The following is an abridged excerpt from a story I am conceptualizing titled: “The Outlier.” I believe that it captures a moment in which a character must push past his lack of motivation to continue on his path. “But you’re almost there,” the eel’s crackling, faded voice said in Thomas’s head. He hadn’t realized that it was still there, infecting his thoughts. “Shut up,” Thomas said out loud, holding his knees to his chest in the dark comfort of the tunnel. Outside, the sound of grinding metal rang through the arena, reverberating into the walls and shaking Thomas’s very core. The mechanical basilisk slid across the stone floor, searching for any sign of human life. After a few moments, it occupied itself with the footprints of Thomas’s fallen friends, searching for vital signs that had long been exterminated. “It’s done,” Thomas said as he kicked the key further down the tunnel, plunging its golden shape into darkness. “This can all be over soon,” the eel whispered. Strangely, it didn’t sound as malicious as it had before, when he was under city control. “Just say the word,” the mechanical voice said. “Give me a minute. 60 seconds, start now…” Thomas said. “60 seconds, sta–” the voice of the eel was suddenly overtaken by radio static. “Time?” Thomas asked. “I wanted to record this in case you die before you reach the end,” headmaster’s voice came through the eel’s internal voice in Thomas’s thoughts. “I’m afraid you’ve been misled…” headmaster said, “This has not been a test for you to complete for some sense of accomplishment in our city. Should you have completed your task, you would not have gained status, glory, nor any form of riches. In fact, you would not have even been allowed back into the city with your knowledge of the outside world. To all knowledge outside of your own, you’ve been dead since you were sent away those months ago… But I know better. Which brings me to my next point. You are far from the first to undertake this mission. Many have tried before, and many have disappeared from our city just as you have. In fact, I trust that you may have met some of these outliers on your journeys outside. Truthfully, those who sent you out there have not been outside. You have been sent to explore a world we’ve long thought lost, what we once called ‘Earth.’ You were not sent to complete a test. You were sent to see if there’s still any chance left of restoration. And I speculate… that you were sent to die.” The eel’s voice returned, “Five, four, three…” “Stop count,” Thomas said, lifting his dust-marred face from his arms. “Well, look at you…” Thomas stood up, looking down the tunnel where he had kicked the key. “Still a slave to the path chosen for you?” the eel’s voice said, its malice returning. “No,” Thomas said, taking a step into the darkness. “Yet, you choose not to walk away,” the eel kept its composure, but genuine confusion could be heard in its robotic voice. “‘Before me is a choice between life and death. O, call upon these fates of chance and find for me an answer, which path leads where, which to take?’” Thomas quoted from the Archaic–the book which he had studied for years before being banished from the city in which he lived. “I know that this path has been chosen for me. I know I’m not meant to find its end.” Thomas kneeled down in the murky water that had collected in the darkness of the tunnel, splashing around with his hands as he searched for the metal frame of the key. “But if my choice is between death, a selfish act in this case, and continuing on the path I know that I’ll fail…” Thomas’s cold fingers wrapped around the key, which he triumphantly lifted from the water. “I’ll fight… but not for you,” Thomas said, speaking directly to the eel in his skull. “What point do you have if not what was given to you?” the eel replied with disdain. “I’ll fight for me…” Thomas said, standing at the edge of the tunnel, glaring down at the basilisk below him. As the beast’s glowing green eyes noticed Thomas, he readied himself, and leapt down from the tunnel. Word Count: 724
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James WilkinsI enjoy writing creative stories, but I find it refreshing to express my thoughts through blogs or journals. Archives
April 2024
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