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Old Man Norman 1: The Man on the Hill **CANCELLED**

By: lyingcake852 on Apr 18th, 2014  |  syntax: None  |  size: 13.48 KB  |  hits: 28  |  expires: Never
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  1. Old Man Norman 1: The Man on the Hill
  2.  
  3. __________________________________________
  4.  
  5. >It's the year 1750.
  6.  
  7. >Streets filled with smoke and vice.
  8. >Scoundrels searching for victims or food, scourging the very place they call home.
  9. >You sit outside the gates by the hills, observing.
  10. >Poverty has consumed the lands, the promise of a brighter future sits idly by the garbage can.
  11. >Once a day, one person dies from starvation.
  12. >If not from that, they are killed by the guards of the tyrant Queen.
  13. >You walk by the pond, looking at your own reflection.
  14. >Covered in a blanket, wearing only a pear of pants and the beanie you've loved dearly ever since you were a child.
  15. >Memories pierce your mind. Nostalgia comes through like a melody from a bard.
  16.  
  17. >But you can't remember anything.
  18. >You try your hardest, but nothing from your past comes back to your mind.
  19. >What happened to you, Norman?
  20. >Is this how you want to die? A homeless man, wandering the world without friends, family, or an identity?
  21. >It's not like you tried to make friends.
  22. >But time has caught up to you.
  23.  
  24. >You look upon the walls of the city.
  25. >Beyond it, filth worse than the feces you release.
  26. >It is a city forgotten by the Queen.
  27. >It is a shell of it's former self.
  28.  
  29. >You re-enter the city. The guards don't even give a damn anymore.
  30. >It reeks of vermin and crooks.
  31. >You walk through without a care in the world.
  32. >You have nothing to fear, for you have nothing to lose.
  33. >You look to your left. Abandoned marketplace, now used as a butcher's deli.
  34. >The pork, rotten to the flesh.
  35. >Worms crawling out of it, but the butcher doesn't mind. No, he just wants to sell and live on.
  36. >To the right, you see a whorehouse.
  37. >The putrid odor of women overusing fragrances scatters in the wind.
  38. >Moans of women can be heard from outside. Their lives completely consumed by lust and gold.
  39.  
  40. >Alas, you stop. Standing in front of you.
  41. >A wrecked home, sacked to the core.
  42. >Bricks already giving up. The roof, destroyed by time.
  43. >IT was your home. The place you were raised.
  44. >You enter the house. Empty by far.
  45. >You remember living here, but you can't remember anything else.
  46. >Just the fact that you come here every now and then.
  47. >You hold the walls of the house, hoping you would remember something.
  48. >Anything at all.
  49. >...
  50. >Nothing. Not even the faces of the people you once called mother and father.
  51. >They taught you, raised you, loved you.
  52. >You don't even know where they are, or where they're buried.
  53. >But you remember the house, and with that, you kneel.
  54. >You pay your respects. This home sheltered you from disasters. Sheltered your family.
  55. >But it has been defiled after being abandoned for so long.
  56.  
  57. *creak*
  58.  
  59. >You notice a noise coming from upstairs.
  60. >Standing up, you spoke.
  61. "H-Hello?"
  62. >...
  63. >Nothing. Was it just a rat? A child, looking for shelter?
  64. >You walked up the broken stair-case to find out.
  65. >As you creeped up, a child peeks through the walls. The child runs away in fear.
  66. >It's only natural, but you try confirm if it is just a child.
  67. >Maybe it's one of your hallucinations again.
  68. >Maybe.
  69. >Climbing up the stairs, you see two doors.
  70. >One of them was slightly open.
  71. >You peeked in the room. The light from the broken ceiling lit the room.
  72. >A man, flesh and bones, furiously humping a dead, rotting corpse.
  73. >You peeked out due to shock.
  74. "What has this world come to?"
  75. >You turn behind you.
  76. >Another door. What's behind this?
  77. >You carefully opened the remaining door.
  78. >You breathed a sigh of relief. Nothing was inside.
  79. >...
  80. >It's not completely empty. A picture was lying on the ground.
  81. >Dusty, you blew off the dirt when you picked it up.
  82. >You held in your hands a tattered portrait. A family portrait.
  83. >Black and white. Your parents upper parts torn off. Only the portrait of yourself when you were young remains.
  84. >A tear falls from your eye. Why can't you remember anything?
  85.  
  86. *creak*
  87. >A footstep from behind.
  88. >Sounds like the guy raping the corpse wants another body. Shit.
  89. >You look behind you, looking for a looney.
  90. >But it wasn't the horny man who was creeping up behind you.
  91. >It's a small kid, armed with a branch.
  92.  
  93. "W-whoa, kid!"
  94. >The kid hits you in the head. You stumble due to your old age.
  95. >Blood pours from your nose. A slight itch from where she hit you on the forehead.
  96. >Three other kids burst in the room armed with sticks. One of them holding an iron bar. They looked girlish.
  97. "A..ahhh!"
  98. >"Get em!"
