Urban Legends - Chapter 1: RETURN

Chapter 1: RETURN

CAIN EREND

The traffic light turns green and pedestrians begin sauntering down the road, to the nearby sidewalk, all with places they are going. Streetlights illuminate the way, while the moonlight shines down upon us, and the glowing skyscrapers looming tall prove that this city never sleeps. I'm carrying a suitcase beside me, walking through the streets covered in filth. Garbage on roads, cigarettes pushed into the ground, alleyways covered in shady citizens and homeless people who would do anything for cocaine.
These are parts of life people try to avoid seeing, for fear it will ruin their seemingly perfect life, in which they already know they live happier lives then those sitting in alleyways. Homeless people in ragged clothing, smoking cigarettes, searching through garbage cans for the slightest scrap of food.
People are walking even when the crosswalk light is not on go. Cars honk their horns, annoyed, glaring out the window and swearing. Finally, I come across the house number I'm searching for. This is the city of Lewes, and I have only just returned. I've been gone from this city for five years, yet I still find myself wishing to wrap myself in the conflict of this city.
The arched entryway and shady, wrecked door easily shows the reason why this townhouse was so cheap, perched here in this mysterious street. I'm not far from the restaurants or any alleyways. There is a nearby park and little bushes along the road. Park benches and garbage cans. A fire hydrant. At first glance, this would seem an ordinary city.
"So you've finally returned, huh, Cain?" A voice, standing in the darkness. I can already sense the knife in his pocket. Eyes covered in bloodlust. A recognizable voice. How come I still remember, even now?
"I didn't expect you to be the first person I would see when I returned to Lewes. Have you been stalking me?" I inquire. The voice steps into the light. A man with short black hair and glowing eyes, amber in colour. A smile plastered on his face. His killing intent is clear.
"Perhaps. I noticed you from the rooftops, my friend, so I came down searching. I've been given a rather suspicious job tonight. Can you guess what that job was? Killing you," the man says. His name is one only known in the background of this city, in the shady depths that you can discover. His name is Marden Belle. "Can you believe it? You've only just returned, and everyone is already searching for you to assassinate you."
"And are you going to complete that mission? How much was the bounty?" I say calmly. If he attacks with his knife, I'm prepared to step inside the apartment that now belongs to me. I have a key to the door, and I'm not afraid to use it!
Marden smiles menacingly. "The bounty was so enormous that you wouldn't even believe it. So I'm not going to tell you. As for your other point, I'll have to ask your opinion. Do you believe you are someone who deserved to be murdered?"
"Who did that order come from? Who's employing you?"
Butterflies are attracted to the streetlamps. Car noises in the night, motorbikes racing by. The bracing wind, the stars twinkling in the sky. Skyscrapers amongst the clouds, the working society still active despite the hour. This atmosphere is what I wished to return to, isn't it?
"Jon Haran," Marden answers. The name isn't pleasantly mentioned in any city conversation. Frankly, I'm surprised that the coward popped up so easily. I'm done with him, like how I was before, and if he attempts to rise up from the shadows, I will only beat him down a second time. "And by the way, I asked you a question. Are you going to answer it?"
"If it comes from that coward, I don't believe you should kill me. He's trying to rid himself of an opponent before the game even begins."
"Oh, I understand what you're getting at, Cain! It'll be more worthwhile to watch you beat him down, won't it? After all, doesn't he want to turn this city into some kind of hellish dictatorship, or something?" Marden responds. He laughs casually.
Marden's entertainment occasionally comes from watching the events going down in the city. He prefers to be involved in the conflict, though. Smack down in the middle of it. Marden turns around to leave, strolling along happily, but turns back for a second.
"Are you going to be an ally on my path, or an enemy?" I question.
"That's to be resolved later. But I can guarantee I have a 70% chance of siding with you. If I were to pick that other 30%, what would you do?" Marden replies. His placement of questions is interesting. He always wants to know what the other person is thinking. It probably gives him reassurance.
"I'd cut you down."
"That's what I like to hear."
Finally, he skips away joyfully. When he reaches the crosswalk and a car approaches, he jumps on top of the car and continues skipping, not bothering to wait for it to turn green. The car honks and the man stares, but Marden ignores it.
Such an interesting man. But no one in this city of Lewes can particularly be called normal. I can tell that, with my return, everything is going to get chaotic.
I drag my suitcase up the steps to the apartment door, knocking to see if anyone was there. I wasn't told if I would have a roommate or not...I don't especially want one, though. There is no reply, so I take out the key and open the door.

