|
8:06am Jul 12 2010
|
Normal User
Posts: 16
|
This is a short story which I wrote for my English Coursework. I'm curious to see what people besides my friends think of it, so...enjoy!
Chrome I awoke with a start. Lying in bed, I could sense that nothing was out of place – whatever had awakened me had gone. I opened my eyes, slowly raising myself into a sitting position. Glancing at the curtains drawn across the window on the other side of the room, I raised an eyebrow. This was the first time the program had failed to activate, ever since I had installed it when I was 10. Sighing, I extended a mind jack and began to probe into the program. Sifting through the various levels of the device, I found no faults and was about to reboot it, when I noticed a flaw in the configuration settings. Briefly releasing the jack, I got up from my bed and changed into the Academy’s uniform, before walking over to the curtains and lowering myself onto the carpeted floor beside them. Extending a more powerful mind-jack, I immersed myself in dismantling the settings and reconfiguring the whole program. When I had finished, I sat back and activated the program. With a soft swish, the curtains slid back, revealing the outside world as it was in summer. At least, I supposed it was summer. The sun shone in through the thin gl*censored* of the window, the grey rays streaming over the soft black carpet of my bedroom, lightening the areas it touched to pale grey. There were no clouds, instead numerous black winged shapes wheeled through the sky, leaving no part of the sky empty. The trees outside were not the stark, leafless trunks I had seen merely yesterday – they appeared to be in full bloom. I flicked a paperclip from one of my pockets through the gl*censored*, and watched it disappear through the foliage of a bush in the garden. A bird flew out of the bush, squawking in protest at being disturbed. I was about to dismiss the bird from my thoughts, when I realised that it seemed odd. A bird – a rarity nowadays – appearing so carelessly in the garden? Flicking yet another paperclip through the gl*censored*, I watched as it p*censored*ed through the bird, scattering the bird into a black cloud. Downstairs, the other members of my family were seated round the breakfast table. I sat down beside my sister, who didn’t look up from her breakfast. The cheerful hubbub had vanished as I entered the room, replaced by an awkward silence. Across the table, I caught my father’s eye, before he looked down swiftly, seemingly engrossed with the fine wood grains on the table. Amused, I suddenly flicked my eyes over to where my mother was sitting, catching her trying to make eye contact with me. This happened every time I was in the same room as any member of my family – they would always make what seemed to be a strenuous effort to talk – or even look – at me, before failing in their attempt. I leaned across the table to grab some toast, and whilst I was eating it, my gaze settled on my brother, playing on his phone. His white hair flopped untidily over his forehead, making me wonder what colour it would be now. The last time I saw its colour was when I was just eleven – the long summer had left streaks of honey in his chestnut coloured hair. I started suddenly. I had promised myself not to think about it. Leaving the breakfast table, I grabbed my bag and left for the Academy. I stepped outside into the warm morning air and into the street, narrowly avoiding a group of children on bicycles pedalling furiously along the pavement. Nothing had changed much since we came to live here, 7 years ago. Closing my eyes, I recalled the street as it appeared in the winter I was ten. The sun glinted off the white snow lying across the rooftops, and a harsh wind whistled through the bare trunks of trees along the street. My father stopped in front of our house, fumbling with the keys, before throwing open the door with a flourish. I stepped into the warm hallway and wandered into the sitting-room. Numerous photographs of my family decorated the room, our faces beaming at us from every wall. I was glad to see the familiar dark blue sofa which we had in our old house, although it seemed out of place among the other new furniture in the room. I was about to explore the other rooms, however I heard my father calling for me from the floor above. I made my way up the stairs, where he appeared and led me through a door to another corridor. This small corridor had a single door, placed right in the middle of the hall, and it was through this that I found my room. |
|
8:08am Jul 12 2010
|
Normal User
Posts: 16
|
I forgot about the censoring. Oh well xD Anywho, here's the next part: A single bed rested in the corner of the room – I recognised the snug covers as the ones I had wistfully gazed at the last time we had gone shopping. A set of cream cabinets were placed next to the bed, each with a single ornament on. My attention, however, was drawn to the window. Everything outside seemed to be magnified slightly, making the bushes in the garden rather alarmingly large. I walked over to the window, and tapped the gl*censored*. The sound echoed for a long time, before fading. Turning round, I saw that my father had gone from the doorway. I tapped the gl*censored* again, with the same result. It was obviously much thicker than normal gl*censored*, but why? I soon dismissed the thought from my mind and joined my parents downstairs. Early next morning, I was half-asleep when the door of my bedroom opened and my mother stuck her head through the narrow opening. I lay still, for I was very curious to see why she was in my bedroom. Seemingly satisfied that I was asleep, she entered the room and crept over to the window, pulling the curtains back to reveal a tiny area of the window. She examined that area for a while, before letting the curtain fall back over the window and leaving the room. I immediately pulled back the bed covers and walked to the window, drawing the curtain where I had seen her open them. I saw nothing, so I fully opened the curtains to reveal the windows. A huge crack streaked up the middle of the window, smaller cracks streaking out like the side branches of a tree. And smaller still, thin hair-line cracks bled across the gaps between the larger cracks, each line fracturing into many thinner cracks. A memory stirred – one where the window in my old bedroom shattered during the night. The thicker gl*censored* here had resisted the force – whatever it was – yet was nearly shattered. Perplexed, I drew the curtains back over the cracked window and went back to bed, falling into an uneasy sleep. The following week, my parents took me to a local private school, the Academy. After being shown round the school and interviewed by the head teacher, we headed home. When I walked back up to my bedroom that night, I pulled the curtains over the window and got into bed. However, I was unable to sleep, tossing and turning restlessly in my