The Road of Fame Reloaded.

I’m getting a bit tired with my NaNoWriMo tale, and decided as a treat to a good friend of mine who reads this blog that I’ll post this continuation of my NaStySuMo story. To recape, NaStySuMo was a writing project I participated in during August where the challenge was to write a story where the characters had super powers. My character was a young woman called Fame who found herself in a little bit more trouble than she could deal with. You can find the whole story in my Nastysumo catergory. J

The Road of Fame Part 10

Staring at the Wanderer, dreading the outcome of the next couple of minutes, Fame gave the young woman one last look and stood up, carefully reaching out to touch her. The Wanderer braced herself and closed her eyes as Fame closed her own. She tightened her hand on the young woman’s shoulder until, quite abruptly, she felt the woman disappear. When she opened her eyes it was only she and Lara in the room. Glancing at the Tomb Raider, Fame took a deep breath and slowly sat down on the floor, clutching her shoulder. She had slipped the game controller into her sling next to her PSP but didn’t reach for it immediately.

“It hurts.”

Lara grimaced and went to the kitchen to pour her a glass of water. “I’m not surprised. You better get on with it.”

The young woman looked at her and sighed, looking at her television screen. “What if ah can’t bring him back?” she queried and gladly accepted the glass Lara offered her. The game character’s face was very stoic as she shrugged, not giving away a shred of her own doubt and worry.

“We’ll answer that when we know,” she said simply. “Come on Fame.”

The young woman grimaced and took the control again. It only took her a couple of seconds to find another loaded game, but it took almost a full minute to load it.

It felt like the longest minute of her life.

When she paused the game, staring at The Wanderer’s computer generated hands, she grimaced and stood up again, fighting the sense of vertigo that threatened her balance. Lara didn’t join her, but remained in the corner of the room, watching as Fame went closer to the television screen and carefully rested her good hand on it. Closing her eyes, Fame took as deep a breath as she could and focused.

There was a lengthy pause and then…

“Did it work?”

Fame opened her eyes and turned to find The Wanderer standing behind her, her eyes wide with hope. Looking around the room, Fame glanced at Lara who shook her head. “I’ll try again,” she said. “Just stay here, I’ll see if I can pull him out.”

The Wanderer’s eyes were dark as she regarded Fame and crossed her arms. Biting her lip, Fame looked at the screen and took another steadying breath. She reached out to touch the television screen but was interrupted by a knock on the door. All three women blinked and looked at each other. When the knock came again, Fame quickly stepped away from the television and moved to the door.

“It must be Dr. Walker,” she said. “Just stay back; ah don’t want her seeing you.”

She linked in the security chain and opened the door and, as expected she saw her doctor standing in front of her door, peering through the crack she had made. She smiled when she saw Fame and made a motion down the stairs.

“Are you ready to go Amy?” she queried.

Fame grimaced and shook her head. “Ah just need tae finish up with a couple’a things,” she said. “Ye can wait for me in the car if ye want. Ah’ll be down in a second.”

Dr. Walker raised an eyebrow and put her hand on the door. “Why don’t I wait inside?” she said. “I can help you finish up then if you want.”

Fame refrained from showing her irritation and quickly glanced back at the two game characters. “Ah’m almost done,” she insisted. “Ah’ll be down in a second, really. Ah just need to… finish up.”

Again, the woman gave her that look in which Fame could immediately see that she didn’t believe her. “Fame, please let me come in,” she said. “I’m not going to wait for you in the car.”

Defiance burned inside the young gamer as she glanced back at Lara and The Wanderer. They had both had their weapons drawn, but Lara sighed first and put them away, motioning to The Wanderer to do the same. When the girl didn’t comply immediately, Lara pointed her finger at her in a ‘careful’ kind of gesture before she motioned to Fame that she could let the doctor in.

Sighing miserably, Fame nodded at the doctor and closed the door so that she could slip off the chain. Then, when she let Dr. Walker in she stood back, also giving The Wanderer a warning look. Rolling her eyes in an exasperated fashion the young woman holstered her pistols, following Lara’s example. The two crossed their arms and didn’t smile when Dr. Walker saw them.

