Brandon Tsai

Disclaimer, all three stories are connected and if you wish to understand the overlaying plot of the stories, read all three stories.

The Light

The knock on the door was the first event. I opened the door but there was no one there.
I looked around and yelled, "Hello?" in a questioning voice.
No one answered. I got a strange thought that someone was watching me. I swept my head around, looking for those eyes drilling into me. If only I had known that that was the beginning of my troubles.

My name is Mike Dickinson. I have the worst luck ever. That's probably why I'm writing this alone. So, back to the knock on the door. After I went back inside, I sat down on the couch. I was shaken; I swore that I saw a glimpse of a person rushing past, clutching.. something. And that face, that face, grey and withering with empty eyes, focused on one thing, their goal to conquer. After I came to my senses, I noticed some strange things. First of all, there were no lights on the inside and it was 8:00 at night.
"My parents should be down here, it's not that late," I wondered out loud.
I wandered upstairs, looking for my parents. They weren't anywhere I looked. I sat down, shaking, only this morning I had been happy and laughing with my friends. Now I was crying on a chair with no friends to calm me down. Then the door creaked opened like a baby mourning to find someone who loves him. I looked up and saw that same face, that indescribably horrible face. I screamed but no words came out.

I had already been knocked out by that horrible man.

I woke up in a room. A dark room that had air with so much dust in it, I could barely see through it. From what I could see through the dust, I was in a dungeon full of large, ugly men carrying weapons. And I was in a cage in the middle of the room on display for the men to see.
Then a man with empty, glassy eyes came over and said, "The boss is waiting for you."
I was stunned. I had just woken up and I had never thought that I had to meet someone who was a "boss" to these people. He let me out of the cage but kept staring at me. He pointed towards a door marked "Main Office". I walked into the room and saw the face. Now that I was closer I could see the grizzling details. The eyes were glassy and scratched, the skin was grey and ancient, the face had a nose like melting wax, twisted at a crooked angle. And the smile, that sharp cruel smile that studied me and made me rethink if I really wanted to step any closer to the face. I took one tentative step towards that face.
"Hello," said a high, raspy voice, "How has your day?" I gagged. The smell that came from his mouth was almost as worse as his face. Almost. I was determined not to speak so I turned around and stared at the wall. He just sighed, or, I think it was a sigh. It was either that or a loud ragged breath.
"Fine, I guess you don't want to find you parents."
"What!" I yelled, " You have my parents?"

I was forced to be a servant. A lowly person that does whatever these ugly men tell me to do. Lost your dungeon key? Go get it. Too lazy to go get a snack? Go get it. I was a slave. It was torture. I was thinking the whole time, *Where am I?* *How do I escape this mildew covered place?* I was lost in depression. Too tired to be sad. Too lonely to cry. It was like my eyes were a dry desert, waiting for a rain cloud to come. At the end of every day, I was thrown into an empty room. Full of mold and overgrown plants. One day I was sitting on the stone block that I use as my bed when I saw the man with the monstrous face rush by.
I could swear I heard him muttering,"The boy how can I use him?"
I was dumbfounded. Why do I, Mike Dickinson, have any thing to do with what he was talking about? What was he talking about? Then the explosion happened. Debris flew everywhere. Screams flooded the air. And then all was silent. Nothing but the rocks shifting. I suddenly felt woozy. The world was spinning around and around. I felt my head. There was blood. Lots of blood. My vision turned blurry. I saw my cell door open and I stood up to walk over. But, my knees buckled and I blacked out.

**Chapter 2 (a.k.a Marking Period 2)**

I woke up in a bed that was so comfortable I could probably take another long nap, but I forced myself awake. I lifted my head up and opened my eyes.
"Hey! He's awake!" I heard a woman yell.
"'Bout time he came to." I heard a man's voice this time.
Two people came rushing in through a door. I blinked. They were both wearing black jumpsuits.
"Hey kid, you feel fine?" The man questioned.
"Yeah, I fell great."
"That's good," the woman said, "Follow us."

