Story [Issue 39] Inner Truths

[Remaine 4,687]

 

Chapter 1 by @TriNitroToIuene

 

I wake up in a desolate room with an intense feeling of drowsiness; not knowing where I am or how I got here.

 

As I open my eyes, a smell reminiscent of putrid socks greets my nostrils..... they don't like it. Fingers over my nose, I glance around the place where I am accommodated. Yellow, peeling wallpaper, the walls reduced to plaster and cement, and the ceiling is in the danger of collapsing any moment. I observe that the door is solid steel, and the doorway is stained with what looks suspiciously like blood. 

 

I shake the fatigue out of my eyes and quickly check my body for signs of damage. Nothing..... nothing except a long, winding, snake-like scar running along the length of my right arm. And, judging my the stinging feeling on my arm and the blistering red hue of the wound, it's still fresh.

 

How did I get it? I wonder what had attacked me so badly that I ended up here with a filthy big cut and the feeling that I have been drugged.

 

Come to think of it, how did I get here? I rack my brains, hoping for a suitable reply from the depths of my cerebrum. But, to no avail. I delve into the nooks of my mind, fervently hoping for a memory, anything that could give me a clue of how I could escape from this room, and most importantly, who put me in this.... prison?

 

Suddenly, a splitting migraine invades my head. I let out a groan of pain and collapse on the cot, overcome with a medley of visions, some so clear I could swear my eyes were deceiving me, and some so blurred I think it's happening underwater.

 

I can see a small boy...... gamboling towards me with his hands open; I can see this crystal clear. I can hear myself laughing, but it is all but an echo, For the laugh sounds hollow even from my perspective. I can hear a distant slam.... maybe the door opening? I am getting up and answering it, and talking to a visitor in a low tone, one which I can't make out. My vision blurs........... I can hear the boy laughing, but I turn away and pick up a long, grey, angular object and point it at the boy. He stops laughing abruptly and launches himself at me. Something scratches my arm, and I can see a deep cut. I see my finger move, a bang ensues out of the silence, my world becomes red, and the boy goes limp...... 

 

I wake up from my reverie, my head still throbbing. I clutch my head with my fingers. Who was that boy? Who was the person I talked to? What had I picked up? What was the bang!? But I have a sinister feeling that it was something to do with the scar on my arm and the blood on the doorway.

 

I get up with effort. I was going to set things right. I needed to ask some questions. I went to the door, surprisingly, only to find that it was not locked. I clicked it open, and stepped out into blinding sunshine, determined to know about my past.

 

Chapter 2 by @Raredust

 

   Nobody... As the light from the scorching sun shines upon my body, I see what lies before me. It is all but an abandoned mass of land, with decaying structures. Disappointment swells inside my heart, but something else inside me is relieved. Perhaps this is because I don't want to needlessly waste my life because of innocent questions, when I may not be an innocent person.

 

     Questions... Too many questions to which I have no answers. Perhaps I have some sort of severe concussion? I open the steel door and walk back inside. I settle on the edge of the cot, and all is silent but the apparent screams of my body. I think and reason, proposing foolish conclusions that make no sense. I sigh, and allow myself to fall backward on the cot. I stare at the unappealing ceiling. Suddenly, I feel something as my hand moves over my pant leg. Once more, I brush my hand against my leg for the sake of reassurance. Something is in my pocket. Paper? A note?! I'm immediately filled with utter aspiration; I don't really know why. I sit up as my hand swiftly slips into my pocket. I twiddle my fingers, and slowly pull my hand out. Money. A lot of money.

 

     I inaudibly lecture myself. Of course! How could I be so blind? That boy gave me money for something. But what? I trust that I wouldn't sell drugs, and even more so that I wouldn't go to the extent of betrayal. But then, a man came to the door who looked somewhat similar to the boy. Perhaps his father? An uncle? But the real question is, why was I so upset? Why was the boy laughing at me? They must've tricked me. Wait... Am I even making sense right now? Ah!

 

     The gears of my brain continue to vigorously grind. One second, my past seems to be right in front of my face, and another second it seems to be miles away. The inconsistency of my brain throws mixed emotions at me. I just want answers. That's all.

 

     I catch a glimpse of something in the corner of the room; It's my gun. Without even moving, I recall the second part of my vision. Again, my brain goes to work.

 

     The boy lunged at me with a knife; my arm is the evidence. Then I tried to shoot him. But... did I fail? Why don't I remember hitting him? Why did the gunshot sound faint? The gun wasn't the biggest threat. There was something bigger. Yes...the grenade. That man launched a grenade.

 

I try to resolve additional events, but am interrupted by...metal?

 

"Ah, so you've finally awakened." A voice declares devilishly.

 

     My head darts toward the steel door to see the man with a knife. For some reason, I manage to partially excuse him, and realize a boy peering through the door. This boy looks slightly different than the other one. A third part to this conundrum?Though permeated with confusion, I try not to make my observation noticeable.

 

The man continues while shutting the door, "Please, remain seated. I still need more information from you... Let us talk, shall we?"

 

Chapter 3 by @FaaiqBilal1

 

I stared at his face, trying to recall whether or not I know him. Having no recollection of previous encounters, I deduced that we had not met each other before, but I was still not entirely convinced. He pulled a chair from outside the room and sat on it in front of me.

