oh god...Oh god oh god oh god..." thought Skylar, panicking inside. He was  happy and absolutely terrified at the same time. He glanced over at Evelyn, and she winked at him. "What is going on?? Does she like me? We barely even know each other!" he thought to himself. The bell rang, and Skylar fast walked out of the class, and off to his next class period, which was lunch. He sat there, picking at his food, pondering on the reason why Evelyn was all of a sudden acting like she was. Before he knew it, the school day was over, and on the bus ride home, he added her number into his phone. He texted her right away, saying it was him, and asking when they should get together to work on the project. How about tonight? :). Her response was almost instantaneous, and that freaked Skylar out. Ok. He responded, wondering if he should have said more, instead of sounding so bland. His phone flashed again that he had a new text from her. Awesome. See you tonight around 7. "Wow... I can't believe it... I'm going to her house tonight..." thought Skylar. "Wha-what do I wear? What do I bring? What if it's all just some sick prank that her friends got her to pull on some unsuspecting fellow freshman?" Paranoia was a big thing with Skylar, especially when it came to issues with girls. He had had a few interests back in middle school, but it was obviously nothing serious, as middle school was still a bit too young to start official dating. Either way, once the bus arrived at his stop, he bolted off the bus, and ran home. His house was just down the street, and he was there before the bus had even gotten ten feet or so away from his bus stop. He ran up to his room and turned on his PS2. Putting in one of his favorite games, he sat down and became absorbed once again into a world so familiar to him. Time went by, and soon he had been playing for at least a few hours. His parents were both at work, so he didn't have to worry about being nagged about playing too much. He was just about to continue off on his next little mission when he glanced at the clock, and realized it was 6:45. "Oh no! I'm going to be late to Evelyn's!" He panicked, and turned the system off as quick as he could, not caring about saving the game at all. He rushed downstairs, quickly grabbing his laptop and its case, as well as a coat, and ran out the door.

              Her house was surprisingly not that far away. Skylar knew the street very well, but never knew that she lived on that street. He kept running till he  reached her house. It was a nice and simple looking house, with bright red and yellow flowers planted outside the house. He stood there at the front steps with his face looking down, and was so nervous that he didn't even think to ring the doorbell. He snapped out of his little daze, and turned to face the door. He knocked three times and waited. In a few moments, he saw a figure come to the door. The door swung open, and there was Evelyn standing in the doorway, wearing a dark blue shirt with the words TOP GUN on it, and sweatpants. "Well look who made it!" she said with a smile. "Come on in!" She gestured for Skylar to step in, with the arm not pushing the door back towards inside the house. Skylar stood there for a moment, and then walked on in, in awe that he was now walking into the house of the girl of his dreams. He looked around, and took it all in. It was  a simple looking house, with stands holding flowers, as well as some paintings obviously bought by Evelyn's parents. "You have a nice house, Evelyn." He said this while glancing around, with his mouth wide open. He caught himself with his mouth wide open glancing at a mirror by a door he guessed led to the bathroom. He closed his mouth, and hoped Evelyn had not seen him make a fool out of himself again. "Thanks Skylar!" said Evelyn with a giggle. They walked into the kitchen, and Evelyn went over to the fridge, while Skylar just stood near the entrance of the kitchen. Evelyn opened the door and peered in. "You want anything to drink?" Skylar was pretty thirsty from running all the way there, so he responded. "Sure, what do you have?" Evelyn didn't answer for a moment, but he soon realized it was due to her still looking around the fridge. She soon leaned back, looking at Skylar. "We have milk, apple juice, lemonade, water in a pitcher, and...some soda." Skylar beamed; a nice cold soda would hit the spot. "What kind of soda do you have?" he said, eager to satisfy his thirst. "Mountain Dew" Evelyn responded. Skylar's face lit up. Mountain Dew was his absolute favorite soda. "Awesome! That's my favorite soda! I'll take one!" Evelyn smiled, and leaned back towards the fridge. The door soon closed, and these she stood, holding a Mountain Dew can in each hand. "It's my favorite too." she said with a smile. "Here you go."  Skylar went to grab the can, but as he went to put his fingers around it, he felt something else. It was Evelyn's fingers. He paused for a moment, then took the can, blushing just a bit. Evelyn smiled, and started to walk out of the kitchen. "Come on Skylar, follow me!" she said, gesturing with her hand for him to follow her. Skylar followed, and soon he was back in the room with the front door. He noticed Evelyn going upstairs, so he continued to follow her.

