Foreword
This will be my first attempt at writing a story and as such, there might be some inconsistencies in the storyline, as I have no experience in writing fiction beyond occasional musings.
By no means, will this be a short story and as such, if you are looking for a quickie you should probably look elsewhere.
Everyone in the story is 18 years or older.
*****
From darkness
Chapter 1
Subchapter 1
Awakening
My dreams have always been intense but I have never been able to remember them and this night was no different. I wake up bathed in my own sweat as I usually do with no memory of what had frightened me yet I am terrified. Taking deep breaths, I whisper my mantra to myself "I am the master of myself" repeatedly until I have calmed down enough to think about what the day holds for me. As best as I can tell I am, an absolutely insignificant young man and my life had been about as exciting as an orphan can have and today will be pretty much like every other day.
Life at the orphanage was never easy and especially not for a shy kid and the main reason for my difficulties is another kid. Brian Kincaid, big, burly and boisterous who relentlessly picks on the one person I consider a friend as well as on myself. Julia is very much like me in the way that she shies away from all conflict and really does not like other people very much. She is also tiny and barely stands 5" tall to my own 6"2.
My usual morning's starts out at the cantina where I pick out my table and sit down next to Julia who, as she always does, is already there picking away at the more edible parts of her breakfast. I am not much of a morning person and as such, conversation is limited to the usual small talk about nothing at all. Soon enough half of my own breakfast is gone and I decide that I feel just about disgusted enough with today's fare when Brian shows up at our table, picks up my plate and smears the content of it into Julia's face in an attempt to rile me. While most people would complain about the randomness of such an action. It is really is just Brian being Brian.
One of his favorite pastimes is to see just how far he can push me and this about does it. Yet something still holds me back just enough to avoid being smacked around by him once again. Despite my rage at the injustice of it, I remain seated and feel embarrassed about my inaction. Julia however, is simply having none of that, she stands up, cleans off her face and kicks him in the shins to my utter amazement. This is not like Julia at all and I feel even more ashamed about my own inaction. However, her being tiny this action simply stuns him briefly and he turns his attention away from me and stares incredulously at her for a few seconds.
The silence is simply deafening as Brian tries to process what just happened. Having someone actually not taking his shit seems to have somewhat flabbergasted him. A few long moments tick by before he seems to realize that he will lose face with his cronies if he does not respond appropriately. Brian being enormous simply picks Julia up, throws her down onto the floor, and smashes his boot down directly into her chest to my despair.
Something happens to me just then as he has finally managed to push me further than my own tight inhibitions have allowed me to go. I throw myself at him with all the pent up rage 10 years of bullying can instill in someone and as I throw my very best punch at his face. Something bursts free at finally having let go of my rage, I feel a fierce joy inside of me, and then something happens. Something changes and something cruel and twisted takes control of me and then there is darkness.
Subchapter two
Taking stock.
Upon wakening, I can feel a wrongness inside of me. It is hard to describe but I feel very different, more alive. The first thing I notice is that everything is bright. So bright that my eyes hurt at the glare of it. Taking a deep breath, I close my eyes and calm myself down to give my eyes time to adjust. Several long moments pass by, I reopen my eyes and I notice that everything is clearer than it used to be and I can see farther. The second thing I notice is that I am most definitely not in the orphanage anymore but rather in the middle of a cornfield and there is a distinct metallic smell. Investigating further, I see that there are dark stains on my clothes. Taking a deep breath, I try to logic up where I am and what these stains are. Deciding to give them a sniff I realize that what I smelled earlier is the stains, and it smells like blood. Why do I have dried blood all over my clothes while standing in a cornfield with no memory of how I got here? Another deep breath is required and in that silence, I can hear something whispering at me. To sum up my predicament, I am somehow in a field in the middle of nowhere and I have no idea how I got here. Being a normally calm person I am very much aware that I have no memory of what has transpired since that horrible moment in the cantina, I do not know what time of day it is, and I realize I do not even know what day it is. How long have I been out, what caused it, and where IS that whispering coming from?
As far as I can tell, I am nowhere near the orphanage and not in any place, I recognize. As such, my first order of business will be to find out where and when I am. Looking around I see no apparent difference so I head east as I can see the sun is still moving upwards, either I have lost a little more than an hour. A full day or several days. I really have no way of knowing as I have neither phone or a watch or anything like that on me. In fact, I am just wearing my jeans and a shitty t-shirt that really should not be able to keep me warm in February but it seems to be fine.
As I make my way east'ish I ponder that I do not seem to be freezing even though I can see frosty rime on the fields. I also seem to have a much more fluid movement and I am seemingly tireless. What actually happened to me after Brian... Damn Julia! I had completely forgotten about her and I find that I barely care. This is much more disturbing to me than the fact that I do not seem to be freezing and that my body seems much more developed than it was. Why do I not care? She was my friend and the fact that she got hurt badly and I do not know what has happened to her barely registers for me. Again, I can hear the whispers just at the edge of my consciousness.
I find a stream and clean up as best as I can and find that I have a powerful thirst. Seeing as I seem impervious to the cold I decide to dive headfirst into the stream because that just seems to be the easiest way to clean off the grime if the cold does not hurt me. Before I dive, I take a glance into the clear water though and see my reflection for the first time. It is a stranger looking back at me. It is still me but I seem to have aged several years. Even stranger is the eyes that stare back at me. Intense black eyes where I had green eyes last I checked.
Shrugging off the physical changes until I find a better way to check it out more properly, I dive into the water headfirst. Just what the doctor ordered. You know that feeling when you have been camping for a few days and you come home and take a nice hot nearly scalding shower where the grime just pours off you. This was much better than that. It was invigorating and I found I had an abundance of energy as I climbed out of the stream with the water simply steaming off my soaked clothes. In a matter of minutes the clothes was simply drying from the heat my body generated, a handy little feature and something that bore closer inspection when I had a possibility.