Story Challenge 1: A man and his Fresca

After every 10 entries from my book, I like to take a bit more of a personal challenge. I'll ask my friends for suggestions of themes, objects, ideas, etc. that they'd like to see in a story, and I pick five of these suggestions to incoporate into a story. The more ridiculous, the better. Should you, my lovely reader, wish to contribute an idea that you think will make for an interesting story, feel free to send me an email with your thoughts! I'm always open to suggestions.

The following was the first story challenge I undertook, originally posted to Facebook on June 5th, 2013.

The suggestions I selected:
- Ducklings
- Fresca
- The "oh shit" feeling
- Below Abslute Zero
- Derpien

And so our story begins...

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Gorun walked casually through the wasteland that he called his home. Irradiated dust floated on the strong winds surrounding him, as if dancing to an unheard jaunty tune. What little of the trees remained creaked in protest as the dance pirhouetted through their charred branches, and the murky pool before him lay perfectly still.

It was all... typical. Unpleasant. In truth it had been a long time since there had been any joy in his life, but he supposed that not dying was some sort of accomplishment to be noted for the memoirs he never expected to write.

It hadn't always been this way, of course. His world (the name of which its inhabitants had never agreed upon) was a truly peculiar place. Every so often a rift would appear in the very fabric of space and time, and something would step, fall, or otherwise materialize through. Sometimes, these happenings were beneficial. They had received strange new foods, forms of entertainment, or even transdimensional travelers, each bringing new knowledge of the universe and making the chaos of their everyday lives somewhat more bearable. Sometimes, however, the results were more dire. Occassionally a monster or other unsavory type would come through the rift, terrorizing the population. Death snuck up on more than a few or those unlucky enough to call this planetoid their home.

On one partcularly sordid occasion, the visitor was of a more mechanical nature. A large nuclear warhead suddenly appeared and denotated, killing much of the population. A few people survived, but the fallout and radiation slowly consumed everyone.

All but one.

The second worst appearance was a nearly unlimited supply of Fresca. One taste of the stuff and the natives knew better than to try again. It did, however, survive the explosion, and for whatever reason it's the only thing not spoiled by the fallout.

Not even radiation likes Fresca.

Gorun cringed as he took another sip of the stuff. He hated himself fr it, but he needed the hydration, and all of the water was too dangerous to drink, now. He loked longingly at the still dark lake, a single tear rolling down his cheek. With a sigh, he began to walk away.

A buzzing in the air made him stop. He turned slowly to see a beam of pure energy pierce the air above the lake. It expanded outward with a thunderous crackling, ripping through the very fabric of space and time.

It was a rift.

He grudgingly took another sip of his drink and put his hand in his pocket, leaning back on his heels and calmly taking in the magical sight before him.

"This should be good," he thought. Whatever was coming through that portal would drop right into the middle of an irradiated lake, so he wouldn't be able to go and get it anyway. All he could do was wait.

There was a bright flash as the rift materialized and delivered its payload. A series of light splashes could be heard as both light and sound subsided. When all was said and done, he blinked several times to clear the dancing lights from his vision.

There, sitting calmly and confusedly in the middle of the dark water, was a family of adorable ducklings. One of the ducklings quacked in surprise. All things considered, they were taking it quite well.

A low, thoughtful hum escaped from the back of Gorun's throat. "Well," he mused aloud, "this won't end well."

He crouched before the lake and removed his hand from his pocket, holding it out in front of himself. With a snap and a waggle of his fingers, he broke the trance that seemed to fall over his new guests. "Here, ducky ducky!"

Delighted, the ducklings began to swim over to the shore, causing ripples to careen madly across the previously still surface of the dark lake. Gorun couldn't help but smile as he watched them cheerfully approach: little beacons of hope in a hopeless world. They nuzzled his outstretched finger when they arrived, quacking innocently. He held out his can of Fresca and let a gentle stream fall to the broken ground.

"Here you go, little duckies. The water's no good, so this will have to do." He felt kind of bad for the little guys, but he assumed that given the choice between Fresca and death, most creatures would choose Fresca.

Clearly, these ducklings were not most creatures. As soon as the green liquid touched their tongues, they began to writhe. The sudden flurry of movement was accompanied by a cacophony of angry squeaks and a strom of soft, yellow feathers. The ducklings before him began to lose their colour as they writhed.