Sinister beings are preparing, aren't they?

* * *

MARDEN BELLE

I'm racing down the streets, flying from roof to roof, the cars slowly driving by. From this view up here, the city is glowing and lively, despite the nightly atmosphere. I'm delivering a message to Jon finally. He'll want to know that Cain has returned. But I don't doubt that he already knows it.
The wind blows swiftly, but my body is strong. I prevent the wind from blowing me away, bracing me and landing on the next rooftop. Leaping across the roofs, I finally reach my destination. I climb the wall and get to the window, landing inside the room. The moonlight shines in, flooding, and a dark smile resides on his throne. Jon is a rich and elegant man, but he doesn't belong in a mansion in the middle of the city, taking up room that should be used for a electronics store.
The sinister smile frowns when I return and nearly shut the window. He gestures to come closer, and the moonlight finally reaches his brown eyes. His dark hair fits his personality to a punch, waving in the wind. With the atmosphere, his eyes are glistening red, but I ignore the temporary glimpse of a secondary reality.
"I've returned." A pen stops twisting and I wait for a response from the man sitting at his desk with his rotating chair. Man, I wish I could sit in that chair...I'm sure spinning around in it would be a bundle of fun, but this man is like a couch potato to that chair, and if he's not at the house, then nobody's home.
"I assume you discovered Cain Erend? You aren't the kind of person to fail a mission easily, Belle," the smooth voice finally responds. Jon's voice reflects disgust.
"He has returned to the city. But judging by his speech, he isn't eager to be wrapped in the conflict. I don't believe he will be much of a bother in our current situation," I report. Sometimes I wonder exactly what side I work for, since I'm not entirely sure of it myself.
I think I work for the welfare of the city. I could be called a double-sided spy who works for neither side, but I don't consider that I have control of the storyline, either. In fact, I scramble in inquiry to discover the actions of everyone to make sure a knife isn't going down my throat and a bullet isn't going through my chest.
Jon doesn't respond. He's resting his head on his shoulders, but his hands are becoming sweaty. Isn't he thinking through this a bit too much?
"What side do you think I'm on?" I inquire unconsciously. I ask too many questions-- that's always what everyone's saying. If I didn't, I would have millions of nervous breakdowns, and I would be what they call a 'nervous wreck'.
"I can sense the blood circulating through your body, Belle. Your heart pounding profusely, waiting for the answer to the question you rapidly blurted out, having no idea that the question you ask designates your fealty in this twisted conflict," Jon explains poetically. He's trying to break me and my emotions.
Does he truly understand the side I've chosen? That I side with Cain? I haven't exactly realized it, but tumbling in my brain are thoughts of bringing Cain back into the conflict, that our relationship is the past is stronger then my greed for currency.
"The only reason I side with you, Jon, is become you pay handsomely," I state plainly. Hopefully he won't be sending every last assassin after me. He has an enormous following in this city, and they are payed even more than I am. I'm only payed enough to barely survive in this mundane society, but I've learned how to enjoy it despite poverty, but they are living perfect lives.
But this much I know-- if Jon's plans succeed, nobody will be living happily except for him, and he will find an even greater happiness in our depression and trauma. A psychopathic man with a thirst for bloodshed. That's one way to describe Jon.
"Is your loyalty hanging by a thread, Belle? You aren't important to me, only in the Cain department. If he becomes a nuisance, not only will your work increase, your pay will elevate to the heavens, and I promise to spare you from the hellish world I design," Jon says, attempting to persuade. "But if you choose the wrong side, you'll find a dagger in your heart faster than a speeding vehicle is arrested."
Jon's poetic language is quite complicated, and sometimes his words and expressions are hard to understand. People always say I use the exact same phrases.
An ill wind passes through the office as Jon closes his book and stands up, approaching closer, holding a red coloured dagger in his hand.
"And by a dagger, I don't mean that in a poetic way." He comes closer, a bloodthirsty smile plastered on his face. "What do you want, a happy life or gruesome death?"
"Depends," I begin," on which option is more enthralling." I've always searched for excitement in my life, and it turned out this mysterious city life was the only one that would work. Perhaps this nervous feeling was what interested me to begin living like this.
"I don't need to explain which option is better, do I? Cain Erend is a mere thorn in my side. I told you to assassinate him, so why do you come back explaining everything about him, but not bringing back his coveted heart? I'm going to raise the bounty. You can only hope my other assassin friends don't already have their own daggers pierced through his heart. There might even be multiple."
The thought of my friend gruesomely dying is something I don't want to think about, but my curiosity takes hold of me as adrenaline surges through my body and that nervous feeling makes my heart throb even louder.
"Who else did you send after him?" I demand. The story of how I met Cain Erend and became involved in everything is certainly an interesting story, but sometimes I wish I could rewrite the past.
"More assassins then I can count. If they haven't already spotted him, I'd like you to write down his address and I'll see you out. If your loyalty is going to be as wavering as this, there's no point to employing you," Jon dares cockily.
"I can see how it is. Promise I'll be payed handsomely and be spared from whatever your plans are, and I'll be as loyal to possible. Just...don't send me to deal with Cain Erend. My emotions will get the better of me. Deal?"
"Deal."

