Board Thread:Writer's Workshop/@comment-24686524-20140315101350

 The Great Fairy

 Chapter 1

 The Redland Apartments had been vacant for decades. The land where they stood was once the center of Kell, Oregon. The area had lost it’s popularity further back than anyone could remember, reduced to slums, and was by now completely forgotten by the citizens of Kell, as the land itself was at this point not visible from any main road.

 Twenty years back, the land was purchased, the squatters were sent packing and the remaining residents were bought out. The buildings were demolished. All except Redland, of course. The intention was to put in a tightly packed neighborhood, but plans fell through, and the land was forgotten. As the years passed it became a flat-field of weeds and overgrown grass, as it had been for a very long time. The only difference was it now had Redland protruding from it’s unshaven face.

 The weeds and wallflowers had slowed their rate of growth, as they already took up a majority of the Redland property. Dandelions and crabgrass sprouted from the dirt found in the wide cracks of ground level rooms’ floors, where the carpet and wooden planks had been ripped up since Redland’s permanent vacancy, and sent out their spider-webs of roots and offspring-growths throughout the room. Some rooms were so populated with plant life, that the roots would try to stretch through and intertwine with the carpet surrounding the dirt filled cracks, or climb up the walls, which rejected these weeds as they were as occupied as the floor below them.

 The higher level rooms were still in decent condition, at least when compared to rooms below. Yes, their windows were broken, and carpets urine-stained ( allegedly urine stained). The mattresses that remained could be found with large, gaping holes, exposing springs and dripping with insects, or drenched with grease and bile of unknown origin. The second often accompanied the first. Toilets were shattered, and only the dried, caked remnants of homeless shit remained. The smell had dissipated years before, subdued by time. At least the smell which surrounded that specific circumstance. An abundance of pungent odors still stewed behind the doors of certain rooms, ready to backdraft into the nostrils of any curious wanderer. Specifically Ted Routhe.

 He had been on his way walking home when he first came across the building. These beaten down apartments that he had never really noticed before. He had seen Redland perhaps thousands of times, as he passed them each time he walked home, but he had never taken any time to truly appreciate their absolute emptiness. He had never been close enough to see how many windows were broken, and how many doors had been thrown off their hinges.

 Ted made his way towards the building, and found the outer chain link fence was unbarbed, and jumpable. He took a few steps back, and looked at the fence. I’ll hop it. I’ll jump right over the fucker. All upper body. Legs are light as a feather, they’ll swing right over. He took a few breaths, sprinted towards the fence, grabbed the top with his hands, and jumped. “ Shit ,” Ted uttered as his arms vertically locked in place. He stuck the tip of his right foot through the chain link. It slipped at first, dropped down a level, and stuck.

 When he found himself at the top of the fence, he jumped down to the grass on the other side. The drop was ended in a somersault, and Ted landed on his feet. A small victory over a small fence. Even smaller, having immediately followed a much more important failure. Ted resentfully kicked the fence, and turned back towards the building.

 He found himself standing in the building’s grassy yard, in the midst of weeds and rough, straw like grass overgrown up to his knees from neglect. About twenty yards from where Ted stood was an opening to the complex, a brick archway leaking light through small, shattered windows of thick iron doors into the darkness that Redland had become. Leading to the opening was a paved path, as cracked and beaten as the building it led to. And of course, on the other side of the path was a gate to the other side of the fence. Locked, but with a chain wide enough for all but the largest of men to fit through.

 Ted stood in awe of the building as he turned towards it. The outer wall was an almost impenetrable fortress of red brick, many of which were missing, or had been turned to dust which piled against the perimeter walls. The only entrance he saw were those thick iron doors, chained tightly and fixed with a padlock. Ted made his way toward the entrance, each step slow and deliberate. Half-way down the path he tripped over part of the paved path which had shifted up, and barely caught himself before he hit the ground.

 Kindergarten crossed Ted’s mind as his attention was turned to his bleeding palms. Specifically monkey bars, and how he used to spend every recess going back and forth on them until his hands were raw. He hadn’t experienced a road-scrape for years, and back when he used to get one about once a week, it had always been on his knees.

