Here is some writing I do in my spare time. Please read and revise, I'd like an honest rating on my writing ability.
I omitted certain parts.
A roar of thunder echoed throughout the downtown metropolitan of St Catharine’s. Quick, jagged bolts of lightning fell across the evening sky as blankets of rain fell heavily among the many buildings and people that populated the busy streets. The storm howled a heavy cry that intermingled with its unwanted chill, coolly kissing the young man’s cheeks and encompassing every small crevice around him.
Chapter 1
Carlos
His name was Carlos, and he had chosen that name a decade ago. At that time, he awoke in an empty field -next to some spherical object, that presumably, brought him to Earth. Because they did not arrive with names, they were forced to name themselves. Carlos had chosen his carefully and found his name was generally well accepted by society. Although, that time had long since passed, and since then, so much had seemed to remain the same. He was homeless when he arrived and he was homeless now. The misfortunate circumstances of the current time were quite disheartening. However, he grew accustomed to it through the years. Even now, his conscious cared little for the passing storm or for the empty cup beside him –because the inner conflictions of the present time over-rode his care for the public distinction between success and failure.
The incredulous nature of Carlos’s trust towards the humans left him alone in life; a bittersweet journey of both freedom and homelessness. Even now, as he sat slouched against a buildings side, he found it dismaying to trust the humans. Their conflictions with one another over the course of centuries –let alone their conflictions with the ___ over the last decade, left him feeling troubled and somewhat disbelieving in the greater good. In addition to his current predicaments were the issues that all the ___ were burdened with, a lack of identity, racial propaganda and war.
He heard the clink of a coin as it was dropped into his cup; it alone wasn’t sufficient for a meal, but he respected it nonetheless. “Thank-you” He said amiably to the passerby, whom walked briskly away with not so much as a notice of his courtesies.
Carlos ignored the pedestrian and decided to check how much money he had accumulated over the course of the day. He reached into his cup and peered in, with a studying sort of glance. ‘$5.00’, he estimated as he shook the cup around. There were many nickels and dimes, but it would still be sufficient in purchasing a meal. ‘The first and last of the day’ He thought to himself as he stashed the coin inside his pocket and threw the cup way. He stood up and slung his back-pack over his shoulders. There was a burger joint down the street that had specials within his price range. He decided to visit it before heading home.
The passing storm had been relentless through the day –and because of that, the walk through the downtown area of St Catharine’s was rather unpleasant. The crowds were quite thick, and everybody seemed to be quite impatient. People also seemed discourteous to physical boundaries, and often brushed shoulders with the person next to them.
During his walk, the young man began to ponder about his current objective; which to track down the location of another like him. This priority was of utmost importance to him because his documents had shown that she was in possession of one of the Pendants, and because her most presently known location was within the city limits. However, the weather had made tracking her movements extremely difficult, so he decided to dismiss the lead until the storm ceased.
The burger joint was located several blocks down the street. The road it was on intersected with another street underneath a large bridge. The young man took a glance at it, and it reminded him of home. It was better for him to dismiss the ideologies of the undervalued rather than to focus on them -because after grabbing some grub, it would ironically be his next destination.
He arrived to the poorly run business and felt a little turned away as he examined its haggard state. The business name was highlighted by fluorescent tubes, each letter shun a dazzling green, all but one. The building also echoed an ensuing statement of age, from its shady appearance to the decaying bricks that built its foundation. Carlos walked towards the entrance to the building and grasped the front doors rusty handle. He pushed it inwards and walked through, uncertain about whether or not the interiors were as unappealing as the exteriors were. A faint chime echoed from the doorbell as he made his way in. He threw his hood down from his head and quickly rubbed his feet on the doormat –a respectable compliance because of his drenched state.
“I’ll be with you in a second sir,” Said a kindly woman whom was busy tending to the needs of her customers. She walked gracefully, this way and that, and appeared to be quite professional in her duties as a waitress. “Our specials are on the menu.” She explained with a pointed finger towards a menu board. It was a wooden board that hung two meters off the ground, and it was filled with various dishes that he could not afford.
“Just the burger special, thank-you” Carlos said respectfully as he placed his change on the counter.
The total cost was only five dollars, but the type of change that he paid with made the waitress feel quite unsettled. She had to pick it up and count the several dozen nickels and dimes that he had accumulated throughout the day –in addition to a few loonies that he was lucky enough to obtain. Regardless, the waitress gave a nod of her head and didn’t take a second glance at his method of payment. She simply collected the change, counted it and placed it in the cash register.
“It will be a few minutes” She told him as went back to her responsibilities.
