Auburn Part 8 – Unhinging Light Finale

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Mr Sinister nods at the security guard. “Very well.” Turning to look at me. “If you will excuse me, apparently I have some business to attend to. I shall not be long.” He moves quickly towards the door and exits and the guard closes it behind him.

I could hear them talking in a hushed tone outside, unable to make anything out I moved closer. I faintly heard Mr Sinister’s voice “These are not as urgent as you made them sound. I can solve the first with a phone call and the second I assure you there is time, but I will retrieve what is needed while I make the call. Stay here.” Mr Sinister’s figure moved off down the passage. Hearing his footsteps growing fainter I thought to myself how differently all this could have turned out had I reached the editor first. Now I was stuck in this room facing the choice of joining a mad man or death while guarded by someone I thought was a ally. Looking at his figure through the frosted glass of the door angered me…”All I wanted was one heroic act before I died!”. The security guard banged on the door. “Shut up in there”.

My former ally may have never believed in my idea of getting justice with my last breath but I still did. I could only think of one way to do that and that was to expose this man’s plot. But first I had to get out of here, I could agree to join him and offer to get the laptop as a gesture of allegiance and then make my way to the editor I spoke to earlier, but why would he trust me? He would send some muscle with me to make sure I didn’t back stab him. Could I escape from here any other way, I noticed a loose ceiling panel near the door, maybe I could get out of here that way. My heart swelled with hope at the idea but then sunk almost instantaneously as I heard footsteps once again. There was no time.

The security guard opened the door and Mr Sinister, holding his briefcase, walked in and turned to the  guard “You may join us for this part of the discussion”. The guard stepped in and closed the door behind him.

Mr Sinister placed the briefcase on the table and looking at me through the thin slits of his mask began to speak. “As I am sure you can understand I am a busy man and I need to have a meeting to insure a…contingency is put in the right place.” He tapped his briefcase. “Therefore the time has now come for you to decide. Will you be joining me in my endeavor to better the city or will you be going gentle into the good night?” He waited for me to respond, the security guard standing behind him staring at me. I started to think out loud; “Considering the innocent lives I know you have destroyed so far and the plan you have in mind why do you need me? Aren’t I just another casualty of change to you?”

Auburn Part 7 – The dark universe

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The strong smell filled my nostrils. The smell I always woke up to and loved. Freshly brewed coffee. That fantastic machine was one of my best investments, set the timer and it would make a cup for me first thing in the morning. Except, I realized, I am not laying in my bed. In fact I had been sleeping in a chair, I wasn’t at home that was for sure and this wasn’t a normal work week. My head and leg began to throb. Memories flooded back of the last time I had woken up in a chair unsure of where I was. I kept my eyes shut, unsure of what might await me this time if I opened them. I let a small smile break out on my face as I realized how wickedly repetitive this all was. Twice I had been knocked out by that security guard, twice had I woken up in a chair in pain and unsure of where I was but very sure that I was facing death. My life somewhat in the hands of a murderer.

“Ah, I see you have regained consciousness!” Twice had that voice startled me. It was his voice, no doubt about that. The man that started all of this…”Come now, no doubt you can smell the coffee lets not let it get cold.” Coffee? Is he really offering coffee? “Ah perhaps you would like some biscuits with the coffee, I wont be a moment.” I hear him stand up and walk away. The door opens and closes behind him. I open my eyes, there is still darkness, blindfolded.

I remove the blindfold from my face. Realizing at the same time that I am not tied up at all. Then again, looking at the door I can see through the frosted glass that a shadowy figure, most likely my traitorous ally, is  standing guard on the other side so its not like I can go anywhere. Looking down I see a clean metallic grey table and sitting on it, with a tendril of steam rising from within, is a cup of delicious coffee with another cup opposite it. I look around, the room empty besides the table but it also has a familiar smell, like something clean but I cant recognize it with the coffee in the air. The room is not very well lit, the windows are sealed up rather well through the gaps some light seeps in however. I hear foot steps approaching. The door begins to open. Finally I will be face to face with the man that I have come to loath. The man with all the answers.

