ReSown

Chapter 4: √Blue Arc

David wore his favorite tie every day that week. It was also his only tie, but if he had owned more ties, it would have still been his favorite. It was light blue, with a faint paisley pattern, and it was deceptively soft.

It was 6:53 am on a Thursday. The weather was nice, and David was in a good mood. In a couple months he was planning to move with his daughter to the Illinois countryside. He had discussed this with his workplace, and they had agreed to help him relocate to a local branch in the area.

Hope had been very supportive of the idea. Although she didn't quite understand the reasoning behind it, she was also excited for some new scenery. Mostly though, she didn't care where they went, as long as they were together.

It all was very invigorating to David. He walked quickly and with enthusiasm. He felt that despite the rough times in his life up to this point, that everything was now going to be ok. The only thing that could have dampened his mood was the yellow man that appeared in front of him, a way down the sidewalk.

~~~

Hope felt a shiver down her spine. She sat alone in the school bus, yet she felt a dark presence. Her arms started to get goosebumps. She looked out of the bus window, scanning the surrounding buildings as she passed. Somehow, someway, something deep within her was telling her that something was wrong.

~~~

Yeah, this goober is not Thorny Way. David realized. Aside from the yellow skin, this new perpetrator had no resemblance to the beast that had killed him before. And while this did somewhat ease his sudden flash of fear, it also piqued his curiosity as to who this fool was.

The new yellow man was crouched behind a parked car a few houses down, just off the sidewalk. He wore loose golden robes, making him stand out like a sore thumb. Eventually, he realized that David had noticed him, and made a surprised face. He then stepped onto the sidewalk away from the car and assumed some sort of battle stance.

"Ah- Prepare thyself blue concept wielder!" He shouted in a whiney and high pitch voice. His voice had trouble reaching the distance between them.

It became obvious to David that this idiot was incredibly different from Thorny Way. First of all, he was much smaller, at around five feet. He looked much more human as well, with his only monstrous trait being the bed of spines that protruded from his back. He also didn't look all that threatening, although he looked quite mad that David wasn't responding to him.

"I said prepare thyself for combat!" The yellow thing continued to shout with a shrill cry.

"Who the hell are you?!" David shouted back.

The thing smiled with glee, as if he was overjoyed that David had finally answered him. He stood up tall and spread his arms as he presented himself.

"I am Pinhog!" He screeched proudly. "The Concept of Annoyance! The top assassin of the Damnation Posse! I have four back-to-back successful kills! All of which were blue type concepts like yourself! I specialize in ambushing weaker opponents before they have any understanding of their concepts! I have three rows of quills on my back that can-"

"Damn." David interrupted his distant shouts. "My bad. On second thought, I don't really care. What I meant to say was, what the hell do you want with me?!"

"I was getting to that you inpatient ape!" Pinhog growled. "You see, I am well informed by the posse that you are a weakling that is unable to use your concept! I shall now kill you to prove my merit to the posse and General Thorny Way!"

David jolted at the mention. He had suspected Thorny Way was connected to this somehow, but the direct mention surprised him.

"You know him?"