《The Silence in the Crowd》Chapter One
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Today is Saturday and I decided to buy a new book. It was a fine day, and I thought that I'll just walk under the sun until I reach the bookstore. I was walking for just about five minutes now until I realized that this is gonna be a long-long fucking walk for a very fucking bright day.
I was really bored- I am always bored. I don't know why is that a usual thing for me now. Maybe because I'm just growing up? Adolescence, I suppose. I woke up this morning, feeling good and all that stuff. I had a coffee and a good breakfast, I played mobile games with my friends and all that shit but, something happened that made me do some stupid walk-trip by myself.
I remember asking my best pal Jonathan- I call him Jon -to come with me as I do this tiring stuff but the bastard just laughed at me. He thought that I was insane. He told me by a chat, "Are you out of your mind? Walking under the heat of the sun on a Saturday? You got to be kidding me?" Fucking idiot, he did not believe what I just told him. I was serious about it and he thought that I was 'out of my mind'. Well, yeah, maybe I was. Maybe, I was out of my goddamn mind for doing this but boy, I needed this walk and I will fucking walk until my feet can no longer take a single step. From what Jon said, I was much more eager now to finish this walk-trip, with or without him.
Oh boy, it was surely hot today, and the sun is too fucking bright for my eyes. Does the sun really shine as bright as this? Or I spent too much time inside my darkroom, isolated from every shit that happens around me. No, I just realized that I was not really afar from what happens around me- I have my goddamn mobile phone. This fucking little thing called 'mobile phones', everyone is addicted to these devices. I think every individual have one, people even consider it as 'one of the most important things in life', I agree though, but, I will also agree to the man who is willing not to use it or stop using it forever- I will kiss him on the lips or maybe, I'll just marry that man -believe me, I surely will. I use my phone a lot, I won't deny it. It's the main source of information (real and some trash hoax) in the 21st century.
Anyways, I have my phone with me because I needed music and I have two-hundred songs saved in my device. I played a song and pressed the shuffle button. I actually told myself some rules for this walk-trip- dumb ones. First is, I must never do something about the shuffled playlist, whatever the song is playing, I must listen to it and not skip it. Second, I stopped by in a small mart and bought an energy drink because I set up some checkpoints for me where I could only have a sip from that energy drink. Third, No cheating; I must follow those two rules that I made for myself because It will be dumb for me not to follow these rules that I actually created.
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Five songs have passed and I'm already sweating like all the water from my body was just coming out of a faucet. I grabbed my towel inside my bag and wiped my face, my torso, and my back. I also felt my skin burning like hell. I thought about using my umbrella to protect myself from the deadly sunlight. But, I just kept it inside my bag. That's the only thing that I have right now; the baseball cap that I borrowed from my dad, my small bag (the kind of bag that you can just hang in your torso and look cool because that is the trend) with other five valuable things inside.
Then, I finally reached the street where a Mormon Chapel stood with its neatness and all that stuff. I took a picture of it and then send it to Jon. He immediately replied "I'm not in there. I'm at our house right now," His mom always go in this street because they have relatives that live in that neighborhood. That guy, he thought I send that photo to him because I'm supposed to pick him up and ask him to join me in this walk-trip. That is when he was wrong. Maybe, he had that idea because, he always does this thing- annoying thing, where he will persuade you to come with him because, he wants to go somewhere and he'll say, "Come on now pal! I'll wait for you in front of your house. Just come with me! You don't have a choice man, I'll be at your house and pick you up." He never succeeded though, because, I'll always tell him to go bother someone else. I'm a tough introvert guy, you know?
Well, that street was one of my checkpoints so I took a little sip from my drink and just started walking again. I was kind of running out of breath at this moment. Boy, I really did some heavy smoking last night! So I did this thing that I do whenever I feel the consequence of smoking cigars- I close my fist and hit my chest with it and say 'Hoo-Haa!'. I maybe sound like a stupid fucking gorilla but, I remember seeing Matthew McConaughey did that in the movie The Wolf of Wall Street- well, kind of similar to that one. To be honest, I don't like to smoke or the idea of having lung cancer and all the bullshit but, whenever there is one stick of a cigarette, I can't help myself but smoke some. I hate it, or maybe that's just what I thought. Some people say that it will kill you soon or that your life span is reduced when you smoke, and some people say- especially my friends -that smoking helps you to be calm, to be somehow 'at ease', you know what I'm saying? If you ask me what side of these statements I believe, I must say both sides. Yes, smoking kills you, it's true, but, have you ever considered why these people smoke? Let us ignore those people that smoke because they're addicted to nicotine, let's focus on those people who smoke because they needed the feeling that one stick of cigarette offers. Maybe, they had a bad day, a tough one, so they lit one stick to somehow not to think about it. You might think that my reason for smoking is 'unethical', I think that too, but, consideration in both side (smokers and non-smokers) could be a good idea- having 'your' life to be worried while also having fun is a good idea.