I followed them down a hallway that was painted to be really white. The hallway twisted back and forth and after what I thought was an hour we approached a door.
"We're here son," said the man
The lady turned around, "My name is Belle. That man over there is Fyr. We're here to save you."
Then she looked at me like an idea had sprung up in her mind, "I realized we never told you where we're leading you and watching you closely," she said in a sweet voice, "Is that right?"
I studied them closely. Belle looked to be in about her mid thirties and Fyr was in early forties. They looked trustable but I knew looks could be deceiving.
Belle sighed at my hesitation, "Well, If you don't trust us enough to answer my question, then I guess you don't know."
Fyr started talking, "Since you were born, we sensed you were special."
"Hold on," I interrupted, " You "sensed" me?"
"Yes, you were born special. Mal Gar knew that. That's why he is trying to get to you."
"Wait a second," my head was spinning and I needed to get things straight, "Who is Mal Gar?"
"Mal Gar the man you saw that had an ugly face," Belle said, "He wants you for something. We're trying to find out."
In my head I thought, *Ugly is an understatement. I would think more along the lines of... hideous.*
"Oh." I mumbled.
It probably sounded really stupid.
A shadow seemed to cross Fyr's face. As if just the thought of that monster sucked the light out of a room.
"So!" Belle interrupted, breaking the seconds of tension and awkwardness.
The conversation was clearly over, so I tried not to mention Mal Gar anymore. It was kind of hard, because I had been a slave of him for a month. It was like the answers were right there, but just out of reach.
"Mike, do you know what is past this door?" Belle questioned.
**"**Ummmmm, a room?"

I was intuitive that way.

Belle chuckled and said, "No silly, it is the door to your freedom. Walk through it and see what I mean."
I was a little confused, but I touched the cold metal bar, pushed forward, and stepped into the real world.
But, this was not the real world, it was a cold expanse of dead trees. The colors that were most common were black, brown, grey, and white. I decided that it would be perfect for a post card. I turned towards Fyr and Belle, except they weren't there. Instead, I saw them on the ground, not moving. I glanced up and my heart almost leaped out of my mouth.

Mal Gar

That wretched man. That horrible man. He found me.
"You should be honored," he said in that raspy voice that I would never forget, "I rarely come in person to punish people. But you are a special occasion."
I knew exactly what to do. I bolted towards the woods.

I didn't stop running. I didn't think of what was behind me. I just put one foot in front of the other. Left, right, left, right.
I remembered what my father used to tell me, "Don't look back, just keep moving forward."
I felt a pang of sadness. Mal Gar had my father and I didn't even know if he was dead or not. I suddenly felt determined to take on Mal Gar once and for all and get back my parents. But, I knew I wasn't strong enough yet. I had to keep moving.

3 hours of running weakened me. I ran and ran and ran until my lungs were about to explode. I dropped to the ground at the edge of the clearing. My breaths were ragged and choppy like a broken fan. I closed my eyes and fell asleep. I dreamt of falling down and down into a dark abyss. Then, a bright light flashed in front of my eyes and I woke up. I sat up straight, breathing hard.
Right before I had woken up, I heard a raspy voice saying, "The end is nigh child."
I had no doubt that that was Mal Gar. I wanted to ponder what had happened, but at that time, I had more pressing matters.

**Chapter 3 (a.k.a. Marking Period 3)**

That bright light did not help my usual morning grumpiness.
"What do you want?" I quietly yelled in a horse voice.
I felt a bag come down over my head and everything went dark.
A voice hissed into my ear, "Shut up and I'll get you somewhere safe. If you scream out, I'll leave you out here to die."
I shuddered at the thought of being left out in the woods, dying of thirst and starvation, or even worse, being caught by Mal Gar. So I made my mind, I would shut up.

I was dragged around for what seemed like hours and hours against the cold, hard, dirt ground. When I was finally dropped, and the bag removed from my head, I was sore and bruised all over. I looked around the place I was dropped off at. It was bright white and full of people, but at that moment, everyone was silent, staring at me.
I decided to start with introductions, "Well, hello everybody, I'm Mike Dickinson."
Nobody moved. I was starting to stand up when two people started running from the crowd.

