A Blind Revolution

[Arkcher]

[This concept was thrown together in about two days, and is pretty much a merging of three VERY short stories, retold to rally off of each other. And I'm also trying a new method of storytelling, only about 1/3 of it will be actual events as they happen, as seen below, but the rest of it will be in the form of journal entries made by the characters.

 

Beware of plot-holes and continuity flaws, they are few, they are small, but they are definitely there. I'm writing this from one post to another, so theres minimal proofreading this time.]

 

---

 

Ellen Rose felt uneasy. Something was different about tonight, this otherwise normal evening as she lay face up in her untidy bed, trying to drift off in to slumber. No one else could be in the room. She’s on the upper floor of her family’s home, nobody could be watching her. What was it?

 

She slowly pulled herself to one side of the bed, and stood up with poor balance, as she kept to the wall and felt her way across her bedroom, without any real destination. Ellen took a breath in, and definitely caught something in the air. She hesitated, and sniffed again- Undeniably, this was the scent of smoke. Smoke? Was something burning? Ben never was a very good cook, but… well, this wasn’t burnt food.

 

Her heart skipped a beat as she eliminated the possibilities and narrowed it down to one, the most dreaded of all- Her home was on fire.

 

Ellen hurried her pace, still keeping to the wall, and tripped over a mess of dirty laundry. She reached a shaking hand out for the brass doorknob, but immediately reeled back- It was hot! … There was fire immediately just outside her bedroom door! Realizing this, she took a gasp, but immediately coughed; Thick black smoke was curling and rising up from under the doorway, the air was hot and contaminated, the burnt particles seared her lungs. Covering her face and coughing loudly, she stumbled back toward the bed and the nearby window, thinking fast about what would become of her family?

 

Her father had always been a good figure in their home, providence was enough, he was a role model to all, and was there for Ellen in her hard times. Mom was there too, oh how many times she had helped Ellen with schoolwork, always producing scrumptious meals and spreading cheer. Ben, her older brother, had high hopes and a lot ahead of him, and was protective of the rest of his family, always standing up for Ellen… Taylor, her younger brother… has his moments, but can be a helpful, playful, energetic companion. And Jessica, sweet Jessica was only five years old, the epitome of innocence and purity… What will become of Ellen’s family?

 

Self-preservation soon dominated her thoughts, as Ellen grasped the window and feebly slid it upward and stuck her head out, gasping in fresh air. She could hear sirens in the distance, and chatter of people nearby.

 

“Oh my god, Look! There’s a girl up there!”

 

Ellen heard someone shout out, as the attention was directed to her. Using one arm to support herself, she waved the other high in to the air,

 

“Help! Help me, My house is on fire!”

 

Ellen turned her head at the sound of a crash, feeling an immense wave of heat rush through her room, blowing her long hair behind her, to the excitement of the congregating townspeople, just as the firetrucks slid to a stop, people still chattering amongst themselves. Again, Ellen let out a cry for help, feeling the heat behind her, tears coming to her eyes not only from irritation of the thick smoke, but from the thought of losing all her material posessions…

 

In little time, she heard distinguished voices trying to get her attention;

 

“We have a net spread out here! You have to jump!”

 

Ellen’s heart skipped a beat once more- Jump? … From this high up? Frustrated, she made quiet sobs from fear and pressure-

 

“Hurry! That roof will collapse at any minute! You have to jump!”

 

Ellen kept her head outside, but only for air. She would look down, spot where this net was, but… Ellen Rose was blind. She had been for almost two years, and still wasn’t used to it.

 

“Where is it?”

 

“Its right here, don’t you see? Just jump!”

 

“Ellen, it’s me! Ben!

 

Ellen’s countenance changed- Simple as it seemed, some familiar voice gave her hope of survival.

 

“The net is right here, I’m holding it for you! You’ll be alright, we’ll catch you! You can jump! Come on!”

 

Ellen had no idea what was out there. She reached a hand out and groped the air, her hand only fell down to hit the singed siding of the building. How far down was that? She had no idea!

 

“Ellen! You have to hurry!”

 

Ben’s voice was drowned out by the collapse of a wall just outside the hallway. Its now or never.

