More Story

So... I want to write a book/story/whatever.

So I'm going to post random bits & pieces of story and writing and things here for those of you who deign to read it.

And we begin...

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A pair of dark green eyes peered out of the narrow alleyway. They belonged to a figure crouched in the shadows. As dusk fell over the town, the alley was a safe place to hide. Mud and garbage from the street oozed into the alley, clogging it with the stench of rotting vegetables, horse dung, and a thousand other offensive smells. It didn't matter to the form huddled there behind a pile of broken barrels.

The town of Ralenby sprawled out like a small spot of cancer on the green countryside. At first sight, the casual observer would think there had been little or no planning to the layout of the town. Those few who actually visited knew there had been no planning. Ralenby had no central government, the only semblance was the well to-do families on the outskirts of town. They owned the land on the outskirts Ralenby and had enough money and land to hire guards to keep the rabble towards the center of town. That's where the filth and scum lived and played, as well as those who were unlucky enough to be born there. When the lower class began to swell outwards, like a dead spot in a rotting flesh, the outside of town would grow to get away from them. The effect was not unlike a ring, growing larger with every passing year, as families tried to move outward away from the ever growing population from the center.

The young female crouched in the alley was a Central. At least that's what the Outers called those unlucky souls from the inside of town. She had been born the youngest of six children in a poor family near the center of Ralenby. Her father worked at a tavern there, and would often come home raging drunk.

Her mother was a rather unattractive, partially overweight wench who sold her body during the day. In the center of Ralenby you could find escapes however you took them. The drugs her mother took to keep her "clients" from seeding her had the side effect of making her extra fertile after they wore off when she came home. That created the unpleasantly large family she was born into. Her parents were rarely home, which turned out to be a good thing for Saje. Born with Talent, she began displaying signs when she was three years old. The bed she shared with the three other girls broke one day, and fearing their father's wrath, the older girls began to cry. Saje calmly touched the bed, and the broken wood reached out and began to twine itself back together. Her sisters wouldn't look at her for a week and she didn't know why.

Saje was five years old when her parents found out she had Talent. Her mother had come home and tripped over a small shoe that one of her sisters left in the doorway. Landing on a chair, her mother broke one of the legs. Raising in a fury she started for Saje's sister. Again, Saje calmly walked over and touched the chair.

When the chair repaired itself like the bed had, her mother yelled at the other girls, "GO TO YOUR ROOM NOW!" Wheeling on Saje, her mother grabbing her by the hair, and pulled Saje face to face. Tears stung Saje's eyes as her mother's sour breath burned Saje's nose, "You think that's a pretty trick, don't you?" Her mother hissed, "Well I won't have any Curse in my house! Get out of here and NEVER COME BACK, CURSED WENCH!" As her mother finished her tirade, Saje felt herself flung across the narrow street, landing in a crumpled heap. With tears pouring from her eyes, Saje pulled herself up to her knees. Through her tears she didn't see her mother fling the chair. It hit her in the forehead, knocking Saje to the dusty street. Crying out in pain, she tried rolled over and tried to lift herself up. Saje collapsed to her side in pain, her left eye swollen with a cut above her eyebrow pouring blood down the side of her face. In a mixture of sadness and pain, Saje looked at the only home she had known. The small face of her sister disappear behind the dirty rag that served as a curtain. Hearing the wails of her sister, and with the loud smack of wood on flesh, Saje passed out.

Waking with a start, Saje realized she had that nightmare again. It happened to her every now and then. She would doze off, only to be awakened by the sound of Alainaa's screams. Absentmindedly touching the scar above her left eye, Saje thought back to those times. She had heard of the Curse before, as her sisters took her to one of the market. Those who had it were beaten or spit upon, or more often, both. She didn't know what it was or why, but she knew there would be no mercy for her if people knew. So that horrible night so long ago, she pulled herself into an alley and curled up behind a pile of garbage and fell asleep. She didn't even startle the rats that were feeding there. It became a pattern for her life, those past nine years. She would hide in an ally for a few days, venturing out only for a few hours at night, when it was busy enough that she could hide among the crowds. Sometimes she was able to steal a bite of good food to eat, or some scraps of food that someone dropped. But more often than not she didn't have anything to eat.

Stretching out she looked down at herself, Then why am I not skinny at all? She wondered as she did most every day. With a rare bite to eat, I should be wasting away... still I suppose I'm alive. I guess that counts for something. Looking around she noticed that the lamps were out and people had congregated on the streets.

The crowds were so much thicker at night. Crouching in the shadows by the mouth of the alley, she watched the crowds. She had learned little more about this Curse in the last nine years. She had learned if you showed you had this Curse, it might get you killed. She had seen at least three people killed in the last month, and at least twice more beaten to a pulp. The one thing she did know about this curse, whatever it was - she was able to heal broken bones and some cuts. Whenever she saw someone beaten, as soon as they were left alone she would drag them into an alley, if they were alive. Then she would press her hands to their bones or flesh and the would would weave itself back together.

Snapping back to the present, Saje saw her opening and quickly slipped out of the alley into the crowd of people. Mingling with the crowd, she paused to look around. The sun had set and the darkness in the square was pierced by the shifting lamplights. She marveled at the variety of people, there were folks dressed in rags begging on street corners, folks juggling or performing tricks for small coin. There were folks selling their bodies, men, women, and children alike. Saje never looked too close at those people...

"Hey it's a Cursed!" Someone shouted. Tensing, Saje turned. It seemed as though the entire crowd had stopped, and turned to look at her. It was a sea of eyes, shining red, reflecting the lamp light. How did they know? The thought raced through her mind. She hadn't done anything!

Someone in the front of the crowd stepped towards her, his red, glowing eyes set in a chiseled mask of anger.

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To be continued!