CAT EYE
Chapter One:
A DAY THAT BURNS
- In obscurum, pluma crepito. Quis would vos teneo super meus peius fortuna?
--In darkness, feathers rustle. What would you know about my ill luck?
A wooden clacking rang dully, nevertheless in sharp contrast to the intensity of the brooding silence.
As hushed and harsh as the bitterest winter wind, a lone voice sounded.
'What now?'
There was no answer, only a feathery rustle. Even in the opaque blackness of the chamber, the voice sighed as if observing something markedly unpleasant for the millionth time.
'Must it be now, Draz? I am so tired tonight…'
The soft swishing of feathers echoed. Another sigh, almost inaudible in the vapid quiet.
'Tell them I'm coming.'
Clack.
No more airy rustlings. The owner of the voice was left once more alone in the darkness.
Rreeeoow! Rreeeeeoooow! Rreeeeo- SLAM!
A single hand smashed clumsily against the clock, as if trying to smack away the very notion of waking up. The noise ceased.
On the white sheets of a small bed, a young man of almost 18 years sat up slowly and silently, listening intently for the faintest noise. Risk was a part of life, Rei knew, but in the past month alone, simply getting out of bed had been met with the formidable adversaries of (but not limited to) various insects, sprained appendages, filthy water from a burst pipe, and a vicious rat the size of a Yorkshire terrier.
He was perfectly willing to attempt to avoid further risks while getting out of bed, at the very least.
Hearing nothing, he leaned over and scrutinized the seemingly harmless patch of bland wooden flooring beside his bed with narrowed golden eyes. Hearing nothing and seeing nothing, Rei (daringly) clambered out of his bed.
…
…
SCRIIIPP!
Slowly, he looked down to see his the pajama pants he had been sleeping in was ripped clear up the side, one end of the fabric mysteriously snagged on the metal edge of his bed.
"Oh well," he muttered, snatching the material from the railing and walking over to the large wooden dresser to fetch a large brush, "Better than the mutant rat." The calming light red of the walls did nothing but make him sleepier, so he shuffled over to peer through the large window, all the while doing deathly battle with his lengthy raven hair.
The sun was flinging bright spears of light to bounce off various buildings and cars, making the urban environment seem to sparkle.
Rei smiled sleepily.
Soon his hair was braided, wrapped, and pushed out of his face by his lucky red head band. The only reason he kept his hair so long was because it was supposed to trap good luck (and he liked the way it looked), just like his headband, the arrangement of his furniture, the numerous charms he owned, and the color of his walls- none of it had worked yet. No one blamed him for trying.
Dressed simply in white pants and a sleeveless, China-Red shirt,(and today a lucky white strip of cloth from a temple wrapped around his wrist,) the long walk to work passed in a blur for Rei. Snippets of a dream kept surfacing… Feathers? A voice? None of it made sense. It was distracting, and it made him have trouble staying alert. Which was bad, because being alert was essential to:
1) Not being hit by an automobile
2) Not being hit by a bike
3) Not being run over by another/other pedestrians
4) Not being outright murdered/mugged in broad daylight
5) Not having something else really very terrible happen to him that was not already covered by his insurance. Hospitals bills were so troublesome.
Rei arrived at the workplace with a grateful sigh. There in one piece and (hopefully) leaving in the same condition, that was him!
It was a large studio with an almost unnoticeable small entrance, hidden amongst a forest of small shops and offices. Rei darted in, dodging the steady stream of people flowing in and out of the venues.
"Hey, look out, it's the Black Cat," the secretary Queen called jokingly, sapphire eyes positively wicked. Rei snorted.
"Good morning to you too, Queenie."
The secretary scowled at him darkly, and the Chinese male could only chuckle nervously at the glare that promised such dreadful things.
Distinguished photos from the BBA studio hung along the brick walls in a familiar pattern that he followed down the halls, saying hello to people he knew. He thought back to his encounter with the secretary, shuddering at the memory of that glare.
