Welcome to Orn- a work in progress
So, this is a story that I have been slowly working on. Please let me know what you think about this story so far in the comments! I already have a cast of 4 human characters with their own appearances and personalities, but I wanted to write this in 2nd person to get practice writing in this perspective and because I think it makes the reader immerse themselves into the story more. This is a work in progress that I have been writing since February 24th, 2015, so I have been kind of stuck at this point in the story for a while. I would love to hear any ideas of what should happen next. I already have a really vague idea of the plot, but I don't know how to put it into words or what should happen specifically throughout the course of the story. Thank you for reading my stuff, I really appreciate it!
Flesh, evil and suffering are bound together here; the remnants of long dormant, twisted entities rule this place. The wooden floors never creak. Evaporated lives and fading memories are hidden from what one would foolishly call reality. No flowers grow here, only weeds, grass, and trees. Houses crumble outside, cold and shockingly still. The truly lost find their way here, for there is nowhere else to go. Darkness clouds the sky and the sun never leaves the cover of the pale grey clouds that cloak the sky.
'Welcome to Orn' the sign with peeling grey paint reads on the road into town. You aren't on a map anymore, stranger.
The wind crawls through the old trees' branches when you find yourself. All around you are empty, ancient houses, wood rotting, broken windows, and missing shingles. Dull. Dead. Grey. Alone. These words enter your mind's eye and flash out of your conscience almost immediately. No reaction appears on your face. Only a neutral, blank slate. The pavement beneath your feet is cracked, with random blades of green-brown grass poking through. There are no sidewalks, no lines painted on the road, or signs other than the one you find behind you. It says that you are now in Orn. What kind of name for a town that is, you do not know. Frankly, you don't care. There is a pharmacy, laundromat, and grocery up the road. These once well-used necessities are boarded up and locked, except for the pharmacy. You walk slowly to it. Your hair is stirred by a sudden, eerie breeze that rattles the trees and stirs up dead leaves resting on the street.
The pharmacy is empty, but still has power. You look around when you step through the automatic sliding glass doors. What is keeping this place going? The backup generator should have burned through all its fuel at this point. You sigh faintly like an unchecked, accidental whisper, feet wiggling in your shoes in an attempt to keep them warm. The room might have a heating system, but it does not seem to be turned on at the moment. Should you try to find a way to turn on the heat? This place could be a safe spot until you find better shelter. After a few seconds of what you hope was logical thought, you step outside the pharmacy again, turning off of the pavement of the street and resolutely plodding across the dead, ochre grass to the back of the building.
A shrill screech explodes right in front of you, but your confused eyes and brain cannot detect what is in front of you right away. You stumble backwards and throw your hands in front of your face in a useless defensive gesture, but a few heartbeats later you realize that nothing happened. Your hands fall away from your face. The creature that frightened you stands on the ground and looks you straight in the eye.
It is a magpie. Superstition fades into your conscience. One magpie signals death. The bird tilts its dainty head to one side and blinks, still making eye contact as far as you can tell. Your spine sends signals to the rest of your body, telling it to shiver. This startles the magpie, and it flies off. You sigh with relief and finish walking around the side of the pharmacy. The grass ripples in the breeze, but the sky is still gray with clouds.
From what you can tell, the dusty, smelly generator still has plenty of fuel left in the tank. It looks like it hasn't been used in a long time. The heater must be inside the pharmacy somewhere, probably behind a door that says “Staff Only" or something like that. You quickly return to the front of the pharmacy and go back inside. The town's atmosphere is deeply unsettling for you, although you have no clue why. Suddenly the lights start to flicker, and before you have time to react the power supply shuts off completely.
You are surrounded by almost complete darkness. Some light from the outside realm filters in from the doors and cracks around the windows, but that's it. You wonder what could have caused this, and cower in terror. You abhor the darkness. It reminds you of home, and not in a good way.
~ eliphlovesyou from SoFurry