Black Ice - Prologue

Prologue

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be something else?

An animal of some sort, keeping all the intellect that you currently possess?

With your soul intact?

Of course you have.

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         “Oh! For the love of…! Don’t they understand what the term ‘library’ implies?! ”

         The irritating conversation being held a few cubicles away from mine was driving me absolutely mad. Giggling and gossip all over the place.

         “Charming, just charming.” I thought as the culprits spilled the beans on all the topics I didn’t give a rotten fruit about.

         “OK, let’s try and focus here. Where was I? Physics…Newton…F=ma…s=0.5x -“

         “BELLS! THOSE DAMN CHURCH BELLS!”

         Every hour on the hour those dreadful things in the middle of the campus would rattle my head into a state of turmoil. Not that they were as annoying as one might think, but the fact that the church-tower was undergoing maintenance made me think the bells lost their lovely tune somewhere along the way.

         I was never the one who wanted to be in the center of attention. So, in my frustration, I banged my head on the desk, as quietly as possible.

         “This isn’t going to work.”

         I succumbed to the forces of sound, packed my bag and left. To my relief, the corridor where the elevators were located was void of people. I pressed the button and waited.

         When the doors opened, I suddenly realized that I should’ve taken the stairs.

         “Yo T, what’s happening?”

         “You got something for us?”

         Lomac and Dwayne, the only faces on campus I wished I didn’t recognize.

         “We were starting to worry about you,” Lomac said in a not-so-caring tone.

         “Yeah, right! Only one reason for that.”

         The last thing I wanted today was to get thrown into a broom-closet and strip-searched for my homework.

         “Thanks. Do you guys mind? I got to be somewhere,” I motioned for the elevator.

         “Sorry T, it’s payday and you know what that means,” Dwayne stated.

         “Hand it over.”

         My mind raced down the stairs, through the halls, out the door and over the parking lot. The only thing missing was the rest of me.

         “C’mon.”

         Before I could come up with a carefully thought out escape plan and before having my work end up in the hands of a couple of pea-brains (again), I simply did the first thing that my instincts screamed for: I made a break for it.

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         “The extent of the damage is unknown but according to school officials the…”

         “The president has ordered a full scale investigation.”

         “…from Japan to Germany to Australia. The devastation has shocked the world.”

         “Aside from the 2 victims of the incident, at least 25 students sought additional professional help.”

         “…despite a thorough search by police and volunteers, he is still unaccounted for.”