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City of Delusion - Chapter Five
"Those who plot the destruction of others often perish in the attempt."
Author's Note:
I finally got around to making a semi-decent cover, yay! Haha, still trying to work my way around Paint.NET, but this is certainly better than my previous ones.
"Those who plot the destruction of others often perish in the attempt."
Author's Note:
I finally got around to making a semi-decent cover, yay! Haha, still trying to work my way around Paint.NET, but this is certainly better than my previous ones. Robert awoke in the early morning hours, his throat parched from the dry night air. He got up off his bed and made his way to the bathroom to get himself a glass of water. He filled his glass and a took a sip. The water tasted terrible, like so many things do when one first wakes up.
He looked at himself in the mirror. He could see himself perfectly, since his glasses were fake. He liked wearing them, though, since they gave him a quieter look that suited his personality. Unable to sleep now that he was awake, Robert walked to the kitchen to get breakfast prepared. As he looked out through the windows, he noticed that the bushes outside were beginning to become overgrown. [i]I wonder when the landlord will come to tend to the landscape?[/i]
After that momentary distraction, he proceeded to make himself a simple omelet. He minced an onion, julienned a bell pepper and smashed a glove of garlic before mixing them with several scrambled eggs. It smelled good already.
As his breakfast was cooking, Robert reached up and grabbed some pepper from the shelf. He threw a pinch on before flipping the omelet in the air. It soared up and up, seeming to tumble in slow motion, before falling back in the pan on the other side. A minute later, breakfast was ready. [i]I wonder if Larry is still angry...[/i]
Robert recalled with a chill Larry's palpable hatred. It had been a very long time since he had felt so threatened, so endangered.
[i]He probably is... maybe I should have thrown the game... this was an unforeseen result...[/i] Larry had slept restlessly. His defeat at the hands of Robert ran through his mind constantly now. [i]Where did I go wrong...? I can't think![/i]
Larry's stomach made a prolonged plea for food, despite his gorging the previous night. Slowly, weakly, a defeated Larry rose from his bed. He dragged himself to the kitchen and fixed himself a simple bowl of cereal. Larry remembered every single move that they made, but could not see where he went wrong. His analysis of the situation just seemed to degrade as time went on. "Maybe I should replay it on the board so I can see what's going on..." Larry said to himself, before eating another spoonful of cereal.
Even so, he took breakfast slowly. Each bite was deliberate and came with another thought. Eventually, though, he finished and immediately went over to the chess board where he positioned the pieces accordingly. "This is where the tide slowly began to turn," Larry announced, staring at the board. "He changed his strategy and prolonged the game so that he could slowly eat away at me." Approximately two hours later, Larry had formulated a strategy that was certain to pummel Robert. [i]Perfect! As long as the first few moves go exactly how our previous game went, there is nothing stopping me from defeating him.[/i]
Leaving the chess board undisturbed, Larry got up and quickly got dressed. Before leaving his apartment, he took one last look at his chess board and savored a certain victory. Larry took the elevator and walked calmly towards Robert's door. He took a deep breath and knocked several times. [i]Time for the best acting I've ever done...[/i] The door opened, revealing a Robert who did not seem pleased to see Larry. "Oh, hello," Robert said, partially expecting Larry to punch him. "I hope you can forgive last night's indiscretions, I'm honored to have been defeated by you," Larry said in his most sincere voice, putting his hands together as though in prayer.
[i]This is interesting. He seems to be sincere, but something is telling me not to believe him. What should I do?[/i]
"So will you forgive me?" Larry begged, his eyes seeming to tear up.
[i]Looks like I have no choice, I should still be careful though.[/i]
"It seems my hands are tied," Robert said, in a pardoning voice.
"Great!" Larry exclaimed. "You wouldn't mind spending the day together, would you? Keith and Stefani are gone, and I have nothing to do."
"Sure..." Robert said, internal alarms screaming. "Where to?"
"I know this awesome park," Larry suggested. The park was quite some distance away, and it looked nice. However, it looked deserted, as though nobody had used it for quite some time. Nevertheless, it looked like a nice place to spend the day.
Robert and Larry entered the park, walking past a hall of tall plants and pushing the wooden gates open. The park was stunning. Two mature willow trees in opposite corners, a nice pond with a walkway over it and a nice area for grilling and... And it had a chess set, placed under a single lamppost. Robert's eyes narrowed. Surely Larry didn't intend to challenge him here, but then again he could be wrong.
