Veil Of Chaos: B1 — 0. Truck-kun, Not So Innocent

Note:  I've been really thinking a lot about the various ways to start this series and branches as I've been mapping things out and editing the Status Sheet information.

Naturally, I've been feeling things out by writing the first five chapters of how I initially saw things going and getting people's opinions on it.  I think I've settled on a lot of the major things now.  Tell me what you think about the start of this isekai adventure.

I'll be updating the following chapters whenever I get a tiny bit of time and need something to relax-write to.

Veil Of Chaos Index

Docs Inline Edits:  For those that want to help with suggestions or input.

PoV: 

1. Damon (Our New 24-Year-Old MC!)

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The cool, nighttime New York City breeze of early fall swept through the open door of the apartment complex Damon was renting at as he turned to motion to Aria, descending the stairs, wearing a light hoodie.

“C’mon, Sis; if we’re gonna catch James’ ride, we gotta punch it.”

His 7-year-younger, 17-year-old sister frowned while meeting him, trying to adjust her slightly oversized hoodie around her thin frame; he towered over her at 182cm, compared to her 152.

“It’s Soph that’s the hold-up—she darted back inside to grab something.”

Damon sighed, rubbing his neck and searching for his 20-year-old girlfriend at the top of the stairs; his sister had been the time sink for the last several minutes as she finished some dungeons and dragons session online.

Sophia set everything up with her old high school friend, who had just bought a new fishing boat, and wanted to take them out on a little illegal fishing venture; it would be a nice break from Damon’s 80-hour work week.

His shoulder-length, auburn-haired girlfriend came rushing down the stairs with a brown paper bag tucked under her arm, wearing a strained smile.  “Sorry!  Sorry!  Uh, I just needed to grab something I left the other day—I was supposed to give it to James.”

“‘Ight.  Let’s go—we’re already going to be ten minutes late… Aria.”

He gave his sister a small smirk and nudge while hopping down the stairs of their Hell’s Kitchen apartment complex to get in his small, 1998 four-door sedan; he noticed the leaves were starting to color a tad and couldn’t wait for Halloween so that he could spook his sister with an excuse.

“It wasn’t my fault!”  Aria balked, getting in the back and allowing Sophia to take the front.  “That stupid hero wouldn’t die—why are Paladins so OP?!  Oh, don’t mind me; I’m just going to toss the power of the freaking sun at your face!”

Sophia giggled, rubbing her shoulders as she sat the paper bag by her feet and slammed the door shut, turning up the heater; it was good it was fall, because his A/C was shot.

She’d been with him for the last two years, having met her from mutual acquaintances through all the extra jobs he took to earn enough money to live and pay for Aria’s tuition; he didn’t believe in student loans—work hard upfront, save money in the long run.

“You’re still on that evil campaign,” his girlfriend asked, but Damon knew she was just being polite.  “Is it going well?”

Damon snickered as he turned the key, flipped on the lights, and pulled away from the curb; in the mirror, he caught Aria taking her phone out from her back pocket with a scowl on her face, probably to talk to her teammates.  “You kidding?  Aria ate it before we left.”

“It’s not my fault—power of the sun, remember?!  Stupid gods blessing heroes all the time; we weren’t even that bad.”

“Mmh…”  Damon tilted his head, noticing headlights following them off the street as he continued their path to the docks.  “I heard something about robbing some noble with someone popping off?”

“He’s a noble—who cares?”  Aria huffed.  “I guess this gives me a chance to make a new Wizard character…  Oh, maybe I’ll go for a lich route this time?  Let’s just roll some of these—oh, c’mon!”

They laughed at Aria seething in the back seat as she tried to make a new digital character, evidently rolling low on some of her stats.

Even if his sister was a fantasy role-playing fanatic, she had a brain that Damon always praised; she’d already obtained her associate’s degree before her high school diploma, and he loved to see it framed in the hallway.

Damon rolled around his neck, checking the streets for shady figures, but he couldn’t see anyone walking the faintly lit sidewalks, and he turned his focus away as Sophia’s phone automatically connected to his stereo.

“Hazel Eyes, again, huh?”  he mused with a wink, knowing she’d been obsessed with ‘Wither Away’ recently.  “I just happen to have hazel eyes.”

“Totally not a coincidence!  Hehe.  It’s so relaxing, and I just love the emotion in his voice—you should sing it with me!”

He jabbed a finger back at Aria, silently raging as she had some kind of debate with her dungeon master over text about her new character, no doubt; she was always causing trouble.  “Don’t want to annoy the evil lich.”

“Go ahead and sing,” Aria mumbled.  “Yes!  Approval.”

“Hehe.  Nice,” Sophia absently commented, adjusting her seat a little back.

Damon lost himself in the music with her, joining his girlfriend’s soft hums while noticing his tank was a quarter full; he’d probably walk to some of his jobs this week to save a little money since nearly everything he’d saved would be going into Aria’s next college classes.

A New York City street kid all his life, Damon had been the breadwinner and supporter of his little sister since he was seventeen—Aria ten—when their parents died in a subway accident; it hadn’t been easy, and he had to enter some sketchy circles from time to time, but it was well worth it to give his sister a leg-up.

He frowned when Aria twisted around to look behind them; the car was still on their tail if keeping a bit of distance.  “It’s the car Todd’s been complaining about; he’s been taking his spot all week.”

“You don’t say…”  Damon mumbled, eyebrows furrowing as he focused on the somewhat dirty SUV.

Sophia leaned to the side to stare into the rearview mirror, drawing in her lips.  “Turn here, Damon.”

“I got ya,” he mumbled, not wanting to take chances in the neighborhood they lived in, and his gut tightened when it followed.

“Not creepy…”  Aria hummed, snapping a picture of the vehicle with her phone and probably sending it to her role-play friends.  “Might die—please give me another roll on Int.”

Damon chuckled at her sister’s hopeful tone.  “Really?”

“Gotta use everything to your advantage!  Soph—what’s up?”

The nervousness on his girlfriend’s face was unusual as she bit her lower lip, glancing at the bag by her feet.  “Umm… can we try and go down another—”

“Shit!”

Light flashed in Damon’s eyes as they hit an intersection, and if he hadn’t seen the ripple in space that followed, he wouldn’t have believed it as a speeding garbage truck shot through to slam into the side of his car.

The last thing he saw was flashing red and blue lights behind them before the world flipped, screams followed, and the world went black.

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