"Oh, shit..."

Gorun backed away, and the ducklings began to grow. The cute, innocent creatures were transformed by their hatred of the putrid carbonated beverage. Their beaks went from soft, orange smiles to horrifying maws of terror, sprouting fangs and steam. Their fluffy yellow coat became a dark mass of whirling shadows. Their cute, button eyes began to glow with a sinister red.

A growl emitted from the duckbeasts, and a thunderous tremor shook the earth as one of them took a step toward their aggressor. The webbed and clawed appendage left a deep imprint in the dust, causing a huge cloud of radioactive dust to glow red with the sinister intent projected from duckbeast eyes.

Gorun dropped the nearly empty can of Fresca, which made a pathetic clink as it collided with a small stone. He shivered before the monstrsities he had inadvertently created. After everything he'd been through, this was the end.

Another great, thunderous step.

Gorun swallowed, trying desperately to find a drop of moisture in his dry mouth. Finding none, he took a deep breath and closed his eyes, bracing for his inevitable doom.

Suddenly, he was filled with a tingling sensation. A blinding flash illuminated his eyes, his clenched eyelids doing nothing to protect the sensitive corneas underneath.

And then, silence.

He stood perfectly still. Exactly how long he stood it was impossible to tell. There was no noise, no sensation save for the solid ground beneath him passively resisting his weight and the vast pressure of the silence closing around him. Eventually, he brought himself to open his eyes.

A glowing being floated not 3 meters in front of him. "Hello."

Gorun blinked repeatedly. Each time the world went dark his disbelief resurfaced. He knew that there was no way that when he opened his eyes there would be a gwing alien floating comfortably in the void space before him. It was impossible. His life was strange, to be sure, but his current predicament transcended all reason, and he wouldn't have it. Each time, he was wrong.

The blinking eventually stopped, leaving a stunned Gorun to stare blankly, unblinking, at the creature who had materialized.

The being smirked. "Oh, don't stop on my account. You seemed to be enjoying yourself."

Gorun's jaw dropped.

The being wasn't particularly tall, or particularly short. He wasn't particularly fat, or thing, or strong. He floated lightly in the infinite blackness wearing a simple black t-shirt and equally plain pants, bobbing up and down ever so slightly. His head was covered with a short crop of dark hair, and his skin was dark like chocolate.

Physically speaking, he was strikingly average. What set him apart was a bight blue glow outlining his form against the negative space.

The salfsame smirk on the being's face remined intact as Gorun retrieved his jaw from the floor.

"Um, sorry," Gorun apologized. "This is all a little unexpected."

The being's soft laugh filled what Gorun could only define as the air. "That's an understatement if I've ever heard one." With a flourish, he bowed. "I, as i'm sure you are blissfully unaware, am Derpien."

Unsure of how to react, Gorun responded with an awkward curtsy, eliciting another easy laugh from the being. "Charmed."

He took a moment to take a deep breath and appraise his surroundings. Around him there was nothing. An empty void of blackness the likes of which he couldn't even imagine despite experiencing it firsthand. He looked down and saw more of the same, curiously shifting his weight between each foot. He wasn't sure what he was standing on, but whatever it was he couldn't see it. He took great pains to ensure that neither of his feet actually left the... whatever it was, lest they be unable to find it again.

His inspection was cut short by Derpien's casual voice putting to words what his mind was working furiously to compute. "I suppose you're wondering why your'e here."

Gorun crinkled his nose slightly and pondered. "Not really," he mused. "I think I've got a pretty good idea where I am, though I expected getting murdered by rampaging duckbeasts to hurt more than it did."

He ended with a nonchalant shrug, resigned to his fate. His resignation came to an abrupt halt as Derpien spoke once again: "Oh, you aren't dead."

"Could have fooled me."

"I expect death would be a touch more unpleasant than this.'

Gorun swayed his head a bit as he let that thought sink in, eventually nodding his acceptance. "Okay then, you've got my attention. Where am I."

"You, Gorun are everywhere, and nowhere. You are in the space beyond space, the time beyond time. Here where all worlds meet, the space between dimensions. Everything that is and has been."

There was a pause.

"I love what you've done with the place."