Robert's thoughts were suddenly interrupted by Larry's suggestion that they fish in the pond. As they neared the edge, it was clear that the pond was quite deep and there were quite a few fish living in it. "Sounds fun," Robert said. The fishing was decent. Robert's first catch was a catfish, but that wasn't what he was after. He had spied an elusive rainbow trout in the water and wanted that. He unhooked the helpless catfish and gently released him back into the water.
The park was surprisingly silent, except for the sounds of them fishing and the wind blowing through the trees. It was calm, almost surreal. "Do you fish often?" Robert probed, wanting to know Larry better.
"I come here to fish every now and then," Larry said, "but I have never seen another person here. It's much more fun with people."
"Oh, well then who takes care of this place? I mean it's so well taken care of," Robert said, looking around him.
"I'm not sure," Larry said, having never thought of that question before. "I suppose someone has to, since the bathrooms and grill are always clean."
"Interesting," Robert said. "Oh! I got something!" Larry yelled, heaving and pulling the rod until a rather large bass emerged from the depths. "Ah... she's a beauty, but not what I'm after."
Larry unhooked the monster and the fish quickly swam into the deep water. Larry gave a relaxed sigh and stretched, absorbing the sun's warmth.
[i]Not what you're after...? I see...[/i] Robert's fishing pole suddenly jerked down, nearly bringing Robert with it. "This is a strong one," Robert said, gently easing into the motion of reeling in the powerful fish.
A few minutes of struggling later, a shimmering shadow slowly entered the sunlight. Once it was in the shallows, Robert scooped up the rainbow trout. "Quite a catch!" Robert said, proudly hoisting his prize into the air. The sun's rays hit the trout's skin, seeming to cover the area in a gem-like light. "I'm sure this will be delicious."
"Good job," Larry said, secretly feeling jealous. "I've always wanted to catch a rainbow trout, but I guess they like you more." Robert was fortunate enough to have brought a Swiss Army Knife with him and used that to prepare the trout. Some nearby vegetables provided all the stuffing they needed. Robert fired up the grill and slowly cooked the fish, its aroma swimming around for one last time.
There were a few plates Larry had brought, but kept hidden in the chess board. "Are you sure these are clean?" Robert asked.
"Of course!" Larry assured, handing a plate over to Robert.
Robert carefully lifted the fish off the grill and onto the plate. Hopefully it would taste as good as it looked. They sat one the seats at the chess board. The food was delicious and seemed to radiate an aura of triumph. "Wow, this turned out better than I had thought," Robert said after taking a bite.
"You're a great cook, I wouldn't expect anything less."
They shared a genuine conversation, free of analysis, secret animosity and pretentions. After the meal, Robert walked over to the willow tree in the corner and leaned against it. The shade was cool, the tufts of grass crisp. It made him miss being in nature as he once had been in Champignon Valley. The only thing missing was someone to love.
A leisurely breeze suddenly seemed to waft about him before spiraling up into the tree, shaking leaves off their branches. As Robert watched the leaves flutter down around him, he heard the sound of crunching grass grow closer. Larry sat down and leaned against the wall next to him. "Seems like you belong in nature," Larry commented.
Robert looked ahead of him at the distant city. "Yeah..." he said mournfully. "I love being in nature."
"Ah... I could use a break from the city," Larry began, "but in the end I'll miss having people around me all the time."
"Not me," Robert said. "I could be alone for months at a time and not miss people."
[i]This guy is deep...[/i]
Larry asked for the time. "It's almost sunset; this place has the best views." They got up and walked onto the wooden structure built over the pond and sat on the bench overlooking the horizon. The sun was beginning to lower, but it would clearly be quite some time until it set. "It'll be a while," Robert pointed out, leaning forward.
"Oh, I know," Larry said, his voice devious. "I'm just going to beat you at chess before sundown."
[i]I should have known...[/i]
"Larry, you will lose. Don't do this," Robert said, continuing to lean forward. Larry made the first move. "Your turn," he said, seeming to rush the game.
[i]The same move he made last time...[/i]
"Larry -"
"My defeat at your hands was completely unacceptable!" Larry interrupted. "I will defeat you here and now!" [i]What exactly is Larry's plan?[/i]
Robert, curious, began making the same moves he had in their previous match.