              At the top of the stairs, Skylar saw several doors, yet wasn't really sure which one they were going into. Evelyn suddenly turned, and walked into one of the rooms. Skylar followed, and it took him a moment to register where he was. He was in her bedroom. Skylar was still having trouble comprehending this, as he believed it was too good to be true. Evelyn, turned and sat down, with her back rested against the side of her bed. "Come on over silly!" said Evelyn, patting the spot next to her with her free hand, since the other one was still holding the Mountain Dew. Skylar walked over, and sat down slowly, still pretty nervous, as he was not sure what was going to happen. Sure, he knew they would be researching stuff online for project ideas, but at the same time, it felt like something more than that. Evelyn placed down her Mountain Dew, and reached around the bed to pick up what Skylar believed was her laptop. Soon, it was sitting in her lap, opened up, and on the password screen. Evelyn typed in her password, and the typical laptop screen background appeared, with the familiar bright blue sky, and the big green hills. She clicked on the internet icon, and waited for it to load. "So what should we do our project on?" said Evelyn, turning to face Skylar. "Huh?" He responded, snapping out of a mini-trance. He had been focusing more on her than the laptop, and in his mind, could really care less what they chose on. All that mattered to him was that he was there, in her house. "Well what would you like to do it on, Evelyn?" Evelyn smiled and giggled. "How sweet of you to offer. What a gentleman you are." Skylar was speechless. What could he say to that? He slid over a bit closer to get a better view of the laptop. But Evelyn took it as something else. "You want a better view?" she said, facing him with a sly looking smile on her face. She slid herself with the laptop on her lap over even closer to Skylar. So close that there was no space between them at all. Skylar almost lost his cool with this sudden movement, and almost got up to run off, but was able to calm himself. After all, this is what he wanted, right? "You alright, Skylar?" asked Evelyn, with a worried look on her face. "You look a bit pale. Feeling okay?" Skylar stuttered out a "Yeah, I'm fine", but then thought for a moment, and knew what he had to do. He put down his Mountain Dew can and stood up. "Actually Evelyn, I'm not. I'm super confused. When I first met you that first day of class last year, I thought you were the most beautiful girl I've ever met. I still think this, but when I bumped into you that one day, you seemed so stern. Now, you're acting all bubbly and giggling a lot. I mean, what gives, Evelyn? I don't understand what's going on at all, and this is just--"
"Skylar?" interrupted Evelyn, standing up as well. "What?" said Skylar in a stern voice. "Shut your cute little mouth." she said as she grabbed his face, pulled it in closer to hers, and kissed him. Skylar was stunned, but couldn't resist kissing her back. In moments, they were making out, and Skylar couldn't be happier. They stopped for a moment and held each other tight. "Skylar." Evelyn said, whispering into his ear. "Yeah?" he said. "That was the day I fell in love with you." Skylar was taken back. "What?" Now he was even more confused. "Even if I didn't show it, as soon as you started repeatedly apologizing, I fell for you. You acted so sweet and caring to a girl you had just met. I found it so cute when you ran off. It was then that I knew you were the one for me. But I just didn't know how to let you know, since I'm actually a pretty quiet person. Until now. I don't know why I waited so long to talk to you. I guess my nerves just got to me, and I also figured that you couldn't fall for a girl like me. But now, at this moment, I feel like the happiest girl in the world. Just hearing you say how beautiful I am convinced me that you do care." said Evelyn, with her arms around his neck, smiling up at Skylar. "I love you Skylar Woods." she said, leaning in to whisper in his ear once more. She kissed him on the cheek, and leaned back. "And I love you, Evelyn Maures." said Skylar, in the most soothing voice he could muster. He pulled Evelyn closer, and they held each other for what seemed like forever. They stopped hugging, but still clung to each other with their hands each around the other's neck. Skylar looked at Evelyn, this beautiful girl he had been dreaming of asking out for so long, and said those fateful seven words. "Evelyn Maures, will you go out with me?" A tear fell out of Evelyn's right eye, and while trying to hold back tears of joy, responded. "Yes, Skylar. I will. Never let me go." He held her close once more and answered her request. "Never. I promise."