As he enters and I look to see the man that could be responsible for my deaths face I am greeted with high cheek bones lifted by the extended smile that is framed with a handle-bar mustache upon a unnaturally bright porcelain like face, a mask. He is wearing a mask. Right in front of me but yet still hidden. Dark piercing eyes silently watch me as the smiling face approaches the table and sets the biscuits down. In his other hand he holds the briefcase I recognize from the pictures. His white shirt collar has the top two buttons undone and I can vaguely make out metallic item underneath. The chino pants match the ones from the pictures as well.

“Now that we have adequate refreshments shall we begin?” I raise an eyebrow uncertain as to what he was speaking about. “Oh you don’t have to worry about the coffee or anything after all why would I need to spike them with anything? You already have on of my creations coursing through your veins.” He sets the briefcase down next to his chair. He takes a straw out of his shirt pocket and proceeds to drink his coffee through it, obviously so he has no need to lift the mask. I take a sip of my coffee at the same time. It is delicious. “By that face I can tell that you are enjoying your coffee, excellent I knew I would know how you liked it, I am good at reading people in such ways,  now let us talk. You can begin.”

Auburn Part 6 – Unhinging Light

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He stopped pushing me against the wall and we stood there. He still had a small grin on his face but that was fading fast and my smile doing likewise. My arms and knee were burning from the scrapes I had recently received. I could see bits of gravel sticking in the wounds. I looked at them closely, I could see purple veins near the the wound on my knee. It was spreading. I flicked a stone off my knee and looked at the scrapes on my arms. No veins there, that’s good. I brushed my one arm to get rid of the dirt which made it burn even more and caused me to let out a very small whimper of pain.  My new ally cleared his throat. “Sorry about that, now that we working together I feel little bad about roughing you up like that.”

“Umm…ya. It’s ok lets not talk about it.” It was an awkward thought that just a few minutes ago he was beating me and now we working together.

“So…” He looked at me, “What now?”  “You do have a plan right?”

A plan? I have motivation, I thought to myself, I want justice served! I want him exposed! I knew I need to get hold of the auburn lady’s people at least but that was all. There was no real plan beyond that. My stomach growls loudly. I am hungry. When was the last time I ate anything? I see a fast food restaurant just across the street. “Yeah, how about we discuss it over something to eat?” I gesture across the road. “I could use the bathroom to clean these scrapes up at the same time.” I begin to walk across the road. I then realized I actually don’t have any money, my wallet went missing the night this all started. “Would you…uh…mind paying? My wallet has been missing since all this started.”

He follows after me,”Wait, what? That’s not…I aint…Why should I?”

“I can get that thing off your leg at the same time. Think of it as your way of saying thank you maybe.” I hear him speed up at the promise of having the bracket removed. We enter the restaurant and the smell of food hits me, the smell of chips. Ah, delicious food. People look at the visible scrapes on my arms. “Could you please order? I am going to clean up in the bathroom. Don’t like people staring at me.”

My wounds burned as a rinsed them with toilet paper and clean water but at least they were clean. Last thing I needed was an infection, my body already had enough to fight off. Stepping out the bathroom I see my ally, sitting at a table, eating his meal while mine waited for me. “Thanks so much.” I took a big bite of the burger. My taste-buds leaped for joy, I was not a fan of tomatoes but that didn’t matter to me right now, food! Finally! My ally ate his last bite, swallowed and then looked at me. “Right, you have food, Now tell me…” He lifts up his leg and puts it on the chair next to him. “…how do I get this thing of my leg.”

