Daemosa
Dead Account Holder
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08-31-2009, 05:46 AM
I started this story about three years ago now, and its lost on a dead laptop, but I did manage to post it somewhere before I lost it. This is all I have left of it. It still needs a title, and the rest of the story, but I think I got stuck, that's why I stopped.
Enjoy!
Warning:this contains strong language and some other inappropriate themes.
Quote:
Introduction
‘What is it with the world today?’ Greg thought, ‘I know that the economy is failing but what does that have to do with the way people have been acting? It’s like they’ve all got Tourette’s syndrome or something.’ He walked into the office to gather his things and go home when Stephen showed up at his door.
“How’s it goin’ G-man? Just thought you might want to go out to the bar tonight. I got some pretty tight girls there just aching to meet you.”
“Not tonight Stephen, I have some work to do. You know? Maybe next week.” Greg replied.
“C’mon man, its Friday night and you’re probably the only guy who’s gonna be in his apartment alone tonight. Just come out for a few drinks and hey, who knows I might even help you after.” Stephen gave him the same strange ‘pal’ face, one he used every time he tried to get his way.
“No Stephen, I really need to get this done by Monday. Now if you don’t mind, GET OUT OF MY DOORWAY!” Greg gave him a hard look.
“Sheesh man, you don’t have to yell. I’ll get out. Have fun doing your work.” He said the last bit with a sneer.
“When are you going to grow up Stephen? I mean Jesus, you’re nearly thirty and you still get plastered every night. It’s a miracle that you still have your job.”
“Yeah, well… well… fuck you Greg. I don’t need you.”
There’s a knock on my door. “Jim?” a muffled voice floats through.
“Jim are you home?”
“I’m here Melinda, just let me get to the door.” I call back. I get up from my easy chair and set my laptop on the table. I walk over to the door and undo the three or so locks and open it.
“Jimmy!” Melinda squeals “It’s so good to see you back!”
“It’s good to be back. Why don’t you come in?” I say, warmly.
“Oooh Mr. Romantic now are we? What’s gotten into you James Irving?” she plays.
“Nothing, can’t a guy be nice to his fiancé every now and then?” I reply, sarcasm dripping from my voice.
“Stop it. So what are you writing this time?” she eyes my laptop open on the coffee table.
“You know the usual. Boring dribble that makes the brain hurt.” I tell her, more sarcasm.
“Oh that stuff,” her voice goes deep trying to imitate mine “the same boring crap that pays the bills.” We both laugh.
“You’re getting pretty good at that, have you been practicing while I’ve been gone?”
“No, I’m just sick of you spouting the same crap over and over. Now seriously Jim, why can’t you ever tell me what you write?”
“Because it would ruin the surprise. That’s why.”
“Very funny, Hey! I brought home some of those um…” her voice trails as her eyes grow wide.
“Mel?” I ask. No reply. “Mel?!” the sound of glass smashing fills the room as her body slumps to the floor. There is a man standing where my fiancé was two seconds ago. “Who the hell are you and how did you get in here?” I demand.
“The point is not who I am but who you were.” His voice is deep, eerily deep. Like the super villains of yesteryear. “Now come with me and you won’t die as quickly.” He holds out the bloody knife that was just in my girl’s back. My face twists into an expression of pure rage.
“You bastard! I’ll kill you for that!” I scream as I lunge at him. He moves, faster than I have ever seen anyone move before. I slip on the rug and find myself on the floor in a puddle of wine. The broken glass cuts my arm like hundreds of tiny knives. Before I can react he is on top of me with the knife to my throat. Suddenly the man’s face clicks in my mind, and I remember where I had seen him before…
Chapter One: The Beginning of the End
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The date is June 7th 2005. I’m in Aruba on business with one of my editors. I’m alone on the beach and just loving it, suddenly there is an eerie feeling crawling down my spine, the feeling you get when you’re being watched. I quickly scan the area for a camera poking out of the bushes or the unusually pale guy who seems to randomly appear, mostly things seen in cheesy movies. I see nothing unusual and continue to enjoy the beach. My fiancé is back at home because the company thought it might be a ‘liability’ and also I could only afford one plane ticket. Mine.
