[Jotunheim]: 60.Hatred - The Orb.Chapter one - Daydreaming

The snowflakes fell like soft gently fluffs down from starlit sky. They were like descending angels slowly dancing with each other. Some clouds were smoothly gliding through the vault of heaven while frosted city lights glimmered in the young night. Each time the eye spotted a spotlight of a street lamp falling snowflakes made a tiny twist in their never ending journey to the barren asphalt ground. There weren’t many people in streets at nights; few people hurrying to their night duties or going home after a long day. Nightclubs and bars attracted those who where still wandering outside. Prostitutes, pimps and drug dealers had taken the streets for another night. Altogether it was very ordinary cycle in the City of Lost Hope.
As all border districts it was dangerous place to stay out in dark. Remote places of the city seemed to wake up at dusk. Gangs colored the boring view with their emphasized characteristics. Grey massive high-rise buildings, abandoned warehouses, empty windows and apartments, few closed shops. All in all it was very cold and repulsive environment. Despite the time there always seemed to be at least few cars passing by. Of course less at nights but the traffic never stopped. It was like some strange symphony of noise; the traffic, dogs’ barking, hooters, police vehicles and everything that one could imagine to hear in metropolis. And City of Lost Hope was not like any other metropolis. It was the most disconsolate and rugged of them all. It was huge. They said it was the mother and father of all cities. City of Lost Hope was the place where violence, mafia, crime, money and fear never slept. It was the heaven and the hell.

Sed kept his benumbed hands deep in pockets of his coat to keep them warm and walked fast hoping to get home soon. Faint wind was guiding glittering snowflakes trough his long and dark hair as it fluttered in the wind. He was in his thoughts and was unaware of the events around him. Somehow his mind was wandering somewhere in vast distances between stars and galaxies. Usually so solemn looking Sed was smiling subconsciously. He was on his way to home, a small apartment in the edge of suburb. It was quite safe area to live and had good connections to the downtown.
Suddenly Sed had to return to the real world as he heard a loud cry for help just around the corner. He was used to avoid troubles as everyone with any wisdom in city like this. Struggling with urge to help he decided to leave the situation and turned around the corner to continue his hurried walk leaving man’s shouting echo in the empty street. However, right after the corner he saw the source of those help cries. It was short and fat old little man. He was dressed decently and looked like he didn’t belong here. And he was being held high in the air by strong muscular arms that belonged to a huge tattooed thug with a baseball bat. The huge man was choking the little fat man that looked like fainting. Sed tried to bypass the situation but his conscience made a protest. His mind imagined him as a modern hero and all at once he stopped. He breathed deep and moved his hand inside pocket of his coat.
“Run away! The police is on its way!” Sed shouted and tried to bluff the thug.
The thug dropped the fat man and listened for few seconds while silently growling.
“Yo, man! Get lost! Do you fucking want to die?” The thug roared with a tiny foreign accent raising his baseball bat.
Sed pulled his hand out of the coats inside pocket and revealed an old handgun.
“Run and you’d better run fast. This old fellow will surely beat your bat!” Sed said while trying to sound believable. His heart was pumping adrenaline with full speed and cold sweat started to flow on his forehead.
The thug rolled his eyes on Sed and spitted at the ground but turned away. After few steps he dashed away running and swore loudly in some foreign language. Sed stood shaking a bit and watched as the thug disappeared into a dark narrow alley. Not until now Sed felt how cold the weather really was. The sweat started to freeze making him to shiver.

