Chapter 1: Not over yet
Simon, had given up. He rolled his wheel chair down the lonely road in the Swedish city. The browning Hi power bouncing in his satchel as he rolled over the bumps in the road. His red sweater barely managing to keep out the cold. He couldn't take it anymore. His broken legs haunted every moment of the day. The mental wars he waged every day. The abandonment he felt from all his friends. The hopelessness of it all had pushed him to the end. His nightmarish creations, hunting him down in his dreams. He wouldn't have it anymore. Today, would be the day he finally liberated himself.
Simon exited the blue elevator of his apartment. Rolling out of the blue elevator and right towards his room. He dug into his bag and pulled out his key. He unlocked the door and twisted the knob. Just as he was about to open the door, a crash could be heard from within. Simon wondered whether or not this was a figment of his deteriorating mind, or someone had actually broken into his home. Though he wanted to die that night, he didn't want to end his life without some sort of conclusion. A memo to Sophie and Doctor Purnell. The book... He had to finish the book. Doctor Purnell told him to begin writing in the book when the anti-depressants lost their affect. It helped him put things into prospective and Sophie gave him the strength to continue. But in the end, they just weren't enough to save him. He wearily opened the door and aimed his pistol into the room. The window had been broken and a small, red, crystal object sat inside his room. The book he had left on his desk, was gone. He shrieked. "No!"
Placing the pistol in his lap, he quickly wheeled over to the window, hoping he could see the offender who had made off with his book. Before he had gotten half way across the room, the stone began to shimmer and radiate light. "OH SHIT!"
A blinding light engulfed his vision and the world went white.
The first thing that greeted Simon was the smell of nature. The smell of dirt and leafs flooded his nostrils. He could hear the rush of water nearby. Had he awoken in the nightmare forest? He was unsure. He opened his eyes and peered into the night sky. He was in a ravine, however, something was odd. He crossed his eyes and stared at his new muzzle. He then turned and looked down at his... paw? He looked at both of his new paws, in confusion and fear. Though he had fought against countless nightmares, this was a new... A new what? No words could describe his current situation. He quickly sat up and looked at his body. Though he wore all of his clothes, he could tell something was very different with his body. He quickly got to his feet and looked into the nearby stream, only being greeted by his new lynx features. "What the fuck?"
He rubbed his face, as if he was trying to tear the brown fur out of his face. The then cupped some water in his paws and ran it over hoping it would snap him out of what ever hallucination he was in. After sitting by the river rubbing his face for several seconds, he realized he wasn't getting out of this dream. He sat back up and tried to collect his thoughts. "Okay, so someone broke into my room. Stole my journal and left a stone in the room which sent me into another world or something. That or I've completely lost it."
He walked back over to his bag which sat on the bed of leaves. He opened it to find his wallet, three clips of ammo, his phone and a switch blade. Not too far away was his wheel chair and his browning. He walked over and picked up the pistol, half contemplating ending it right there. However, he realized this new body could provide him with a new opportunity. He could walk again. He was no longer... Defective. He placed the pistol back into his bag and walked in the direction the water was flowing from. He was walking again, it was amazing to hear the leafs crackle underneath his feet. However he had walked many times in his dreams, what would make this time any different from the others. How could he tell if this was real. He continued to walk and eventually, he approached massive pile of logs. They seemed to have fallen from the top of the ravine where he could clearly see a chain link fence. He figured his new body would give him the edge he needed to scale the logs so he approached the pile. After all, he did manage to climb out of a train wreck back in one of his dreams. "Hey, you there, stay where you are! This is the police."
A slightly scratchy female voice penetrated the ambiance of the ravine. Crap, Simon knew he was in for it now. He raised his paws and slowly turned towards the source of the voice. "Listen officer, I mean no trouble, I'm just trying to get out of this pl-"
Instead of a police officer, he saw a anthropomorphic black cat smirking at him and stiffening her laughter. She wore a orange shirt with a zero on it, the rest of her clothes were black. "HAHAHAHA, oh man that was great. You should have seen the look on your face."