 The scrapes in his palms were deep enough to drip blood. Small chunks of broken glass protruded from his hand. After about five minutes of looking back and forth from the building to the gate, he decided to call it for the day. He promised himself he’d come back at the next opportunity, and bring bolt-cutters with him.

 As the last bit of the building disappeared from Ted’s peripherals, he faced west, towards the setting sun. Part of him knew he could turn back, but I don’t think anything could have convinced him. It won’t be there. It’ll be there if I come back, but if I turn now, it’ll be gone, the whole fucking building. No brick-dust, no broken glass, no weeds or fence. The foundation will turn to dirt and wildgrass. Maybe a tree will be there, some big oak, but the building will be gone. My hands won’t be bleeding anymore, but at what cost? No, another time, for sure.

 The building stayed as it had stayed for years. Dormant, shut, chained, padlocked. Broken windows and ceiling rafters visible through the roof. The bricks stayed, and the dust was unturned. Shattered glass stayed frozen in place like ice on the road. A derelict snapshot stained by a boys bleeding hands.

 Chapter 2

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"> Ted came back two weeks later. He had never had a reason to cross paths with the building within those weeks (Harry Garner, Sarah Garner, and Keith Fughal were all out of town. A vacation to Florida with Mr. Garner.) and for some reason he felt if he went there with no other purpose other than to go there, there would no Redland to greet him upon his arrival. So he stayed at home, watching the days go by, waiting for a call from any of his friends.

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"> Two weeks after Ted’s first visit, on the first day of July, Keith made that call. Ted was sitting on his bed, sloppily flipping a butterfly knife, when he heard his cell ring. He saw it was Keith, and decided not to pick up. He had missed his friends while they were gone, but didn’t want to give up his careless image of never answering his phone. He’d let it ring out, wait twenty minutes, and text back, “What.” Period.

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"> Then he remembered Redland. He snatched up his phone, and answered it.

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"> “Hello?” “Dude, shit-and-rice, you actually answered.”

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"> “Hello.”

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;text-indent:36pt;"> Keith laughed. “Fucking nihilist..."

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;text-indent:36pt;"> "''Nihilist?" ''Ted thought.

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;text-indent:36pt;"> "We’re back in town today, meet us in the Woods.”

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"> Ted always liked his conversations with Keith. With Keith it was always very blunt, (“ hello, goodbye, click, fuckyalater”) and that had earned Ted’s respect. He was starting to gain respect for Harry and Sarah, too.

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;text-indent:36pt;"> It had just been Ted and Keith for years, but in eighth grade, the Garners moved into Kell. At first Ted saw them as cliche rich snobs. Always asking how you’ve been, what your favorite color is, how many shit’s you take in a day. But Ted and Keith had grown on the Garners, who now gave just about as few fucks as them.

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;text-indent:36pt;"> At first, Keith and Ted only cozied up to them because of their house. It was huge, and about an hour long walk from the edge of town, where Ted lives. An hour long walk to someone following all the main roads, which Ted didn’t. He usually walked through tall grass for about thirty-five minutes before the Garners’ Woods came into view.

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;text-indent:36pt;"> Keith called at noon, and Ted left immediately. He arrived at the Garner’s Woods around two o’clock.

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;text-indent:36pt;"> Ted grabbed his dad’s bolt cutters from the garage as he left. He held them casually to his side, trying not to look suspicious. Everyone in town knew Ted collected knives, and suspected other things that were never proven. The dog’s body was found near in one of his neighbors garbage can’s, and everybody immediately pointed fingers at Ted. Truth is, yes, he put it in there, but he didn’t kill it.

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;text-indent:36pt;"> He found it that way. There was no way he could just leave it in the street for all the kids to see. It was better the owner thought it ran away. At least, Ted believed so. The garbage would be picked up the next day, and that would have been the end of it. Another lost dog, hopefully a run-away, still alive, little kids get to stay little a little while longer. That’s what Ted had told anyone who asked, but few listened.