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Finally, I reached Jon's street, where he lives. I took a picture of one sign that says Carsadang Bago and send it to him. He replied with "Saturday is your ideal day to be stupid?", I replied with "What time do you think I'll reach the mall?" while still walking. I took a sip from my drink again while I wait for his response. Then he finally said, "Four? Four. I'm sure about it pal. Anyway, what came into your mind that you've decided to do this all by yourself? Did your parents kicked you out or something?" I chuckled and began typing, "I asked you to come with me, haven't I? And you said no. And maybe, just maybe, I am alone. I'm just walking all by myself." I took a photo of me and send it to him. The conversation somehow ended at that point.
Let me tell you something about good Old Jonathan. He's my best pal in school, he truly is. He somehow annoys me but, that guy is a good man. He really is. I can't remember how we became close but, we went through some shit together, him and I. We're friends for almost four consecutive years now, boy, that is one hell of a ride. Truth be told, we're actually different from each other. In what way? Well, Old Jon is a very sporty man. He plays basketball very good, he does know how to play volleyball- fuck it, he's really good at physical activities and all that shit. The guy was also good at women, oh boy he is! When I first saw him, I thought that this guy is a gentleman... yeah, kind of. But then I saw his ways on women, and immediately doubted my first impression on him. He's quite handsome, that's why many girls in our school and from their neighborhood was really attracted to him. Based on his stories, I think that Jon knows how to handle a relationship. The problem with him is, he always has these weird infatuations with girls that he likes. It annoys the hell out of me. I remember Old Jon having a crush with this girl in our school when we were still on senior-high, and the man, goodness-gracious, he's madly in love with her. But I ignored his weirdness because, I thought, we were only seventeen and it's normal for us to have this strong feeling to the opposite sex and all that bullshit. He even asked me to write a poem for the girl and he decided to read it in front of her- the class and our Filipino teacher included -with matching music to be more... romantic, I guess? I kind of felt odd when I heard him reading the poem that I wrote. It almost felt like I was the guy who has feelings for this girl that I barely even know. I also remember telling Old Jonathan to the court that girl but he just told me, "She doesn't want to have an intimate relationship at the moment. I know her, she wants to focus on her study first."
Anyway, the next year, we found out that she now has a relationship with a guy- 'An intimate' one. Boy, that crushed Jon's heart. But I know him, he's a real tough man. That's where our differences make an entrance. While Old Jonathan is a hunk and all that, here I am, an introvert-freak, a fragile person, I don't even play any known sport. I suck at physical activities unlike Jon, but when it comes to academics, I can say that I'm- somehow -good at it (Not in mathematics though, not that stuff). We might have our differences but, we both believe that 'No man is an island'. He's good at doing while I'm good at thinking. Just imagine us doing a prank to our classmates and then laughing our asses off.
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My Servant Is An Elf-Knight From Another World
It was just like any other day, or so I thought at least. The birds were chirping up on trees, clouds were rolling by the bright blue sky and Elves were dumpster diving in the alleyway. Okay, one of those three didn't sound right... I had a boring life once. Recently though, it has become less boring... to put it one way. Finding a random Elf in the dumpster? Heh, must be a Monday. A normal person would have walked by. A normal person would have ignored it. I must be a pretty weird guy, then. Now I have this Elf swearing her allegiance to me. What's next, vampires? Better not jinx it.
8 90Humanity Extinguished
I had the same nightmare again. The loss of my first life continues to haunt me, but now it aches like an old wound. A more grievous injury to my psyche was the losses yet to come and the inevitable hellscape I would return to again and again. Reincarnation is my curse. The lives themselves weren't all that bad. Losing people you cared about hurt and all, but even that pain was preferable to experiencing the nothingness between lives for months at a time. It was enough to drive anyone mad. Now I have to focus on breaking this horrible cycle. Thankfully I have all the time in the world. Trace is an average man driven by extraordinary circumstances in an indifferent and cruel world. His reincarnations give him a few key advantages but also take a heavy toll on him. He lives in a world where magic is uncommon and underpowered compared to the limitless physical adaptations you can acquire by getting your hands a little bloody. This story is one of hardship and terrible lows, but also monumental achievements and grand heights. The main character has flaws. While some of these flaws will fade with time, others will worsen. Thank you for taking the time to read my synopsis. I plan to release 2-3 chapters a week. Cover art is 'The Siege and Destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans Under the Command of Titus, A.D. 70' by David Roberts.This art is in the public domain.