Carefully, Ellen placed one foot on the windowsill and hoisted herself up, and hung awkwardly out the window. How far away was the net? How far down was it? How big is it?

 

Quite literally, it took a leap of faith, but Ellen’s body pushed off of her old burning home, and went out in to the open, feeling the wind rush by- plunging down, her sightless eyes open and hopeful that her family truly was there to catch her…

 

[she lives. so dont worry. thats just where this part of the story ends.]

[Horatio]

[ Thanks so much for continuing!!! This is fantastic!!! ]

[Arkcher]

[note that the blatant typos later on are intentional so dont go crazy on me D: ]

 

Ben Rose

May 20th 2009

 

Only a few days in and this week has been terrible.

On Monday, I lost my job. I’d been searching for a replacement ever since, with minimal luck. The city’s Recycling facility was hiring, but offered really low pay for an in-depth manual labor job. The search continued up until last night, when I was visiting home for some counseling with my parents, and we all smelled something in the air…

 

Our house caught on fire. Burned to the ground, Everything we had was gone. On top of that, we havent found Dad or Jessica anywhere, and have been left with one possibility; they went with the house, and couldn’t make it out alive.

 

Mom has been absolutely livid this whole time. She gathered her remaining children and compelled all of us to pick up journal-keeping. I used to have one, but hadn't made any entries since I was 13. Almost ten years later, It takes a house fire to get me back in to it.

 

I had only recently moved out on my own, and had an apartment on the other side of town. I’ve been keeping my family here in this cramped 2-bedroom flat for a while, and will until they find more suitable hospitality. Mom had us all pitch in Everything that we had, and I mean everything so that we could get back up on our feet. I won’t be eating very many lunches, that I can tell you. I was the main contributor, Mom got her savings account out and Taylor threw in his ten dollars that he had been saving for weeks. Ellen couldn’t make much of a contribution seeing how we are the ones who handle everything for her… I really wonder how she’s doing. She’s long since developed a Glaucoma, which pretty much means that some hindrance like a weak blood clot had cut off the blood supply to her eyes, and she’s been completely blind since her Junior year in High school. She should be a Senior by now.

 

Having little luck with any other companies, it looks like I’ll get a job working for the city, taking out drywall and manually taking things apart for that Recycling facility. I have my concerns, but what little savings I had are gone, and I’m in desperate need of some cash, and my family isn’t in any better of a condition.

 

Mom isn’t handling the situation well at all. I think there’s another factor in this whole mess, and… well, this is one story that needn’t be forgotten any time soon, and it will be recorded.

 

---

 

Elllen Rose

May 21th

 

Inhavent used a keybiard for a really long tim, so I might make a fw kistames. Im pretty sure i rememmber wheer some of the keys ar4 though

Anyway, Mom’’ hjad us all start journal wiriting again. I hadve wanted to for a wile, and now hav a reason to actually do it.

 

Last night could hav been the scarest thing ive ever done though Iwas trying to seep at night but i couldnt, something felt worng. and sure enough there was! our hoiuse had caugt on fire...

of course I;m blind though, i coudnt see much off it.I kept tripping over thigs in mt room. and got over to the window and had to jmup out of it It felt like 4 or 4 stories high I couldnt see anything,,,

 

wow I really hope im typing this all correcly, i kniw ive messed up so many tims by now...

 

I;m glad that my famly was down at the bottom with the firfighters, that made is easier to do, and Ben hads ,been keepin glose watch ever sinse/ hey, i might have him spell check these... that woud help me a lot

 

Earlier, mom had us all put our money in one plac so we can get food and pay bills ad get back up and goign. I can on;y hope for the best. Fortunatly Bben has let us stay in his aprartment for a while,

its good to have a family there for you.

 

I heard b

 

 

 

Ben here. It looks like Ellen tried to make a journal entry, with little success. I found the computer with some pull-down menus open, and about three windows over the original entry, Ellen must have hit Ctrl instead of Shift. She's given it a good shot. I'll definitely do spell-checks and keep her entries available and legible from here on out, where necessary.

[Horatio]

[ Arkcher... this is fantastic!!! Please keep writing!!! ]

[Arkcher]

[short update. Woo.]

 

Ben Rose

June 3rd

 

Progress in all areas. Things are moving slow in all of said areas, but they are moving forward.

