《Madness》 Intro Ever since I was a child I have felt different from other people. Now I don''t mean like the typical superhero or anything lame. I meant that I was able to see things others could not. If I brought this up to an adult they would say it was make believe or in my head. I suppose they were correct. Sort of. It started when I was just a child and hardly able to figure out what I was seeing. When my mind was only just being able to recognise things. It came first in the the form of after images. When I would wave a hand before my eyes it would seem to almost lag. Where three or four hands would follow my own. So begins my story. My decent into madness one might say.This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. Chapter 1 The first signs came when I was only nine years old. Many have said, doctors included, that mental illness effects everyone differently to some degree. For me it began with seeing my hand move and other hands seemed to follow. Like a slow field of time that created after-images. I would be hard pressed to describe just what went through the mind of a nine year old by during such an even. But we shall move on. I woke up that day just as if it was any other. "Mom? Can I ask you anything about the slowness of my hand? It seems to be making brothers follow him around when I wave." Mother looked down at me and made a face of nonsense. "Luke stop playing. This is much too early for your make believe. I have a busy day today and do not bother your father. Do you hear me?" She was in her adult voice mode. This usually meant it was best not to argue. With a sigh I nod and moved to be out of the way. Why was it parents never would believe their kids in matters such as these. Doing as all children did at the time, i decided to ignore it for the time being. The next few weeks was much the same. I would play with my friends when I would notice something new or strange. A box would appear to tell me something in me had changed.
Level up! You have gained one point in Strength and Dexterity.
I must say it was a bit of an odd thing to see. Off handedly I would mention to a friend how i had leveled and they would tell me it was crazy. Like a video game. I have never been allowed to play any games or watch television. My mother always told me they would rot my mind. I had never thought about it at the time but I was sure if they were like this, I would rather enjoy them. My next level up happened when I was in a fight with a bully that was picking on a kid who was often alone. It made me angry. I had never felt that way before. That anger. The red anger of someone who just did not care. I moved without thinking and struck blindly. Pain exploded in my hand and I though I might have broken something. It stumbled the bully.
Target Stunned for 1 second Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
The bully shook his head and his eyes looked unfocused. I rushed in again and continued the fight. New windows would pop up at times.
2hp damage given
3hp damage sustained
Critical hit 5hp sustained.
Stunned.
Just before it could continue a teacher stepped in and stopped us. We were given detention but I leveled up again and now I was level 3. But this time I was given stat points.
Character sheet unlocked Think Character Sheet to open and gain access to skill and ability points.
I did not hesitate to open my character sheet. I was very curious as to what would happen.
Name: Luke Age: 9 Gender: Male Stats Str: 11. Dex: 11 Con: 10. Int: 10 Wis: 10. Cha: 10 Abilities Traits Schizophrenia
This was a little underwhelming. "Hey I am smarter than average!" I let this outburst occur in the middle of class, much to the amusement of the other students. The teacher was not amused. Some made a few snide comments that I was not as smart as I thought. From then on whispers would follow me around. People talking about how weird I was. Many would be warned off from talking to me or being my friend. It was lonely. Every day I would move through school like a leper. An outcast. But it wouldn''t always be that way. People were just afraid of things they didnt understand. This was what my mother always said. Nobody understood me was all. So i kept my head down. I studied hard. My wisdom and intelligence slowly grew each day. Once in a while my strength and dex did as well. Once or twice was my con when I got into a fight. But charisma, well it would bounce. Up one day. Down another. It seemed the downs came with the fighting. It made me stronger but people liked me less. What was a boy to do? Maybe I should focus on what increased. That sounded like a good and safe plan. But plans never stayed safe for long. Human nature was to always ruin plans. In this case it may not have been the worse thing ever. Chapter 2 When I was in the 9th grade I made a few new friends. They were good people to have around. They always pretended that the boxes I told them about were real. It was nice, even if it was a lie. We would team up in class projects, play games together, hang out or walk home together. If felt so good to not be alone. While walking home one day we found something rather amazing. Down a side alley there was, well let me start from the beginning. Michael and Caleb were brothers that had moved in down the road from home where a new house had been built in an old lot. It was a nice enough place but I never felt i wanted to go to their house and they never offered. It was the end of summer and the new school year was just about to start. Michael was the older of the two with brown shaggy hair and brown eyes. He was slightly taller than I was and I stood at 5''6 so he must have been maybe 5''7 or 8. I was never good with guessing. Caleb on the other hand was short. He was only 4''3 and built like a bull. Shoulders wide and stocky, mom would say. He had blonde hair but his eyes were mismatched. The right eye was blue and the left green. It was really cool. I had decided to check out their stats to see how they were different from me.
