j-sage-hfp
Cadet
JOICES
Chapter 1:
The First Encounter
Joices are winged creatures about the size of a tissue box. They have big mouths, and extremely sharp teeth. They are very dangerous. They attack you by eating you alive. They’re not that strong, but are capable of flying very fast.
After Joices attacked and murdered a lot of Chip City citizens, the police forces, C.P.D. (Chip Police Department), invented a Joice-detector watch. It detected Joices five minutes before they arrive by saying, “What’s up!” and says, “I’m fine!” when there are no more Joices around. This gives you time to hide. Though it also gives you time to think hard and say to yourself, “They won’t come, they’re not coming.” If this works, you’ll hear a pleasant music tone and they won’t come. If it doesn’t work, you’ll hear a low-beat scary tone and they will come. If you don’t have a Joice-detector watch, you’ll know they’re coming by hearing the scary music, but then it’ll be too late.
Joices only attack in groups of five or six when you’re inside, by smashing through the window. But if you’re outside, they’ll attack in a whole flock of about a thousand!
*****
Joe Sage, a rookie C.P.D. officer, was on his way to the headquarters on a cool dark evening.
“Better get there soon,” said Joe. “Or the Joices will attack.” Suddenly, his car broke down. He panicked and glanced outside into the darkness. He swore he could hear flapping.
“Come on you dumb old car!” yelled Joe. “Start!” Suddenly, his Joice-detector watch said, “What’s up!” Joe jumped by the startle of the sound in the quiet night. He panicked even more. He put his hands together and said, “They’re not coming. They won’t come. I’m perfectly fine here.” He then waited. He couldn’t hear any music. He turned his car key sideways to start the car but nothing happened. Then he heard the low-beat music. “Bernom, bom, bom! Bernom, bom, bom!” He saw a Joice ahead flying towards the windshield. Joe was about to get out, but then he thought, if I go outside, there’ll be a lot! So he ducked instead as the Joice smashed right through the front windshield, and smashed out through the back windshield. A couple more Joices started smashing in and out while Joe lay on his back. But about the fifth time, the Joice stopped and looked down. Then it dived at Joe. But Joe rolled just in time. The Joice ripped at the chair with its teeth as Joe grabbed his pistol and shot it. (They die in one shot.) Then he exited the car. As he was backing up slowly he kept on firing and killing all the nearest Joices as they kept on trying to attack him. Then Joe heard a noise from behind him. He turned around and shot the Joice about to get him. He turned again and a Joice snapped on his gun and flew away with it. Joe just turned around and ran as fast as he could. Whenever one managed to nip at him he whacked it. But he started to get tired and Joices were flying in from all directions. A bunch were flapping around him and biting and he was waving his arms to get them away but it was no use. He tripped and fell.
*
5 years earlier…
Joe Sage was 13 years old. And he was the very first person to experience a Joice attack.
“Goodnight, Joe,” said Joe’s mom.
“Goodnight, mom,” said Joe. He was lying in bed at 11:00 pm and his mom was standing at the door.
“See you in the morning,” she said, and walked away to her room. Joe shut his eyes to go to sleep when he heard a low-beat noise: Bernom, bom, bom. Bernom, bom, bom.
“What’s that?” Joe asked himself. “Maybe mom’s got the music going.” Then he got a vision in his head of a Joice smashing through his window. Right then, a Joice did smash through his window. Joe leapt off his bed and started walking backwards, staring at the Joice. The Joice growled at him and flew forward. Joe turned and ran out of his room. He suddenly got another vision: two Joices smashing through the living room window. Joe decided not to go downstairs, so he quickly turned around. The Joice from his room flew right at his face but he fell backwards from the startle just in time as the Joice flew over him. He got up and looked down the dark hall. The two Joices from the living room flew up the stairs and towards Joe. Joe turned around, ran to his room, and slammed the door shut, right before the big thump on the door. Joe fell backward again from the startle. His heart was thumping hard.
“What are those things?” Joe asked himself, panting.
“Joe?” called Joe’s mom.
“Mom?” whispered Joe. “Mom! No!! Stay in bed!”
“Wha-“ but she got interrupted by a window smashing. Joe got an other vision. A Joice busted through his mom’s bedroom window. “Ahhhhhhhh!” she screamed.
“Mom!!!!!” screamed Joe. Joe suddenly remembered that his mom’s door was open! He heard another scream and lots of cries by the Joices. He swung open his door and ran to his mom’s room, only to see her lying on the ground being gnawed upon.
“No,” said Joe. “Mom!!!!!” This caught the Joices’ attention. They looked up at him and glared. By instinct, he suddenly slammed his mom’s door shut and trapped them. Then in his head he saw them all fly out the window.
This was the very first Joice encounter ever. And Joe’s the one who experienced it. So he got to name them. The first thing that came to Joe’s mind was “Joices,” Joe said to himself. “They shall be known as Joices.”
That night, Joe could not sleep whatsoever. He tried his best to hold back his tears. His mother’s death was very depressing.
By 2:00 in the morning, Joe gave up trying to sleep. He was gonna call the Coal Police Department in the morning, but he decided they wouldn’t mind a murder late at night. So he got up, walked downstairs, and went to the phone.
“I wonder what they’ll say,” thought Joe. “Will they think I killed mom?” He thought for a while.
“They’ll realize soon that Joices are real,” decided Joe. “They’ll attack them sometime.” He picked up the phone and dialled three numbers: 9-1-1.
“Hello,” answered a policeman.
“Hi,” said Joe. “I-I just c-called for, uhhm,”
“Is this an emergency?” replied an annoyed voice.
“Oh, yes!” said Joe. “Oh, you bet this is an emergency! Some strange flying creatures about the size of your shoe attacked my mom and killed her!! Heck, they darn near killed me too!!!”
