This is my chapter one (as you probably can read from the title). Kinda short, I was annoyed with myself when I couldn't think of anything to make it longer. But I was also impatient to post...so I had a bit of a dilema. Enjoy!
Chapter 1. Goggles or Bandanas
I had plenty of time to walk the whole way to the train station, but something about the whole affair unnerved me. Running relaxed me most of the time; however, even now I could still feel the adrenaline from five minutes ago. Not that it really bothered me compared to the feeling of that strange voice in my head.
Who would want to get in my head, anyways? I wasn't exactly the brightest star in the sky, nor was I the darkest one either. It still didn't make logical sense. Must you use logic for everything? Some things just don't use logic, especially at your age. Yeah, my age…just peachy.
I bought my ticket and got on the train that my cell phone told me to. I glanced around the train and sat down on one of the benches that faced the aisle. There was a guy in a brown trench coat that made him look like a hobo, a girl with too much blue eye shadow listening to her iPod who looked suspiciously like Rachel Maddow, and another guy in a black tuxedo that looked like he was either really late for an important date or had siderodomophobia (the fear of trains).
Do you always observe others in this manner?
I winced at the voice that had returned without my notice, and pain burned through my head. None of your business.
He chuckled and left, but I didn't manage to escape the pain of that, either. I trembled for a moment before recovering. What was that about? Did he always appear and reappear just to irritate people? I wonder.
That was when a boy with black hair tucked into a ponytail got on the train. He was wearing a blue jacket unzipped to show his yellow shirt, grey pants that were too short to really cover the tips of his ankles, and white tennis shoes. The most noticeable thing other than the ponytail was his blue bandana. It was marked with grey horizontal marks, like zebra stripes. His face was unemotional, a solemnity that covered up whatever he was thinking or feeling.
I took my phone out of my pocket again, and the Ophanimon-person started talking again. "You will conquer and fall, rise and fade. But how it ends shall be your destiny. Through suffering you shall triumph."
"Boy, you like riddles, don't you?" I grumbled, putting my phone in my jacket pocket and watching as another boy zoomed into the train just as the doors were to close.
He had unruly brown hair with a hat and goggles securing it all in place. A familiar face I recognized, wearing a red, short sleeve jacket over a yellow shirt. He also wore military-style poplin pants, and an expression that was both exhausted and paranoid. Automatically I turned away from him in an attempt to not make any eye contact.
"Oh! Hiya Perry!" I swear I flinched so hard at that that my neck cracked. Least he didn't call me Rin, my actual first name; I made a good effort to keep people from calling me that.
"Takuya," I answered, not looking at him. I can picture him grinning ever so happily.
"Did you get those weird phone calls too?"
I don't get the chance to answer because Ophanimon begins to talk to him on his phone. I can barely hear the tone of her voice, but it's his reaction that startled me. His face constricted, and he hit the floor with his knees.
"Aw! Come on! Give me a break, I'm doing the best I can!" he howled.
"Dude, it's a phone. Not your life savings on fire," I began rubbing my temple as my headache starts up again.
"What if destiny will turn into my life savings?" he countered. "Then it won't matter if what I have now burns up."
Then destiny would have a ton of explaining to do…Did Takuya even know what life savings is? Eh, why should I bother clearing that up? He's not my responsibility. Takuya Kanbara had gone to the same school as I had for three years until I transferred. He is a year younger than me and still has the ability to annoy me half to death; that was his favorite game when he was in the fourth grade.
I yawned into my elbow and closed my eyes for all of a half a second when he spoke up again.
"So… did your parents split then?"
That's not what I expected to hear out of his mouth...although I had expected something that would tick me off. My eyes popped open to glare at him, looking all nonchalant on the floor. "None of your business."
"Oh, sorry." He stopped looking at me, instead focusing on his phone. He scowled at it and stood up.
Just as he got to his feet, the train made an abrupt stop, throwing him to the floor. He hopped to his feet, jumping up and down on the balls of his feet.
"Come on, come on, come on!" he whined.
The door opened, and I leapt to my feet, brushing past Takuya. Knowing him, he'll probably go for the elevator, lazy punk. I jogged for the stairs and took them two at a time; I lost track of the number after three hundred. Wow, you really are out of shape, aren't you? Better to start now than never, I suppose.
By the time I reached what I assumed was the bottom, I was drained. It hurt to stand but worse to move. Now, what next? I had reached the door that would show me the basement floor. Pushing it open, I saw several trains waiting.
"It is up to you now," Ophanimon says as I take my phone out of my pocket again. "Which one will you choose?"
"Good question," I remark to no one, and I examine my choices.