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;text-indent:36pt;"> All the adults knew Ted was innocent, but a wildfire of rumors spread amongst the teenagers of Kell, and they all steered clear of him. Except for Harry, Sarah, and Keith, of course. Ted the Dogkiller. There was an unspoken but almost unanimous agreement that it had a nice ring to it, (so it must be true). It caught on quickly.

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;text-indent:36pt;"> It was best that Ted attracted as little attention as possible. So, he casually walked towards the edge of town, swinging the bolt cutters from hand to hand. The best case scenario would be that anyone who saw him would mistake him for a grown man walking to work. Of course, nobody would. They all knew his face.

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;text-indent:36pt;"> If anybody did see him, they chose not to involve themselves in whatever he was up to. Ted imagine that if anyone had seen him, and if he had one of his knives in his hand instead of a pair of bolt cutters, they would have looked around for witnesses to make sure they were safe, and then yelled “DOGKILLER’S GOT A KNIFE!” keeping their distance, of course. He would look at them, tilt his head, and they’d run. The rest of the day they would consider themselves a hero, thinking their yell had scared off Ted’s victim. Ted used to love playing with his knives in public. Spinning them, doing tricks. Little kids loved it, too. Nowadays, he had to keep them hidden at all times, unless he was in the Woods.

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;text-indent:36pt;"> Ted walked down Harky Blvd until he reached a sign that read “You are now leaving Kell.” If asked what inanimate objects he loved the most, Ted would likely say it was a tie between his knives, and that sign. It was definitive. Straightforward. That sign didn’t lie. It didn’t have some pretentious message like, “ See you soon!” or “ We’ll miss you!”. When you left, you knew you were gone. And if you came back, there was a sign for that, too. It didn’t say anything like “ Welcome to Kell”, either. As Ted walked, he turned and saw Kell’s entrance sign, which read, “ You are now entering Kell.” The subtext was what really got him. “As Good a Place as Any”. Like the whole town was built by robots. Fucking beautiful.

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;text-indent:36pt;"> On the roads right shoulder, just pass Kell’s exit sign, there was a drop off. Ted had become pretty proficient climbing down it, he knew all the footholds. But it was short enough for a drop, tuck and roll, which he did this time, for time’s sake. He dropped down the bolt cutters before jumping, and retrieved them upon landed. It took him ten minutes to find them, he had lost them in the tall grass.

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"> As he picked them up, he looked ahead into the field. It seemed so dreamlike. Such a large building, out in the middle of a field that Ted was fairly sure only he knew about. Like Manna from heaven, or maybe I’m just gettin’ my mansion early.

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"> Ted walked towards the building, savoring the view as he advanced closer to it. Imagining what would be inside for him. As he walked, he saw chests full of gold coins and old antique swords. Pistols and rifles from every era of warfare. Clothes and money and piles and piles of books. He didn’t even read, but they were there in the picture he formed in his mind. Off in a water-tight padlocked safe, one that took up half the of the building. One he could open with his trusty bolt cutter, like he would the main entrance. Books stacked to the roof, treasure stacked higher than Ted’s head on either side of a thin path through the room, paved in gold bricked and precious gems. The treasure room of whatever king had once owned this castle.

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"> When Ted reached the gate, he considered clipping the chain. He decided that he could fit through fine, and maybe keeping it locked would help keep others out. A locked door rebukes temptation, and all that.

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"> He was facing the building and standing in it’s shadow. Had he better observed his surroundings, he would have seen the Sun was behind him, so this was impossible. But light was definitely shrouded now. (You should go home. Preferably now.) (“Teacher, tell me things that I don’t wanna learn…”) Ted approached the door, spotting the blood-stain from some weeks earlier. It had rained a few times since then, and it should have been washed away, but this didn’t even cross Ted’s mind. I’m part of this place now. It’s mine. At the door, Ted pulled out the bolt-cutters, and quickly cut the padlock’s shank in two.