Auburn Part 5 – The Dark Universe

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Blink…Blink..Blink, the cursor was waiting for me to type. Waiting for me to enter the password. I sat there, no answer for it. Blink…blink…blink. I took a sip of the water and placed the cup down. Blink…blink…blink. I know! I reach to the keyboard and type “Password01”. It’s got to be it, it’s so commonly used! I press enter. Two words appear in red “Incorrect Password”. Blink…blink..blink. HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO KNOW!!! I grab the glass off the table and hurl it with all my might towards the wall on the opposite side of the room. It meets the wall *smash* it breaks into pieces water wetting the floor while the pieces of glass *clink* onto the floor. My mind filled with rage. WHY IS THIS ALL SO HARD?! HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO KNOW THIS STUPID PASSWORD!! WHO GIVES SOMEONE A LAPTOP WITH A PASSWORD ON IT!! I DIDN’T ASK FOR ALL THIS DRAMA!! HERE I AM, MOST LIKELY DYING AND I MUST WASTE TIME WITH PASSWORDS?! AARRRGG!! I breathe out deeply. Trying to calm down. I breathe in deeply and the smell that accompanies this action is not pleasant. I smell awful. I need a shower that’s the best thing for me right now. I need to freshen up and clear my head. Well I am in this fancy hotel after all; I might as well use it.

What would be great is a change of clothes as well. If only I had grabbed some. I don’t want someone coming in here while I am in the shower though. So I move towards the door looking for the “Do not disturb” sign. I see it hanging on the door handle. It was in the theme of the lobby, dark brown card with the golden words Do not disturb printed on it Simple but elegant. As I pick it up to put it on the outside I heard hushed voices through the door.

“I can’t knock can’t you see the sign.”

“So what are we going to do with this laundry, we can’t leave it here can we?”

“You asking me? I am new here, this is my first job. I don’t know.”

By the sounds of these two voices these two ladies are young, barely out of school young. There was a pause as they thought.

Auburn Part 4 – Unhinging Light

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I walked. My mind reeling yet again from an experience I never thought I would have. My heartbeat slowly returning to a normal pace. The adrenalin rush was coming to an end and as it did so I started to feel the cold again. My one leg colder than the other. I looked down. The bottom of my jeans had lifted up and was resting on the top of this ‘present’ on my leg, must have happened in all the chaos of running and jumping from those guys. I covered it up again. This thing was still on my leg. It could still be doing something to me; it could be tracking me for all I knew! I need to get this thing off as soon as possible that was for certain. But how?

I wasn’t sure how to take this thing off myself; last time I tried it stabbed me something awful! I still don’t know what it injected into me, just that it brings death. Death in the way that lady died. *shudder*. I need help. But where, who? The way I see it there are two choices. I can go to my mate’s house, he could help. He is studying medicine after all, he might be able to tell me what is in me, maybe he could even fix me, help me get this thing off! But then again, technically he is suspended from medical school…understandable considering the side business he is involved in. Drugs and medicine should not mix. No, I can’t trust him, especially if he is using again.  Second and only option I have then is to go the hospital, they should be able to help I am sure.  My pace quickened, now with the hospital as my destination, hope of a cure as my destination.

As I entered the reception area of the hospital I could smell that strange clean smell that was all too common of hospitals that smell always makes me feel uneasy. I had barely taken in my surroundings when a big lady in scrubs that looked like she should have been off duty two shifts ago had come up to me.

“Hello sir! What’s wrong with you then?”

“Uh…well..err” I hadn’t actually thought of this. What was I going to say? How do I explain all of this? Should I explain it all to her?

“Look sir, I know its cold outside and warm in here but I can’t have you hanging about here for no reason. Is there something wrong with you?”

I was shocked; this nurse apparently thought I was trying to hide from the cold in here. “No. I mean Yes! There is something wrong with me!

“Ok, what’s the problem then?

“It’s kind of hard to explain…I can’t really tell you what is wrong I just know that something is wrong.”

She looked at me. I could see with impatience on her face, like I was wasting her time. I doubt she was going to be helpful… “Security!”

“Wait! No, Look!” I pulled my jeans up and lift my leg up and show her the ‘present’ on my leg. “See! I woke up with this thing on my leg, I don’ know how it got there! When I tried to take it of it stabbed me and inject something in me!” I hop on one leg trying to explain this situation to her. I feel the laptop start to slip off my shoulder and I move to counter balance it and I get hold of it, it’s safe, but I lose my balance. *Wham* I meet the floor. “Please! I don’t know what is in me! And I need someone to help me get this thing off…Please.”

