Next Thread 23: The Art of Zen

[BreakABone]

It has been a long, LONG TIME, actually believe the last update was the day before I found out about my job closing down... so probably was the cause.

Anyhow, I've had this written for a while, so figured would post and maybe, that old juice would return. I have most of the story planned out, its just finding time to write.

1
He felt the rumble of the train as it drew closer to his current position. He had gone over this plan at least a dozen times in his head. Each time, his mind would create a new scenario that would paint his death in different manners.

His mind would full with fears and doubts, and then it would get eroded by thoughts of why he was doing this. He remembered how he was made an orphan at a very young age, and he knew that the man who was responsible for it was on that train.

He had attempted many times before, but always came up short. This time he could catch him by surprise and hopefully have enough evidence to put him away for life. Killing him would be too easy, and it would only help to make him a mortar. He had to destroy the persona he had built up.

The train’s roar could be heard right underneath. He steadied himself on the branch of the tree.
-_-_--_
He landed with a thud on the top of the train, and to his surprise he was alive. As he rose to his feet, he could also feel that nothing was broken. He would be sore in the morning, but he wouldn’t be a crippled.

With the revelation, he smiled a smile of relief, but that quickly vanished as he came to realize it was time to move.

He made his way slowly across the top of the train, his soles which he had embedded with large spikes to keep him from flying off, made an irritating scratching sound as he walked. Finally he made it to the edge of the car; he jumped down in between two cars and made his way into a busy room.

[Fyacin]

Kind of interesting.

[thatmariolover]

Next!

[BreakABone]

I am doing this for the first time in a long time without the aid of spell check and grammar as I oddly don't have a writing program installed on this computer. Go figure.
-----
2
Zen entered the train with a single swift motion.

His presence was greeted by several men who wanted to introduce him to their fist and feet. Zen moved with the speed of a cheetah as he dodged and evaded their attacks effortlessly.

Finally when he had thrown them off balance enough, he launched into the offensive. His foes fell to the ground before they were able to feel the punches connect to their faces.

He stood over the dropped body ready for another assault when he heard a slow, mocking pair of hands enter the room.

"Bravo! Bravo good sir." TML came strolling into the room through the rear train door. "What do you think you have accomplished by beating up on a few of my hard working employees?"

Zen's eyes burnt with a fire that would incinerate a forest. "I'm here to put you behind bars, and to shut down your organization!"

Zen's eyes almost shot out of his head when he heard TML's reaction. It started off soft and then grow louder, laughter... heart-wrenching laughter. "Put me behind bars for what? Transporting goods for the needy? Don't tell me the mighty hero doesn't support the little man?"

"Transporting goods? The only goods you transport is to sell to the misguided and desperate!"

"Look around you boy, do you see anything of the sorts!" TML rips open a bag nearby, clothes falls to the ground, "Does this look like goods they don't need? Do they not deserve clothes to keep them warm at night!"

He kicks over a box and canned food rolls along the ground, "Let me guess, you are all for starving them as well! The mighty hero only looks out for himself I see. Who have you even saved recently?"

Zen felt something bubbling up inside of him, he did not know whether it was guilt or anger, but he knew he had lost the battle for the day. He slowly walked along the train corridor until he came face to face with TML.

He said in a low, but harsh tone, "You may have other people fooled, but I am on to your game, and you will slip up. I don't know how you did it today, but I will haunt you until the day you are caught. And I pray to god that it is by my hands because you will burn for what you did."

TML attempted to put a hand on Zen's shoulder, but it was quickly brushed aside, "And trust me, I know all about your powers so try to put your hands on me again and I will break your wrists."

Zen slowly backed away before making his exit through the door in which he came in.

TML stood nervously observing the scene.
---------------------
So I hope that was enjoyable.

[BreakABone]

Not a single response... Fine!
------------

3
Zen felt defeated as he heard the train fade away in the distance. Everything was perfect, but somehow TML had stayed a step ahead of him once again.

He would return to his apartment and regroup.
----
Now Zen stood perched on the roof of a building adjacent to his apartment. As he stared into his apartment, the empty space he called a home, he could not bring himself to enter. He could see through the glass the reflection of failure. He felt the pain he had been trying to bury since he got off the train.

He had came face to face with the man who was responsible for his mother's death yet again, and once more he had returned home with nothing to show for it. Sure, he had put dozens of criminals behind bars, but this one always eluded him. He could not figure it out.

He felt the anger building up inside of him, he had to get away from here. He would clear his mind.

He turned his back to his apartment, the bare white room grew further and further as he built up speed. Then he closed his eyes, and took a leap.

The sensation was phenomenal, he had come alive again. He could feel the wind tap dancing along his face. His eyes caught glances of people, of reflections, of light, but they all blurred together into one uniform image.

