Jeff Burton

That's probably my favorite line of the chapter along with: “This kid didn't just crawl out of a fire. He did it while dying.”

I totally ripped off The book of Genesis Chapter 1 verse 1 I'm not even going to lie about it. I had to really dig to find something that fit a proper way to do this, and after a couple of decades trying on and off it finally came to me last week. Back then this story didn't even have a title, just a folder named "Untitled 17", and in that folder sat probably a dozen variations of chapter one, scores of one page notes in old .doc files. To make a long story short, I somehow ended up with that first line, and somehow instead of talking about biblical creation I ended up with awaking a raw consciousness. Digging deep into the meta of how our consciousness would perceive itself if it had to do a hard reboot like a computer. And then that consciousness reconnecting with not only it's sense of self, but the body it exists in as well. Then slowly just spun the reality of it in slow circles as awareness finally came in. Judging by the comments so far, I think I did better than I had hoped.

Trust me if I was an actual Doctor, I'd be worse than Gregory House lmao.

Thank you! I went through so many revisions of the first few paragraphs. Like I wanted just the simple act of "waking up" to be one hell of a trip, as if Time itself had slowed to a crawl. Then for some reason I went biblical with it and I couldn't stop. This one is going to be a trip and a half, normal boy meets boy with a whole bunch of "wtf?" LOL

Let's try something new, (to me anyway.)

In the beginning, there was darkness. Thick and eternal, without shape or sound. It was the kind of black that swallowed thought, that pressed against your being like an eternal cold breath. There was no sky, no earth, no time. Only the void. And in the void, I was alone. Empty. Forgotten. Unmade. Before anything else had matured into existence, there was time. It was slow, endless, a silent river flowing through the void. One second slipped quietly into the next, unnoticed, a soft pu

He woke up in the wreckage of an accident, with no name, no past and no one looking for him. As his recovery begins-body broken, memory gone, something in him doesn't feel lost... just hidden, if he could only remember. Placed into foster care under a name he didn't choose, he must rebuild a life from ash and shadow while the echoes of who he was begin to surface. Because sometimes, the past can't forget you even if it's Encrypted.

Okay that I can live with, seeing Seth happy would be worth the trip. And yeah I did read the first one so I know how that ends lol. The second part, even if you wrote about Seth's ghost still living and doing things to help people I think that'd be an awesome read. And yeah I'll take whatever hugs I can get. I've got 3 stories I'm working on concurrently, 2 more I haven't worked on in a while which isn't healthy for anybody, but you've got me on this mystery/thriller kick and I kind of want to join in.

This one is going to hurt. It's going to hurt a lot. @Josh Aterovis you're going to be the reason why some of the stuff I'm working on now is going to have the tone that it does. So much in fact, expect to get a shoutout when I start posting it. Excellent as always. I'm going to book a therapy session ahead of time because this one's going to probably destroy me just like the last one did. ❤️

I've always looked at the prompts both old and new to see if it could get something out of me. I went ahead and created the actual story in the system along with chapter 1. The way the story is setup is a little odd so I have to write some of the later bits before I can write the earlier bits if that makes sense. Even though right now it's unpublished just the fact I got it in the system was a huge step in making sure this got told. I'll make sure to post the actual thing here when it's ready to be read.

I know you're prompt was meant to probably inspire something happy, but the flower gif itself prompted this out of me instead. “You have one new message.’ [Click. A shaky breath. A pause too long. Then—his voice, low and uneven, like he’s trying not to slur.] "Hey… I don’t even know why I’m calling… That’s not true. I do. It’s you. It’s always you." [Another pause. You can hear traffic in the background. A muffled exhale, like a cigarette.] "I saw this stupid flower today, out of nowhere, right? One of those pink and bright orange ones you like. And I just... I don’t know. Thought of you. Or maybe I was always thinking of you, and the flower was just an excuse." [Soft chuckle. Then silence again. Voice lowers like he’s turning his back to the street.] "I miss you, Si. That’s what this is. I miss the way you looked at me like I wasn’t broken. I keep waiting to be better. Like if I just sleep enough, or drink less, or try harder... you know something’ll click. But I’m tired, man. I’m so fucking tired. And I don’t want to drag you back into the mess again. You were always the light. I just... I just I couldn’t hold on to you without burning it out." [A long breath. One more beat of silence.] "If this is the last time you hear from me, I hope you know… I really do love you. Even when I didn’t know how to show it. Even when I was running. Especially then.” [Another long breath, followed by a sniff..] And I just wanted to tell you, I’m sorry I wasn’t the person you needed me to be. [Click.] "End of messages. To save this message press two. To delete this message press seven." So your prompt generated the above prompt for something I'm working on now. Something I couldn't get out of me until now.

