Saturday, 04 April 2009
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The Great Xanga Round Story (ch.1)
CHAPTER ONE: Frozen Assets
"Two PHD's in mathematics and five months out from receiving tenore and it all adds up to this." Gregory Merkin complained to himself as he huddled in the back corner of a walk-in freezer in the local deli. His frosted glasses dropped from his face, and he could hear the distinct sound of frozen glass breaking against cold metal. His nearly frostbitten hands still rubbed his flannel-covered arms and his breathing quivered rapidly. He'd been squatting among the frozen meat for so long now that he had given up hope of ever being able to survive.
"Some way to end a promising career at the University of Eastern Rhode Island!" Merkin thought aloud. His breath emanated a cloud several inches in front of him as he spoke. "All the good your higher mathematics will do you now." he scolded himself.
"You could have taken the job in Boston but no, you wanted the allure of a small town! You wanted the normal life! Some normal life this turned out to be! You can't even stop some girl at a deli from locking you in the freezer under the pretense of needing an extra pair of hands to lift something! Never trust a pretty face. Gregory, you are just too trusting!"
"Then again..." Gregory Merkin paused and raised his head. "Why would a girl at a deli go to such effort just to trap some two bit professor at an unknown university? It doesn't make any sense. There's no reason she would have to trap me in here unless..."
Merkin leaped back against the wall instinctively as the deafening pop of the metal room being instantly ripped apart filled the air. Three men clad in identical black pants and shirts stood poised just outside where the door and front wall of the freezer had once been mere seconds before. Gregory could do nothing but stare up at them in total shock for a moment before one of the men finally spoke up.
"It's him." the man said flatly. "Bring him in."
The other two men stepped forward and grabbed the frail and frozen professor by the arms. As they carried him towards the entrance of the building, he noticed the body of the young woman who had trapped him in the first place. Her lifeless form had obviously been placed near a small pile of explosives as a cover. What troubled Merkin most was that there was no way those explosives could have possibly been used to tear open the solid metal walk-in freezer.
"Dr. Gregory Merkin," the leader of the men resumed. "You are to come with us. Don't expect us to read you any rights. As of this moment, you have none."
"What? But I didn't... What are you... What's going on?" Merkin murmured, still in shock both from the cold and from what he'd just seen. "I haven't done anything wrong. I'm just a math teacher!"
The men brought him out from the back of the building and escorted him toward a waiting black Sedan. Gregory knew if he was going to make any attempt to escape, it would have to be now but he wondered if he even had the strength to evade three men built like soldiers, especially when he still had no idea just what it was he would be up against.
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Comments (20)
Brett, Krysten and I were going to do something like this last summer. I wrote the first chapter in July or August. Krysten never wrote chapter 2, though. I've been thinking about recruiting others to help us finish it.
They are always "just" math teachers.
:D FUN. Who's up next? Me????? :P :P
wow the suspense! somebody is going to have their work cut out for them! i do not know how it will be done, but this will be an interesting read (hopefully). if it doesn't work out so well, i vote you write your version of the rest of this story.
@saintvi - I'd be up for it. Also, if you know anyone that would like to be added to the list of writers for this story, I'm not turning people away who have a genuine interest.
@Levanna - Yep. That would be you! I do so enjoy a good cliff-hanger at the end of my chapters hehehe.
@YouTOme - I already know the angle I would take and I am almost 100% certain that nobody else would think to do that. This isn't about it matching what I would write though. It's about watching it all play out with no knowledge of how people are going to write it. It adds an extra element of mystery to it that I think makes it all the more fascinating.
@Legendairy - yes, that's all very true and sounds good.
unrelated, if you get a chance, read the recs (it's 5 part testimony) i made to neeka1's old entry. she alerted me to it and i think it might encourage you a bit, pertaining to something you recently talked to me about. when/if you get the time.
@Levanna - By the way, I now added the Table of Contents and linked both it and my chapter to each other. Also, just as clarification, the title I added was just the title I gave to my chapter. Thought it would make it better to add titles to chapters so readers could more easily remember where they left off rather than following numbers alone. Just a thought to enhance the experience for those who wish to follow along.
This is awesome! I can't wait for my turn. Can people still join? Cause my bro One_eared_batman wants in I think.
@Simbathe2nd - I was actually HOPING more people would join as the story progressed. If I can avoid any need to cycle through the rotation again, that would be ideal!
When I read this, I almost expected it to end with two or three choices and the apropriate page numbers to turn to for each.
@king_of_all_losers - You know, I actually did start a separate Xanga site once that was going to be exactly that but I didn't get very far into it. Haven't worked on it in over six months now... probably more.
Excellent begining. I'm glad that I have awhile before needing to write my chapter.
nice, great beginning, I wish I could go sooner, but it will be fun to see how this unfolds
@jeremiahstears - Thanks!
@RockOfEadie - Thank you! If you find someone that wants to switch off, I would have no problem with that. I just put people in the order they confirmed they were in on it. If you do find someone, just let me know.
@Legendairy - no, it's okay, I'll wait my turn, it's part of the fun of it, I suppose.
As always, you're talent glows. Good luck with all the chapters, I'll be checking in to see how it goes
btw, I totally chuckled at the "Morrowind" song on your list. I used to love that Game. Oblivian is soo much better
@Tagging_Along - I think Morrowind was by far a superior game though in terms of graphics and combat systems, Oblivion certainly refined them and made them better... but I'm all about a great plot and Morrowind was just more seamless and better written I think.
Adventures of a Maths teacher! A great start, the suspense kinda makes me wish that I know the ending right now!
@Desert_Eagle_AE - There are now three chapters! Whahahahahaa!
@Levanna - I took the liberty of linking your chapter from the first one so people can more easily read straight through. If it wouldn't be too much trouble, do you think you could do likewise? Sorry if I'm asking a lot...
This was pretty awesome. Can't wait to finish reading what everyone else has to write!