Risen From Prison. Bosco H. C. Poon

      Chapter 1

      Nightmare

      “No, no, NOOOOO … stay away from me!” I screamed, accidentally falling off the couch like a startled cat, but, unlike a cat, I didn’t land on my feet. My shoulder hit the carpet with a thud, and the side of my head followed. “Ouch, that hurt! Whoa … how long have I been sleeping?” I mumbled to myself—still half-asleep. I was drenched in sweat. It was another bad dream. Seems they were coming fast and furious these days, given the mess I had gotten myself tangled in.

      I rubbed my forehead and struggled to recall what I had been doing when I fell asleep. Through the crack between the curtains I could see that it was already dark, and judging by where the moon was, I guessed it was about midnight. As I strained to survey the dark empty room—my computer room—I suddenly had a flash of intense memories of all of the things that had happened there. They came like a little slide show.

      I remembered our first day in this house. It was just as empty then as it was now and with just as many nail holes in the drywall, dust bunnies on the floor, dead bugs between the windows, and cobwebs in the corners. Piece by piece, my family had cobbled together enough money to furnish the place and make it seem like a home.

      In this room I had parked my first desktop computer—the kind that came in a huge case and occupied half of the workspace. I had smoked my first cigarette with my head sticking out the window so my mom wouldn’t bust me. I had my first private guitar lesson, practised for my first public performance, and composed my first song—all of this on the very same wood-framed couch. It was a room of firsts—like a treasure box of my teenagehood. And now, in the same manner I had first seen it, it was empty again. We were moving, and the house was up for sale.

      I was enjoying all of these fond memories until I heard a hoarse and emotional voice yelling from the basement: “Help me! Please! Please, let me go! Is anybody up there? Someone, please help!”

      All of a sudden, stark reality shattered my reverie, and I recalled exactly why I was here. Oh no! This can’t be happening, I thought. This was way beyond playing Grand Theft Auto on PlayStation or watching Alpha Dog on the big screen.

      What a mess, I thought, what a horrible mistake! Some innocent kid was tied up in the basement of my parents’ house. I didn’t know why Blade had picked this guy to kidnap. It seemed more or less random to me.

      What have I become? I berated myself. I knew there was a risk that this could all go sideways, but I never dreamed it would end up in a tailspin so quickly. If I recall correctly, it had begun two weeks prior.

      _______

      With

Скачать книгу