{"id":24,"date":"2013-07-20T10:38:52","date_gmt":"2013-07-20T10:38:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dreamers-sanctuary.com\/undead\/?page_id=24"},"modified":"2013-07-22T15:28:18","modified_gmt":"2013-07-22T15:28:18","slug":"chapter-1","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/dreamers-sanctuary.com\/undead\/story\/chapter-1\/","title":{"rendered":"Chapter 1"},"content":{"rendered":"

DECALOGUE<\/strong><\/p>\n

Chapter 1<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

I guess a lot of people say that through every tough thing, you find more of yourself.\u00a0\u00a0I have no idea if that was true or not for me then, but it definitely is now.\u00a0\u00a0Lost isn’t the word I’d use for me then.\u00a0\u00a0I’d say very disillusioned.\u00a0\u00a0I had dreams, big ones, because without dreams, why is life worth living?\u00a0\u00a0I had them, but I didn’t know how to get to them.\u00a0\u00a0I had ideas, and I tried, but I didn’t really do any of it the right way, didn’t work hard enough for it.\u00a0\u00a0I always thought it was meant to happen, so as long as I tried just a little, it would happen, ya know?\u00a0\u00a0Wrong.\u00a0\u00a0I’m always wrong, even now.\u00a0\u00a0I\u2019m not good at telling things, or writing.\u00a0\u00a0I\u2019m not the most useful person, and the one thing I was good at still couldn\u2019t bring me any success in life.\u00a0\u00a0But that was my own damn fault.\u00a0Failure is second nature to me anyway.<\/i><\/p>\n

Life, to me\u2026 I thought, well, you can only live once.\u00a0\u00a0The biggest excuse I had to party my life away.\u00a0\u00a0I still live by that motto now, but in a different way.\u00a0\u00a0A better way.\u00a0\u00a0It’s that thought that killed my dreams then, but keeps me fighting to survive now.\u00a0\u00a0Life is funny that way…<\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Tuesday, April 3, 2012<\/b><\/b>
\n10 days before Infernal Friday<\/i><\/p>\n

“Life sucks,” Nick muttered as he drove along the highway. It had been a long drive, one he\u2019d never wanted to make in the first place.<\/p>\n

For him, a simple road trip was an admission of failure.\u00a0\u00a0He knew he’d never hear the end of this.\u00a0\u00a0Years ago, he had thought by the age of twenty-five, he’d be far more than what he was now at twenty-eight years old.\u00a0\u00a0So the U-Haul truck sped its way down the mostly unoccupied roads.\u00a0\u00a0Few people drove at\u00a0eleven o\u2019clock\u00a0on a Tuesday morning down the interstate.<\/p>\n

The rain began to fall, which just added on to his sour mood. He wasn’t a lover of rain; that was why he had loved\u00a0California\u00a0so much.\u00a0\u00a0It was a place of consistently sunny days, beaches, beautiful women, and a place where he thought he could get his life going.<\/p>\n

Wrong.<\/p>\n

His mind wandered because there wasn’t much else he could do.\u00a0\u00a0His only companion was the cheerful golden retriever, Spunky, who was laying next to him in the passenger seat.\u00a0\u00a0He\u2019d bought the pup as soon as he had moved to\u00a0California, having always been a dog lover but forbidden by his parents to take the dogs when he moved out.\u00a0\u00a0He’d talk to her, but she was sleeping, probably because she was bored herself.<\/p>\n

California\u00a0was behind him now, and so, it seemed, was his heart.\u00a0\u00a0Not because of any girlfriend. Nick Carter didn\u2019t put much validity into attachments like those.\u00a0\u00a0How could he?\u00a0\u00a0He\u2019d seen his parents\u2019 own marriage dissolve before his very eyes.\u00a0\u00a0Then he\u2019d had to see them both remarry other people.\u00a0\u00a0His mother had even gotten a divorce for a second and, later, a third time.\u00a0\u00a0Love wasn\u2019t something he really took in.\u00a0\u00a0If it happened, marriage could actually destroy it.\u00a0\u00a0Back on the west coast, he\u2019d had flings with girls, and nothing more.\u00a0\u00a0They knew it when they got with him, too.\u00a0\u00a0He never told them anything less than the truth.\u00a0\u00a0He had a goal to aim for, and that was more important.\u00a0\u00a0Well, that and partying it up, so that he could live life to the fullest.<\/p>\n

Not that it ever got him anywhere.\u00a0\u00a0That was what frustrated him the most.\u00a0\u00a0He had been pounding the pavements of\u00a0Hollywood\u00a0for eight years now, and all it had ever given him were bit parts and little attention.\u00a0\u00a0The idea of never making it, when, constantly, people told him how talented he was, grated his skin the worst.\u00a0\u00a0Back home, he had done talent competitions all his life, minor kid shows that aired on the local networks ofTampa.\u00a0\u00a0But as soon as he\u2019d gone for it at the age of twenty, nothing had come.\u00a0\u00a0The big break he\u2019d been searching for never found him.<\/p>\n

