Crescent, Chapter 1 - Lucky Scum...

Okay, so Crescent is getting back to basics with the story. Yup, the original awesome dudes - superheroes. It's set in the fictional city of Sudbinam which is slightly futuristic but not really. This is just a taster so you can see what it's going to be like. So, yeah, expect shock, mysteries, maybe a bit of humour and possibly anger at some of the infuriating situations. So, I'll shut up now. *claps hands once* Let's go!


       Philip woke up staring at his ceiling, as usual. Ugh, he thought when he remembered it was Monday. He got up, turned off his alarm and went through to the kitchen. He nearly ripped his pyjama trousers on a screw sticking out from the hallway door and he decided to fix it before school.
       When he got into the kitchen, he poured himself some cereal then remembered they were out of milk so he just ate it dry. He stood by the half-wall divide between the kitchen and living room and switched on the TV.
       "... Over to Davina Sky, now, with an on-the-spot report. Helen?" the newsreader said and then the screen changed so it showed Tower Square with another news reporter standing in the wind and rain, surrounded by protesters.
       "As you can see, Kate," she said "Everyone here is pretty angry." That's an understatement, Philip thought. They were pushing, shoving and screaming at each other. "All of the people protesting here today have been affected by the recent crime spree that seems to have no end..." and she went into some report which contained helicopter footage of the ares affected and interviews with people who were saying that the police weren't doing enough to help. He turned off the TV, put his bowl in the sink and checked the calender.
       March sixteenth, his sister would be back from her school camping trip later and Philip thought of all the extra stress.He went to the bathroom and showered then went into his bedroom and pulled on his uniform, checked he had everything in his bag and found his hammer and hit the screw back into the door. Should hold for another couple of weeks, he thought.
       He was about to open the door when it opened from the other side and his mum looked at him.
       "Oh, I'm sorry, hun. I was late again. I promise I'll be back at seven tomorrow." she said, giving him a bone-crushing hug. She was a head shorter than Philip but her features were kind. She was still wearing her cleaners uniform and the smell of disinfectant was strong on her hands. Her eyes were an icy green and her hair was a flaming red that framed her pale, tired face.
       "It's okay, Mum." he said from the smothering hug.
       "No, it's not. But don't let me make you late for school." she said and kissed him goodbye.
       He smiled as she closed the door behind him. He crossed to the elevators across from their little flat and waited until it dinged on to his level. 
       He got in and waited until it got to the ground floor. The lift was old and rusting. The once shiny chrome, now tinged with orange and brown. It smelled of urine and cigarette buts and a manner of other assorted things littered the floor.
       He got out out of the lift and went out onto the street outside. The rain had moved on and now bright light filtered down between the tall blocks of flats. Philip checked his watch and swore when he saw it was nearly twenty past eight. He ran down the street, past the corner shop and turned the corner and ran along the riverside to the train station. He got there just in time and swiped his pass and boarded the train.
       He took his usual seat in the corner of the train and looked out of the window. Underground first, with only blackness to see but then the track sloped upwards and broke onto the surface.
       It stopped at Redbrook station on the other side of the Stor river. Redbrook station was the local station for all the businesspeople , who lived in the new flats and houses lining the river, who worked in the city centre. They all sat down in their usual seats wearing their suits and carrying a briefcase or a newspaper. Nobody sat next to Philip as he came from Hayfield on the other side of the Stor. To these people, he was scum. All of the dregs of the city got flushed into Hayfield, along with those who couldn't afford the expensive rent of any decent accommodation and had to scrape a living. Like his mother.
       The train travelled for five minutes over land, the neat gardens of the 'upper-class' folk flashing by. He closed his eyes and only a faint purr told him the engine was still running. He looked back out of the window as the track rose from the land and crossed another bend in the river and into the business sector. At one of the sky scraper offices, the now monorail-style train stopped at a platform and the business people got off.
       The train carried on, dipping through the high rise buildings, crossing other monorails and, occasionally, riding alongside the roads and motorways that criss-crossed the heart of Sudbinam.
       Finally the train headed towards the Earth and stopped in the private sector. Philip jumped off and ran to the Jonathan Myles Academy.  Anyone else from Hayfield would be going to Hayfield High. An overcrowded school, where all the other 'scum' went, but the Headmaster of JMA had noticed that Philip was exceptionally good at science and maths and had given him a place, no payment required.
       Philip went into the old red brick school but stopped in the main entrance, under the large stone arch. The other students were wasting time, waiting for the bell. He looked over his shoulder. The fountain was there, as normal, and the water was shining in the weak, morning sun, but something seemed different. The water looked darker, more malevolent. Then the bell went and all thoughts of the fountain floated away from his mind.

***

       The girl looked at Philip as he climbed the steps of the entrance.
       "You sure this is him?" she asked the man standing next to her under the shade of an apple tree.
       "Yes, this is him. He has an ability. Can you feel it?" the man asked.
       The girl nodded but didn't really know what he meant. She headed towards the school and away from the cover of the trees. She smiled. She just knew this was going to be fun...




So, what do you think? It will be back to Patchwork tomorrow but I just wanted to get some feedback before I write any more.


Lynxia x