literature

Entity Adrift: Chapter 1

Deviation Actions

Published: Jan 29, 2015

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Literature Text

The night was nipping and sour. Cold rain pelted down from the skies and a vicious wind whistled through the trees. On occasion, the crescent moon blared through a break in the clouds and exuded its light on the forested mountain beneath the storm. Most animals sought shelter and stayed there. One creature, however, stumbled down the mountain and through the woods: This creature was, seemingly, a man.

As the storm worsened, the man shuddered and staggered along as quickly as he could. He had descended down the mountain and had fallen once or twice into jagged stones. His body, barren of any clothing, was damaged with scrapes. In his body there was aching and a chill. He did not know where he had come from, nor did he know where he was going—it was difficult to see through the soaking blond hair that stuck to his face—but he knew that he wanted to be away from the mountaintop.

The terrain became less and less steep. The comfort of sodden grass met his feet; it was a relief to step on something softer than pinecones, sharp twigs, and hard stone. This relief, however, did not rejuvenate him. The man was incredibly exhausted and tempted to let his weary body rest on the saturated ground below… but something drove him further from the mountain.

Amidst his fatigue and seething thoughts on the weather was a curiosity regarding his identity, or lack thereof. It was slowly driving him mad that he did not remember anything, despite the fact that he appeared to be an adult! It was certain he had not been born recently… but all he could recall was his journey halfway down the mountainside. Where were the twenty-odd years of memories? Perhaps he should have thought to journey back up the mountain, to retrace where he had been before… but he was drawn to a dim light. He had seen it from high upon the mountain. It was far below in the woods, and he was drawn to it like a moth. It was not far away now…

There was a small cabin just at the edge of the woods, near the foot of the mountain. It was the only house around for miles and the solitude was most welcome to its inhabitant. This cabin housed a lone man, early thirties, named David Orwell, and his two dogs, Odin and Spud. David enjoyed his quiet life with his dogs. His home in the center of the wilderness was the center of his world. Being there with his four-legged companions was what pacified him and it was all that he wanted.

David was a school teacher in the town miles away. He taught Language Arts to the students at Shortleaf Middle School. The students were well-mannered and his coworkers were all friendly, just like anyone in the small town. They often invited him out for drinks on Friday nights and weekends, but David always declined. His friends—he would prefer not to call them that—thought he was an introvert. They were correct. David enjoyed his privacy and found himself longing for it every moment while he worked.

If one were to ask David’s peers if he was their friend, most of them would agree. However, in David’s opinion, he had no friends—only acquaintances.

The night was violent. Wind howled and thunder cracked. The noise made it quite difficult for David to sleep. The same went for his dogs. Odin, who was a black and white Akita, had been restless as he always was during storms. He had been pacing for some time, but something caught his attention: For fifteen minutes, he whimpered and whined at the window. Then Spud, the small, tan terrier mix, came to investigate. Now both dogs were making a ruckus.

As if the storm had not been enough to keep David from sleeping, now his dogs refused to be quiet. The auburn-haired man finally got out of bed and shuffled to the window. It was too dark to see anything and even with the constant flash of lightning David could not see anything remarkable enough to bark at. His pets did not believe him when he told them there was nothing there and continued to fuss loudly. Finally, David decided to take them outside.

After throwing on shoes, a heavy jacket, and a pair of pants, David coaxed Odin and Spud out of the bedroom and into the front area of the cabin, where the dining table, kitchen, and television were. The dogs beat him to the front door. The pawed at it and howled impatiently. Putting their leashes on was quite a task with the way they squirmed. As soon as the door was open an inch, the dogs pushed their way out and nearly pulled David onto his face.

David got down the steps with his frenzied dogs when they suddenly broke from his grip and made a beeline for the back of the house. The tired, dark-haired man ran after them through the pelting rain as they tore across the yard. He called their names and commanded them to sit or stay, but they did not listen. David pulled a keychain flashlight from his pocket, let it shine ahead, and then continued to run after his companions.

When he finally caught up with them, they had stopped and were circling around a lump in the ground. “What did you two find?” he asked jadedly. Expecting a dead raccoon, David directed his beam of light at the lump and immediately gasped. With wide eyes, he came in for a closer inspection—this was definitely no raccoon! It was a man.