It was Belle and Fyr.

I ran up and hugged them. I started crying but I didn't even care. I was reunited with the people who protected me.
When I finally let go, they started to talk, "When we woke up, you and Mal Gar were both gone. I thought he had taken you and left. Thank God your safe."
I was confused, "Where am I-" I was interrupted by a boom. It surprised me into stop asking questions. Then I heard a groan, the groan of a weak ceiling starting to cave. I looked at Fyr and I knew what to do, I ran. I ran past the people and I kept running. One foot in front of the other. Just keep going. Don't stop. Then I heard a scream, I turned around and saw Belle and Fyr being taken by Mal Gar.
I ran towards them screaming, "No!"
Belle saw me and shook her head. I hesitated for a moment, and in that moment, Mal Gar whisked my guardians away.
He turned towards me and said, "Maybe next time Dickinson."
He ran off, and left me there alone.

I sat there for hours, just waiting. Waiting for the nightmare to be over. But it never ended. I was being tortured and being toyed with by Mal Gar. I finally decided to take revenge. I ran out of the building after the noticeable path made by the feet of the men that had taken away Belle and Fyr. After awhile, I settled into a steady beat. Then the trail started to twist around, the footprints getting staggered and farther apart. Finally they ended at a clearing. I was confused for a while about what to do, but then I looked at where the footsteps ended. The markings were light but unmistakable. They were of a symbol that I had seen on the walls of the dungeon when I had been trapped by Mal Gar. This discovery still did not bring me any closer to where the monsters were camping out. I stamped my foot in frustration but ended up twisting my ankle. I howled in pain and frustration. Then I realized all the injuries I had in that moment. I looked down at my shirt and realized it was soaking in blood. I lapsed out of consciousness and collapsed.

I woke up to a strange light in my eyes. I jumped up quickly thinking that the light was from a flashlight. I was surprised to see the light floating in midair. It seemed frightened by my sudden movements and flew away. I looked down and realized that the wounds that I was covered with before I had healed, were gone. I stared at the place were the ball of light just was in amazement. Then I looked down at the marking and realized that I had stamped a hole into the markings, revealing the lair of Mal Gar.

I jumped down and started to search the place. It looked deserted so I ventured further. I started down a hallway with many doors and tried to open them all but none of them opened. I finally saw a a door that stood ajar. I walked through it and realized my mistake to late. The kidnapping of my chaperons was a trap. For all I knew, Belle and Fyr were dead. Mal Gar rushed up and took me by the arms. Roughly dragging me away to a prison cell. I was thrown inside. I fell down, shocked from the rush of action.
Mal Gar was standing right outside my cell and after many silent minutes, he finally said, "Finally the wait is over, I have finally captured you."
He walked away to the room I was captured in and at the last moment before the doors had closed, I saw him slip something out of his pockets, holding it out to someone. I realized that Mal Gar had been holding something when I had first seen him. But what was it, and who was he holding it out to?

I have many questions that I wish to be answered but I don't think I will live long enough to find out all the answers.

To my friends,

Clarence and Jimmy

The mysterious man crumpled up the letter that his servant, Mal Gar, had confiscated from Mike Dickinson. He ordered Mal Gar to go and deal with the boy, the poor boy. Mike looked up to see Mal Gar offering him some bread. Mike excepted the bread and took a bite. He doubled over, it was too late to realize that there was something in the bread. Mike died not knowing the answers to many questions, having not enough time to finish his story. He never even got a chance to know what the light was. Following him around. The mysterious man smiled when Mal Gar delivered the news.