He had tried community college after high school, more for his mother, who was never satisfied with him.\u00a0\u00a0Never a university because he\u2019d be the first to say book smarts were beyond him, and his high school records weren\u2019t impressive.\u00a0\u00a0Still, he\u2019d had hopes that maybe he would find his niche in college.<\/p>\n

Wrong.<\/p>\n

After two years, he had known it\u2019d never work out for him.\u00a0\u00a0In the end, Nick had decided to use all the money he\u2019d been saving from working at the nearby deli and move to where the opportunity was.<\/p>\n

Not that it ever knocked or anything.<\/p>\n

He released a sigh as he watched the roads.\u00a0\u00a0It was too quiet in the truck, Nick realized.\u00a0Why hadn\u2019t he even bothered to turn on a radio after leaving the hotel earlier that morning?\u00a0\u00a0He finally did flip the switch and turned the dial, scanning for a decent station.\u00a0\u00a0He settled on one that played both current rock and older, as the song \u201cHeadstrong\u201d by Trapt filtered through the speakers.\u00a0\u00a0He banged his head to the music as he drove.\u00a0\u00a0Nick had always been a rocker at heart.\u00a0\u00a0If he\u2019d ever felt he had musical talent, he would have gone that route rather than acting.<\/p>\n

The song soon ended, and the voices of radio DJs were heard.\u00a0\u00a0\u201c…On the world front, the troops in\u00a0North Korea\u00a0are at a standstill, while\u00a0London\u00a0is held by enemy forces.\u00a0\u00a0Kim Jong-il is giving no sign of trying to talk for the treaty both\u00a0Canada\u00a0and\u00a0France\u00a0desire.\u00a0McCain says negotiation is not an option and never was…\u201d<\/p>\n

The radio quickly went off.\u00a0\u00a0Nick didn\u2019t even want to think about the wartime in which he lived.\u00a0\u00a0A third world war.\u00a0\u00a0It was something that had been coming for far too long, yet no one wanted to admit it.\u00a0\u00a0Really, it could be said that\u00a0September 11, 2001\u00a0was the catalyst for it all.\u00a0\u00a0Few said it, but many thought it.\u00a0\u00a0Still, all that ever came during the Bush Jr. terms was an invasion into\u00a0Iraq\u00a0for personal vendettas that finally ceased in 2009.\u00a0\u00a0Then came President McCain, who had snuck a victory past Barack Obama by a tiny margin of votes.<\/p>\n

That was when it happened.\u00a0\u00a0Invasions made by\u00a0North Korea,\u00a0China, and an alliance with other Middle Eastern countries into\u00a0Europe.\u00a0\u00a0China\u00a0invaded\u00a0Japan\u00a0in hopes for total control.\u00a0\u00a0All of it occurred during McCain\u2019s term, which he was close to finishing out now; the next presidential election was in November.\u00a0\u00a0Yet\u00a0America\u00a0had tried neutrality for once, having been fed up from\u00a0Iraq, Desert Storm, and even the long-past\u00a0Vietnamdays.\u00a0\u00a0Nick had been there to see what had finally shot\u00a0America\u00a0into the worst war yet…<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

July 4th, 2010<\/i><\/b><\/i><\/p>\n

The day had been festive.\u00a0\u00a0Fireworks could be heard blasting in the distance, with songs of patriotism soon following.\u00a0\u00a0Sure, there was a war, but it was outside of\u00a0<\/i>America<\/i>; for once, they weren\u2019t getting involved.<\/i><\/p>\n

Nick was spending his Fourth of July working the night shift at The Spaghetti Factory, in hopes of overtime.\u00a0\u00a0Acting in small commercials wasn\u2019t making rent, so he needed the extra padding to his side job\u2019s paycheck till he did make it.\u00a0\u00a0He was bored and flirting with a girl waiting for a blind date.\u00a0\u00a0He smirked at her; the restaurant wasn\u2019t really busy that night anyway, and the other servers could handle it.<\/i><\/p>\n

\u201cOne day, I\u2019m gonna make it,\u201d he told her, after explaining why he was stuck doing such a job.<\/i><\/p>\n

She just laughed. \u201cBig dreamer.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n

\u201cWithout dreams, life is nothing but darkness.\u00a0\u00a0Dreams are like the fireworks they\u2019re setting off outside right now.\u00a0\u00a0I\u2019m just surprised someone as pretty as you is waiting.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n