The moonlight continued shimmering into the room, showing two pairs of glowing red eyes. A homeless man watched from the alleyway, but the two had no idea what the man was planning.

* * *

RYAN MOOR

Shady business is going on in this city again. I can smell it. The various factions are preparing for a second time, but what is it about this time? I can't imagine that anything would happen in this rather uneventful city.
Two pairs of red eyes, and both of them recognizable by anyone who's been previously wrapped in this city's conflict. Jon Haran and Marden Belle. Two of the most powerful men in this entire city, and both of them are plotting. I remember working with Belle. What shook his loyalty?
I'm sitting in the alleyway, so that I can spend some time away from people. I'm most widely regarded as the most popular homeless person in this city, and the only one who isn't a drug addict searching for more pleasure. I'm gifted with tons of presents everyday, insomuch that if I saved up, I could probably say goodbye to his depressing life and go on to happier horizons.
But I find happiness in this homeless life, the glowing moon sitting in the sky showing the different parts of reality. Garbage lies everywhere in the alleyway, crushed cigarettes, garbage bags searched through a million times over. Blood. Shadows, standing in the moonlight, ordinary citizens strolling down the street to go to the local clothes store. That one's actually a sadistic murderer, and that one is a womanizing pervert. Everywhere I look, people's secrets are displayed plainly, but no one ever stops to observe enough.
The ordinary people you see walking down the street have walked through drama and tragedy without the camera rolling. The pieces of society you see, those fake pieces of television, are all based off of someone's own experiences, whether science fiction is real or not. The fantasy stories you see in bookstores. The war stories you see are truthfully based off of a soldier's true experiences. That man who writes such intriguing mystery stories writes so well because he's committed those murders himself, and the only difference is he was never caught.
There are many people you cannot trust, and those two shadows, you certainly can't put too much trust in. On the other hands, some will follow you loyally, but in the end, everyone is only using you.
The explanations I give sound like someone who's been through troubling times, but in reality, I purposefully gave myself this life of a homeless man.