Simon was not amused. He regained his composure and glared at the small black feline. "You know, I could beat you up if I wanted to."
She calmed herself. "Jeeze, it was just a joke, relax."
She walked up to Simon and looked him over. He was taller than her by a foot but she reckon she could take him down if she fought hard enough. "So what are you doing here."
Simon hesitated before he decided to reply. "I got lost. I don't even know where I am."
"You sound funny, you have a strange accent."
"I'm from Sweden."
"Really now."
"Who are you?"
"I'm Mae, now tell me your name."
"My name's Simon."
"Well Simon, your on my turf now, I'm queen of possum springs."
Simon did not want to play along. "What ever, I'm getting out of this shit hole."
He began to climb up the logs. Eventually, he realized he could not climb any further. Though his new agile body was capable of great feats of jumping, he could not reach the next log. He heard Mae jump up on the logs below him until she reached the one he was on. "Need some help?"
Simon shook his head. "Nope."
He jumped on the log trying to reach the next one but missed the ledge of the other log by inches. The logs shook underneath their feet. "Hey cool!"
Mae continued to jump on the log, slowly making it slide. "NO STOP! Your going to get us killed!"
By the fourth jump the log pile slid and the two felines fell off. Mae dropped on top of Simon as they landed on the ground, barely managing to dodge the log side. Soon. The movement ceased, both cats sat there frozen with shock and awe. Mae was the first to snap out of her shock. "Oh my god. That was dangerous. We could have died... That was amazing!"
Simon shook his head and shoved her off him. "Are you fucking crazy! Why would you risk something like that!"
They both stood up and dusted themselves off. Mae smirked at Simon. "Well we made it, didn't we."
She then ran back the log pile and jumped all the way back to the top. Simon snorted and went up after her. Walking through the forest he could see lights in the distance, similar to the nightmare woods he had been through on his way to the mental hospital so many times. However, there were no creatures waiting in the woods this time. No hanging ladies in the tree and surely no madmen with chainsaws. He trekked through the woods, not far behind the other feline. He approached the dilapidated play structure next to Mae. He could see her scribble something down in her notebook before she shut it. "Well..."
Mae looked at Simon expectantly. "What?"
"What do you say to a person who helped you?"
He glared at her. "You could have killed us!"
"Yea well I didn't and even if I didn't knock us down, your jumping would have caused the logs to collapse... Now, what do you say?"
Simon grumbled in annoyance. She was right, he would have kept jumping and he would have fallen.
"Thanks..."
"Good boy."
She nuzzled Simon in the crook of his neck before turning around and walking to the end of the playground. Mae reminded Simon of Sophie. She was affectionate and playful. But he drove her away. He was stupid.. Selfish... NO! Don't think that, Sophie was right to leave him... He wasn't treating her right... It's okay.. He shook his head to rid it of self doubt and approached the fence where Mae was. She touched the fence peering at the through the holes at the town in the distance. "You can't keep me out Possum Springs, I am queen of you... Could probably just jump off this telephone pole."
Simon walked past her and latched onto the fence. It seemed sturdy enough so he decided to climb up it. After he scaled the fence, he turned around to see Mae jumping into a tree and onto a near by telephone wire. Before he could shout something out, Simon heard the soft hum of an engine. "Fuck."
He quickly got off the road and ducked into a ditch as he watched a cop car pull up in front of the fence. He saw a cat police officer step out of the car. He could tell she was female for obvious reasons. Then Mae dropped down onto the ground in front of the officer who promptly directed the glare of a flashlight into Mae's face. "Hello Mae. Been a while"
Mae chuckled nervously. "Hey. What are you doing out here? Nothing better to do?"
"I was out here doing my rounds when I saw you here on a very off-limits playground."
"So"
"Get in the car Mae."
"No."
"You want to spend your first night back in jail, Mae?"
"No."