“Dr. Walker,” Fame said quickly before anybody could say anything. “These are friends of mine, they’ve just… come from a gaming convention in Cardiff. They came round to see if ah’m alright.”

Dr. Walker studied the women’s apparel with a critical eye. She glanced over The Wanderer but looked at Lara with a little bit more attention.

“Lara Croft I presume?” she queried.

The tomb raider smiled and stepped forward smoothly, holding out her hand in greeting. “Trying to be,” she said with a small smile. “I take it you are Amy’s doctor?”

Fame glared at Lara for using her name, but Dr. Walker smiled and nodded, taking Lara’s hand and squeezing it briefly before turning to Fame.

“For the moment,” she said. “I’m here to take her back to hospital, we had an agreement. Didn’t we Fame?”

The welsh girl sniffed stubbornly, turning her face away from the woman so that she could look at her television screen. She couldn’t help but think suddenly that if the power went out without warning, she was going to have to explain a lot.

“Ah haven’t found m’dog yet,” she mumbled. “Ah can’t go back now.”

Dr. Walker seemed to grimace and shook her head. “Amy,” she said softly. “If he’s no here love, then I can’t see you finding him within the day. It’s really time that I get you back, you’re as pale as a sheet. If you let me take you back, I promise that I’ll go to some of the shelters myself and look for your dog. Your friends can come with me if they want – I’m sure they’ll be able to spot him quicker than I would.”

Not wanting to tell the woman that that would not be a very good idea, Fame shook her head tiredly. “Ah just need ten more minutes,” she said. “Please Dr. Walker – ah’ll be at the car in a moment. Just give me a little bit more time.”

The doctor looked ready to protest when, without warning, there was another knock on the door. Knowing the two women, Fame could see that it took a very visible effort from both of them not to draw out their guns in the presence of Dr. Walker. She too had to show an intense amount of self restraint not make it known how intensely irritated she was. She could not stop herself from cursing as she stormed to the door.

“What dumb smuck’s here now?” she drawled. “My apartment’s small enough.”

Once again she put the security chain on the door and glancing back at the three women in her small living room she threw it open, her irritation clear on her face. She looked at the person for a moment or two then said abruptly.

“Who the bloody hell are you?”

To Be Continued…

Enter the Dragon – Part 4

And, touching base a little bit, I’m continuing with my light story – ‘Enter the Dragon’ which is just a piece of fluffy fiction of what i’d do if I find a Dragon in my room. It was inspired by a friend of mine, Marsha. You’ll find the story on the first part. 😉

You can find the previous parts here: 1, 2, 3.

Enter the Dragon – Part 4

They were still looking at the dragon, still trying to come to grips with what was now sharing a room with them. The demon and the author shifted uncomfortably as they looked at the reptile laying on Alyssa’s bed then looked at each other. Minias, the demon babysitter from Kim Harrison’s Hollows books, gave Alyss a sideways glance and pushed his smoked glasses back up his nose.

“So,” he said carefully. “You don’t want me to get rid of it?”

Alyssa turned a blank expression on him and shook her head. “You said he’s here because he feels safe Minias,” she said tiredly and pulled her chair closer. “If I kick him out then I have to kick you out too.”

Minias blinked surprised and gave her a not too pleased look. “I was here first,” he pointed out to which Alyssa laughed and shook her head.

“That’s got nothing to do with it demon boy,” she said. “The fact is that I let you stay, because I knew you needed a place to hide. I set a president and now, with another mythological creature knocking on my door, how can I turn that down? I like to stick to my own principles.”

The demon sighed and crossed his arms to glare at the dragon. It appeared to be sleeping, but he didn’t seem to trust it. “I did tell you how big it’s going to get?” he queried.

Again, Alyssa nodded. “Yes,” she said. “As big as my room but luckily, you didn’t give me a time frame and frankly I don’t want to know. I’ll find out soon enough.” She could see his eyes go as wide as he turned to her sharply.

