literature

Edge of Thorns 4 - Pt 1

Deviation Actions

Cei-Ellem's avatar
By
Published:
418 Views

Literature Text

Part 1
New day. Clean slate. Time to get this game rolling.

Nathan couldn't stand to be idle, and the forced vacation left him with way more free time on his hands than he would have liked. Not that he didn't agree wholeheartedly with his manager's decision; in this reset, he was recovering from a pretty bad head injury. But Nathan knew better. A week of his week and a half hiatus had passed, and in that time he'd gotten reoriented.

He was a reporter and editor at The Citizen, working in a group under Scott, who was his supervisor. He was primarily responsible for editing others' articles, but occasionally got assignments of his own, which Scott would edit. Most of his time was spent at a desk writing, which was fine with him. Scott had also warned him that his actual reporting might be a little more limited when he got back, not by any fault of his own, but because everyone was a lot more cautious since the Black Friday incident. It was very unusual, and it had the whole paper a bit on edge.

Apparently, this was this biggest story as of late: new reporter trampled during first interview.

With that information, Nathan had been spending his days writing down all the big things he could remember happening in the two months that, in this reset, never occurred, and slowly, he'd been whittling through the things that had changed. Initially, he'd called Alton and tried to ask him what things were different, but the Devil had been coy and challenged him to figure things out for himself. He did give him some information, however: he still arrived in early October, for starters. He was already acquainted with Detective St. George (reveling Micah still had the same mortal guise), and he, of course, already knew Alton and his daughter, Lidia. Nathan asked if there was a reason he'd decided to make the little girl his daughter, rather than any other familial connection. The shopkeeper had just laughed and said he'd always wanted a child, and this was the closest he was ever going to get. Nathan decided it was better not to ask whether or not that was a joke.

Besides Alton's input -- or, perhaps, in spite of it -- Nathan had figured out that the big Halloween party, the original catalyst for most of the chaos, had happened... but hadn't been a catastrophe like before. It went off without a hitch, the news article calling it a very successful fundraising event. The party was held to raise funds to rebuild one of the bridges leading out of Virtue, namely the one Nathan had crossed when he discovered the barrier. He was pretty sure that was deliberate on the angel's part, to discourage him from visiting it again. Not that he had any intentions too; he still hadn't figured out what happened to Gabriel, and hadn't been able to find or reach him since their nearly fatal encounter in front of that bridge. His signature wasn't working, and he knew he was still possessed by Ira. Maybe he was still angry. He'd thought about stopping by Gabriel's apartment, but was worried that it wouldn't belong to him anymore, and really didn't want to have to explain to a stranger why he was there. On the brighter end of things, the murder spree that had dominated most of November was completely gone.

It was almost noon, and Nathan had slept most of the day, only just now stepping out of his room after getting dressed. He wondered what he should make for breakfast, or lunch, or whatever meal it was supposed to be, but didn't get much time to think about it when there was a knock at the door. It took a moment for him to remember, but when he did, a smile stretched across his face as he went to let his guests in. "Hey, I almost forgot you were coming."

Scott laughed, while Enya behind him rolled her eyes. Nathan held the door for them and closed it behind, starting to ask what was in the bags they were carrying when his nose told him the answer: "You brought food..."

"Chinese, to be specific," Scott confirmed, placing his bag on the kitchen counter and sifting through it. "I know how much you like The Golden Frog, so En and I stopped there to get some lunch. Sesame chicken, right?"

"That or sweet and sour," Nathan confirmed.

"That's what I got," Enya said, smirking. "And we got one big order of dumplings to share. Scott, I think you're platter is in one of my bags."

"We'll get it sorted out. How's your head feeling, Kink?"

"Still sore, but better." The writer joined his friends in the kitchen, getting out utensils and plates. "You should see the list of things I've come up with. I mean, a lot of it is just silly stuff, clearly story ideas I've just had floating about in my head, but I figure it's better to get everything written down and -- heh, like lunch -- sorted out. Thanks for helping me."

Scott laughed again. "No problem Kink. Tell you what, I miss you at work. You're one of the best editors I've got in my group."

Enya snorted, and when Nathan looked over at her, a wicked smirk graced her lips while she signed. "I think my brother has a crush on you."

He rolled his eyes and signed right back, "I dare you to say that out loud."

"Stop signing behind my back," Scott scolded them both, wrinkling his nose, though he too smiled. "Cheaters."

"Anyway," Enya sang, dancing over to the kitchen table once she had her plate. She gestured towards Nathan's open laptop. "Let's hear this latest list you've come up with. I want to get started with today's game of Fact or Fiction: The Karol Keene Files!" She opened her arms in a dramatic flourish. Both men laughed as they joined her at the table, Nathan taking a seat in front of his computer.

"Hey, I know a lot of this sounds crazy," he admitted. "But you wouldn't believe some of the stuff I think up that ends up being true. Head injury or not, sometimes my imagination isn't that far off."

"So, let's hear it," Scott prompted. "What's on the list today?"

I've gotten through most of the major events, I think. Maybe now I should start pressing the more supernatural ones. Scott and Enya are great, but they don't seem to be aware of the truth of things like they were before. What should I bring up first to start on this subject?
Book 4 has begun! This only took a while for me to write because of my current emotional state. I knew what I wanted to write, but mustering up the willpower to write it was difficult. Hopefully, by next month (that is, next Sunday), I'll be feeling better. 

Depression sucks.

Anyway, first poll of the book, and there's an Other option. Any and all suggestions are welcome, but remember that he's already learned about Halloween and the murders, so those don't need to be mentioned. Everything else, however, is fair game.

THE CHOICE HAS BEEN MADE: Read Part 2 to see his decision!

© 2014 - 2024 Cei-Ellem
Comments0
Join the community to add your comment. Already a deviant? Log In