“Stay calm, sir,” said the officer.
“How can I stay calm? My mom died!”
“Look, I’ll send some people there, just wait, okay?”
“Okay,” said Joe. He walked over to a chair and sat down. (After he hung up.)
A couple minutes later, a bunch of cops showed up at Joe’s driveway. When the cops walked in, they showed Joe their badge.
“What’s your name?” asked one officer.
“Joe Sage,” answered Joe. “My mother was, was murdered by these, uhh, these, these flying monster things!”
“Flying monster things?” said a cop with a bit of a chuckle. “What did you name them?” They all started laughing.
“Don’t laugh!” Joe yelled with offence. “My mom’s lying dead in her room and you guys are laughing your heads off!”
“I just want to know,” said the same cop. “Did you name them?” They started laughing again.
“As a matter of fact, I did!” screamed Joe. “I called them Joices, and they’re extremely dangerous. Someday, maybe even tomorrow, there’ll be a lot more Joice attacks, and not all on me!”
“We all think you’ve gone nuts!” said the same cop.
“Well you won’t be thinking that when a Joice bites your face off now will you?” questioned Joe, anger growing inside of him. “And do you want to take a look at my mom or not?” The smiles faded from their faces.
The cop who had been talking smirked all the sudden. “We’d love to speak with your mom, yes,” he answered. “Where is she?”
“Well, her body’s in her old room, but I don’t really know where her spirit is,” answered Joe.
“Don’t be smart!” snapped the cop.
“By the way,” said Joe loudly. “I don’t think you’ll be ‘speaking’ to her. Well, I could be wrong. You can talk to her, but there’s not a good chance she’ll answer you back.” All the cops’ attitudes died away and seemed to be offended. It was Joe’s turn to have fun with this.
“Show us to your mom,” said the cop in a serious voice.
“This way,” replied Joe, walking up the stairs. The cops followed him. There were about three or four of them. When Joe reached his mom’s room, he decided to point at the door rather than enter it.
“She’s in there,” said Joe. They all walked in.
“Oh my gosh!” yelled one. He ran out of the room and looked at Joe. “What on Earth happened to her?”
Joe rolled his eyes. “I’ve already told you,” he said in a bored voice. “She was eaten alive and torn apart and brutally murdered by Joices!”
The cop who had been speaking before walked out and looked at Joe.
“We’re gonna have to place you under arrest,” he said.
“What!?” yelled Joe.
“We have a suspected theory that you have murdered your mother and came up with a crazy cover story. We don’t believe it because no one on Earth would.”
“Than why would I come up with that story if I knew no one would believe it?” questioned Joe, really hit hard by the shock. He was right. They had thought it was him. But if they were attacked, they’d believe him right away.
“Maybe because you’re a child with an imagination, who knows?” said the cop.
“If I’m a child, how could I possibly murder an adult?”
“You could have stabbed her in her sleep,” suggested the cop.
“Why on Earth would I murder my own mom?” asked Joe with some tears in his eyes.
The cop opened his mouth to answer, but was interrupted by his walky-talky thing. There seemed to be a lot of commotion at the police station.
“Help…under attack…winged creatures… over the play…”
“Hello?” the cop yelled into his walky-talky. “This is officer John Patricks, do you read me?”
“We read you officer Patricks, we need help! We are under attack by a bunch of strange winged creatures! They’re all over the place! Send help immediately!”
“Back-up on the way!” Officer Patricks yelled. “All right men, you heard him, uhh, I think, so move out!” He looked at Joe. “You’re gonna have to come with me!”
Joe shrugged his shoulders. “All right.” They all ran back downstairs and out the door. All the cops’ cars’ signal lights were glowing in the night and the alarms were wailing. Joe had to sit in the back of John Patricks’ police car. Right after Joe managed to fasten his seatbelt, the cop car bolted forward and sped down the street towards the C.P.D. (Coal city Police Department.)
When they arrived, Joe had a vision suddenly of a bunch of Joices swarming inside the building. He decided to back up out of the way as the four or five cops ran out of their cars and into the building. Joe saw the doors slam shut behind John Patricks, who was the last to enter. Joe just stood staring at the door. Then he suddenly noticed the sky. As the sun was just rising, about a million Joices were swarming through the air. Joe suddenly realized how much safer he’d be inside the building, so he ran right in. There was a lot of gunfire going on inside and Joe couldn’t stand the noise. He ran to a hallway where no one was in hope for quiet. But he decided it was a mistake, though he couldn’t hear the gunfire much, there were about three Joices flying right at him. He turned and ran for safety. Suddenly, the three Joices after Joe were lying on the ground dead, the same as a bunch of others. But so were a few police officers, which made Joe gulp to look at. When he saw John Patricks, there was a Joice gnawing at his cheek. Joe got a sudden satisfaction as he remembered saying, “Well you won’t be thinking that when a Joice bites your face off now will you?” And sure enough, the Joice managed to rip John’s face clear off his skull, which made Joe feel uneasy. A couple more Joices flew over and joined in eating Mr. Patricks.
