Grey
folder
Original - Misc › -Slash - Male/Male
Rating:
Adult +
Chapters:
15
Views:
10,832
Reviews:
73
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
4
Category:
Original - Misc › -Slash - Male/Male
Rating:
Adult +
Chapters:
15
Views:
10,832
Reviews:
73
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
4
Disclaimer:
This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance of characters to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. The Author holds exclusive rights to this work. Unauthorized duplication is prohibited.
Memories of Streets
Grey
Chapter Fourteen: Memories of Streets
It was early evening when we finally got transported to the town Branville where Sam lived. Alice had come as soon as Jeff had hung up the phone, but she had been quite adamant on talking in private with Jeff before we left. I had tried to ignore the tight feeling in my stomach when they walked into Jeff’s apartment, Alice’s arm slung around Jeff’s right arm tightly.
Alice was a young woman about 20 years of age. She was small and frail with shoulder length dark blonde hair and big, doe brown eyes. When she appeared in the middle of our shared living room, there was a tinkling sound as if from a small silver bell and it almost seemed as if a woman was voicing one, clear note. Then she appeared out of thin air and ran over to Jeff, hugging him, clinging to him. They had talked for about an hour, and I had been pacing first in front of Jeff’s door, but when I realized how needy that seemed, I hurried downstairs and joined Sam and Liana who were talking about his discovery of his Talent. ,,It felt… electric almost,” Sam said, his eyes bright and his lips frozen into a big smile. ,,As if something just said click and I knew I could fly if I wanted to.” Liana gave him a smile and nodded. ,,That’s what most paras feel when they finally find their Talent.” I got over to them and sat down in an opposite seat. Liana looked up at me and I just blurted out my question. ,,Mom, you don’t have a Talent, right? You’re not a para. Right?” Liana seemed a little taken aback by my question, but she nodded slowly. ,,You’re right, I’m just… normal.” She gave me a small smile and reached out her hand, taking mine. She brushed her fingers over my palm, easing my discomfort a little, although I was a little nervous that she would find out why I felt the need to be comforted by her. ,,Gre- Urhm, Jackson,” Sam said and corrected himself with a blush forming on his cheeks as he glanced at Liana with a small smile. No doubt she had asked him to call me Jackson instead of the very incognito ‘Grey’ I had become accustomed to. ,,You will find them, right?” Instantly, I knew of whom he spoke, and I nodded while reaching out to him, placing a hand on his shoulder and squeezed it. ,,As soon as they’re done upstairs, we’re going.” At that moment, as if Jeff had heard my words from upstairs, I heard them coming down the stairs to the living room.Branville was very quiet, and the sun had almost set. The streetlights were lit in the streets, and a sudden sense of dread permeated my thoughts. There was something about this atmosphere that seemed familiar, as if I had been here before; huddling and hiding in the dark from invisible foes.
