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kingvoorhees Vice Captain
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 Posted: Tue Jul 24, 2007 1:49 pm
Introdution and prolouge
It seems like a hundred years have passed since I last had a thought like this. To much has happened. I havn't had a spare moment for a long, long time. I'm writing this down in hopes that, when this all wraps up, I will be remembered. They've already started to erase me. My friends don't remember me, my house is abandoned, my belongings are gone. I look at photographs that should have me in them. I'm not there. There's no written proof that I ever existed, and there's no one to remeber me. I won't let them erase me! Never! That's why I'm writing this all down. I don't want to vanish. I'm alive! I existed! I want to just scream it at the next person I meet.
But if I do, I'm as good as dead. They're everywhere.
I can't trust anyone.
My name is Zakk.
This is my story.
The story that no one remembers
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Posted: Tue Jul 24, 2007 2:31 pm
Part I
The dreaming and remeberance It all started seven years ago. I don't remeber anything before that. My earliest memories are as follows. I was falling. Falling through infinite darkness. Above I could see a city. Tall towers, arching high into the darkness. Stone walls and wooden buildings stood along a dry harbor, filled with sailing ships, all floating on shadows and anchored on nothing. I was falling down, away from the city. As I watched, bright orange flame blossomed from the tallest tower. The structure groaned and began to topple, falling towards the rest of the city. I watched, quietly, as more explosions rippled along the streets of the city. Another tower fell, crushing a ship beneath it. The spectacle dwindled to a speck as I fell. There was no wind, no sights to see, nothing to tell that I was falling except that dying city, shrinking into nothing. It faded from sight, and all was black. I was sliding now. There was still no wind, but here it was different. Trees and dirt flew by me. I realized with a start that I was soaking wet. I was on my back in a fast flowing river, cutting straight through a forest of trees that stood taller than any of the great spires in the shadow-city. I reached out my small arms, trying futilly to grasp the bank as it shot past. Dirt burned under my fingernails, and small twigs and root pricked my fingers. I cried out in pain and confusion. Everything was flying by so quickly, it made my young stomach quesy just glancing at it. I looked ahead to see where I was going. The river stretched on as far as I could see. I could just make out the faint outlines of mountains in the distance. I felt the water growing stedily deeper as I flew on. I floundered with my arms, but it was useless. Something was weighing me down, and I was to weak to do anything about it. I let out one last cry of pain and confusion before I was lost beneath the water. I could feel that something was different. I was still wet, and still couldn't breth, but the water was different. It was no longer flowing as it used to. Instead, I could feel hundreds of currents swirling around me, flowing through the tattered shirt and grubby pants. I looked up and saw the sun, shining through that water, hundreds of feet up. I looked foreward and saw a huge construct looming out of the water. I swam towards it, hoping to find something to tell me what was going on. Now that I had time, I realized that I couldn't remeber a single thing. I felt like I should know, but didn't. It was like someone had put up curtains in my mind, covering up my past. I knew that my name was Zakk, and that I was a seven year old boy, and that I was very confused. I wore the tattered remains of fine clothing, and for some reason had two large, heavy objects strapped to my back. I also realized that I was quickly running out of air. I also realized that the water around me was changing. I turned and, to my great shock, saw the water swirling and chrning into an enormous whirlpool. I turned and grabbed the first thing that came to my small hands. It was a rug of a ladder that acended the side of the huge, waterlogged, monolith that I now recognized as a sunken submarine. Before I could think of what to do, I felt the rung begin to quiver. There was a tremendous force, pulling me back towards the whirlpool and certain death. I looked down, and was horrified to see that the bolts holding the rungs in place were coming loose. I reached up and grabbed ahold of a second rung. As I pulled myself up, the rung beneath me tore loose and shot towards the raging mass behind me. I felt my new rung quickly