Simon stayed in the ditch hiding from the officer and Mae. He heard the sound of two doors shutting and the engine roaring to life. He heard the car's tire grind against the road as it sped away. About a minute passed before Simon dared to get up from his hiding spot. He could see the car speeding down the road off into the town. He climbed out of the ditch and began to run alongside the road. The leafs crumpled under his feet and fluttered around him.
When he got to the outskirts of town, all was silent. Not a single soul was in the street. He was about to head in but decided against it. Heading into an unknown town with a loaded gun was very suspicious. He decided to head to the right of the town following some train tracks. He had been walking when he noticed a box cart in the woods. It seemed like it had crashed there in the ditch years ago and left to rot. The outside still looked intact and the weather looked like it had only aged the wooden hull of the box cart. He decided to have a look inside. The sliding door that faced upwards was somehow jammed from the inside. He decided to climb on top of the box cart in hopes of finding a way in. He noticed a small hatch on the roof and attempted to lift it open. Though years of rain had taken a toll on its latches, he managed to open the hatch. Turning on his phone's light, he illuminated the interior of the container. It was mostly empty. There were several small boxes scattered about the interior of the cart. It smelled strongly of rotting wood. He noticed that the mechanism to unlock the door was jammed by a small pry bar. He removed it from the gears and opened on of the train cart doors, letting the musty smell of the cart fan out. Now time to search those boxes. Holding the pry bar in his paws, he began to lift open the lids of the boxes.
13x cans of beans
4x cans of pork
29x cans of beef
20x packets of hardtack?
1x oil lantern
1x first aid kit
Simon finished using his switchblade to scratch the inventory of the crates into the wall. Most of the stuff inside the boxes was just complete junk. Some of the cans had rusted open revealing the rotted contents within. Others were already smashed open. He also managed to salvage a nylon cargo cover cloth which he figured he could use as a blanket. He opened a can of beef with his knife and began to spoon out the contents with his paw. He knew he couldn't live off this stuff forever but it would last him some time. By the looks of things, he was in a very small town so identity checks were probably the least of his concerns, finding a job shouldn't be too much of a problem. Simon also searched through his wallet and discovered that his Swedish money had turned into something that resembled American currency, the difference being the animal faces on the dollar bills. He piled his supplies in the corner of the box cart and fell into his fulfill sleep. Haunted by the abominations that had plagued him ever since the black day.
Simon finished off the suicider with a three round burst to the chest. Stepping out of cover, he began to make his way through the carnage. He stepped over the desecrated corpses of his enemies, his m16 aimed towards the down the empty street as he continued to walk. Bullet casings laid all over the street and bullet holes riddled the wall. It was quiet, for now. He could hear a plane in the distance which was odd given the circumstances. The creatures he fought, rarely attacked him directly. Some preferred to set up ambushes or jump him when he least suspected it. They were intelligent for sure, but he could always fight them off in the end. Simon pressed the mag release of his gun. The 20 round box mag dropped out of the gun and he loaded another mag in. Slapping it in with a satisfying click. He turned a street corner and continued to walk. No signs of life.
That was, until he thought he could hear music in the distance. He was curious so he decided to go find the source of the noise. As he walked, the music got louder and louder. It was more of a symphony if anything. It wasn't rock music but he didn't mind it. It still sounded quite nice. He could see something was wrong with this street. It seemed to, fall apart? The buildings seemed to crumble and float away as well as the liter on the ground. The road kept stretching off into the distance but it looked like it was damaged. In the distance however was another city, it had a blue tinge but he could hear the music coming from there. Deciding he had nothing better to do, he began to follow the road to the city in the distance. As he walked, it began to get darker and darker, it was so dark to the point where he couldn't even see the road. He tried to use his phone but the darkness just ate up the light. It was pointless so he turned it off and kept walking. He then saw a light in the distance before it went out. However, a dull glare remained where he saw the light. He kept walking and walking. Suddenly, the lights began to grow in intensity and shape. Now, he could hear a car engine. The metal machine sped towards him and struck him.