,,That’s it, Jackson! You genius! We’re gonna get rich! We’re gonna get rich! We’re- Jackson, RUN!” The voice of Ben – a childhood friend I had gained while living on the streets once in my life – sounded in my mind and I couldn’t help but flinch when Jeff came up behind me and put his hand on my shoulder. ,,What is it, Grey?” he asked. Looking up into his eyes, I saw his worry and hurriedly looked away again. ,,Is something the matter, Jacks?” Alice asked from behind Jeff, and I suddenly remembered her presence, though I had conveniently forgotten about her. At the sound of my mother’s nickname for me uttered from her lips, I grinded my teeth, but looked into her eyes nevertheless. ,,Everything is fine.” I sent Jeff a last glance before I began walking down the small street. I didn’t know where I was headed, I just knew I wanted to signal to Alice that she had done her duty, and that she could go back to wherever she came from now. ,,Wait, Grey-” At the end of the street it took a left turn, and even though I had no idea where I was headed or where this street lead, I followed it. From this street, I could hear the buzzing of life, probably from a few turns ahead. Here, everything was quiet. The way the tall apartments and buildings shadowed the street, it felt as if the dark windows were soulless eyes watching my every step. I wanted to hide, wanted to find an alley and keep myself out of sight. I felt too vulnerable here, as if every dark corner held a threat. Despite the fact that the hair by my neck stood on end, and goose bumps had taken over my skin, I continued. I didn’t know what it was but something was driving me, leading me on, and I just followed where my mind told me to go. As I lead Jeff further and further through the city, the streets became more and more familiar to me. Jeff had given up on trying to get an answer out of me and just walked close behind me, his gaze going this way and that, asserting whether or not any dangers were near. A memory was lurking somewhere in the darkness of my mind, only bright enough for me to know which way to go. I instantly knew that I had been here before but I also knew that my memory of this place was full of dread, horror, and fear. Whatever had happened at that time, it hadn’t been good. When we turned left down a corner the sight before me had me shivering and I stopped dead in my tracks. Jeff bumped into my back and huffed out a ,,What?” before he cast a glance in every possible direction, making sure we were safe. My eyes were glued to a building in front of me. It didn’t appear any different from any other building in the city, but there was something about it that I didn’t like. I had been there before, or at least I thought so. The memory felt as if it was lying just on the tip of my tongue. It was a tall, grey building with dark windows and only a single, small door that lead the way into the building. A sudden picture shot through my mind: Standing at this corner but with my back toward it. Casting a glance over my shoulder, fear shooting through my body as I praised myself lucky for having escaped the clammy hands of the white robed, uniformed persons in there. The hit of realization made me close my eyes briefly and take a deep breath. Whatever – or whoever – was or had been inside that building, I had been running from it, from them. A feeling of dread went through my body. Could the Proctors be inside? Was the building still in the hands of the white robed people that had kidnapped me once upon in my early life? Was it bad idea to go in? What if I got caught again? A new shiver ran down my back and I automatically took a step backwards. ,,Grey? What’s the matter? You alright?” I felt Jeff’s arm tighten around me and I couldn’t help but relax a bit. I closed my eyes once more and took a deep breath. What was I fretting over? All the windows were dark, and it didn’t appear as if the building was still in use. Perhaps those people and the ones who had taken the Proctors had nothing to do with each other. Maybe this was just a waste of time. But then again – maybe not. And even if the building was abandoned, perhaps it held some clues that were worth looking for. ,,We have to get into that building,” I said instead of answering. I lifted my arm and pointed toward it. ,,Perhaps it has some clues-” ,,How do you know?” Jeff interrupted but he started walking toward the building either way, his steps not even the slightest hesitant while his eyes roamed the streets. ,,What’s inside?” Slowly, I followed after the changer. ,,I think I’ve… been here before…” I answered hesitantly. I hoped he wouldn’t ask me more about my experiences in there but when Jeff looked over his shoulder at me with a frown marring his features I knew that that would not be. I sighed. ,,Once, when I was younger, I was… kidnapped by someone. I think they brought me here. I remember escaping down that street.” I pointed toward the street where we had come from, and only then did it occur to me that Alice had left. There was only Jeff and I. Although I could see the silent anger awakening in Jeff, I had to give him credit for containing it. He glanced at the building, suspicion now the primary feature in his face. ,,It seems abandoned,” he observed, taking slow steps forward. We had almost reached the entry, and I saw that it was a simple electronic lock. I reached out with my mind and clicked the lock open. The door opened inwards on itself, not making either Jeff nor I feel the slight