The brisk wind is a comfortable breeze flying through, and these patched up blankets don't do much. A door in the distance opens. Enter a man smoking, climbing down railed stairs. The train races by. Glowing street lights at the park on the other side of the sidewalk admit a savage dog and her owner. There's a particular man passing on the street. It feels as though my memories lie with him, like I recognize him.
A car's beams shower him in light, revealing who it is.
"Cain! Cain Erend!" I shout, waving to him with a smile on my face. He turns around, glancing at me for a second before furrowing his brows and shaking off the cold.
"I'm trying to forget that life, Ryan. I'm not going to join you this time," he says rudely. Jon Haran has returned and is plotting, and Cain doesn't want to try and stop him? He must be out of his mind! If the legendary hero returns, he has to slay the monster! "Goodbye forever."
Of course. He wouldn't be so easily persuaded. He regrets the life he previously lived, the constant conflict and unease. There is only one person who will be able to bring him back to save this city, because surely, he is the only one who is able to. A woman-- Lucy Spires.
But where is she? I rarely see her. Before, she used to frequent the local grocery store, but as far as I know now, she could have moved out of Lewes. How am I supposed to find her?
Cain passes down the street finally, slipping out of vision. I jump up from my spot, running to catch up with him, but he has already disappeared by the time I pop out of the corner. Stretching my vision, I notice him scrambling down the road, running across the street while the light is red. It's gone so far that he is attempting to escape the world that is trying to pull him back in.
Suddenly, I am noticed by many of the citizens of Lewes. A man and his two sons pass by on an evening walk. How long until midnight? I can't take all of these fans at once, and the police won't like people flocking to a homeless man. They are hated in society, and looked down upon, and the police have gone to incredible lengths to prevent me from becoming popular.
One of the sons notices me, a smiling face with glasses. There are stains on his pants, and he is staring at his father's feet, holding his hand. He glances at me before stopping and escaping his father's grip.
"That's Ryan Moor!" he exclaims happily, like a child meeting his superhero. The other son notices too, smiling brightly. He begins blushing. "The famous homeless man! Daddy, I want to be like him when I grow up!"
The father frowns. Suddenly and abruptly, the father's hand smacks his cheek as hard as possible, causing the boy to fall to the ground. The boy begins crying, and it causes an uproar as the citizens notice him.
"Dad, why?" the other son yells, approaching his brother. His cheek is bruised now, and he's scraped the backside of his leg.
"Don't you dare say that, Benjamin! Homeless people are failures in society, people who are the lowest of the low. This man failed in society. Is that what you want to do, son?" his father scolds loudly.
Amidst his tears, he explains. "I didn't mean it that way...Ryan Moor is such a kind, caring man. He's homeless, but he doesn't care, and he helps out everyone. He gives hope to everyone. He's almost like a town legend. I want to be helpful like him."
"If you do something like that, you'll be killed! You can't easily trust anyone," his father yells back. The boy continues crying, staring into his father's harmful face. The other son's scornful stare reflects the injured boy's emotions.
Is this the conflict that I create? The father prepares to strike the boy again, with his foot. I leap in the way and take the attack, making sure the boy isn't harmed.
"Stop this! What kind of a father are you if you beat them up in the streets? There's no problem with that goal of his! I think it's a commendable goal, and certainly possible, but do you really plan to ruin your son's dreams and prevent him from having a role model?"
He frowns. His eyes grow wide and he stares at me with a scowling, deathly look. A person's hidden intentions are fully visible once you break down their emotions, whether you intended to or not. The boys may have thought they had a caring, loving father, but this is his truthful self.
"I'm supposed to be his role model!" the father retorts. He nearly looks prepared to punish me, not just his son.
"Act the father you should be. If I see you pushing around your two sons again, I'll report you to the police. They don't take lightly to child abuse," I respond. The father grits his teeth.

This is my everyday way of life. Displaying people's true selves right before reality. I reveal the people they truly are and destroy relationships. But this is the only way society can survive. There can't be too many secrets in this society.
The father seizes his two sons and drags them away swiftly to get out of my view. And when this is all finished, Cain is nowhere in sight.

I watch as the father rounds the corner to escape.