Joe suddenly felt a searing pain in his left forearm. There was a Joice clutched onto Joe’s skin! Joe started pounding at the Joice’s head with his fist. When another Joice came at Joe ready to tear his hand off, Joe moved his arm so that the Joice bit right at the other Joice, allowing Joe to run away without a Joice stuck to him. But Joe’s arm was bleeding severely. He saw a first-aid kit on the ground. He opened it, found a long strip of bandages, and started wrapping them hurriedly around his wounded arm. As he was wrapping himself, he noticed a shotgun leaning beside a desk. He looked side-to-side, and snatched it. Just as a Joice was flying at his face, Joe loaded the pump and squeezed the trigger. BANG! The blow sent the shotgun backwards, hitting Joe in the right eyebrow, and sending Joe backwards off his feet. But at least the Joice had blown up. Joe looked around. All the Joices were gone and several cops were dead. Only about seven or eight cops were still standing and able to walk, and about three were crawling around on the floor. Five of the standing ones were heavily wounded. Joe suddenly felt a rush of dread when he realized how easily he could have just died. But got a squeeze of pride realizing that he was one of few that had survived. But, most of all, he was terrified. Think about it, how would you feel if you were standing in a building littered with dead bodies? Joe was trembling. His eyebrow really hurt from the recoil of the shotgun. His arm really hurt from the bite of the Joice. His throat really hurt from the lump in it caused by this scenario. Most of all, his heart hurt from the death of his mother.
*****
1 year later…
Joe Sage was fourteen. He lived with foster parents in a low-class house. He hadn’t seen a single Joice since last time. They were pretty much hiding. But the incident was still the main topic of conversation. Joices were very dangerous and the first sign of evolution. Somehow, the whole world referred to them as “Joices”. Some people were talking nonsense about it. Some people were taking it seriously. But the person most serious of all about Joices was Joe Sage. A fourteen-year-old boy. The only person ever to survive a Joice attack alone. And the first ever to experience one. But as he watched the news, a bad taste grew in his mouth.
“Not all Joices are dangerous,” said a woman being interviewed on TV. “One snuggled beside me last night and fell asleep!”
Another person being interviewed said, “I think Joices are merely creatures that were hiding until now and want the world to notice them!”
Another one said, “I don’t believe a single thing about what happened last year. I don’t think Joices are harmful at all!”
“What nonsense!” Joe shouted at the TV. “Some people in this world are such idiots!”
He kept thinking this until the fourth interviewed person said, “To be honest, I haven’t ever seen a Joice. Only on TV, but people shouldn’t be goofing around with this sort of thing. This is serious business! People have died and more people will! Unless we do something about it!”
“At least some people have brains,” Joe said to himself. “If I ever become a cop, I’ll definitely do something about this. If nothing has been done by then. Which I’m sure won’t.” He chuckled. Then a thought came to him. Why not have a device that’ll let you know when Joices are coming, so you’ll be prepared? He felt glad for himself. Some people would have no problem making something like that. He was about to call the police and tell them this when he remembered, never trust a cop. He really needed a Joice attack right about now. If only some citizens would start getting attacked, people would get more desperate for a solution, and that’s when Joe would let his idea free, but not yet.
He started to watch the news every day, just in case someone did get attacked.
Within a couple of weeks, Joe suddenly had a vision of Joices smashing through his living room window. Something unexpected, (or half unexpected I should say), happened. Joe heard a familiar low beat tone: Bernom bom, bom. Bernom, bom, bom.
“What is that?” asked Joe. “It sounds familiar.” Then he remembered when he heard it last year, right before the very first Joice attack in the world. “Oh yeah, mom had the music going-“ then he stopped talking. There is no music on now. He suddenly got that familiar feeling of dread in his chest right before two Joices smashed through his living room window. He froze. He couldn’t move, but he had to. The Joices were coming at him. He quickly lifted a pillow and blocked his face just in time as the two Joices bounced off and flew into the TV, breaking through the screen and blew up, sending Joe flying off the back of the couch and knocking the couch over. This couldn’t be a coincidence. Every time that music appears, Joices come! That must be a way of detecting it. But it wasn’t enough time to do something about it. As Joe lay on the ground, he remembered his vision.
Can I sense them? thought Joe. He remembered how last time he visioned them it was happening at the exact moment. I can sense them! He said. My senses must be getting better, though. This time I visioned the attack before it happened. Soon I’ll be able to vision it a couple minutes before and have time to plan. But other people won’t… He still needed to tell people that idea.
Then another vision went to his head. Three Joices were smashing through his foster parents’ window. (Joe’s vision’s are only about a second long.)
“No!” shouted Joe. He ran toward their room. But right when he put his foot on the first step, he heard a widow smash. He sped up. He heard screams and shouts coming from his foster parents. He kicked their locked door open and barged in. Tom, Joe’s foster father, was trying to fight two of them with a lamp. Sue, Joe’s foster mother, was trying to get the third Joice to stop gnawing and pulling at her hair. Joe looked around hopefully, but there was nothing. Suddenly, Tom managed to knock a Joice in the face with the lamp and it flew at Joe from the blow. Joe ducked and the Joice hit the wall, and fell on the ground dead.
“They die so easily!” said Joe. “Well that’s good news.” Joe saw a Joice swerve under the swing of Tom’s lamp and bit him in the stomach. Its jaws were clamped on hard. Tom gave out a shout of pain.
“TOM!” shouted Joe.
