Tapestry of Fate

[CodexGigas]

I've lurked for years, but I've finally decided to post a story, or at least the first part of it. No idea why now, or why this story, but I'm going with it. Fair warning: There's going to be muscle-theft. And a plot.

And so, gentle reader, I present the first part (and first draft) of "Tapestry of Fate."

Edit: Added a prologue, changed a few other things.
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Something smelled wrong. Not the stale sandwiches, the cold coffee, or the week-old pie. No, this was layers upon metaphysical layers below the smells of the diner. An "umpteenth" sense, Decima had once called it. She had a way with words.

Theo felt like he had to take a shower, and it wasn't just because they had been driving five days straight. He fought his way to the counter through waves of nausea.

"Could I get a...uh...blue plate special?" Diners had to have stuff like that. "Blue plate special" was like the "#1 combo" at a fast food restaurant.

"Outta grits. I can get ya' hash."

"Yeah. Sure. And some coffee. Lots of coffee." And a shower and a clean bed while you're at it. Theo pulled out his phone to text Mace before he remembered their phones had died two days ago. They still had the short-wave, but that didn't do Theo much good right now.

"Funny lookin' car ya' got there."

"It's a Pinzgauer. Sort of a jeep. We're storm chasers." Nothing. "Like on the Discovery channel. Tornadoes."

"Oh. Sure."

"Hey, do you have a bathroom?"

"Yeah, but it's outside. Gotta take the key."

Speed was there when Theo got back. Theo was always creeped out by how incredibly normal the thing looked. There was nothing remarkable. Grey flannel shirt, faded jeans. Average height, build, features. Speed was the definition of "normal."

"You look surprised," it said as Theo slid into the booth. *Theo considered asking the waitress for a stack of phone books to sit on.

"I figured you'd be wearing a suit.

"I'm off the clock," he said with a smile.

"Evil takes time off work?"

He opened his palms, honesty radiating from the simple gesture. "I can help you. Your friend outside, too." Theo glanced at the car. Mace was still watching the instruments, and Theo didn't think there was an inconspicuous way to get his attention.

"Go ahead, call him inside if you'd like. This offer is for both of you."

A month ago, Speed's offer wouldn't have meant anything to Theo. Life was perfect. Or at least near enough he couldn't tell the difference. The only thing that was missing was his bed.

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"Mom! How could you turn my bedroom into a sewing room? And why? I've never even seen you sew! And that sewing machine is literally an antique!" Theo said as he gestured at the cast-iron and wood monstrosity that had replaced his bed.*

"Well, it seemed the thing to do at the time. Never know when you might have to darn socks or make a quilt."*

"Where am I going to sleep? And what happened to my weight bench? I--never mind. I'm going to be late. My shift at the nursing home starts…3 minutes ago."

"I'll make a bed on the couch for you. Have a good time, dear!"

Four red lights later, Theo jumped out of his car almost before he parked it, dashing towards the Shady Rest Retirement Home. Like always, he tripped over the last step and into the lobby. All that was missing was a laugh track.*

"Hey, Susan, how's it going? Sorry I'm late for my shift, my mom turned my room into a sewing room and I--"

"Don't worry about it," the desk attendant said, "Just hurry up and sign in before Ms. Springer gets here."

As Theo grabbed the clipboard, the pear-shaped form of the head nurse rounded the corner, eyes already ablaze.*

"Mr. Propp! Both I, and other members of the staff have asked you, repeatedly I might add, to try to be more punctual. What hare-brained excuse do you have to offer me this time?"

"It's...uh…"

"Well?" Ms. Springer stood there like a tiny drill sergeant in a periwinkle cardigan. Theo mumbled an apology as he signed in, avoiding the nurse's hawk eyes. "This is your last warning, Mr. Propp. I expect you on time tomorrow." Not waiting for a reply, Ms. Springer wheeled about with military precision and marched off.

"Sieg heil," Theo muttered. Wheezing laughter burst out across the room. The Părcaescu sisters, ensconced in rocking chairs, gave Theo knowing glances.*

"Careful, Theodorus. Das Fuehrer might hear you next time, yes?" Nona said, putting down her knitting. Theo could never quite place the sisters' accents. He was pretty sure they were from Eastern Europe. Romania?

"So, Theodorus, how was the university being?" Decima asked. Morta, the last sister, looked up from the obituaries she had been reading.

"Great! I'm the gaming club secretary now, so that takes up a lot of my time."

"Grades?"

"Yes. There were those too."

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Theo looked down at his watch again, then checked his phone's clock. Weights clanked behind him, a handful of die-hards getting in an extra-late workout. Exactly what Theo would be doing if his workout partner were there.*

It figured the one time Theo made it somewhere without any unlucky delays , his friend Mace would be late. Probably off bungee jumping or driving a bicycle off of a building somewhere, adrenaline-junkie that he was. Theo surveyed the weight room. No spotter, no lifting. Even before he started looking, Theo knew he wouldn't recognize anyone. His high school and college both had great gyms, and he had weight bench in his room before his mother had decided to set up a sewing room instead.*Theo's father had a full gym in the basement, but that was off limits.