Carlos nodded appreciably and turned around. Among the many seats that were taken, there were still a few that were available. ‘Why would anyone go out during a storm like this?’ He thought to himself as he walked towards one of the empty leather stools. He sat down and stretched out his tight muscles. The stormy day had grown even more strenuous when he realized that he was broke. He figured that he still had some money from the day before, but when he woke up he found that it was gone. Because of that, he was forced to resort to beggary as a means of feeding himself. He was an ___ and he could have resorted to stealing and forcefully seeing that his basic needs were met, but his moral tendencies always convinced him otherwise.
It was a few minutes after arriving to the shoddy restaurant that he heard the word ____ mentioned. He glanced towards the location of the sound and found that a local news station was currently airing. He heard the faint whispers and muttered words of everyone around the room as they became attentive to the broadcast. Even Carlos found it quite intriguing, and decided to pay more attention to the television.
“Welcome to the show” Said a welcoming young man. He appeared to be the host of whatever show was currently airing.
Carlos was able to discern that it was some sort of interview, probably about the ___. That determination made him feel quite bothered, because there had been many disputes between them and the humans over the course of the last decade, and even more troubled matters of the present time.
“You claim that you have evidence that proves the hostile intentions of the ___; am I correct?” The interviewer asked as he read from a scripted paper.
“Yes, there is no question that they are beings of a different nature. Because of that, they are capable of things one would consider impossible, let`s see here...” Replied the interviewee as he scuffled through some papers. “It has been documented that the average ___ is capable of expelling destructive force that can level a city block, and there are rumours of a few ___ being so powerful that they can level entire cities. And they are allowed to walk free among our city streets, unaccounted for and unrestrained.” He explained towards the audience.
He appeared to be a rather well dressed and educated young man. But his intentions for being interviewed were obviously quite deceiving.
“I have collected numerous testimonies from civilians and law enforcement agencies from around the globe that acknowledges the danger they impose upon our societies. Militaries have even reported coming into violent conflicts with these beings,” He explained as he handed a handful of papers to the television host. “What their intentions are remains to be seen, but we do not have any information that shows they are trying to come to terms of peace with us.” He explained.
“So do you believe that they are a danger to the human population?” The interviewer asked curiously. He appeared to be quite doubtful about the opinion of the younger man.
“Of course,” Replied the guest nonchalantly. “They have exacted violence acts upon us as opposed to dealings of peace. One can only determine that they believe themselves to be above, not only us, but any jurisdiction that they reside in.” He elaborated with a pointed finger towards one of his reports.
Carlos acknowledged that most of what he was saying was true, but it didn’t relieve him of his doubts regarding the humans and their inability to see anything else beyond their own selfish existence. They also never tried to work alongside the ___, so the interviewee’s statements appeared to be rather hypocritical.
“You argue that their intentions are problematic for society -and that they do not deserve social rights or recognition as civilians, but these are merely claims without any supporting evidence thus far.” The interviewer exclaimed in a rather defensive manner. He appeared to be supporting the ___ on national television -and Carlos respected that, even though it probably mattered little whose side he was on.
“Perhaps I can show you?” Retorted the guest as he extended his arm towards a large T.V. It stood between the interviewer and interviewee. “This tape was recorded on the eastern part of the globe, and clearly displays their hostile intentions.” He explained as he inserted a disc into the DVD player.
The lights in the news room dimmed and the camera zoomed in on the television screen. Suddenly, there were quick jagged shots of a third world country. Explosions muffled the voices of people as they scrambled about in every direction. A language that Carlos did not recognize was continually uttered with growing intensity. The same words were repeated over and over. Suddenly, a figure came into view. It was definitely a ___, but it was exhibiting incredible power. Numerous bullets were being fired at it, but it was seemingly unaffected. Large bodies of energy flourished from the palms of its hands, and a red aura covered the exterior of its body. Then, it exalted an astonishing scream and shot the energy from its hands. Several police vehicles in front of it was blown into nothingness. The explosion was quite severe because nothing was left of the law enforcement officials. The ___ turned towards the camera holder, whom began to run in the opposite direction. The camera went black as the news report came on again.
“Your burger sir” Said waitress unexpectedly as she brought his daily special on a platter. She put it in front of him and asked him if she could help him with anything else.
He shook his head and quietly asked for it to go. The news report had invigorated his curiosity about the conflicts between the humans and the ___; evidently, they were escalating. Once he received his bagged burger he placed it inside his backpack and made for the door.
The pelting rain had dispersed slightly more, but with less intensity. The raindrops weren’t as numerous as before and appeared to be further apart from one another. He ascertained that he might be able to make it home before the sun could fully set. So he quickly made his way down the busy streets of St Catharine’s. He kept his pace relatively slow, as a means to not draw unnecessary attention to himself.
It was a few minutes thence that he arrived to the deplorable site of what he called home. Before him stood a bridge and underneath it was a large concrete slab that stood adjacent to two more slabs on either side, both of which served as pillars for the bridge above. These concrete blocks stood twenty feet off the ground, so it would be exceptionally difficult for someone to try and steal his belongings.