 

Working at the recycling facility is NOT pleasant. Equipped with a crowbar, I’m to break down wooden panels and working in a less-than-hygienic environment, and doing some manual work with some drywall and sheetrock that was recently extracted from the remains of a demolished house. Rumor is that the demolished house was a big part of the drug-dealing business in town, and taking out this location did accomplish several things, including all of my co-workers rummaging though, expecting to find some drugs to… use or sell off, I don’t know. If there was anything to begin with, I’m sure they’ve picked it clean.

 

On that matter, my co-workers are just about the least intellectual, mature and collected group of individuals. The facility is a low-budget place, we’re all stuck in a rundown break room over lunch, where they all exchange the most recent crude remarks and sex jokes they heard. I did what I could to find the seniority figure there and asked how long this would go on, if it was a first or temporary or seasonal thing. To which he replies “that’s what she said” and continued about his oblivious, aimless tasks.

 

I’m getting money out of this. That’s the only thing keeping me going. Since I got my apartments Water bill, it put me in a tight situation since I had been showering much more frequently to get all the dust and dirt off of myself and my clothes from work. Looks like I’ll be cutting back on that, too.

 

Other fields of progress… Mom found a small one-story house. It will definitely need work, what with infestations, rotting wood, horrible landscape, smashed windows… So once I escape work, I’ll have the exact same tasks at hand all over again. Just with a different, MUCH more pleasant group of people.

… Except for Taylor. He’s about the same, but he acts his age, unlike the 30+ year old coworkers of mine who act no different.

 

On a more personal note, though still worth recording, an old high school friend of mine was almost inconsolably in tears. She was ‘the girl’ that I always had a thing for in the school days, but we were never on the same level, I thought she was too good for me. Regardless, she explained her situation; Her boyfriend (who I also knew from high school) had mysteriously stopped talking to her, and was nowhere to be found. She (Jasmine) had kept sending him emails and texts, hoping for a response, and about a week later he told her that he had a lot of school and work to take care of, and would try to make time for her.

 

Not until much, much later did he tell the truth; He had gotten with another girl, and had effectively cheated on Jasmine for someone ‘better’. Jasmine vented and let it all out on me, and given my previous feelings, couldn’t help myself but swear to her that I’d track him down and give him a beating, and promised to take care of her from then on.

 

This was about four days ago, and ever since its been great. I’ve stayed by her side, keeping her happy. … To the point where it was necessary for her to keep me happy as well. It made going to work that much more tolerable, knowing what was waiting for me outside. Living the dream I had in my Junior year, to some extent. I was with Jasmine, I had a job, my own flat… granted, the latter two weren’t as good as I had hoped. Jasmine is even more beautiful than I had remembered her before. We haven’t heard of or from her old boyfriend for a while, and maintaining a good status with her has put a bit more strain on my budget. She’s understanding though, and… admittedly, is usually the one to cover for me financially or treat me out for dinner.

 

Things will regulate soon enough.

But for now, all is well. I’m astounded at how willing Ellen has been, I know that she’s indispensable to Mom, but for being blind… she tries hard, and does well. I shouldn’t say, but its always fun to watch her miss a doorway.

 

I cant shake the feeling that Mom’s discontent with everything is more than it seems. I’ll talk to her tomorrow.

[Horatio]

[ May be short... but it is great! ]

[Arkcher]

Ellen Rose

June 5th

 

Good news! Mom had picked out an old house for us to live in. A little one-story home, it certainly feels like its held many memories. It smells unpleasantly of filth, but nothing we can’t get rid of.

 

Taylor said there are bugs and rodents living in there, too. I asked Mom, but she didn’t seem too concerned about it. I guess if it was something to be concerned about, I’d know about it.

 

We’ve been sleeping on cots and sleeping bags the past week. Just Mom, Taylor and I. Ben helps us whenever he can, but he’s at work a lot, and we depend on him for money. It’s a real strain on him, he has to support himself, too. And he told me that he’ll be making sure my journal entries on his computer are spelled right, so I don’t have to worry about that anymore. He’s a great brother.

