The Erruilion Plague: Book 1, From Roots of Evil

Chapter 1 - Humble Beginnings

          Hi. My name is Ben Armindike. If you're reading this, well then you should know this: I will not sugar coat any of my story. Some of it gets kinda hairy.... You have been warned. Now, with that over with, I suppose I should start from the very beginning, before the accident.... I was in my teens, 17 to be exact, and was a relatively good kid. I didn't do too well in school though, so my parents were always after me for that with a blood-lust. In fact, I'll start with the fight we had before the incident....

           It was a Friday afternoon like any other, the sun was out and the birds chirping. Everything was relatively peaceful in my room... Until my mother came. I heard her stomping towards my door like a battalion of elephant soldiers charging. I knew it was coming, but that didn't help a bit. I had gotten a C- in chemistry again on my report card, and my mother can't understand that yes, I really am trying to get good grades. It's just well... Chemistry is hard and Tracy Williams sits right in front of me, and I'd much rather look at her than listen to the teacher.

           At that moment she burst into the room, red as a tomato and holding my report card. "What in the world has gotten into you Ben? A C- again?! A C-! We both know you can do better." she shouted at me. I tried to feebly return with an excuse "But I can-" "Oh no you don't with that. You certainly can, you just don't want to enough. Give me your phone now." It was at this point I snapped. I had taken enough crap from her to last a lifetime and a half, and it was going to end right then and there.

           I was livid and in the midst of a whirling hurricane of anger, seeing red I shouted at her "KNOW WHAT? NO. I'M OUT. It was only two more months anyhow." I then got up as my mother stood in stunned silence, and scooped up my bag and started to head for the door. She barely managed to muster the words "But... Why?" as tears welled in her eyes. I bit back nastily saying "Because you ALWAYS take my crap away I get with MY OWN MONEY because of grades I can't improve despite my best damn effort!"

           And with that I stormed out... I still don't regret it a bit. Once out on the street I decided to head to the library and collect my thoughts, form a plan of action. It wasn't far, so running across the busy streets wasn't too bad. Once I got there I walked in and started casually browsing the fiction section, not really paying attention to it. I just kept walking along the rows until I bumped into someone.

           Had it been anyone else I would have just simply said sorry under my breath and moved on, but it wasn't. It was Tracy Williams, the girl I daydreamed about in Chem. I hadn't ever gotten the nerve to try and ask her out yet, but I think she knew it more than I know the back of my own hand that I had the hots for her. I blushed and stepped back a bit as I realized who it was and tried to stammer out "Oh- Er hey Tracy, fancy meeting you here." She looked at me and obviously took note of how I was blushing, a wicked grin on her face. She giggled a bit and said "Oh hey Ben, what's up?" She loved to mess with me sometimes, once she even drew a mustache on me when I passed out in class while the teacher was out.

           I smiled a bit and replied "Not much really, just came here to clear my head. Mother's been giving me grief about grades again." trying to downplay my situation a bit. She seemed to genuinely feel sympathy for me, and said "Awww she's always too hard on you. You do perfectly well at school." I could have sworn that she blushed a little too, but I'll never know for sure. At that moment a man bumped into me as he walked by.

          It was at this point I felt this inexplicable urge that something was wrong and I needed to escape. I didn't realize why at the time, but I was right. The library was very crowded at the time, and it is that one man in particular that I will always remember. He was wearing a trench coat and seemed to be holding something suspicious in his pocket. I didn't think anything of him... Until the moment the event that single-handedly flipped my life upside down happened. He walked to the center of the room, casually pulled out the suspicious item, a detonator, and the world seemed to slow to a stop as he pushed it. The next few seconds were a blur. A white light, a loud bang, the tinkling of glass falling, and then darkness took hold for a while...