“Joe,” said Tom painfully, trying hard to yank the Joice off. “Get outta here!” Joe looked at Sue. The Joice had managed to nip at her several times. She kept on trying to smack it, but it dodged her hand took another chunk out of her. Tom suddenly spat out blood and fell to the floor motionless. Just one Joice is able to kill a human! Thought Joe. The Joice that was biting Tom’s stomach, flew over to help kill Sue. Joe decided he would help save Sue. He ran over and grabbed a Joice around the middle. It’s little arms that have claws at the end of them started scratching at Joe’s hand. Joe tried his best to ignore the pain. The Joice was struggling so fiercely that Joe could barely hang on. He walked to the door, his arm somewhat darting this way and that from the Joice, and smashed the Joice right into the doorknob. Joice blood splattered across it and with one quick move, the Joice flew away from Joe’s grasp, pretending it wasn’t bleeding. It turned and headed for Joe. Joe quickly dived to the side, but apparently wasn’t quick enough, for the Joice bit at his shin. But thanks to Joe’s tough pants, the Joice’s teeth slid from them and ripped off a patch, freeing Joe. Joe quickly swung his foot at the Joice, (Joe was now laying on his back after the dive), and squished it against the wall. When he looked toward Sue, a Joice flew right in front of Joe’s face but with Joe’s quick reflexes, he clasped his hands right on each side of the Joice just in time. The Joice’s jaws kept snapping up and down, just barely reaching Joe’s nose. Joe couldn’t think of anything to do right now. But he was running out of energy from holding the Joice so tightly. (Which he had to do, for if he didn’t, the Joice would bite his face off.) He tried to move the Joice away from him, and though it was extremely difficult, he was able to move it one centimetre per second. Within ten seconds, the Joice was well enough away for Joe to quickly let go and move his head to the side. And so he did that, but the Joice skinned Joe’s left ear with its teeth. Joe put his hand over his ear in pain. The Joice smashed into something behind Joe, and Joe saw Sue. Laying there on her back in a puddle of blood, eyes open, and body motionless. Joe gulped and heard rustling from behind him. He turned and saw the Joice twitching under a bunch of books. (The Joice crashed into a bookshelf.) Joe walked over and stomped on it. He looked around the room. It was a complete mess. Books, blood, pieces of window, and a smashed computer were all on the floor. Not to mention two dead bodies, and three dead Joices. For the third time, Joe had survived.
“I think I’ll go downstairs and think,” Joe said to himself. So he walked downstairs, pulled up the couch, and sat on it.
“What should I do?” Joe asked himself. He thought about calling the cops only for a split second when he decided not to. So instead, he decided to take a walk. He left the house, and walked down the sidewalk.
“I don’t want anymore foster parents,” Joe told himself. “If anyone finds me, they’ll either put me in an orphanage, or give me an other bloody foster parent to be killed by some Joices.” Then he saw a sign. It had a bus on it. “A bus stop!” said Joe. “I’ll take the bus!” He put his hand in his pocket and felt his wallet. He knew he had loads of money in it, but he decided to check it anyway. He looked in the change pocket and saw a few toonies, a couple loonies, and a bunch of quarters. He new that the Coal city bus only costs fifty cents, so he knew he was good to go. He entered the little bus stop room that’s covered in glass and usually has an ad at the sides. He sat down on the bench and waited. After a couple of minutes, the bus arrived. He walked into it and gave the bus driver two quarters. Then he walked down the aisle and found an empty seat, two seats away from the back. He sat in it, hoping no weird people would sit beside him. The bus lurched forward. Joe had no idea where he was gonna go.
After about ten minutes, the bus stopped and the bus driver yelled, “Capital city!”
One person got up from their seat and walked off as the doors opened. Then someone about two years older than Joe entered. He was walking down the aisle with a worried look on his face.
“Dang, no free seats,” the boy said to himself.
“You can sit here,” insisted Joe. The boy looked at him.
“Really?” he asked.
Joe nodded. The boy sat down beside Joe.
“What’s your name?” asked the boy as the bus began to drive again.
“Joe Sage,” answered Joe.
“My name’s Brian Mayhem,” said the boy. “I’m on my way to Chip city to move into my new house.
“How old are you?” asked Joe.
“Sixteen,” answered Brian. “How old are you?”
“Fourteen,” said Joe. “So, I guess your moving out pretty early.”
“Yeah,” replied Brian. “My parents thought it best to move out early. Plus I think I can manage. Sixteen is all right with me, I just worry about money. But not anymore considering my parents left me with 800 bucks. Plus I don’t have to pay for the house, it’s already bought. Are you moving out too?”
“Well, sort of,” said Joe. “You see, my dad died when I was five, and then my mom died last year. Then I had to live with foster parents, and they just died about half an hour ago-“
“Wait a second,” interrupted Brian. “I don’t mean to interrupt, but, your parents died?”
“Yeah,” said Joe. “I don’t really know how dad died, because I was five, but I remember having a nightmare that night, about-“ Joe stopped dead in his speech.
“About what?” asked Brian. Joe had a look of dread on his face. He never really thought about it. The nightmare he had the day his dad died, was a nightmare about Joices!
“What was the nightmare about?” Brain asked.
“What? Oh, the nightmare? I, I forget,” said Joe. He didn’t want to mention anything about Joices, but, thanks to Brian, the subject was brought up.
“Do you watch the news?” asked Brian.
“Uhh, yeah, everyday,” answered Joe.
“So you know about Joices?” asked Brian. Joe didn’t know what to say.
“Well, a little bit,” said Joe.
“What’s your opinion,” said Brian. “Do you think they’re harmless, or dangerous?”
Joe nearly choked. “I don’t know what anyone tells you but believe me, Joices are dangerous!”
“Really?” asked Brian, pretty surprised. “So you think they’re dangerous too?”
“I know they’re dangerous, and for a fact!” said Joe, but he wished he didn’t, because-
“How do you know it for a fact?” asked Brian, as if he were hiding something.
“Well-“
“People only talk about it, nobody ever experienced it,” said Brian. “Except for that one attack at the Coal city Police Department.”
“Look,” said Joe. “I have something to tell-“
He was interrupted by the bus driver. “Chip city!” he called.
“Oh,” said Brian. “I gotta go now…”
“Uhh, hey!” said Joe. “Uhh, this is my stop too!”
Joe and Brian stepped off of the bus and entered Chip city.
“What’s your business in Chip city?” asked Brian.
“I don’t really have anywhere to go, and I thought maybe I could hang with you for a while,” answered Joe.
“Well that’s all right with me,” said Brian.
Suddenly, they heard a crash and some screams. Joe looked around but didn’t see anything suspicious. Until he saw one of his worst fears. A Joice was flapping by.
