Post by sandman on Nov 26, 2005 16:55:27 GMT
This is the prologue of the novel I have been working on for about two years now (unfortunately work and life get in the way of my writing!). Please feel free to be impressed or scathing. 
Prologue - The End
He was awake. Or at least, he thought he was awake. He wasn’t sure really, seeing as he couldn’t remember going to sleep. Tym lay on his back, feeling the dull cold of the smooth floor creep into his plain black shirt. His eyes opened sharply and were greeted with whiteness - no ceiling, no sky, no shapes or forms of any description. The lack of something to focus upon caused a jolt of concern to run through his body. Was he blind? Was this what blindness looked like? An involuntary wink forced his panic into retreat though and he pulled his sweating hand up to his face to slap it back down into his stomach pit. He wasn’t blind. It was about the only thing he did know. He placed his arms down against the white floor and pushed himself up. The gentle crinkling of his shirt told him he wasn’t deaf either. Nor was he paralysed. Where the hell was he? Where was everything and anything? He looked down at himself - there was nothing else to look at. He was wearing a straightforward and uninspiring black shirt and a pair of black jeans that looked as though they had seen better days. His feet were bare.
As Tym strained his memory for something solid, there was a bright flash of what looked like red flame in front of him. Looking up with furrowed brow, Tym felt his stomach tighten again as a two-foot tall imp stood in front of him. Imp? Where the hell had that word come from?
“Good morn-noon” said the imp cheerily. It pulled out a clipboard from under its arm, scanning the papers attached to it. “Mister.... Tym, isn’t it?”
Tym just stared at the reptilian creature incredulously. It was covered in dark green scales and resembled an alligator stood on its hind legs, although its mouth wasn’t quite as long as an alligators would be. It looked up at him from its papers. There was a smouldering intelligence behind its red eyes. Its spiky tail swished along the floor excitedly as it looked Tym up, down then up again. Its tooth-filled mouth turned up at the corners, but not in a threatening way. It was an oddly disarming smile that made Tym breath a little easier in spite of himself. Who was this bizarre creature? And why was it wearing a small white t-shirt with a picture of… who was that? Batman? Yes it was. And why did it have a silver ring on each of its six scaly fingers? Tym felt his panic building up its resolve for another strike.
“Wh… what on earth are you?” he stammered as he slowly inched away from the thing.
The creature closed its red eyes as it uttered a raw, crackling laugh that was brought to a close as abruptly as it had started.
“My name is Mr. Trover and I’m a who not a what, you jackass. If it helps you take that white face off and replace it with the usual pinky one then you can call me plain, simple Trover. OK? I’m your I.M.P. That’s Information Management Person. Yes?”
Tym nodded and felt a little calmer again. He stopped backing away too. There was something about this alligator-thing that seemed almost… reassuring?
“As for earth” he continued. “You ain’t there anymore! You is dead now, mate!”
With that, Trover turned away from Tym and held one of his scaled hands up to his mouth. With a quick tap of a ring against one of his sharp teeth, a large circular hole opened up in the floor in front of him. Trover took two steps forward and disappeared into its emptiness as though it was the most natural thing in the world. Tym rushed over to the edge of the hole and stared into its darkness, unable to make out anything. A distant croaky voice reached up to his ears.
“Come on then! I’ve got other appointments today, you know!”
Tym wasn’t sure what concerned him the most - the fact that he was about to readily follow a little demon into a pitch black hole, or the fact that he wasn’t the slightest bit worried about it. He had always had a mild phobia of heights so why did jumping after Trover with no thought for his own safety seem to feel so right? He ran his fingers over the corners of his mouth and took a step forward, plunging down into nothingness…
Prologue - The End
He was awake. Or at least, he thought he was awake. He wasn’t sure really, seeing as he couldn’t remember going to sleep. Tym lay on his back, feeling the dull cold of the smooth floor creep into his plain black shirt. His eyes opened sharply and were greeted with whiteness - no ceiling, no sky, no shapes or forms of any description. The lack of something to focus upon caused a jolt of concern to run through his body. Was he blind? Was this what blindness looked like? An involuntary wink forced his panic into retreat though and he pulled his sweating hand up to his face to slap it back down into his stomach pit. He wasn’t blind. It was about the only thing he did know. He placed his arms down against the white floor and pushed himself up. The gentle crinkling of his shirt told him he wasn’t deaf either. Nor was he paralysed. Where the hell was he? Where was everything and anything? He looked down at himself - there was nothing else to look at. He was wearing a straightforward and uninspiring black shirt and a pair of black jeans that looked as though they had seen better days. His feet were bare.
As Tym strained his memory for something solid, there was a bright flash of what looked like red flame in front of him. Looking up with furrowed brow, Tym felt his stomach tighten again as a two-foot tall imp stood in front of him. Imp? Where the hell had that word come from?
“Good morn-noon” said the imp cheerily. It pulled out a clipboard from under its arm, scanning the papers attached to it. “Mister.... Tym, isn’t it?”
Tym just stared at the reptilian creature incredulously. It was covered in dark green scales and resembled an alligator stood on its hind legs, although its mouth wasn’t quite as long as an alligators would be. It looked up at him from its papers. There was a smouldering intelligence behind its red eyes. Its spiky tail swished along the floor excitedly as it looked Tym up, down then up again. Its tooth-filled mouth turned up at the corners, but not in a threatening way. It was an oddly disarming smile that made Tym breath a little easier in spite of himself. Who was this bizarre creature? And why was it wearing a small white t-shirt with a picture of… who was that? Batman? Yes it was. And why did it have a silver ring on each of its six scaly fingers? Tym felt his panic building up its resolve for another strike.
“Wh… what on earth are you?” he stammered as he slowly inched away from the thing.
The creature closed its red eyes as it uttered a raw, crackling laugh that was brought to a close as abruptly as it had started.
“My name is Mr. Trover and I’m a who not a what, you jackass. If it helps you take that white face off and replace it with the usual pinky one then you can call me plain, simple Trover. OK? I’m your I.M.P. That’s Information Management Person. Yes?”
Tym nodded and felt a little calmer again. He stopped backing away too. There was something about this alligator-thing that seemed almost… reassuring?
“As for earth” he continued. “You ain’t there anymore! You is dead now, mate!”
With that, Trover turned away from Tym and held one of his scaled hands up to his mouth. With a quick tap of a ring against one of his sharp teeth, a large circular hole opened up in the floor in front of him. Trover took two steps forward and disappeared into its emptiness as though it was the most natural thing in the world. Tym rushed over to the edge of the hole and stared into its darkness, unable to make out anything. A distant croaky voice reached up to his ears.
“Come on then! I’ve got other appointments today, you know!”
Tym wasn’t sure what concerned him the most - the fact that he was about to readily follow a little demon into a pitch black hole, or the fact that he wasn’t the slightest bit worried about it. He had always had a mild phobia of heights so why did jumping after Trover with no thought for his own safety seem to feel so right? He ran his fingers over the corners of his mouth and took a step forward, plunging down into nothingness…