loosening as well, so I latched on to another, fighting desperatly to pull myself up against the horrific force of the spinning water. One by one I struggled up the rungs of the ladder. In turn, each rung was torn away and pulled with terrifing speed toward the whirlpool. I looked up despairingly at the final rung on the ladder. I grabbed ahold with one had, then moved to grab with the other. The pressure against me pulled my hand away from the rung. Only the strength of my right hand kept me from being dragged to my doom. I hung like a flag, flapping against the pressure, for what seemed an eternity. My arm was yanked from its socket, and it felt as though the bones in my arm were going tear apart. I screwed up my face in agony, letting my tears of pain add to the water around me. I couldn't breath. My lungs burned for air. My grip weakened as I opened my mouth and gulped sea water. I could feel my hand numbing, my vision fading. I could no longer see the submarine or the whirlpool. My senses dimmed, and it was impossible to tell what was going on. I still don't know weather the rung broke, I lost my grip, or I was saved by a miricle. The next thing I knew, I was hurtling through the air. I was vaugly aware of a wave crashing down on a beach beneath me. The sun was setting behind me, and the beach was lit up in the firey orange glow. I felt my body spin through the air. Behind me, hundreds of streaks of bright ligh criss-crossed the fading sun. I watched the meteor shower through half closed eyes. I must have closed them because the next sight was of three children, all standing on the shore. A girl and two boys, all about my age. I didn't feel my body hit the ground, but it must have. I lay there, my eyes closed. I welcomed the darkness that invaded my mind and vision. I could hear the voices of the youngsters around me, but it was all mindless drivle to me. All I wanted was sleep. That night, I was saved from drowning by Sora, Riku and Kairi. They say that I was washed ashore by a wave, with nothing but my tattered clothes and two swords strapped to my back. I never told them about the Shadow-city, or the river, or the submarine.
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kingvoorhees Vice Captain
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kingvoorhees Vice Captain
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Posted: Tue Jul 24, 2007 8:50 pm
Part II
A brand new life I sat back and looked out across the sea. So far, everything was going just the way I'd planned it. The mid afternoon sun stood high in the sky, the saphire blue waters stretched out as far as I could see, and the breeze played with my hair. After seven years of living on the island, I'd changed quite a bit. No longer was I the tiny, weak boy in tattered finery. My legs stretched out before me, sinewy and strong and covered by plain jeans. My feet stuck up, clowning the slim grace of my calves, but hiding my relativly thin ankles. My white tee shirt covered a somewhat scawny torso, and my hair cascaded down to my shoulders. My brown eyes roved the scene in front of me. An open book lay next to me, covered in notes and scibbles made by yours truely. I could make out the shape of some of the others, drifting around, lazy and bored. I knew better than to approach any of them. After seven years of practicing, I was still useless with a sword. Even the carved toys that we played with eluded my talent. Master Sora or Lord Riku could knock me flat without even trying. We often joked that Miss Kairi could do better than me if she tried. I smiled and stood, stretching my arms above my head. I could see Master Sora, awakened from his nap in the surf by Miss Kairi and Lord Riku. I approached in time to catch the tail end of the conversation. Riku approched Kairi teasingly. "...And you're just as lazy as he is!" She giggled. "So you noticed. Alright, we'll finish it together!" I grinned. "Don't forget about me Miss!" My friends turned. Riku nodded. "Hey Zakk. We were just gonna put the finishing touches on the raft. Did you find what we asked you?" I nodded and counted off items as I spoke. "A good pole, for the mast, eighteen feet of rope, two barrels, oars, flint and tinder, and of course bottles and writing utensils." I nodded, pleased with myself. Kairir nodded, turning to Sora. "That leaves the rest of the supplies to you. Come on, I'll race you!" Riku, having just collapsed into the sand, looked up at her. "Aw come on!" "Ready? GO!" Sora and Riku glanced at each other, then lept up and began sprinting across the beach. I lept foreward, landed on my left foot, overstepped with my right, and promptly fell flat on my face. Kairi jogged past, giggling.