Simon woke up in a frenzy. Startled by his dream. He had those dreams for a very long while now but the city in the distance was something new to him. He stretched trying to work the kinks out of his aching bones. He stood up and released the locks on the door. He slid it open and let the light in. The sun blinded him and the sound of birds and wind fill his ears. He shied away from the light and opened a can of beef, contemplating his next step. Find a job, have a stable income, stay alive... That was the plan. After finishing his meal, he tossed the can out the door. He shut the door behind him and walked to the town. He was going to make this second chance count. No matter what.
Simon swerved around a wolf that was walking down the street. His anxiety was slowly creeping up on him. If he had some anti-depressants or at least a cigarette... NO, no... Those anti-depressants screwed him up, why would he need those damn things... Just keep calm Simon, keep calm... His search for a job had come up empty. No one seemed to be hiring. He did see an ad to work at a hardware store called the O'l Pickaxe but the owner within was nowhere to be seen. He trudged down the Autumn road. As he continued to walk, he could swear he could hear music. As he continued his march, he could hear it get louder and louder. Soon, he came across a decrepit building named the Party Barn. It's Halloween decorations still stamped on the windows. He could hear the music blasting form within. He pressed his ear against the door and listened to the music. Soon, the music ceased and he could hear muffled voices from within. Soon the voices stopped and Simon could hear footsteps approaching the door. "Oh Shit!"
He tried to move but the door opened and knocked him onto his back. "You know, we could see you the entire time right?"
Simon looked up into the eyes of a, rather large bear. He wore a pair of circular glasses on his face and he was wearing a little top hat. His shirt was green and pants were black. It was hard to tell his expression by looking at those glasses. "Angus, who is that guy?"
A fox peaked around the bear. His fur was orange and his pupils were black and his clothes were black. "Yea, who is he."
A crocodile pushed the fox to the side and glared at Simon. She wore all black. The only other color on her clothes was the white Egyptian symbol on her shirt. Simon was scared now. He inched his paw into his bag and found the handle of his switchblade. "Sorry, I didn't mean to... I heard the music inside and I got curious."
"Simon is that you?"
"Mae."
The mischievous black cat squeezed past the bear and smirked at Simon. "Well well well... Couldn't get enough of me now could you."
The fox in the back piped up. "Whoa, are you two like exes, or like in some weird relationship we don't know about?"
Simon sputtered. "WHAT! NO NO NO NO! We just met yesterday. She almost got me killed!"
"Oh grow up."
Simon stood back up and dusted himself off. The crocodile seemed to look at him disapprovingly. All eyes were on him, he had to come up with something. "Look, I think we got off on the wrong foot here. Tell you what, I'll treat you guys to some lunch. How about it?"
The group turned to face each other. Though no words were exchanged, they seemed to reach a consensus. The bear spoke first. "Alright, since you want to make up, we accept your offer. Lets go the the click clak diner. Bea, can you drive us?"
The crocodile stepped past the group. "Yep."
She walked to her car and opened the doors. The rest of the group followed until it was just Simon standing there. He was very nervous. He looked at the group in the car. He had never been in a car with so many people. What if he has a panic attack. What if he wets himself. What if they try to kill him. He didn't have time to think however because the car horn snapped him out of his thoughts. "Hey you coming in or what."
The crocodile glared at him and he wasted no time climbing into the car.
The ride had been quiet, no one really spoke. Now they were sitting in the dinner eating pizza. Simon had yet to get a slice of the pepperoni pizza. He had never eaten pizza before. The bear had introduced himself as Angus and the fox was named Gregg. They were talking but Simon was lost in his thoughts. Why wasn't he scared? Was it the confidence this body gave him? No no. Even when his legs were fine he still had problems. Is this all a dream? Not likely, his screwed up head would have conjured something up to kill him. The chance to start over? Not likely. Or, was it because he fought against his past fears and anxieties and managed to grow from them?...How would he know. The fox placed a crust back on the plate and looked at him. "Hey man, you gonna eat the pizza or what."