At BBA Studios, he was known as the Black Cat, notorious for his bad luck; more so than for his photography, which was somewhat vexing. During his first day on the job, a lunatic had busted into the building and taken him and a few others hostage. SWAT had a hard time of it. Rei had taken pictures.
His second month on the job, his newly appointed personal workspace he had labored so hard to get was burned to the ground when the janitor left a cigarette lit in the bin. The fire was put out before it could reach any other area but his.
Things like this happened every now and then to Rei, in between misfortunes like contaminated food (he had once found out about a nationwide recall of his favorite brand of strawberries just as he was popping one into his mouth), accidents (he had long ago given up hope of owning a car or bike, he was happy just not to be killed by one), and various other nasty surprises.
But life went on. Even if near death experiences were becoming as common as visits from an annoying relative, he hadn't died yet, and things were pretty much going ok, and for that at least Rei counted himself as lucky.
Today was mostly developing photos his team had taken a few months ago. All Rei had to do was stop by his work area (Who spilled coffee all over his papers?), grab the film, and go lock himself in the nearest darkroom. Slowly, images of people (Tyson's specialty) and places (Max's) began to develop, and Rei finally felt himself relax.
After leaving the village (He was only bad luck from the beginning. Only Lee's family had been sad to see him go.), he had tried every kind of job there was for someone who was so young and could only speak so much Japanese, but all had ended horribly.
Luckily (or rather, unluckily, either one) he had met a man named Tala. True, Tala was the one who almost killed him by running him over in his car. But things happen, and Rei was ready to forgive and forget. Later, he even asked Tala to sign his cast. The red haired motorist, however, had freaked out, almost having a panic attack in the middle of the street.
He needed more calming down than the boy he had run over. When he learned of Rei's unemployment, he immediately offered him a place to help out at BBA Studios.
Rei was soon delighted to find (after the initial incident) that he was relatively good at his new job. Things didn't explode in his face most of the time, and there were even a few pieces of equipment he could work without them mysteriously malfunctioning. When he turned sixteen, Tala had even given him his own camera, an old-fashioned model. New things never worked for Rei, but sometimes old stuff did. It was rather frustrating at times, but he didn't complain.
He mostly edited, developed, and helped out with the technical stuff, but Tala had given him free lessons. Rei eventually found that he had a knack for getting everything a subject had to offer into a photograph, and always in a way artistic and appealing to the eye.
The film he was developing now contained images related to a story the BBA Press firm was doing on a new shop being opened. Boring.
Still, Rei diligently adjusted the levels of acetic acid a strip of film was bathing in, and was about to put away the container when-
"HEY REI! HOW YA DOIN, MAN?"
-Max decided to visit.
"Ah-"
The clear liquid splashed directly into his left eye. It felt like liquid fire.
Hissing, Rei hunched over, clutching at his eye. The blond walked over slowly, blinking blue eyes in confusion.
"Hey Rei, what's wrong?"
Options, options. He could insist that he was fine. Max might just go away and leave him to pass out from the pain in peace. Or he could have him call 911, but he knew from experience they always took too long with stuff like this. Then there was the go-get-help number, but that was just too cliché. Still, his eye felt like it was melting, so he had to pick one, now didn't he?
"M-Max, please go get some help," he gasped out, trying to keep his voice steady, "I g-got something in my eye. Ok-kay?"
"Uh, yeah, I mean, sure, I mean, just, I mean-"
"Just go."
"Okay!"
The blond darted out of the room, and suddenly the floor was much closer than it should have been. Throughout the years, Rei had developed a pretty high threshold for pain, but this was his eye. The stuff he was using was pretty diluted, but it still stung.
"The Black Cat strikes again," Rei muttered.
And the day had begun so well, too.
Chyeah… So… Comments? Please? It's short, I know, but should I continue on, or keep it where it is?