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Breaking the Cycle
Chapter One

Note: writing such as this (indicates subconscious thoughts) while writing like this ‘indicate conscious thoughts'.

The Park

Alex placed both arms behind his back, clasping his hands together.  With legs slightly spread shoulder with apart, he takes a slow inhale and stares at the figure in front of him.  He chuckles silently to himself as he compares how Strider looked for the many years that they have known each other and how he currently looks.  The shoulders are less bowed with the weight of many sins that he had carried for most of that time period.  His hair was again back to the it’s original hue, the shade of a moonless night tinted with tones of the deepest ocean, the same shade of his eyes.  They didn’t change to the color of amber until after the curse had befallen him, or would have befallen him later, depending on how one wishes to contemplate the complexities of time and space. The many scars that had lined the careworn face of the future were smoothed back into the blush of youth, yet his eyes now glinted with wisdom gleaned from many lifetimes crammed into ten short years that consisted of his past experiences.

Alex sighs.  Then again, all of us have changes so in this past decade.  His emerald eyes focus completely onto Strider’s blue orbs as he takes in another long, slow breath.  “I think it’s time we cover the ground rules of this life, don’t you think?”  Strider nods slowly and crosses his arms in front of him, leaning against the nearby dumpster with one knee bent.  “This place where we currently are does not exist in space or time as you know it.  Our bodies are currently asleep, and will remain so until we chose to re-enter the minds of our younger selves.”  Strider’s brow lowers slightly as he frowns.  “What?  I don’t feel asleep.  Younger selves? But I’m me…” he sighs and rubs his forehead. “My brain hurts.”

Alex quirks one side of his mouth and raises a brow.  “Let me explain.  We, as we exist right now occupy the subconscious of our younger selves.  We are, for a lack of a better term their conscience, their intuition, and to put it bluntly their common sense. At this time of our lives, they certainly needed it!” Alex chuckles, his chest shaking in mirth as Strider rolls his eyes. Strider grips his chin with his left hand, his eyes lost in thought. “Hmmm, so you’re saying that we are figments of our imagination?”  His eyes light up in sudden comprehension.  “They are in charge of our bodies?  Oh shit!”  Strider shakes his head slowly back and forth and laughs.  “I am Not going through that run away and chase after her bullshit again!” Strider starts to pace back and forth rapidly as his left hand points a finger accusingly at Alex. “Ten years I played ‘Catch me if you can’, got shot in the head, was turned into a bloody leech, turned her into a bloody leech, left my world countless times, lost my family, killed thousands of people, lost my soul, lost what was left of my sanity, was tortured too many times to count, and stabbed myself with my own weapon to end my pathetic life, and I will be Damned if I will go through all of that again!” Strider fumes as he crosses his arms again and kicks the dumpster behind him.

Alex manages to grin a little wider and raises a brow higher as he watched this tirade. “Wow, you managed to say all that without taking in a breath even once. I’m impressed.  Would you like a little cheese with that fine vintage of wine?  That is Exactly why I was sent to fetch you.  You have been a very bad boy Mikey…” Alex shakes his head back and forth slightly and tsks slow and loud.  “To put it mildly, you fucked up, and your reality paid the price.  You fell, and your worlds fell with you. The powers that be did not go to all the trouble just so you could screw yourself over so badly, not to mention everyone else that shares their reality with yours!”

Alex slowly raises his head, popping his neck as Strider flashes an obscene gesture.  “You see, everyone you interact with is effected and effects each other.  We all make mistakes. That’s life.  This is how we learn from our mistakes, by choosing to do something else.” Alex motions with his palms upturned from his chest to his waist towards Strider. Strider rubs his forehead again and sighs. “Ouch.  I think I just lost some brain cells. Just how do we change our mistakes when our young and dumb selves are behind the wheel?” Alex slowly grins and crosses his arms in front of himself.  “You influence his thoughts and feelings.  If he learns enough to trust his intuition, then you can take charge. The hard part his getting yourself to let go enough for this to happen. As I recall, we both had thick heads then.” He chuckles.  “When we sleep, we meet here to decide what should be done next.”  Alex straightens up and gestures towards the end of the alleyway with a flourish. “It’s time to awaken ourselves and be on our way towards the park.” Alex fades from sight and Strider opens his eyes with a start, sitting up rapidly as sweat covers his body.