One boy down

The Sound (2nd marking period)

It all started with the sound. That pestering, annoying sound. It wouldn't stop. It was driving Clarence crazy. It droned on and on and on. Once in school, he started crying and hitting his head on his desk. Then the sound morphed into voices that told him that he was going to die. Depressing sentences, "You will suffer child." Today he was in the corner of his room sobbing. The voice was telling him that he would not live past this day. Clarence kept telling himself that that was not real, he would live past this day. He fell asleep from exhaustion after 5 hours of crying. He woke up but was not himself. Clarence had turned into a monster, a savage boy wanting revenge, driven crazy by the voices in his head. He sprinted out of his room and into the kitchen. What he was about to do was terrible, but Clarence did not know that. The husk of what once was a boy was past insanity, he was not human. He grabbed a kitchen knife and ran out the door and into the streets. Clarence saw a boy that was walking. This boy was a friend named James. Clarence walked up to James. James did not know of the changes Clarence had gone through. He said hello and turned to walk away, but Clarence had other ideas. He knocked James down and raised his weapon. James let out a terrible scream. This scream pierced through the satanic thoughts going through Clarence's mind. It finally settled on a memory of James and Clarence playing in a park. Clarence and another boy had scared James, but instead of a normal scream, a loud sound came out of James' mouth. This memory helped some of Clarence's former self escape through his mind. With one last moment of strength, he plunged the weapon into his own chest. The boy who was once named Clarence laid there. He was sleeping but would never wake. This is the story of a boy who was driven crazy by the voices in his head.

A mysterious man watched from afar, smiling. He had finally gotten another boy.

Only one more boy to go.

The Adventures of Jimmy

Jimmy was dead. Okay, he wasn't actually dead, but he felt like he was dead. He was stuck at home doing homework, so basically dead. He was going through his notes for his vocab quiz tomorrow.
"Pauper, atone.."
Then his fish started talking, "Hello Jimmy"
I want to say that Jimmy took that bravely and started a conversation with the fish, Finn. Truth is, he fainted.

Jimmy finally came to 3 hours after he fainted. He had hoped that Finn could not actually talk. But, he was still talking to him.
"Jimmy? Jimmy? Jimmy!"
"What do you want?" Jimmy mumbled while rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.
"I want to tell you why I am here to protect you"
"Your just a fish!"
"Oh no!" Finn said, "I am here to see you alive next morning."
Then he gave Jimmy a wink, or what Jimmy thought was a wink, "You are very special to his plan."
"What plan!" Jimmy exclaimed, "Who is *HE?"*
"Why, I would not want to anger him by telling you what we have planned for you." Finn replied
A thousand questions swam around Jimmy's head but he resisted. He knew Finn would not answer the questions.
Jimmy let out an exasperated sigh, "What do I have to do?"
Finn's eyes gleamed in a way that made Jimmy nervous.

An hour later, Jimmy was dead again. This time he was actually dead. Not dead because of homework, but dead because of blunt force trauma. But not in the way you would think. An hour ago, Finn had told Jimmy to go into the woods and walk until he reached a clearing. Then he told him to spin around. Jimmy did just that but hit his head on a tree, fell over and smacked his head on a rock, and proceeded to slam his head on the ground. Jimmy stood up but felt woozy. He stumbled around for a few minutes but couldn't stand up straight. He sat down hard and and fell into a deep sleep. 5 minutes later, Jimmy was dead. He woke up in what he thought was his home but was really his version of the afterlife. He looked up and saw a fish swimming around his head, a very familiar fish.
"Hello Jimmy," Finn said in a muffled voice, almost like he was speaking into water, "Funny meeting you here."
Jimmy looked at him with eyes of pure hatred, "Did you want me to die? Did you want me to be here?"
Finn looked shocked at Jimmy's outburst, "Why," he said in an innocent voice, "Didn't you want to help him?"
Jimmy stared at Finn and said in a steely voice, "Not this much"
Jimmy then turned away from Finn and walked away.