So this hit way too close to home for me on a couple of things. I understand what Will said, "Thoughts? Yeah. Constantly. It’s like this low, persistent hum in the back of my mind,” and “It’s more like...fleeting thoughts that pop up when things feel especially dark or overwhelming.” Because for me it’s still there, waiting for weakness and no amount of therapy or medication has ever made a dent in it. I know Will is a fictional character and Doctor Wohler said he would heal, and it would be easier to believe that Will would but my personal experience makes me believe he wouldn’t. How I’ve found the strength for this long I have no idea, but if I could then so could Will so it’s a small comfort I guess. Yeah this was way too close to home. I can understand not wanting to deviate from the original ending but damn this is going to mess with me for a couple of days lol. Superb writing @Josh Aterovis even if it hurt to read it. I knew how this was going to end because I was so locked into the hidden context in the prologue and yeah part of me is mad for being right. But the part of me that can’t or won’t heal gets it, if that makes any kind of sense.

…. I’m going to need some time.

I FRIGGEN KNEW IT! I have to patch a hole in my wall now, the one I just yanked my phone out of because it boomeranged out of my hand and got embedded into the dry wall as soon as I read “Too late for Aiden.” @Josh Aterovis &$@%#?! SERIOUSLY? The last time I threw a book in anger was when I had to read “Animal Farm” for AP English in high school and here you go making me do it AGAIN 28 years later! Only one more chapter for redemption and if it’s a funeral I don’t know what’s going to happen to that wall.

This chapter reaffirms my dislike for Caitlin, this has been brewing since she was introduced lol. If she’s the murderer can’t say I’d be surprised, she’s been twitchy from the get go. I’m glad will got the closure when it comes to his dad, it’s something I didn’t get and I’m still half and half on whether that’s a regret or not. I’m curious about Aiden’s mysterious phone call though. Like really dude? I feel like that with everything Will is feeling right now we still need an air mattress under that balcony before he tries again for the gold on the high dive, because that prologue is stuck on me pretty hard core and I don’t think the killer is done yet.

I really don’t trust Caitlin. She’s given me bad vibes from the get go so good job on that one even if she ends up being innocent. I know a third body is due, (and possibly more) it was indicated in the prologue and so help me if it’s Aiden I’m going to throw something at someone lol. I’ve been paying closer attention to the smaller details and like the sleuths I’m trying to piece this one together with what’s available and I’m still not sure yet. i will say though I’m kinda glad Will is starting to notice what’s important because every time he went off on some overwrought emotional tangent all I could hear was Ron Weasley from the first Harry Potter movie saying “she really needs to sort out her priorities.” So yeah that’s where I’m at right now lol.

Sorry that this took a me a minute to get out. I wasn't happy with some of it. I'm still not but here we are anyway.

The clock on the wall ticked relentlessly, its hands moving as if they have somewhere to be, somewhere better than here. I tried to focus on the screen in front of me, but the words blur together. Supply chain strategies. Risk management. Operational efficiency. It was all just jargon now, hollow terms that I’ve memorized like my own name. I’d learned enough to get by, enough to say the right things when I’m called on. But none of it matters. Not really. Not to me. Not to my soul, whic

While this is not my normal reading material by far I must say this is really really good, and hope it has a shot at continuing. So much mystery in this one.

I only said that because chapter 11 I do what I do best. 😂

You are correct in every point, but I'm not spilling the beans!

You are correct on that theme Nate. We aren't done with Jamie's family though not by a long shot.

Don't thank me yet.................

I'm kind of in agreement with Aiden on what he told Will about the baby, but Will's mental state is honestly so over the place, I don't think getting hit by a 2x4 would straighten any of it out lol. I'm not sure if I feel sorry for Joey or not. Was he actually mad at Will? Was he porking all the chicks just so he could prove he was a masculine straight male? I mean based on the evidence so far, he was a jerk that deserved what he got. But the evidence at face value is so often not the real story. I seriously do wish I knew where Joey's thoughts where, hopefully his true motivation does come out because being a friend for that long and having that outcome just sucks.

The first thing I noticed when I drifted back into awareness was Luca’s comforting warmth behind me. The second was the throbbing pain in my head. The events from the night before replayed in my brain like a rerun I didn’t ask for. The argument. The realization. The punch. The way my feet had pounded through the rain like I could outrun the sound of my father’s voice. This wasn’t how it was supposed to go. At minimum, I thought he’d just be disappointed again. Maybe he’d threaten