Name: Michael Age: 15 Gender: male Stats Str: 16. Dex: 19 Con: 14. Int: 13 Wis: 14 Cha: 20 Abilities Silver tongue
Name: Caleb Age: 14 Gender: MaleUnauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. Stats Str: 18 Dex: 14 Con: 20 Int: 13 Wis: 12 Cha: 10 Abilities Sturdy Toughness Traits Heterochromia iridum
That is interesting. I think the trait had to do with his eyes. His brother didn''t have a trait list. The three of us grew to be inseperable. We did everything together. My mom would make us snacks when we were hungry. Or drinks when thirsty though. Often I would accidently hog it all, but they did not mind. Often now I thought those days were by far the best days. Friends. Real and true friends that were as close as brothers to me. They were my blood as sure as anything else. My family. At school people made fun of us. They called us names and picked fights with us. I hated it. They can say what they wanted about me but they needed to leave my friends alone. Those days made a record in the amount of fights I was in. It was a miracle I wasn''t suspended or worse. "Hey Luke, I think we found something totally interesting you really need to see." Caleb was in a good mood and a huge grin broke his face in two. The younger of the brothers had a nasty habit of getting people, namely us, in trouble. "Alright then. Lead the way. Can''t be as bad as your last idea. What is it this time?" "We are going to be fighting a troll." I paused a moment as they laughed. "Oh man the look on your face." I turned red and socked him in the arm. "Ok but really. We found a troll. And a few goblins. We really need to take care of them." Michael noded his head. Man of few words he may be, but when he spoke it was best you listened. It was close to 7pm when we arrived in the shadier part of town. Looking around I admit I was much more than afraid. "This isn''t funny man." They smiled and moved around a building to a gate. It was a chain link and looked to be a closed business. Maybe a warehouse. Caleb pulled out a hammer from his backpack. A small thing that workmen used. Michael pulled two knives and handed one to me.
Knife recieved Knife is a weak weapon of slashing and piercing. Target takes 2+ Str for damage
I was shocked. "What am I supposed to do with this!?" My voice was a sharp hiss as I didn''t want to be seen. "Fight of course." Caleb grinned and then the strange happened. Caleb spoke some strange words and his hammer grew larger. "Now we are talking." They rushed ahead and I followed from fear. We moved slowly around the warehiuse and entered through a hole in the wall. The place was a mess. Broken boxes everywhere. In the center of the building was a single troll and three goblins. Michael moved silently as he moved deeper. He circled around the mobs and waited for us. Caleb moved ahead and shouted. "Hey there uglies!" He laughed and the goblins chittered. The troll growled and yelled something at the goblins that made them run at us. Chapter 3 The fight was fast from the getgo. Goblins charged our way and they were vicious. They used their sharp claws to attack us and it was amazing to see the brothers fight. Calebs hammer swished with speed as he brought it around onto a goblins head. The creature buckled and another took its place. Michael weaved and ducked attacks with grace. The troll looking to take his head off. It roared as they fought and I felt useless. Taking a breath I took a step and charged. My knife dancing in the dim light as the Troll bellowed and the goblins shrieked. There was a moment as the three of us stood a few paces from the monsters. Our eyes meeting theres and just taking their messure. It took time to take out the goblins, the troll needing us to work together to fight. Michael did his best to slip arroun the Troll to keep it busy as Caleb and I fought the goblins to make numbers in our favor. From then on it felt like I was in some kind of movie. Caleb and Michael flowed around the troll while I struck where I could. It was as if they were born for this. The fight felt like it lasted hours. By the end we took the creatures down but we were spent. Our bodies hurt and tired. Blood from the troll stained my shirt and I sighed. I knew my mother would not like this. The other two had smiles on their faces as we collected ourselves and headed back home. Half way there the two brothers split off to head to their own homes. I sighed, but deep inside I felt content. I felt like for the first time I did what I was meant to do.This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. Too bad when I arrived home that was not the celebration I was given. The moment I walked through the doors and my mother caught sight of me she screamed. I watched her confused. She was hysterical. "Why are you covered in blood? What have you done? Whoes blood is that?" Her voice kept going like nothing would stop it. I sighed again. "Its nothing mom. Me and my friends just fought some monsters." My mom broke. My dad had to come home early to handle, well me. I was grounded and Cops were called. They were afraid I did something terrible. The officers talked to me abd asked me about my adventures. They wanted to know the monsters I killed, so I told them. I did not hide anything. How my friends and I would have adventures but this was the first one fighting monsters. They were silent and seemed troubled. I was confused. The next thing I knew handcuffs were placed on me and I was walked to the cop car. Mom was not better. Dad was grim but silent. I was very scared. I spent a few days in a local lockup. Kept there till more information could be found. A lawyer came to talk to me. He asked me questiona about my friends and the monsters. He even asked me about the boxes. I talked to him. Told him it was all a mistake. Told him to ask Michael and Caleb. "They will tell you all about the monsters." My lawyer looked at me and nodded. Then he left. A new box popped up from time to time. Telling me my status as "Imprisoned". This was not right. Weeks passed. Then months. I was given food each day and able to spend my time how I wanted. A small tv was in the room my cell occupied and on it was news. But what really caught my attention was the warehouse and the dead body. "For those of you just tuning in a body of a homeless man was found in an abandoned warehouse. The perpetrator of this crime was none other than a twelve year old boy by the name of Luke."A picture of me was flashed onto the screen. My mouth went dry and I felt sick. Something was very very wrong. I put my head in my hands and fornthe rest of the night I remained on my bed and cried.