Chapter 2 (a.k.a. 4th marking period)

After a few minutes, Jimmy was already lost in the wave of walls. He remembered that he should always keep against the left wall, but he turned once and was already stuck against a dead end. Jimmy howled in frustration. He then turned around and found him self face to face with a wall.
"What?" Jimmy wondered out loud, "I swear there wasn't a wall there before."
Then, Jimmy turned back to where the dead end was before and realized that the wall was open. Jimmy was bewildered. He started walking again. He remembered that he should always keep against the left wall, but he turned once and was already stuck against a dead end. Jimmy howled in frustration. He then turned around and found him self face to face with a wall.
"What?" Jimmy wondered out loud, "I swear there wasn't a wall there before."
Then, Jimmy turned back to where the dead end was before and realized that the wall was open. Jimmy was confused. Jimmy was having a serious case of deja vu. But he kept walking. He remembered that he should always keep against the left wall, but he turned once and was already stuck against a dead end. Jimmy howled in frustration. He then turned around and found him self face to face with a wall.
"What?" Jimmy wondered out loud, "I swear there wasn't a wall there before."
Then, Jimmy turned back to where the dead end was before and realized that the wall was open. Jimmy was discombobulated. Jimmy was definitely sure that he had experienced this before. so he decided to do something different. He stayed against the right wall instead. he was walking for a few minutes when he ran into someone when he turned a corner. He jumped back and was going to run when he realized who the person was.
"Clarence?" Jimmy said in a surprised voice.
Clarence looked up and had the most shocked expression Jimmy had ever seen.
Jimmy was also shocked, "Last time a saw you, you tried to kill me, then you killed yourself!"
Clarence looked embarrassed.
"It's fine, It's fine. I have a feeling you were different then than now," Jimmy noted.
Clarence looked up at Jimmy, "Lets go get out of this maze."
We turned to the opening and sprinted through

Mike Dickinson opened his eyes into a confusing place. He sat up afraid. Afraid that Mal Gar would jump from the darkness and pounce on Mike. But Mal Gar did not. Mike stood up, and looked down, he had new clothes on, clothes that did not have any scars from the adventures that Mike had partaken in. He stepped forward. One step closer to the dark circle encompassing him. He stepped in to the darkness and then proceeded to run into two bodies that had been moving. In a panic, Mike kicked one person and punched the other in the face. He stepped back, breathing hard. He raised his foot but right before he brought it down on the people, he heard a panicked, yet familiar voice.
"Wait!"
Mike stopped. "Jimmy?"
"Yes, it's me and Clarence, is that you Mike?"

**This is a separate story from the three that come before this story.**

The Rathbone Papers

This story is in collaboration with Luca Miceli.

Find his wiki here

Luca's writings are underlined

I was facing toward the bay. The shot was heard at where I was stationed, Bunker Hill. A second later, a man dropped to the ground head lolling, wide eyes. and a chest that did not have the usual rise and fall. I rushed to his side. I had known this chap well but, his pulse was nonexistent. This could only mean one thing. Then, I sprang up. Another shot had been heard, one that sounded closer than the last. Another man fell. Everything happened so quickly, rustling on my right, a scream, then the land around me exploded in chaos.

Dirt flew everywhere, landing on my skin like a stinging rain. I screamed, but my horse voice was drowned out by the gunshots and cannonballs, slamming into the ground. I looked around at all my dead comrades. Some with missing limbs, others staring at me with unseeing eyes as if to say“Why! Why did this have to happen?” I panicked and ran to get away from all the chaos, but it was no use, the fight was everywhere. Not a single place was uneffected. Maybe I can sprint through the crowd of fighters and leave the battlefield I thought. Yes that’s what I have to do, run, run far away, and I can leave this all behind. But, I couldn’t, I had applied the army on my own. I turned back and looked at the advancing soldiers. I readied musket. I aimed right at one of the advancing British soldiers and fired.

I missed. Muskets are horribly inaccurate. I steadied my aim and fired. The redcoat jolted like someone had punched him in the mouth. He fell to the ground, a rock dropped from the hand of a child. I closed my eyes to stay calm. Horror crept to my throat. So I took a nip from my canteen of water. I opened my eyes and a bullet passed through my chest. I watched the crimson stain spread up my white shirt. I promptly collapsed.

I woke up from what felt like days and days of sleep. I sat up but yet, I felt that my body still lay in that bed. I looked up and saw light. I dare not disclose what I saw in that dream, I would like to share what I saw but, I have this feeling that conferring, will result in unpleasant things. So, I will just say that I discovered what I had sought for. Maybe you will discover what I saw.

