The Void Conspiracy

[MessengerOfDreams]

Finished chapters 2 and 3.

Impeccably written. My god.

You really put a lot of thought and effort into this. The characters are already likable and there's a great yet balanced air of suspense.

9.5/10

[Ridder]

2
A RAPIST IN LINCOLN PARK

Charlie sat in his pale desk, waiting for Mrs. Wells to troll in. His white pupils, flecked with gray, wandered toward a pencil sitting on the carpet, and he picked it up, fidgeting with it between his index and middle fingers.

Charlie, an “A” student with dark black hair that contrasted with his eyes, was one of the most miniscule characters in Harley Middle School, in both height and popularity. He, however, was also a diabolically evil mastermind of epic proportions, so what those particular individuals thought did not come close to bothering him. He was always the first to arrive in homeroom, his first class where he got his thoughts together and occasionally drew fiendish plans on the board. Charlie thoroughly enjoyed his diabolical plotting, how his thoughts, personality, ideas, and feelings could be so easily portrayed on something inanimate.

Today was one of those occasional days. He pushed the chair out from behind him and walked to the chalkboard while the ideas coursed through his mind. He picked up a fairly substantial piece of chalk and pondered. Then, the thoughts shot through his veins into his hand, and he began to sketch. A gargantuan spacecraft erupted from the piece of chalk and in Charlie’s mind it was the face of Rick Astley with a few portholes on its surface. He drew stars, many, many stars, and not the kind you used to draw in kindergarten that had five points and criss-crossed lines. No these were realistic.

Then he drew Earth on the far side of the board which signified the light years of distance between the two. Earth he drew with perfection, equally emphasizing its oceans, continents, mountains, and seas. Then he paused.

His mind continued to race as he thought, “How shall this craft consume all of the world, I wonder?” Then, uncannily and without hesitation, an idea flashed to brilliant life in his mind, and he began to draw again. From the diminishing stick of chalk came a giant laswer with specks of fire and even larger chunks of rock! It looked annihilation worthy and in Charlie’s busy head it was utterly gigantic. It took up so much space that Charlie had to use the second board in Mrs. Well’s room. But something wasn’t right.
Charlie drew a sloppy X over the laser just when the bell rang. He quickly grabbed the eraser and extinguished his beloved brainchild. It was always hard for Charlie to just get rid of his artistic ideals of world destruction. He had never gotten so enveloped in the ecstasy of drawing before. Except when he did actual Ecstasy.

He took his place in his desk in the middle of the room before the students began to pour in. They gave him suspicious glances, wondering what occupies him in the mornings when he’s isolated in homeroom. But of course, they could care less when their friends arrived.



The school day passed by in a sleep-deprived haze as it usually did on Mondays. And soon Charlie found himself stuffing his backpack to full capacity and strolling out into the warm summer sun that shrouded the lush grass in a shimmering blanket. He squinted in the sunlight and strolled down the sidewalk, heading for his home buried deep in the town of Harleykwinn.

Harleykwinn was one of those common towns where crime and illegal activities were abundant near the center but more scattered in the outskirts. Charlie lived in the core of this ♥♥♥♥ little town. In fact, hardly any peace occurred in Harleykwinn – regarding the misdemeanors such as mass murdering clown and his cohorts. Everybody knew everyone and usually there was not a clean person in town. If there was such a thing as a utopia, Harleykwinn would come nowhere close.

Charlie soon reached the giant sleeping rat next to his house's front door and knocked sternly on the oak door. After a minute of waiting, he ran to the garage door which was beyond repair but stuck embedded into the sides of the garage. Peering in through the thin windows on the door, he looked for a vehicle. Nothing.
Then he remembered what his father had told him the day before. His father and mother were going to Aunt Amy’s funeral today. Charlie was not so familiar with his young aunt. She was the lovely 20 year-old who seemed to be cursing half of the time who didn’t have time to give him a real gift on his birthday, but was always kind to him; usually he received a peck on the cheek, a hug, and a last-minute 10 dollar bill slipped into a last-minute one dollar card. But yet he felt grief about her disappearance because she left without a trace.
Charlie recalled his father yelling the day before about how the police could’ve searched harder to find his beloved sister. All they found was a broken streetlight on a strip of the main road in Bettleton. they assumed that an eypic war occurred between streetlights and the town of Bettleon, and that the streetlights ended up opting to use two nuclear bombs on Bettleon.

