Prologue

He could not take it anymore. The visions were coming more frequently. Like flashes of lightning, they were there and then gone. He wanted his life to be normal again, but what was normal anymore? Normal was not a part of his life since he came back. Normal wasn’t being bombarded by questions about where he had been. Normal was not having this sinking feeling that everything was wrong. Normal had gone away completely.

“Hey man.” A large man with a blood stained apron came out of the store he sat in front of. “You can’t just sit out here. My customers know who you are, and they will not be customers anymore with you hanging around.”

He didn’t even acknowledge the man.

“Young man!”

The boy stood up and pulled the gun from the back of his pants and pointed at the man.

“Easy! Easy! I’m just asking you to leave. It ain’t worth all that, kid.”

“This isn’t meant for you!”

His head began to throb and a vision flashed in his mind. A girl lay on the ground, blood running from her body. Her screams were tearing at his mind. Then he saw a sign, a street name. He couldn’t make it out at first, but then it came into focus; Fairfield.

Piercing pain.

“You alright kid?”

He fought it off, struggling to regain control, struggling for normalcy.

Then it stopped.

When he opened his eyes, the man had gone back in his store and he was alone again.

He knew what he saw. Fairfield, he knew that street. For the first time, he could make some sense from one of these visions that plagued him. He needed to go to Fairfield Street.

He tucked the small gun into the back of his pants and started running. He needed answers, proof that what he felt was real. He had been gone, what felt like a lifetime, but he was still nineteen. Something happened to him, something was still happening to him, and he was going to prove it.

The rain picked up and he started hearing rumblings of thunder. He was only a block away. Everything might finally make some sense. By the time he stood under the Fairfield Street sign, it was a downpour. He could barely see anything and the only light came from a single lamp post that was flickering in and out. Everything seemed dead, and it was an eerie feeling.

He sat down on the corner, his clothes already soaked to the bone, and just waited for something to happen…anything. Minutes became an hour, then two. He pulled out the gun and set it on his lap. He was nearing the end.

“Awful late to be just sittin’ on the street corner. Don’t you reckon?”

A man with a long coat and dripping wet cowboy hat seemed to appear out of nowhere behind. He nearly jumped out of his shoes.

“You alright son?”

He slipped the gun into the front of his pants and stood to look at the man. He looked oddly familiar.

“Do I know you?”

“If you knew me, kid, you would most certainly remember. Let’s just say I ain’t from these parts.”

“Where are you from?”

“I can be from wherever you’d like. England?” His voice was thick with an English accent. “Or maybe…Espana? Tu hablas espanol?” His Spanish accent was spot on. “Or maybe, Australia?” He slapped his fingers and his clothes changed. The long coat and hat were gone, and he now wore a pair of surf shorts. “Let’s catch a wave!” He snapped again and he was back to his original appearance.

He thought about running. He thought about pulling out the gun, but none of it mattered. Maybe this is what he was waiting for.

“How did you do that? Was it magic?” he asked.

“Come with me and find out.”

He looked at the man closely. He couldn’t place it, but he knew the man…from somewhere.

“Where?”

“Away from this. Your life is worth more than just taking it away. I saw the gun young fella’. Come with me.”

The man started to walk over toward the door on the nearest building. He moved slowly, almost without a care in the world. It was something to envy.

“Here, take this.”

In the man’s hand was a key. It was long and silver, with a head that held intricate designs.

“I’m not going in there with you!”

“I don’t even know what this place is, kid. Let’s just say that this is a special key. All you have to do is stick it in that there keyhole and turn the handle. If you like what you see, by all means, step right through, but if not, you will forget all about this by tomorrow morning. Take it.”

He threw the key at him. He couldn’t explain it, but the man felt honest to him. This moment felt right, more right than anything had since he got back. Maybe this is where he was supposed to go.

He decided. He had to try. If anything was worth living for now, it was this.

He got up and put the key in the door.

He turned the handle and the door opened.

Light burst through like it had been waiting, holding back until the right moment to explode. When his eyes finally adjusted, everything came back to him; who he was, where he had been, everything. He walked through with a smirk on his face, the man in the hat close behind him.

“Before we go any further young man, I need your name.”

He turned and looked. The man in the hat had pulled a large book and ink pen from his long jacket.

“Is this how they do it now?” he said wryly. “Rather inefficient, don’t you agree? I’ll have to remedy that.”

The man looked at him queerly.

“I forgot what this was like.” He turned and looked at the man again. “You still have no idea what you have done bringing me back here, do you?”

The man’s eyes widened in sudden realization.

“Two mistakes tonight. The first is obvious, you brought me back. The second, you let me keep my gun.”

BANG!

Reviews

[Ruri 瑠璃]

Nice!
I really liked it :) I made me want to read on because I wanted to know what happened to this guy!

Couple of things that I noticed:

At the start, when you introduced the butcher guy ( ....a butcher right?) you used the word "man" a lot. It didn't sound very fluent when i read it out loud. EX: "“Hey man.” A large man with a..." maybe he can just say hey (in a harsh tone).

I also noticed you use the word "he" a lot to begin sentences (around 32 times....and most were right next to each other) . Ex: "He tucked the small gun into the back of his pants and started running. He needed answers, proof that what he felt was real. He had been gone, what felt like a lifetime, but he was still nineteen." Mix it up a little and it should sound a lot better :) But in the beginning you used "normal" for starting your sentences, but that was ok because, as a reader, I was reading it with emphasis. The word "Normal" was important.

"He nearly jumped out of his shoes." kind of cliche...

Overall this story has promise :) I will most defiantly read the first chapter. Sorry if i was being to critical...anyway good luck~
-Ruri