Break
By J.E. Munden
()
About this ebook
Whispers flow around Lazy River Townhomes about the man in G-5. He has lived there as long as anyone can remember, and to anyone’s knowledge, has not left his place or even stepped outdoors. The only thing they do know about him is that his name is Mr. Green. The mystery behind Mr. Green fuels the other tenants’ suspicion, and rumors link him to every bad event that takes place there. He has become an urban legend.
Billy, an eleven year old boy, lives across the parking lot from the old recluse. He’s heard the gossip for two years and always wondered if the rumors were true. His belief is put to the test when he is asked by his father to deliver a package they mistakenly received which is addressed to Mr. Green.
Billy knocks on the door and the old man answers. The brief encounter sets off a chain event that introduces Billy to another world where he will have to make the choice of a lifetime, and come to learn and understand the man in G-5.
Related to Break
Related ebooks
Looking At Lyphe Differently Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsNemesis II The Fold Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Alligators Overhead: The Adventures of Pete and Weasel Book 1 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Silent and Grateful Tears Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPortrait of a Young Man Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsOut of Time Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Endless Search Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLila at Gene's Theater Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe 365 Stories Project Month Two Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Face of Fear: A Powers and Johnson Novel Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Rain and the Fire and the Will of God Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTemporal Distortion Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsEarly Onset of Night, Volume One Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBesides Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTecumseh’S Artifact Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHooh-Strah-Dooh: A World of Vampires Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsNobody Knows Nobody Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWhat We Stood For Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsInvasion Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBloody Soil: A Kolya Petrov Thriller, #3 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Self-Actualized Baby Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMoroccan Mystery: The Passport Series Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Sugar House Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHolidays in Asshat Collection: Magic and Mayhem Universe: Holidays in Assjacket Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHoliday Magic: Magic and Mayhem Universe: Holidays in Assjacket, #1 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Man Who Turned Both Cheeks: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Chozen For These Streets: His Angel & His Streets Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSteven Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFive Stories Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMUD Making Unwise Decisions Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Fantasy For You
The Fellowship Of The Ring: Being the First Part of The Lord of the Rings Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Picture of Dorian Gray (The Original 1890 Uncensored Edition + The Expanded and Revised 1891 Edition) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The City of Dreaming Books Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Silmarillion Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Assassin and the Pirate Lord: A Throne of Glass Novella Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Priory of the Orange Tree Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Piranesi Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Tress of the Emerald Sea: Secret Projects, #1 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Fairy Tale Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5This Is How You Lose the Time War Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Babel: Or the Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators' Revolution Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Assassin and the Desert: A Throne of Glass Novella Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Stories of Ray Bradbury Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Immortal Longings Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Eyes of the Dragon Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Nettle & Bone Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Measure: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Assassin and the Empire: A Throne of Glass Novella Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Ocean at the End of the Lane: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Dark Tower I: The Gunslinger Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Black Sun Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Don Quixote: [Complete & Illustrated] Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Slewfoot: A Tale of Bewitchery Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Wizard's First Rule Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Lord Of The Rings: One Volume Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Assassin and the Underworld: A Throne of Glass Novella Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Strange Case of the Alchemist's Daughter Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Phantom Tollbooth Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Labyrinth of Dreaming Books: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Reviews for Break
0 ratings0 reviews
Book preview
Break - J.E. Munden
Break
By J.E. Munden
© 2017 J.E. Munden
Self publishing
Cover Art © 2017 Ryan Huwe
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. This book contains material protected under International and Federal Copyright Laws and Treaties. Any unauthorized reprint or use of this material is prohibited. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without express written permission from the author / publisher, except by a reviewer who wishes to quote brief passages in connection with a review written for inclusion in a magazine, newspaper, blog, or broadcast.
This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
Manufactured in the United States of America
SECOND EDITION
Introduction and Acknowledgements
This story stemmed from a writing exercise where I took a word of the day and started writing from there. The word was Afflatus. It means: A divine creative impulse or inspiration. This combined with me napping in my front room one afternoon with kids walking past my sliding glass door and other character elements I have had stored in the back of my mind, this story shaped to what is on the pages to follow.
I would like to take this time to thank my friends for their time and talents in helping me put this story together. To Ryan Huwe, thank you for your vision, and graphic skills in making a beautiful cover that is very fitting. To Chris Steele, thank you for reading, rereading and answering all my questions in order to make this story as polished as possible. To Jon Steele, thank you for encouraging me to go forward with publishing this short story and get things started.
I want to acknowledge the Spokane writing community and especially, Erik Schubach. Thank you for your guidance and thoughts on the finishing steps towards publishing.
Most importantly, I would like to thank my lovely wife, Sarra, for allowing some extra time to pursue my passion in telling stories.
I
The man lived in a complex of town-homes on East River Drive. It looked like any other new complex sprouting up around the city, except this one a bit different. It was not really near anything. People have to drive about five minutes down a slow, winding road that took them to the city limits, and in a middle of a vast field, close to a river, was Lazy River Townhomes.
He resided in G-5, which was a townhouse that hugged the property line. There was only one other unit to his left that kept him from being the one in the northeast most corner of the property.
He was an older man, around 60. He still held onto his dark hair with only a little silver sneaking in on the sides. He wore denim coveralls because they were comfortable and functional, and spent his days watching soap operas and game shows while eating Hungry Man meatloaf and potato dinners. Despite his diet and inactivity, he still kept a slender, tall profile. He didn’t care about impressing people because he rarely met up with them. He stayed indoors because he had to. He had an arrangement where his mail was brought directly to him by the mailman and he would have his groceries delivered to his doorstep. Other than that, no one ever came by.
His sliding glass door led out to a small concrete patio with enough room to hold a few potted plants and a chair that he never sat in. There was not much to look at, just a fence to keep him from seeing the field next door. There was a small patch of grass that separated the patio and the fence, but it was barely big enough to consider even having it. There was no reason for anyone to be back there except for the landscapers that showed up on Tuesday mornings, but once in a while he would hear someone walking by.
There had been a few people that lived around him and lost their keys, so they would walk back behind past his patio to see if they left their back door open, but for the most part, his trespassers
on his small patch of grass were kids who liked to walk around, exploring the property maybe in hopes of coming across a secret spot or something of interest. The man had something of interest that was a secret, so he always perked up when he heard steps and voices out in back. He sat in his chair and even with volume high on the TV, he could overhear some adolescent voice saying, Hey, I wonder what cool shit that old man has in there?
In this sheltered complex, many hidden lives were going on: adultery with neighbors, abuse of family members, and theft of things others covet. These events were all on the tongues of the gossiping folk of Lazy River, but the story everyone always wanted to talk about was the man in G-5.
He could see them gather outside his window, huddled in groups of two or three, whispering while staring across the pavement and through the spaces in between parked cars. The man was not bothered. People come and people go.
he told himself.
And so they did. The people in the buildings moved out and some moved in. Different people, same sins, and still gathered out in front wondering about him. Up until this point the people around the man became nothing more than a shrubbery that needed to be trimmed. Same shrubbery he would hear always repeating, Hey bro, I wonder what cool shit that old man has in there?
As the people changed, so did his TV. The actors would come and go with some still holding on to their purpose to the never ending story. The Price is Right went from Bob Barker to Drew Carrey who tried real hard. The