An Ambiguous Tale

"Wherever You Go, There You Are"  By: Brendan Cadman Every sleepless night he tossed and turned underneath, sheets of fire while resting on rocks masquerading as pillows. As a child his heart and body were never in the same place, longing to be anywhere other than where he was. In the precious few hours he managed to slip away from the world, he could only manage one consistent and tantalizing fantasy. On the back of a broken spirit, wore the scabbed scars of dreams deferred. Wounds healed and closed by the passing hours, reopened and bleeding from memories of distant times.  His heart ached for what had come, and broke over what had gone.  Haunting ghosts standing on empty corners, and sitting in abandoned barstools beside him. He could not escape the reminders of what he lost, so all he knew to do was run. When the pad lock broke and the binding chains were set free, he made a daring break and finally attempted to getaway. ...

"Where A Heart Should Be" By: Brendan Cadman Even after the frigid air had blown, and the icy waters finally began to thaw, the warmth of spring reborn eluded him, with his skin still cold to the touch.  He walked in silence amongst the living reminders of what he lost, as a ship lost at sea wanders on the water, with no lighthouse to guide it home through the fog. Even old shipmates could not recognize the remains of the battered and weathered hull.  Like a child desperately searches the bottom of a cereal box for a prize waiting within, the burning alcohol raced down his throat,  leaving only the remains of an empty and hollow promise.  In the unrelenting spotlight of the sun, he wore a smile that conveyed a picture of serenity.  It wasn't until the cover of the moonlit shadows, that he would allow his true essence to breakthrough the barrier surrounding his mind.  Old joys slowly disintegrated into unfamiliar disinterests, with the p...

"The Runner" By: Brendan Cadman Chained and tethered to the post, of his temptations and desires. Pulling on the shackles holding him down, with a relentless effort to break free, and loosen the grip of his tormentor's hold. Mind full of resolve with feet firmly planted, he grabbed hold onto the fetters of iron, determined to finally take back control.  So he ran. Off quicker than a bolt of lighting, with the power of a runaway train. He sprinted with everything he could give, to tear that cuff right out of its socket. At first effort the chain would not budge, sending him face first to the ground in failure.  But after a millennia stuck in one place, he rose defiantly to his feet and brushed of the dirt, unwavering in his mission.  So he ran. The splintering shatter of the wooden post, followed by cracking of the unhinged chain.  Set free from his past and born anew, suddenly the world around him he had called home, his entire life had...

The Campaign By: Brendan Cadman 1 As the dying embers of the setting sun sneak their way through the grey clouds of the early evening in the heart of November, a sea of people cascade back and forth throughout the busy city streets of Chicago. It's just the start of the rush hour in the city and the people are methodically fighting the swelling crowds on the shrinking sidewalks. The air is thick amongst the patrons of the overloaded and overworked metropolis and the tension rises within the flock with every passing minute. Desperation begins to set in, as the natives battle to make their way into confined city apartments and cramped metra train cars barreling towards the open arms of the suburbs.  On the corner of a busy intersection, an old man with a bushy grey beard and wearing a long black trench coat stands on top of a rickety wooden crate. Though the flimsy wooden boards beneath his feet splinter under his weight, the crate remains in tact as the old man ma...