Chapter 1:
The First Encounter
Joices are winged creatures about the size of a tissue box. They have big mouths, and extremely sharp teeth. They are very dangerous. They attack you by eating you alive. They’re not that strong, but are capable of flying very fast.
After Joices attacked and murdered a lot of Chip City citizens, the police forces, C.P.D. (Chip Police Department), invented a Joice-detector watch. It detected Joices five minutes before they arrive by saying, “What’s up!” and says, “I’m fine!” when there are no more Joices around. This gives you time to hide. Though it also gives you time to think hard and say to yourself, “They won’t come, they’re not coming.” If this works, you’ll hear a pleasant music tone and they won’t come. If it doesn’t work, you’ll hear a low-beat scary tone and they will come. If you don’t have a Joice-detector watch, you’ll know they’re coming by hearing the scary music, but then it’ll be too late.
Joices only attack in groups of five or six when you’re inside, by smashing through the window. But if you’re outside, they’ll attack in a whole flock of about a thousand!
*****
Joe Sage, a rookie C.P.D. officer, was on his way to the headquarters on a cool dark evening.
“Better get there soon,” said Joe. “Or the Joices will attack.” Suddenly, his car broke down. He panicked and glanced outside into the darkness. He swore he could hear flapping.
“Come on you dumb old car!” yelled Joe. “Start!” Suddenly, his Joice-detector watch said, “What’s up!” Joe jumped by the startle of the sound in the quiet night. He panicked even more. He put his hands together and said, “They’re not coming. They won’t come. I’m perfectly fine here.” He then waited. He couldn’t hear any music. He turned his car key sideways to start the car but nothing happened. Then he heard the low-beat music. “Bernom, bom, bom! Bernom, bom, bom!” He saw a Joice ahead flying towards the windshield. Joe was about to get out, but then he thought, if I go outside, there’ll be a lot! So he ducked instead as the Joice smashed right through the front windshield, and smashed out through the back windshield. A couple more Joices started smashing in and out while Joe lay on his back. But about the fifth time, the Joice stopped and looked down. Then it dived at Joe. But Joe rolled just in time. The Joice ripped at the chair with its teeth as Joe grabbed his pistol and shot it. (They die in one shot.) Then he exited the car. As he was backing up slowly he kept on firing and killing all the nearest Joices as they kept on trying to attack him. Then Joe heard a noise from behind him. He turned around and shot the Joice about to get him. He turned again and a Joice snapped on his gun and flew away with it. Joe just turned around and ran as fast as he could. Whenever one managed to nip at him he whacked it. But he started to get tired and Joices were flying in from all directions. A bunch were flapping around him and biting and he was waving his arms to get them away but it was no use. He tripped and fell.
*
5 years earlier…
Joe Sage was 13 years old. And he was the very first person to experience a Joice attack.
“Goodnight, Joe,” said Joe’s mom.
“Goodnight, mom,” said Joe. He was lying in bed at 11:00 pm and his mom was standing at the door.
“See you in the morning,” she said, and walked away to her room. Joe shut his eyes to go to sleep when he heard a low-beat noise: Bernom, bom, bom. Bernom, bom, bom.
“What’s that?” Joe asked himself. “Maybe mom’s got the music going.” Then he got a vision in his head of a Joice smashing through his window. Right then, a Joice did smash through his window. Joe leapt off his bed and started walking backwards, staring at the Joice. The Joice growled at him and flew forward. Joe turned and ran out of his room. He suddenly got another vision: two Joices smashing through the living room window. Joe decided not to go downstairs, so he quickly turned around. The Joice from his room flew right at his face but he fell backwards from the startle just in time as the Joice flew over him. He got up and looked down the dark hall. The two Joices from the living room flew up the stairs and towards Joe. Joe turned around, ran to his room, and slammed the door shut, right before the big thump on the door. Joe fell backward again from the startle. His heart was thumping hard.
“What are those things?” Joe asked himself, panting.
“Joe?” called Joe’s mom.
“Mom?” whispered Joe. “Mom! No!! Stay in bed!”
“Wha-“ but she got interrupted by a window smashing. Joe got an other vision. A Joice busted through his mom’s bedroom window. “Ahhhhhhhh!” she screamed.
“Mom!!!!!” screamed Joe. Joe suddenly remembered that his mom’s door was open! He heard another scream and lots of cries by the Joices. He swung open his door and ran to his mom’s room, only to see her lying on the ground being gnawed upon.
“No,” said Joe. “Mom!!!!!” This caught the Joices’ attention. They looked up at him and glared. By instinct, he suddenly slammed his mom’s door shut and trapped them. Then in his head he saw them all fly out the window.
This was the very first Joice encounter ever. And Joe’s the one who experienced it. So he got to name them. The first thing that came to Joe’s mind was “Joices,” Joe said to himself. “They shall be known as Joices.”
That night, Joe could not sleep whatsoever. He tried his best to hold back his tears. His mother’s death was very depressing.
By 2:00 in the morning, Joe gave up trying to sleep. He was gonna call the Coal Police Department in the morning, but he decided they wouldn’t mind a murder late at night. So he got up, walked downstairs, and went to the phone.
“I wonder what they’ll say,” thought Joe. “Will they think I killed mom?” He thought for a while.
“They’ll realize soon that Joices are real,” decided Joe. “They’ll attack them sometime.” He picked up the phone and dialled three numbers: 9-1-1.
“Hello,” answered a policeman.
“Hi,” said Joe. “I-I just c-called for, uhhm,”
“Is this an emergency?” replied an annoyed voice.
“Oh, yes!” said Joe. “Oh, you bet this is an emergency! Some strange flying creatures about the size of your shoe attacked my mom and killed her!! Heck, they darn near killed me too!!!”