I feel someone pat me on the back. “Sir, if you come with me I will try and assist you.” I look up and see a strong looking male nurse behind me, looks barely out of med school but my only hope at this point. I mumble back, “Thank you” as he hoists me off the floor. As I hear the lady nurse mutter “Newbie’s, honestly…” as she walks away in a huff. He directs me to an open chair far from others. I sit. Waiting.

“Alright sir, let me take a look at your leg.” He examines it for a minute looking puzzled. I start to question my decision, was this really the place to come? I realized how deranged I must sound to others if I tried to explain all that had happened to me, I mean if someone had to tell me the same story would I believe it? “Sir I see this bracket has a small line of LED lights on it, and only one is lit. Do you know what that is about?”

I hadn’t really noticed it before; it was a really small line though. “No, I don’t know what that is all about. I never noticed it before.”

He looks at it again. “Well that sort of thing normally indicates something like signal, battery life that sort of thing. By the look of this one red light it seems to be empty or low of something. I assume you didn’t notice the number etched on to the bottom as well then?”

My heart skipped. Empty? Could that light indicate that this thing was empty? Empty of the stuff it injected into me. That stuff making its way through my blood system, bent on my destruction. “What? A number? No I didn’t see any type of number on it. Listen, this thing stabbed me like an injection when I tried to take it off I think that light means its empty cause it injected stuff into me.”

He looked at me. I could see that he didn’t buy my story, like I was deranged. “No, sir I don’t think that is the case. Tell you what I am going to take down this number from the bracket and be right back.” He took out his phone and punched the number in. “Wait here for me please.” He took a few steps away from me. The lady nurse from earlier stopped him and I saw her glancing at me as they spoke, were they talking about me? She walks away. She walks towards offices near me; “A house arrest bracelet, interesting…” I barely hear her say to herself. What? They think it’s a house arrest bracelet? I look at him; he has his phone to his ear. He is calling the number? He pulls the phone away from his ear suddenly. Then I feel it. The bracket. The bracket just let go of my ankle, I feel it fall to the floor. *clink* I have no idea what just happened but the weight of that thing being off restores some hope to me. “Sir! How?” The male nurse heard that clink and is now right next to me again. “How did you take that off?”

“I… wha? I didn’t it! It fell off my leg! Wait a second, who were you on the phone to, I saw you! Did you just call that number!?”

“Well, yes sir but I didn’t get through to anyone. All I heard was the sound of fax static. Listen.” He dials the number again, this time on loud speaker. I hear it, the sound of electric static. But then *snap!* we both look at it, the bracket just snapped closed by itself! I put two and two together, that number sent some sort of signal to open and close the bracket!  The nurse picks up the bracket. “Sir what exactly is this?” I realize now, he doesn’t believe my story and by some of the looks I’ve had already I could fast be approaching the inside of a cell with no way to prove myself as truthful. I got to say something!

“Ok, you got me. It was a practical joke that my friends played on me. Just for kicks. We had to get it off without explaining to anyone what was going on. When I tried it stabbed me, something must have gone wrong. So I freaked and came here for help.” He looked at me for a second, looked back at the device, then to me again. “This thing is dangerous; tell your friends this must stop.” He sounded irritated but at least he bought the story. “Ok let me see your leg.” we both look at it…my heart dropped. Where the bracket was I can now see purple veins, I can see the beginning of death. “Well this looks infected but some strong antibiotics should clear it up.” He cleans my ankle and bandages it up. Next thing I knew I was walking out the door with antibiotics in my hand. Hope and dread where all around me. Hope because it was off, progress. But dread for the purple veins. I could barely function, I was exhausted. It was extremely late or extremely early depending on how you looked at it. I needed sleep, I began to walk, it was time to get home.

I didn’t have my keys, they obviously got lost at some point. Fortunately for me I hadn’t had a chance to fix the sliding door lock to my bedroom just yet. I jiggled the door and got it open. I slid in. The room was dark but I knew where the bed was, that’s all that mattered to me. I stumbled over some clothes lying on the floor. ‘I need to do laundry at some point’ I thought to myself. I flopped on the bed and let dreams of happily-ever-after take over.

