Archive | May, 2009
Aside

Undisclosed Location #2: A Past

(New here?  Start at the overview / Previous Post)

It had been tough the last month, making ends meet with the nest egg I had managed to pack away when I had been working.  The money had supposedly been for some future retirement, but now I was burning though it at a frightening rate.  I’d even considered moving in with my sister or parents, and just thinking of it again made me wince involuntarily.  Not that there was anything wrong with them, just, it would seem like I was admitting defeat to move in with them.

I had been job searching ever since Genvox, the researched corporation I had formerly worked at, folded.  They became the focus of a major public outcry after participating in some rather immoral experiments.  Even though I wasn’t personally involved in any of the shadier dealings, it still makes my stomach turn that such things were happening around me, and I didn’t know.  How could I have been so blind?

I had often re-run scenarios over in my mind, the warning signs that things were being hidden, the strange previous cases they had me studying.  I should have known, I should have something!  My focus then shifted back to the present, suddenly realizing I was still gripping the envelope; I took a moment to ponder its contents.

With Genvox not only dead, but also the only viable reference I had for my work experience as a researcher, I’ve been in the cold as companies have avoid me because of my former employment.  This was probably another rejection letter…but since when do couriers deliver rejection letters?

I took a moment to pray and ask God that this would finally be a break-though, a chance for me to redeem myself to some extent and get my life back on track.  After that short, silent prayer, I carefully pulled the tear tab on the envelope and pulled out the document inside.

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[Notes: This entire section didn't exist in the original story I had in my pads; I added it later to provide more grounding for the character.  At some point after the introductory sections are up, I'll post the originals so you can see just how much the story changed from the initial concept, though the rewrites.]

Aside

Undisclosed Location #1: A Delivery

(If you haven’t yet, read the overview)

Birds were singing, the sun was shining, and only one small cloud in the distance marred the blue sky.  I had recently started my morning jogging again after a long winter of what felt like solitude and isolation.  Not to mention I was getting a bit pudgy and out of shape; I was feeling ready to collapse as I turned the corner and began jogging down the sidewalk of the street where my townhouse apartment was situated.

I had always been the loner type, the person who hung out with the punch bowl at parties, who scoffed at commitment.  It made friendships difficult, but seemed to be able to help me focus with my work…well, my former work anyways.  I sighed once again recalling that I haven’t had one solid work opportunity since I was laid off last month and my finical buffer was getting lower and lower.

As I drew closer to the townhouse, I noticed that a courier was just getting out of his van and approaching my front door.  Even though I was already physically exhausted I tried to pick up the pace even more, eventually reaching him just as he was walking back to his van.

“Is that for me?” I asked rather wheezy and out of breath.
“That depends, you Erhik Greene?”
“That I am!”
“Great!  I’ll need some photo ID too though.”
I showed him my drivers license and signed for the manila envelope the courier was carrying under one arm.

After he’d wish me good day and headed back to his van, I looked down at the envelope I was now holding.  The return address blandly stated “Human Resources” with a return address in Virgina.  My insides leaped for joy, I had been job hunting for a few months and this might be my lucky break, right here in my hands.

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Aside

Undisclosed Location [An Overview]

Undisclosed Location is my first large-scale attempt at writing fiction, it’s taken a lot of rewrites and rethinking to even get to the stage it’s at now.  Currently the story sits in various books and notepads, in printing and cursive (most of the cursive requires all my skill and dexterity just to decipher my own handwritting…).  Some of it has been retyped onto my PC, usually undergoing multiple revisions as well.

One of the issues I have whenever I do anything creative is “stick-to-it-ness”.  I tend to loose focus, get distracted and generally get bored of the idea and move on before completing it.  In order to prevent the same thing from happening with Undisclosed Location, I’m going to begin posting bits of the story here as I finish them.  In some cases full “chapters”, in others more like entire short stories fitting a series, and sometimes just a few paragraphs I’m working on rewritting.

I’m hoping it’ll not only be a great way for me to stay modivated, but also be a way to get feedback on my writting and improve it as I go.  I’ll be posting the first “chapter” later on today; that section alone has recieved at least 3 total rewrites, and 1 minor rewrite (yeah, I’m a perfectionist).  I hope you’ll enjoy it, and please give feedback–good or bad–unmercifully!

(Continue to #1: A Delivery)