First Gen Draft, pt. 1

Note: This is a random excerpt from a story I’m currently working on. Here’s the jist…

Earth is not the only messed-up place in the universe. Across the portals, there lies a land with an eternally full moon and an ever-changing sun. A land full of nations, struggles, and cultures completely foreign to Earth known as the Realms. Whenever the Earth and the Realms are both dark- with a new moon and new sun- their realities form a bond- creating portals between the two worlds. Though accidents have happened before, portals are mere swirls of energy- energy that’s good at finding anomalies and sending them back where they came from.

However, the fate of the Realms changed drastically when not one but two ruling families found their heirs missing- both now at home in Brookwood, Colorado. One a teenager, the other a baby- both make their homes on Earth, unaware of their origins. Years go by, and the former- crown heir to Murdoch- finds himself a hotel manager with an ever-changing roster of kids and a faith unheard of back home, while the latter, is slowly growing into the giant king he was born to be- finding himself spending half his Walmart paycheck on food. 

However, they will not be the only people crossing between realities. The lost heirs and some of their fellow Earth wanderers band together, crossing over to the Realms for good. They stay together in Mondon, the heart of Murdoch, before splitting across the map of the Realms. They each work to make their home in the Realms somehow- becoming powerful, having families, or just trying to survive. Yet, as their ideals begin to clash, the group crumbles, paving a way for the next generation to reform a once strong alliance. All of them sit in the wake of their own destinies- anxious, curious, and excited to see them unfold but, most of all, wanting freedom.

It was a dingy apartment south of main street. Sure, there was always a homeless guy or three by the office, but it really wasn’t so bad. And he was nearly 18 anyway. A little lanky with a funny-face, but scary-looking enough to keep most weirdos off his back. Plus, most of his actual neighbors were just like him: broke nobodys just working and trying to survive.

He was still in high school, working in the Walmart electronics section in his time off. Sometimes he got his homework done- he always wanted to- but it just didn’t always happen between shifts and sleep and endless meals. Half his paycheck went to food nowadays. It’s almost like he needed more friends just to get more fridges to raid- but that’s what his partying neighbors were for. There was a group behind him that met up almost nightly to play video games and drink till dawn. He’d go over ‘round midnight, bring some beers that a coworker gave him, and slowly but surely consume a pizza or two. It was lame, but it was food.

For months, he figured he was just growing. Maybe his dead aunt had been spending more money on his diet than he realized. But then, he started growing. Doors got smaller, shelves got lower, ceilings got closer. He wasn’t NBA material quite yet- but the 6’ 2” teenager wasn’t too far. Then he was 6’ 3”. Then 6’ 4”. By summer, he was 6’ 7”, lumbering over his coworkers and ducking through doorways. His legs always stretched out well past his desk, but he’d always had a gift for scrunching himself. Never knew it’d come this in handy, though. The worst part was the lack of agility. Gaining inches on his appendages made quick turns or precise movements a million times more awkward and challenging. He’d trip over his own ever-growing feet or miscalculate how far his arm extended- to the dismay of passer-bys. 

A far better gift of the time was his new upstairs neighbors. There were plenty of female tenants, but he’d never gotten to talk to or be near any of them. But if there was any time he wished he wasn’t an absolute awkward mess, it was the day Raquel and June moved in.

They drove in around 10 am on a Saturday morning in late May. He considered himself lucky to have a window facing the entrance of the place, enjoying the view as he tried to finish his math homework. The older, taller girl wore small shorts, a black knotted-up t-shirt, and heavy eyeliner. Her cheekbones were as sharp and intense as her eyes, only softened by a spritz of freckles. She looked as if her pupils could kill a man, her mouth equally as pointed.

But then there was the smaller girl. 5’ 4” at most and Jack’s heart melted as soon as he saw her. Her black hair poured down her shoulders, with curled bangs framing her dark button eyes. Her milky skin glowed in the sun, her peachy lips soft. She bounced behind her companion, eyes wide and skirt flowing. This was it, Jack thought. This was the day he’d get himself a date… maybe… possibly. Okay, he’d at least offer to help them move in.

He got up, leaving everything strewn out on his desk, and made the bold march to the office. He was totally just going to get, like, coffee or something, yeah- definitely. He replayed his reasoning for stumbling into the cutest girl he’d ever seen as he walked into the office, head nearly crashing into the door frame. “Morning Mrs. Parker,” he nodded at the receptionist with a shy smile. The girls at the counter turned slightly, noticing him and smiling politely at the random stranger. 

“Morning, Jack,” the lady greeted, quickly turning back to her customers, “Yes, everything should be set. Why such a short lease though, if I may ask?”

Spotting the latte machine, he bolted for a travel mug and began to pour, listening in.

The older one started, “Oh, just to stay flexible. Never know when something may pop up.” Her voice was low and strong, sure of every syllable. 

“Well, it’s lovely to have you as long as you’re here.” The worker smiled, “Feel free to stop by whenever you need.”

“Of course, nice to meet you, Mrs. Parker,” the younger chirped, her voice soft and sweet.

Jack felt his neurons flare as he sipped his vanilla latte. He didn’t even like lattes. But looking at her, even over his shoulder, made anything amazing.

“Here’s your keys to your new apartment. Enjoy!” Mrs. Parker handed over the tattered envelope. The older gripped it, ushering the younger with her. They chattered amongst themselves, debating who’d grab what or how to move next. 

