Mist
Chapter 1: Prologue: Foreshadowing
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By 3arlGrey
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I felt something firm and smooth tap my head. A voice then spoke out. It seemed to be calling to
me. I couldn't move. My head stung with pain.. where am I? Who's talking? Is this a dream? I find my bearings and open my eyes, returning to consciousness, my vision blurry and clouded. I see a purple.. thing in front of my face, her expression filled with worry. No, I know what exactly I'm looking at - my brain just isn't letting it process. Finally, I come to realize; I am staring at Twilight Sparkle the unicorn. I take a look around. I'm no longer on Earth - the colors around me were not where I resided. How did this happen? I didn't know of any extra terrestrial, practical, or realistic way I could be here, in this place.
My head hurt.
There was no mistake; this was not a dream.
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I dislike people who think they can change everything. Overly ambitious figures who believe themselves to be powerful enough to influence the world with their words and actions. Some people dream of having that power, while other's already seem to have it. Power leads to ambition, ambition leads to lust, lust leads to want, want leads to greed, and greed directs you to multiple directions, all of them worse than the other. Back when I was in primary school, for inspiration, our teacher brought in a bucket full of water. She dropped in a small toy, and explained to us how the water moved and shifted with the force of the mass entering the liquid. Everyone seemed to be inspired by it, but I remained doubtful.
Every person's life is just a drop in that bucket - the water level will increase, but no one particular drop will have particular significance. It just piles on to the rising liquid. Enough of my senseless rambling though. You're probably wondering who I am.
My name is Alan Walker. I'm a student at A. Verge Boarding School. My parent's and remaining family are deceased. Cliche, huh? A few years before my enrollment at A. Verge, my family suffered from an accident with a derailed subway train, which eventually lead to a collapsed building that crushed many. The last thing I saw were their faces, terrified and stricken with pain and confusion. Then a shower of blood. I was, and sort of am still in trauma, but coping. I was lucky enough to escape with few physical injuries, but I was trapped for a while, and I almost suffocated under the debris before a search dog dug me up.
People have fallen into permanent despair because of things like that, but it's not going to get me. My family wouldn't have wanted me to hold on to them forever, like I did when I was in primary school. So I try not to do just that. I struggle keep up with my studies, but I'm alive, I'm pretty well, and a healthy teen. My foster parents travel a lot due to their new job, the reason I was entered at A. Verge boarding school. They thought it might even be better for me to hang out with somebody my age. Big surprise, I didn't even get a roommate.
I suppose it's only natural to assume I'm mentally ill in some way. After all, I still wake up in cold sweat, reliving the memories of the subway accident. Some people are afraid of me, others pity me for a condition I don't even have, and others are disgusted. I'm a good runner, but I was not even accepted into the track team. So I usually just run a few laps after their meetings. I'm generally avoided during classes, and sometimes I'm even bullied, but I don't take it to heart. Like I said earlier, their lives are just drops in a bucket. They might not hold as much moisture or mass, but despite that, they'll be consumed by the massive whole someday.
Eventually, I guess I will too.
It's been a few months since I've been here, and nothing much exciting has happened. It is now winter break, and although the option is given to stay, a lot of students left to spend time with their families. I don't mind - the volume has significantly decreased upon entering the lunchroom and walking across grounds. About 3 days before vacation would end, I took a walk across the grounds. It was a bit chilly, but it got amazingly warm in the afternoons, so I didn't bring anything heavy. I stopped by a nearby bench, checking to see if there was anything damp on it. I sat, opening up a 50 installment series called "Cairo the Arabian Prince." I was currently on the 8th novel. It was very exciting. I breached the end of the chapter and closed the book, leaning back and glancing at the sky. The sun was nonexistent - it actually looked like rain was coming. The moment I realized it, the drops began to fall. I rushed to my dorm, out of breath and sopping wet.
Walking, playing video games and studying have become a huge part of my vacation schedule. I realize that through all that, I still have a massive amount of time left before me. I would go to sleep, but I'm not feeling very tired. I set my schoolbooks aside and wheeled my chair around, staring blankly at the window that lead outside. I already took a walk this morning, and don't really have the effort to get out again.
So I did something I had not done in a while - I opened up my laptop and browsed the internet. One of the first sites I went to was a My Little Pony fan site. Yes yes, you have probably thought me to be some kind of queer, or an actual retard like the dorm mates across the hall think I am. You're referring to just My Little Pony. I am referring to My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, the 4th generation television show.
To be truthful, I don't think it's as great or mentally affecting as many of the fans say it is. I mean, sure, it's a decent show, unencumbered by many obstacles good franchises come across, and a pleasant past time. But sometimes, I don't get the fan base, nor the implications. I watched a few episodes, and before I knew it, night fell outside. Right before I removed my headphones and shut down the laptop, I was checking my email when I found a peculiar spam mail.
"My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is the greatest show ever! Spread the love by sending this mail to 10 people, or something unexpected will happen to you tomorrow."
..Weird. I deleted the message. My index finger clicked the power button. I stood up and stretched pretty pointlessly, as a second later I slid into bed. Also pretty pointlessly, I ended up waking up around 4 hours later. It was still raining. I ironed my forehead in exasperation. Another one of those stupid nightmares.. Well, I can't fall asleep now. I don't wet the bed anymore, but I woke up in cold sweat, worked up by the fear of my terrifying dreams. I got out of bed and got dressed. Although it was still vacation, I was required to wear the average attire at A. Verge boarding school - jeans and a short, white dress shirt. A tie was optional.
I looked out the window and sighed to myself.
"What am I doing..?"
I sat back down on the bed, my elbows resting on my knees as my hair fell over my eyes. They're one of the only things I like about myself - my hair. For some reason, it's grey. The doctors told me it was from mental shock - was that even possible? However, it was flat and smooth and kind of like a comfort object that I combed with my fingers when I was stressed.
I asked myself what I should do. Playing games didn't really seem appealing to me at the moment, nor did opening up my laptop again or studying. I couldn't fall back asleep either, so as quietly as possible, I pulled out an umbrella and slipped out of my dormitory. I piled a few books and my laptop, unsure of wether I would use it or not, into my handbag for miscellaneous uses. Despite the noise, the rain was not very heavy, and was little of an encumbrance to me. I perched myself near a lamp post and read some more of Cairo the Arabian Prince. Before I knew it, the rain lifted, and my umbrella no longer had usage. I folded it up and looked away from my book, surprised at what I saw. Besides the lamp post and the bench I was sitting on, everything seemed to be engulfed in fog. Even the building behind me seemed miles away.
That was strange. The rain wasn't that humid nor damp, so why was I unable to see more than 3 feet in front of me? I placed on reading glasses, hoping it would help. They misted up up quickly, so I stashed them away, and stood, stretching my leg muscles - stiff from being stationary for so long. How much time had passed since I started reading? Either way, I had to make my way back to the dorm. I took my first few steps down what I thought was the stairs descending to the courtyard when as soon as I took my 4th pace, I lost balance and fell. Everything was a blur of light grey and white as I fell through, as it seemed, nothing. My head hit against something hard, and I was conscious no more.
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Sidenotes:
This is the generic "introduction" or "prologue" section of the tale. Exciting stuff will come soon.
Notice anything about the name of the boarding school Alan goes to?
[size=1]Average, A verage, A verge[/size]
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