Chapter 1 - Welcome Home

It has been years since David had moved from his old town, but now he is back not all is as it seems. The familiar faces remind him of his childhood, while the unfamiliar warn him of his future.

‘Home sweet home’ thought David as he slowly unpacked the last few things from his suitcase. He looked up and took a glance around the room. This was the room that he would be using from now on. It was nothing exciting, the same stuff he had always owned only sitting in front of new dark blue wallpaper. Finished unpacking, David decided that it should be fine if he went downstairs for something to eat, but as his eyes moved past his desk he noticed something missing.

“Jessica!” he shouted, quickly leaving his room to find his sister. “Where’s my notebook?”

With a flash of her black shirt, Jessica quickly bolted from the hallway and ran to hide in her room.

“I don’t know where it is” she replied.

Forcing open the door David pushed his foot into the gap so his sister couldn’t close it again.

“Where’d you put it?”

“Fine” she whined, backing off from the door. “It’s just another book though,” she claimed as she rummaged through a suitcase, “I don’t know what your problem is. You’re not even that good at drawing.”

“I know, but...” he sighed. His sister had begun to laze around the room pretending to look for his notebook. “Whatever, Give it to me later. We should go downstairs. Mum’s waiting for us”

When they reached the clearing at the bottom of the stairs, both David and his sister were shocked at the scene in front of them. An extremely energetic middle aged woman was rushing from room to room, screaming orders to the workers that were moving furniture back and forth at her direction.

After a few moments, the woman noticed the two children standing at the bottom of the stairs and walked over to greet them, “Hey kids, how do you like the new place?”

“Hey mum, it’s pretty good” said David.

“It’s just a house. Who cares?” This response should have been expected. Jessica had been really close with her friends before the move and even a new bedroom was unlikely to help her get over the loss of attention.

“I care” their mum replied, “and I’m pretty sure you young miss, still have clothes to unpack. Go on”

Guiding her complaining daughter back up the stairs David’s mother quickly remembered that he was at the bottom of the stairs.

“Oh right, dear, the Samson’s are taking us out to dinner tonight, but they’ve invited you over early if you want to walk on over. You should remember the way right?”
“Yeah mum, thanks”

Taking up his mother’s and the Samson’s offer, David took up his jacket from the rack at the door, and took off in the direction of his childhood memories.

* * * * *

While walking through the town David saw many things that reminded him of his childhood. There were the parks and the trees, and even the little corner shop which had given him snacks for free when he visited. There were so many memories to take in; he remembered almost everything of the quaint little town. That was until he turned into the main street however.

Even David knew that time can change many things, but the changes to his home town were so great he found himself almost doubting he was still there. What had once been a small town centre was now a bustling shopping plaza with people rushing to and fro between the many stores that now littered both sides of the street.

There were some that he recognised, a small bakery here and a little library there, but there were many that he did not. Many of these shops he recognised from the larger cities he had visited, with clothing shops and hardware stores that both held brand name franchises. It was hard to believe that there were so many things that David didn’t recognise.

One store in particular caught David’s eye though. It was a book store. It looked old and dusty as though it had been there for centuries, but it still looked dignified; as if it was a great antique among a pile of modern technologies.

The most curious part about this store however was the fact that David did not recognise it. No matter how old it seemed to be, there was no way that it could’ve been older than a few years, as David found it hard to believe that he would forget such an obvious looking place.

Deciding that he was in no hurry to make it to the Samson’s house, David cautiously took his first step into the threshold of the store. Once he did so however, he was surprised by what met him on the inside. Not because it was unexpected, but because it was exactly as he had pictured it. Tall dusty bookcases lined all the walls, overflowing with the books that were held within. There were antique chairs and small wooden coffee tables laden with dust and piles of books. There was even a chandelier hanging above the centre of the room, small crystals hanging from the glass frame. It was less of an antique book store and more of a memorable study, trapped in time for the books and dust to fill up the room.

A sudden suggestive cough woke David out of his trance and caused him to look over towards the far right side of the room.  Surprisingly some of the book store actually looked as if it were a store, as it was a slightly weathered looking man standing behind a large glass counter that looked back at David from across the room.

“Can I help you young sir?” asked the man.

As he walked across the room David begun to realise that the man was not quite as odd as he had first thought. He was worn out, and obviously tired with large dark rings circling his eyes, but not odd. He had a stature of a proud man and if you looked past the bags, his eyes glowed with powerful warmth.

“Um… No sir” David stuttered, “I was just looking around. This store is very different from most around here.”

“That it is” replied the man, removing a book from the bench as he did so. “I take pride in the many hours I have spent collecting each of these books, even if it is to eventually give them away.”

“I don’t understand” said David, confused at the man’s composure, “Why would you enjoy collecting them if you don’t get to keep any of them?”

“I do keep some book my lad, but it’s about knowing that they’re cared for. Take this book for example,” slowly the man reached under the bench and procured a thick book bound in leather, “I’ve yet to meet someone who can understand what is written in this book. So why would I give it to someone who doesn’t even understand it?”

This answer puzzled David and frowning in confusion he replied with the most obvious thing that he could think of, “But the book plainly says The Kingmaker Spirit. It’s written in English.”

As if a great shadow had passed overhead, the room instantly cooled down. The mood of the entire building dropped like someone had said something forbidden, but most shocking was the man that stood before David. His once warm and consuming eyes were now cool and lifeless, no compassion remained within them.