  99. >They grabbed their weapons and beats you mercilessly.
  100. >Hitting your back, your head, your crotch.
  101. >Their smiles and laughter haunt you as they torture your poor body.
  102. >"HAHAHAHAHAHA, HIHIHIHEHEHEHEH" They laughed.
  103. >"Tiara, hit him in the face!" they said
  104. >You cry to the point of submission. You're just an old man. You can't take any more hits.
  105. >But, amidts the scratches and bruises. You looked around for 3 seconds.
  106. >The child, who hit you on the head. Stands by with pity on his face.
  107. >"Come on, Babs! Join in on the fun." One of them tells him.
  108. >The kid tries to raise his branch.
  109.  
  110. "Please.N-no" you tell him
  111. >He turns away.
  112. >The children continues to beat you up with their weapons.
  113. >"SEARCH HIS POCKETS. HE MIGHT HAVE COIN!" One of the kids say.
  114. >They strip away your blanket and your pants.
  115. >They never bothered with the beanie. It already has enough holes in it to see if you were hiding something.
  116. >The look on their eyes filled with disappointment. They found nothing but a peanut and a pebble.
  117. >>"Aww, this lugnut's got nothing!"
  118. >"Pssh, we still have some use for him."
  119. >One of the kids grabs the large branch from the other kid.
  120. >"Nighty night!" she said as he whacked my head.
  121. >After that, darkness followed.
  122.  
  123. >I've always wondered how I'll die. Starvation? Attempting to speak with the queen? Stroke?
  124. >It doesn't matter. You've died getting mugged by children.
  125. >Well, at least I died with what little dignity I have left.
  126. >...
  127. >I feel a breeze through my legs.
  128. >Raindrops falling on my nose.
  129. >Rope tied to my wrists behind me.
  130. >Dammit I'm not dead!
  131.  
  132. >It is raining.
  133. >You hang by a rope tied to your arms and wrists outside your old home, naked.
  134. >People looked at your bruised and bloodied body, hanging from a ledge. They laughed at you, mocked you.
  135. >And the kids who tied you up took it as a chance to rob the audience that mocks you while they're distracted.
  136. >You look around. Whores, thieves, even the guards.
  137. >You felt something hanging from your neck. A signboard.
  138. >Trying to read it upside-down.
  139. >'Shit head of the year award' it read.
  140. >You fight the urge to cry as they continue to laugh on.
  141. >You look around the audience, because that's the only thing you can do.
  142. >The kid who pitied you, nervously pick pocketing.
  143. >He looks at you for a moment. You look back at him.
  144. >A young kid, orange skin, wearing a beret. His clothing filled with winter gear.
  145. >He's scared, terrified at what you look like.
  146. >Does he feel guilty? Disgust?
  147. >He wasn't like the others. He took no pride, nor joy with what she's doing, or what she'd done.
  148. >She looked away.
  149.  
  150. *craaack~*
  151.  
  152. >You look up. The ledge holding the rope can support you no more.
  153. >Raindrops weakening the already collapsing ledge.
  154.  
  155. *BRACK*
  156.  
  157. >The ledge breaks. You fall to the ground by 10 feet.
  158. >The fall nearly breaks your legs., but you're forced to kneel thanks to the bruises on your knees.
  159. >Debris falls behind you. You're dirty, naked and hurt.
  160. >One of the citizens took a gander, laughed and kicked you at the right of your face.
  161. >Your upper body falls to the ground. The rope by your wrists untie themselves.
  162. >Fighting the pain, you stood up, limping from one wall to another.
  163. >Covering your member with your beanie. You try to run away.
  164. >>>>"Haha, where you goin in a hurry?" said the guard.
  165. >The guard trips you down, but you got right back up.
  166. >After what seemed like an eternity, you got to the city entrance.
  167. >You crawled back up the hill in vain against the rain and the pain.
  168.  
  169. >Thunder cracks and lightning strikes.
  170. >You crawl to the tree on the hill.
  171. >The only place that you can call home at present.
  172. >The place where you used to play as a child.
  173. >It is the only thing you have left.
  174. >But you can't seem to shake the feeling that you're still alive for another reason.
  175. >
  176. >You sat by the tree, tending to your wounds.
  177. >A crow comes in and mistakes you for a corpse.
  178. >You shoo him away.
  179.  
  180. >You look up the raining clouds. It was the only thing worth looking at.
  181. >You look back to your wounds. You dab your thumb filled with rainwater to your open wounds.
  182. >It hurts, but it reminds you that you are alive.
  183. >You look at your left to see another sight. A kingdom far away.
  184. >Guarded by thousands of men, carrying bayonets as they march around.
  185. >The hill you're sitting on was high enough to witness the marvel, and corruption.
  186. >Peasants who try to get in for shelter and food were shunned. Those who persisted were killed on sight.
  187. >On more pleasant days, they get lucky and get jailed. Free food and shelter, that's what they say.
  188. >But not this poor fool. No, he pissed that guard off, and the guard stabbed him with his bayonet.
