Happy Blog Day Everyone!
Not a lot going on this week, but chapter 8 of Phantom Dawn is here for your reading pleasure, as well as everyone's favourite duo...As long as they're a down on his luck dude and his talking rat business partner that is...
The Comic Tales of Brennan and Riz
Okay, can you guess the three movies? I think I made them too easy myself. Quite happy with the third panel, managed to capture Dan Akroyds little head turn there quite well.
I'm adding this to the list of ideas that can be repeated as we all know Riz loves his outfits.
Short Diversions: Phantom Dawn- Memories of a Rose Chapter 8
Here we come to another divergence point from the comic storyline! Things are heating up, a lot of action is heading your way! Saying that though, things may be a tiny bit familiar to those who read the strip, as Kurz does need a moment in the sun.
Phantom Dawn Chapter Index
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
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Chapter 8: Walk About
Rose was restless. She probably should have tried harder to relax, to sit alone with her thoughts, but it was to no avail. She didn’t know if it was the fact that she felt out of place with everything, or Si snoring away on the sofa in the room next door. She looked outside the broken window, and decided to try and find some peace out there. There was a brief thought about letting someone know where she was going, but how could she do that when she didn’t know where she was going. That, and she didn’t want to disturb anyone if they were resting. Thinking of everything that had happened that morning alone, she wasn’t sure if she’d already caused enough trouble as it was, the last thing she wanted was to be a bother. To that end, she headed for the door, only pausing to see if she could hear any sign that someone was moving around, all she could hear was the hushed whispers of a conversation that she knew she wasn’t privy to. She didn’t wish to intrude any further, so she exited the building. She wasn’t aiming to go far, or even leave the town, no, she just wanted some fresh air. She carefully closed the door behind her, and took in the sight of the ramshackle town. The streets looked barely more alive than when she was led there. The weather certainly didn’t look any better, that grey skies barely concealing the ominous Phantom Dawn that hovered malevolently, like a deity passing judgment on everyone below.
Shaking it off, Rose focused on those on the ground, rather than the sky, and she started walking to what she presumed was the middle of the town, noting to herself how quiet things were. Of those people that were mulling around, most of them were older folk that seemed to be trying to find their own purpose, much as she was. No one was wanting to speak to her, with many turning away from her as soon as she neared. There was hate on their faces, it was how they looked at her, with a sense of fear nestled in their doubts. The story about what she had done to Mason must have spread around the town, and it showed.
Rose was a little taken back from their reactions but didn’t focus on it, she even wondered if they were in the right to fear her given her experiences so far. While there was something in the feelings that seemed to be pushing against this, it was perfectly true that she could have been a tyrant, someone who lauded her strange powers against everyone else, a person who used force the same way that Finch apparently did.
Back at the house, in one of the upstairs rooms, Kurz laid on the bed, facing the ceiling. He’d heard Rose leave, but he didn’t think much of it, instead he’d been trying to get his grandfather to admit why he thought it was a good idea to drag her into everything, wanting to use that as a springboard for what she really was. Neal, hadn’t been in the mood to talk, wanting to generally rest, promising a full conversation to Kurz when he’d been able. This left Kurz discontented, he’d wanted a full explanation now. It bothered him that he couldn’t get a reading on who this girl was, and how she seemed so out of everything. Nothing about her fitted in. At the same time, he couldn’t deny that she was special, but that in of itself was a worrying thing, as it wasn’t like the Phantom Dawn just affected the monsters sometimes. All he needed was a breakdown of what happened, why his grandfather had seen it to take her under his wing. Realising he was rehashing the same questions in his head, Kurz turned over again, facing the other wall, but his thoughts still wouldn’t leave him alone. One nagging thread that kept poking it’s way obtrusively through was how irrational he was being over this, and how he’d acted towards her without her doing anything to deserve it. He’d been in a bad mood since Si first started ordering drinks instead of dealing with the problem they were facing.
No, it was before that wasn’t it Kurz corrected himself. If he was being honest with himself, absolutely honest, he hadn’t been happy for a long while, masking it at first, before it became clear that there was little reason to hide it. He tossed and turned some more before punching his pillow in frustration. He sat up, swinging his legs off the bed, and let out a heavy sigh.
“Fine…” he said to himself. “Didn't want to stay in anyway…” he got up and headed outside.
Rose had lost track of where she was, having gone in different directions depending on when her mood struck her. She didn't even know how long she'd been wandering for. She seemed to have been in a place where once a lot of people would have lived judging by the amount of dwellings that were around, though now, it seemed like a lot were empty. The buildings looked more flimsy than where Neal was currently staying.
“Are you the strong girl?” A little voice asked her.
Rose spun round to see a small girl had snuck up on her. Her clothes matched the ramshackle nature of the world around her but still wore a beaming smile. Her hair was covered by a hat that looked several sizes too big for her.
“Strong girl?’ Rose repeated the question back to her.
“Yeah! The one who beat up the bully! My mama told me the girl who did it had red hair and you got red hair!”
“Your mama?” That mere mention of the word sent a chill up and down Rose's spine. She knew the implications of it but something was stopping her from processing it fully. She thought hard on the word, trying to focus on it, and a silhouette appeared in her mind.
“Are you okay?” The little girl asked, snapping Rose away from the thought. She stood there silently, reeling from the re-emergence of a half memory, one that she came desperate to fully retrieve.
“I'm fine,” Rose said softly, even going as far as adding a small smile at the end. “Please don't worry about me.”
“Will you always fight the bullies?” the little girl asked within a single breath, pivoting to a new line of questioning.
“Will I always fight?” Rose repeated it to herself, taken aback by what the girl said.
“Yeah, fight the bullies. They took my daddy away,” the girl looked down at her feet, making a small cross shape in the dirt. Rose didn't know what to say to that, though she was reminded of what Neal had said earlier.
“I'm sorry to hear that…”
“Mama says its fine and that daddy is here,” the girl pointed to her heart with a big gesture.
Rose felt like she'd been put on the spot, so much so, she'd felt relieved when she heard a older woman's voice calling out from within the dwellings.
“Cecily!”
“That's my mama, I have to go now. Thank you though,” the girl smiled again, though it was more subdued than before.
“For what? Hitting the bullies?” Rose enquired.
The girl took her hat off, revealing long red hair that seemed to mirror Rose's own.
“For being like me!” Her smile widened again. “You'll have to meet Mama at some point! Bye bye!” the girl ran off excitedly, and Rose heard her shouting, presumably to her mother that she met the strong girl.
Rose watched her run off, not sure what she was feeling, or if she should be happy or sad.
“You made a friend then?” Kurz noted as he approached slowly from behind.
“Oh!” Rose turned with a shock. “You're Neal’s grandson….”
“Look…I was thinking, and it occurred to me…” Kurz seemed to step over his own words, getting into a jumble with them. “...That we never were properly introduced.”
“We weren't? But your grandfather told me your name? Wasn't he supposed to do that?”
“Ah, well…” Kurz trailed off, part of him wondering why he'd even followed her out here when something else caught his attention, and awful noise that sounded like crashing thunder. It started off low at first but got louder and louder.
“Is that a monster?” Rose asked.
“No…it's something worse!” Kurz replied, knowing exactly what it was. “We have to get back to granddad now!”
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Next Chapter
Technically a brief blog this week, but it still counts. Hopefully I'll have more to say next week.
Till next time...
Keep on writing!
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