David reached down and shook the man, but the limp body did not respond. Fearing the worst, he then turned the man onto his back, making to feel for a pulse. This man, pale as the moon that hid behind the angry storm clouds, looked convincingly dead, but David checked anyway… Very… very faintly, he could feel a slow pulse. Not wanting to waste a second, David picked the slender male up and hurried back into the house. His dogs keenly followed.

Tracking in mud and rainwater was the least of his worries as he barged through the front door. He hastily trudged to the bedroom and set the man on the bed. He tried to wake the stranger up again, but he was out cold.

David hurried into the bathroom to grab a towel and promptly returned to unconscious person on his bed. He dried the freezing cold almost-corpse as quickly as he could, figuring the best thing for him was to be dry and warm. Then he put the man in pajama pants, a sweatshirt, and wool socks. Dressing what was practically a dead body was not exactly easy, but in this frantic moment of urgency, it mattered little.

After dressing the stranger in his clothes, David put him in his lukewarm bed, shut off the light, and lay beside him. His dogs did the same. This was the most he could do to try to save this man. Hopefully, the comfort of the clothes and bed, combined with the body heat of Odin, Spud, and David would be sufficient. He hoped it would be. Somehow, in spite of all the excitement, David fell asleep. He would know in the morning if he had saved this man or not.

The storm finally passed around four in the morning. The sun rose not long after, but the darkness of night lingered with the seemingly endless herds of gray clouds. The alarm blared at six, waking David with the obnoxious sound of a radio DJ. His hand found the alarm in half a second to turn the racket off. His dreams receded as he sat up and stared blankly at the foot of the bed. He was covered in sweat from the amount of heat under the covers. His hair had even gone curly from all the humidity. David removed his shirt and slipped out of bed.

The dogs stirred as their master yawned and stretched, but they continued to rest on top of the covers, eyes curious. The brunet stood at the foot of the bed for a moment, taking in the fact that the man from last night was real… He had thought it would be a dream, but it could not be denied—he was right there in front of him, wearing David’s clothes that were far too big for him, sleeping in David’s bed, next to David’s dogs… It was certainly no dream.

The man’s outline under the blankets visibly swelled and shrank; he was breathing. David would not have been surprised if his condition had worsened, but he was quite relieved to see the man alive. His forehead had felt rather hot, but he seemed fine beyond that. Besides, part of the reason he was hot was probably because of the warmth surrounding him. Feeling safe to leave him, David quietly stepped out into the kitchen. He started breakfast: scrambled eggs and toast. As the food cooked stove and coffee brewed, the curly-headed man paced to front door, opened it, and looked outside. Branches had fallen and leaves were strewn everywhere. Thankfully, his burgundy pickup was unscathed. David let his dogs past his legs to let them venture outside. Then he went back inside.

His eggs were close to burning when he returned to them and the toast had already popped up from the toaster. David poured coffee for himself, took a portion of the food, and went to the table. The house phone sat on the dining table. As he sat there and ate breakfast, he called the middle school to inform them that he had to stay home. He did not go into great detail about the man he found, but said simply that an ill stranger required his attention. When he finished breakfast, he took his dishes to the sink and took what was left of what he had made to the bedroom.

David set the plate on the nightstand then sat down on the bed to focus on the man there. All he could see of this stranger’s face was the long blond hair covering it. He pushed it out of the way to feel his forehead for a temperature again. Suddenly, two golden eyes opened. David withdrew his hand and gasped, taken aback. Then he smiled and said, “You’re awake!” The man stared with those striking eyes, looking uncertain. “You gave me quite a scare last night. I wasn’t sure you’d be awake today… How are you feeling?” The man’s expression did not change… As he lie there, his eyes slowly moved about to examine the room around him.

“What’s your name?” David asked. The man still did not answer, but let his eyes come back to the brunet. Did he not speak English? “Um…” David huffed. “Hablas español?” No response. “Parlez-vous français?” Nothing… Was he mute? Perhaps he knew sign language. David did not, but he attempted to make some vague gestures with his hands. When the stranger remained oblivious, David sighed and scratched his head. Perhaps something was mentally wrong with this stranger. David had seen the scrapes and bruises on him the night before; perhaps he had hit his head at some point.