"Thanks," Derpien chuckled. "The Feng Shui is really amplified by negative space."

"So um, where are these worlds you speak of? Seems kind of... barren." He let his gaze wander around him, but having only a glowing alien as a point of reference the experience was a bit disorienting.

Derpien idly let his gaze do the same. "Oh they're around," he mused. "You just have to be willing to see."

Gorun's quizzical look turned to awe as one-by-one monchromatic pools of energy began to wink into existence all around them. Hundreds, thousands, millions, as far as the eye could see (which, lacking atmosphere, but a very, very long way). He looked into a few and saw movement: people walking through streets between tall buildings, trees blowing in the breeze, birds in flight.

One in particular elicited a gasp. To his immediately left was a portal looking over a small, irradiated pond. The duckbeasts wandered grumpily through a familiar terrain. From this angle they seemed immensely less terrifying, though Gorun suspected that was due largely in part to the lack of colour and the disparancy in perceived size.

"Pricks," he muttered.

Derpien smirked.

"So, why did you bring me here? Oh, and thanks, by the way."

A glowing wave of the hand dismissed his sentiment. "Oh, think nothing of it. Actually, I could use your help, if you don't mind."

"Go on."

Derpien gestured. "Look up."

Gorun craned his neck as he looked above him. Hovering there was a particularly large portal, though he could tell it was a great distance away. Nothing inside the portal was moving. He waited patiently for something to happen, but it remained perfectly still. Truth be told, it was a bit unnerving.

"Above you," Derpien explained, "is Absolute Zero."

Gorun's head swiveled back to level. "Ok..."

"-273.15 degrees celcius, or 0 degrees Kelvin, if you prefer."

"You gave me the temperature in Kelvin, but not in Farenheit?"

"Oh come now, Gorun, real people don't use Farenheit. It's idiotic." The assertion was accompanied by another dismissive wave. "In any case, that is the one and only instance of Absolute Zero in the entire history of the multiverse. In that particular dimension, there is not a single moving particle. Anyway. It's as cold as anything could possibly ever be. And it will remain that way forever." His eyes softened slightly as he paused. "Unless you do something about it."

Gorun's resigned face contorted into confusion. "Me? Why me?"

"Well..." The word was darwn out, as if he were searching for some way to finish his sentence that he couldn't quite find. Eventually it trailed off completely, only to be replaced by a heavy sigh. "The short of it is this: in all of these infinite worlds, you have the least to lose."

Gorun's eyes widened. "Duhhhhh, what?"

"Your world is dead. Aside from the duckbeasts, you are the only living thing. Aside from a limitless supply of Fresca, you have nothing, and you will continue to have nothing until the day you eventually die. You will live a sad, lonely life, full of squalor, and then there will be nothing."

As he spoke, Gorun's jaw slipped lower and lower. "This is the least motivating speech I've ever heard."

Derpien's face became apologetic as he shrugged and continued, "What I'm asking you to do is step through that portal. You will most assuredly die, but as the energy is ripped from your body, a chain reaction will occur that will end Absolute Zero forever."

The silence was defeaning. A burning in Goruns chest reminded him to breath, and his mouth snapped shut. His brow creased as he thought. "Why? I mean, it's not bothering anyone..."

"It's a cosmic sink," Derpien explained. "In that world, there is no energy at all. These portals," he swept his arm at the expanse of portals around them, "create their own energy in this transdimensional space. But because of Abslute Zero, no energy can enter that world in its pure form, and so the portal grows. Eventually, it will consume everything. Every world, every dimension: gone. Your sacrifice would save an infinite number of universes from inevitable destruction."

He looked tired as he continued. "I realize it's a lot to take in, and I won't force you to do anything. Should you desire it, truly, in the depths of your heart, I can return you to your world, but know that when you get there all you'd have to welcome you is Fresca."

Gorun shifted his gaze slowly between Absolute Zero and his modest home rift, deep in thought. "I guess I'm not most people either," he muttered.

Derpien's ears perked up as he titled in head in curiosity. "What was that?"

Gorun let out a deep sigh. "I'll do it." His back straightened as his eyes filled with determined resolve. "Saving the world is a a damn sight better than Fresca."

The Day the World Went Away

Originally posted to Facebook on July 6th, 2011, this passage was written in response to a question posted by a friend:

"If society restarted, what would you do?

