Less Than Bright Electron Transmission Beam

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This is part 1 to a completely original story thought up by myself. It is in no way related to any current RP's that are taking place, so don't start comparing it to them, 'kay? Anyway, enjoy.





Vermidian City, a place for dreams to come true. Yeah, what a pile of....you know what let me back up for a sec. My name is John Smith, yeah real original right? I was born in this city, my parents were normal, dad drank from time to time, but altogether just a boring normal life. I went through school, lazing off and barely graduated. Didn't go to college, instead I went straight to work because my dad suddenly got very sick. The only job that would take me was the most boring delivery company in the city. I'd had some experience in city traversal, mostly when I was a kid, but I knew I could get around this place easily enough. I applied for a courier job, that lasted me about a year, but all good things must come to an end. One day I was delivering a package, routine delivery when suddenly a loud beeping noise starts coming from the package. I dropped it immediately and shouted for help, knowing that it must have been a bomb. Eventually the police got the place sealed off and had a bomb squad inspect the package. They got it open and what do they find? An alarm clock. The stupid thing had gone when I had hit a bump in the road. Needless to say it cost the city a lot and I got demoted to 'package handling'. There way of making a joke, I guess. Not a day goes by now that someone tells me to watch out for 'another bomb'. God, I hate those....anyway, I'm getting off track. So anyway, I'm stuck in this dead end job, barely scraping up enough cash to live a regular life, you know the same shitty existence as every normal person in this city. Then one day that all changed. I was at my station, doing the routine stuff, look at the package label, send it down the line, check the label, send it down, check the label, send it down. An endless supply of deliveries were made that day, most likely since it was around Christmas. My father had wound up dying a couple of months before and my mother moved to Florida to 'get away from it all'. So I was doing everything the same I had done it every other day of my miserable life when I noticed something weird about one of the packages. It had my exact name on it, even my middle name. No, I'm not gonna tell you, I'm not that stupid. Anyway, I'm looking at this thing and it's got my address, my phone-number, everything. I kind of just shrugged and set it off to the side and went back to work. When my shift finally ended, after what seemed like 2 eternities, I grabbed the package and went back to my dinky apartment. It was nothing special, pea-green wallpaper that was peeling off slightly, shabby furniture that barely qualified as such, a TV that barely worked that even had the 'rabbit-ears' on top, a kitchen off to the side that had one stove and a medium sized fridge mostly full of beer. I don't own any pets, so the place is usually empty when I'm not there. Sure the occasional robber gets in, but I don't have anything worth stealing, so I'm fine with that. Okay so I get through the door, lock it behind me, walk to my couch and plop down on it. I stared at the package for a little bit and then just ripped it open. Out fell a small, glowing blue orb that was about the size of a quarter rolled out and fell on the ground with a light thud. I dug through the carpeting and managed to pick it up with my thumb, index, and middle finger. I held it up and started to inspect it, noticing that the surface was completely smooth and that the light coming from inside pulsed slightly. Suddenly the thing started to melt into my skin, the light disappearing beneath it. I stared blankly at my hand for a second when a massive jolt shook through my entire body. I yelled in pain as another shot down my spine and I fell onto the floor. Then it wasn't just shots of pain, it was continuous. The most painful thing I've ever felt, and trust me, that is saying something. I shook violently on the ground, a....I don't know how to describe it. 'Wrong' would be the best term. A 'wrong' feeling started to build up in my chest and suddenly it felt as though a hammer slammed into my heart. Needless to say I blacked out. I came to looking up at the face of my neighbor and friend Dominic.
"You okay man?" He said, slapping my face to get me to fully awaken.
"Hmm? Yeah, yeah, I'm..." I said, shaking my head. My voice trailed off as I looked down, noticing there was nothing wrong with me. I looked around and the package was gone, no trace left. "Fine." I finished, a puzzled look creeping onto my face.
"Phew man, nearly gave me a heart attack!" Dominic said, standing up. "I'm just sittin' over there and all the sudden you start screaming your lungs out! What the hell happened?!" He said, making his way to the fridge.
"Sure help yourself." I mumbled, getting up. I told him about the package and the orb. I left out the feeling and how I blacked out, 'cause even I didn't understand it.
"Wow...." He said, looking down at his now empty beer bottle. "Who do you think sent that package?" He asked, thumbing the top of the bottle.
"Hell if I know." I said, looking out the window that overlooked the suspended train tracks. There was a massive bridge that ran through the city that held the train tracks up, making it the most efficient way to travel in the place.
"Well man, I guess the only thing to do now is wait to see what the hell that orb's gonna do to ya." Dominic said tossing his beer bottle in the trash from his seat.
"Well with my luck, it's gonna be nothing, or it's gonna turn out to be cancerous." I said, doing the same. "Anyway, I gotta get some sleep, I'm tired as hell right now." I said rubbing my head, a dull throbbing meeting my fingers.
"Okay man, I understand. Call me if you wake up and can suddenly shoot lightning or something." Dominic said, grinning. He got up, stretched slightly and walked out of the apartment.
I made my way to a small sub-room that had my bed in it. Nothing special about the room, same kind of wallpaper, a small dresser that stored my clothes, a desk in a corner that was a complete mess, a phone on the nightstand near a lamp, and a bed that looked as though it was made of brick, but was actually quite comfortable. I kicked off my shoes and fell down onto the bed, still fully clothed. I let my mind wander and finally fell into a light sleep.