Theo was totally absorbed in his thoughts when Mace roared up in his jeep.*

"Yo! Theo! Ready to go get pumped up?" Mace said as he leapt out of the car. It was a long drop for Theo's 5' 4" friend.*

"Better late then never," Theo replied.

"Better late sometimes than all the time, Theodore."

"Touch?."*

Theo was always amazed by how much Mace could lift. Not as much as him of course, but he was a giant at 6' 4"--6' 5" on a good day--and 270 pounds of muscle. Still, Mace could bench twice his own body weight, an impressive feat for the frankly scrawny-looking student.

"Gotta pack on a lot of muscle before next year," Mace said as he grabbed a pair of dumbbells. "I want to try out for the varsity rugby team instead of just doing intramurals. Plus I'm tired of being the skinniest guy in the dorm. But I'm change that, Theo. By next season I'm going to have arms bigger than yours!"

Theo laughed at the mental picture.

An hour of hard lifting later and they were packing up their things in the locker room.*

"Hey, I'll see you tomorrow, right?" Mace asked as he stuffed his shoes into his gym sack.*

"Sure. Want to grab some food before we lift?"*

"Dude, I could eat so many burritos right now!"*

Theo chuckled.*

"Seriously, let's make a burrito run tonight," Mace said as he slung his bag over his skinny shoulder. "Gotta feed the muscle-machine, right?" He grinned.

"Ok. It's not like I have a room to go back to anyways. As long as I make it to work on time tomorrow."

"Darn. I guess that road-trip to Mexico is out of the question now. How's fast food sound instead?"

"Sounds good," Theo said as they hopped into Mace's jeep. "Onward! To burritos!"

"Burritos ho!"

[Mdlftr]

Humor, a bit of foreshadowing, a good friend who wants what you seem to have now.......

Great first episode!

Mdlftr

[CodexGigas]

Thanks for the kind words! Here's part II. It's a little short, but necessary to set up the muscle theft coming in part III.
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There were exactly 75 springs in the sofa. Theo knew. He had counted them over and over again last night. His phone was flashing. 8 new messages from Olivia, 1 from Mace. Theo checked the messages from his girlfriend first. All pictures from the convention, mostly of Olivia posing with her favorite comic book writers and illustrators.

The one from Mace read, "wanna go slacklining?" Theo rolled his eyes. He'd learned long ago to avoid activities that required a sense of balance or hand eye coordination. As a kid, he'd been on first name basis with emergency room workers, as had Mace, who was usually the cause of these accidents.

"Theo! I made kale smoothies!" Theo's mother called from the kitchen. There was a definite downside to having a dietician and a personal trainer as parents.

"Sounds great, Mom. Could I get that to go?" Another lesson Theo had learned long ago was that if he really needed to be on time somewhere, he had to give himself extra time. A lot of extra time. He was going to the Shady Rest a few hours before his shift.

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"Ah, Theodorus! Mr. Pieta has died just an hour ago," Decima called as Theo made his way into the lobby. "We go to see, yes?"

Theo nodded and followed the shuffling Decima to where her sisters waited. Staff were talking outside of Mr. Pieta's door. Theo half expected Miss Springer to be hovering over Mr. Pieta's bed like a crow. Instead, a casually dressed man was sitting by Mr. Pieta's bed, glancing at his watch. He stood up and left without a word.

"I don't recall Mr. Pieta having a son...and he got here awfully fast," Theo muttered. "So why are we here?"

Nona laughed with just a hint of nervousness. "Morta suggested it. She can be so morbid sometimes."

Morta looked up from the body. "I did not do this."

Theo paused in shock at hearing Morta speak for the first time as far as he knew. He recovered quickly, though, and then it was his turn to laugh.

?We should let the police know that they?ll have to find a new prime suspect.? The sisters remained silent. ?So, where?s Ms. Springer? We should let her know that we?re on to her!? With that, Ms. Springer appeared in the doorway, Death in a fluffy sweater. Speak of the devil.

?I will have to ask you all to leave. In addition to your presence being disrespectful of the departed, it would be distracting to the doctor to have you here. I suggest you all prepare for lunch in the meantime. And Mr. Propp, I noticed that you didn't sign in as a guest.?

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"How was slacklining?" Theo asked Mace as they changed in the locker room.

"Awesome, you should come sometime. You can wear a helmet. And elbow pads. And knee pads." Mace gave Theo a cheeky grin.

"Ha." Theo tugged on his jeans. "Hey, you were pushing a lot of weight around there tonight. Changing up your diet or something?"

"No, man. Unless it was those burritos. I just felt super-amped tonight. I think I could have gone heavier on that last bench press." Mace pantomimed pushing a bar up and down.

"Is that a new wristband?" Theo asked, pointing to Mace's terry cuff sweatband. A little wheel was stitched on the top.

"Yup. Pretty sweet, right? The guy said that's supposed to be the Wheel of Fortune. The lucky kind, not the gameshow."

"Hey, maybe it'll help you get on the varsity rugby team," Theo joked.

"You should get one too. It might help you finally get a girlfriend. On second thought, better buy a couple," Mace replied.

"Oh snap," Theo said with an eyeroll.

Your story has a lot of potential! I'll be waiting for updates as it picks up. ;D