Starter Scrolls: by Nick Venom (best ereader for graphic novels txt) 📖

getting annoying. At school, he would be mean to this one girl and then be meaner to me. He’s so fwustating.”

“Fwustating?” Justin questioned.

Marie turned away from him, her cheeks blushing. She couldn’t pronounce the word ‘frustrating’.

“Anyways, have you been a good girl? Last time I heard you were at a C for writing. Has it improved?”

Marie’s eyes widened as she looked around for a way to escape the conversation. She heard Tom chuckling softly behind her, giving her a way out. “Dad, stop laughing at me. See!” She exclaimed, pointing at her father. “He’s being mean to me!”

“Dad!” Justin playfully exclaimed. “Have you been mean to her?”

Tom raised his hands into the air. “Guilty as charged.”

“Now-” The voice of Justin’s uncle echoed through the house. “-where’s the boy?” Harry, Tom’s brother, asked. He resembled Tom, except that time had been cruller on him. Tom kept his golden locks, reaching his ear, and had palish, almost ghoul-like, skin. With a pointy nose, small eyes, and a large forehead to his name, he was still handsome even in his old age.

Harry, on the other hand, lost bundles of his hair. He shaved off the fragments of his locks, resulting in his now bald appearance. He kept the pale skin, pointy nose, large forehead, and small eyes but had something that Tom didn’t have. His knuckles were scarred as if something tried to etch their name into his skin. This was a result of their childhood.

“Right here,” Justin jokingly remarked, pointing at himself. “Nice to see you, Unc.”

“Yup, bring it in.” Harry embraced Justin, bear-hugging him. 

Justin escaped the deadlock before he was suffocated by his uncle’s lanky but buff arms. “Where is the tree?” He asked, looking around the lit-up living room. “We can’t celebrate Christmas without the Christmas tree.”

Harry cringed before walking away. Marie---who had been full of excitement and glee---turned away. Tom let out an awkward cough before grabbing Justin’s shoulder and leading him to a nearby room.

“What happened?” Justin asked, tilting his head.

“Um… there was a problem with the tree.” Tom said.

“What problem? Was there a fight?” Tom nodded, leading Justin to a nearby room. The room housed a horrific sight; a young boy beat black and blue. The boy’s pale skin was stained by scattered drops of uncleaned blood and bruises everywhere. It was evident that the boy had gotten into a fight, and lost.

“Bro… b-brother,” the boy croaked. Justin’s eyes widened as he realized that it was his younger brother, Luke.

“What happened to Luke?” He demanded.

“It was a normal day, we were at the store and choosing a tree when…” His voice trailed off.

“When what?” Justin shouted. “What happened?”

“Luke separated from us and found an amazing white tree.” He touched Justin’s white hair. He had Tom’s genes in him with flowing straight hair, going down to his stomach. He was proud of his hair, taking good care of it. It was his treasure. “It resembled your hair so he wanted to get it for you. You know,” his voice teared up a smidge, “but some other kid wanted it as well. The kid called his father, who yelled and shouted at Luke, before beating him. Luke wouldn’t stand down from getting the tree and the father went psycho. He nearly beat Luke to death before passersby stepped in.”

“Please tell me you pressed charges,” Justin said, glancing at his brother’s horrible condition. “You didn’t let the father walk off scot-free, right?”

Tom nodded his head. “I’m not the most stubborn person in the world, but I know when I should put my foot down. I threatened charges and the father tried to calm me down. Ha!” He exclaimed. “I got his name and grabbed a lawyer. Trial starts in two weeks after Christmas and New Years'.”

“Oh, thank god.” Justin let out a loud sigh of relief. “Wait, why didn’t you contact me? I could’ve come out and helped.”

Tom shook his head. “It was almost time for your exams. I didn’t want you to bother you.”

“Dad,” he rested his hand on his father’s shoulder. “I will never be too busy to deal with these types of situations. Next time contact me and I’ll beat him myself.”

“Shush, let’s try to enjoy today. The year is ending and we’ll live a new year. 2020 will be a great year! It’s the start of a new decade, so let’s go pray for good fortune ” Tom declared, leading Justin back to the living room.

For the next two hours, they celebrated and drank until their livers burst. During the celebrations, Luke left his room and joined in the fun. Nobody mentioned his ill-state, instead, treating him as if nothing had happened. Everything was perfect.

Then it was not.

***

“Breaking news, meteors have slammed into Europe, South America, and Australia. Sources state that the meteors caused shifts to begin in those contact areas.” A news reporter announced. “The tectonic plates have begun shifting, resulting in large gaps and rifts throughout the contact areas. Scientists all around the world have been scratching their heads in the sudden movement of these meteors. And-” She stopped, being directed by someone off-screen. The person motioned for her to get up. She nodded, following the person’s orders as another reporter came on stage.

A moment passed---intense sobbing being heard off-camera from the female reporter---before the new reporter spoke. “It’s been reported that meteors are barrelling towards the North and South Americas. They will be colliding with us any moment.” He then stopped, joining his palms together in a prayer stance. “Let us beg the Almighty God to save-” Screams and gushy sounds followed his prayer as the news station was ripped apart by a meteor. The feed then cut off, showing the error sign.