bed. Something had changed in my room – something important which I had missed. Suddenly, I sat up as if a bolt of lightning had struck me. I scrambled hastily out of bed, turned on the light, and ran to the window. I grabbed the curtains and in a single fluid movement, pulled them apart. I stepped back in shock. The window was as good as new, with no signs of the cracks the day before. No-one apart from me had been in my bedroom since it had been cracked, yet the window had mysteriously been repaired. I stood there for a few minutes before carelessly pulling the curtains back over the window, deciding to ask my parents tomorrow whether they had called someone to repair the window whilst we were out. Climbing back into bed, I fell asleep almost instantly. However, it was far from a sound sleep. Lost memories from my childhood flashed behind my eyes, and I experienced them as if I was re-living them. Gasping, I woke up, my hand stretched in front of me as if I was trying to grab something. It was the early morning, the dim sun filtering in through the curtains. A gentle breeze swelled the curtains, which billowed out, the material undulating like the ripples on disturbed water. A leaf floated in under the curtain, sailing gracefully in the air before resting on the floor. A sudden glint on the floor made me investigate closer. Shattered gl*censored* lay all around the window, each shard a shining crystal. Knowing what I would find, I approached the window and lifted the curtain. Sure enough, the gl*censored* had shattered, the pieces scattered around the window. Terrified, I ran to my parents' room, the door of which was slightly ajar. I was about to rush in, when I heard my mum's voice. |
|
8:09am Jul 12 2010
|
Normal User
Posts: 16
|
It's quite long, actually. -grimaces- “Chrome will find out eventually. There's no point in keeping her... 'abilities' from her, right? I mean, the sooner she learns how to control herself, the sooner we can regain a normal life. We can't afford to keep replacing the gl*censored* which she breaks every single night...” I didn't stay to hear the rest. I crept back to my room, huddling up in the middle of my bed, the blanket folded tightly round me. I willed the gl*censored* to repair itself, my bedroom to appear as it was before everything bad happened. I shut my eyes for a brief second – on opening them, I found the windows fully intact, with no hint of the cracks there were before. Still, nothing had changed. In the next week, I enrolled in the Academy. I thought that my parents were proud of me for entering such a prestigious school, however their attitudes towards me began to change. They were reluctant to make eye contact with me whilst speaking – soon, our daily conversations dwindled to one a day. I withdrew from them, saving my energy for the “Ki” training in school. These lessons were always strenuous, the primary aim being to learn how to control our Ki. A rapid release of Ki would be dangerous for the environment around us, with objects often being destroyed. One year p*censored*ed, the seasons merging into one another, and the leaders of Yuerso gathered to discuss the extraordinary behaviour of the climate. The once-native birds were declared all but extinct, wiped out by the drastic alterations in weather patterns across the planet, as well as our creatures, the winged Drehkils, consuming their prey. That year was grey unlike any other. My Ki abilities grew daily, and I learned how to use my mind to bring life to inanimate objects. My first experiment was on the curtains in my room, which turned out to be a success. The following year, the colours began to vanish from my world. The once-bright street now faded slowly to nothing but shades of grey, white and black. The medical specialists at the Academy had told me that continuing to use my abilities would result in an inability to distinguish shapes clearly, and that there was a high probability of me losing my vision altogether. As I had not inherited my abilities, the part of my brain which regulated Ki was relatively under-developed, meaning that every time I used Ki, I would strain it. The energy used to keep my brain running would be extracted from the other parts of my body – the optic nerves connecting my brain and eyes had become so deprived of energy that the colour pigments in my eyes had been destroyed and replaced by Ki animators. These Ki animators – responsible for moving things around with my Ki – required almost no energy to use them, thus saving energy. My sister was also born in that year – the week after she was brought home from the hospital, I remember seeing her golden hair fade to a pale, metallic grey. |
|
8:11am Jul 12 2010
|
Normal User
Posts: 16
|
I think the large gaps are where the paragraphs are? Finally, the end: Since then, I had learnt to live with my “abilities” as a normal part of my life. I no longer felt anything besides dry amusement, detachment, and, most rarely, steely anger. Most of my time was spent observing and analysing the world around me with detachment – the only way for someone like me to survive. Next year, I would finish school and move to live in the Academy's camp for Ki users. As I walked idly down the road, I spotted another imprint of a bird pecking at the ground under a tree. That was unusual. Freezing the imprint with my Ki, I teleported to where it was. I crouched down and slowly peeled away each la
yer of the illusion. I reached through to the core with my mind. Suddenly, an electric shock tore through my barriers and stunned me. When my brain recovered, the illusion had gone. I stood up, rearranging the defences of my mind quickly. I turned away from the tree, puzzling over what had happened. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a scarlet butterfly fluttering from one flower to another. I was about to dismiss the butterfly, when I realised that I had seen it in colour. Spinning round on my heel, I caught sight of a flash of red from deep within the trees. I followed it, chasing the speck of scarlet until it stopped. I was in a clearing, with the butterfly resting on a rose bush. The clearing was thick with the scent of red roses, a scent I had not smelled since we had moved. The butterfly seemed to be waiting for me, as once I had caught my breath, it flew to the far end of the clearing. I approached it cautiously, however it took fright and vanished among the green trees. I was about to make my way through the trees, however I looked back. The black and grey bushes seemed very distant on the other side, with my abandoned school bag lying alone on the white gr*censored*. I turned round and took one step forward. I allowed myself one last glance at the monochrome world behind me, and I stepped into the coloured world in front of me, the scarlet butterfly flying high into the baby blue sky. |
|
12:25pm Jul 12 2010
|
Normal User
Posts: 1,120
|
I like it. :)
|
|
1:19pm Jul 18 2010
|
Normal User
Posts: 16
|
Thanks :)
|
|