bit better about going in. Steeling myself, I finally strode forward, walking past Jeff. I reached out and pushed the door the rest of the way open. My first impression was that it was very dark inside. From what light that came from the lights outside I could make out a kind of reception area. If I wasn’t entirely wrong, then receptions usually held computers. That might help a lot. I looked over my shoulder at Jeff and saw how his changed eyes almost lit up in the darkness. ,,Jeff,” I asked and acquired his attention. ,,Can you see in the dark?” I asked him. If a computer had been cut of or wasn’t plugged on electricity for a long time it would be difficult for me to be sure whether or not there actually were some in the reception. When the changer nodded, I asked if he could see any computers. It took a while before Jeff answered and I could feel how he moved through the open area, his eyes darting this way and that. Finally, he answered. ,,Yeah, there’s one here. But it’s a very old model.” Following his voice I found what was probably the reception desk. It stood against the far wall so that the light from outside didn’t reach it. I squinted my eyes and felt around with my hands until Jeff finally took them and guided them to said computer. As soon as I touched the screen, electricity shot through me and I turned it on, my mind already looking through the ancient files. It seemed the building had had a mask of being some kind of commercial agency, while it had experimented on paras on the side. A disgusted shiver ran down my spine as if cool skeleton fingers were dancing down my back. I straightened and put my mind to the task of looking for connections to other paras and what happened before the building was abandoned. Looking deeper and deeper I realized that the building had had some kind of break down. All the electric and electronic devices had been scorched by something. There was something much more powerful behind it all. I went deeper. Ever deeper. At last, just before I was ready to call it a failed attempt and retrieve my mind form the computer, I felt it. The powerful presence of a familiar machine. It was the most powerful – computer? – that I had ever touched before. It was almost too much to handle. All that data. It was in code but still it felt familiar… As if I had touched it before…Overwhelming connection. Power almost overflowing my mind. As if you’re trying to swim in jelly but can’t get your arms and legs to move according to your wishes in the thick substance.
The machinery, electricity and electronic workings of the computer were as absolute and fulfilling as nothing I had ever tried – or truly expected – from a computer. It was as if my mind was in a world of it’s own. Had a body of it’s own. It was overwhelming. On the other side of reality – the side where my body and all things physical was – I felt as if a hand was caressing my cheek, a breath puffing against my cheekbones. Light appeared before my mind’s eyes and I was submerged in the computer, totally distracted from the reality around my body. A nagging feeling made me try to reach for the physical realm but the tugging and pulling from the magnificent computer was too strong to avoid. It became a never-ending deepness, and I was the one plummeting down the hole of it. Usually I broke no sweat connecting and controlling a computer but that didn’t appear to be the case this time. The machine was so powerful and absolute that it was overtaking me, swallowing me whole. The only thing I could do was try to resist despite how futile it seemed at the moment. But my mind – feeling more like a body of its own in the consuming mass of mighty mechanism – was falling. Falling, falling, falling… like Alice tumbling down the rabbit hole. What awaited me, though, would not be the mad hatter at a tea party or a queen shouting to cut off my head: No, I thought, it was worse. A voice spoke into my ear; whether it was my physical one or my mental imagery of it, I didn’t know. All I knew in that instant was the voice. ,,I am sorry… This was not to happen… A failed attempt of- No, I wont even speak of it in fear how disappointed and assaulted you would feel. Of me; of us. This is our fault – we know that but still we cannot seem to face our wrong-doings and come back to you and help. We are cowards, I am afraid. We are alone and lonely, but we are cowards. For the purpose of not destroying anymore of your lives, we will go. Flee into the darkness and repent for our actions. I am sorry. You were not ready yet. The sole trace of our meddling I leave for only you to find, and may you do with it as you please.”My eyes shot open and I stepped backwards with wobbling legs, losing physical contact with the computer. If Jeff hadn’t stood behind me, catching me before I fell, I would already have been sprawled on the floor.
I gasped. ,,The Mechanicians!”Hi therere!
I'm sorry about the very delayed upload! But here it (Finally!) is! I'm soon going to graduate and in the year afterwards I'll have what we call a sabbath-year, which means I will have no school for an entire year!!! xD Yay me!!! Either way, that means I will have a lot of time on my hands for updates, so you will be getting them more frequently :D I hope you enjoyed this chapter and that you will stick around for the rest of them! xD And thank you sooooo much, Smint45, for commenting - they really got me writing on this story again! I hope (especially YOU) enjoyed the new chapter :D See y'around!