Zodiac Chronicle

Chapter 1: C. Starville Town

 © Gerardo 'Gerard' Zulueta Gaceta III

The names and places in this story had been altered for the sake of the Zodiacs who are currently hiding, fighting off any harm and saving Innocents like you.

He was walking through the meadows. The night was young and the grasses danced and flowed with the icy wind. There, he saw a girl, standing near a dead tree, reaching out to him. Her face was covered with her long wavy black hair. Her pale white skin shimmered through her black woven dress under the big blue moon. He tried to go closer but his efforts came to naught as though his legs were as heavy as lead. And as the lightning strike the tree near her, a gunshot echoed through the meadows.

“Aaaagh!” he shouted. He panted, coughing hard as though he was suffocated in that dream.

His mother, worried as hell, came rushing to him with a candle in her hand. She sat on his bed beside him and wiped his sweat.

“Everything alright, dear?” she asked in her British accent. “Nightmare?”

“It’s… nothing. Just the same dream I’ve been dreaming for months.” He sighed.

“I see.” She said. “Better sleep more, it will go away. Besides, it’s too early to get up for school.”

“It’s okay, mom. Guess I’ll take a jog for a while to clear up my mind.” He said, took of his sheets and stood up from his bed.

He kissed his mom on the cheek and ran down the stairs, through the dark corridors and out the front door. He ran through the city and the people readying for the day.

(Point of View Change: Richard Villanueva)

I ran. It was quiet through town, C. Starville town. The sky was still dark but the sun was showing up slowly from the mountains. I went pass through the town library, the only library in this town. Books, novels, encyclopedias and all you need could be borrowed; they are just outdated unless new books come from the city every half a year time. That explains why our books in school are kind of crappy and destroyed and most pages are either lost or blurry due to water. After a few minutes, I caught a glimpse of the town theater led sign. The movies are great to watch there, only the fact that we are still in the cinema but the city already has their DVDs. That is how late the movies reach us. And oh, the titles of the movies on the led sign are usually written wrong so some go like ‘Constipation’ instead of ‘Inception.’

“Jogging aren’t we?” Old man Hank called out from his tractor.

“Just some morning exercise!” I called back.

“Take care then.” Off he went to his field. Old man Hank is the oldest guy here in town. He lived way before that library was built. Although he is a nice guy, a lot don’t like him for he speaks of weird stuff like supernatural ones that couldn’t be accepted by the townspeople.

I came so far from the town. I stopped at the board that was saying “Thank you for coming to C. Starville” and looked at the highway, road to the city. And then I realized, the sun was already up, bathing the horizon with an orangey sheet. I rushed back to the house, took a bath, ate my breakfast, bade my mother goodbye, and biked to school.

Hey! I almost forgot. I’m Richard Villanueva. People call me Rich or Richard but I prefer them calling me Indy, my nickname. I’m fifteen years old. I go to school at Starville High, in fact the only school in town. I don’t like what they teach us but my friends are there so whatever.

I left my bike on the parking lot and rushed to my classroom. Luckily, I reached just before the warning bell rang throughout the whole school. Trying to catch my breath, I signaled my best friend, Leondro ‘Leo’ Dumandan to sit on the seat adjacent to mine.