New strings on an old guitar.

Pumking Babble, Live at Hamburg

2011-09-26T01:03:00.001-07:00

I'm gonna take a moment out of story telling to write down an idea for a story I had at work just a few minutes ago- so it doesn't stray far off.

This story revolves around a blonde girl with ocean-blue eyes named Low-E (a musical reference). She wears black clothes, a red apron, and eventually commands an army of cartoon ninjas that only come alive when she has enough imagination thriving in her.

She lives a boring life in a rich neighborhood as a bagger in a store (she is 17 years old) and her nerdiness is only excelled by her secret love for adventure.

In her days in this boring job, she day-dreams a war against the minions of Normalcy who try to bring her back into reality. Her actions as she commands her ninjas through battles are executed through fast-paced songs in which she must match the beat and melodies of said songs in order to win. The final fight has her building courage to leave the boring lifestyle in pursuit of a more fulfilling career.

I think I need one more pumpking... one was NOT enough!

The Build Up

2011-09-11T01:14:00.000-07:00

No matter how soft I played the strings, the standard tuning would always become undone and it bothered me so much. The rattling the headstock made was a minor auditory discomfort, but having to re-tune the strings every 5 minutes was really annoying. I don't know anything about how to stop the rattling, and yes, the strings were old- I could simply change the strings and problem number two would have been solved. However, if I can't fix both problems at once, then it wasn't going to happen.

It's December 6, 9:24am. The year is irrelevant to me, always has been. I group the events of this December day with the ones of previous December 6's if you get what I mean. Every day is a day to remember. However, I lost track of how old I am. 23? 24? 27? The number is only relevant when I have to respond. All I can remember about my earlier days was an old picket fence facing me, I'm sitting under an orange tree. There was also a big turtle moving about. A fountain carved of volcanic rock. And then they came for me. I would never see my family again.

The life I had left, was spent in training. I don't feel like I need to know who they were. I'm not curious about what I left behind. That old white picket fence, the paint was flaking off. Maybe it was for the better, to leave that childhood prison behind. Now, I'm a man.

I'm a man on a mission.

New Strings.

2011-07-25T21:49:00.000-07:00

A cabin sits quietly between the mountains, facing the sun rise. The cold wind blows past the cabin, shaking the old foundation, but never threatening to break it down. It's not snowing, but the ground outside says it did. The golden rays of the sun, they're breaking through the clouds.

---------

It's 5:51am.
I couldn't sleep.
Any moment now, the rest of the crew will wake up.
I can't remember the last time I saw the sun come up. There was no time to look at time. Time is... I don't even know what day it is. All the fighting. Right now, all I know is I've got to stay alive 'til I reach the Ark.

It only seems like a couple of hours ago, it happened to quick.

our plane got shot down, and I wasn't sure we were going to survive on the way down.
My thoughts, they're scattered, there are many things going on, and it's funny, just a bit. Being conscious that there is so much. I want to laugh. It's so inappropriate.

"You know, I didn't notice before, but your eyes, they look almost completely white when you're facing the sunlight."

I looked slightly to my left. Valencia was awake, looking at me.

"I thought you were weird when I first heard of you, but golden eyes? You definitely got me."

She walked up towards me, I'll just look away.

"What's wrong? It's a beautiful morning. Aren't you going to say good morning at least Bruce?" she asked.

"We've got a lot of work to do today and we're going to need to focus. You should consider placing a higher priority on the work load instead."

"Whoa now chief" Valencia said sarcastically, "I was just complimenting you on your eyes, hehe."

"Thanks."

Bruce walks away from the window, and back into his room.

Chapter 1, Part 1 - The Hero Awakens

2011-07-25T01:35:00.000-07:00

I'm staring into the darkness.
I know I'm looking at it.
My eyes are not straining.
They aren't closed.
I'm trying to find something, anything.
But my eyes are calm, they don't care.

In the dark, you aren't suppose to see anything.
However, I can see the colors on me.
My skin.
My clothes.

Take one step forward. Is it solid?
It feels like the floor.
I'm just going to have to trust my instinct.
Why is it so dark?

If I walk, how do I know I'm going one way? anywhere?
That white dot on the horizon...
Is it real or has my perception been twisted?
I can feel the pulse in my heart. This is new.
The white dot is real.
At least now there is a direction.
The white dot pulses, as if it was breathing.

I look 'up'.
When did that get there?
That thing with numbers... Odd.
They travel at different speeds.
It's not keeping track of time.
What is it counting to? Is it even counting?

I look back 'down'.
The white dot pulses still, only this time,
The white dot is a white-perimeter-ed circle.
The pulse I hear... it's not my heart, but
they share the same rhythm.

This sound... it's getting louder.
It's laughing.
Suddenly, the circle explodes,
You can't see the perimeter anymore,
I feel like it ate me, the way it disappeared.
At a distance, shapes, letters, numbers,
They are coming out, so small, and closer to me.

Then they stop.
They turn to each other,
Like an animal with instinct.
A loud scream.
I fall to my knees and hold on to my ears,
I can't bare it, but it's not helping,
God, end it, what's happening?!

Look at them, they prey on each other.
They're eating each other.
Letters eating numbers, numbers eating letters,
Shapes zooming past them like racing cars,
So much noise and suddenly they all stop again.
They look 'up'.

The 'tracker' is gone.
And coming into view, 'up there',
The circle turns into a white dot again.
Compress yourself, every single molecule, compress it.
Now turn into a line, expanding both ways at the same time.

That ring in my ear, from the echoes, it's a laugh.
The line is infinite, and it acts like a wave now,
Mimicking the way the laugh would look like.
It gets louder.

Stop laughing.
Please stop laughing.
It's right next to my ear.
Stop fucking laughing.
Why won't you stop?
Just stop, please stop.
You don't even know why you're laughing,
You're just doing it.
Everyone is scared.
The numbers and the shapes and the letters,
They're 'everyone'.
They're trembling.

Stop the fucking laughing,
It's not funny.

LEAVE ME ALONE RIGHT NOW.

Open my eyes.

A drop of cold sweat makes it into my eye.
I hold my breath, to know that I'm alive.
And the tears... they relieve themselves from their prison
In my heart.
A glass full to the brim,
I can't hold any more in.
It's time to spill the glass,
and make room for more.

Daylight arrives slowly.

-end chapter 1