Chess

[Andrew]

I started this story about a year ago, but after re-reading it since, I didn't like it. So I rewrote it. Less dialogue, more description. Be patient, it won't always be so slow. Also, I have the first three chapters written already. I'll wait on those. Hope you like it.

Chess- Chapter 1 The Bond

The sun began its descent behind the green, rolling hills. Barren trees laid witness to the dawn of Autumn, and the ground was now covered by blankets of leaves. A strong wind raced down the streets, whisking the leaves further away from where they had once sprung. Winds were usually strong in Bakerstown, and they often chased the townspeople indoors. But Andrew always seemed to enjoy this type of weather. He continued on his frequent promenade around the small town. The young boy knew he would feel sorry when he came home. His father always worried about him, and absolutely detested the late night walks his son would often take.
Kenneth Wilde, Andrew's father, had raised the 14 year old boy alone. He had once dreamed of raising a strong family, full of value and life. His wife and he had often discussed their future plans with great excitement. They both longed raising a child, side by side. Mr. Wilde would finish his doctorate and provide for the family, while Mrs. Wilde would take care of their son at home. Their family would be the epitome of Heaven on Earth. But those dreams were quickly shattered. Shortly after Andrew's birth, his mother blacked out from a brain tumor. Before the doctors recognized the problem, it was too late. Following her death, Kenneth dropped out of college to raise the boy by his lonesome.
Mr. Wilde tried to be the perfect father but lacked the motherly virtues his wife would have provided. Much to the sorrow of Mr. Wilde, Andrew never really portrayed his deep thoughts. He only blamed himself, probably unjustly, and wondered what his wife would had done in his stead. Each day, he vowed to be the father that Andrew deserved, and, despite not believing it himself, was that perfect parent.
Andrew made his way around the sidewalk bend, and saw dim lights illuminating from his home. It was a small abode, but suitable for a father and son. The house consisted of two bedrooms, a bathroom, a kitchen, and a small living-room. Around the home lied a tattered fence. Andrew's mom had once built it many years ago, but Mr. Wilde never had the time to fix it up, and didn't have the heart to take it down. The gate to the fence creaked open as Andrew made his way to the door. Before entering the house, he paused a few seconds, preparing himself for the distraught look of his poor father. He turned the handle, and pushed. His father was sitting in an old couch, staring down at a beat-up chessboard in the middle of the room. Mr. Wilde's eyes looked up to meet his son's. Andrew noticed his water-filled eyes and it felt as though a sharp dagger was thrust through his own heart. Forcing a smile on his face, Mr. Wilde stood to hug his boy.
"Welcome home son, dinner is waiting for you on the stove," said the father in a solemn voice. "How was school today?" Mr Wilde continued.
"The same as always Father. Nothing ever noteworthy happens at school. Sometimes, I wonder if there's even a point in going," said Andrew scraping the last of the mashed potatoes into a bowl.
"Just stick in there son, you may not see the reasons for school now, but you'll understand later," replied the father.
"How can you say that Father? You yourself dropped out of college," said Andrew hastily.
A period of silence engulfed the room after the boys insensitive comment, and awkwardness laid hold of both Andrew and his father. It didn't take long for Andrew to understand the foolishness of his rebuttle. As the quietness of the home seemed almost unbearable, Mr. Wilde offered his nightly invitation.
"A game of chess son?" he asked with perhaps a tint of excitement.
Andrew nodded and sat down on one end of the chessboard. Each night, the father and son would enjoy a game of chess. Great Grandfather had taught Grandfather, Grandfather had taught chess to Father, and Father had taught it to Andrew. It seemed to be the main source by which the father and son bond was built. His father slowly bent down to sit on the opposite end of the board. Factory work damaged his back more and more every day, and it was visibly difficult for Mr. Wilde to get to the floor. However, once the game began, all his pains seemed to fade. Andrew, playing with the white pieces, began the match. Throughout the years, he had learned a variety of strategies which enabled him to beat most his opponents. He studied their eyes to try to discern their game plan. His father had taught him that, and Andrew had mastered it. Their games lasted for hours, but more oft than not, Mr. Wilde was forced to surrender. But this was not one of those nights.
The game lasted a little over two hours. As Andrew would be pondering over his next move, his father would be intently staring into his eyes. His boy did likewise. After what seemed to be an evenly played match, Mr. Wilde slid a rook into the checkmate position.
"Checkmate son," said the father in a soft voice. The only word spoken throughout the entire match was the word "check", and even then, not a whole lot. The boy nodded as he double-checked whether or not it really was checkmate. Along with the end of the game returned the silent awkwardness that had engulfed the house a couple hours earlier.
Andrew glanced over the board quickly and pondered over his mistakes. Despite Andrew's immense skill, he still had a lot to learn. He stood and walked over to his father.
"Goodnight Father," said Andrew as he embraced his dad.
"Goodnight Son," came the reply.
Both headed to their rooms and quickly fell asleep.