The heat and bright sun woke me up. I lay in the bed; sleep had never been that sweet. I looked down at my ankle, was it a dream? I see the bandage, no…no it wasn’t. As I look at my ankle I see sunlight. Sunlight coming down my passage. That is strange. I look around. I knew my room was messy but this is not normal. I get up to investigate the sunlight. As I walk down the passage, I turn; I know where the light is coming from. It is coming from my front door. It is still semi open. I can see that they haven’t tampered with the locks, on the other side of the door, still in the key hole is my key. I look about around, my TV is still there. So I wasn’t robbed. But my things have been “rearranged” all over the floor. Draws tipped out. Books lying half open on the floor. But then I see it, I see a note on the table. What kind of person leaves a note behind? I walk over to it and without touching it, I read the two words on it. “Welcome home…” I knew who this was. There was only one person that would taunt his victim! It was him, the man who put that ‘present’ on my ankle.  I could almost hear him saying those words, in that exact tone he used on the phone. Why did he have to come into my house and leave it in such a mess? It’s not like he took anything. Was he looking for something? I locked the door. Well if he knows where I live then I can’t stay here, I need to find somewhere to hide out. But where? I moved back towards my room and grabbed some clean clothes off the floor and go to get the laptop. The laptop, maybe there is some contact information, someone I could call who may have answers to this mystery. A friend to the auburn haired lady. I opened the bag and the first thing I saw brought some hope to me. It was a familiar pattern on a laminated surface with a big Y on it. A key card for a room at the hotel. The hotel, yes, I have so many questions there must definitely be some answers in this room. I stuff the clothes in a bag, close up the laptop and leave through the sliding door in my room, just in case the front is being watched.

There I was. The large Y looming over me once again as I stood near the bottom of the stairs. How was I going to get in? There is a chance someone could recognize me. I group of tourists walk past me as I stand there. They begin to ascend the stairs. “Here’s my chance.” I think to myself. I join the group at the back as we step through the revolving doors I move calmly towards the elevators. I let it take me to the floor I need. I tap the key card on my leg, impatiently waiting to arrive. *ting* The doors open and I step out into the corridor looking for the room. Ah! Number 42! I swipe the key and step in smoothly. The room is clean and just as elegant as the rest of this hotel. I’m safe no one could know I am here. There is a jug of water and a glass. Upon seeing it I realize how parched I really am, I pour a glass and take a big sip. The refreshing coolness of the water relaxing me. I set the glass down on the desk. It is time to start investigating. I open the laptop bag and put the laptop on the desk. I push the power button and wait. It is loading. What will I find? A cure? Why was this given to me? I am greeted with a screen I recognize from work. It is a varying gradient of purple to peach. At the bottom left the words “Ubuntu 13.04” and just above that a box that says “password”. Waiting for the answer.

_____

[Confused? Read this post to see what is going on. Complete with links to the first two parts]

The alternative universe can be found here enjoy! Let us know what you think.

Auburn Part 3 (The Dark Universe)

I heaved…and I heaved until there was no more air within my lungs. Gasping for air, I couldn’t stand anymore, I slumpt into a pile on the floor. My heart thumping in my chest. My leg pulsating softly with the pain from the prick. My foot, however, was numb just as he mentioned it would be. My mind began to be filled with turbulent waves for thoughts. Who? What? Why?…Why?…Why?! “Who is this woman I am in here with?” “What is going on?” From the corner of my eye I see pieces of the phone lying on the ground. “Why did I throw that phone?” “Why is she dead?…No why was she killed!?” The questions just kept coming and I let them. I had no answers. I let them wash over me, drowning me. Unanswered…