A massive natural disaster has killed off 95% of the world's population and decimated our cities. There are supplies left in stores, warehouses, etc that didn't get completely destroyed, but they are limited. There are no residual diseases etc for you to worry about. You've survived the disaster along with a few friends and family, they have elected you as their leader, and now it is up to you to move on. What would you do and how would you do it? Here is a list of questions to guide your answer... don't just list individual responses to each question, but try to include as much of the information asked for as possible:

1. What kind of people would you seek out to group up with, if any?
2. What are your overall goals?
3. Are you peaceful or militant. If peaceful, how do you deal with other militant groups?
4. Where would you try to make your home, or would you stay mobile?
5. What political structure would you set up, both for long and short term?
6. Would you enforce your political structure on other groups. If so, how?
7. What strategies would you employ to maintain a stable supply of food and other essentials?
8. Would you keep to yourself with your basic group, or seek out other groups?
9. What would be your top priorities for systems to restore to society?" 

The content below contains strong language. Reader discretion is advised.

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The Day the World Went Away

.:: CHAPTER 1: CONFLICT ::.

"No."

A scowl found its way onto my friend's face. It had been a long day, and it wasn't about to get any shorter.

"What do you mean, 'no'? We'll die out here, damnit. They've got what we need. We need to take it."

My head shook as he continued. This was starting to get irksome.

"I said no. Just because society's gone it doesn't mean we have to start acting like barbarians. This isn't Lord of the Flies. If you recall correctly that book was written as an allegory, to teach you something. Savagery begets savagery, and then everyone loses. We're both educated men. Start using your goddamn brain for a minute and think about what you're asking us to do."

The rest of the group got to their feet at this. Arguments erupted all around. As conflicting ideals rubbed uncomfortably against everyone's hunger and pain.

"And who fucking elected you king!?"
"We all did, dumbass."
"Well maybe it's time for a change in leadership around here. We're all going to die!"
"He's right, you idiot! He's the only one of this planet who still gives a shit, and you're trying to turn us into common thugs!"
"Don't I get a say in this? Huh? You all shot down my idea. We could start over."
"Oh can it. We don't need pipe dreams."

The emotion was overwhelming. I watched as tempers flared; as friends clawed at each others throats in desperation. It was almost too much to bear. The voices echoed inside my skull, like angels and devils having an all-out war on my tired shoulders. I slowly fell back against the wall, sliding down toward the cold ground as my hands rose to meet my tired eyes. The conflict continued to escalate around me. Voices grew louder and louder. It was probably only a few minutes, but it felts like hours -- hours of crushing despair and hopelessness.

But from this despair grew a rage. A righteous flame of anger burst through the hopelessness. It was a flame of diligence; a flame of strength; a flame of purpose.

"ENOUGH!"

Each voice in the small barn was immediately silenced as the ungodly roar rose from my throat. I shot to my feet.

"Look at yourselves! Look at what you've become! We were close, once. We relied on each other. We have to do that now, more than ever. And I swear to whatever god you choose to believe in that I will do whatever it takes to keep morality alive. Haven't you ever wanted to be a hero? Haven't you ever wanted to do what's right, despite any and all adversity? Well now's your chance. We can have peace. We can rebuild. And I promise you that any progress we make will be reversed tenfold for every act of barbarism we resort to. If given the choice between death and savagery, I choose death."

Tears welled up in the eyes of some. Anger in the eyes of others. I met their stares with a steeled resolve and murder in mine. I hated having this power, being the one they looked to, but in order to do what is right, one must make sacrifices. For now, I would have to rule with an iron fist. It was our only chance for that fist to contain food, later.

"I know you're all tired. I know you're all hungry. I understand your pain. For everyone and everything you've lost, we've all lost the same." I point out of the barn door toward the small group at the bottom of the hill. They were building shelters among the rubble of the burnt-out village below. "They, too, have felt this lost. At least we're able. We are strong of mind, body, and spirit. You saw the looks in their eyes. They feared us. They feared this world. They have to work ten times harder than us to stop themselves from crying themselves to sleep at night. And why?" I moved my finger from the door back to my friend. "Because of people like you. People who want to take, just because they can. We're not an easy target, but they are, and they know it."