He could see the ground growing larger and closer to his face. He had done this so often, he forgot just how refreshing it could be. One thing he had never forgotten was the split second timing he needed in order to not become sidewalk art.

He first grabbed the flag pole to slow his descent a bit. As his hands reached the end of it, he pushed himself forward landing on the opposite building. Now most people wouldn't believe it, but he runs down the side of the building ever so gently until he reaches a mini ledge which he uses to lower himself to the next level.

From here, he leapt down to the sign hanging over the entrance to the building, and hit the ground perfectly.

It was a rush he needed. Now he had to get the frustration out of his system.
----------
Zen now stood dwarfed by a giant non-descript building. From the outside, it appeared to be pretty rundown and beatup with only a tiny sign that hung low over the door announcing its presence, but Zen knew its true secret.

This was the only place in which he found comfort and guidance after his father then he found solace after the death of his mother. He knew that without this place his life would have been a completely different story.

Maybe it could have been better, but he knew better than that. This place allowed him to get back on track, and has kept him there for many years.

As he walked around to the back of the building, he looked up at the tiny sign that read Master Yodam's Dojo.

The Dojo taught many students from the very young to the elderly, and while they all enjoyed their time there, few of them took advantage of the perks the way Zen did. As he had discovered early on, the Dojo was never truly close to those he needed it.

So this is how he found himself at the back door on this night, he would let off some frustration in the most productive manner he could think of.

He opened the back door to enter into a pitch black room. Zen remembered when he questioned Yodam about installing a light switch by the door.

Yodam responded as he generally did with a long story in which the moral was the only answer. Zen could hardly remember the story, he had heard so many, but he remembered the moral being something along the lines of things in the dark frighten you only because you do not accept the dark.

Zen had taken away that Yodam wanted his students to be as comfortable in the dark as they were in the light. It took some bruised toes and busted ego, but it finally got to the point where Zen was able to navigate through the entire Dojo blindfolded.

A skill he was prone to show off to new recruits every now and then. Granted, he didn't really need it on this night as he had already found the light switch in the time it took him to reminiscent about his master.

He placed his fighting gloves on and went over to his favorite spot in the dojo. He found his favorite punching bag and began working it over.

As he was working on the bag, he saw flashes of people he had helped, and people he had failed. And then he saw the one face that haunted him more than his mother.

"I hate you... I hate you so much..."
-------------
Yay another part down.

[thatmariolover]

Zen needs his mommy. Do you want a blanket, too, Zen?

[Zen]

damn, i seem to be a little emo but this is good, i cheated and i still havent caught up with the story but...hey, had to read this one :P

and TML....well....screw you ho! :P

[BreakABone]

Haha this is rather start/stop, but I lost a bit of my momentum when I
realized so few people actually read it, but at the end if I have a
story to tell can only tell it and hope someone reads it.
-----
4
The hands on the clock appeared to be going backwards at this point.
They weren't moving any faster that much was for sure. Raf watched
with such focus for there were mere minutes which separated him, and
to a lesser extent, his classmates from a class-less summer.

And what a summer Raf expected it to be. His mother and father had
already told him of some of the fun getaways they were going on, and
of course there were his friends from around the neighborhood. It
would be a magnificent summer indeed.

While he looked forward to many adventures this summer, there was
still one thing that consumed his mind like no other. For in the
middle of the summer, Raf would turn 10. To think he would finally hit
double digits made him want to squeal just a little bit. The
celebration would be huge, his parents had already sent out the
invites to his closest friends.

He looked up at the clock once more, there was only 10 seconds between
him and freedom. 5 now...4...3...2...1... RING! The sweet sound of
freedom, Raf thought to himself.
-_-_-_
Time sure does move fast when you are having fun, Raf thought as he
rolled out of bed. He then realized what a cliche saying that was, but
could a thought be cliched? He was only speaking to himself as long as
he did not express it to anyone else, he felt he would be in the
clear.

That was not important right now he thought. The summer was half over,
and he had done a lot. He had visited some really nice beaches with
his parents. He even had the chance to swim with a dolphin now that
was quite the experience.

There had been a stock of great movies this summer. Sadly, Raf was
unable to see some of the more mature rated ones, but he took note. He
would try and sneak into them when he went to the theatres with his
friends.

The amusement parks had been his favorite part thus far though. As far
as his young mind could decipher, there was no greater sensation in
the world. The slow build-up as a roller coaster climbed to its
highest peak. The rush of the wind against your face as you were sent
hurtling back towards the ground. The constant ups and downs and loops
de loops, it was truly an amazing experience each and every time.

As he was fixing his hair, his eyes landed on the calender he had on
his desk, which had today circled and underlined in red, gold and
blue. Yes, the summer was half over, which made him a little sad, but
it also meant it was his birthday. The excitement for his party had
surpassed even the thrills he felt on the roller coaster.