My foot started to tingle. Rudely bringing me back to reality, to what was happening right here and now. I heard the faint sound of a car speeding closer accompanied by a “wee-whaa, wee-whaa” that is all too common in this town. It dawned on me that I would not want to be around if cops were to come into this room. How would I explain this? This auburn haired lady bound to a chair, dead. It doesn’t look good at all. I need to get out of here and I need to get out quick. I began to look for my socks again, right next to the chair I was bound to and a meter from my ‘lucky’ pair of shoes, shirt and hoodie. I pull my socks on and my jeans down to cover the ‘present’ on my ankle and then tie my shoelaces. As I put my hoodie on I notice what is written on the back “There is no place like 127.0.0.1”, my friend gave me the hoodie as a gift, he explained that it was some geeky reference I can’t remember what though. I looked at the women in the chair. Was this why she shoved the laptop into my arms? She thought I was some sort of geeky guy that could do something with it? I put it on; hood up warmth starts to return to my body bit by bit.

I look around the room, just in case there was something, anything I could use as I leave. There is something sticking out from underneath the lady’s chair, must have dropped out of her coat. I move closer, trying not to gag and not to touch her, I reach for it. The chair creeks, I jump back my mind panicking. Only to realize that it must be the wood settling. I quickly grab for the item and snatch it up. It is cold; looking at it I realize it is an expandable baton, just like the ones used by the UK cops. This lady meant business. I stash it in my hoodie pocket and head for the door.

I duck out the room quick. I look around and move towards the stairs to get out. The corridor walls are covered with peeling paint that at some stage must have been white but now they are just dirty. Down one set of stairs and out the front door. As I walked out into the cold night I knew I was nowhere near the elegant Y hotel anymore. Those dark brown walls with gold diamond-shaped lines were on the other side of town. This was not a side of town I knew very well. I just knew that it was the side of town you avoided, especially at night. “Great”…I thought… “I better get out of this area before anymore trouble finds me.” There is a sign for the subway on the block opposite. I stick my hand into my back pocket. I have a few coins; they should get me a ticket. I enter the subway and head towards the Kiosk to buy a ticket. There is a man sitting behind what looks like tinted bullet-proof glass that someone has graffitied. I make him out, slumped in his chair, snoring. I knock on the glass “Excuse me, can I get ticket?” He startles awake. “Hey punk I’m trying to sleep! Just use the machine, what’s wrong with you!?” He mumbles something to himself that I can’t hear as I walk away. “If only you knew.” I thought to myself. I walk towards the machine. It is chained and bolted down and has a camera pointing directly at it. This part of town is something else. I keep my hoodie up and avoid the camera. I put my coins in and get the ticket just as I hear the train arriving. I dash towards it and climb in. The cab is deserted, except for what seems to be one other person asleep on the chairs. I sit down and let the train take me in the direction of home…I don’t know where else to go so why not?

The words of the man from the room come back to my mind. “…go back and live the miserable life that you’ve been living…” Could I do that? Could I just carry on and wait for death? After all, what else could I do? Staring at the chair in front of me I saw words that someone had inked into the back. “I’d ratha die on ma feet than live on ma knees”. Yeah! I am not going to live on my knees! I can’t just lay down and wait for the cold hands of death to close on me! I’m going to do whatever I can to track this guy down! The train screeched to a stop, and I decided I am going to that hotel, maybe there is something I can learn there.

I come out of the subway about three blocks from the hotel. There is a car at a set of traffic lights as I begin my walk up to the hotel. I recognize the man inside! A certain individual with short black hair, peppered with streaks of grey and his eyes, with the addition of black bruising, grey right below large greying eyebrows! That’s him alright! The security guard that knocked me out!  I am right at the driver’s window when he glances at me and waves me off! Like some sort of beggar! Then I see it, on the back seat, the laptop bag. Why does he have it!? “Forget this!!” I think to myself. I grab the baton out my hoodie pocket and with one rage filled swing smash the back window and grab the laptop out. I run into the first building I see ducking the ‘caution’ tape on the front door. As I do so I hear the man scream at me “Hey that’s mine you are not….” He fades into the distance.

