window

A window. That’s how it began. Nothing more then a peephole. Not even a peephole. A two-millimeter bit of black nearly in the middle of an office; in the middle of the day; in the middle of a city; in the center of a continent that sat directly between the poles of the planet.
An oversized man to its left was first to see it. He began to reach for it but before he could even raise his arm he mentally blocking it thanks to an early childhood filled with comments from an uncaring father about how, “There is no Santa, or Easter Bunny or anything else unexpected or magical. So stop pretending and get a job.”
A small mousey man headed for the coffee pot saw it next floating in his way. He was convinced it was only a part of the hangover that was pounding its way through his body.
It proceeded to be seen and subconsciously ignored by nearly everyone in the office. That was fine with the window. It was there for one person.
She was right where she should be. She was neither tall nor short. Not fat or thin. Her hair was not straight or curly. She was the middle child of parents who were both middle children. She was directly in the middle of all the possible extremes in every way. Even the code of her DNA was evenly distributed with the four building blocks A, T, G and C.
She sat at a desk in a cubical, in the exact middle of this centrally located office. Her ponytail hung down the center of her back, inches from this ‘window’. Before the office was even ignoring it, she could feel it. It was just the raised hair on her neck at first.
She rubbed the back of her neck and as she did the window moved. Its movement was small and unnoticeable. Even so, it crept slowly toward her. After an hour of ignorable travel the window was as close to her skin as possible without touching. Then, suddenly, it touched her. The window blinked out of existence, its job was over its message delivered. She simply thought the guy across the aisle had flicked something at her again. She cursed him under her breath and that was the last she thought of it.
This is how it started.

New blog!!

I sometimes get bored. In some of those instances I am close enough to paper to write things down. Thats what this blog is for. Now everyone can enjoy those slow little stories. Please let me know what you think.

This first story is about a guy named Ren. It's the longest one I have written in a while.

When Ren finally found the nerve to reach into the fog around his legs it was too late. It had him securely. He should be able to effect this, to change it, bend it inline with whatever he thought. As the Emperor’s personal Mage, and the highest-ranking Bio-Mage to live in centuries, Ren was unnerved for the first time since childhood.
He had run into many strange and completely unknown life forms since the dome had opened. The majority had been plants, including many new fruits and vegetable that would soon be gracing the Emperor’s table. There were a few insects, and fewer notable ones.
He had, quite literally, run into a small and somewhat annoying race of what can best be called sentient flying ants. He heard the buzzing from some distance, and thought to investigate. The Tendereel took his accidentally stepping on a small outcropping of their mound as an act of aggression. After he had sapped the life from their first two swarms with a thought, they tried to communicate. Unfortunately the first three ambassadors the Tendereel send were thought to be a suicide attack and swatted aside. The forth ambassador, a young male called Reech, came at Ren much more cautiously. He would hover forward a bit and wave his small arms, hover a bit closer, wave some more. It took the frightened Tendereel so long to cover the short distance that Ren had contemplated smashing another section of the colony out of boredom.
In the months of exploration since that first tense meeting Reech had become a valued guide and trusted friend. The constant buzz and the occasional puff of air from Reech’s wings that had rubbed on his last nerve at first; had become one of Ren’s greatest comfort in this odd land.
This fog that Ren had stumbled into while distracted by one of the members of his escort, was something Reech had never seen either. Ren only notice that he was standing in the fog because walking in it was like trudging though sticky mud. At first there was nothing to this little puddle of dark fog. Ren had been fascinated by it for just that reason; there was absolutely nothing to it. As a Mage and more specifically a Bio-Mage Ren was keenly aware of things, life specifically, but unlike most Bio-Mages, who could only sense and effect living matter, he was aware of most everything even those things he couldn’t effect. For this reason he continued to wander in this patch of nothing. Testing it against every form of magic he could conjure. He remained in the fog long after Reech had warned him and retreated to watch from a safe distance.
Now feeling this nothing clutching his leg he wished he had been paying attention when Reech had given his tiny warning.
Ren was becoming alarmed. He had been taught not to fear, panic or react to feeling since he was recognized as a Mage, nearly his birth. He had been trained how to react to every situation and eventuality. He rarely had to think about the magic he called forth anymore, it was as easy to him as was moving a finger. That made this frightening on many levels. He was trained and able to handle anything. His training hadn’t taught him how to deal with nothing.
Struggling to escapes the pool of nothing, Ren watch hoping that his panic wasn’t showing on his face. Luckily Reech was the only one around, and he was too busy kneading his four tiny hands while reciting prays for strength in his small hum of a voice, to notice. Ren needed to take only one step and he would be free. He bent and grabbed at the low branches of a flowering bush to his right. He stripped the branches of their leaves in an attempt to drag himself free of the fog. He was covered in sweat from his struggle. Tears welled in his eyes.
“Mage Ren!”
One of the escorts had realized he was missing and had come looking for him.
“Here!” Ren called. His fear betrayed by a crack in his voice.
Ren was relief swept when he saw the girl, a member of the Imperial Scout. What was her name? He couldn’t remember. It didn’t matter, at least he recognized her, something familiar to focus on. She walked lazily pushing the thick brush out of her way. During the long exploration the Tendereel had been the most dangerous thing they had encountered. But at seeing the fear on Ren’s face she broke into a sprint, drawing the sword sheathed upside down on her back.
At the sound of her sword clearing the scabbard the fog was suddenly gone, loosing Ren’s feet. His arms and legs were suddenly able to pull him into the bush he had been tugging on.