Charlie ran to the back of the house and found that the back door was unlocked so he rammed right into the door and busted through on the other side, albeit with massive pain. Funny how a mastermind like him never thinks before doing something stupid like what he had done. Traversing through the kitchen, he tossed his backpack on the linoleum and walked into the living room. He immediately flopped onto the sofa and began his after school routine. Despite breaking down the door, leaving a security hole in his home.

After finding the remote, Charlie flipped on the television and scrolled through the channels for a while. Nothing too interesting was playing on his favorite stations; just the same reruns of foolhardy theorists and philosophers ranting on about ideas that have already been proven wrong, so he shut it of and scooted to the kitchen for some brainfood. Following some copious searching, he uncovered a squirming pile of mush and nabbed it from the refrigerator. The shatter of glass came from the living room just as he took the first bite of his unnamable pile of living tissue and functioning organs in the palm of his hand and an instinctive shock ran down Charlie’s spine. Quickly and with unsteady, dirty hands, he bolted for where the back door used to be and ran from the house a substantial distance.

He slinked into the house after a few minutes, shivering with the aftereffects of a panic attack, to find the living room bare. With a muffled shmump, Charlie’s mush hit the floor where the sofa used to be.

The first oblivious idea that groped his mind was the common question: “This is irrational! What am I going to tell my parents? ‘I went to get a snack, and 5 minutes later, everything in the living room disappeared.’ No, I highly doubt that they’ll believe that Beethoven did this.”

He paced the empty room, but soon he just accepted to tell his parents it was his pet 'Beethoven', a flying salamander with an insatiable appetite. He went in his room to vent out his emotions. Through his eyes, he never got what he wanted, and every time he came close, his hopes were snapped by an outside force. Charlie didn’t stay in his room long, however, for he was never one to show emotion.

Charlie walked to the window and looked up at the smog, wispy and thin in front of a background as clogged and suffocating as a traffic jam in New York. It hit him so suddenly, causing him to drop his jaw and grasp his head, as he thought it might burst. The images from earlier in the day flickered through his secular mind. This time, they were much more vivid and focused, as if he was seeing through someone’s eyes. There was no chalk, no paper, no pens, nor markers now, though. Something had kept Charlie’s feet glued to the area of carpet. Oh yeah. The brainfood.

Charlie’s pupils dilated to an immense size. The Excstasy he took in his room a few minutes ago kicking in. He saw a planet, the ships, and now he saw a new creature, one that looked dubiously similar to the ones that inhabit his planet. Through an alien’s eyes he watched it, as clear as one of his own memories…

[KevinOC]

Your Internets are transferring into your bank account now, Ridder.

[Oranjui]

Jelly. About the story. What's taking so long? Seriously. It's been almost 3 months since you released your last chapter. Is there some kind of project that counts for 99% of your grade (@school), or is Chapter 4 gonna be insanely long, or what?
EDIT-ISH: Or writer's block like Ridder said..?


Not to rush you or anything. :3

[Ridder]

He has a damn writers block. >_>

[Panik!]

Oranj. I'm effing busy. Sorry.

[RedLink]

Jello are you saving all the kittens in the world at the same time? No?
Jello are you finding the cure for all diseases in one cure? No?
Are you publishing a new book? NO?
Then Why has you no make new chapter?

[Panik!]

Chapter 4 will be out this week.
Thanks for being patient.

[AlucardX60]

He has a damn writers block. >_>

James: A dead person can't write a letter. And he died of that damned disease. DAMN YOU WRITERS BLOCK!!!


However this random breakout is not as funny as it would have been. Why you ask. See the above post.


EDIT: also. I don't think the censor broke.

[Panik!]

And the long wait is over!

I didn't really proofread, so if you find any mistakes...please tell me...hehe.

4
VISITATION

Charlie’s mind was shocked back into reality, and he gasped for air as soon as he had regained consciousness. During the vision, Charlie had slumped to the floor in a momentary coma, and as he looked around the room, he felt his head pound again and his pupils grow just as they did when he had the first vision. Unconsciousness devoured him once more…

---------------------------------------------------------

This morning, my name was called over the intercom. The captain wanted to speak with me personally, and automatically, I began to think that something terrible had happened to my mother. After all, she and my father we’re the only ones left, and I’ve experienced so much numbing pain already that I wouldn’t be surprised to feel some more.