The silence was thick and heavy in the small barn. Everyone, including me, was almost too tired to stand. Suddenly, one of the group's eyes widened. "Dom, close the door."

Suddenly, I was confused. "What...?"

"Dom, close the door. Look." She pointed.

I looked out of the barn door. Outside the village, a truck approached. It was pretty far off, but even from this distance it was easy to see the bodies roped to the chassis. They were bandits.

I immediately walked to the wall and pulled my hatchet from its hanger.

"Are you insane? What the flying fuck are you getting at?"

"I have to warn them."

"You'll die, you dumb son of a bitch. I sure as hell am NOT going to go down with you."

"I didn't ask you to. But I'm going down there. I said it before, and I meant it. I will not stand for savagery. Not while there's hope."

Two of my companions moved to grab their equipment. The rest stood motionless.

"Fine, go kill yourselves, but don't expect us to be here when you get back."

I stopped and directed my firey glare upon the speaker. "I expect you to do what is right." I turned back and patted my friends on their shoulders as we exited the barn. "Don't let them see you."

The door creaked shut behind me. I didn't even look back.

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.:: CHAPTER 2: SAVAGES ::.

"Hehe, look at that. Not a single one tried to run this time."

The bandits descended on the camp from all sides. There were seven or eight of them, all looking as if they had come straight from a horror film. They were covered with chains and blood, and held gruesome weapons. They appeared to be built for fear, rather than combat, but I was sure they could kill all the same. The looks in their eyes begged the small group to resist. Begged to violence.

"Please, take what you want, but leave us alone. We haven't done anything..."

"Oh, but you have precious." The beast that seemed to lead the pack stepped forward and lorded over the cowering woman. She held two children against her breast, trying to protect them as best she could against what was sure to follow. "You survived. Only we're allowed to survive. How's the saying go..." He pointed at one of his cohorts and snapped.

"Some men just want to watch the world burn." He smirked as he said it.

"Well guess what princess. There's plenty of world left, and I gotta say, my need ain't quite scratch yet.

The seven bandits were all licking their lips in anticipation. The children let out a small whimper.

"Oh don't worry, we won't let you die. Not at first..." His sickening smile widened as tears began to roll down the faces of all of those in the small band. His five cohorts laughed and started moving in closer.

Suddenly a crack rang out in the small village. The five remaining bandits all readied their weapons as they looked toward the spot where their sixth had stood just a moment before. A quiet "Shit!" was heard through the bush.

"What the fuck!"

My friend stood and started backing away, his makeshift garrote dripping in blood. He'd been a little too hasty in dispatching his target. The crack was his neck snapping.

"Someone kill that bastard!" Two of the beasts gave chase as he ran, screaming in rage at the loss of their comrade.

This was only chance.

The leader turned toward the poor, confused group in the center of the clearing. "You'll fucking pay for that, bitch."

"No, please..."

I interrupted her as I leaped from my hiding place over the body of the first bandit and buried my hatchet into the skull of the fourth. As I did so, my other friend put his knife into the back of the fifth. The leader let out a growl of rage and rushed forward, raising his spiked club.

It was chaos.

The woman in the center let out a shriek and threw herself over the children, now crying pitifully. I managed to tackle the leader just before his club came down upon her. It lodged itself into my leg, instead, as my left hand closed around the bandit's throat. My friend immediately ran after the two who had fled.

The bandit and I struggled and rolled in the clearing. His fist rose and fell repeatedly as he brought it to bear against me while I maneuvered to reduce their impact and kept mine firmly closed around his windpipe. With a surge of power I forced my hand closed further. I felt the bandit's windpipe close with it, crushed by my utter desperation. We struggled for time immemorial, it seemed, but eventually the bandit fought back less and less, and then stopped.

I rolled off of the corpse and pried his weapon from my leg. Now that the adrenaline was wearing off I began to realize just how much pain I was in. The sharp, jagged spiked in the piece of wood had torn through my flesh, straight to the bone. It took every remaining bit of my strength not to scream in agony. I had to be strong. After wiping the tears from my eyes, I slowly stood, tearing off a piece of fabric to wrap around my wound.

My friends re-entered the clearing as I tied the knot, hoping it would be enough to keep me from bleeding to death. "Everyone alive?"