“Stay calm, sir,” said the officer.
“How can I stay calm? My mom died!”
“Look, I’ll send some people there, just wait, okay?”
“Okay,” said Joe. He walked over to a chair and sat down. (After he hung up.)
A couple minutes later, a bunch of cops showed up at Joe’s driveway. When the cops walked in, they showed Joe their badge.
“What’s your name?” asked one officer.
“Joe Sage,” answered Joe. “My mother was, was murdered by these, uhh, these, these flying monster things!”
“Flying monster things?” said a cop with a bit of a chuckle. “What did you name them?” They all started laughing.
“Don’t laugh!” Joe yelled with offence. “My mom’s lying dead in her room and you guys are laughing your heads off!”
“I just want to know,” said the same cop. “Did you name them?” They started laughing again.
“As a matter of fact, I did!” screamed Joe. “I called them Joices, and they’re extremely dangerous. Someday, maybe even tomorrow, there’ll be a lot more Joice attacks, and not all on me!”
“We all think you’ve gone nuts!” said the same cop.
“Well you won’t be thinking that when a Joice bites your face off now will you?” questioned Joe, anger growing inside of him. “And do you want to take a look at my mom or not?” The smiles faded from their faces.
The cop who had been talking smirked all the sudden. “We’d love to speak with your mom, yes,” he answered. “Where is she?”
“Well, her body’s in her old room, but I don’t really know where her spirit is,” answered Joe.
“Don’t be smart!” snapped the cop.
“By the way,” said Joe loudly. “I don’t think you’ll be ‘speaking’ to her. Well, I could be wrong. You can talk to her, but there’s not a good chance she’ll answer you back.” All the cops’ attitudes died away and seemed to be offended. It was Joe’s turn to have fun with this.
“Show us to your mom,” said the cop in a serious voice.
“This way,” replied Joe, walking up the stairs. The cops followed him. There were about three or four of them. When Joe reached his mom’s room, he decided to point at the door rather than enter it.
“She’s in there,” said Joe. They all walked in.
“Oh my gosh!” yelled one. He ran out of the room and looked at Joe. “What on Earth happened to her?”
Joe rolled his eyes. “I’ve already told you,” he said in a bored voice. “She was eaten alive and torn apart and brutally murdered by Joices!”
The cop who had been speaking before walked out and looked at Joe.
“We’re gonna have to place you under arrest,” he said.
“What!?” yelled Joe.
“We have a suspected theory that you have murdered your mother and came up with a crazy cover story. We don’t believe it because no one on Earth would.”
“Than why would I come up with that story if I knew no one would believe it?” questioned Joe, really hit hard by the shock. He was right. They had thought it was him. But if they were attacked, they’d believe him right away.
“Maybe because you’re a child with an imagination, who knows?” said the cop.
“If I’m a child, how could I possibly murder an adult?”
“You could have stabbed her in her sleep,” suggested the cop.
“Why on Earth would I murder my own mom?” asked Joe with some tears in his eyes.
The cop opened his mouth to answer, but was interrupted by his walky-talky thing. There seemed to be a lot of commotion at the police station.
“Help…under attack…winged creatures… over the play…”
“Hello?” the cop yelled into his walky-talky. “This is officer John Patricks, do you read me?”
“We read you officer Patricks, we need help! We are under attack by a bunch of strange winged creatures! They’re all over the place! Send help immediately!”
“Back-up on the way!” Officer Patricks yelled. “All right men, you heard him, uhh, I think, so move out!” He looked at Joe. “You’re gonna have to come with me!”
Joe shrugged his shoulders. “All right.” They all ran back downstairs and out the door. All the cops’ cars’ signal lights were glowing in the night and the alarms were wailing. Joe had to sit in the back of John Patricks’ police car. Right after Joe managed to fasten his seatbelt, the cop car bolted forward and sped down the street towards the C.P.D. (Coal city Police Department.)
When they arrived, Joe had a vision suddenly of a bunch of Joices swarming inside the building. He decided to back up out of the way as the four or five cops ran out of their cars and into the building. Joe saw the doors slam shut behind John Patricks, who was the last to enter. Joe just stood staring at the door. Then he suddenly noticed the sky. As the sun was just rising, about a million Joices were swarming through the air. Joe suddenly realized how much safer he’d be inside the building, so he ran right in. There was a lot of gunfire going on inside and Joe couldn’t stand the noise. He ran to a hallway where no one was in hope for quiet. But he decided it was a mistake, though he couldn’t hear the gunfire much, there were about three Joices flying right at him. He turned and ran for safety. Suddenly, the three Joices after Joe were lying on the ground dead, the same as a bunch of others. But so were a few police officers, which made Joe gulp to look at. When he saw John Patricks, there was a Joice gnawing at his cheek. Joe got a sudden satisfaction as he remembered saying, “Well you won’t be thinking that when a Joice bites your face off now will you?” And sure enough, the Joice managed to rip John’s face clear off his skull, which made Joe feel uneasy. A couple more Joices flew over and joined in eating Mr. Patricks.
