I finally got round to rewriting the second chapter of Living in the Shadows. Enjoy everyone.
Chapter 02
The thirty-first of May wasn’t a particularly good day—clouds weathering the horizon as far as the eye could see. For the people who lived in Wellington city, this type of site was a regular occurrence. However, that wasn’t going to the thousands of people gathering outside the site known as the Westpac Arena—a building which gave great resemblance to a gigantic cake tin—for an event simply known as the Entertainment Expo.
A young man waited in line. “Thank god that I got my tickets a couple hours early,” he said, panting slightly. “You know, I’m really glad that I took your advice Nathan, considering how this my first time doing anything like this. Any longer and we would’ve been stuck all the way back there.” He pointed towards the back of the line.
“Mate, don’t worry about it,” Nathan said. “I’m just glad that you actually could make around this time Jason. We’d been talking about doing this for ages, but things never quite turned out right did they?”
“Pretty much, yeah.”
They moved forwards as the line began to progress into the arena. Most of the people around them were in cosplay, including Jason Venture—his brown hair and hazel eyes turned blond and crimson to match the person he was dressed as. Nathan on the other hand was dressed normally.
“Hey Jason.”
“Yeah?”
Nathan pulled out his phone. “Who are you dressed as again? You told me a few hours ago I know, but I kinda already forgot. Mainly I’ve been so excited to get in that it slipped my mind.”
“Really? Fine… I’ll tell you again. I’m just lucky that I’m just about tall enough to pull it off.” Jason sighed, putting on his best british accent. “It is I, DIO. Dio Brando; vampire and slayer of Jonathan Joestar. WRYYYYYY!” He returned his voice to normal as people around him began to give strange looks. “He’s a vampire from a series know as JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, which is renowned for its ridiculously strong characters and fabulous posing.”
“Yeah, well just don’t go posing around me. I just want to buy some quality wears.” Nathan brought out his phone. “Mate, this DIO character you're dressed as sounds pretty overpowered. I just checked some stuff about him.”
“Well to be fair, a lot of the characters in that show are overpowered, so it balances itself out. Say, what do you even want to buy?”
“A sword or something else that looks completely badass. I can’t come back home empty handed.”
“Heh, fair enough,” Jason said, shuffling his friend forwards. “Aren’t the quality items really expensive though?”
Nathan turned around, shrugging. “True, but I withdrew some of my student allowance that I’d been saving up for a few weeks, so I should have enough.”
Dumbass, Jason thought. “You do realise that you’ll probably get in trouble for this right?”
“Yeah whatever,” Nathan said, shrugging. “We can worry about that later.”
Jason pulled Nathan forwards as the line progressed. After what seemed like an eternity, the two of them finally entered the arena and began to roam its curved hallways which seemed to be specifically designed for the rugby games commonly held instead. The colourful shops and clothes inside was contrasted by the dull grey concrete floor which did nothing to stop the vibrations of hundreds of feet passing through.
Jason looked onwards. “You know, considering how small this place is, it feels really big in here,” he said, feeling slightly overwhelmed.
“It always feels like that the first time,” Nathan replied. “Personally, I always felt that this place was too small. I always end up feeling like I’m being bunched in. You’ll learn soon enough.”
“I look forward to it Nathan senior,” Jason retorted, sarcasm dripping from his voice.
“Hahaha, real funny. Come on, let me show you around.”
Nathan began to show Jason around the event, showcasing the various stands and what they had to offer. Many of them sold t-shirts with various anime and manga references on them while others sold merchandise from games like The Legend of Zelda. Other’s sold DVD’s representing various animation studios and western dubbing companies. People moved around them, trying their hardest to get to the different venues.
Moving closer to one of the stands, Jason noticed a particular book up for sale. He took it up to the cashier, quickly swiping his eftpos card. Then, quickly as he could, Jason put it into a plastic bag and ran to rejoin his friend.
“What’d you get?” Nathan asked, curious.
“Secret. I’ll tell you later.” Jason handed him the bag. “Mind holding it for me? Don’t look at it though, else you’ll have to face my wrath.”
They walked further on through the curved corridors, looking some more at the other events taking place. They stopped to look at a gaming event being held. On the screen, two teams of five were battling it out to destroy an objective in the enemy team’s base.
“Hey Jason. What to watch this?”
“Might as well. It looks like it only just started, so we haven’t missed anything.”
They sat down, time passing relatively quickly. However before long, the outcome of this match became clear before it had even finished, and so onlookers began to leave.
Nathan tapped Jason on the shoulder. “Come on, I think we both know how this match is gonna end.”
“Indeed,” replied Jason. “I grow tired of these petty games. Actually, watching it has made me hungry for some reason. It’s probably because I feel so excited about being here, doing this. I’m gonna go grab something to eat.”
Nathan nodded. “I’ll join you. Now that you mention it, I feel a little peckish myself.”
