SivamWrites posts
Posts: 137
Files: 40
Amazon release day!
Hello everyone! Not a chapter (yet), but I wanted to share this important announcement. The first book of String is now available on Amazon, Kindle, and Audible! You can grab a copy here: Amazon.com: String: Grim Tidings eBook : Sivam: Kindle Store
String - Interjection 13.4
When the void shook, I knew Anomaly was about to throw us out.“Twenty minutes, not bad,” Copycat mused as he stretched his arms out and cracked his knuckles. “I wonder what he’s been up to? Must’ve run into some trouble on the way.”“If it's trouble, then we’re about to crash the party,” Alice warned. She flashed everyone a wry grin. “Be ready for anything.”The transition ...
String - Interjection 13.3
Gaea.The name rang relentlessly like a bell in my mind. Seer perceived a connection between her and the earthquakes, and he wasn’t even awake to elaborate on it.The car was left in stunned silence after the hysteria of getting him back inside had concluded. Copycat helped me drag him onto the backseat, where he lay sprawled across Prosperity’s lap, and all I could think about was the name he h...
String - Interjection 13.2
The walk back to the car was unnervingly quiet.Our task was clear: remove Mercury and do the same to Liberation before Pandora had a chance to retaliate. Unfortunately, the method was much less clear. We had no weaknesses to exploit and no reliable backup.“Fight the Cains, defeat Grim,” Alice muttered to my side as we walked through the forest. “Now it's fight Pandora, defeat Liberation,...
String - Interjection 13.1
“I never imagined I would be inviting the likes of any of you into my home.”Prometheus regarded each one of us with a wary eye. Her old, tired eyes lingered on me the longest, but she made sure to make everyone feel a tad more uncomfortable, despite being invited into her home.We were all positioned around the cramped living room, with me sitting directly opposite the ex-Pandora Matriarch. Ali...
String - Identity Interlude: Eleanor
“In other news, relations between the general public and the ECU break down further as a lack of relief funding for the homes, businesses, and families affected by Grim’s rampage in Bayside continue to pile up—”Eleanor switched off the TV and stared blankly at the black screen. The only sound that interrupted the serenity was the gentle hum from the kitchen appliances in the next room. Whe...
String - Identity 12.10
With the danger gone for the time being, we all took a moment to catch our breath and nurse any wounds.Copycat, Seer, and Prosperity had stepped away to converse privately, while Madhouse grouped around me. The exhaustion finally became too much to ignore, so I found a broken tree stump to sit down on.Lucy had gone back to the remnants of her family to make sure they were okay. From what I could s...
String - Identity 12.9
4000 WordsI surged into action, my movement systems launching me forward with a hiss of compressed air.Prometheus would back me up, and it wouldn’t be long before the rest of my team and the ECU Rookies would be joining the fray. All they needed to do was finish dealing with their battles.Liberation fought alone, trapped within the flames, while his weaker comrades flailed about trying to get th...
String - Identity 12.8
Danger.Every sense and survival instinct screamed at me as I watched more Pandora Supers emerge from thin air. I didn’t know who was responsible, but there was someone within their ranks who was capable of transporting them here without anyone knowing. There was no way so many could have slipped out of the city unnoticed with Ajax and the ECU openly skirmishing with them.One of them allowed this...
String - Identity 12.7
We didn’t know where Lucy was, but it didn’t take us long to find her.I deployed two drones that had fit comfortably in the truck of my car, and they had done most of the heavy lifting in terms of scouting.Having lost all my original drones to Ajax and Pandora, I had already begun the process of replacing them. By this point, the drones were exceedingly cheap to recreate, seeing as I had done ...
String - Identity 12.6
With a fight imminent, we prepared for the worst.Anomaly transformed, and Vigil’s statues bled out of his gelatinous body. We wanted to be ready in case a fight broke out, so we had Anomaly absorb a few of her statues. Vigil could create more once the fight actually started, but we wanted to avoid her being vulnerable at the start of the fight.Prosperity didn’t make a move; she stood in place,...
String - Identity 12.5
“So we’re heading out of town when things are about to get a whole lot worse, to find Lucy, who may or may not be out of her mind after getting dusted by her dad—and we’re somehow supposed to convince her to come back with us after what just happened?” Liam asked, looking between me and Sam from his position in the backseat. When we didn’t give him an immediate answer, he puffed up his...
String - Identity 12.4
I found myself at the center of an endless expanse.I felt… strangely at peace.I observed the space before me—a nebula that grew and shrunk at the same time, defying sense and logic. The knowledge came quickly, plucked out of the ether and used to paint a picture.Space—something my human mind could scarcely comprehend… and yet, something else. Understanding that would have never come natura...
String - Identity 12.3
My suit was doing all it could to stabilize me, but despite that, my condition worsened the closer we got to my workshop.To my displeasure, it seems as though I had yet another thing added to my list of projects. I would need my suit to be much better at healing me. I’m just lucky that my lack of preparation wouldn’t lead to me dying tonight.When we arrived, it was… quiet. Cyberspace’s age...
String - Identity 12.2
The warm red light thrummed with a power that resonated with me. I felt drawn to it like a man desperately searching for warmth in the middle of a blizzard.All I could think of was Lucy.I couldn’t focus; every thought felt like it was fleeting. The ground shook as a Walker approached, yet I couldn’t summon the strength to stand. Whether it was because of my injuries or the shock rooting me in ...