Joe suddenly felt a searing pain in his left forearm. There was a Joice clutched onto Joe’s skin! Joe started pounding at the Joice’s head with his fist. When another Joice came at Joe ready to tear his hand off, Joe moved his arm so that the Joice bit right at the other Joice, allowing Joe to run away without a Joice stuck to him. But Joe’s arm was bleeding severely. He saw a first-aid kit on the ground. He opened it, found a long strip of bandages, and started wrapping them hurriedly around his wounded arm. As he was wrapping himself, he noticed a shotgun leaning beside a desk. He looked side-to-side, and snatched it. Just as a Joice was flying at his face, Joe loaded the pump and squeezed the trigger. BANG! The blow sent the shotgun backwards, hitting Joe in the right eyebrow, and sending Joe backwards off his feet. But at least the Joice had blown up. Joe looked around. All the Joices were gone and several cops were dead. Only about seven or eight cops were still standing and able to walk, and about three were crawling around on the floor. Five of the standing ones were heavily wounded. Joe suddenly felt a rush of dread when he realized how easily he could have just died. But got a squeeze of pride realizing that he was one of few that had survived. But, most of all, he was terrified. Think about it, how would you feel if you were standing in a building littered with dead bodies? Joe was trembling. His eyebrow really hurt from the recoil of the shotgun. His arm really hurt from the bite of the Joice. His throat really hurt from the lump in it caused by this scenario. Most of all, his heart hurt from the death of his mother.
*****
1 year later…
Joe Sage was fourteen. He lived with foster parents in a low-class house. He hadn’t seen a single Joice since last time. They were pretty much hiding. But the incident was still the main topic of conversation. Joices were very dangerous and the first sign of evolution. Somehow, the whole world referred to them as “Joices”. Some people were talking nonsense about it. Some people were taking it seriously. But the person most serious of all about Joices was Joe Sage. A fourteen-year-old boy. The only person ever to survive a Joice attack alone. And the first ever to experience one. But as he watched the news, a bad taste grew in his mouth.
“Not all Joices are dangerous,” said a woman being interviewed on TV. “One snuggled beside me last night and fell asleep!”
Another person being interviewed said, “I think Joices are merely creatures that were hiding until now and want the world to notice them!”
Another one said, “I don’t believe a single thing about what happened last year. I don’t think Joices are harmful at all!”
“What nonsense!” Joe shouted at the TV. “Some people in this world are such idiots!”
He kept thinking this until the fourth interviewed person said, “To be honest, I haven’t ever seen a Joice. Only on TV, but people shouldn’t be goofing around with this sort of thing. This is serious business! People have died and more people will! Unless we do something about it!”
“At least some people have brains,” Joe said to himself. “If I ever become a cop, I’ll definitely do something about this. If nothing has been done by then. Which I’m sure won’t.” He chuckled. Then a thought came to him. Why not have a device that’ll let you know when Joices are coming, so you’ll be prepared? He felt glad for himself. Some people would have no problem making something like that. He was about to call the police and tell them this when he remembered, never trust a cop. He really needed a Joice attack right about now. If only some citizens would start getting attacked, people would get more desperate for a solution, and that’s when Joe would let his idea free, but not yet.
He started to watch the news every day, just in case someone did get attacked.
Within a couple of weeks, Joe suddenly had a vision of Joices smashing through his living room window. Something unexpected, (or half unexpected I should say), happened. Joe heard a familiar low beat tone: Bernom bom, bom. Bernom, bom, bom.
“What is that?” asked Joe. “It sounds familiar.” Then he remembered when he heard it last year, right before the very first Joice attack in the world. “Oh yeah, mom had the music going-“ then he stopped talking. There is no music on now. He suddenly got that familiar feeling of dread in his chest right before two Joices smashed through his living room window. He froze. He couldn’t move, but he had to. The Joices were coming at him. He quickly lifted a pillow and blocked his face just in time as the two Joices bounced off and flew into the TV, breaking through the screen and blew up, sending Joe flying off the back of the couch and knocking the couch over. This couldn’t be a coincidence. Every time that music appears, Joices come! That must be a way of detecting it. But it wasn’t enough time to do something about it. As Joe lay on the ground, he remembered his vision.
Can I sense them? thought Joe. He remembered how last time he visioned them it was happening at the exact moment. I can sense them! He said. My senses must be getting better, though. This time I visioned the attack before it happened. Soon I’ll be able to vision it a couple minutes before and have time to plan. But other people won’t… He still needed to tell people that idea.
Then another vision went to his head. Three Joices were smashing through his foster parents’ window. (Joe’s vision’s are only about a second long.)
“No!” shouted Joe. He ran toward their room. But right when he put his foot on the first step, he heard a widow smash. He sped up. He heard screams and shouts coming from his foster parents. He kicked their locked door open and barged in. Tom, Joe’s foster father, was trying to fight two of them with a lamp. Sue, Joe’s foster mother, was trying to get the third Joice to stop gnawing and pulling at her hair. Joe looked around hopefully, but there was nothing. Suddenly, Tom managed to knock a Joice in the face with the lamp and it flew at Joe from the blow. Joe ducked and the Joice hit the wall, and fell on the ground dead.
“They die so easily!” said Joe. “Well that’s good news.” Joe saw a Joice swerve under the swing of Tom’s lamp and bit him in the stomach. Its jaws were clamped on hard. Tom gave out a shout of pain.
“TOM!” shouted Joe.