8 140The B-Team
Temp. Synopsis: Our world is not as it seems. There is war that goes on in the shadows affecting what normal people see and experience in minor ways. To those who participate in this war, life is struggle for their ideals, survival and to blend in. Especially to blend in. Now the balance of the struggle has begun tipping and those minor changes? Not so minor anymore so....... Follow the tale of THE mythical rag-tag team as they start out and slowly change the world with one whacked-out mission after another. --------------------------------- First attempt at this, may not be able to update as often as liked or at all. Please be ruthless with criticisms as I may not even pay attention. Warning: Content may contain swearing and gore ----------------- Update: 1st april '17: work is getting me down but i got a bit more in stockpile but its a very bad stockpile so im constantly polishing and releasing only when I think I can't polish anymore. PLEASE comment and rate for my motivation to increase.
8 203The Witches of San Jose - A Magical Academy Progression Fantasy
"Magic is a force of ultimate chaos; it is destructive and it is random. Dark Mages and Light Mages alike have learned to enforce control upon this chaos to create what is commonly referred to as Spellcraft. Not only must you learn to harness it, you must learn to break its will and force it to obey yours." A magical academy in a magical dimension, hidden from the eyes and ears of the human world. It should've been a magical adventure of a lifetime, but, to Uriel Alvarez, the San Jose Academy of the Dark Arts is a waking nightmare he can't seem to get away from. The "school" is brutal, callous, and malicious; students are encouraged to kill each by any means to prove who is stronger. Death is a constant. Escape is impossible. Uriel's only goal is to survive every single day. And yet, the only way to survive is to become the strongest.To become the strongest, he must learn the ways of the Dark Mages and the horrific spells and rituals that has cemented their reputation as one of the most powerful practitioners of the Hidden World.Follow Uriel's magical adventure and his struggles in the twisted San Jose Academy of the Dark Arts.
8 83The Cursed Imperial Heart
In a world divided into different social classes, a nameless girl starts her journey rather tiring than most kids. Abandoned by her parents, she became a servant at a very young age to a wealthy noble family--the Brotillon, a family of powerful water elementals. Whose head is a well known Viscount. Though the girl was born with shiny brown hair and sparkling brown eyes, it was for that reason that she became a laughing stock to those around her. With no one to turn to for support, she swore to learn how to use magic no matter what! But as each day goes by, the beatings and humiliation got worse and worse. Finally had enough, she lashed out screaming! Done with the world she lived in! Done with her life! Only to faint out of exhaustion afterwards. Upon opening her eyes, she expected nothing more than an empty room with no one inside but her. However, it was the opposite! A room full off doctors and worried faces?! Indeed, she must have hit her head so hard when she fainted! She's probably just hallucinating, right?! But to her shock, it was all real! The Viscount who constantly beat her, patted her on the head?! The mistress who ridiculed her every chance she got, was worried?! Not just that, but----CRYING?! This continued for the next few weeks, and it looked like the 'situation' won't be stopping anytime soon. But she of all people knew, that it was all an act. But the question is, why? She screamed and lashed out at them, so why? Or perhaps, what she really needs to be asking are.... What REALLY happened before she fainted? What are they hiding from her? And lastly, Why are they suddenly interested in her eyes?
8 95The Troll of Oium: A Norse Saga
The lands of Midgard have grown cold and choked with ice as freezing mist covers all. Only a sacrifice can bring the warmth of summer, one from each tribe of Germa in their turn until The Vargr Tribe's treachery forces all into war. But in the mitts of battle, something rages beneath a Jarl's skin turning his skin gray, eyes red, and bringing forth a craving for flesh. All the while Odin guides the future, preparing for the visions plaguing him for a millennium. A black-furred wolf, large like a mammoth, and a necromancer with green flames burning in his eyes would come for him. The battle's name would be Ragnarök and will end the world unless he claims victory by any means necessary.
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