The fat man swept his jacket as it had been dirty and picked up his meager brimmed hat from the ground. Sed glanced at the man and put his handgun back into his leather coats inside pocket.
“Thanks a lot, young man. That man was about to eat me alive after taking all my money.” The old man explained.
“You should be more careful… hey! What the hell did you just said?” Sed said looking confused.
“Those people, they’re all possessed. I can always see one of them lurking around. I can hear their footsteps following me like my own echoes. And when I turn to look they’re gone. Then someone comes and tries to kill…“ fat man was about to continue unless Sed had turned away walking and muttering something like “yeah, I’ll be going”. But the old man strode amazingly fast back to Sed.
“Hey, wait! Fellow! You didn’t even ask for a reward…” He shouted at Sed’s back as sweat flowed down his fat face.
Sed stopped and looked at the man prejudicially while he walked to Sed puffing heavily.
“Some day that kind of running will cost my life. It’s already hanging from two silk wires…” fat man fell silent because Sed looked bored again and was about to leave.
“Alright, alright. You seem to be hasty today. But there isn’t much time anyway. Where did I put it… mmm, yes. At least you can get some pocket money if you sell it to some pawnshop.” The old man was talking to himself as searching his pockets which seemed endless.
He finally found what he was looking for and handed a small, about baseball size, metallic orb to Sed who hesitated for a second but took it.
“So, what’s this?” He asked and twiddled the orb.
“Don’t ask me. They gave it to me. There is a cap somewhere but it’s locked or jammed. Maybe you can get it open and see inside. Or then you could just sell it. Just beware the shadows. You can never know who is watching. You see, there at the stairs leading to metro…” the old man started to twaddle again.
Completely insane. Can’t see what’s daydreaming and what’s not. Probably some lunatic or psycho. It should have been better if I had just let the thug choke him. Sed thought in his mind as he put the orb in his pocket and walked away.
“…and remember to avoid the elevator. I can see how someone is lurking and every time I’m eating I feel someone sniffing the air and asking what I’m eating in my mind. They’re hungry devils…” The old man didn’t even see as Sed left him to speak alone.

Good that I got rid of him. Sed thought relieved and took a quick look behind. He wanted to be sure that the old man wasn’t following with his madness. He crossed the street dodging those few cars driving in the street and way too fast driving bicycle messenger. Sed shouted something nasty at him while sweeping the dust from his coat. After walking some time he put hands in his pockets to keep them safe from chilly wind. And then it hit his hand. It was cold and round metallic orb. He had already forgotten it but with new interest he took it out of his pocket and twiddled it while walking. There was a small dent in it. Strange, Sed remembered that there wasn’t any when he got it. He just thought he didn’t recall it correct and slid his fingers on its surface. Then suddenly his fingers found another dent. He was sure it wasn’t there few seconds ago. Sed was a guy who didn’t get scared easily and thought he was just way too tired and laughed at himself. But the reality slapped him in the face. He looked at the orb and saw another dent appearing from nowhere while the two dents moved randomly on its surface. And then the dents started to form shapes and forms; something familiar but disturbing. Like eyes and then a mouth and finally they curled into a grotesque face. The eyes stared at him with empty eye-sockets. He couldn’t release his gaze from it and saw the eyes closing and opening as empty as they were.
“What the fuck…” Sed shouted in terror and by accident dropped the orb. It fell banging into ground and broke into two hemispheres.
It was completely silent.
Sed reached for the orb and glanced at the two pieces. They laid in the brand new snow smooth like when he got them. Again Sed laughed at himself. Damn my imagination he thought and reached his hand to take the hemispheres. Suddenly he tugged his hand away in the moment he touched them. His eyes turned over and got filled with glimpses of images of people who hung from the ceiling from a noose with their eyes ripped off. Images of corpses in vast mass sepulchers, mountains of dead and people who were still alive when they were locked into coffins and buried into ash grey soil. Then a short, fat and bent man with greasy hair dragging corpses. The man looked very familiar in descent suit and long mortician like coat. He dragged a body of an old woman towards tiny grey wooden hut in the middle of the black dense forest. All in once he dropped the body and turned to look back. He had no face just obscure forms. And then the coldness shook Sed.
He almost fell when trying to rush backwards. He stumbled to move himself and run as fast as he could. Only thing in mind to get away from that terrible orb. He ran so that he couldn’t breathe well anymore and his feet were hurting. But still he couldn’t look back. Terror and fear seemed to catch him no matter how fast he ran. Sed could hear the footsteps behind him and see the faceless man handing him his reward, the orb. Maybe the fat man wasn’t insane; maybe it was Sed who was insane.