Until he found out what was wrong or the man recovered his memory, David had to find some way of communicating… “My name,” David said slowly, patting his chest, “is David.” The blond one did not seem to grasp the concept. Again, he put his hand on his chest and said, “David.” The man’s eyes brightened slightly—he seemed to understand. David gestured to the blond and gave him an inquiring look… The man returned the look. Either he had forgotten his name or he still did not understand.

“I would take you to a doctor,” David mused aloud, “if the hospital wasn’t so far away. If you don’t start getting better, I won’t have a choice, though.”

“David…” the man spoke quietly.

His voice was incredibly gentle and smooth. David watched him as he curiously tugged on the clothes on him.

“Those are my clothes,” David stated, pulling on the shirt he had on. “You were freezing last night.”

“David,” the man said again, struggling to communicate what he wanted. “Da…vid.”

The blond huffed, rubbed his forehead, tugged at his clothes. He seemed uncomfortable and did not seem to understand how to remove the clothes. David was not bothered with doing it for him, so he told the stranger to lift up his arms. Of course, the mysterious man had no idea what David meant, so David did it for him. When his arms were held in the air, he pulled the sweatshirt off of him. The blond seemed happy to be out of the warm clothes. He smiled and kicked the blanket off. This man, despite looking to be in his twenties, had peculiar innocence akin to a child’s.

David reached over to the nightstand so he could offer breakfast to his guest. When the scent reached his guest’s nostrils, he turned visibly hungry. He grabbed a handful of scrambled eggs and shoved it down his gullet. David suddenly took the plate away and urged the man to slow down. “You’ll make yourself sick if you eat too quickly,” he said. “I don’t want you to get sick... er, sicker.” The blond looked worriedly at him, understanding that he was being scolded, but not knowing why. David slowly put the plate back and a made slow, circling gesture with his hand. He instructed, “Slowly.”

Carefully, the guest picked up a piece of egg, paused to make sure he would not be scolded, then chewed his food and swallowed. After receiving praise from David, the man felt more confident to eat. David smirked. “You remind me of a dog,” he stated warmly… Then he thought of his dogs. They had been outside for a while. David left the plate with the blond and said, “I’ll be back. I have to let the dogs in.” The stranger predictably did not know what David was saying, but he seemed happy to sit there and eat.

Odin and Spud were waiting at the front door. David let them in and was greeted eagerly by them. He greeted them back and scratched their heads. After filling their food and water bowls, he returned to the bedroom.

The long-haired man was at the window, staring outward. It was not where David had expected to see him. Taking the condition he had found this man in only hours earlier, David was naturally worried and felt his guest should rest. He paced across the room, to the window. The blond seemed to be in a trance as he stared up at the mountain... Had he seen a bird? His eyes really looked golden now. It was surely the lighting, but they seemed almost to glow. For several long moments, his gold eyes gazed at the mountain without moving. In fact, his entire body seemed perfectly solid and did not sway an inch. It was… unsettling.

“Hey…” David said quietly. “Are you all right?” He put his hand on the blond’s shoulder. Instantly, the man snapped out of his daze and blinked. He looked at David, seeming different than before. “David…” he breathed.

“How… are you feeling?” David asked.

“I… don’t know.”

“You spoke!” he gasped.

The man seemed queasy. A second later, his legs went weak. David caught him before he could fall and brought him back to the bed. The two sat there on the edge of the bed. “You can talk now,” David stated. “You understand me, right?” The blond nodded. He slouched, still seeming nauseous.

“What’s your name?” David asked. “Where are you from?”

“I don’t know,” he answered quietly.

“Oh… Well… Do you remember anything?”

“I remember that you are David,” he stated.

“That… That’s all?”

“Yes.”

“You don’t know anything else?”

“No… I…”

The blond shuddered and furrowed his brow. His fingers writhed into his hair.

“There is something,” he whispered.

“What is it?”

“We’re in danger.”

“W-What?”

“I feel it inside me… Something... bad is going to happen.”

