This is the first piece of fiction that I am putting up. It is the introductory piece and the rest of the story is going to be different, but here it is.

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Seven times three is twenty-one.
Seven times four is twenty-eight.
Seven times five is thirty-five.

Huddled on her bed in the dark, Thi counted to herself softly. She did the multiplication in her head to keep her mind off things. It wasn’t interesting or fun, all it did was pass the time. That was the point.

Seven times six is forty-two.
Seven times seven is…. What was it again… Right, forty-nine.
Seven times eight is fifty-six.

Today was the same as yesterday, which will the same as tomorrow. Each day seemed to blend into the next. She thought it would have been different after she had entered collage. Nothing that she did was important, even her classes seemed like nothing more then a waste of time.
When the career councilor had asked her, “What do you want to major in?” all she could answer was “Anything is fine.” Thi had no plans for the future and had no idea what she would do after she graduated.

Twelve times seven is eighty-two.
Twelve times eight is ninety-six.
Twelve times nine is one hundred and eight.

Thi worked as a waitress after classes. It was lousy pay and even lousier tips. She didn’t even need to work, since she didn’t have a family and got good grades she was able to survive on financial aid. However work did play two important roles, it kept her busy and bored.

Fifteen times four is sixty.
Fifteen times five is seventy-five.
Fifteen times six is ninety.

Nothing ever changed. She had left the orphanage that she had been in since before she could remember and still nothing had changed. It was better this way. She had to believe that, she had always been told that so it must be true. It was wrong for her to be happy.

Forty-seven times twenty-two is one thousand thirty-four.
Forty-seven times twenty-three is one thousand eighty-one.
Forty-seven times twenty-four is one thousand one hundred and twenty-eight.

Alone. Thi didn’t have anyone she could call a friend. She didn’t make any attempt to make friends, she even ignored those who tried to make friends with her. The only person she even know was her dorm-mate Shila. Shila always come back to the dorm late after some kind of party. Thi made sure Shila was in bed and asleep, it seemed like Thi’s duty.

One thousand four hundred fifty-one times two hundren thirteen is three hundred and nine thousand and sixty-three.

The clock ticked the minutes of boredom which slowly turned into hours and days. She bore is stoically.
The matron of the orphanage had said, “This is who you need to be if you are going to be a productive member of society.” The ten year old Thi hadn’t understood.
The adult Thi now understood. The current her had a place in the world, a future. So the real her hide behind boredom because there was no place for that her, the real her was unneeded.
So in her fear she did multiplication to forget.

Two million, five hundred twenty-four thousand, eight hundred and five times one million, two hundred forty-three is two trillion, five hundred twenty-five billion, four hundred eighteen million, five hundred twenty-seven thousand, six hundred fifteen.

Why then, why did she she watch birds with envy.

Blood. Blood strained the otherwise white pants like a Roastank blot.

“Come out come out wherever you are.” The sing-song voice drifted closer and closer.

“I’m growing tired of this.” Came the second voice. Bright blinding light filled the dark alley and Rhett was forced to scrambled away, knocking over a garbage can as he went.

Rhett shivered and adjusted the glove on his hand again, his projector was warm to the touch. He couldn’t stop shaking, he could see the outline of his approaching death. He held his breath and huddled in the corner. The fear was worse this time, this time he had been confident and sure of his victory. This was supposed to have been easy, his opponent was supposed to have been a beginner, his opponent was supposed to have been alone.

Rhett waited as the shadows of his opponents passed by him. He continued to hold his breath, second after second, until he was sure that they were gone. He slipped from his hiding stop with a measure of relief. He twitched momentarily when he heard a snap. It took a moment for him to realize that it was because he had stepped on something.

The fear still hadn’t left him, he could still feel it permeating through his bones. He wanted to run, to escape, more then he had ever before wanted to in his life. Yet, he couldn’t, he had to win. He could still remember the haunting voice of the man who had given him his projector. It has been a moonless night then too.



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“The power to change, the power to grant your greatest desire.” The man was tall, bearded, and dressed in black just like Rhett had been. Rhett didn’t even look up from that he was kneeling in front of.

“There is no amount power that could quench the loneliness that I feel.” His voice cracked as he spoke, tears still streaming down his cheeks. Rhett didn’t think that he would ever stop crying.

The bearded man took out something wrapping in a piece of cloth from the back at his hip. He unwrapped it slowly before setting the glove on the grave in front of Rhett. The stone embedded in the glove shimmer in the darkness. “No human power is capable of that. To free yourself you must become more then human. Then the serpent will grant your greatest desire. Look up, can’t you see it?”

Rhett raised his head and looked up at the dark sky. Even in the darkness he could see it, a light in the sky. He stared, uncertain is what he was seeing could possible be real, “What is that?”

“That is paradise.”



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There was the faint tinkle of glass as Rhett broke a window. He lifted his leg and stepped inside of the dark building. The building belong to a college, so it should probably be abandoned during the night. Rhett sure hoped so. He hobbled down the hallway wincing every time he used his wounded leg. He needed to think of a plan, so way to defeat his opponents. Hey with two of them he didn’t know what he could do, if only he had an ally too.

His projector glowed slightly in the darkness. Rhett lifted it up and looked at it. Is that possible? Could his projector really give him an ally? Then the grow died and Rhett as left standing in the darkness. Of course it would be impossible for it to be able to give him an ally.

Rhett began climbing up the stairs of the building. Maybe if he fought them on the roof then he might be able to beat both of them. As he climbed the last couple of stairs he felt faint and heaved for breath. He could still feel the moisture of his own blood on his leg and he wondered how much blood he had lost.
He stepped out onto the roof. He stepped over toward the rail and collapsed. Now all he needed to do was wait for his two opponents to arrive. It was then that he noticed her, she was sitting on the floor in one of the dark corners of the roof.

The woman was just sitting there staring at the sky.

Ignoring his wound Rhett rushed over to the woman, “You need to get out of here right now!”

Thi stared back at him with a blank look on her face, “Why?”

Rhett began stuttering, he couldn’t just explain the he was going to fight some people here is probably only a few minutes. “It is going to be dangerous here, if you don’t leave now then you could die.” Said Rhett, it was the best explanation that he thought he could give her.

“Maybe it would be better if I died.” Said Thi in the same empty voice that she had used before.

Rhett stood there dumbly for a second, however when he was about to respond he hear a voice from behind him say, “Found You.” He spun to see two figures stepping out onto the roof. Rhett to feel his blood drain away.