             It was now several years since that wonderful day, and the lovely couple both lived in an apartment they had bought together. Skylar had his part-time job at a local GameStop, while Evelyn had her part-time job as a waitress at a local diner. The jobs paid a decent amount, so they were able to get by. As usual, Skylar got home before Evelyn. He left work in his car around 8:30, and made it home in seven minutes. His work wasn't that far away from their apartment, but he felt more comfortable driving home that late at night. As soon as he walked in, he took off his nametag, tossed it on the counter, and jumped over the back of the couch, landing on the bouncy cushions. He picked up his PS3 controller lying on the ground near the couch. Pressing the center button turned on the system, and while he waited for that to load up, he grabbed the TV remote from behind him, and turned on the TV by pressing the top button. The familiar main screen of his PS3 with the simple background shone on the screen, and Skylar navigated through all the other categories, until he found the one labeled "Game". He scrolled down and clicked on the title of the game in the PS3 at the moment. One of his favorites, Bioshock. He let the game load up, and then load the file he had been playing. Just as soon as he was about to start playing, he heard the front door open. He glanced over to see Evelyn walking in, looking exhausted. She was wearing her waitress attire, which consisted of a plain white button up shirt, with black pants. She had already taken her nametag off before walking in. "Sweetie, I thought I told you to lock the door when you get home." said an obviously tired Evelyn. "My apologies darling, I was so excited to play when I got home that I forgot. I promise I will next time." said Skylar. He felt bad that Evelyn had to work so much at her job, and wished he could help her not feel so tired afterwards. "It's fine, my love. I know you will." said Evelyn, collapsing onto the couch exhausted next to her high school sweetheart. She kissed him on the cheek, and rested her tired head on his shoulder. "So enjoying your game?" she said. "I love it. It's such a great game, with an amazing story." said Skylar with enthusiasm. "I'll bet." said Evelyn, rolling her eyes. Skylar couldn't understand why his beautiful girlfriend of 3 years, who was perfect in so many ways, didn't like video games. While he knew everyone can have their own opinion on certain things, he still couldn't figure out why she had such a distaste for them. "You're so silly my dear." said Skylar, kissing her on the forehead. It had been a long day for both of them, and what they both really could use is some sleep. Skylar turned off the PS3, planning to play first thing in the morning. He and Evelyn positioned themselves on the couch, with Evelyn cuddled up to him. "Let's get some rest, my darling Evelyn." whispered Skylar into her ear. She turned around on the couch, facing him. "Yes. Let us do so, my love." she said, smiling at him. She went for a kiss and Skylar did the same. After parting lips, the two stared longingly into each others eyes. "You have the most beautiful eyes I've ever seen, Evelyn." said Skylar. She did indeed. Her brown eyes had that shine in them unlike any other. Evelyn smiled, and said one last thing before falling asleep. "Thank you sweetheart. I'm glad you're keeping your promise." She closed her eyes, and dozed off in moments. Without asking, Skylar knew exactly what she was talking about. "Goodnight, my love." he said, kissing her on the forehead once more. He glanced down at Evelyn, sleeping all cozy up against him. He smiled at her, and closed his eyes, yet still felt her warm embrace before he finally fell asleep.

A Single Streetlight

A simple streetlight...

Where the children wait after leaving from school, and prepare to cross the street...

Where vendors set up and sell their products...

Where two old friends reunite once again after many years...

Where relationships begin...

Where they end...

Where conversations between businessmen are held...

Where groups of teenagers gather and blast their obnoxious music...

Where people advertise their business, and pass out coupons and flyers...

Where people dressed in costumes dance, and take pictures with spectators...

Where little children run to spook the flock of birds walking around for food...

Where the homeless wait, some begging for food or money...

Where at night, the prostitute waits for her next customer...

Where at night, drugs deals are made in secret...

Where at night, innocent people are mugged, and left with nothing...

Where people are stabbed, and left there to bleed out...

Where an innocent man, just walking home late from work to see his family, gets shot by a drive by shooting, and slowly dies on the spot, because there is no one there...