I guess it wouldn't make a difference which train I took; however, I certainly didn't want to choose the train that Takuya took. That would be an accident waiting to happen. So…which train would he choose? I glanced around me; there were ten of them. A one in ten chance that he would pick the train I chose…so I guess I would just have to get off the train if he showed up. My eyes moved towards the gigantic elevator shaft, made of black metal frames and glass. How much longer did I have?
Not much. I used the last of my energy sprinting for the blue train, the one that matched the color of bandana boy's jacket. I sprung in the back and slowed down, heading for the car in the way front. They were furnished with green benches, with a strange sense of comfort. Weird.
I reached the first train car and sat down on the bench closest to the back. I sat down and pushed my back against the backside of the bench, stretching my arms out in front of me. There hadn't been any sign of people on this train at least. A hiss of closing doors alerted me, but I relaxed right away. Wherever I was going, hopefully the only inhabitants were hermits who want to be left alone just as much as I do. Fine by me. Even if I were to be trapped in this train car, at least I wouldn't have to hear the people around me freaking out.
The train pulls away from the station and starts to pick up some speed. Good. I securely position myself with my feet firm, one arm on the armrest to prevent myself from flipping off the bench in an event of acceleration. My eyes closed while my wandered for a moment. What had led up to this? What had I done?
Three weeks ago my life had been bittersweet, filled with all the confusion and emotion that came with the last month of school. Eighth grade was like a fantasy; it didn't exist until it snuck up on you like some freaky stalker wearing a black stocking cap. And I was too preoccupied with family problems to notice until the date on my calendar, marked with a giant red circle, was discovered. At first I hadn't been sure what it meant…until I peered at the tiny black print on the bottom of the date box. Upon that, I had met a feeling I hadn't felt in ages: regret. What had I done with the first part of my life?
Actually, I couldn't remember. No matter what I thought about, it still made no difference. Why couldn't I remember? Something crashed out in the kitchen, and I winced. Thankfully, this time it was only the cat having pushed a vase off the counter. I had stroked its silky fur for a moment and frowned at the broken glass. Everything that cat touched shattered in a million pieces: vases, lamps, bowls, even my dad's goldfish bowl; is that why my parents fight so much? It made for a better explanation than listening to their arguments.
But really, when I thought about it, their arguments never once mentioned anything about fish or the cat. It had always been about one or the other not being responsible enough for me. But wasn't responsibility not arguing about me? For both of them to get along? What happened to the peace?
The door on the back of the train car slid open and closed; in response, my eyes opened.
I looked at the boy who had the ponytail and bandana, who presently found this a good time to scowl at me. "Great, let me guess: to avoid your boyfriend you hid on my train."
"Not my boyfriend," I snapped, rage boiling from my feet to my head in seconds. Whoa, calm down, Perry. This isn't Takuya. But he was still someone."You won't even know I'm here; I was just moving."
I was about to get up when pain screamed up my spine and settled in my neck. Jumping to my feet, I cupped the back of my neck with my hands and forced myself not to run to the front of the train. I sat down on the floor next to the end of the bench, hugging my legs to my chest and wondering what just happened. I didn't hear that voice at all or feel anything like his presence. Did I get electrocuted back there or something?
My back slowly straightens again and leans against the size of the train. Okay, just take a second and breathe. Much better, no? Not really. Why am I seizing up like an old person who throws out their back picking up the newspaper? I'm thirteen, not ninety.
I bang my head on the wall and close my eyes for a moment…until I hear a strange noise. The train car had gone dark: no light. The train accelerated faster, faster, and faster to the point where I'm getting crushed up against the bench.
I took my phone out of my pocket and stared at it as it explodes into light, deteriorating till a strange device is left in my hand. Strangely, it was white with a screen like my cell phone once had.
"Welcome to the Digital World, Perry. This is your D-Tector," Ophanimon explained. Didn't expect that to happen…a whole other world? If there was one world apart from the one I used to live in, how many more could there be?
The train abruptly straightened out, and the lights came back on again. I blinked stupidly at them for a moment before getting up to look out the window. Clouds are on both sides of the train, and in between the gaps in the clouds…clear blue sky. Now that freaked me out.
"Whoa," I backed from the window, adrenaline really making my sore head pound. And a seriously threatening amount of panic just got drizzled on top, just like ice cream with chocolate syrup.
I might as well admit this now: I'm terrified of heights. I've never actually been on an airplane, in fear that the plane will crash and envelop me in a cloud of aluminum, duct tape, and fire. And no matter how high the percentage of safety, I just couldn't bring myself to do it. Sometimes I would wonder about my past, wonder if that had to do with my extremist view of heights. What had made me afraid?
"Are you going to pass out?" I turned towards the boy, who was had been looking out a window. He was standing in the middle of the car, probably had been looking out that window. He was grinning from ear to ear at my apparent flaw. "You're kidding me, right?"
"I guess not," I answered, breathless. I sat down on the bench opposite from the window and forced myself to calm down.