* * *

CAIN EREND

I enter my new townhouse to find a fully furnished house with furniture set up everywhere. Is this the incorrect house? No, the key definitely worked. But this can't be right. I thought I was getting a room alone. Were they giving me an abandoned house or something? Was I tricked?
Velvet couches and brilliant carpets, tea cups and tables with elegant chairs. A grandfather clock, ticking slowly. Food spilled out over the kitchen island and messes everywhere, as if someone already lives here.
"Oh, my housemate has finally arrived," a voice says. They step into vision from the laundry room. A man with short cut brown hair and blue eyes, and a smile as bad as Marden's. Why is everyone in this city smiling so brightly? There's nothing to be happy about!
"Nobody told me I was sharing a townhouse with anyone," I respond, staring strangely at the man in an apron, blue jeans, and a green and blue striped shirt. He's holding cake batter and mixing it.
"Of course! It's a surprise. I've lived in this house for a long time, but my wife died years ago, and we never had any children. So I figured I wanted a housemate, so I put up the house for sale pretending it was empty," he explains. "And just look at the good results! My name is Tony."
"Umm...nice to meet you. I'm Cain. Cain Erend." His eyes widen as he hears the name and he drops the cake batter, spilling all over the floor.
"Oh, I'm so sorry! I was making this cake for your arrival. I'll clean this up. Surely you don't want a stain on this beautiful carpet," Tony apologizes, hastily cleaning it. "It's just...I was surprised when I heard your name. You are sort of a legend in this city, Master Erend."
"Don't talk to me like that! I promised myself I wouldn't become wrapped in the conflict. I'm staying out of it this time, for the better of the world, and I don't care if Jon Haran is involved," I shout. Tony is taken aback.
"I'm sorry. What shall I address you as, then?" Tony inquires. He holds up a weak smile while rushing into the kitchen to create even more cake batter. I myself am tired tonight. I want nothing more then to have a peaceful sleep and awaken to my new career.
"Cain." Tony's face suggests surprise. He easily mixes together ingredients for the cake batter, as though he's used the recipe thousands of times. He quickly creates the cake batter and is mixing it just like before.
"This cake will be ready very soon, Cain! We'll eat it to celebrate your return to Lewes. I have something I must tell you, though. No matter what, you'll end up wrapped in the conflict, Cain. There's no stopping it."
Suddenly, Tony's attention is turned away from me as he stares behind me. Rotating around, I expect an assassin or something, but what I discover is two little boys and their father strolling down the street. Tony blushes abruptly and paces to the window, all emotion removed from his face. When they disappear, he turns back around.
"Sorry. I was temporarily distracted," he apologizes. What was that? "Well, this cake batter is ready. I'm going to put it in the oven."
He leaves the kitchen as quickly as he enters, finally gesturing to the second floor.
"Let me show you around," he states. I follow him up the stairs. Please, please...I don't want to share a room with him. "This is my bedroom." He opens the door to a rather ordinary room with blue walls and a blue bed and carpet. "And over here is your room."
He opens to a slightly smaller room. Already set up is a bed and a dresser. There's a closet for me to put his clothes in.
"Did you buy this furniture?"
"I did!" he exclaims cheerfully. "I figured it would be easier for you to move in. I had no idea it was you until you came, though. The room could use more decoration, so set up as much furniture as you want."
"Thank you very much," I say rather formally. I leap onto the bed, staring at Tony. "Now, if you don't mind, I'd like to have some sleep. My plane ride here was rather long. We can have the cake in the morning."
"I can understand that," Tony replies. "I'll see you in the morning."
Tony leaves. I hear him going back to the kitchen.

What an interesting man I'm living with. Tony. What might his last name be? In the moonlight, outside the window, I notice Marden once again climbing the rooftops, sitting there and staring right at me. He gives me a thumbs up and disappears out of vision.
But I can tell that, in the darkness, he is still watching. Marden was one of those who fought alongside me in those original times when I first moved to the city of Lewes. Back then, I had no idea what I was tangling myself in. I left just in time to prevent the next conflict from happening, because at that point, everything was centring around me. And even now, it makes me question why I came back to this city.
Did I expect that it would be like starting over again?

I ponder Tony's comments in my head, repeating over and over like a broken record player. The only person who would be able to make me return to the conflict of this city is Lucy Spires. The woman that I love, my girlfriend before I left her utterly alone, because the only way she would be happy is if we continued facing trials.
Jon Haran destroyed my life, and only because I thought I was a strong man. I rushed in blindly and solved everything, not realizing I was opening up millions more conflicts in place.
Assassins scrambled to murder Cain Erend, the grand hero who prevented Lewes from becoming a hellish world, with the massive bounty set out for him. And now here I am, having returned to this city, and it isn't any little bit less dangerous.
I think I'll go out for a walk.