"Well, everyone on our side." They moved forward. "Are you guys alright?"

The woman, the two children, and the two men of the group we had just saved stood slowly, but said nothing. They had fear in their eyes. In their minds, nobody could be trusted. The whole world had gone crazy.

"Well ok then..."

"Yeah, don't thank us or anything."

"Guys, come on." I limped over to them. "It's been a long day."

"That's true. Hey, any idea how much gas is left in that truck? It could be useful."
"Assuming you're cool with the accessories."

"I never said we'd take it as is. Obviously we need to clean it off a bit first."

"A bit? Look at that thing..."

"Um..."

We became silent as a timid voice cut through the din. We looked over to see the group quickly avert their eyes. It was quiet for a long time. Nobody really knew what to say. It was one of the children who spoke first.

"Thank you for saving us."

I looked at my companions. They were just as taken aback as I was. They shrugged. I handed them my hatchet and walked over to the little girl. I knelt before her and removed my hat.

"You are most welcome, madame." I wiped off my hand and held it out. "I'm Dom."

She timidly shook it. "My mommy told me not to talk to strangers..."

I smiled as I stood. "Your mommy is very clever." I directed my gaze at the woman. She seemed to be the leader of the group, as the men hadn't said a word since this ordeal began. "Look, we'll get rid of the bodies if you want to stay here. I can't promise it'll be safe, but you've already started building here. No point in starting over somewhere else."

"Look, we appreciate what you've done, we really do, but we have nothing to give you. We're barely scraping by as it is and --"

"It's ok, I understand. We didn't come down here to extort you. I'm just trying to keep a little bit of good alive."

"But, you killed those men--"

I glared as I interrupted. "I killed no men today. Those things were monsters. Perhaps men, once, but not so anymore. I will sleep soundly tonight with their blood on my hands."

The silence returned.

"Awkward..."

My friend's comment snapped me back to reality. They went to check out the truck as I turned back to the woman.

"Anyway, I'm sorry you had to go through that, but I'm not trying to take anything from you. The rest of my group is up on the hill there, in the barn. You've made it quite clear that you have nothing that you can give up, and I will honour that."

The woman bowed her head, as if in shame.

The silence started to drown me again. I stood there a few moments longer, then left them standing there. The conversation clearly wasn't going anywhere. I figured I'd make myself useful. I stood at the edge of the clearing and looked down at the body of one of the bandits.

"I suppose we should find a place for you then..."

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.:: CHAPTER 3: PAUSES ::.

"Well you look like shit."

"Yeah, no thanks to you."

The silence was tangible once again.

"I'm not liking the awkward pauses. Somebody say something, damnit."

"Well... we just... and you..."

"Forget about it. It's over. We have some surviving to do." I winced a little as a sharp pain shot up my leg. "Look, those bandits had a truck. It was... Well it was nasty as fuck, but we cleaned it off as best we could, and there were supplies in it. And fuel. Seats eight with relative comfort. We could leave here. Find a place to start over."

"And what about the people down there? What are they going to give us?"

"What do you think they gave us? More freaking awkward silence. It's been that kind of a day."

"Dude, chill."

"Yeah, whatever. I'm gonna go guard the truck. Now that we've got it I don't want some punk stealing it on us."

Another shot of pain brought me to the floor. I sat back against the wall of the small barn.

"Dom, are you OK?"

"Well, not really. I took a pretty good hit. I probably got something pretty nasty from it, too. But there's nothing we can do about it."

"You need to rest."

"There will be time enough for that later. For now, we need to make a decision. We could move on, find another place, or we could hole up here -- make it our home. Either way, we should make a choice and stick with it. We have to start making our own food, because I can assure you what we've got won't last very long."

"Do you ever stop? Seriously, you've got a hole in your leg. That's a pretty good excuse to STOP thinking and start... I dunno, screaming, or sleeping, or do something other than formulate a plan."

I struggled to my feet. "You put your faith in me. All of you did. I won't stop until I've honoured that trust."

I took a full minute to look around at the group before me. I looked each of them in the eye, shared a connection with every scared child hiding behind my companions' steely resolve.

"Like I said. We've got a choice. We. You chose me to lead you, but we have to work together. It's time to start discussing our future."

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.:: FIN ::.