“W… What?” David repeated incredulously. “Something bad is going to happen to who? How? When?”

“It will change this world.”

“Okay, what… Are you feeling all right? You’re not making sense.”

“David, listen to me.”

David would not listen. Obviously, this man was suffering from some strange delusion. What he said was clearly not true… but it was still unnerving. He stood up and paced to the window. Was this a joke? Who was this man? A lunatic or a dedicated prankster?

“I know what I’m saying,” the man stated as he sat on the bed. “I… I know who… I know what I am.”

“What are you?” David asked hesitantly, looking over his shoulder.

“I am a harbinger… of doom.”

David snorted. He could not help but laugh. A harbinger of doom? How ridiculous! What fantasy land had this man stumbled out of? “Listen to yourself, man,” David laughed. “Do you know how stupid that sounds?” He looked through the window again and shook his head.

“I’m not buying it”

“What?”

“Well, look… I’m sorry if you’ve got some head problems and this seems legit to you, but to me you sound insane.”

“How?”

“Who even says ‘harbinger?’ Do you know how many people wouldn’t know what that was?”

“It would sound more believable if I used a different word?”

“Look…”

David sighed and turned around. The man on the bed seemed nervous. He played with the wheat-colored hair that was long enough to rest on the bed as he sat. It was abnormal for someone to wear their hair that long around there; even women would not let it grow past their shoulder blades. David also distinctly recalled this man being nude when he found him. Why? Why would he be naked? A person like that, David imagined, had to be from the city or from a different country… What would someone like that be doing ambling about in the middle of nowhere on a stormy night?

“You’re really…” David sighed and crossed his arms, “strange.”

“I… do imagine it is uncommon to find clueless strangers like me,” he admitted.

“Uh-huh,” David nodded and scoffed. “I’m… I’m having a really hard time trying to understand a scenario that makes sense… You’re certain you don’t remember anything about yourself? Other than being a… harbinger.”

“There is nothing else, David… I must say, though, that I am concerned about your lack of worry for the danger you’re in.”

“Oh, for God’s sake…” he muttered, rubbing his temples. “That doesn’t… Well, look… I’m going to try and find out who you are. You stay here and rest, okay?”

“Why is it so hard to believe me?”

“There are tons reasons I could give to answer you, but I don’t have time. Will you rest?”

“Yes. I do feel a little ill.”

“All right. I’m going to use the phone.”

“The… phone?” he echoed perplexedly.

“W-What? Are you saying you—well, look, just rest, okay? I’ll be back in a little bit.”

David gave the blond an exasperated look and huffed, gesturing for him to remain on the bed. Then he left the room.

The curly-haired male grabbed the phonebook, set on the kitchen counter, and looked for the number of the nearest mental facility. That was all that made sense to him. This strange man that had wandered to his cabin in the middle of the night was a mental patient. Nothing else could have been possible unless a joke was being played on him… There was an innocence to this stranger, however, that painted him as lunatic rather than a jokester.

As David searched through the phonebook, he found himself uncannily alarmed. Despite how insane he believed his guest to be, he could not help himself from wondering about what he claimed. “A harbinger,” he derided under his breath. A harbinger of doom, he finished in his head. Such a statement coming from such an exotic person was discomforting. Was this man from another time? Was he from another world?

The brunet abruptly stood perfectly straight and glared forward at the air. To himself, he wondered, what the hell am I thinking? This was a bizarre scenario, certainly, but his attempt at making sense of it was only making less sense of everything. He almost wished one of his acquaintances was there to tell him how ludicrous his thoughts currently were.

Having convinced himself the stranger in his bedroom was probably not supernatural and more likely mental, the brunet returned his sights to the phonebook. He dismissed his paranoia and told himself that his guest was simply insane. That was logical. That was possible. Still… the ominous words of that man lingered in his brain: “Something bad is going to happen.”

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Well, here it is! The first chapter of Entity Adrift, teh new series! I was going to wait until
I had cover art, but, I'll worry about that later.

Featuring mystery, fellas, and doges!

Some interesting stuff in store!
Who is this self-claimed bringer of doom? Where did he come from?
And why does David has no friends? He is a nice fellow who saves random strangers he finds in his backyard