chapter 1: part 1

The day started in the greatest fashion possible. He awoke to the soft, cheerful music of birds. He hated waking up at three to hear them, but it was such a lovely reward. They merrily went along in their singing. The soft melody released the happiness that was kept under wraps at his job. Yet, at that moment the only things on his brain were the pleasing rhythm of the birds and the light haze of sleepiness that always seemed to fall on the plain of consciousness when one wakes.

        Gradually the haze faded and he realized that it was nearing four o’clock. Throwing off his cover he got up and grabbed his only robe. Putting it on, he opened up the thin black curtains that separated him from the hypnotic songs of the birds. Normally, he would have expected to see only the programed birds that his friend at the Parks and Rec. department had sent to his house.

        However, this morning he saw a mockingbird. Not one of the fake ones that he normally saw, but one of the ones out of the biology books he read during his high school days. The feathers were not synthetic, but actual feathers. It had eyes that looked like watery beads instead of the blood red that was programmed in by the Parks and Recreation department.

        ‘Why can’t I take this bird in? It’s not like I am stealing from the government, I am just getting a pet! But wait if I do that won’t I have to feed it and keep it? Well I guess I could do that, but then how would I keep it away from her? Well I could...’ as he thought through his plan, the bird twitched on the sill and stopped the song.

        Working fast he unlatched the window and quickly grabbed the bird. After shutting the window he quickly and quietly made a nest out of the threadbare socks he had been storing in his closet. Setting down the bird in the makeshift nest, he looked at the clock on the opposite wall. 4:25. Relaxing he sat down next to the nest.

        Trying to recall all the information he had ever collected, read, or heard about mockingbirds; he slightly hummed a single baritone note. The bird copied the note, as they are wont to do, and then magnified the intensity of it. Startled by the noise, he ran to the door and put his ear up to it. The only sounds he heard was the mockingbird copying his note and the hum of the camera positioned at his door.

        Hearing the hum of the camera added to his paranoia. ‘Damn, Forgot about that. At least the sound doesn’t come on for another…’ he thought as he looked at the clock again. This time it said 4:30. ‘thirty minutes. But what am I going to do then. If the bird won’t stop humming that note, then the camera will catch it. Maybe if I store it in my closet. But wait, won’t that be cruel to the bird. Well it would be crueler to leave it where the camera can catch it.’

        Making up his mind, he took the nest and hid it in his closet. Remembering from his books that mockingbirds mimic what they hear, he grabbed the tape recorder from the top of his closet. Fumbling with the buttons he accidently hit play. 

a wanted man's ponderings: paranoia's sonnet

Destiny's calling and,

You're running from fate,

For the very first time,

You're trying to be late,

Sweat is flowing,

Yet your body is cold,

Wiping your brow,

 Trying not to fold,

Your ears' are pounding,

And so is your heart,

Then the world goes black,

And as your soul and body part,

Your daughter starts to cry,

As she watches you die.

Prologue

prologue

It was a dark, dreary day on the eastern plains. A thick layer of charcoal clouds blanketed the sky and emanated a dull electric light. The air softly ran its course over the yellowing plains, but was broken by brief breaths that raised the hair on the back of one's neck. 

     To the north lifeless trees gathered in covens waiting endlessly for the rain that would never come and converged into a thick evergreen wood. To the south small houses and ranches marked the monotony of the plains. To the west a post office and school could be seen, further on was an industrial city that besmirched the treacherous mountains behind. To the east was the vast expanse of grain that was irked by the exhaust of a black SUV, whose windows were pieces of the sky above.
     The SUV slowly made its way to a house frozen on the prairie. The house itself was isolated from the world and was a simple modest farmhouse. As the SUV stopped at the driveway, one of the house's occupants spotted it and turned to the door. He would never make it as a bullet went right through his head. Inside the house, the remaining occupants scrambled to get weapons but as they unlocked the safe that contained them, the four men from the SUV poured in and shot them all. After the deed was done the men left and headed back east.
    After the car had vanished from sight, a small boy exited the post office. As he made his way to the house, he couldn't help but feel as if something was out of place. The boy soon spotted the body outside the door and proceeded to run to the nearest neighbor.
    At the neighbor's house he told them, what he had seen and soon fainted. The neighbors, being the good people they were, called the police. The police were thirty minutes away and told the neighbors to try to revive the boy. The boy was soon revived and made the decision to try to get back into the house. Understandably, the neighbors said no, but the boy escaped after the police had arrived.
    The boy ran back to the house and opened the door. He broke down when he saw the extent of the killings and ran back to the police and told them what he had seen. The police investigated the scene and concluded that it had been the work of the serial killer known as Timothy. They took the boy into custody and found the nearest relatives.
    As he was set on the plane, the boy vowed to avenge the deaths of his loved ones.