He had not decided which would be his favorite part, the presents? The
party? No! It would be seeing all his friends again, he had missed
most of them more than he expected, and it would be great to see them
outside of school.

He left his room, and slowly descended the stairs to the first floor.
Through the banister on the stairwell, he was able to catch glimpses
of the decorations that his mother had begun to hang up.

He climbed down the stairs a bit more and through the opened door of
the kitchen, he could see the birthday cake for him resting peacefully
on the table. He was certain it was his favorite, chocolate cake. Yum
yum.

He then saw his mother underneath the steps putting up some more
decorations. Without looking up, "Happy birthday honey now go wash up
and get dressed."

How did she always know, he thought. "Thanks mom." And he turned to
head back up the stairs. Then it dawned on him that his father did not
echo his mother's sentiments, "Where's dad?"

His mother sighed just a little bit, "You know your father's thoughts
towards cake so he went out to get a birthday pie. Who has ever heard
of a pie for birthday?"

Raf laughed as he went back upstairs. He did not care if there was pie
or cake as long as it was for him.
-_-_-_-_
As Raf turned the water off in the shower, he swore he heard someone
moaning or crying or something but by the time he was out of the
shower the sound had died down so he assumed it was only in his head.

He started to get dressed in his room and played with his hair to get
a more adult look, he was 10 now so he was a big boy.

That's when he heard it. There was a soft tap upon his bedroom door.
"Come in," he said. He waited a few seconds and no one entered. He
assumed it was just his mother trying to get him to hurry up. So he
stopped messing with his hair and put on the outfit she had bought for
his party.

As he was buttoning up his shirt, he heard a soft knock on his door
again. "I'm almost ready mom, I'll be out in a second!" He shouted
back.

Then he heard it again, there was the low crying sound coming from out
his room. This time he was certain it was not in his head.

He slowly approached his door, and opened it up a crack. What he saw
frightened him just a bit, his mother was lumped on the floor across from his door. Tears raced down her face.

Raf finally knew what fear felt like, he had never seen his mother like this before. "Mom, what's wrong?"

"Get dressed..." She teared up not even seeing that he was dressed, "It's your father."
-_-_-_

That's it for now.

[Zen]

god dammit continue! nice touch on red blue and gold, and is my dad an asshole? i need to know what's going on!

[Combine 017]

god dammit continue! nice touch on red blue and gold, and is my dad an asshole? i need to know what's going on!

No your dads not an asshole. Clearly hes dead.
Should have warned him not to get a birthday pie.

[thatmariolover]

Keep going!

[BreakABone]

Danny suggested, and curious feedback on doing it on a set schedule.

Maybe posting new parts on Tues/Thurs every other week or something. Would probably make chapters looking so would split into twos instead of multiple parts.

[thatmariolover]

I'd be cool with that.

[BreakABone]

So this has been going well, hasn't it? I just don't know I have tons of ideas of where the story is going, but lack the will to write it all down, I shall try my best once again.
-_-__-_-
5
Raf and his other barely uttered a sound as they made the never-ending ride back to their house. Not even the summer classics on the radio did much to lift the spirits. Raf’s mother pulled into the dark driveway of their house. Neither one of them wanted to make the first move, once they entered the house it would all but be official.

Finally as if a silent agreement between the two, they both sighed and opened their car door to go out into the world. The air smelled different. The grass appeared darker. The wind harsher than ever before. Everything seemed to have taken on a sinister feeling.

The reached for the handle of the door together and opened it. They were neither shocked nor content with what they saw, but what was it that they expected. The house was just as they left those brief hours ago. The birthday decorations danced in the slight summer breeze as they opened the door to the house. It reminded them of happier times.

It did not take long before they found some memento, some artifact, something that reminded them both of him. In the corner behind the doorway rested his favorite slippers. They remembered fondly how he always enjoyed slipping into them after a long day of work. When he was in the house, those shoes hardly ever came off. He probably removed them just before he left for the… Raf could not bring himself to finish that thought.

His mother signaled him over to the kitchen where she warmed up some of the food she had laid out for the birthday party. Raf sat across from his mother just staring at the food. Although, he had not eaten all day, it proved surprisingly difficult for him to find an appetite now. As he peaked up, he could see that his mother was having just as much luck in eating her food.

Raf pushed his food away and got up from the table. Generally, his mother would scold him for wasting food, but she muttered not a sound as he raced upstairs. He passed by his parents’ room. Once, twice and a third time. On the third time, he finally stopped in the doorway and saw the king size bed. It would be of little use from now on he thought.

He hadn’t done it since he became a big boy all those years ago, but he found himself cuddling up in his parents’ bed. Embracing his father’s pillow, and for the first time, the tears began to flow. “Why dad, why?”
-_-_-_
Raf’s mother watched from a distance as the stress of his father’s loss took its toll. She could sense a gulf forming between the two of them, but whatever efforts she made to reconnect were met with indifference.