"Sure."
Simon nervously picked up a slice of pizza and took a bite out of it. It wasn't great but it sure as hell wasn't bad. He finished scarfing down the pizza and looks at the group. All of them were silent for a moment, unsure of what to say. The crocodile broke the silence. "So Simon, where are you from."
"I'm from Stockholm Sweden."
"What are you doing so far away from home?"
"I'm trying to leave it behind. Too many bad memories. I want to start fresh."
The crocodile gave a dry laugh at his statement. "That's what everyone seems to be doing these days. What were you back in Sweden anyways."
"I was a student, I went to Harbor college."
"Why did you leave, you sound like you had it made."
Simon didn't know what to say for this one. He was never kicked out of college nor did he drop. He decided to go with the former for his excuse and indulge his fantasies of murdering the man who crippled him. "I got kicked out. Got into a fight and they expelled me."
The fox piped up. "Whoa, did the person, like, have it coming or something?"
Simon continued to lie. "He tried to hit me with a car. Needless to say, when I got to him, I beat him into an inch of his life. He didn't die, oh no. The police got there in time to stop me. The guy didn't lay any charges against me but the school booted me out because they believed I was too violent."
The whole group stared at him in silence. Nobody was sure of what to say next. That's when Mae piped up. "I put a kid in the hospital when I was younger. Used a baseball bat and beat him to a pulp."
Bea coughed. "So, are we just sharing stories about almost killing people?"
Simon laughed nervously. "Yea, lets change the subject."
Mae picked up the conversation. "So, when are we gonna play out?"
Bea snorted. "Mae. We don't play out, we have jobs, Mae."
The bear spoke next. "I work at the video outpost too!"
Bea took a drag of her cigarette. "I'm at the O'l Pickaxe."
Mae looked at Bea with a confused expression. "I thought you were going to school."
Bea let out a dry laugh. "Well, life happens."
The fox began to hit the table enthusiastically. "I'm lord of the snack falcon."
"Where's Casey?"
The whole group was silent for a moment before Gregg spoke. "Oh yeah, you won't know, huh? Casey's gone"
Mae looked surprised. "Gone? Gone how?"
"Hopped a train I bet."
"Oh wow, he always talked about doing that."
"Yeah, one day he was just gone."
The bear piped up in the back. "Made a clean break. Hasn't emailed or anything."
Mae looked sad. "Well, good for him I guess."
Gregg shifted to find a more comfortable position. "His parents put up missing persons posters, but everyone knew what happened."
"Geeze Casey, I...Huh."
Bea hummed. "So Mae, what do you do?"
"I was in college?"
"And why exactly are you still not there?"
"Man screw school!"
"Stunning."
Simon sat there, unsure what to say... As a matter of fact, the whole table had become silent. Angus was the first to break the silence. "Well! We better get home dude."
"Oh yea, Angus got a date with sword people online!"
Mae looked surprised."Aww, lucky."
Angus then looked to Simon. "Well, thanks for the meal Simon. Nice meeting you. But next time, you can just ask if you want to listen to our music."
They all stood up from the table and began to walk to the exit. The fox ran ahead and held the door. "Yeah man! "
Simon shook his head. "Oh no, I'm looking for a job."
Simon stepped out the door and onto the street to view the autumn street. Only for his gaze to stop and focus on the ground. Upon it laid a single, severed arm. The end where the arm was cut was caked in dried blood and covered in dirt. The world melted around Simon as he fell backwards. The world turned black and arms began to rise out of the floor to claw at him. Images of the police officers attempting to pry the vehicle away from him flooded back into his mind as it slowly slipped away. The screaming and howling in his ears drowned out all other sounds as he began to claw at his eyes, trying to remove the horrendous images from them "SIMON, STOP!"
Simon stopped and opened his eyes to the sound of the voice. Mae stood in front of him with a fearful look as the world around him was slowly restored to the way it was. "Simon what's wrong with you."