“Alyssa, you can’t keep it,” he said. “You just… Can’t.”

The red head smiled lazily and shrugged. “I’m the only one who knows what I can and cannot do,” she pointed out. “And I can do anything. It… Shouldn’t be that hard. I mean, what will it need? Will it go out and hunt on its own? What do dragons eat?”

Minias looked over his glasses at her, his goat like eyes narrowed to tiny slits. “Do you really want to find out?”

Hmm.

Alyssa shrugged, though she felt a little bit worried. “If it wanted to eat me, it wouldn’t have been savaging the pillows,” she pointed out. “Then you’d have had tiny bits of Alyssa lying around, looking all pathetic.” She looked at the dragon. “No, it must eat something else. I’m guessing… Poultry? I can get it poultry.”

Minias remained quiet, though he was watching the dragon closely. At some point he wrinkled his nose and glanced at his roommate. “And, I’m guessing you’ve gotten used to the smell but – have you seen what it did in the corner of your room?”

Alyssa blinked. “Ah…” She moved so that she could look in a corner that was always pretty chaotic. What she saw, didn’t impress her as she closed her eyes and turned away. “Eeuw.”

Minias nodded wisely. “And it will get bigger.”

Alyssa sniffed, wondering how she had gotten used to that smell. “If I can teach a bunny to be house trained, I can teach a dragon,” she said confidently. “It can’t be that hard. I’ll teach it to go outside.”

Minias gave her a look that said that he didn’t seem very impressed with her reasoning. “And how will you do that?” he queried.

Alyssa grinned and shrugged as if it was the easiest thing in the world. “Why,” she said lightly. “Get it outside.”

To Be Continued…

 

NaStySuMo – Part 8 – The Road of Fame.

I’ve read through this story and I think that it bears testament to my slightly dark outlook on life this past month. I apologize, lol, I had planned to keep it light and funny but my characters develop issues all by their lonesome. The newspaper article is a salute to Meleart’z fiction. You can find it here.

Enjoy!

Part 8

To Fame’s surprise, the doctor released her into her personal care and drove her to her apartment after her shift ended. The idea was that she would drop Fame off at home, run some errands for herself, and then return to take her back to the hospital. Fame wasn’t sure whether it was legal or allowed but she didn’t care. It would give her a few, precious moments by herself in a place she felt safe.

In theory, she could’ve summoned Lara back while she was still at the hospital, but after EPR’s questioning, she had been totally freaked out and frightened of being discovered.

On some deep, instinctive level, Fame knew that her powers had changed and that she would be considered a lot more efficient now than she was a couple of years ago. The shift hadn’t come in her own powers but rather at the development of technology and graphics in the console world. She didn’t want to get involved with EPR in any way. She really just wanted to be left alone.

The mere exertion of going to the doctor’s car had exhausted her and after explaining to the woman how to get to her apartment, she dosed off until the woman touched her leg to wake her.

“We’re here,” Dr. Walker said when Fame blinked at her. “Amy, should I come up with you?”

Unsure of what she was going to find, Fame shook her head sharply and looked at her apartment. She rented a room in the outskirts of town above a charity shop. It used to be old offices but was now rented out as oddly build, one or two room apartments. Getting out of the car, ignoring the pain in her shoulder, Fame thanked the doctor and remained on the curb until the woman pulled away. Then she turned around slowly and went round the back of the building because she had to use the fire escape to go to her apartment. It didn’t bother her normally but today, the wet metal staircase loomed in front of her, daunting. Closing her eyes, Fame steadied herself against the railing. In the sling, she turned on her PSP and waited until she felt steadying hands on her shoulder.

“Fame, where have you been?!”

The young woman opened her eyes to see Lara Croft look down on her, her dark eyes lined with worry. “You haven’t called me in days!” She continued her tirade as it started raining. “I have been beside myself! The last thing I saw when that bloody thing turned off was you slipping away into unconsciousness. And then, you just didn’t call me back! What was I supposed to think?!” She trailed off suddenly when she saw the expression on the young woman’s pale face, how she barely managed to keep from crying. The brunette seemed to sag inside herself and shook her head, pinching the bridge of her nose. She still wore her black cargo pants and tank top but this time she had a jacket on as well.