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I can't really remember what I dreamed that knight, but I know it wasn't good. All I really remember is slamming my hand down on the alarm clock, same routine as ever. I inhaled, trying to wake myself up, rolled over and stared at the clock. A curious look appeared on my face as I noticed that the clock had suddenly started to blink '12:00' over and over again. I could have sworn that the thing had just gone off, but with the shitty power in this place I thought it was to be expected. I got out of bed and shuffled into the tiny thing that I guess you could classify as a bathroom. It was small, cramped, and the hot water never worked. I grabbed a towel, a fresh change of clothes and started the shower. I waited a little bit for the water to reach slightly above freezing and hopped in. It felt weirder than usual. The water seemed to be actually warm, and there was an odd sensation coursing through my body. I finished my business, got out and reached for a towel but received a huge shock from the metal pole it was hanging on. I flinched back and grunted in surprise. The next attempt I was a little more careful and managed to get the towel off the wrack without having it burst into flames. I dried off and threw on the new set of clothes. Nothing too special, just a pair of jeans, a white T-shirt with no logo, a black track top, new shoes I had just bought, and a thin pair of fingerless gloves that gave a lot of traction. I got my 'breakfast' out and chugged it down. I shivered slightly, but felt better. I stretched a little bit and set out for my morning exercise. I went over to my window, opened it and looked out. It was a beautiful day. The sun was shining, the wind was cold, and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. I took it all in for a second, then backed up a couple of steps. I inhaled and charged at the window and leaped out. I soared through the air, the wind whistling in my ears as I fell. I hit the roof of the building below me, tucked and rolled distributing the force of my fall. I went from a roll to standing in a fluid motion and took off running down the roof. I leaped from rooftop to rooftop, it's not really that hard considering how close together these buildings were. I did that for a while then paused to catch some of my breath. Once I was finished with that I ran to the side and began climbing down into the alleyway where I always started my 'sessions'. I breezed down and both feet slammed to the ground as I made the final drop. I exhaled and looked up at the massive building that was my target. I shook myself a bit, getting rid of unneeded tension and began. I jumped and grabbed onto a couple of bricks that were jutting out of it's side and hauled myself up. I threw my arm up, pushing off from the bricks with my other arm and just barely managed to grab the 1st story windowsill. I kept leaping and grabbing, gradually making my way up the building. One time I tried to grab a nearby pole, but it broke off. Thankfully I had my other hand in a firm grasp so I didn't fall, but still. Look you don't need to hear the entire thing, let me just skip ahead. I get up the building and try to catch my breath at the top. That's when the weird shit started happening. I felt a weird throbbing in my chest, something that wasn't a regular heartbeat. I rubbed it, trying to get rid of the feeling, but nothing helped. It eventually got so bad that I had to lean on a nearby air conditioning thing. The second that my fingers touched it I felt this even weirder sensation, almost as though I was drawing power from the thing. The throbbing in my chest started to recede, and I kept having the weird 'power drain' feeling. Once the throbbing completely stopped I sighed in relief and took my hand away. I looked at the air thing and the fan that had been running had completely stopped, almost as if the electricity to it had shut down. 'Huh, that's weird?' I remember thinking to myself. I chocked it up again to the crappy power in this part of the city and continued with the daily routine. I finished, made it back to my apartment and collapsed onto the couch. I sat upright, eventually and stared at my palm. It's hard to explain, but I swear I could feel a strong tingle beneath the skin, though that was probably because of all the work they had been through that day. I shrugged and laid out on the couch, flippin the TV on and enjoyed the rest of the Saturday.