The Cellar City Chronicles

What am I?

I am a man.

What…am I?

I am angry.

Why am I angry?

Because of her. I am angry because of her.

Because of who?

Dark hair. Beautiful dark hair. Beautiful and beautiful and beautiful and beautiful and beautiful and beautiful and beautiful –

Stop.

Stop beautiful.

Who is she?

She is beautiful.

Am I dead?

Death is…boring.

Do I… exist?

Yes I do.

Who am I?

I am… I am… I am I am I am I am I am -

I am.

I AM.

I am what?

I am an angry man.

Where am I?

I am here.

I am lost.

That’s not hard for me.

To be lost?

No.

What is?

What is what?

What is –

What what what what what what what what what –

What is hard for me?

Remembering. I don’t remember.

Remember.

Stop.

That hurts. I hurt. I hurt.

I am a hurt angry man.

Where am I going?

We are moving.

Am I moving?

I feel moving.

I feel…

I feel strong.

I feel nothing.

You would.

Shut up.

Wait.

Where am I?

You’re in your head. In my head.

I am in my head.

No.

Where…?

Go home. I want to go home. Home home home home home home home –

Where is home?

I don’t… I don’t remember.

I remember – I need to remember –

Stop.

That hurts.

Everything hurts. Everything everything everything everything everything everythingeverythingeverythingeverything –

She doesn’t hurt.

No.

She is home?

She is beautiful.

Where is she?

She isn’t here.

I am here.

Where am I going?

Warm, something warm. Somewhere warm.

What was warm? Where?

Quick, quick quick quick quick quick –

What was it?

It was –

Quickly!

It was –

What?

Soup.

Lightning bolts exploded from the power lines and decorated the pavement with their shimmering energy, spilling out onto the road like diamonds. Falling out of them like a pearl necklace cut from the innards of a giant fish was X-XIII.

His world spun in a thousand directions. All of his thoughts were jumbled and confused, his eyes were tracking behind where his head turned, making him dizzy.

He stumbled, realizing that he couldn’t breathe. Each breath was a gasp and a cough, and each cough was like razor blades on his insides.

His eyes focused and refocused on things around him – he caught the static discharge on his jacket and he saw sparks fly from where the wires brushed the road behind him, skittering particles glittering in the air for a moment before disappearing.

What was she doing?

The thought made him suck in a deep breath, which made him cough, which made him angry.

So X-XIII did the only thing he could think to do – he beat up the hood of the car until it stopped talking back. And until the coughing stopped.

Panting and exhausted, X slowly looked around. He straightened his back and faced Lenora’s building. The lights were out.

That was because she wasn’t here.

His eye twitched. X saw the sparks fly behind him as he strode towards the door. He punched a bunch of the buttons before someone buzzed him in for being annoying.

X stopped in the hall just inside to catch his scant breath. He was so. Tired. So tired. Lenora has a bed. He could sleep there. The least she could do. For being… for doing… for … with …

Whatever.

The lights in the road distracted him. Scoffing once, he gasped in manic delirium.

“Stupid fairies.”