With a quick jump, he grasped the top of the concrete slab and pulled himself up. He then crawled into the narrow corridor that he called home, and sat down on his rugged mat. He heard the sounds of the passing cars above, and it was rather annoying because he heard this day and night. It was a frequent annoyance that never ceased to displease him.
It was here that he set up his residence. Whatever he needed to make the place more homely, he was able to find without resorting to criminal indulgences. He had a large carpet that extended 10 feet in all directions, as well as a desk, chair and posters that he put up as furnishings. Whenever a storm occurred, he was forced to set up a tarp and level it out in such a way that it funnelled the water down into empty streets below.
It was here that he spent countless nights -going through old notes and making new ones, trying to locate any of the Pendants. He was searching for any answers that would benefit his purpose, and possibly, all of mankind. The true question that always lingered on the back of his mind was what are we? Who are we? Aliens, some called them. But ‘people’ was the terminology that he preferred. The only physical differences between them and the humans were their eyes; which sun a dazzling green whenever they tapped into their latent abilities; their physical capabilities –which far surpassed that of any species, human or animal, and lastly, ___ tattoos that populated most of their body and parts of their face. The distinction was quite clear. One had only had to glance at their eyes to see the difference –and because of that, he often wore his hood to conceal his attractive burdens.
Carlos kicked off his shoes and sat back. He was exhausted and he was growing more impatient day by day. During the last few weeks he had been trying to track the whereabouts of another ___, but he often found it difficult. This particular ____ that he was tracking was a female whom went by the name Aaliyah. ‘Creative’, he thought to himself as he began to consider the name. She mustn’t have been very powerful; otherwise he would have found her by now.
He picked up the burger that he bought and began to chew it as he read a portion of his reports. His hair was still wet from the storm and it dribbled a few pellets onto the paper; of which had some very important details. Some information included her name, and that this individual was a bearer of one of the Pendants; and that her presently known location was St Catharine’s. He folded the paper back up and tossed it aside.
‘I’ve got to find her first’ He thought to himself as finished the burger. If she still had a Pendant in her possession than he might be able to persuade her to work with him if she found out that he had one as well. If not, than he could simply take it from her. However, there was still no telling where the other five were. But that was a matter for another time. He had looked her up on various social media sites and found that she didn’t spend any time online. He even broke into a police vehicle and used their computers to search for a match to her name, he found nothing. So he had no choice but to resort his senses in an attempt to locate her presence -but for some reason, her energy levels never stood out amongst the humans. His senses were greatly in tune but apparently they weren’t strong enough –that, or she just didn’t have a strong presence to begin with.
He dug through his pockets and reached for the Pendant. He pulled it out and held it by its chain. The beauty of it was magnificent to behold. Even in the midst of all the darkness it continued to shine a potent glow. It was faint, but apparent. The weight of it made it difficult to hold –even for a ___. He was proud to own it, but with it came violent disputes between himself and the Canadian Government. He often found himself as the focus of their military operations. They had tracked him down all over Canada -from Halifax to Vancouver, and they were currently in pursuit of this Pendant. He didn’t know what it could do, but he suspected it to be something of great importance.
He tried to fasten the chain around his neck, but it mysteriously fell off –as though it had passed through his neck. He knew this was impossible, but mysteriousness of the event was quite intriguing. As far as Carlos understood, there wasn’t a known ___ or human that was capable of wearing these artefacts. Throughout the last decade or so, he had offered various people the opportunity to keep the Pendant if they could wear it, but every one of them failed.
Angrily, he threw the Pendant and it skidded across the pavement. He raised his hand and channelled a small ball of energy from it. It lingered a few inches from the middle of his palm and danced with a ceaseless motion, like that of a fire. He then closed his hand fiercely and the energy dispersed into nothingness. He found himself in the darkness once again.
Suddenly, he caught a quick sense of something. It was a powerful presence that stood out from the population, but for some reason, the magnitude of its potency had doubled. He immediately stood up and walked forward a few feet. He placed his hand on one of the concrete slabs and let his head fall as he closed his eyes and tried to focus.
There it was again.
He could definitely feel something, some large and powerful presence that wasn`t too far off, but he couldn`t determine which area in particular that it was coming from. Was it the ___ that he was looking for? He couldn’t be certain.
Once he was able to focus his senses more efficiently, he determined that it wasn’t just one ____, but two. One was definitely greater than the other, which in turn, was significantly weaker. He made the decision to pursue this lead and he quickly grabbed whatever belongings that he needed for the remainder of the day. After taking a quick glance back towards his dwellings, he made his way towards the location of the weaker ___ –unknowing that this would be the final time that he would ever lay eyes on it.