《The Software Detective》11. Need it, love it, Gotta have it!!!
Advertisement
"Uh! hey guys, I'm still pretty new to the city but I've never heard of Penultimate Café" I said as we walked out the specialty café.
"Oh, right, we couldn't tell you before because you weren't a local." Rob said, turning to me putting out his phone. "Here, give me your phone. I will put in the directions because saying them out loud is a cardinal sin." without hesitation I handed him my phone. With a few taps on the screen, he handed me back my phone.
"It won't take you long to get there at all. From here It's only a 5-minute walk to get to center city." Syd said, bouncing in place, "Oh, man. I'm so excited to show you all the other local spots!"
"Yeah, oh and watch out for the mafia. I've heard that they have increased their activity recently." Rob said, tightening the straps on his backpack.
"Yeah, sure, whatever, I won't fall for another prank like that again." I said, following the directions on my phone. Waving goodbye to my friends as they walked the other direction, I marched on to get sugar coma-inducing pastry.
My phone's GPS took me to a couple of back alleys. They looked kind of sketchy, which led me to a part of the city that I had never heard before. I felt this weird, ominous presence around me, almost as if the shadows were analyzing me, trying to figure out if I belonged.
Finally, I made it to Penultimate café. The place looked vaguely like the Ultimate café, that was near the college my friends and I graduated from. But only it looked more like a small gothic cathedral than your average café. No wonder this was a local secret. If a tourist came here, they might end their trip early. Well, there's no turning back now. I thought as I walked in.
Advertisement
The inside was nothing like how it looked outside. Instead of having a catholic church interior. The inside smelt of fresh coffee. There were tables all around with people having conversations throughout. On the stage was a band playing smooth jazz throughout the café. There were string lights hanging from the vaulted ceilings. It was almost someone injected a hipster café in a catholic cathedral.
Directly in front of me was the front counter. The barista behind the counter was marking something on her chart. "Hey there, do you have a cinnamon roll covered with peanut butter?" I said, controlling myself not to drool again.
The Barista looked up from her chart. "Oh, you mean the Ooey Gooey Heart Attack? Yeah, we just finished making a fresh batch." The Barista placed the chart down and walked into the kitchen. Then she emerged with a tray filled with steaming buns, glistening with peanut butter.
Looking at the freshly baked pastries, all I could say was, "Beautiful."
Advertisement
- In Serial6 Chapters
The Ten Great Artifacts
At first a "demon lord" reincarnated to get a new body, but he was told by his servant that his artifacts were stolen. Whether they're in the hands of countries or criminals, those artifacts he made had the power to alter the world. Could he get them back?
8 117 - In Serial14 Chapters
The Clover Club
The house of cards have fallen, and in their wake, an outbreak of Undead. From high above in a prison of glass, I watched the world burn. It is only now with my two feet upon the ground that I realize I have traded one Hell for another, and with front row seats to the apocalypse, I raise my glass for this is one hell of a view. Cover used under creative commons, it is a temporary placeholder.
8 166 - In Serial16 Chapters
Single Creation
“You created me, a being of far greater capacity than you could have imagined at a price beyond your nightmares. Now you are lost, wandering through a desolate land, searching blindly. Seeking something you yourself are not aware of, a place where a lifetime of memories should be, but instead an empty abyss resides.-” After I disconnected my finger from the drive it shifted back into its original form and a single thought roared through my mind. ‘What did I do?'
8 92 - In Serial7 Chapters
Toothpick
“Hello! My humble audience! I, the Bard of the North, am going to tell you a tale. Nothing new, nothing old. A story of a hero, some may say, others a poor boy who was hated by the world.” The storyteller paused as he waited, right timing was everything when telling a story. Pacing… Too slow and the audience became bored then left without tossing even the smallest of coins. If he spoke too fast and rushed the story. It would leave the audience confused and having no reason to be impressed. So like any good storyteller, the Bard has to do a balancing act of sorts. Not too slow, not too fast. Just perfectly in the middle. “In a shattered country in the south, a novice princeling has the ambition to mend a torn tapestry that is his birthplace. Struggling to fend off those who would usurp the throne in an unending civil war spanning centuries. A mercenary that left only death in his wake, unable to stave off the monotony and peace of life. He looks back at the path laden with bodies, wondering if it was all worth it. Wandering souls summoned by a madman, travel away from a wasteland in a foreign land, the first alone, the others as companions. A deity, ancient in her years, waiting to be freed from a duty she no longer enjoys. For all these people and their stories, none are the hero of this tale. No, the hero is not grand, not wise, not ready.. he was punished for nothing of his doing, who was an outcast that was unloved by many, including his father.” This was always the big reveal novices use to jump off into their story. He did not start here, instead, like any good fishermen, he set the bait and waited until the fish bit before pulling. As he saw the audience's eyes focus, he then started the backstory. The harness, that stopped the listeners from having metaphorical whiplash. The foreshadowing. “But that is not where the story starts. No, not even the hero's birth. Where the story begins, is the boredom of the deity, a deity many know of. She who hunts for the impossible, the guide for those who have lost the path, the Huntress of Mallon--” A small pause, a short breath. “--All old names for a single powerful being that has roamed the grounds of this continent longer than any line of kings or queens, lords or ladies. A being of worship for many an individual…” One last breath. And he began singing the first verse.
8 290 - In Serial17 Chapters
New Player Confirmed
On a humble planet named Earth, lived a boy once called Flow. Taken from his ordinary life he must now fight for survival on an foreign planet. Gaining new skills and stats is a challenge for any ordinary high school boy when a new game system is introduced named Cognition. However Flow is helped along the way as he meets other players and gains friends to complete daring adventures. ''Author Note''Going to do a chapter every 2 days, schedule may change over time. Depends how invested I get into the story.
8 238 - In Serial12 Chapters
Society of Mythic People
As the creatures of myth became endangered, a sorcerer decided to rescue them by hiding them in plain sight. But such a disguise can only last so long. Centuries later, it’s time for Bradly to clean up the mess, lest things go right back the way they were.
8 93
Prev Chap
Next Chap
Chap List
Boy
Girl