She raised a brow, glanced him over, and snickered.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cThat\u2019s the best you can do?\u00a0\u00a0I think I\u2019ll go find the friend who set this up.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0She stood and, without a second glance, headed out the door.\u00a0\u00a0Nick just shook his head.\u00a0\u00a0She just didn\u2019t see how great he was; she was blind.\u00a0\u00a0She\u2019d learn.<\/i><\/p>\n

His thoughts were paused when he heard a load roar from something that sounded like it was racing above his head.\u00a0\u00a0Before he could process that, it was followed by a series of screams coming from outside.\u00a0\u00a0Uncaring about his job, he ran out the door to see what was going on.<\/i><\/p>\n

It was the sign that horrified him first, he later realized.\u00a0\u00a0The\u00a0<\/i>Hollywood<\/i>\u00a0sign, the symbol of glitz and glamour to many, was up in flames, as well as most of downtown<\/i>Hollywood<\/i>, from what Nick could see.\u00a0\u00a0Buildings were blazing and crumbling quickly.\u00a0People ran from the chaos, and ash began to fall like a twisted rain.\u00a0\u00a0Remembering the sound he had heard before, he glanced up to see only slight glimmers of what had to be fighter jets.<\/i><\/p>\n

It was the screams of horror, the sight of\u00a0<\/i>Hollywood<\/i>\u00a0destroyed, he would never forget.<\/i><\/p>\n

That was when the war began.\u00a0\u00a0That was when his dreams began to fall apart.<\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Spunky\u2019s excited barking was what startled him out of his reverie.\u00a0\u00a0He laughed and petted the dog with a chuckle.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cExcited to have traveled the entire country, huh girl.\u00a0\u00a0I don\u2019t know if you\u2019re gonna like it in\u00a0Florida.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0He sighed once more.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cAfter I grew up, I never did.\u201d<\/p>\n

The golden retriever just licked his hand and barked cheerfully in response to the master she loved.\u00a0\u00a0He had never connected deeply with anyone.\u00a0\u00a0Never made that close friendship.\u00a0\u00a0Sure, he\u2019d had some friends growing up in\u00a0Tampa, but in\u00a0Hollywood, or\u00a0Los Angeles, people made connections, not friends.\u00a0\u00a0He had tried to do the same.\u00a0\u00a0All it had done was leave him alone, never get him anywhere.<\/p>\n

He was close, had entered the city limits of\u00a0Tampa,\u00a0Florida, finally.\u00a0\u00a0It had taken him a week to make this cross-country trip, but he\u2019d had no choice.\u00a0\u00a0He was out of money almost, unemployed, and with no glimmers of hope of the big break he\u2019d wanted so badly.\u00a0\u00a0The only choice he\u2019d had left was to pack up and move back home with his dad.\u00a0His mother was a no-go from the beginning.\u00a0\u00a0All she did was remind him of how much of a failure he was and always had been.\u00a0\u00a0The sad thing was that Nick couldn\u2019t deny any of it.\u00a0\u00a0All he could do was start over, and even if he wasn\u2019t old yet, he felt too old to have to do so.\u00a0\u00a0He knew his four siblings, three sisters and a brother, would mock him for his failure.\u00a0\u00a0Not they were close anyway.<\/p>\n

None of it was something to look forward to.<\/p>\n

He made a turn into a quieter neighborhood of middle-class homes.\u00a0\u00a0It felt almost like a death sentence, coming back there.\u00a0\u00a0Another turn was made, and in minutes, he pulled up to park in the driveway of a modest, yet cozy-looking suburban home.\u00a0\u00a0For a moment, he sat there before finally turning off the engine.\u00a0\u00a0Spunky barked and tilted her head up at him.<\/p>\n

\u201cHome sweet home, my ass,\u201d Nick told her, a bitter tone not well-disguised within his voice.<\/p>\n

He then got out of the car and walked up the steps to his childhood home, each step heavier than the last.<\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

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DECALOGUE Chapter 1 I guess a lot of people say that through every tough thing, you find more of yourself.\u00a0\u00a0I have no idea if that was true or not for me then, but it definitely is now.\u00a0\u00a0Lost isn’t the word … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":8,"menu_order":1,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"onecolumn-page.php","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/dreamers-sanctuary.com\/undead\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/24"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/dreamers-sanctuary.com\/undead\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/dreamers-sanctuary.com\/undead\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/dreamers-sanctuary.com\/undead\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/dreamers-sanctuary.com\/undead\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"http:\/\/dreamers-sanctuary.com\/undead\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/24\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":374,"href":"http:\/\/dreamers-sanctuary.com\/undead\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/24\/revisions\/374"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/dreamers-sanctuary.com\/undead\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/8"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/dreamers-sanctuary.com\/undead\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}