Champion of the Light -- Chapter OneA Chapter by David CastletonThis is the story of Andrew and Katy, two normal teens from Earth who get caught up in an epic struggle on a world that is not their own; the Color Realms. Be sure to check out the prologue first :)Buy the book on Amazon for $2.99 http://amzn.to/INOiUM Buy a physical copy of the book from CreateSpace here: http://www.createspace.com/4570967 Like on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/thecolorrealms Chapter One When would the day come. When would he be free of the
endless dungeons of boring schoolwork, of mindless repetitiveness. When would
he rise above it all to something higher, to truly be free. Would the day ever
come. Andrew slogged through the first half of the school day,
his mind barely there. At lunch he spotted Katy Giordano and went to sit with
her, as they had recently started to hang out together. Katy brushed a strand of her dark
blond hair out of her eyes. "How's your day so far, Andrew?" "B plus in Literature, A minus in
Social Sciences. Not bad." "You got an A minus from the
Creep?! That's amazing! He's sooo stingy with his grades. Even Natalie Wesner
can't manage an A in his class." She was referring to their grumpy
teacher, Mr. Creed. Flip the 'd' around and you got 'Creep.' "Well, I had some help from Phoenix
with that report," Andrew admitted. "Oh, that explains it. How's your
painting coming along?" "The one of the dolphins and the
ocean? I needed to restock on my blue paints twice for that one. I spent an
hour last night trying to fix the shade of blue just right." "Listen, my older brother Jay was
telling me about this secret waterfall that he and his friends discovered in
Arbori Park. It's hidden deep in the woods. He told me how to get to it. Do you
want to go later and check it out?" "I don't know, Kyle has been
bugging me for ages to play this new game he got, Call of Warfare
Five...." "Please, I'm dying to get out
after the long winter." "Okay. The game will have to
wait. I'll tell Kyle that we're on for Wednesday instead. But first I need to
pick up a book from the library for my geology report. Lithosphere Basics, by Larry Coopersmith. So we'll meet an hour after school near the
library, on Beldon Lane, and go to Arbori from there, okay?" "Great. See you then." The bell rang and they went to their
afternoon classes.
Andrew made it through the rest of the
dull school day and biked right afterwards to the nearby public library to get
the geology book he needed. He enjoyed his life; school, family,
judo, friends, painting. But sometimes he got the feeling that he was meant for
something more, for something bigger than an ordinary life. That adventure
would one day find him, or that he would find adventure. Whichever came first. Andrew entered the library and started
towards the science section to retrieve the book he needed. But then something unbelievable
happened. His feet turned on their own accord and led him towards the fiction
section. He felt strangely drawn, as if by an invisible power, to the fantasy books.
His hand reached out without him consciously controlling it and pulled a small,
thin book with a colorful cover from the shelf. Its title was written in large
wavy, silver letters: The Kingdom of the Light, by Lumendo. Then the strange force vanished.
Andrew could barely remember the last couple of minutes of his life. It was
very hazy. What was he was doing in the fiction section, when he had wanted to
get a science book? But for some inexplicable reason it felt right to be there. He took a closer look at the small book
that was now in his hand. Strange. It had no barcode or card, and nothing to
indicate that it belonged to the library. Yet here it was, on a shelf in the
library. 'I'll show it to the librarian,' he
thought to himself. 'They forgot to put a barcode on this book, whatever it's
about. By Lumendo? Funny name.' Andrew was finally free to get the
geology book he needed. He found it easily and went to the counter to check
out. He handed Lithosphere Basics and
his library card over to the librarian, a large woman with frizzy brown hair
and oversized glasses. She scanned them, and gave them back. "Next!" "Hang on a second please. I found
a book that's missing its barcode. Here it is." Andrew pulled The Kingdom of the
Light out of his pocket to show to the librarian. "Next!" called the librarian
again. "Excuse me young man, you are holding up the line. Move along!" Andrew could only wonder why she would
not acknowledge the book that he was trying to show her. It was as if it didn't
exist. After two more tries the librarian threatened to
call security, so Andrew just gave up and walked away, shoving The Kingdom
of the Light into his pocket. But first he took a quick look at the first
page. "You have been chosen." They were the only words on the entire
page. Intriguing. Andrew had no time to dwell on the
strange occurrences that had just happened. Katy would be waiting. He hurried
out of the library and started off towards Beldon Lane, four blocks away. He
would peruse The Kingdom of the Light when he had the time, and perhaps
try to find a clue to its real owner, since it seemed that it did not belong to
the library. Andrew made it to the meeting spot on Beldon
Lane just in time. Katy was already there. "Hi Andrew." "Hello Katy. Guess I just made
it. Sorry, I was held up in the library." They set off towards Arbori Park, a
fifteen minute bike ride away. As they rode, Katy described how to
get to the falls. "Bikes aren't allowed on the path that goes close to the
hidden waterfall, so we will walk for about forty-five minutes. When we see a
fallen oak tree, we leave the trail and head through the forest due north for another
twenty minutes. I brought a compass to guide us. To get back, we simply reverse
those steps." "Sounds easy enough," said
Andrew. "I could use a hike through the woods after being cooped up for
the cold New York winter." Andrew told Katy the story of how he
came across The Kingdom of the Light. The book with no owner. He omitted
the part where his feet moved on their own will, and where the librarian wouldn't
acknowledge the book's existence. Katy might be concerned that he was seeing or
hearing things. It was all very strange, to say the least. They reached the park and locked up
their bikes. The walk along the quiet wooded path was pleasant. Andrew found
his hand entwined with Katy's. It felt good to be in her company. They reached the fallen oak tree right
on schedule, left the path, and set off through the forest due north, towards
the hidden waterfall. At last they reached the secret falls. "Isn't it pretty?" said
Katy. "Yes, it is beautiful," said
Andrew. "And sure worth the long hike." It was fairly large, as waterfalls go,
fed by a brook that ran through the woods. Andrew estimated it to be more than
twenty feet tall, and about seven or eight feet wide. The water roared down the
rocky face of the falls. Katy stretched out her hand. "Ooh,
look. A rainbow!" And then, Andrew's world turned inside out, and upside down. Everything spun
around and around, faster and faster, until it was all just one big blur of
color, light, and shadow, all blended together with each other…. If you liked please tell your friends! :) © 2014 David Castleton |
AuthorDavid CastletonAboutWe are live on kindle go to http://amzn.to/INOiUM to buy the book! I am working on publishing to nook, smashwords, create space, lulu, and more. If you can't use the kindle version check back over .. more..Writing
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