 

Oh, speaking of, he got a girlfriend! I’ve talked to her a few times, and she’s really nice. I kind of wish I could see her myself, but even without knowing what she looks like, I can trust Ben’s judgement that she’s a good person. Jasmine helps us with cleaning the house sometimes, or keeps Taylor occupied. Whenever she and Ben are in the same room, they’re pretty useless though. And judging by what I hear, I’m sometimes glad I cant see them…

(Note from Ben: I’ll have you know we havent done anything wrong. … I guess I shouldn’t say that. I sure enjoy it though.)

 

Oh, I do wonder how things would be different if Dad made it out of the house in time. He was really smart, and efficient with money. I know we’re wasting a bit here and there, but we’ll catch on eventually.

 

… Hearing Ben so happy with Jasmine makes me wonder how I’ll end up. I hope I can find a boy caring enough to keep track of me. Ah, but that’s just something to daydream about. Too many potentials to put down here.

 

Oh well. Things are looking up. I’ll keep record of them, with Ben’s help.

 

---

 

Ben Rose

June 7th

 

I knew we had to hit a snag sometime. I just knew it.

 

This will definitely be a short entry, I need to sort out my thought and emotions before I can make any rational conclusion, but…

 

Like I said, I talked to mom about what must have been bothering her. Come to find out, the reason she wants us keeping these journals was to follow after Dad’s footsteps. I hesitantly inquired of what kind of things Dad had written about…

 

That #######. He was too weak to deal with his emotions and burned our ####ing house to the ground.

 

He had developed an addiction to alcohol and a few drugs. He never confronted this problem, just let it fester and covered it up.

Under the influence of these substances, he had… well, a series of actions led him to cheat on Mom. He never confronted these problems, just let them keep going while he covered it up.

 

These things just got worse and worse until he just snapped. He couldn’t live with his mistakes, and seeing his family every day only reminded him of these problems, and the thought of telling us about them scared him too much. That coward, look at where we are now! Is this any better off?

 

He used arsenic and explosives and set the house ablaze while I was there, hoping to erase all that he had done, good and bad. I idolized this man. I looked up to him, took his advice and council, and look what he had been doing all along, and what he’s still putting us through!

 

Somehow, keeping a journal may help console us, help us deal through hard times. Doesn’t seem to have worked on Dad. I had thought he had passed respectfully...

 

… Like I said, before I could rightfully say any more, I need… some time to myself. I’ll make another entry when I know whats really happening, and where we’re going.

 

[OMGPIVOTAL EVENTS]

[Horatio]

[ You and Mushroom_king always leave me hanging!!! Get back here and write more! Please. ]

[Arkcher]

[D: I need to start writing happy things.

cause this story made me all emo today.

 

so I need to finish it and MOVE ON D:< NEVAR LOOK BACK

inspiration shall be sought after. And it will be displayed here 'cause you guys are awesome and I post stuff here accordingly.]

[Horatio]

[ Happy things would be great for you. Either way, your stories are fantastic!!! Thank you for writing them! ]

[Arkcher]

[mmkay, so The posts already up here consist of about 2/3's of the whole story, so its mostly finished, I just can't write the last two or three posts cause I can't word them properly.

 

Can't emphasize in the right way, or describe without a visual aid. :c

 

so I'm thinking of posting the events for the rest of the story, in non-story format. for the sake of closure, otherwise I'd just leave this alone.

what do you guys think?]

[Horatio]

[mmkay, so The posts already up here consist of about 2/3's of the whole story, so its mostly finished, I just can't write the last two or three posts cause I can't word them properly.

 

Can't emphasize in the right way, or describe without a visual aid. :c

 

so I'm thinking of posting the events for the rest of the story, in non-story format. for the sake of closure, otherwise I'd just leave this alone.

what do you guys think?]

Get those posts up!!!

[Arkcher]

Bad ending warning.

Copied from MS Word:

 

• Ben gets home from work, complains to himself about how terrible the day was.

• Pulls up school laptop, checks email. One of his current ‘associates’ who isn’t necessarily a good friend, drops a number of subtle hints that he and Jasmine have been ‘getting together’.

• Asks another friend, Jasmine has been cheating on Ben for over a month. They thought he knew about it, and didn’t want to bring it up around him.