[DaBrain]

Very very nice. Very well written, and definatly good development. Cant wait to hear more.

[Andrew]

I'll just keep posting the chapters incase someone gets really bored and decides to read them

Chess - Chapter 2 The Bell

The new morning brought a fresh smell of dew through the windows. Mr. Wilde had already left to work several hours earlier. Andrew was used to being alone in the mornings. He toasted two pieces of bread and smeared butter on one side to eat on his way to school to prevent from being late. School teachers were very unforgiving when students arrived late. He began his long trek, staring at the sidewalk as he trudged alone. Andrew pondered over the emotional abuse he'd probably receive from school that day, and vowed not to take any visible offense to anything anyone said. Deep down inside though, he'd be aching.
Suddenly, a bell began ringing as loud as thunder. Never had he heard such a bell in Bakerstown before, and thought it quite odd that one would be ringing now. Andrew looked all about him, straining with his ears to discern the direction of the bell, but the ringing seemed to have no direction. At least, not a single direction, it seemed to be all about him. The thought came that he should search out the bell, but the thought quickly vanished as he remembered the penalty for being late to school, and he quickened his pace to make it in time. The bell continued to toll, and it seemed like the closer he got to school, the louder the bell became. Andrew thought it odd that the bell never stopped, as it had been about 10 minutes now since the tolling began. Perhaps the school was using it to mark the beginning of class. Andrew began to panic. He thought he had given himself plenty of time to prevent from being late. The school grounds came into view and nothing seemed out of the ordinary. No extra buildings, no added towers, no nothing. Yet, there were plenty of students walking around, as if in no hurry.
"Excuse me," Andrew said as he tapped a random student's shoulder. "Do you know where that tolling sound is coming from," he continued.
The boy looked at him with a blank glance. "Stop with your games, I have to get to class," he responded harshly as he trudged along to class.
"Susan, where's that loud noise coming from," Andrew asked again, this time to a slender brunette he'd known for quite a while.
"What are you talking about Andrew?" came Susan's reply
How could you not hear such a loud, pulsating noise? It had been pounding for almost twenty minutes and no one seemed to notice but him. This was all quite odd.
"Don't you hear the bell," he asked hesitantly.
"Andrew, I think you should go back home and lie in bed," she responded, walking slowly away.
"Yeah, maybe I should. I must be losing my mind," he thought to himself.
Andrew turned himself around and made his way back home. He wasn't himself and this bell sound was becoming almost unbearable. Louder and louder the tolling became. Wait, wasn't the bell getting louder when he went to the school. The bell should be getting quieter now. Andrew was sure that he was sick now and needed some sleep. He cut his way across a small park whose center had a small grove of trees. These trees had not lost their leaves yet, so they provided shielding from the outside world. A short repose in seclusion would do him a bit of good. It felt like all his energy was quickly deserting him. Feeling utterly drained, he plopped himself down in the middle of the grove. He leaned his head against the trunk of a tree, his eyelids feeling heavy as lead. They closed little by little until there was only a small slit of his eye open. The boy struggled to stay awake, but the bell soon became so loud and became so draining, that Andrew fell into a quick slumber.