“You can read this book boy?”

This sudden change of mood scared David. The feeling was something he had never felt before. All he could do to reply was sheepishly nod his head. Then with a sudden amount of force the man grabbed David by the shoulder, his grip tighter than many would believe possible.

“Boy, be careful with who you tell about this. You may not know, but you are now a part of story that may not have a happy ending. This world is not as kind as you would think.”
Letting go of David, the man quickly vanished into a door behind the counter and just as quick David vanished out the front door of the store. Scared and confused he ran to a place he knew that he’d always be welcome.

* * * * *

Calmed down after his nightmarish experience, David slowly walked up to the bright blue door in front of him. With two slow knocks David stood back and waited for the horrors he knew were waiting for him behind the innocent palette of blue.

Barely a second had passed before a large woman rushed out the door, embracing David in a hug that was tight enough to trap an octopus.

“Davie!” she screeched, “You’re finally here”

“Hello Mrs Samson, it’s good to see you”

“And it’s so good to see you to my boy. It’s been so long since we’ve all seen you. Even Clara asked about you when she heard you were back” Giggling and smiling her wide toothy smile, Mrs Samson backed off to get a good look at David.

“You’ve grown” she finally said.

“It’s been five years Mrs Samson. Of course I’ve grown”

“Of course you have, of course you have… Well don’t just stand there, come inside. I just finished some baking if you’re hungry.”

Stepping inside David was almost consumed by the sense of familiarity that the old house provided. The house seemed to bathe David in homely warmth that he knew his new stock built house would never be able to match.

The years had aged the house as much as any, but David was happy to know that everything was still exactly as he remembered. From the photos on the walls to the thick brown carpet beneath his feet; the only thing he didn’t recognise was the girl standing at the bottom of the stairs.

He knew who she was of course, there was only one person that it could be, but she had changed so much that David barely recognised her.

“Hey David” she said as a smile broke across her face, “Welcome home”

“Hey Clara, it’s good to see you”

Interrupting him Clara’s mum, Mrs Samson, spoke up from behind him “You two go catch up. We’re leaving soon for the restaurant, but I’ve still got to ice the cake.”

With another quick have fun, good to see you Mrs Samson was gone and David and Clara were left alone at the bottom of the stairs.

“Come on upstairs” said Clara, “I’ll catch you up on everything you’ve missed”

As half an hour passed, David was told many stories about things that have happened since he left. Who else left and who had stayed, who were dating and who weren’t. The list was endless, and it seemed impossible to cover everything in such a short amount of time, but it was all that they were given. Exactly thirty two minutes after David and Clara went upstairs they heard a shout beckoning them to come downstairs, “It’s time to go. Are you two ready?”

After arriving early, David, Clara and Mrs Samson were all greeted at the door of the restaurant by David’s sister and mother, who had apparently arrived even earlier then they had.

“Tina! Clara! It’s so good to see you both” squealed David’s mother, rushing over to hug them both.

“It’s been so long Mellissa. I must say that your son has grown quite a bit hasn’t he?”

Before a response could be made a man with a coat and tie came out of the restaurant door, “I believe you’re dining with us yes? Follow me and I’ll seat you all now.”

David enjoyed food. He also enjoyed the company of Clara, Mrs Samson and even his own family from time to time. What he didn’t enjoy however, was the family dinner that they were all at. It was a long and tortuous drone of sounds being passed between the two ladies, while he, his sister and his friend all sat around the table eating as quietly as possible.

Looking for a moment to finally escape, David waited until just after his mother had finished speaking to speak up himself.

“I need to go use the toilet” he said.

“Then go on” replied his mother, before casually continuing her previous conversation.

Standing up David glanced around the room for a moment before he spotted the little white silhouette representing the bathrooms. Saying a quick goodbye to the table he walked off in the general direction of the toilets.

Walking into the bathroom, David relished the fact that he finally had some peace and quiet… for a moment at least anyway. Turning to leave the bathroom again, bored of standing alone, David was confronted with a man standing before him. The man was huge, a few feet taller David was, and with long hair reaching past his shoulders. It wasn’t until David tried to sidestep the man that he realised something was terribly wrong though. As he went to pass the giant of a man, he was unable to pass the man as he was almost as wide as the bathroom provided.

Suddenly shivers ran down David’s spine as he realised the man was staring at him, with unblinking, dark and hollow eyes. David took a step forward as if the man’s eyes were drawing him in with some unknown force, but suddenly he was shocked out of his transient state as a second man came bursting in through the door.

It was the man from the book store. Looking down, David spotted a glint of the large metal blade held by the man just in time to jump to the side. The man’s swinging arm was like a large guillotine, forcing down the huge blade to where David had just been standing. An instant later the man from the book store unleashed a kick that sent the man and his weapon soaring to the opposite side of the room, smashing the tiles upon impact.

Running David pushed open the door that lead to the restaurant but instead of the open plan floor that he expected, a girl was standing in front of him blocking his way. She was pretty, and couldn’t be any older than David, but her long black hair and matching black eyes gave off the same feeling as the two men in the bathroom. He went to say something to her, but before he could manage to put together a sentence, everything darkened and he blacked out.

Author's Note

-Update-
Finished, but planning on revising on some parts.
Tell me what you think feels unnatural in the story. Thanks