“What do we do?” Justin’s mother asked. “Honey,”

“There’s nothing we can do. If we leave, it could be our deaths.” The sound of a house being slammed into with immense force interrupted Tom. “We could only hope and pray.”

The family snuggled together, all praying for their safety. It was the only thing they could do as large meteors slammed into houses and parks, creating massic creators, and causing earthquakes. The tremors that followed the meteors disrupted the nearby lake, Lake Michigan, and prompted the incident to become worse. A meteor attack, constant house-shifting earthquakes, and a tsunami. Chicago was one of many cities, towns, and villages to be affected. 

The water from Lake Michigan flooded downtown while the earthquakes and meteors made quick work on the suburbs and downtown’s skyscrapers.

A half-hour later, the noise had been submerged and killed. It was eerily quiet, surprising the family. It sounded like the world was ending a few minutes ago.

“Has it stopped? It is over?” Marie---through tears---asked. She had been sobbing into her brother’s shoulders.

“I should…” Harry was bewildered. His eardrums were nearly busted during the noise. It sounded like an atomic bomb had landed mere centimeters from him. 

Justin laid his hand on Harry’s shoulders, shaking his head. He turned to Marie, stroking her hair, before ripping her off his shoulder. He went to the door, which was still intact, and peered out through the small window. It was a sight to behold outside. 

“Dad,” Justin motioned for Tom to follow him. He led him outside the house to stand on their lawn. Or what was left of their land. A large rift had formed five feet from the doorsteps and ended two blocks down. Everything in between was gone. Justin’s blue off-road truck and the family’s trusted red pick-up was gone, somewhere down in the rift.

“What happened?”

“The tectonic plates shifted.” He looked his father in the eye. “God answered our prayers. He saved us. We’re okay!” He pointed at how close the rift was from consuming them. “He really answered them.”

“Calm down, Justin.” Tom kneed into the four-foot snow, putting his palms together to pray. “God saved us for a reason. It wasn’t to disrespect the dead.” He then prayed for the souls of his neighbors and everybody claimed by the rift to ascend into heaven. It was the only thing he could do.

“What now, dad?” Justin asked.

Tom rose, wiping his knees. He stared at his son, deep into his eyes. “We rebuild. As we did in the past, we’ll rebuild.”

[Day Four]

People flood the streets, searching for answers. The rift had cut off a large portion of the community, leaving a few blocks in its wake. The rifts had formed on three sides of what was left of the Ashburn community, leaving the fourth side untouched. The edges weren’t straight or perfect; often leaning and at an angle. The rift that consumed the neighbors' house---across from Justin and his family’s house---stopped at the curb, leaving the sidewalk intact. 

However, in the middle of the block, the rift slowly began receding. At the end of the block, the entire road was left untouched. Several cars remained in their spots, parked and ready to be used.

Neighbors popped their heads out of their houses to investigate the chaos outside. They were stunned at the sight of a large rift formed a small distance away from them. Some came outside to kiss the wet snow, happy to have survived, while others prayed to God for the self ascension of the dead souls. 

Some wept, knowing people in the houses that were consumed, while others wept for their survival. It was a melancholic day.

The next day, however, everything had been turned on its head. People began the rebuilding process. Those with strength repaired their homes and those lacking strength were assisted by others. The atmosphere had become tender, everybody a bit remorseful due to the situation. A massacre happened all around them, but they couldn’t see the corpses. It brought them some comfort, even if it was a small amount.

They worked tirelessly and without worry. They didn’t believe that meteors or earthquakes would occur again. Holding onto that faint string of hope, they worked with all of their might.

Justin assisted in the rebuilding process, fixing up his parents’ broken fence. Debris from the meteors smacked into his home and at the backyard’s wooden six-foot fence, tearing out chunks of it.

He grabbed a hammer, nails, and leftover wood to fix the holes in the fence. His father and uncle repaired the holes in the attic and the front walls. They were too busy to attend to other business.

“Hey, neighbor, can you help me?” A lady’s voice asked from behind him. Justin stood up, looking around his fenced-in backyard for the voice’s origin. “It’s me, Linda, your neighbor. I’m on the other side of the fence.”

Justin walked up to the fence, seeing a small bit of his elder neighbor within the small gaps between the wood. “Do you need help?”

“Yes, my roof nearly caved in. My son’s helping me, but it looks like it’ll take a while.” She told him.

“Let’s talk in front of your house. It’s uncomfortable to talk here, separated by this fence.” She nodded, heading to the front. Justin went to her front yard, meeting with his neighbor, face-to-face. She appeared to be in her late eighties with a small round face. She was petite---whether she had always been petite throughout her life or because of her age was unknown. 

She wore a floral shirt that went down to her hips and black pants that was a size too large for her. She held a white cane in her left hand and a cigarette in her right.

“Miss, you shouldn’t be smoking.” He told her.

She scoffed. “We nearly died, I can afford to smoke a bit. If anything, I would rather kill myself than be eaten by that rift.” She pointed at the rift, the edge being several feet from them.

“Your son would be disappointed to hear you say that.”

Linda shook her head slowly, not quick enough to break anything. “Andy can’t do half the things I could in my prime. That boy needs to learn survival skills.”

“He’s still your grandson, so don’t disgrace him with your words.” Justin reminded her. She nodded, leading him to the attic of her one-story