Larry rejoiced. [i]It's working![/i] Robert switched the game up a little and made slightly different moves, feeling that he was falling into some sort of trap. "Good move," Larry said, seeming to read Robert's mind.
[i]No problem, I'll just move the pieces around so that it's the same set up as last time.[/i] Their two pawns were now facing each other, effectively stalling any further progress. "I can predict your next move," Larry taunted, grabbing his pawn and playing with it in the air for a moment before advancing it to be next to his other one. [i]He's right...[/i]
It made tactical sense for him to move his knight to be in a position to retaliate for the capture of Robert's pawn. The game board was exactly how it was the previous night.
"I have won this game," Larry declared, grinning maliciously. The battle took much longer than expected, but Larry had fared surprisingly well against Robert. He was able to counter each of his moves with great skill. The lamppost above turned on once the sun had set and seemed to separate the two of them from the rest of the world. The game had degraded to simple tactics of advance and retreat, resulting in the loss of virtually no pieces on either side. [i]This is taking too long... is he really that good of an opponent?[/i]
Robert considered the situation for a moment. [i]What should I do?[/i]
It was quite late, and he was growing tired of the game. [i]It seems that it is time I crush Larry.[/i]
Robert advanced one of his pawns into a position to ensnare Larry in a trap that would be his demise. "Your turn."
Larry gave an evil laugh. "What are you, and idiot?" he asked, capturing Robert's pawn with confidence. A few moves later, and Larry's defenses had been penetrated and a significant portion of his pieces captured. "This can't be happening... not again..." Larry said in shock.
"Your move," Robert said impatiently.
Larry nervously moved his king forward, his hands clearly shaking. "Checkmate," Robert said, moving a piece forward and making a loud thumping noise with it.
Larry looked at the board. His face was drained of emotions; he wasn't sure what to feel. [i]I lost again? But how?[/i]
"You lost, Larry," Robert said. "Let's go home." "Come on, it was a good game," Robert said, putting on a friendly smile.
Larry remained silent. Suddenly thunder cracked above them and the first few drops of rain began plummeting to earth.
"Why is your silence more deafening than the thunder?" Robert asked, becoming slightly annoyed. Larry suddenly burst up from his chair. Robert did the same, fearing that Larry would try and attack him. Larry bared his teeth, his eyes narrowed and his breathing became loud. "Why do I keep losing to you?!" Larry snarled, rubbing his neck to try and keep from strangling Robert.
"What do you have to be jealous of?" Robert asked desolately, looking aside.
"Everything!" Larry roared. "You have everything! Brains, money, skills, popularity! Everything I don't have!"
Robert sighed, knowing that he could not make Larry understand without telling him about his past. "But at what cost? My soul?" Robert replied quietly.
"Stop being so philosophical!" Larry growled. "What have you sacrificed?!"
"I have lost the only things I value in life," Robert said, feeling his suppressed memories breaking their shackles.
"LIAR!" Larry screamed. All the insects, trees and even the wind seemed to stop. Robert gave a long sigh. He folded his arms and leaned back against the wall with his leg up. He cast his gaze aside, not wanting to make eye contact with Larry. He knew doing so would let him gaze into his soul and would forever change him.
Robert looked up at the lamppost, giving another sigh.
[i]What should I do?[/i]
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12 Comment(s) posted so far
On Nov 17, 2008 candy820 wrote:
Another awesome chapter.
5.0 here
On Nov 17, 2008 maxi king wrote:
On Nov 17, 2008 jennnnnie02 wrote:
Amazing addition! I really really want to know what Robert's big secret is! It's driving me crazy.(:
On Nov 17, 2008 Idriel wrote:
Great... really a thrilling match... and an excellent hanging end... can't wait to read on!
On Nov 17, 2008 mogan44 wrote:
Great chapter (as usual), really looking forward to what comes next. I'm really enjoying your series, thanks so much
On Nov 18, 2008 nleslie wrote:
Hm, Larry is starting to freak me out.
On Nov 18, 2008 stephanie1225 wrote:
Larry scares me too
On Nov 18, 2008 zucchinideen wrote:
Loving this story!
On Nov 18, 2008 Scwt wrote:
On Nov 19, 2008 skyblue7377 wrote:
brilliant...really great stuff
On Dec 5, 2008 jwilmot07 wrote:
Wow, I thought for sure Larry would do Robert in!
Awesome chapter!
On Feb 21, 2009 7hir7een wrote:
I just happened upon your story today. I really like it, and wish you would continue