I mentioned a few blogs ago that, while I was studying - or at least making a really good effort - I started imagining this fantastic story set in Shatterworld. Ever since I created that world in my mind and gave it a proper name, I've been having a hard time getting rid of it. So far, I haven't succeeded, which is quite obvious given the fact that I'm writing another blog about it. Although this time, I'm on a mission. I figure that, if this thing is going to nest itself in my cerebral cortex, I might as well try and force it out by writing it all down. That way, I can control the influx of new ideas on the story and incorporate it into a nice little story, thereby expelling it from my mind. If the story turns out to be worthwhile, then I'll have my very first novel right here on my blog, if it's a bust, then at least the thought of Shatterworld will cease to haunt me. Without further ado, I give you the first chapter:
Chapter 1 - Brave New World
Chapter 1 - Brave New World
There are worlds within worlds. And in the space between spaces lies the doorway to these worlds. One only has to pass through them to see the multiverse.
Link always felt as if he didn't belong. The reason for this was threefold. Firstly, he did not remember anything from his life before the age of nine. Secondly, whenever something profoundly weird and abnormal seemed to happen, Link was never too far away. And thirdly, sometimes, when he would close his eyes, he could see flashes of strange, otherworldly things. Things that just didn't seem to make any sense. He was sure that he was going crazy.
The earliest memory Link possessed was of him laying in an alley somewhere, cold and confused. He remembered walking for hours in the dark, surrounded by locked doors and shut windows. Finally, he was picked up by a police officer who took him to a large building, filled with desks, massive piles of papers and a humdrum of people running all around the place. The room was so chaotic he felt as if he was going to faint. The man who found him wandering the streets was very kind to him. He asked for Link's name, which he couldn't remember. He asked him where he lived, but the answer to that question was unknown to him as well. After the police officer had written down so many words on a piece of paper and made a couple of phone calls, he told Link a lady was going to come by and look after him from now on. Link didn't fully realize what was going on when the lady came by and took him away from that nice man. The lady guided him to a car and brought him to another office where there were even more papers to fill in and questions to answer. After what seemed like an eternity, she told him she'd find him a nice family where he could go and stay. She said some other stuff about orphans, foster homes and missing persons files.
Link couldn't really remember all of it, just that the next day, Carla and David, his fosterparents, came by the lady's office and picked him up. They decided to name him Link, since he didn't have a name of his own - or at least not one that he could remember. When Link asked his fostermom why they named him that, she told him hit was because of a video game character his father liked. Link always thought the name held a different meaning to him: he pictured himself a sort of stray link in the never-ending chain of society. Someone who'd fallen through the holes of structured civilization and ended up on the streets, alone, in search of a home. A missing link, who didn't quite belong.
Link couldn't really remember all of it, just that the next day, Carla and David, his fosterparents, came by the lady's office and picked him up. They decided to name him Link, since he didn't have a name of his own - or at least not one that he could remember. When Link asked his fostermom why they named him that, she told him hit was because of a video game character his father liked. Link always thought the name held a different meaning to him: he pictured himself a sort of stray link in the never-ending chain of society. Someone who'd fallen through the holes of structured civilization and ended up on the streets, alone, in search of a home. A missing link, who didn't quite belong.
As he got older, Link started to notice all of the weird things that seemed to happen when he was around, such as the electric lights flickering when he walked into a room or how his presence always triggered a certain change, as if he was accompanied by some otherworldy atmosphere. It all started the first day his fosterparents took him to their house. Carla and David were already walking up to the front door, talking agitatedly about Link's new home and much he'd like it here. Link wasn't really listening as he was too busy watching a girl play across the street. She was throwing her ball against the tree and then smashing it back with her fist when it bounced off the bark. Link had seen her do it three times already, but the fourth time she hit the ball back, it flew right past the tree and onto the street. The girl was so caught up in the moment that she immediatly ran after it. Link however, had seen that a car was rapidly driving down the street, right to where the girl was about to fetch her ball. Link shouted at her to stop. She looked up, her eyes opened wide. With only a few inches to spare, she teetered on the edge of the sidewalk as the car sped her by. Link couldn't know for sure, but something told him that if he hadn't been there, she would've surely been caught up by that car. This would prove to be the first time that Link was there whenever something extraordinary happened.
Other people started to notice the strange things surrounding Link too and opted to stay away from him. It wasn't easy to hide in the suburban area where his fosterparents lived. Link didn't notice at first. He just always thought of himself as being in the right place at the right time. And the fact that he didn't have all too many friends gave him the opportunity to be alone with his thoughts. His imagination was his escape. At home, he would spend hours laying on his bed, with his eyes closed, submerging himself in the fantastical world that he conjured up in his mind. Over time, he discovered that there was one story, one world that kept coming back to him. It was almost as if the story was calling him. And whenever he heard the call, he let his mind take him to that magical place. The sad part was that every time he opened his eyes, the world in his mind had vanished completely and he couldn't remember a thing about it. As if the memory had somehow been erased from his mind each time he tried to finish the story.
-- It is still a work in progress, so bear with me, it might take a while before I get to tell the whole story, although knowing what I've got planned for Link, it's certainly worth the wait!
Other people started to notice the strange things surrounding Link too and opted to stay away from him. It wasn't easy to hide in the suburban area where his fosterparents lived. Link didn't notice at first. He just always thought of himself as being in the right place at the right time. And the fact that he didn't have all too many friends gave him the opportunity to be alone with his thoughts. His imagination was his escape. At home, he would spend hours laying on his bed, with his eyes closed, submerging himself in the fantastical world that he conjured up in his mind. Over time, he discovered that there was one story, one world that kept coming back to him. It was almost as if the story was calling him. And whenever he heard the call, he let his mind take him to that magical place. The sad part was that every time he opened his eyes, the world in his mind had vanished completely and he couldn't remember a thing about it. As if the memory had somehow been erased from his mind each time he tried to finish the story.
-- It is still a work in progress, so bear with me, it might take a while before I get to tell the whole story, although knowing what I've got planned for Link, it's certainly worth the wait!
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