Table of contents

Chapter 1: Scroll Please
Chapter 2:
Chapter 3:
Chapter 4:
Chapter 5:
Chapter 6:
Chapter 7:
Chapter 8:
Chapter 9:
Chapter 10:
Chapter 11:
Chapter 12:
Chapter 13:
Chapter 14
Chapter 15:
Chapter 16:
 
The day was warm and sunny out. The birds flying around the city park which had recently had several flower gardens added near the Tennis courts. Taiku lived in an apartment building located just a fifteen minute walk away from the main park of the city. Being one to enjoy outdoor activities, Taiku would walk to the park daily to use the outdoor gym, go for a walk, or just play tennis with his friends. The last of these was the object of his visit to the park this day.

Taiku had been wanting to play some tennis with his friends because he had not been sleeping well the last few evenings due to several horrific and reoccurring nightmares. Running from a being made of mist and terror, the nightmares often manifested themselves in both the mindscape and the physical plane as Taiku’s reality drive would cause various objects to warp or appear in his room when he had awakened from these dreams. Many times, the alterations were benign in nature, but others would be objects Taiku knew he could never afford such as expensive bedding, furniture or tvs. These all concerned him, and, because of this, he would go to Aurther and Victoria for guidance. Benjamine would always tag along to see if he could finally beat Taiku in tennis. This notion was the foundation of Ben and Taiku’s friendship.

Before tennis at the park everyone decided to meet up at the diner just outside the park on the north side. The courts were south of there in the flower gardens, but the extra hike for the beurty of this diner was always worth it. Scents of a thousand flowers wafted on the breeze as the rag tag band of buddies walked in, the sounds of shoes clackin on wood as waiters and waitresses scurried about their business, and vocals of bussling families and businessmen filled the room. Seating them at Taiku’s favorite spot, the gang felt the basking warmth of the sun shine down as they all gathered around the circular booth in the corner. Facing the playing stage where a local band has struck up a set of the moldy oldies, Taiku busrted out saying, “The fuckers don’t deserve to play, my ability to play was taken from me. WHY SHOULD THEY GET TO….”

Sylvester slapped Taiku across the face. “What is up with you? You are never this rude!”

“I knew you were not sleeping well, but something else is going on.” Victoria said as she could see a black mist like aura surrounding Taiku. “It is like you are possessed or something. What is going on?”

“Over the last few weeks, I have been having steadily worsening nightmares. Each night, more and more dramatic uses of my reality drive come to fruition.” Taiku mumbled soft enough for no others to hear.

Author was curious about what could cause the reality drive to short out and manifest things without permission, and so he asked, “What kind of manifestations have been happening?”

“At first just color shifts, or small warping of objects near me, but now there are whole new items being created that I could never afford. Seventy inch tv’s, expensive furniture, fancy clothes, and more. I have not getting rid of any of it until I am certain these events are going to stop.”

“That is really serious. If your reality drive is working on your wants and desires, you are burning precious functional time.” Exclaimed Ben, concerned for Taiku’s safety.

“Are you folks ready to order?” asked the waiter. The group ordered and ate there with no further incident. However, when it came to leave, Taiku was acting particularly mean. He not only tried to stiff the waiter, but also complain about the service and how the food was “subpar” compared to the usual quality.

“Knock it off Taiku! You are acting like an asshole.” Shouted Author.

“Why? It is not like this guy is….” Taiku was about to lay into Author when Victoria interrupted him.

“Your eyes! They are black as coal. There is something wrong Taiku. Something deeply wrong.”

Taiku replied back, his eyes the normal sapphire blue cybernetics they normally were, “What are you talking about Victoria? I am just super grouchy from lack of sleep. Come on, I will feel a lot better after some tennis.

The bunch of buds decided to take a good walk in the flower gardens on the way to the tennis courts. Mid-June was when the most flowers were in bloom, but alas this year had been a drought and many of the roses had not even budded. Sadly, the gardens were also quite dead in terms of the color pallet that usually purveyed the area. The usual pinks, blues, and purples were replaced with browns, pale greens, and a few yellows from the ever persistent daisies which were weeds to the park care takers. Soon though, Taiku and friends were all at the tennis courts. They were color coded based on who was supposed to play on them. Blue courts were for party groups and reservations. These ones had private bathrooms and separate seating areas attached to the courts. Green were for tournaments, if applicable, or free use otherwise. Pink was business groups only. These particular ones were always in use. Red courts were public use at all times, and finally the blue ones were able to be reserved out year round. Taiku had one such court reserved. His court was near the rest rooms, vending machines, and the food court. Great spot and good overall privacy.

He and his friends were in for a bit of a shock once they got started.