At The Edge Of Argosy

                                                                                     Chapter 1

                                                                         Beginning of the end

           It's a very hot day for a typical winter season. As he was finishing his meal, down to his hot cup of coffee. He couldn't help but notice the chipped rim on the surface of the mug he's drinking from, sipping... Unmindful of the liquid's temperature that flows through his mouth down to his throat almost like scalding it's way to his stomach. Avoiding it, he stares at his cup, white porcelain, but almost black-brown from stains of coffee, suggestive of either lack of a good wash from the dish machine just plain depreciation. The he looks at Rina the waitress whose raspy voice complemented by her fine face, skin tight, chestnut eyes, scrawny figure serving diligently. The thought and sight of her could make one forget what is visibly unlikely to witness in plain sigh-details like the torn patches and pockets in her dainty uniform, signs of wear that the fabric looked aged than the person wearing it.

              Then the silence of observance is broken by the loudmouthing of Abobo, the bald guy whose mustache is reminiscent of that popular olden comedian charlie choplin. Rina is hailed to serve the piled-up orders by the service counter.

           As his attention was quelled by deafening bustle of cafeteria Joehnny overheard a man, talking to his wife commentating about how the food is anything but good-either it's the way it got cooked or it's just the food itself that by the normal standards couldn't be classified into any basic food groups. "But, alas! Just having something in the table to put into our stomachs is bliss enough considering what we go through everyday in this godforsaken Earth!!" replied the old lady...and kept on with ' We are the unfortunate one's who did not see the beauty of this world, we are the unlucky one's who endure this impairing  Earth." As the man was listening to his wife's griping, his plate is almost empty, he drinks his glass of water the suddenly paused.... it becomes a habbit for him to pause while drinking, for ce cannot help it even the water is anything but crystal but clear. Even the most expensive filtration system could'nt purify it. Then the man shook his head in despondence.

           Joehnny having witnessed this, just takes a bow of the blues himself, as he scans his barcode using of his credits earned for that week, and his thinking how he gonna buy his family at home some food that gonna last half a month for his credits are down to just several days in equivalence. Doing the math on his arm he's calculated the day he works as equal to a dozen dollar's worth, the meal he eats costs a one day worth, it's too much than he expected, he was forced to eat in the cafeteria because he left his pack food at home and he deeply regret it. So he'd have to skip every chance he can last, to acquire rations that would sustain them a month. Upon the realization of the reality stinging him like a dozen mutated bees, he cuzzes with the most unimaginable imprecation to comfort himself. He talks to himself like " if cash and credit card was bad, what's that compared to now.." F*%# this new era!!!"

       On his way out he thanks Rina for nothing but just the sight of her tending to the guests with sheer goodwill despite of all the negation they emit. As he steps outside the eatery, the wind touches his skin, as grimy as his appearance, the air itself is sticky, polluted to breathe, ...caused by the rotting smell of rubbish strewn everywhere, not to mention the dense black smoke billowing frow the factories along the vicinity. As he trods the path to the mine where he works, crime professess everywhere along with unbearable sins, suddenly, from his tinkering.. he is startled by a man grabbing his arm. As Joehnny was trying to take the man's hands off his arm he loses his balance and gets pulled near whispering distance of the thug's filthy mouth, he silently said..." we are doomed!! The end is nigh- Repent!! Ask for forgiveness! Ask for salvation! Pass this message unto your loved ones, keep your faith! Pray that you'll be redeemed from domination!!" Then he walks away limping as if injured by evil doers. So, instead of Joehnny lashing out his fury at the deranged man, pity begot the best of him. For seeing that this vagabond portrays the worst-tattered of appeals as to his clothing weren't enough statement to imply the lack of water resource, what more could his anhydrous image suggest. But then, it's not only this man, as he goes on to his path,he sees women and children who also lay victim to this survival of the fittest era where thirst isn't the only culprit of demise and mortality, but starvation and diseases as well plague man and womankind all over. As he reached the cornucopia of his means of living, he kept asking himself " When will this abhorrent scene in the worl d ever end?"....He sighed.
At the mine, hard at work, he kept on digging and goes into wondering again. Unwarily, he was speaking to himself " why the heck are we mining here? There's not much find here anymore, and besides, who needs these "rocks" "... While this question hung unto our proponent's mind. The ore stack is shown getting processed into each corresponding levels as it is finalized into high-caliber weapons. From here, the armaments and ammunitions are shown moving around from the avaricious industry magnates and its linked factions to the lower rank-and-file And from these unscrupulous latter who aim for extracurricular profits. The cycle of the weaponry involves gang and insurgents who all vie for some sense of delusions of independence from the domineering chains  that restrain them. It is in this cycle that humans revolve around fighting each other for the very means of the adage: "self-preservation". Now, back to Joehnny's query obliviously blabbering to himself in the quarry... André.. one of the workers overheard Joehnny's self bickering- upon this, he signals his cohorts Rommel and Adolf to Joehnny's direction and altogether they bursted in laughter after André yelled  " shut up, Retard!" at him. Unmindful of this remark, he felt more inclined to sate his drying throats with drink of water, But as he was about to rush to the tunnel elevator, on his way to the drinking station, the guy supervising them shouted" Hey you, Dinkhead-where'd'ya think yo' going? " Work ain't over yet get back to digging!!!" As the guy kicked the shovel to him hitting his leg.

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Thanks for reading !!! If you spot any inconsistencies or typos/grammatical errors.. please bear with me. At the moment, I am at the exploratory stage of my writing. However, if you liked this prelude to my first chapter, please watch out for the next events as I polish the following contexts of my story before i post it here. Thanks Again !! Please Stay Tuned !! More bound your way Dear Readers !!......