"Today in New York thousands of the living dead, known more copiously as 'Walkers', were accidentally exterminated in the city's centre. It has been assumed that the Walkers wandered into a flammable liquid storage and ..."
"Poor gits."
Mary Stone is my room-mate; I prefer to call her that rather an a friend. Perhaps, in another world, the two of us could have gotten along swimmingly and exchanged daily gossip or reminisced about our different upbringings and pranced through fields of gold singing "Kumbaya", but alas, this was not another world, and so such things were to be nothing more than shuddered at. More realistically, perhaps if she was not quite so obnoxiously loud and myself not quite so misanthropic, similar ideas could have prospered.
"What d'you reckon, Vinnie? Think they'll die out?"
'Vinnie' was the obscene nickname she had coined from the very first moment I introduced myself. It was all so coy and cute that it made me want to vomit, but she relented, and has been calling me by that ridiculous appellation ever since.
"They're already dead, Mary."
Mary is the kind of girl who watches the news every night, despite her complete indifference to international affairs. In the past few months, I've noticed that she is far more interested in our new vampire neighbours. Steven and Damien Albatross or something. I told her that they would sooner gouge out her carotid artery with their teeth than take her for a romantic dinner, and her reaction was nothing more than a contented sigh and the utterance of that blasted Edward Cullen prick.
"When do you start work today?"
I know that Mary doesn't care when I start work.
"Night shift."
"Mm."
"Why?"
"Just curious."
You know what? Mary and her fictional fucking fairy can-
"Why are you curious, Mary?" I say her name in such an obviously patronising way, it almost makes me sad that she doesn't seem to get it. Naïvety is most definitely her strong suit.
"Oh, I was thinking about having someone over, that's all," she sighs. Why is she sighing? I have not the slightest idea, but it sounds demure coming from her twisted mouth.
"Ah. Well, have a nice night." Try not to fall out of an open window.
"Wait!" Her sudden cry alarms me. "Don't you want to know who?"
Well, to be perfectly honest, my dear, I don't give a flying-
"Who?"
"Damon," she answers, drawling the vowels like a smitten prepubescent.
"How lovely. Have a nice-"
"Wait!"
Oh, for the love of God.
"Don't you want to-"
"Actually, Mary, what I want right now, is to keep my job. To keep my job, I need to be punctual, and to be punctual, I need to leave the house on time. And, Mary, what needs to happen for me to leave the house on time?"
Her eyes are on the ceiling, and her forehead is creased in thought. I decide to help her out.
"For me to leave the house on time, I need to cross through the front door. And that shit ain't going to happen if you keep nattering away about the dead guy next door."
She stares at me, not in the least offended. Then, her face breaks out into a grin and she says, "Okey-dokey! Have a good night!"
Finally, I am able to pull down the handle and step outside.
"You too!" You necrophiliac.
I understand that the both this chapter and the introduction have been disgustingly short, but I intend for them to get longer as I get into the story.
The beginning of the quest of the Ring should probably commence within the next two chapters, starting with the Council of Elrond. In the next chapter, it should become apparent why both this original character and the fictional characters from the likes of True Blood, Harry Potter, Star Wars, and X-Men will be joining the Fellowship on their journey.
Another quick thing: the reason that this is not in the crossover section of the site is because I felt that this installment of "Normies" was going to be too focused on the Lord of the Rings. The second installment will probably be under the Harry Potter category, and the third under The Walking Dead. Whether or not there will be a fourth is still a mystery to me, as it depends on the reception.
If anyone out there actually finds themselves interested in this story and would like to know the general direction that both this and the other parts are heading in, let me know. I won't be giving too much away, but it's just so that it can help you decide whether or not this little series will be something that you're going to want to read. If not, that is absolutely fine, and feel free to tell me if that turns out to be the case. A little criticism goes a long way.
Hope you're all having a lovely day!