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Posted: Tue Jul 31, 2007 8:15 pm
Part III
Escaping the light After scambling to my feet and following the others, I continued to run alongside them. For once I didn't fall over or collide with anyone. Riku and Sora had pulled far ahead, and I didn't feel like exerting myself to catch up to them. I instead took the same pace as Kairi and jogged alongside her. She glanced over at me and grinned. "Are you ready to go? We're leaving the day after tomorrow, so don't forget to get here early." I nodded. "Of course Miss Kairi. I'll have breakfast ready for all of you when you get here." She giggled at the formal title I'd given her. I always reffered to my friends as though they were lords or ladies. Sora was constantly telling me to stop, but I kept it up. We came up alongside Riku and Sora, each waiting for us to catch up. Riku nodded. "I think Sora can handle it from here. Zakk and I will build the raft once you get the supplies." Kairi nodded and grinned at her friends. "So no more naps on the beach. Got it?" Sora grinned sheepishly. "Alright. Sleeping next to the sea gives me weird dreams anyway." I nodded as he turned to find his share of the goods. I should explain this. It was Riku's idea. A few weeks back, we'd all been sitting around, staring at the sunset. We were all silent, lost in thought. At least, I was and so was Riku. I don't know if Sora was ever lost in thought. Riku broke the silence with a question he'd asked a hundred times before. "What do you think's out there?" Sora glanced up and looked to where his friend was pointing. "I dunno. The sun?" Riku snorted and shook his head. "That's the kind of thinking that will get you nowhere in life. I mean past the sun. Other worlds." He began walking foreward. He stopped at the edge of the of the samll islet that housed the paupu tree and tossed a small stone into the water. "We know there are other worlds out there. Kairi and Zakk weren't born here." I spoke up. "Yes, but Lord Riku-" "Shut up Zakk." "Yes sir..." I was used to these rude scilencings. Kairi often told me that I shouldn't put up with it, but I did anyway. I fell silent and Riku had to endure one of Kairi's accusitory looks. I hated when my intteruptions created tension like this, but it happened. It really didn't afect friendship in the longrun. "Anyway," Riku continued, "Of all the worlds out there, why are we on this one? Are the other ones larger? And what are we doing here?" Sora shrugged and kicked back on the paupu tree. "I dunno." Riku nodded slowly. "Exactly. I think.... What if we could visit other worlds? Get in a boat and sail until we found a new place? Leave this island and all the others behind. Maybe find Kairi's home. Or Zakk's! Or another place altogether!" His idea had seemed simple at the time. Build a raft, get food and oars and a sail, and go out to explore. Find out what else was out there. I'd agreed to the plan right away. The others came along with as much enthusiasm as Riku. We decided not to tell the other children on the island. Tidus, Wakka, and Selphie would want to come along, and they'd slow things down. I vaugly knew the three, but was never that close to them. Especially since they took pride in the fact that they could best me in a duel with hands tied behind their backs. While decideing on how large to make the raft, I spoke my mind. "The raft must be big enough for three people." Sora looked at me strangely. "Umm... Zakk? There's four of us. You, me, Riku, and Kairi. Remember?" He grinned. I didn't. "I know that. I'm not going." My friends gave me a collective look of wide eyed shock. Sora spoke first. "But Zakk.... why not?" I tried to grin, but failed. "All I'd do is slow you down. You all know that I'm worthless at everything that will be needed out there. I can't fight, I can barely swim or sail, I can't fish, I can't run...." I shrugged, trying to seem like it was no big deal. It didn't seem to work very well. It had taken me a while, but now, days later, they'd finally accepted the fact that their escape would mean me staying behind. I just couldn't shake this feeling that something was wrong
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kingvoorhees Vice Captain
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kingvoorhees Vice Captain
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Posted: Tue Sep 04, 2007 7:08 pm
Part IV
