This year I am participating in the National Novel Writing month to spur on my next series of artwork. It is called Kyle Darnell vs. The Multiverse and in a way it is the sequel to the series "Godself". I plan on making a print for each chapter. It is about Kyle Darnell and his true* adventures.
*Mostly true. Some events, names, and places have been changed to protect parties involved.
As an act of accountability for this, I will be posting the raw, unedited chapters one (or so) a day. I'll be posting them to facebook as a further reminder to keep writing. Come back tomorrow for chapter two. Also, things are uncomfortable personal. Not for me, but maybe for you.
If it sucks, don't read it.
Enough jibber jabbering.
Chapter 1: Ready, Willing, (Cain) and Abel
Kyle Darnell sits on the floor of the living room in his mom’s apartment in San Diego. The warm afternoon sun breaks through the open but barred windows illuminating Kyle, who is crouched over, slamming his toys together. After his brother Chris and himself get back from church, Kyle likes to play Action Time NOW! Something he saw on TV that uses action figures to act out scenes. He would normally run through the house screaming “HULK SMASH!” or, “This is what you get for betraying God, Eve!” It is normally whatever runs through his mind, and he acts it out with his toys. Today is no different. He had recently been into space toys since he found out that there is more outside of San Diego.
The sermon at church today was about the story of Cain and Abel. His action figures, of space monsters and GI Joes bounce along the floor. Abel is being played by his favorite toy, Space Marine Ziegler. He got it a week before for his 5th birthday, it was the first he had received that came new out of a package. Normally his mom would just pick up random toys from Agape Ministries Thrift Store. They had been used and very worn down. So he pleaded his mom that he get a new one that he could pick out. Scrapping her money together, she granted his plea. Kyle was bouncing around with glee as he got to go through the store and pick the one that caught his eye. This one stood out from the rest. About 6 inches tall of blue and gold with a dazzling scene of a slick helmeted figure shooting over a rock at bright green aliens. Explosions illuminated everything around the toy on the stiff casing, as if announcing itself to be picked out by Kyle, as if it was his destiny. Of course it wasn’t destiny, its just a toy. A way to preoccupy Kyle while his mom works one of her three jobs. But Kyle doesn’t know that. All he knows is that this toy is the one.
He immediately became inseparable from Space Marine Ziegler. It had 18 points of articulation and came with an assortment of different laser pistols to fight off whatever Kyle saw fit. Which was normally a brightly colored, two headed monster/man hybrid called Zach. As if two bodies were slammed together at the torso with the right side a deep maroon lizard skin covered earless man, and the left was a blue toothless monster. The two heads on the torso could spin so Kyle normally had them talk to each other in how to defeat Ziegler. Their legs were worn down from years of use that the fake blue pants started to wear away from the plastic moulding. A cast off from the thrift store that his older brother Chris used to play with when he was a kid. Kyle doesn’t remember Chris ever playing with it. He was six years older than Kyle and significantly more mature. Already working several jobs around the neighborhood, Chris cast off the warm blanket of childhood to embrace a role in the family that could help support them financially. He is only eleven years old, but he seemed more like an adult than Kyle’s brother.
“God, I sacrifice these foods to you.” said Kyle, sitting on the mock oriental living room rug in front of the TV. Kyle wore his hair cropped short, so his mom could more easily cut his thin blonde hair with the clippers. The only act of personality or flair came from the longish tuft of hair protruding from the top of the back of his neck. It was long enough to be braided, but it rarely was, as Chris threatened to cut it off while Kyle slept.
“No Cain, God doesn’t want your stinky vegetables.” Kyle said has he thrust Ziegler in his right had at Zach in his left and knocked him down. Spilling the invisible vegetables off of the miniature table to the ground. “God wants lamb! He not a rabbit.” Kyle pantomimed Ziegler picking up his Lamb Chop stuffed toy, three times the size of Ziegler, and placed it on the table.
“But thats not fair.” Said Kyle as Cain/Zach, “This is what I have and it should be good enough.” Kyle held Cain with his left hand and moved in to punch Abel/Ziegler. Kyle turned Abel out of the way at the last second, striking Cain in the stomach. With Cain bent over, Kyle thrust one of his heads between Abel’s legs and lifted him up in a half somersault, so Cain rested momentarily on Abel’s shoulders.
“TOP ROPE POWERBOMB!” Kyle said as he lifted them both up off of the TV hutch and threw them down, through the altar with Lamb Chop. Abel stood over the battered body of Cain and said “When you come at the King, you better not miss!” Kyle took Abel and bounced him away in short hops with his back turned to to Cain.
“GD Kyle, thats not what happened.” Said Chris, who was sitting in the recliner, at the edge of the rug. “Did you even pay attention in church?” Chris said in a very frustrated tone.
“I know what happens,” Kyle turned towards him, looking up at the husky freckled man-child sitting in the chair. “but thats boring. The good guys don’t win that way.”
Chris got up out of the chair and approached Kyle on the floor, towering over him,“Here, let me play.” Kyle thought this strange, Chris never wanted to play “Action League NOW!” with him. But anticipating some brotherly interaction, Kyle scooted over and patted his left hand on the ground next to him. Chris sat down, taking Cain in his hands.
“Give me Zach, I’ll be Cain and you be Abel.” Chris said to Kyle, his girth obscuring the light coming in from the window. Kyle nodded in agreement and cleared Lamb Chop off of the altar. “ This is how it is done.” Chris set the table with the invisible vegetables and raised Cain’s arms into the air, “God, accept the sacrifices that I give to you!” Chris bounced Cain in a circle around the altar.
“My turn.” said Kyle as he used Abel to place Lamb Chop on the altar. “God accept the snackrifices I give to you!” and then Kyle took the table with Lamb Chop and lifted it up in the air. As this was happening, Chris took Cain and slammed him towards Abel. Kyle noticed this and had Abel dodge at the last second, dropping Lamb Chop in the process.
“Hey,” said Kyle angrily, “thats not what happens.”
“Yes it does, I swear you are retarded or something.” Chris said to Kyle, grabbing Ziegler out Kyle’s hands, “Thats why you go to special class.”
“My special class if for gifted kids, duh.” Kyle sniped back at Chris, “You just call it special because you were too dumb to get into it when you were my age.”
This enraged Chris, he did harbour some resentment towards Kyle for not being placed in a class of intelligent youngsters. Instead having to spend his elementary school years dealing with gang members with less than enthusiastic teachers.
“No I’m not, this is just what happens.” Chris took Cain and Abel and started slamming them together.
“You’re playing too rough, stop it.” pleaded Kyle as he stood up.
As Kyle said this, Chris took Ziegler, as Abel, and snapped him in half through the waist. Kyles mouth held agasp, with the whites of his eyes almost overwhelming the pupils he shouted “Why you do this!”
Chris threw both halves on the ground at Kyle’s feet. “This is what happens, Cain kills Abel and is then thrust out of the family, forced to roam the lands.” Chris took Zach as Cain and threw him out the window into the street two stories below.
Kyle ran to the window to see where it went, at that moment a garbage truck ran over the toy, crushing it into pieces. Kyle was breathing heavily, trying to hold back the tears. “But you didn’t have to actually do it. It’s a story, it’s not real.”
“It’s not just a story,” said Chris, now standing next to Kyle. “Most of the time, the bad guys win. Now get out of the way, I have work in an hour and you are blocking Family Matters.”
Kyle ran crying to his room, broken toy in hand and locked the door.