And the last thing the man sees, is the single streetlight...

One inanimate object, how many stories it could tell...

 



Alone in the City (A Bioshock Story) Chapter 1

“Alone in the city…” thought Paul Winters, one of the last few sane residents of Artemis Suites. Everyone else had lost their minds to ADAM in this underwater nightmare of a city called Rapture, built by a rich man named Andrew Ryan to escape from the world above. The city was supposed to help people get away from the troubles of the world above the sea, but once ADAM, a super addictive substance discovered in sea slugs by scientists, was introduced, things took a turn for the worse. This ADAM was used to create Plasmids, which could give the citizens many different kinds of powers. Super strength and super intelligence was where it started, but soon thanks to Fontaine Futuristics, people were soon running around with the power to shoot lightning from their hands, as well as fire, ice, wind, or even angry hornets. Mass chaos broke out as people started fighting in the streets. Bodies were all over the place, and there was almost no safe haven from all the carnage. Paul himself had witnessed it firsthand. He had watched in horror as his parents went crazy on ADAM, while he found he was somehow immune to the side effects.

 At only eighteen years old, Paul had to watch one night at the dinner table as his father in a rage injected himself with a BruteMore Plasmid  during an argument with his wife, and lost his mind. Anger took over with help of the plasmid, and he killed her by smashing a chair directly over her head. He then turned toward the rest of his family and Paul knew what was coming next. He tried to fight him off, and keep him away from his two younger siblings, Gregory and Susan. His father with super strength thanks to BruteMore, picked up the dinner table and  tossed it at Paul, who ducked and rolled out of the way. Paul reacted quickly and opened the lower cabinet door below the sink. He found the double barrel shotgun, hidden there when his parents were sane, in case a rogue splicer broke into the house. He pulled it out from under the cabinet, and in an instant, loaded it with two shots. His father let out a great big roar after noticing the shotgun, and charged at him. Paul abandoned all hope of ever seeing his real father again, instead of this monster. He fired twice at what used to be the man who raised him.

 The blasts caught his father twice in the chest, and caused the man to jerk backwards. But all was not over yet. His father regained his balance, and prepared to charge once again. Paul had only loaded the two shots, so he tossed the shotgun to the ground. He had one last thing to rely on: his Telekinesis Plasmid. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a long orange propane container. He knew it was fully filled, and knew what he had to do. In what seemed like slow motion, he used his plasmid to toss the propane container at his monstrous father. It was all over in an instant. The explosion shook the room, and Paul had to cover his face due to the brightness.

 When he moved his arms away from his face, he saw the mess the fight had caused. There was blood all over the floor, with his father’s lifeless body in flames in the corner, and his mother’s bloody corpse lying near the refrigerator. Paul thought all the grief was gone, until he realized he did not see Gregory or Susan anywhere in the room. Then it happened, and Paul broke down in tears. There they were, in the corner, charred black. He then realized it had happened during the explosion, and held their cold, lifeless bodies in his arms, and cried until no more tears came out. “All that power…and look what it did to my family…” said Paul to himself, sitting in the one undamaged chair, in the house where it all had happened.

 The flashback had ended, yet it would haunt Paul’s dreams forever. He had had many sleepless nights since that one horrible evening, and they still were continuous. He had boarded up the doors and windows to prevent splicers from breaking in, yet could not completely shut himself off from the world. So, he had left several small openings between the boards through which he could look through at the city in ruins. This was done so he would not go completely insane in seclusion, and to remind him that he would have to go back out into the torn world again one day.

 It had been a week and a half since that fateful night, and there was still plenty of edible food throughout the apartment. Still, Paul knew that he would have to let go of the guilt and grief, and knew that one day he would have to leave the apartment. But leaving the apartment, he knew would not be enough. To fully escape from his nightmarish memories, he would have to leave Rapture. Which he knew would be no easy task... END OF CHAPTER ONE

Boulder

When you look at a person
you may never know their burden.
A boulder, big or small
is carried by all.
As much as they try to hide
a boulder is hard to confide.
Most of our kind
are ever so blind
to never see what inner turmoil
people wish that they could foil.
So never believe others have it best,
when everyone has a boulder on their chest.