He blinks rapidly as the dream fades to obscurity.  ‘Man’ he thinks  ‘I really need to cut back on the paranoia.’ He slowly stands up and stretches, each vertebrae sliding into place.  The trash barrel fire had long since burned down to ashes as the gray light tried in vain to cut through the gloom of the alleyway. Lighting a cigarette, the ember at the end casting his features into a contrast of planes and shadows, he slowly brushes the dirt off the tattered red and white checkered flannel and faded blue jeans, making them only ‘I just crawled through lots of chimneys face first’ dirty instead of ‘I crawled through the chimneys face first twice’ dirty.
Taking a deep drag off of the cancer stick, ‘fuck it, I’m gonna die anyway so I might as well do it by my choice’, he thinks to himself as he walks slowly towards the alleyway’s entrance; the echoes ringing out dully.

A thick fog covered all within sight, blurring the hard edges and planes of the buildings surrounding the area. ‘Where shall I go to today? (This way…) he thinks to himself as his eyes take in the gray landscape.  He randomly picks a direction and starts walking, his footsteps sounding dull and lifeless. (No! the other direction! That way…) He shakes his head and turns around to walk the opposite direction. (There ya go! That’s a good puppy. ) Shapes loom out of the fog, appearing from nowhere as others vanish just as quickly from sight. The world around him lacks sound, giving the impression of no one else existing but him and him alone. The brick pillars of the park suddenly loom in front of him as he steps into the intersection. ‘Hmm, where is everybody?’ (they’re gone, be on guard…) he thinks to himself as the hairs on the back of his neck slowly stand on end. A shiver races up from the bottom of his spine. His eyes narrow slightly as his body slightly tenses.  His footsteps take on an otherworldly aspect as he crosses the street [click…click…click].  ‘There’s no sounds of life…’ as the hair on the back of his neck tries to rise more. “What in the hell?” he mutters under his breath as he passes through the archway into the park, pins and needles sweeping his body as he crosses the threshold. A hulking shadow suddenly appears from out of the fog in front of him.  He takes a slow breath as the tension releases slowly from his body.

A youngish man materializes from the shadow, his boyish face grinning from ear to ear as he stands proudly in front of Strider, his brown eyes twinkling with mirth. The mankind smiley face black shirt, cut off shorts rippling in the slight breeze (‘where did the breeze come from?’), untied worn work boots, and the ballcap worn backwards upon his head set Strider at ease. ‘He is no threat. (*laughter* say that out loud.  You sure took your sweet ass time lunchbox!)’ Strider thinks to himself and snorts.  The individual stood a whooping five foot six to Striders six-foot frame.  The man laughs and grabs the cigarette behind his left ear, the brown hair poking out from under the hat.  “Got a light? No, wait…” he pats his pockets until he takes out a portable propane torch (‘where in the world did he get that?’) and hits the ignition button.  Strider jumps back a foot as a two- foot flame shoots out from the torch.  The man chuckles as he lights the cigarette. “You must be Kain.  At least for your sake, you better be.” The words were lightly muffled as he talked around the butt of the cigarette and shrugs slightly. “Ya sure took your sweet ass time getting here kid. (Blow me fat boy!) ‘Blow me fat boy!’ Strider thinks to himself as he stares at the twenty looking calling the twenty five tear old standing in front of him boy.

Strider inclines his head slightly. “Michael Kain.  You are?”  The boy grins impishly and tilts his head slightly to the left.  “You can call me Kanoogal.  The others are waiting on your slow ass, and you best remember not to keep pops waiting.” He jerks his head back quickly.  “Let’s go numb nuts.”

Strider’s face remains passive as he slowly walks towards the heart of the park. ‘Dick’ he thinks to himself (Dick!).