Meanwhile, in the shadows of the Cake Tin, reality began to shift. Without notice, a portal opened up and a figure emerged, leisurely walking out. The figure was dressed in large cloak and hood with concealed his face, giving him the look of some kind of merchant. He scratched the back of his head as the portal closed behind him, noticing the huge crowd of people. I’ll fit in perfectly. The Merchant knew that he had all the time in the world and so slowly, but surely, be began to look for a place to set up shop. There would be another victim, just like the hundreds of others before who’d fallen into the exact same trap. Every single time.
A crowd had begun amassing in the food court as lunch time approached. Jason and his friend waited in near the front of the line. Now that some time had passed, the two of them noticed that people had already begun to leave the event with other taking their place. The weather outside hadn’t seemed to improve either, remaining a grey blanket of cloud.
“Jason, mind shouting me something?” Nathan asked. “You know if it were any other time that I’d pay myself, but I really want to make sure that if I see something I like I’ll have enough to get it.”
Jason sighed. “Sure, but it needs to be something small like chips or something. I’m also looking out for something to buy, remember?”
“Oh yeah, that’s right,” Nathan said. “That’s fine. I’ll just have hot chips then.”
The two of them walked up to the counter, placing their orders. The transaction happened smoothly with Jason and Nathan both sitting at a nearby table. The food was delivered to them even quicker and they ate it without any complaint. Eventually, the two of them stood up.
“Nathan, I’m gonna go have another look around on my own, alright?” Jason said.
“Sure thing. I was going to do have another look around anyway,” Nathan replied, taking out his phone. “Call me if anything happens.”
Jason walked off. “Yeah yeah. I know the drill.” He walked through the hallway a few more times, taking another quick look at the stuff on sale. The only thing that’s interested me so far was that book, Jason thought. There must be something else. I just don’t see myself being satisfied with some of the stuff being sold.
“Hey you!” an unknown voice called out.
Jason turned around. He noticed a stand which seemed rather out of place compared to its surroundings. It was rather big, a mat laying over of the concrete floor. The sides were made of old mahogany wood. Behind what looked like a small desk was a guy dressed in some kind of merchant cosplay.
Jason tapped a person standing near him on the shoulder. “Sorry to ask, but was that stand there earlier?”
“Don’t think so,” the person replied.
“Thanks.” Jason turned back to the Merchant. “Me?” he mouthed.
“Yes you!” the man replied.
Jason walked over to the stand.
“You’ve been searching for something haven’t you?” the Merchant asked him. “I saw you walk past a couple of times with this troubled look on your face. Maybe I have something you’ll like.”
I don’t like this, Jason thought. However, I have looked pretty much everywhere. This might be the only place left to check. “Sure. Show me what you got.” He walked onto the mat, gazing at the different items on sale. Various items were either hung on the walls or positioned on the floor on purpose.
The Merchant spoke behind him. “See anything you like?”
“There are a few things here, but something’s just not—”
Looking at carefully at one of the corners, Jason noticed something, catching his eye. He moved closer, moving a couple different eyes away so he could get a proper look. Lying underneath was what appeared to be a stone mask with a raised depression in the middle of its forehead. Behind it, a wooden bow with an arrow. The arrowhead had a insect-like carving on its flat side.
Jason picked up the items, “This is really well made! Did you make these yourself?”
The Merchant looked at him. “Ahh, yes I did. Fine pieces they were. Unfortunately, all the normal stone masks that I’d made are sold out.”
“How much for these three?” Jason asked. These are really well done. The stone definitely looks as if it were carved by hand. The bow and arrow have the exact same feel to it as well.
“Fifty each for the three of them. So one hundred and fifty in total,” the Merchant replied. “I’ll throw in a free quiver.”
Damn that’s expensive, Jason thought to himself. But I have enough. Besides, I really want it. “Done.” He pulled out his wallet, handing the man three crisp fifty dollar notes.
“Nothing like a good sale,” the Merchant said, tucking the notes into his jacket pocket. “Thanks for the stretch, and hope you have a great day.”
“Thanks, I hope so too.” Jason strung the bow and quiver over his back, placing the large arrow into it. Lastly, he put the stone mask on his face. You know, I should probably go find Nathan, Jason thought. He ran through the wide hallway, dodging people as he moved past. Eventually, he found Nathan, standing in front of another stand. He had a smokey white blade across his back. It had jagged edges and was so large, it looked as if it may have been able to cut a boulder in half. A jewel was inserted in the base of the pummel. Nathan turned around, smiling as he noticed Jason.
“Hey Jason,” Nathan said. “What you think of my kickass sword? It’s a weapon called a Shardblade from a book series called The Stormlight Archive.”
“That is pretty kickass. I ain’t gonna lie. Hey, can I have that bag I gave you earlier?”
“Yeah, of course. It is yours afterall.” Nathan handed he the bag.
“Thanks. Also –” Jason held out his hand “– can I borrow the key to the car boot. I just need to put the things I have in there.”
Nathan tossed him the keys. “Don’t hurt yourself.”
“Funny.” Jason ran further until he reached the exit. Weather hasn’t improved much, he thought. You know, I feel kinda dizzy. It might be this mask. He raised his arms in an attempt to remove it. His finger grazed a rough part of the mask’s surface, a small amount of blood dripping from the wound. Everything went black.