Jack turned, pretending to gaze at the grungy view out the door, ears peeled. What he heard: storage facility, heavy, multiple trips. What he understood: offer help and spend the day with Dream Girl. Gulping the last of his latte, he breathed in all the courage he could. 

Barely catching them before the door, Jack let out the faintest, firmest “ahem” he could muster, “Um, ladies.” They turned, eyeing him, “Uh, do you- do you need any help moving any of your stuff?”

Staring up at him, they both paused, looking at each other and then back to him. “I mean, sure, if you’ve got time,” the older said.

“Yeah, of course,” he shrugged, trying not to only stare at the younger girl, “I’m Jack, by the way. I live in apartment 106,” he said, placing his hand out politely. 

“Hey, we’re moving into 206! It’s great to meet you!” The younger chirped, placing her small hand in his- her fingers barely making it past his palm. “I’m June and this is my sister, Raquel.” June smiled, whisking her hair behind her shoulder.

“Thanks for offering to help,” Raquel shook his hand to, nearly matching Jack’s strength in the shake. “You can come with us to the storage facility. We don’t have a whole lot of stuff, but doing this all day sounds actually terrible,” she tisked.

Jack chuckled awkwardly, “Sure thing.” He went to open the door, “I’ll follow you.”

The new neighbors made their way to the girls’ family-sized SUV. Raquel tucked into the driver’s seat, with Jack using his mad scrunching abilities in the backseat. Lucky June had tiny legs or else he’d barely have had enough room behind her since most of the backseat was folded down. 

“So,” Raquel gazed in the rearview mirror, starting up the car, “what do you do?” She flicked a stray wisp of hair from her face as her arrow eyes looked into his puddles of brown.

“Oh, I go to the high school just down the street. I’ll be a senior, actually. And I, uh, I work in electronics at the Wal-Mart near there too.” 

“That’s cool. Tech guys are always good to know,” Raquel quipped, pulling out onto the street.

“How about you both?” He asked politely.

June looked over at Raquel, she nodded. “I’m going to be a senior too actually,” June said, twisting her face into a small, charming smile. “You’ll have to show me around sometime.”

“Sure thing. Do you start in the fall?”

“Yeah. What classes are you in?” Her eyes widened as she asked.

“I’m only taking four ‘cause senior. So just calc, physics, English 12, and I’m a student aide in the computer lab,” he explained, leaning forward.

Raquel pulled into the storage facility, the big, red garages looming over the station wagon. “Well, here we are,” she announced, snapping her seat belt and getting out. Jack and June followed, slightly behind, as they began the short walk to their garage.

“But, how about you?” Jack asked, hands in his pockets, practically stepping on his feet as he tried to keep pace with the tiny legs beside him.

“Oh, kind of the usual things” she shrugged, “I think I’ve got six classes though, but I don’t know the exact schedule yet. But it’s so far away anyways.” 

“Yeah, got all summer to do something I guess.” He chuckled nervously.

“Yeah, probably find something fun.” She thought, “Hopefully we can hang out sometime since you’re just downstairs!” Her cheeks turned pink with excitement as her face squished into the prettiest smile Jack had ever seen. 

He tried to keep the red out of his cheeks, hoping the acne scars would hide his blushing, “Me too.” 

Raquel stopped in front of one of the garages, lifting the door easily. Behind the door was some small furniture and scattered boxes. “We brought what we had. Guess we thought we’d bring more,” she muttered, shrugging slightly. “Jack, I’ll help you with the chest. June can grab a few boxes while we walk it to the car.”

“Be right there,” Jack said, moving over to the largest furniture piece. It wasn’t that huge really, just an old cherry chest with Asian imagery on the sides. It looked ancient, well worn yet still beautiful, fitting in with the other eclectic and chipped pieces. There were two bed frames, some picture frames, a few kitchen appliances, boxes upon boxes of books, a few cushions, and a simple folding desk. Piece by piece, Jack spent much of the afternoon packing the car and emptying the garage. 

“Just put the back seat down,” June suggested as they began to fill the trunk, “and I’ll stay behind and try to fit all this best I can.” 

“You sure you can fit all this in the trunk?” Jack questioned.

“Yeah, we’ll make it work. Never underestimate June’s packing skills,” Raquel promised, clueing that she’d doubted her before and been sorely wrong, “She’s practically a legend at it.”

“Mhmm!” June chirped from the car, crawling into the trunk and beginning to slide boxes as far back as she could. 

“Alright then,” Jack sighed, following Raquel back to the garage for their last haul. 

They’d make small talk between trips, laughing over the awkwardness and asking casual questions. Apparently, Raquel worked at the local ramen bar, trying to get her literature blog off the ground between shifts. That explains the books, Jack thought. They’d been on their own for a while now and Jack could since Raquel wasn’t keen on discussing the details, so he left it at that. As the sun turned golden, they made their last drop-off of stuff and all packed back into their seats- with Jack now far more scrunched than before.

The group made their way back to the apartment, now hauling out rather than in. “Lemme get the key,” Raquel paused, pulling the envelope out of her pocket and placing the key in between her fingers.

“Hey, mind showing us where you, and I guess we, live?” June asked, turning towards Jack as they both exited the car.

“Sure, it’s just over here,” he muttered, pointing right past the main office to his own small stucco apartment. The rusty iron stairs made stripes up the side of the building, ending in a small, crusty porch that led to apartment 206.

“Oh, that’s not far at all! Let’s grab some boxes,” Raquel announced, moving towards the backseat. They each got their first load of boxes, Raquel with key in hand.

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