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"> The lock’s body dropped to the ground. Ted held on to both of the doors rusted handles, and pulled them open.

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"> Chapter 3

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"> A gust of dust spewed out into Ted’s eyes. He sat there, wiping it from his face, and cursing at it for cheapening this grand opening. Finally, he saw the inside of Redland for the first time. It was so much brighter than he had expected thanks to all the holes in the roof, which he hadn’t been aware of until now.

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"> The whole place smelled musty, to say the least. It had been left alone for a long time, so the only recognizable smell was the wet stench of abandonment. Had Ted really thought about this, he would have realized that didn’t make sense. The holes in the roof really should have kept the building aired out, but the air was still so thick.

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"> The other smells of Redland were indescribable. Each room carried it’s own stench, it seemed. The closest thing Ted could relate the smell to would be a mixture of human shit, and the sharp stink of over-ripened fruit, merged with the subtle, not-too-unpleasant smell of wet leaves that defined the scents of autumn and yet went unnoticed by most. And there was so much more to the smell, like nothing Ted had ever smelled before.

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"> Ted’s first thought was that dog he had found on the road. The dog hadn’t started to stink yet, since Ted put it into the dumpster soon after it had been run over. He hadn’t seen the car, but he heard it from the road over. It was dark. Nobody else saw the dog, and it died alone in the street.

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;text-indent:36pt;"> Ted sat next to it, checking it for a pulse, praying that it wouldn’t die. Had it not been so dark, Ted would have seen that the dog was nearly flattened. Had it maintained any consciousness or bit of life after coming in contact with the wheel, it would have been in the most intense agony. Had Ted known this, he would have understood much better that it was for the best the dog had died on impact. He wouldn’t have hated that dog so much for dying on him. He likely wouldn’t care about how lonely he had become since all the youth of Kell had practically disowned him.

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"> Ted couldn’t quite think of why the smell reminded him so much of that dog. The reason was because part of him recognized this smell as death. Had he known, he would be surprised at how little the smell bothered him.

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"> Within just half an hour, he didn’t even notice the smell anymore. He was preoccupied looking through every room. If you asked him what he was looking for, he would have said nothing, just exploring. But he knew he was looking for treasure. Something shining through the thick grayness of Redland. As he looked side to side, still not far from the entrance, he noticed something strange. There was only one door that was closed. Hell, there was only one door to a room that still existed, at least on its hinges.

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"> As he approached the door, he saw no number, but instead a name. Phyllis A. Ted held the doorknob in his hand, and as he was about to turn it when he noticed that the smell was back, and stronger than before. It still didn’t bother him much, but it definitely caught his attention.

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;text-indent:36pt;"> ( Don’t open it. It’s locked, don’t turn the knob. It won’t open. There’s no treasure in there. There’s nothing for you here

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;text-indent:36pt;"> OPEN IT.

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;text-indent:36pt;"> Don’t open it don’t open it just don’t do

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;text-indent:36pt;"> OPEN IT OPEN IT AND CRACK IT DO IT BOY

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;text-indent:36pt;"> Please please please please don’t open it leave it closed leave it leave leave leave leave leave leave

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;text-indent:36pt;"> COME IN. COME AND SEE COME IN RIGHT NOW YOU DOG-MURDERING BASTARD

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;text-indent:36pt;"> nonononononogodpleasenononononono

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;text-indent:36pt;"> YOU STABBED IT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD YOU WATCHED IT DIE IT TRIED TO RUN BUT YOU WERE FASTER AND YOU COULDN’T EVEN BURY IT don’t listen you don’t have to listen just leave leave leave

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;text-indent:36pt;"> YOU STARTED CRYING AND YOU

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;text-indent:36pt;"> get out don’t just please just please go please

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;text-indent:36pt;"> ARE ABOUT TO CRY AGAIN AREN’T YOU JUST LIKE A LITTLE BITCH YOU ONCE KILLED OR SON THEREOF BECAUSE YOU CAN’T FUCKING OPEN THE DOOR JUST LIKE THE LANDLORD AFTER THE GUNSHOT AND THE CONSTRUCTION WORKERS AND GOD AND ALL OF GOD’S MEN COULDN’T PUT TEDDY TOGETHER AGAIN AND YOU RIPPED THE DOG IN HALF AND YOU DIDN’T STOP THERE

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;text-indent:36pt;"> OH GOD GET OUT NOW )

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"> Ted turned the knob, and the door slid open with no resistance. It barely even creaked, though it’s hinges were severely rusted.