“Joe,” said Tom painfully, trying hard to yank the Joice off. “Get outta here!” Joe looked at Sue. The Joice had managed to nip at her several times. She kept on trying to smack it, but it dodged her hand took another chunk out of her. Tom suddenly spat out blood and fell to the floor motionless. Just one Joice is able to kill a human! Thought Joe. The Joice that was biting Tom’s stomach, flew over to help kill Sue. Joe decided he would help save Sue. He ran over and grabbed a Joice around the middle. It’s little arms that have claws at the end of them started scratching at Joe’s hand. Joe tried his best to ignore the pain. The Joice was struggling so fiercely that Joe could barely hang on. He walked to the door, his arm somewhat darting this way and that from the Joice, and smashed the Joice right into the doorknob. Joice blood splattered across it and with one quick move, the Joice flew away from Joe’s grasp, pretending it wasn’t bleeding. It turned and headed for Joe. Joe quickly dived to the side, but apparently wasn’t quick enough, for the Joice bit at his shin. But thanks to Joe’s tough pants, the Joice’s teeth slid from them and ripped off a patch, freeing Joe. Joe quickly swung his foot at the Joice, (Joe was now laying on his back after the dive), and squished it against the wall. When he looked toward Sue, a Joice flew right in front of Joe’s face but with Joe’s quick reflexes, he clasped his hands right on each side of the Joice just in time. The Joice’s jaws kept snapping up and down, just barely reaching Joe’s nose. Joe couldn’t think of anything to do right now. But he was running out of energy from holding the Joice so tightly. (Which he had to do, for if he didn’t, the Joice would bite his face off.) He tried to move the Joice away from him, and though it was extremely difficult, he was able to move it one centimetre per second. Within ten seconds, the Joice was well enough away for Joe to quickly let go and move his head to the side. And so he did that, but the Joice skinned Joe’s left ear with its teeth. Joe put his hand over his ear in pain. The Joice smashed into something behind Joe, and Joe saw Sue. Laying there on her back in a puddle of blood, eyes open, and body motionless. Joe gulped and heard rustling from behind him. He turned and saw the Joice twitching under a bunch of books. (The Joice crashed into a bookshelf.) Joe walked over and stomped on it. He looked around the room. It was a complete mess. Books, blood, pieces of window, and a smashed computer were all on the floor. Not to mention two dead bodies, and three dead Joices. For the third time, Joe had survived.
“I think I’ll go downstairs and think,” Joe said to himself. So he walked downstairs, pulled up the couch, and sat on it.
“What should I do?” Joe asked himself. He thought about calling the cops only for a split second when he decided not to. So instead, he decided to take a walk. He left the house, and walked down the sidewalk.
“I don’t want anymore foster parents,” Joe told himself. “If anyone finds me, they’ll either put me in an orphanage, or give me an other bloody foster parent to be killed by some Joices.” Then he saw a sign. It had a bus on it. “A bus stop!” said Joe. “I’ll take the bus!” He put his hand in his pocket and felt his wallet. He knew he had loads of money in it, but he decided to check it anyway. He looked in the change pocket and saw a few toonies, a couple loonies, and a bunch of quarters. He new that the Coal city bus only costs fifty cents, so he knew he was good to go. He entered the little bus stop room that’s covered in glass and usually has an ad at the sides. He sat down on the bench and waited. After a couple of minutes, the bus arrived. He walked into it and gave the bus driver two quarters. Then he walked down the aisle and found an empty seat, two seats away from the back. He sat in it, hoping no weird people would sit beside him. The bus lurched forward. Joe had no idea where he was gonna go.
After about ten minutes, the bus stopped and the bus driver yelled, “Capital city!”
One person got up from their seat and walked off as the doors opened. Then someone about two years older than Joe entered. He was walking down the aisle with a worried look on his face.
“Dang, no free seats,” the boy said to himself.
“You can sit here,” insisted Joe. The boy looked at him.
“Really?” he asked.
Joe nodded. The boy sat down beside Joe.
“What’s your name?” asked the boy as the bus began to drive again.
“Joe Sage,” answered Joe.
“My name’s Brian Mayhem,” said the boy. “I’m on my way to Chip city to move into my new house.
“How old are you?” asked Joe.
“Sixteen,” answered Brian. “How old are you?”
“Fourteen,” said Joe. “So, I guess your moving out pretty early.”
“Yeah,” replied Brian. “My parents thought it best to move out early. Plus I think I can manage. Sixteen is all right with me, I just worry about money. But not anymore considering my parents left me with 800 bucks. Plus I don’t have to pay for the house, it’s already bought. Are you moving out too?”
“Well, sort of,” said Joe. “You see, my dad died when I was five, and then my mom died last year. Then I had to live with foster parents, and they just died about half an hour ago-“
“Wait a second,” interrupted Brian. “I don’t mean to interrupt, but, your parents died?”
“Yeah,” said Joe. “I don’t really know how dad died, because I was five, but I remember having a nightmare that night, about-“ Joe stopped dead in his speech.
“About what?” asked Brian. Joe had a look of dread on his face. He never really thought about it. The nightmare he had the day his dad died, was a nightmare about Joices!
“What was the nightmare about?” Brain asked.
“What? Oh, the nightmare? I, I forget,” said Joe. He didn’t want to mention anything about Joices, but, thanks to Brian, the subject was brought up.
“Do you watch the news?” asked Brian.
“Uhh, yeah, everyday,” answered Joe.
“So you know about Joices?” asked Brian. Joe didn’t know what to say.
“Well, a little bit,” said Joe.
“What’s your opinion,” said Brian. “Do you think they’re harmless, or dangerous?”
Joe nearly choked. “I don’t know what anyone tells you but believe me, Joices are dangerous!”
“Really?” asked Brian, pretty surprised. “So you think they’re dangerous too?”
“I know they’re dangerous, and for a fact!” said Joe, but he wished he didn’t, because-
“How do you know it for a fact?” asked Brian, as if he were hiding something.
“Well-“
“People only talk about it, nobody ever experienced it,” said Brian. “Except for that one attack at the Coal city Police Department.”
“Look,” said Joe. “I have something to tell-“
He was interrupted by the bus driver. “Chip city!” he called.
“Oh,” said Brian. “I gotta go now…”
“Uhh, hey!” said Joe. “Uhh, this is my stop too!”
Joe and Brian stepped off of the bus and entered Chip city.
“What’s your business in Chip city?” asked Brian.
“I don’t really have anywhere to go, and I thought maybe I could hang with you for a while,” answered Joe.
“Well that’s all right with me,” said Brian.
Suddenly, they heard a crash and some screams. Joe looked around but didn’t see anything suspicious. Until he saw one of his worst fears. A Joice was flapping by.