I hide in the corner of one of the rooms in the building. He is chasing me. I haven’t thought this through! I don’t know what to do. I look around, there is a part of the floor that has collapsed and it seems like a long way down. Do I try hide in there? I hear his footsteps getting closer. It’s too late he is right around the corner. I wait, hoping he walks past the room. My heart is beating so fast. My grip tightens on the baton. He walks in. I can see what must be a gun in his hands he walks towards the hole. If he turns around he will see me. It’s me or him. Without thinking I sneak quickly behind him. *creek* “Stupid floor!” He starts to turn. I swing and I strike him, hard, in the shoulder and I hear a crack. The gun drops to the floor. He is in pain and angry! I swing again and he jumps back to dodge and he lands just in front of the hole. He starts to yell at me…”I gonna kill…” the floor creeks and he vanishes. The floor collapsed and gravity took him into the deep hole. I hear a thud and a groan. He is still alive at the bottom. “Help! I think I broke my leg” he calls out. I grab the gun off the floor and aim at him, “You want help?! How about you answer some of my questions and I will think about not killing you.”

“I don’t know anything!”

“Don’t lie to me! You had that laptop! You must know something.”

“All I know is that he wants the laptop and that it is important to him.”

“You knock me out and take me across town with a lady and you don’t know anything besides that?! Who is he?!”

“I was just following orders! You know, for the money.”

I thought to myself, is the world that messed up, we do anything for money? Like it’s a god of some sort. “WHO IS HE?!’

“Please I can’t tell you he will kill me! Please help me out of here.”

“I WILL KILL YOU! TELL ME!!!”

“Rather you than him! You see what he does to people, shoot me or help me!”

He wasn’t going to tell me anything more. But I couldn’t bring myself to shoot him. But that didn’t mean I needed to help him out either. I took the clip out the gun, threw the gun at him. “Good luck”. I put the baton back in my hoodie, and retrieved the laptop from the corner. Hood up, and walked out of the building.  Ignoring his angry screams behind me.

_____

[Confused? Read this post to see what is going on. Complete with links to the first two parts]

The alternative universe can be found here enjoy! Let us know what you think.

Short story collaboration (Auburn)

Blogging news! Ladies and gentleman, brothers and sisters lend me your eyes! It is with great excitement that I write this. I would like to make an official announcement about a project that a friend and I have chosen to collaborate on. So let’s cover some basics questions that you will want answers to, ready? Go! 

What is the project?

I am glad you asked this question first, the project we will be working together on is a short story by the name of Auburn.

Ok it’s a short story but about what?

We are not telling!! (actually we not sure….?) The story has yet to be written so we can’t really tell you what is it about except to tell you that it is about a guy that finds himself in a crazy situation and how he deals with it (vague much? gosh!). So far there has been two parts already written by my friend….

What?! Two parts already?! and who is this ‘friend’ you speak of?

Calm down! Yes two parts have already been written and published by my friend…. I say friend, but really I mean creative master mind. You will come to know him as silvanthato. He is a personal friend and a fellow blogger. He is also the original creator of the Auburn story among many other stories and articles all over the interwebs. The two parts so far can be found on his blog, part 1 Here and part 2 Here so you should get reading those so that you can keep up on with the story!

So how is this collab thing going to work then?

Good question! This is the exciting bit. You see after reading the last two parts of the story I felt inspired to get involved in the story, the character has two possible choices facing him at the moment, two possible ways the story can go so what we plan to do is….<pause and wait for dramatic tension to build>…Write both! We have decided to create two possible universes for the character and tell the story of these two universes for the character. We will be posting these stories right here in the blog-o-sphere as we write them. We will also be swapping universes as we write, so while you may see the ‘darker’ universe here first the next time that story is posted the ‘darker’ part will be on silvanthato blog and while you will see the ‘lighter’ side first there the next time you see it will be on my blog.

OK well I think that is all you need to know. So I just want to give silvanthato a shout out and say thanks for agreeing to this collab and that I look forward to working together, while learning to love coffee more 🙂

Anymore questions?

Yeah….wait…you like actually “write”?

Now that’s just nasty. Yes…Yes I do. Well I hope I do, you be the judge of how good my writing is. We would love feedback on the story. So please tell us what you think and tell your friends!