I spot a man in a suit coming towards me. This man is in a white dress suit not a white bathing suit, and that is definitely unusual. And the thing that draws my attention beside the man in a three piece suit on the beach, is the classic ‘surround myself around muscle so that I have good protection’ bit. He is surrounded by three of the biggest men I have ever seen, besides the strong-man competitions on ESPN. “Monsieur Irving? Might I have a word with you?” he asks in a very thick French accent.
“Who are you?”
“How impolite of me. My name is Monsieur David Manuelle, perhaps you have heard of me, no?”
“No I haven’t, and may I ask how you know me?”
“I read your books, of course!”
I feel the need to slap myself in the head, ‘How could you forget you’re a writer?’ I ask myself.
“Sorry, I think I’ve been out in the sun too long. My mind isn’t where it should be.”
“Then shall we go somewhere shady?” he asks, a wry smile drawing across his face.
“Sure. Let me get dressed first. Where should I meet you then?”
“At the Café de L’Orange. 4 o’clock sharp. Until then, I bid you adieu.” He turns, motions to his guards, mutters something in French to them, and walks away. One of the guards walks off in another direction. I almost instantly realize that the direction that he is headed is towards my car. “Hey! Just where do you think you are going?” I call out to the man. He shrugs it off and keeps walking. I grab my towel and run off across the white sand after him. He takes a sharp turn and keeps going to the port-a-potty over by the parking lot. Again the need to slap myself in the head arises.
I get to my car grab my jeans and throw them on over my bathing suit and toss on the black t-shirt that is sitting on my passenger side seat. I rummage through my trunk and pull out a wrinkled button down shirt, roll up the sleeves and put it on. I get into my car and turn the key; the clock on the dash says its three fifty. ‘Ten minutes’ I think to myself. I go to put it into gear when there is a slam on the door. It’s the guy who I followed up the beach. He wrenches the door open and plops himself on the seat.
“Excuse me but…”
“Be quiet and drive. I am not here at all.” His English sounds forced, like he doesn’t know the language all too well.
“Okay, but may I ask one question?”
“No questions. Just drive.” I’m not in the mood to have my head handed to me so I back out of the space and head to the Café de L’Orange.
I get there a few minutes early so I sit down and order a coffee. Manuelle walks in as my coffee arrives and sits down across from me. “You are here before me. I like a man who is punctual. Now we get down to business. I brought you here to discuss a sort of politics with you.”
“You just randomly walk up to guys on the beach and take them to coffee shops to talk politics?” I interrupt. He chuckles.
“No, just you. I needed to find someone who is somewhat well known, and when I heard you were in town I saw my opportunity.”
“Alright, alright, what do you want to talk to me about?”
“You know what people generally talk about…” He stops mid-sentence and, with a sneer, snaps his fingers “Get him.” The next thing I know, a ham-sized fist is hurtling toward my face and everything goes bright for a split-second and then blackness.
I awake in darkness, and the smell of dirty gym socks. My face feels like it has been caved in, I feel the blood trickling from my now broken nose. I try to wipe it away, only to find I’ve been bound at the wrists and ankles, and neatly hog-tied. I couldn’t see anything, I try to scream, but the sock stuffed in my mouth prevents it. It tastes worse than anything I’ve ever eaten, and I’ve had some strange foods abroad. A sharp bump and my head hits the roof of my enclosure. ‘Great, I’ve been stuffed in somebody’s trunk.’ The thought enters my mind, then it hits me, I didn’t see any of those guys show up in a car. ‘Damnit! This is my trunk! I’m helpless, totally and completely helpless.’ Another thump and my head smacks the lid once more, this time on a protrusion, cutting the side of my head, the blood pouring down the back of my neck and face. I start feeling drowsy from the combination of the hum of the road and the slow loss of blood, and I pass out.
Chapter Two: Dazed and Confused
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I wake to blinding light as I am dragged out of my temporary prison. It’s still daylight, so we weren’t traveling for long, but this place was secluded. A grand mansion lay out in front of me, as my eyes adjusted to the light I could see that it was bright white against the green foliage, accented with golds and reds that would make Liberace’s jaw drop.