“Let’s get you inside,” she said gently and put a careful arm around Fame’s back, half pushing, half guiding her up the steps. “We can talk about this after you’ve had a nice, warm cup of tea.”

Fame chocked back a laugh as she shook her head, hoping that she had remembered her apartment keys in the bag that she packed at the hospital. She had been in such a hurry to get home she didn’t bother thinking about how she was going to get inside. When they were at the top Lara took her bag from her and dug through it until she managed to procure her keys. Fame remained silent until they were inside the narrow entryway of her apartment. There, she pressed herself against the wall and, to Lara’s surprise, sank down to the floor and started crying. Unsure of what to do, the Tomb Raider sat down beside her and carefully held her until she quieted down. They remained still for several minutes when Fame finally pushed herself up, rubbing at her eyes, looking very embarrassed.

“Sorry,” she muttered, not looking at the woman. “It’s been… crazy.”

Sighing in a suffered kind of way, Lara shook her head and stood up, gently patting her on the back. “Let’s get you some tea,” she said. “The world will be a better place after that. Where have you been Fame?”

The young woman grimaced and looked around her apartment to see if things were as she had left it. Her mail had piled up by the door but for the rest everything seemed fine. It came as no surprise to her that her plants looked better than they have when she left and there were even two new tomato plants in her windowsill. Hawk always pretended to be very blasé about his power but he truly loved plants. He had also pinned a newspaper article to her fridge which read:
‘Rogue London telepath kidnaps child, foils robbery in the process.’
Underneath it he wrote: ‘See, we don’t all have to be subtle to save the world.’
Fame didn’t find it very funny.

“In hospital,” she replied to Lara’s previous question. “They wouldn’t release me.”

The Tomb Raider raised an eyebrow as she put Fame’s old, battered teapot on the hob. “I’m surprised that they’ve let you out now,” she said as she watched the young woman search for her television remote. “You don’t look well Fame.”

The young woman snorted. “Ah am well enough, thank ye kindly,” she muttered. “The doctor, she’s going to come an’ get me later. Ah’ve just been temporarily released, ah have. Have ye seen me remote?”

Lara stepped out of the open plan kitchen and went to the umbrella holder by the door, fishing out Fame’s television remote and turning the set on from the passage, giving Fame a very strict look before she walked to the television and stood in front of it.

“That doesn’t sound like a normal course of action,” she pointed out. “And, this is no time for games Fame.”

The young woman glared at her and motioned to her Playstation 3. “Ah have to summon The Wanderer,” she said. “Ah got Hawk t’ turn of the system so tha’ she could go back and check up on Dogmeat. That’s why I needed to come back, to see if he’s alright.”

The flicker of worry in Lara’s eyes was so quick Fame almost missed it. With a suffered sigh, the woman stepped away from the television and went back into the kitchen where the pot was starting to boil.

“Don’t overexert yourself,” she said, not looking at Fame. “And be ready for anything. The Wanderer’s very attached to her dog.”

Fame grimaced and nodded as she turned on her system, waiting for the game to load.

She summoned The Wanderer and Dogmeat from a game called Fallout 3. It was a first person shooter, role playing game. It was set in a post-apocalyptic nuclear war environment, where The Wanderer had to leave the shelter of her home – a vault protected from the nuclear wasteland, to find her father whom had disappeared under mysterious circumstances. She was a volatile character with a lot of guns and Fame wouldn’t have summoned her at all if it wasn’t for Dogmeat. Where the canine liked Fame, its mistress and the gamer had a shaky alliance at best.

When she got the game loaded, Fame paused it immediately and took a deep breath, closing her eyes as she touched the television screen. She barely had time to open her eyes before she was suddenly knocked the floor with an anguished cry.

“You killed my dog!” The Wanderer yelled as she leapt onto Fame despite the young woman’s pained shout of protest. “He’s dead! Dogmeat’s dead!”

To Be Continued…