The last of the first... I shook myself out of my memories, realizing that Kairi had been talking to me through my thoughts. I grinned apologetically. "Sorry miss. I was miles away." She just smiled and giggled as usual. "It's okay. I was just reminding you who's going to have to help me with the raft tonight. Riku's booked, and Sora can't be expected to remember two whole things at the same time." I laughed with her and nodded. "Right then. You drop by any time, I'll get started as soon as I can. I think there are some barrels down in the cellar of my house. I'll check. If they're in good working order, they can house food and water for the-" "Oh stop it! You're already building the boat, and giving us those old fishing rods. We can find stuff for the food." She put on a mock pouty face. "You don't have to hold our hands. Remember?" I realized I was blushing furiously. I hadn't made hand contact with anyone since I was twelve. It had been at the Christmas party that Sora and his family were holding, and involved Kairi, Riku, myself, mistletoe, a cake, and fingernail polish. No one will ever torture that story out of me... She giggled as the color rose in my face. I sratched the back of my head sheepishly, mumbling about warnings and insufficiant towlettes. She just pused me playfully and told me to meet her by the docks around eight. I blinked and stared after her as she ran away. Such a free-spirited girl. I shook my head ruefully and headed off down the beach. She was a good friend, just like the others, but I still didn't understand why Sora and Riku had such a struggle going over her. True, it didn't tear their friendship apart, but it still made for a nasty rivalry between the boys. I could never picture myself acting that way about any girl. I had little luck courting the young women of Destiny Islands. Sora and Riku often recalled my attempts with laughter and reassuring back pats, though there was less of the latter. I'd long since just smiled and shrugged it off. The other side of the beah was looking inviting, so I headed down the shoreline to the docks. The peir stretch out into the water, conecting the dry land to the waves and out boats. The island around us was a paradise of trees, flowers, sand and sun, Several ramshackle buildings hunchned in corners or along the small mountain that cut the island in half did nothing to spoil our fun. A small two story beach shack provided shade to half the island, while an enourmous structure jutted out like a head from the opposite side. The two story shck had a small bridge connecting the main island to a much smaller one, containing a few fruit trees and the paupo tree. I stopped a moment and stared at the oddly shaped tree. It bent over the side of the islet, as if reaching for the southern half of the island. From my vantage point on the shore, I could see the star-shaped yellow fruits that hung off it, tantalizing and out of reach. Those who bothered to climb across the tree to retreave a mythic paupo fruit usualy only did it once. The legends surrounding the fruit were old and beautiful as the islands themselves. If picked and shared with a loved one, the paupo fruit had the power to intwine your destinies forever. It was done to symbolize the deepest caring between two people. I could never really wrap my mind aornd the idea of two people doing that, or even how it worked. There was so much that some called destiny that I just wrote off as coinsidence. I didn't believe that our lives were like a script, waiting to be played out. It couldn't work like that... could it? "Zakk! You gonna stand there all day, or do you wanna play some ball?" I turned around and smiled as a tan boy no older than Riku strode down the beach towards me. Wakka, as usual, was carrying a ball under one arm and had his flame orange hair tied up with a headband. He watched out for everyone on the island like a younger sibling, even Riku, and radiated the kind of mellowness that made you trust him even if you trusted no one else. I shook my head casually. "No thanks man. I don't feel like eating sand today." He rolled his eyes. "Come on, I'll go easy." I grimaced in spite of myself. It was no secret that I could play ball about as well as I fenced, which is to say, not very well at all. Alright, anyone on the island could wipe the floor with me. Big deal. "No thanks man. I have to go help the others." The laughter that usually lit up the older boys face faded slightly, replaced by concern. I winced inwardly. The raft was a secret plan of ours, mainly because the others would never approve. Plus, Sora, Riku and Kairi needed a long time together, away from the others. And I needed time to think. Wakka shook his head. "Man, I don't know what you guys are planning, but be careful. Selphie is all over the place, trying to figure it out, so that probably means it's dangerous. I told Sora already, but you and Riku are a bit more level headed, yeah?" He walked by, patting my shoulder as he did. "Try not to do anything stupid." I smiled slightly. "I've no idea what you're talking about Wakka." He rolled his eyes and continued farther down the beach. He could see through my lie like it was made of glass, but he didn't bother to dig. Unlike Selphie, he wasn't concerned with what we kept to ourselves. Thankfully, Selphie herself was nowhere in sight. Yet.
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