 

'Who are you?', I demanded.

 

'You'll find out', he replied without making eye contact. I felt as if the question had made him nervous. 'My turn, do you know who this is?', he continued with a picture of a small boy in his hand. A chill went down my spine, I recognized him, he was the boy from my memory. I nodded in answer to his question.

 

'Who was he?', I asked in a low voice, unaware of whether I killed him or not.

 

'Who was he? Who was he?! You don't even know who he was? You killed him! You are his murderer! His blood is on your hands, he was my son!' he yelled at me, now with tears flowing down his face. For a moment he looked helpless, perhaps he even gained my pity, and the next moment, his face defined anger. He wanted vengeance, for that I was sure; but to how far he would go to gain it? That was a new question in my collection of questions which immediately required to be answered for the sake of my life.

 

He pulled me up from my collar and dragged me across the room. I tried to resist, but that was of little to no avail. He was clearly much, much stronger than I was. From the room, he dragged me outside and took me to a small building not so far away. While he was dragging me, I looked around to gain any idea of where I was, apparently, we were a bit far off from civilization, so I buried any hopes of rescue.

 

'My turn', the man said in a heavy, dark voice as he produced a hammer from a nearby box and raised my hand against a sink. The room reeked of sewage and was lined by algae and tar from all sides. He brought the hammer down with great velocity and force, and just when I thought this was the end of my right hand, he missed it, and repeatedly hammered the whole sink until it was left in pieces. Powerlessly, he dropped the hammer. His eyes were full of tears, again, but this time he didn't look angry, but rather weak and helpless. He couldn't gather the strength to harm me, and neither did he know what to do. 

 

'Please get me back my son', he said while crying.

 

Chapter 4 by @BoldTanki

 

Obviously this man was a psycho, thinking that he could bring back his dead son. I started slowly backing away, looking for a way to escape.

 

The man slowly looked at me with his bloodshot eyes, "What are you doing? Why are you backing up?"

 

"Sir, you need to understand that your son is dead." I replied.

 

"NO! HE'S STILL ALIVE AND YOU ARE GOING TO FIND HIM!" He shouted with intense anger and rage.

 

My hands were clammy and shaking. What should I do? If I help this guy find his dead son it's going to be a waste of time, and I might get killed. But at the same time, I might die. Damn it.

 

"Okay, let's go find your son." I said, standing my ground at the huge man that towered above me.

 

"Good. And I'll bring this just in case." He replied. And, he went to get his hammer.

 

Good. This was my chance to run.

 

I quickly ran into the door, attempting to break it open. I tried two times, before the rusty old hinges gave out and broke off. I heard the man stomping after me. "WHERE ARE YOU GOING?!?" I squinted out in the broad daylight and looked out, the wasteland covered in a sunny and bright filter. I looked around and saw a small camp in the distance.

 

I started running after it, but after a few seconds I realized that I had not eaten for two full days, and now it was finally taking its toll on me. I could feel my heart thumping against my chest.

 

Badump. Badump.

 

At this point, I was solely relying on adrenaline to carry me across. But it wasn't enough. Sure enough, I could hear the man steadily coming closer.

 

I'm almost there, just a few more seconds...

 

My vision started to get blurry and blurrier as I continued my trek along the barren wasteland. The man was only a mere few feet away. "COME BACK HERE!" He shouted. I could see soon that there was trench over the camp, it was about 10 feet wide 10 feet deep.

 

I have to make it.

 

I felt a sudden pain in my left shoulder and knew that for sure that the man had thrown his hammer at me, but still I gathered all the strength I had and launched myself over the trench, and hit the gritty dirt with a thud. I could hear that man cursing, as he did not have the abilty to make the jump. I get up, only to collapse again. Through my last seconds of consciousness, I hear shouting and yelling, as the gate to the camp opened and a lone woman looked at me from above. Fading through consciousness and unconsciousness, I look at her and say the only words that I could manage from my bleeding mouth,

 

Help.

Edited July 29, 2017 by Hexed

[muhammad-raafay 3]

nice story!

:D

[BlueDragon_tamki 3,204]

Cool

[Hex 11,520]

Nice Article, keep it up!

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[buddersword 26]

Nice article....Appreciate the work ^_^

[Miracle_Quip 1]

Really good article. Was this a contest? I want in

[TriNitroToIuene 4,765]

Really good article. Was this a contest? I want in

This is the story which was made (and continued) by winners of the Continue the Story contest, but unfortunately, it's not open now.

[LOLKILLERTOTHEDEATH 1,921]

This is the story which was made (and continued) by winners of the Continue the Story contest, but unfortunately, it's not open now.

So tri nitro, can I participate in this contest for chapter 5, cause this does not seem like a great ending and I am on my way to a brilliant continuation.

[TriNitroToIuene 4,765]

So tri nitro, can I participate in this contest for chapter 5, cause this does not seem like a great ending and I am on my way to a brilliant continuation.

The contest has ended - if you can't see it in the Tanki Online Newspaper Section, means it's not there. Also, it's a tradition to post all the entries of CTS into one story - yep, this contest has officially ended. Sorry to disappoint ya.

[Darren4Turbo 4,913]

Fascinating story!!  :lol:

[TriNitroToIuene 4,765]

It will be, of course, look who started it four different styles beautifully combined.