“Walter, Walter!”
My eyes flew open, spirits of my dreams dancing on my eyes. I rubbed my eyes to stop the flashing lights.I looked to my left at the voice, and found my friend, Sylvester Raymore.
“Raymore, what are you doing here, the battle is going on!”
Raymore stared at me with sad eyes.
“The battle is done, we have lost.”
I was shocked. I opened my mouth to speak words of thanks, or words of comfort, but nothing came out. I closed my mouth and looked up. Raymore stared back at me, forcing a weak smile.
“Well, at least my friend is still breathing,” he forced out in a pained voice.
Raymore had always been the man who wanted to win. He had always been the child who cried when he had lost a game. It saddened me to watch him hold back tears for me, even though I was older, even though I had been the one who had cared for him when we were younger. This war had changed so much in my life. Tears welled in my eyes, but I held back. After a few moments of silence, I thanked him for coming and layed my head back down on the bunk. I couldn’t stop the tears, I closed my eyes and cried. I cried for Raymore, for my parents, and for me. I cried for my home, my sister, and my country. It is silly thinking back on it now, A man, 21 years of age, crying by himself. But, the pain was welling up, like the anger of the colonies, a dam blocking the anger. And just like the colonists, the dam broke.

I wanted to attack the British at once. It seemed so did Raymore after he had started crying too. The anger within us grew bigger. I slammed my arm against the bed and yelled. I couldn’t take it. Without think I tried to get up, but a pain surged through my body, like needles puncturing every square inch of my skin. I was lowered to the bed by my physical limitations. There was nothing I could do in my current state.
“How long was I out?” I asked Raymore to which he replied “About a day.”
I could tell the anger was still in his voice. I looked down at my wound that had been bandaged up well.
“Was the bullet removed?” I asked.
“From what I heard from the doctor, the bullet went right through you.” Raymore replied.
Just then a chap came through the door and said “Walter Rathbone, that’s your name, correct?” he asked.
“Yes,” I said my voice was rather nervous, “Who are you?”
“I am doctorAlfred Von Kaeleb, you can call me Doctor Kaeleb. How are you feeling?” Dr. Kaeleb asked.
“Horrible,” I replied.
“What is it that is bad?” He inquired.
“Alright, can’t move very much though,” I explained.
“Good. You are lucky that bullet didn’t kill you. It went right past your heart and lungs. You are one lucky chap.
“I guess I am,”

I glanced over at Raymore who had stood awkwardly at the corner of the room.
Dr. Kaeleb looked over at my friend and said, “Who is this fine young man?”
“Sylvester Raymore,” Raymore replied.
“Ah yes, thank you. “Now Mr. Raymore I must ask you to leave.”
“Y-y-yes sir,” Raymore stuttered in a nervous way and rushed out of the room
“Now Mr. Rathbone tell me, how much can you move your body?”
“Not much.” I replied and tried to get up again, but was yet again held down by my crippled body.
“You will most likely be in here for another few weeks so that you can fully heal,” Dr. Kaeleb explained, “a very small price to pay for your life.”
The story is not finished.

Where I'm From

I am from imagination and invention,
from the magnets I so dearly loved and the elevator I wanted to create with them.
Sharing my ideas with everyone, and all joyously sitting around the table.

I am from picture after picture my dad loved to take,
waves of memories,
ready for laughing at our past faces,
looking, amused at the memories we saved.

I am from jokes and chortles,
taking the memories with me while running away from my imaginary friend.
Having memorable conversations with the friend only I could see,
sharing secrets.

I am from performances,
where I would show my family skits my sister and I made up.
From magic tricks that did not work but my parents laughed anyway.

I am from love and kindness,
with loving parents and a sibling who was joyful.
With a mom who would stay by me when I cried,
and a dad who would make me laugh in the saddest of times.

I am from the hill in my backyard,
where I would slide down on my sled,
Right into a fence.

I am from love and kindness,
happiness and jokes,
from performances and memories.