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Last edited by Daemosa; 09-08-2009 at 03:06 AM..
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Hayzel
[MiniMee]
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09-06-2009, 12:32 AM
Darn it ended. You had me hook line and sinker. o.o Well done. I can even imagine Monsieur David Manuelle's accent! Now finish it so I can read more :3
What is it you got stuck on? Why they grab him? Why the guy stabbed his fiance?
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Nolori
Everyone's Favorite Imaginary Fr...
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09-06-2009, 04:17 AM
I quite like that your main character is a writer. It makes me happy. =D
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Daemosa
“What is it with the world today?’
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You have a quotation inconsistency is all. =]
Quote:
Originally Posted by Daemosa
It’s like they’ve all got teret’s syndrome or something.
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‘teret’s syndrome’ is ‘Tourette’s Syndrome’
Quote:
Originally Posted by Daemosa
…one he uses every time he tries to get his way.
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I think the second part of this sentence would flow better if you put ‘the one’, instead of simply ‘one’.
I also think ‘uses’ should be ‘used’ since the rest of this piece is in past-tense.
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Originally Posted by Daemosa
I mean Jesus, your nearly thirty and you still get plastered every night.
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‘you’re’ instead of ‘your’. Just a little grammar issue. =]
Quote:
Originally Posted by Daemosa
“Yeah, well…well…Fuck you Greg. I don’t need you.”
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I’d put a space after the ellipses so that the words don’t look like they belong together.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Daemosa
I lunge at him. He moves…
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Something about this paragraph doesn’t sit quite well with me. The dialogue is purely emotion, which makes sense with what just happened. His explanation (1st person narrative) for it seems so unemotional that it doesn’t feel quite right. He’s explaining to us that the woman he loves (or at very least cares something about) was just stabbed in the back and killed. You’d expect more of response when he’s looking back on that. Without it, and without any explanation as to why he’s so unemotional, kind of detaches us from him.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Daemosa
…or the random pale guy who seems to randomly appear…
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I think one of these ‘random’ needs to be changed for variety.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Daemosa
This man is in a white dress suit not a white bathing suit, and that is definitely unusual.
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Well, since you already stated he’s in a white suit, I’m not sure what this sentence is needed for.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Daemosa
“Ok, but may I ask one question?”
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‘Ok’ is more standard as ‘okay’ when written.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Daemosa
He stops mid-sentence and ,with a sneer…
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The space and comma are switched is all. =]
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I wish I could help you with a title, but I can’t think of anything that I feel would fit the story. Maybe if I knew a bit more about the plot?
As far as immediate help, you could probably skip straight to waking up from being blacked-out if you don’t feel like writing the ‘oh god I’m getting pummeled’ scene. Otherwise, again, I’d have to more about the plot to help out.
It was really quite well written. He narrates a bit unemotionally, which seems odd to me, but otherwise I quite liked it. Something about getting randomly picked up off the beach amuses me greatly. =]
I hope you find your muse soon and figure out where to go with it!
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Daemosa
Dead Account Holder
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09-07-2009, 05:00 PM
I appreciate that people like it....and I'll do my best to get more. Usually when I get on a kick I get good results so we'll see about chapter two.
Also, thanks for the help, a lot of stupid errors that spell-check doesn't catch.
One thing though, the part you mentioned as "Unemotional" kind of lost me....there really isn't much there I could change...I tweaked it some, but other than that, I'm stumped.
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Nolori
Everyone's Favorite Imaginary Fr...
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09-07-2009, 06:12 PM
Hmm. I wish I could give you a sentence or two as an example, but I don't know your character well enough to do that.
If this were third-person, it would be perfect. But since it's first person, the rules of 'tell us what happened with perfect sentences, grammar and coherency' are a little skewed. Think about how people talk when they're emotional or thinking back on an extremely emotional experience. Sentences fade before they end. Thoughts blur together. Things aren't very coherent.
Obviously, you can't write the whole story like that. But for that single paragraph, when he's telling us how he just watched the (presumably) love of his life get stabbed and is now being over-whelmed with hate/violence that he's attacking the murderer rather than running away, I think that it would add a lot and help the reader really feel for Jim.
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