[Andrew]

Chess - Chapter 3 The Library

It was quite a relief to find the bell finally silenced. Andrew's strength had come back to him and he actually felt invigorated. He opened his eyes while stretching his arms out as far as they would go. Something felt different, something looked different. He was no longer in the grove of trees, but in what seemed to be a dimmed library. Thousands of shelves of books seemed to run infinitely down the large building. There was only one library in Bakerstown, apart from the school's library, and it looked nothing like this one. He surveyed the books, each heavily coated with dust. Titles such as Chess, a Master's Tale and The Dangerous Pawn were among the many books on the shelves. Walking to another shelf, he read other titles, each describing a certain aspect of chess. In fact, every single book concentrated on that single topic. All the knowledge the world had on chess must be in this library, he thought. Andrew continued down the columns of shelves, wishing he'd have enough time to read them all. You'd have to live a hundred life times to be able to read them all. After having walked what seemed to be at least an hour (he was after all walking very slowly), he came to the end of the shelves.
Andrew's father would love to visit such a library, he thought. Speaking of father, he must be worried to death. He rushed back down from whence he came, and saw a large wooden door. Never in his life had he seen such a peculiar door. It seemed to be made of oak, and had for its design an articulately carved chessboard. The pieces were out of the ordinary. These seemed to be real people. The white queen looked as beautiful as anything he'd ever seen, and the king courageous and honorable. The black pieces looked wicked and spiteful. Andrew, stunned by the incredible detail of the carving, came back to his senses. He turned the door knob and pulled. It seemed as though the door must be stuck. Andrew pulled harder, and shook the door knob as he did. The door would not give way. It was as if it wasn't a door at all, but a solid wall with a knob, unwilling to budge. Looking around him, he realized there were no windows either. Was there any way out of this library? True, he would love to stay and read for hours, days, or even weeks, but his father would be heart-broken if he didn't come home for so long.
Andrew peered down at his watch he had received for his last birthday (Mr.Wilde had to work several extra hours at the factory to afford it). Calmed that it was only 4:30 PM, he let out a sigh of relief, but feeling something wasn't quite right, he pulled his wrist up to his eyes again and looked closely at the second hand. It had stopped working. Andrew didn't even want to know how late it was, it would probably only make him feel worse.
At a quickened pace, he walked along the walls of the library, looking for any means of exiting the building. Not finding any, he slumped down against the wall and covered his face with his hands. Things couldn't get worse. Thoughts raced through his mind. Feeling trapped and hopeless, a deep feeling of despair entered his whole being. A silent tear trickled down his cheek. Hopelessness turned into frustration. He stood up quickly, glared at the mysterious door, and charged, hitting it with all his strength. A throbbing pain entered Andrew's shoulder and the door stood unchanged. He walked to the door and pounded on it with his fist, exclaiming words of frustration and grief. With watery eyes, he looked at the carved board once again. Andrew realized that the curvatures were scattered about, as if they were in the middle of a game. Having stared at the board for several minutes, Andrew (supposing it was white's turn) figured that if white were to sacrifice its queen, a well placed knight could secure the match on the ensuing play. He pointed at the queen and slid his finger gently across the board to where he would place her. Instantly, the carved piece followed Andrew's finger and resided to where the finger had stopped. Shocked, Andrew took a step back, amazed. The white queen's face seemed to change as she moved. Her perfect face seemed frightened, although she kept boldly smiling. Andrew stared intently, and it wasn't long until a terrible looking rook made it's way over to the white queen, raised it's sword, and slashed her from top to bottom. Shaves of wood fell to the ground as the sword scratched her from existence, and the rook took her spot. What had he done? She was so beautiful, how could he do such a thing? A stupid chess game wasn't worth such a sacrifice.
Realizing little could be done now, he pointed at his knight, and slid it to the checkmate position. A crash echoed across the library, and the door slowly opened. Gathering up his courage, he took a deep breath and walked through the door. Immediately, the door slammed behind him, and Andrew was left in darkness.

[DaBrain]

Loving it Andrew, give me more! ^^