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"> The room itself had a glazed, foggy look about it. It was significantly cleaner and dimmer than the other apartments. The dim light filled the room well enough, but objects were still hard to make out. He could see what looked like crumpled up pieces of paper or candy wrappers covering the lightly stained carpet (This room still had CARPET, as opposed to most other rooms which barely had a floor at all) but they could just as well have been scattered leaves, which really would have made more sense.

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;text-indent:36pt;"> Dust stirred, and he saw the bits flying through the air in the streams of light outside of the door, none of which gave light past the door’s frame. Ted closed the door, and had a look around the room. It was so quiet. A soft, inviting quiet. Part of Ted wanted to take a nap, and to lay down on the bed. The one with the mirror behind it.

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"> It occurred to Ted that this was the first room he had been in since he entered Redland that actually had a mirror. Dust had gathered on most things in the room, which appeared to have been untouched for a very, very long time. The mirror, however, was completely clean. It almost glowed it was so clean. For some reason, whenever Ted tried to look around the room, he was always brought back to that mirror. He would stare into it for minutes at a time. He smiled while he looked into it, but was unaware of this. In his eyes, he was glaring and his reflection grinning back. From the mirror, to the bed, to the door, to the mirror, to the dresser, to the mirror, to the bed, to the mirror. Then he saw the closet.

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;text-indent:36pt;"> ( DON’T YOU EVEN FUCKING DARE BACK AWAY DON’T YOU GO NEAR

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;text-indent:36pt;"> LET ME OUT GODDAMMIT LET ME OUT AND SCREAM AND RUN AND DON’T

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;text-indent:36pt;"> NOT YET NOT THERE YET NOT READY YET BACK AWAY

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;text-indent:36pt;"> please just don’t please don’t come back burn it down burn the closet burn the mirror burn the room burn the whole damned

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;text-indent:36pt;"> YES BREAK THE MIRROR BREAK IT SHATTER IT CRACK IT SMACK IT WHACK IT CUT IT STAB IT DROP IT THEN

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;text-indent:36pt;"> GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE .)

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"> The rest of Redland was perfect. It was so empty, so pure...Somehow, by some unnatural method, this room had not conformed. Perhaps this is why Ted decided to trash it, like the rest of Redland was trashed. Or perhaps it was just the only thing he could think to do (your territory mark your territory) He pissed all over the carpet, turned over the bed, and stabbed the walls repeatedly with his bolt cutters, which he then flailed in every direction. They scratched the walls, knocked over the dresser, and last but not least, shattered the mirror.

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;text-indent:36pt;"> A raspy rumbling voice echoed throughout the room. Perhaps the entire building. “ GET OUT. ” WHAT THE HELL?! Ted had been discovered! He ran out of the room as fast as he could, sprinted through the main hallway, and out of the large iron doors. Something was behind him. There were no footsteps, but somebody was definitely there. He kept running and arrived at the gate. As he slid through he could have sworn he felt the air a missed grab blow on the back of his neck. He thought maybe he was safe now, beyond the fence, about a hundred feet out.

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.15;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;text-indent:36pt;"> Then he saw movement in the corner of his eye. Something tall, something that moved savagely fast but unnaturally graceful, it even sort of shimmered (glowed). And the sound, the movement...it was getting closer. It was after him. He got up and ran.

And he kept running until the Woods came into view. <ac_metadata title="I&#039;m in the midst of writing a story, and I would appreciate some feedback. As of now it unfinished and cannot be posted. It will be novel length when finished. I am unsure if I will post it at that po"> </ac_metadata>