She also watched as he kept all his friends, new and old, at arm’s length. It appeared that he would allow no one else to get close with him. She offered him therapy, but he declined, and she really had no basis to send him. He kept his grades and he was still social. He just kept his friends from getting too close.

She remembered the look in his eyes when she told him she was going out to become a police officer. She knew it would be tough for him to accept, but the look he gave almost tore her up inside and had her double thinking her decision. But she had to do it, she wanted to honor her husband’s memory. She wanted to make sure that the people in the world had protection so what happened to her would not happen to anyone else.

Granted, she knew she could not do it on her own, but as long as she gave the effort she expected the best.

While working on the force, something else happened, something she had never anticipated, she started to have feelings for a man who was not her late husband. She felt as if she was betraying his memory by having these feelings… that was until her husband came to her in a dream… or she thought he came to her in her dreams… and gave her his blessings.
-_-_-_-_
She had been seeing David for almost three months now, and felt it was time to finally tell Raf. She had set up a pre-birthday dinner for the three of them so that he wouldn’t have to deal with the shock on his birthday.

Before the dinner though, an emergency call came into the station. This was the big one. For months, they had been working on a sting to break up a local drug making organization, and it seemed like they had gotten a lead to break up a vital part of the food chain.

Every cop who was not pursuing a case was called in for the situation. Raf’s mother and David were assigned as the front man group to get a feel.

They would make this bust and then go out to dinner.
-_-_-_-_
Raf stared at the ceiling in his room. His face showing a great deal of pain as he fought back tears. It was the second time, he had been told of a parent’s death on his birthday. What cruel and twisted god did he offend?
--_-_--

[Zen]

what the hell.... talk about shitty birthdays....damn....
awesome read though :P

[Teuthida]

^ My thoughts exactly. That's enough to make someone go all Peter Pan and stop aging.

[BreakABone]

Hey, it was just bad timing.

So I had some time and motivation, and finished off this chapter.

-_---_-
6
“Hate is such a strong word,” Zen had not noticed master behind him.

He bowed, “Master, I did not mean to disturb you…”

Yodam cut him off before he could finish, “You nor any of my students have ever disturbed me. As I’ve said since day one, this is all of your homes if you need it to be.” Zen wore a weak grin on his face. “Though I am curious, I have not seen you here in a long time, what brings you here tonight with such passion?”

“I had him… I would have finally… but he is always one step ahead… one…” Zen refused to relive the events of the day in his head.

Yodam could sense that this story was troubling, but he was more frightened to learn that after all his years of training that Zen still had vengeance on his mind. “Zen I realize what this man means to you… I realize what he did to your family, but at some point you must make peace with it to live a normal life…”

The words “normal life” lit a fire in Zen’s eyes that Yodam hadn’t seen before. It sent shivers down his back. “A normal life… a normal life you say…. I lost my dad on my 10th birthday, all because he wanted to get birthday pie… why couldn’t he just have the cake… then a few years later… my mom is taken away from me… on the eve of my birthday… and I have to find out on her death that she was cheating on my father! What part of this would make anyone a normal person… how do you expect me to live a normal life!”

After Zen’s rant, Yodam just stood in silence not because he had nothing to say, but he wanted to give his pupil time to digest what he just said. After the fire dimmed in Zen’s eyes, Yodam offered to make some tea so they could talk in a more reasonable manner.

“Thank you master… I’m sorry for that outburst… its just being so close… so close!”

Yodam lowered his head and began to speak in a soft tone, “Listen, I can not begin to understand what you have gone through or what you are going through, but I can tell you that it is eating at your soul, and if you pursue it more you will finally cross over to a place where I can not rescue you from.”

Zen let the words sink in before he formulated his response, but when he went to open his mouth, Yodam raised his finger to his lips and motioned for him to hush.

Speaking at a level that was barely above a whisper, Yodam relayed a message, “I sense a presence in this room… one I have never felt before. It is full of dark and evil energy, and…”

Before Yodam’s words were finished, the roof of the building sparked with the dance of a wild fire.

Zen grabbed his master, “Are there anymore students in here?”

“No, no one else is here tonight except for our strange visitor, but he is not responsible for this.”

Yodam’s words baffled Zen of course he was responsible for this, his master discovers his whereabouts and then the roof was on fire, it was no mere coincidence.

Zen burst through the front door with his master in tow, “Now to get as far…”

“I really wish you could leave, but I think we are going to need your help.”

Zen turned to find two mysterious figures behind him. “Who are you?”

“We’ll have team for introductions later; right now our concern is that.” One of the figures pointed to a man who’s skin appeared to be set on permanent fire.
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Let''s see how long it takes for the next part to start.