Marcus Slagel Marcus Slagel

Chapter One - The Neighbour Kid

KLUnK!

oW! WHAt th-? Wha's this?

BR-r-r-r-r-ING!

!!

BRR-r-r-r-r-ING!

KLUnK!

oW! WHAt th-? Wha's this?

*BR-r-r-r-r-ING!*

!!

*BRR-r-r-r-r-ING!*

?? How do you..

*BRR-r-r-r-r-ING!*

There’s a kind of lifted part on the side here. What IS this thing?

“Hello?”

!!

“Are you there? Hey, it's okay. You don't know me.”

...that isn’t comforting.

“Hello? Are you there?”

Yes.

“Hello? Oh! Right, you've got to sort of breathe out hard and shape sounds with the flappy thing in your head.”

Like this? “BLAHL WUARLA!”

“...yes. Uhm, that's good. Try a bit less breathing out. And slow down a little, one word at a time; it's not like thinking.”

“HAhh.. Hhoo.. arr eyoo?”

“You’re doing it! That’s really good! Hey, isn't this great? We're not even born yet!”

I do not trust this creature. I will learn more about it. “Who arr you??”

“Uhm, I don't really know. Mom and Dad are still arguing about that.”

Interesting. Note for later consideration: first contact with another lifeform today, lifeform has an identity crisis. Could be contagious. “Don’t call here again.”

“Look mac, have you met anyone else yet? I mean ANYONE else? Besides whatever slop your mom's dietician is making her eat, that phone is the best thing that's happened to us in our lives. Roll with it.”

Continued note: Lifeform is persuasive and has a point.

“Oh hey, dessert! I'll call you back.”

(click!)

“Hello? …hello?”

It’s gone. Was it there in the first place? Maybe I imagined it. That’s unsettling; I imagined my first conversation with another person, and they were rude to me.

Is that a bad sign? Does it mean I’m a dark personality? It’s certainly dark here. Or maybe it’s not dark and I’m just perceiving it that way. That could mean I’m dark.

Okay, what would a dark personality do right now? Lash out, probably.

Grr! Rahhh! GRRrrr!! Hnnhhh! Whack and kick and roar!

Whew! Being dark is exhausting. I don’t know if dark is for me. Good exercise, though. I will be dark again some other time. Hey, what’s this?

The klunk-ow. It’s real. So I didn’t imagine it.

*BR-r-r-r-r-ING!*

!!

*BRR-r-r-r-r-ING!*

How did I-? That’s right.

“Whattup, killah?”

Oh dear. I thought it spoke English. “What?”

“I said whassup!”

“Sorry, you’re switching too fast for me; could you just stick to the language we were speaking earlier? I understand that one.”

“Dude, it’s slang.”

“Slang?”

“Ohhhh that’s right. Mom says your family doesn’t watch TV. That’s okay, your phone has limited internet. I’ll send you some links.”

“You’re doing it again. What’s my foam?”

“Phone. You’re holding it.”

“My toes?”

“No, in your other hand.”

“The klunk-ow?”

“The what now?”

“Klunk-ow. It klunked my head and made me go ‘ow.’”

“Um, yeah, that’s it. It’s not …ah, what you said, though. It’s a phone. You should experiment with it. OW!

!! “What?! Is it a klunk-ow? Er, foam?”

“No, it’s- ow! …my mom. She nnnnff! She’s been shoving me around a bit lately.”

“That doesn’t sound right. My mom doesn’t shove me.”

“Eh, maybe you’re small.”

“That’s not nice.”

“No, I mean- OW!

(click!)

!!!

“…hello?”

… it’s gone again. And I think it’s in danger.

My first and only friend is in danger, and I can’t help!

Wait. Yes, I can. The klu- uhmmm the foam. It can let me get talked to. Can it let me start the talk?

I should let someone know what’s going on, someone on the outside who will be my contact and do what I can’t when I’m locked up in here.

Ooh, that sounded like a crime boss way of thinking. Maybe I am dark.

A great voice booms.

“A fork in the path of destiny appears briefly, and then collapses.”

The choices were:

Choice #1: Create YouTube channel, raise awareness.
Choice #2: Call police.

This chapter was just a taste. If you’re hungry for more…

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