Slow down, Perry. Drown it out. I closed my eyes and brought up a familiar picture: warm sunlight touching my hungry skin and filling me with light. The dark parts that had been hidden revealed themselves and fled; no longer did they bother me. I could almost see myself now.
Blue jeans that were blacker than blue that were a half an inch from touching the tops of my running shoes. Off brand everything, probably paid five bucks for my black light jacket. Rummage sale? How about jackpot? The jacket's sleeves are pushed up to my elbows so my arms can feel the pleasant sunlight. My eyes are silver…
The power, that antagonizing voice, stirred right at that moment, and I was back on the train which sounded like it was shouting, "WOO! WOO!"
The boy was and still is disturbed my expression and was giving me something like a death stare. All the while I am pressing my temple with my thumb, wondering what the heck is wrong with me.
"You are strange," he said, not changing his expression.
"Actually, my name is Perry. But I think 'strange' is starting to become my middle name." He turned back to the window.
"Koji," he answered, as though I asked him for his name.
Recovering, I stood and took another look out the window on my left. A forest was exploding into place behind a series of kettle-shaped buildings with fire coming off the top of them…Wait, what? I blinked two or three times before shaking my head. This place was getting really odd. And I knew 'Odd' quite well.
"Strange," Koji said, noting the trees. Then he looked at me as though comparing me to the sprouting trees.
I sat back down and ignored him, staring at my D-Tector. His was dark blue and white…did the color mean anything? Why was mine only one color? Did something malfunction with it?
"You're not going to be following me when this train stops, right?" he asks, suddenly wary.
"No, I have more important things to do." Like what? I stared suspiciously at my D-Tector.
"Uh huh," I looked up at him, who can see my reflection on the window scowling at him.
"Why are you so concerned?"
"I will probably end up running into your boyfriend. With you around, I have a better chance of escaping unscathed," he finished, that solemn stare on his face now masking his smile.
I felt rage boil my blood, and this time I wasn't going to calm down so easily. He was purposely messing with me to tick me off; it was working real well.
"Kanbara is not nor will ever be anything more than an annoyance to me. Quite like what you're becoming."
"Uh huh," he answered again, putting his hands on the back of his neck. Does he ever say anything but 'uh huh'?
I glowered at him and stood up as the train heaves to a stop. Good riddance, I thought. The doors opened, and I stepped out…but the landscape changes the second my foot touches the concrete. At first it was a giant tunnel that showed the blue sky on the right, some kettle-shaped buildings on the right outside the terminal. Right now it's black, black, and guess what? More black. And I can feel a tingle of pain faintly moving through me.
I can't see my hand in front of my face, and there's a raspy voice talking to himself somewhere nearby. Echoing. What happened to me? Wait, what about my D-Tector? I took it from my pocket, and the screen exploded with light. Light revealed my surroundings to be clay stained rock, quick to suck in the light. Turning in a complete circle, I was surrounded by rock. Under me was rock too, not surprising. But above me? The light from my D-Tector didn't show me that far; it faded into the blackness.
A low, deep chuckling shuddered through the rocks. The creature spoke strangely, as though he had issues with his grammar.
"Me thinks that Mercurymon is bad joke. Me get Spirit before him! And Mercurymon? No more messing with him. Good riddance!" The rock around me shook violently, knocking me back against the wall.
Then the rock calmed down. But I still didn't know where I was or what I was doing here. Was I to be trapped down here? Just who was this 'Mercurymon'? Maybe that was the one who was in my head…
I stepped forward and found a small snag in the rock. Maybe I could climb up. Putting my D-Tector in my pocket with my hand still on the rock wall, and pulled myself up. Bang! A metal bar had materialized just above the handhold.
I fell back to the bottom, rubbing my head and groaning. Taking out my D-Tector, I glared at the bar. I climbed back up the wall, more careful than the first time, until the darkness started lifting; my D-Tector glowing inside my pocket. Then I paused, because I swore I heard something.
A scratching sound startled me, sounding from beneath me. Then everything went quiet; the bar under my feet sucked back into the rock, my feet gave, and I fell back down to the bottom of the pit…but I didn't land this time. I just kept falling; the dark sucking me deeper and deeper. And all I can think about is three weeks ago, when my life turned inside out. And only a dream of lies stood to protect me, when my fault was entirely to blame.
No. The voice in my head, louder than usual, snarled.
The light returned, much too bright, and my eyes opened. I was lying on my back, staring up at the concrete ceiling of the terminal. Pain still tingled through my body as I slowly sat up to observe my surroundings. The train was still behind me, but nothing else human was here. Slowly getting to my feet, I saw those kettle-shaped buildings outside the terminal; to my left the rails stretched over thin air.
But to my right was a small, white, podgy creature… watching my every move.