NOW PUBLISHED!!
This is the unedited version of The Collected. You can now get the completed version with the link
In my bio!
The story of a lost boy, a fisherman's daughter, a heartless soul and a lonely mechanic lost in the stars.
The Collectors a...
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The crowd was always chanting a name, whether it was the winner, the loser, or Collector who hadn't hurt their fair share of aliens in the day. It was always an obligation to cheer for the Collector, because no one wanted to see them angry. Usually, the name was lost is a sea of screams and accents of different languages. Or it was long and confusing, something I couldn't pronounce properly. Yet today the name was familiar to me, it was a name that applied to the rules of the English language.
Torryn.
Torryn.
Torryn.
Over and over again the crowd of bodies and differently shaped fists pounding the air chanted. The dim lights and swirling masses made it difficult to see, but there was no mistaking the few glimpses I got of black feathery wings.
"Nicholassss, every time, I'm confusssed to sssee you back." A creature of many languages stood at the door to the makeshift ring. I never asked for her name, but she knew mine. She knew almost everyone in this place and what language they spoke. These creatures had an impeccable memory that always disturbed me, almost as much as their slimy, coral skin and snake-like tongue.
"When did he start fighting?" I nodded passed the two others in front of me to Torryn in the ring.
"Lassst game night. I was sssurprised you did not come." Another alien entered the ring and I hoped he wouldn't win, I'd finally have a reason to punch Torryn in the face. There was just something about him I couldn't help but hate. However, I tended to hate everyone.
"I was... busy." I shrugged, rubbing my hands together.
"Anxiousss to be beaten up again?" She hissed, a sly smirk on her narrow face.
"I'm not planning on going down easy tonight." I cracked my knuckles one at a time, longing for the short burst of pain that used to come from this habit.
"Interesssting." She opened the door to the last creature in line before me when Torryn beat the other to a pulp. "Sssome advice from a fellow friend?" Her tongue flicked out, too close to my face.
"We aren't friends, snake."
"Don't call me that." She snapped and I tried to remind myself not to pick fights, there was no point anymore. I would gain nothing but bruises that don't hurt and an ever-growing longing inside. "And for that comment, no advice. Sssso long, nice knowing you." She opened the gate as a healer dragged Torryn's last victim away.
"Nicholas!" He grinned when he saw me, opening his arms wide, his wings rising with them. I couldn't help but notice the splattered colours across his feathers. Blood. Mine which was now black would blend in nicely. "I'm shocked to see you here, I heard humans were, delicate." His voice lowered to a whisper, only I could hear him over the cheers. "Delicate but so evil. You're backstabbing creatures that steal and break hearts because you have none of your own. You gain trust and support because others pity you, because you have the face of a child." -He spat- "I will enjoy killing you."