  189. >You look away from the bloody horror far away. You looked at the buildings of the castle.
  190. >And finally, something has caught your eye. A woman of familiar beauty, walked to her balcony to witness her lands.
  191. >She was one of the few things you remember.
  192. The Queen.
  193.  
  194. >You knew  the Queen back when she was still a young woman.
  195. >She had a beautiful smile. She always yearned to learn new things. She was your mentor.
  196. >She was close to you as you were to her friends.
  197.  
  198. "Purple..." you mumbled to yourself.
  199.  
  200. >You always thought she would make a wise ruler. A woman who has thought of her subjects as her own sons and daughters.
  201. >She was kind, gentle, if not a little jumpy.
  202.  
  203. "What happened to you, Twilight Sparkle?"
  204.  
  205. >And with that, you felt sleepy, and laid on your back as the tree's leaves prevent raindrops from falling to your face.
  206. >Finally, you closed your eyes, and slept.
  207.  
  208. ____HOURS__LATER____
  209.  
  210. >You awoke to the night's bright sky.
  211. >Stars glowing with the moonlight.
  212. >The rain has stopped, and clouds were nowhere to be found.
  213. >Your bruises have started to take a toll on your muscles. It always hurts when you wake up.
  214. >sigh.
  215. >You stood up, realizing you don't have your clothes anymore.
  216. >You need to find some new ones.
  217. >Limping down the hill,  you searched left and right, trying to find some robes or clothes on the ground.
  218. >You sneak by the city gates again, this time, blending in with all the other beggars.
  219. >Torches lit the city. Just enough to see the degenerates in the pale moonlight.
  220. >Gangs and young criminals took no notice, nor care to you.
  221. >They assume you're just a worthless old man, waiting to die.
  222. >You held your beanie tight to your head, and went to the city's dump to find some clothes.
  223. "Alright, found my pants."
  224. >As you dug through the trash, you noticed a familiar branch.
  225. >You grabbed it and checked it thoroughly.
  226. >Blood smeared on one side.
  227. >It's definitely the same branch that knocked you out.
  228. >You used it as a walking stick while the legs of your bones weaken from the bruises.
  229.  
  230. >Minutes later, you were out of luck.
  231. >No food, no blanket, no shirt.
  232. >Shit.
  233. >You walk out, disappointed, when you see a little kid getting harassed by adults, looking 20-ish.
  234. >"HEY, LET ME GO!"
  235. >>"Calm down, kid, we're just checking to see if you have some extra coin in your pocket." they say deviously.
  236. >They touch him everywhere, laughing and squirming their hands in his pockets.
  237. >You would have ignored it, but the kid looks familiar.
  238. >Beret, winter clothes, orange.
  239. >...
  240. >It's the girl who whacked you in the head.
  241. >But what does that matter? She did you wrong, leave her alone!
  242. >Moral voices in your head mess with your mind.
  243. >You can't leave a kid to the hands of strangers. You won't be able to sleep at this point.
  244. >Besides, what makes you so different than the filth of this place if you don't even do what's right?
  245.  
  246. >The older gang tears off the kid's sleeve. He kicks them in the groin and tries to escape.
  247. >THe kid trips, and one of the three bastards pull him back.
  248. >>"Alright kid, groin for groin. Pull her down!" one of the men say while he unzips himself.
  249.  
  250. "HEY." you yell.
  251. >They took notice. The kid is shocked.
  252. "LEAVE THE KID ALONE." You said with all your strength.
  253. >>"Ignore him, he ain't doing bolts and nuts to us."
  254. >You lift the branch high up and whacked the guy who got his zipper off.
  255. >>"AHHK!"
  256. >>>"HEY, WHAT THE HELL?"
  257. >The kid reacts. He stands up.
  258. >The remaining two guys charge at you.
  259. >You held fast to your branch and swung it across one guy.
  260. >You hit him, but it only managed to bruise his forehead.
  261. >The other man tackles you to the ground. You drop the branch.
  262. >>>"YOU MESSING WITH US?" he yelled at you.
  263. >He starts punching you in the face.
  264. >The child takes the branch and smashes it into your attacker's right face.
  265. >Splinters scatter across his head as he falls to the ground unconscious.
  266. >You immediately got up, despite your frail legs.
  267. >Adrenaline flows through your veins.
  268. >You grab the branch and readied yourself again for the last attacker.
  269. >He charges at you. He learned nothing from the last one.
  270. >You crouched  and pointed the branch at his stomach.
  271. >>>>"OOFF!" he yelled as the branch hits his lower body.
  272. >The kid kicks his knee as your raised the branch up high.
  273. >Finally, you deliver the finishing blow, bludgeoning the poor criminal on the head.
  274. >The branch broke from the impact.
  275. >Three bodies lay unconscious.
  276. >You look at the kid.
  277. >Kid looks at you.
  278. >You kneel down to give the child one final advice before you leave.
  279.  
  280. "Run."
  281.  
  282. End of Chapter 1