Walking into the control room, I noticed a vociferous buzzing sound and tried to locate the source when my eyes locked on one of the prototype void cannons. By the looking at the wafts of purple energy it was emitting…it was activated and prepared to fire.

“Aha! There he is, the man of the hour! We’ve got some exciting plans for you,” bellowed the captain over the hum of the cannon and the control panel. I caught a glimpse of my mother in the corner of the room, weeping while the co-captain stood by her. The sight of her changed my entire outlook because if my mother didn’t approve of what they were up to, then neither did I.

“What?” I muttered with little to no emotion.

“Well…we are planning to send you to Earth. We need to find out if any of the creatures living there have any suspicion of our plans for takeover,” the captain continued before I could speak, “You will be armed with a micro-void cannon and these markers,” he held up a small square micro chip with functional “legs.”

“What are those for?” I asked, scrutinizing the technologic insect as its legs twitched.

“As soon as you press your finger to the indention to the top of the marker, its legs latch on to the subject, and therefore, mark it for capture. You’ll also need a translator. It will translate our language into whatever language they use on Earth. So, without further ado, let’s get you position for transport!”

I just stood there…flabbergasted. Being launched to a foreign planet was crazy enough, but in the process, they were tearing me apart from my parents. I couldn’t say no though. So, after being suited up for transfer, I found myself standing in the launch chamber. I glanced at my mother once before the cannon was launch and then quickly looked away.

“Just do it. You’re numb enough already,” I told myself.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Charlie awoke this time to the crash of water against his face.

“Gah!!” he yelled. After he cleared his eyes, he noticed his parents standing over him, exasperated expressions plastered across their faces.

“Charlie! What happened?” interrogated his mother, a tall, skinny woman with beady eyes but a warm smile. He was surprised she hadn’t questioned him about the missing furniture downstairs, but Charlie decided within his head that it was probably a good thing that she didn’t.

“I…erm…blacked out,” Charlie answered.

His father chimed in, “Mmhm. Anyway to explain the lack of furniture in the living room?”

Charlie’s already semi-guilty expression worsened.

His mother hit his father in the arm, “Never mind that now. Why did you pass out, honey?”

“I was…dehydrated…yea. We had to run 2 miles in P.E. today, and I forgot to bring a drink.”

“Oh, why didn’t you tell me you needed one before school?”

“I don’t know.” Charlie glanced at the clock to find that it was 10:20 pm. “Can I go to sleep?” he asked quickly.

“Alright. We’ll let you sleep,” interrupted his father, “but in the morning, I want a full explanation of—“

“Sleep well sweetie!” Charlie’s mother said while she shoved his father out the door.

He flopped onto the bed after he was sure they had left. Were his visions valid? Could there be an alien coming to Earth? The afterimages swarmed in his cranium...and he remembered how vivid the visions were. But he nodded of to sleep, and with his consciousness went his suspicions. Charlie never thought he would think this, but he was looking forward to school the next day.

-------------------------------------------------------------

Charlie awoke in the early morning to the soft tap of rain on his bedroom window. It was only 5:30, but he couldn’t sleep any longer, so he thumped down the steps to serve himself some breakfast. His parents, who left the cereal and a small sticky note on the granite counter, had embarked for their occupations earlier. The note, written in his mother’s picturesque handwriting, wished Charlie a good day at school. He could almost feel his mom’s worry radiating from the note. Shaking his head, he poured some Wheaties into a bowl and commenced his morning routine.

After finishing his other duties, Charlie began the stroll to school, rain jacket intact. His mind wandered countless times to the pair of visions he’d witnessed last night. “Was it true? Was it really going to happen? They were so…clear, so amazingly potent…. No. You just need more sleep. Yea…more sleep.”

The rain decided to nod off later that Friday morning when Charlie reached Harley Middle School. He took his seat in Mrs. Wells’s room, but the chalkboard did not appeal to him. He simply stared at his feet, his head skipping between the visions and complete blankness. Soon, students began to pour in and along with them, Mrs. Wells. And thus started the monotony of the day. Classes passed by quickly as Charlie gave each teacher a blank stare in turn; until last period swung around.