String - Identity 12.1
I waited for the inevitable chaos to erupt.My mind was already racing, trying to figure out the best way to get Mom and Lucy to safety. I could trust Abby to try to separate Wildfire from the rest of us, but that wouldn’t save us from the initial exchange. I could contemplate why Abby was here later, assuming I even survived the encounter.I had precious seconds to come up with a plan as the stun...
String - Interrogation Interlude: Cyberspace
The last time humanity made another step toward the abyss was in early 1989.Early that year, the world watched as the sparks of an inevitable fourth World War flickered. The Pandora Initiative was gearing up for its ascension, set to rival only the glorious Roman Empire. Meanwhile, a conflict brewed between the USA, the Soviet Union, and China, all at each other’s throats over who could produce ...
String - Interrogation 11.9
Dinner preparation was simple.Roast chicken with some vegetables and gravy. I wasn’t trying to win a cooking competition, so I didn’t feel the need to go all out with something extravagant, especially not for Wildfire of all people. The goal was to get information, and all I needed to do was be a welcoming host.Outside of food preparation, the neighborhood was secure. Cyberspace’s agents wer...
String - Interrogation 11.8
All I wanted was some peace and quiet to focus on the things I wanted to work on. Unraveling Richard’s power was going to take some time because I needed more data, and like Sam said, it wasn’t going to be an overnight process. Switching my focus to my suit allowed me to directly face the problems currently looming over me.Seraphim was almost certainly coming for me. I needed weapons strong en...
String - Interrogation 11.7
I inhaled sharply as I splashed water on my face.I repeated the process half a dozen times simply because of how refreshing it felt. I had spent hours inside my workshop and I was starting to get claustrophobic. Usually, I could lose days inside it, but the… unethical direction my work had taken was starting to take its toll.So, I decided it was best to take a short break.My reflection in the mi...
String - Interception 11.6
When I woke up, I found Lucy sitting on the couch in our common room. Her attention was fixed on the TV, so she hadn’t noticed me yet. I was on my way to my workshop to start unraveling Richard’s power when I stopped to see what she was watching.Prime Minister Candidate Melody Ella-Rose endorses Ajax occupation amidst Pandora Initiative pushback?“You missed it,” Lucy said, shooting me a wo...
String - Interrogation 11.5
Finally.It felt like time slowed as a mixture of relief, satisfaction, and excitement washed over me.Despite the danger of the situation, after monthsof worrying about what Mirage was capable of, I found a means of distinguishing the illusion from reality. I can fight back.All I needed to do was figure out how to effectively use the data my power gave me, without the use of my regular senses. The ...
String - Interrogation 11.4
“Warning. Low Power: 20% remaining. Recommended power saving: Disable Cloaking.”I blinked awake as adrenaline coursed through my system. I coughed and sputtered as I rolled onto my stomach, my chest feeling tight. It took me a few moments to compose myself before I tried to push myself up, only to fail miserably at the attempt. My arms were stiff, and the rest of my body felt like I had been p...
String - Interrogation 11.3
As Anomaly’s nightmarish scream echoed through the night, I knew the countdown had started.“Warning. Sudden change in Walker and Sweeper pathing. Likely Cause: Local Disturbance.”Yeah, the one I just made.The data from my seismic sensors showed the two Walkers my drones were tracking abruptly changed their patrolling pattern, they were two minutes from our location. The haphazard plan I had ...
String - Interrogation 11.2
I strode back into the room, carrying two doses of sedative for the old couple.For something so mundane, creating the syringes proved to be quite difficult. I tried to find some, but as it turns out, most people don’t own syringes, so I was forced to get creative. I took a few pens and fashioned some makeshift syringes out of them with the help of some plastic, glue, and a knife. The result was...
String - Interrogation 11.1
Something inside me changed.All unnecessary distractions were washed away by a surge of anger. This wasn’t a white hot rage like when Mirage duped me for the umpteenth time. No, this was a new kind of anger.It was cold and silent.For the first time in weeks, my mind felt like it had been rinsed clean. The lingering stress that was weighing me down disappeared, and nothing else in the world felt ...
String - Interception Interlude: Seraphim
Putting a content warning here for obvious reasons. Implications of sexual and physical abuse. General messed up psychopathic behavior from the character we all love to hate: Richard.//----//How was it possible to love someone with all your being, yet hate them just as intensely?Nikki was convinced it wasn’t possible, yet somehow the stars aligned, and she was stuck with an emotional nuke in her...
String - Interception 10.10
When I finished up my session, I came out to see that Abby was gone.I was met by a soldier who explained that she was called away to an urgent meeting. Whatever it was about, I wasn’t privileged enough to know, but I sounded important at the very least. Regardless, the guard showed me out of the building, and there was a ride waiting for me.I was taken back and dropped off in the school parking ...
String - Interception 10.9
Stars.Thousand of glittering dots, all connected by a wispy thread.I focused on one star and I was pulled in, zooming past all the others.It was a simple computer outfitted with fancy ECU hardware. Its software wasn’t anything to scoff at either, it was certainly more advanced than what could be created through mundane methods.Regardless, my suit would make short work of it. It was probably just...
String - Interception 10.8
I was ushered out of my last class at the end of the day to see a blacked-out SUV parked in the school parking lot. It was remarkably similar to the car Francis had driven Lucy and I home in.Climbing inside, I was able to get a feel for the tech. It streamed through my mind like a river. While it looked ordinary enough, it had the durability of a modern-day tank. It was very similar to Francis’ ...