• Ben rages, skips going to work and tracks down Jasmine between her classes at school, and confronts her about it. “Why?” “I… thought you knew.” “You call that an excuse? You’re acting just like your old boyfriend!” They’re both taken aback, by what was said and how true it was.

• They end up breaking up, trying to stay on good terms with each other, but didn’t quite make it.

• Ben shares the drama with his family, and gets support accordingly.

 

Next post

 

• Next day at work, same thing as ever happens for the first few hours. After lunch, Ben is beating down a wall and separating wood and drywall and copper, when his boss comes running over to him, looking distressed. Nobody had told him that the environment he had put himself in, all the dust and dirt all over… wasn’t exactly ‘dust’, more like Asbestos. Ben had enough exposure to asbestos that when the effects kick in, he was going to die this month.

• Ben loses it, and uses the crowbar in hand and beats the #### out of his boss. The first of numerous violent outbreak episodes.

• Overnight, he has local authorities tracking him down, while he releases all the stress and frustration built up in domestic violence- against Ellen and their mother.

• It had been ‘recommended’ that he start taking a drug called Pipamperon, which will end up putting Ben in a coma so they can fit the straightjacket easier. With a small assortment of weapons he had collected, he lays siege and waits for the authorities to take him down, kicking and screaming.

• Ellen sustained more injuries from Ben, her already delicate frame lost functionality in her left leg, knee-down, effectively crippling her. All this happening right before Taylor’s eyes has caused tremendous emotional and mental damage and subsequent scarring. Lacking any male role model, he starts his own decline in all areas, ends up in a street gang to fill his need for a family, and gets early exposure to drugs and thievery.

• Mom is left with a crippled daughter and a son in Juvie and another in a mental institution. She carries on, not sure where to turn for help.

 

and it all started with a drinking problem.

 

So.

if you see yourself or someone else in a slow, steady decline, it will end up becoming a ROLLERCOASTER OMG unless it gets fixed.

[Horatio]

Bad ending warning.

Copied from MS Word:

 

• Ben gets home from work, complains to himself about how terrible the day was.

• Pulls up school laptop, checks email. One of his current ‘associates’ who isn’t necessarily a good friend, drops a number of subtle hints that he and Jasmine have been ‘getting together’.

• Asks another friend, Jasmine has been cheating on Ben for over a month. They thought he knew about it, and didn’t want to bring it up around him.

• Ben rages, skips going to work and tracks down Jasmine between her classes at school, and confronts her about it. “Why?” “I… thought you knew.” “You call that an excuse? You’re acting just like your old boyfriend!” They’re both taken aback, by what was said and how true it was.

• They end up breaking up, trying to stay on good terms with each other, but didn’t quite make it.

• Ben shares the drama with his family, and gets support accordingly.

 

Next post

 

• Next day at work, same thing as ever happens for the first few hours. After lunch, Ben is beating down a wall and separating wood and drywall and copper, when his boss comes running over to him, looking distressed. Nobody had told him that the environment he had put himself in, all the dust and dirt all over… wasn’t exactly ‘dust’, more like Asbestos. Ben had enough exposure to asbestos that when the effects kick in, he was going to die this month.

• Ben loses it, and uses the crowbar in hand and beats the #### out of his boss. The first of numerous violent outbreak episodes.

• Overnight, he has local authorities tracking him down, while he releases all the stress and frustration built up in domestic violence- against Ellen and their mother.

• It had been ‘recommended’ that he start taking a drug called Pipamperon, which will end up putting Ben in a coma so they can fit the straightjacket easier. With a small assortment of weapons he had collected, he lays siege and waits for the authorities to take him down, kicking and screaming.

• Ellen sustained more injuries from Ben, her already delicate frame lost functionality in her left leg, knee-down, effectively crippling her. All this happening right before Taylor’s eyes has caused tremendous emotional and mental damage and subsequent scarring. Lacking any male role model, he starts his own decline in all areas, ends up in a street gang to fill his need for a family, and gets early exposure to drugs and thievery.

• Mom is left with a crippled daughter and a son in Juvie and another in a mental institution. She carries on, not sure where to turn for help.

 

and it all started with a drinking problem.

 

So.

if you see yourself or someone else in a slow, steady decline, it will end up becoming a ROLLERCOASTER OMG unless it gets fixed.

Oh my.