Simon wiped a tear out of his eye and sniffled. "Sorry Mae... I get like this sometimes... I'm so stupid."
Angus and Gregg stood him back up but Simon continued to sob and shake. "Simon, you aren't stupid... Do you want to talk about it?"
"NO! No, I don't want to talk about it...Please."
Everyone looked at him concerned before they turned around to look at the arm. Simon finished wiping the tears out of his eyes and recomposed himself. They couldn't know about what happened to him... Maybe it was time to find a new psychiatrist. No, that would be stupid, doctor Purnell couldn't save him, and Sophie was gone... But what about Mae? She broke him out of his psychosis after all. "Hey what's going on here?"
A gruff voice permeated the air. The group made way for a police officer that stepped past the group and looked at the arm. The same police officer that picked up Mae the night she came back into town. Mae responded with strange enthusiasm. "Hey aunt Molly! We found an arm!"
The cop looked disappointed. "Alright Mae, step away from the arm."
"Alright alright! don't taser me or anything."
"No promises."
Gregg piped up in the back. "Oh well, I think it's time for Angus and I to get home. See you tomorrow Mae!"
The cop sighed. "Alright, I don't want any of you walking home alone tonight. Buddy system, something bad's going on."
Bea coughed. "I can take Mae and Simon officer."
Mae smiled. "Thanks Bea, lets roll."
Simon forced a smile, trying to hide his breakdown. "Thanks Bea."
Simon sat in the back of the car while Mae rode shotgun and Bea drove. What the hell is really going on. Was he still crazy, or was there really a murder on the loose. He didn't know. Nothing really made sense anymore. Why was Mae so... Calm about the arm. Was she just a misfit, or was she a figment of his shattered mind... Was this world really real, or was he hallucinating again... How would he know... At least he could protect himself if need be... But from what? From who? No point in asking questions he didn't know the answer to. He looked out the window at the empty streets. It was dark out, but he still had his phone which meant he could still get back to his temporary home. Suddenly the car abruptly stopped. "Hey look were here."
Mae laughed nervously. "Oh, my house isn't for a few blocks"
"Get out."
"Ok!"
Sensing something wasn't right, Simon coughed nervously and opened the car door. "Thanks for the ride Bea."
"Whatever."
The two felines stepped out of the car and closed the doors. Bea then gunned the engine and drove off into the distance. "What did you say to her?"
"I don't know... All I asked was, were her parents training her to take over the family business and she get really quiet before kicking us out."
"Then her family is a touchy subject."
Both stood there in silence for a minute before Mae spoke. "Well you want to walk me home?"
Simon blushed and looked at her surprised. "What? Why?"
Mae smiled gleefully knowing she had Simon in a uncomfortable scenario. "Well, Aunt Mall cop said we needed to walk home in groups of twos because there's a psycho on the loose. You wouldn't want me to get hurt now would you?"
To be honest, Simon wouldn't have really cared about someone else but something was different about Mae. Something about her brought back so many good memories... He would be foolish to say no. "Alright.. Fine, but no funny business."
"No promises."
The duo began to walk in the direction of their homes. One conflicted, one satisfied.
Simon sat in the corner of the box cart under the tarp. It was dark inside but the light coming from the moon and the stars showed through the cracks in the roof. He was trying to sleep but it was coming rather hard to him. He was unsure of what to think of Mae. She was kind, but at the same time, the reactions from the police officer and the group of friends she hangs out with indicated she was a misfit. Simon was an emo, not a rebel. Plus, she was an animal. He is, or was a human. It would probably be really messed up to be attracted to a cat. Sure he was a lynx now but it would still be weird. Sighing, he closed his eyes and placed his head on the makeshift pillow before he slowly fell asleep.
Well that was something huh? Bringing back and old, retro game and paring it up with this new one. I highly suggest you try out cry of fear. Great horror game, uses the old gold source engine so you might have to download half life 1, I don't know. Also I need a new setting for one last story I'm planning, preferably with animal people so it would be easier to write about for the series I'm planning.