Classmates filed into the science classroom, taught by Mr. Welch. Charlie took his usual seat, and he noticed snippets of conversations discussing a new student in their freshman class. He obviously didn’t care, but paid attention as Mr. Welch announced the new student and pointed to the seat behind Charlie. He turned around and took a quick glance at the new kid, named Gregory, and gave a small smile. Turning away, something snapped in his brain.

“No…” Charlie whispered, as he locked eyes with the student once again. This was the alien from his vision. This was the invader.

“What was that, Charlie? Do you have something to share with the entire class?” asked Mr. Welch, in the middle of teaching his lesson on the water cycle.

“Erm….no, sorry,” Charlie replied, his eyes darting from the invaders’ multicolored irises to Mr. Welch. He received some awkward stares, but he did not give the students any attention. Turning slowly back to the front of the classroom, Charlie cleared his throat and paid full attention for the rest of the class. After the final bell, he scampered out of the room and through the labyrinth of hallways to the front door of the school. Breathing heavily, he took off for his house.

The walk home consisted of Charlie talking to himself rapidly, “It’s all true. All of the visions. That’s the alien from the mothership. They ARE coming to take over.” This last thought of aliens possibly grabbing control of the planet shocked Charlie into silence. He realized that it wasn’t just his sanity in jeopardy, but the entire world hung in the balance.

Just then, Charlie noticed a figure following him in the corner of his eye. He swiveled his neck to take a gander to find that it was the alien child from his vision. Charlie’s instinct told him to run, and run he did. And as he began to sprint, so did the alien. Charlie turned several corners, looking for a place to take shelter when he spotted the church of Harley. He dashed up the hill, opened the heavy church door, and went in, but looked behind him to check for the alien. No signs of him, but Charlie knew he was nearby.

He took refuge between the pews near the back of the church and counted the seconds before he heard the weighty door slam again. The footfalls of the alien were heard from the front and with each step, Charlie scrunched tighter into a ball. He really tightened up when he heard a muffled “piff” from 5 benches ahead of him. He peeped his head up to find one of the mini black holes twirling about, engulfing bibles, hymn books and bits and pieces of un-vacuumed debris from the floor. This void wasn’t as tremendous as the one seen by Charlie the day before, but it grew larger and began to attract the pews and even pull a little on Charlie. He darted to the atrium behind the church and dashed up the stairs on the far left side. Charlie’s eyes swept over the high arcs in the ceiling and down the thick, ornate columns supporting the roof. The stained-glass windows transformed the aureate sunlight into saccharine colors that danced upon the mahogany pews. Such a beautiful place to be hiding from an extraterrestrial danger to humanity.

Another muted explosion sounded from behind. Charlie ran to the opposite staircase and scampered down it to the main aisle in the church. Backing up slowly, he stammered, “Why are you here?”

“Because we need your planet,” said the alien immediately in a monotone drone.

“But…why?” Charlie asked. There had to be a reason for a race of people to capture another species.

“Ours is gone. Destroyed by a gamma ray.”

“Oh…but why do you need me?!”

“You have insight into our plans. I have no other choice. Of course, I don’t want to. But I must.”

Charlie began to crawl to avoid being devoured by the void. He shifted out of the way of the line of pews that were being sucked into it. Then he remembered that the alien had shot another void near the organ on the second floor. The bending and snapping of the metal organ pipes made Charlie move more quickly.

Still on the second floor, the alien grasped one of the insect-like markers. He pressed his finger to the top, aimed at the human, and chucked with as much strength as he could muster. Perfect shot. The chip had latched onto the back of Charlie’s raincoat’s hood.

Unaware of the marker on his hood, Charlie crawled rapidly to the door. By the time he reached it, his stamina was at an all time low. Pulling the door ajar took more time than it should have, but soon he was outside. But something prevented him from moving. He twisted his head to see that his jacket hood was stuck in the door jamb. He pulled on it until it was free and began to jog home, breathing and thinking heavily.

Charlie didn’t know that the heavy door had more or less saved his life. For when Charlie pull his hood through the crack, the marker had popped off and skidded to the central aisle of the church. The alien had ran down the steps and out the front door of the church, thinking that he had successfully exterminated the child.

The marker began to beep until finally, there was a large flash of light. The light was eaten by darkness until finally, the church imploded.