Star Origins

By H. H. McCoy

QUESTION EVERYTHING. DECIDE WHAT IS TRUE.

Hey, my name's Dora, and every day is a struggle for survival in the harsh and violent streets of the Exster District. Thankfully, I'm able to rely on my big brother for practically everything because

• Language: English
• Publisher: Author Academy Elite
• Release date: Feb 26, 2021
• ISBN: 9781647465094

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STAR ORIGINS

H. H. McCOY

Star Origins Copyright © 2020 by H. H. McCoy. All rights reserved.

This is a work of fiction. All of the names, characters, organizations, places, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

All songs included in this book are original copyrighted works written by the author.

Printed in the United States of America

Published by Author Academy Elite

PO Box 43, Powell, OH 43035

www.AuthorAcademyElite.com

All rights reserved. This book contains material protected under International and Federal Copyright Laws and Treaties. Any unauthorized reprint or use of this material is prohibited. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without express written permission from the author.

Identifiers:

Library of Congress Control Number: 2020917897

ISBN: 978-1-64746-507-0 (paperback)

ISBN: 978-1-64746-508-7 (hardback)

ISBN: 978-1-64746-509-4 (ebook)

Available in paperback, hardback, ebook, and audiobook.

For Irene, whose smile lights up the darkness

1

Dora

Belleburg was one of the most beautiful cities I had ever seen in my life, but I only got to see this part of the city whenever my older brother and I made our way there to … acquire the means to eat.

One extremely hot day after eating in the city while it was still daylight, I deviated from our normal route full of dark alleys because I heard a loud voice yelling that he had frosty desserts. So, naturally, I came out from the shadows without saying a word to my brother and went toward the man with the frosty treats, but a blinding light temporarily impaired my vision and stopped me from taking another step. I closed my eyes, then I rubbed them and slowly opened them as my right hand covered my forehead in an attempt to avoid being blinded again. Looking in another direction, I was mesmerized, for this was the first time I had a chance to get a good look at the city in all its breathtaking beauty.

All of the city’s buildings were made of gold and a bright, silvery metal. I looked around and saw a beautifully crafted water fountain of different shapes and designs surrounded by a vast body of water, the streets were impeccably clean, and the residents of Belleburg were so beautiful. The women looked like models and dressed elegantly, whereas the men looked like movie stars and wore formal attire. Then, I saw many inhabitants—or Etwalians, as we’re called since we live on Planet Etwal—crowd inside a huge, clear tube. Once everyone was inside, the ground underneath their feet inside the see-through tube suddenly lifted up into the air with the greatest of ease as if they were weightless. Upon reaching the top of the tube, the airborne piece of ground stopped, and everyone rushed to get out and inside an elongated machine within another transparent tube that seemed to float in midair. The tube opened up alongside the doors to the long machine and closed shortly afterward. Then, I blinked quickly and barely saw it as the machine suddenly zipped out of sight, gone in a blink of an eye.

All of sudden, I felt a jolt from behind me, and I threw my hands forward out of pure instinct as I fell hard on the ground. Luckily, I avoided any serious injury, but I felt a sharp, throbbing pain coming from my hands. I stood up and looked down to see my palms covered in scrapes and cuts oozing a bright red liquid. Tears began to well up in my eyes.

Eww! You’re an eyesore, wearing such dirty rags! Phew, you reek!

I turned around to see the source of the voice and saw one of those beautiful and elegantly dressed women looking down at me with her fingers pinching her nose. When our eyes met, I raised my red-stained hands toward her, but instead of compassion, I received pure hatred.

She screamed at me, Go back to your shantytown, you filthy little subtwal!

I looked straight into her eyes and saw only hate. Distraught, I looked around to find empathy elsewhere and saw many Etwalians completely ignoring this interaction as they walked past me as if I didn’t even exist while others stopped and stared at me with those same hateful eyes. Finally, I looked down at my dirty clothes, tried unsuccessfully to wipe away the grime from my clothes with my forearms, and cried because that was the first time I was ever called a subtwal, which was an insult for individuals seen as less than—aka social pariahs.

Suddenly, I heard my brother’s voice. Sorry! he said to the woman. Then, he grabbed my wrist and pulled me back in haste toward the dark, back alleys.

The woman screamed at us as we scurried back into the darkness. Yea, you better be, filthy little subtwals! You almost ruined my favorite top! You both are lucky I have somewhere to be right now!

My brother finally let go of my wrist after we made it out of Belleburg. We continued traveling along the dark, back alleys until we reached a T-shaped back alley. Before crossing past the side alley, my brother suddenly stopped me with his right hand at the corner. I collided against his arm, but he mustered the strength to keep me from going forward. Then, I heard a loud voice coming from the side alley.

Gimme everythin’ you got!

I peeked under my brother’s arm and barely saw two blurry figures standing a good distance from us. One figure had both hands raised in the air, whereas the other had one arm extended, pointing at the other figure.

My brother looked at me and whispered, We run across only when it’s safe, so grab on to my hand. I immediately grabbed his hand with mine.

The same loud voice yelled again, Now! I don’t have all day! Hurry!

Then, all of a sudden, a harsh-voiced individual yelled, Well, look what we have here! I looked again and saw multiple figures behind the original two figures. If it isn’t a member of the Kyeadd gang!

The mugger turned the other way and made a mad dash toward our direction. My brother pulled my hand, and we ran back the other direction so that the armed assailants wouldn’t see us. After taking several steps, several loud shots fired behind us. Out of fright, I screamed, and immediately, my brother covered my mouth, preventing further sounds from exiting. Then, he pulled us flush against the back wall of a building.

The harsh-voiced man ordered the other men, Get his weapon and pop two in his head, but first, get him to squeal cuz we’re gonna take ‘em all out for good and take all they’ve got!

With my brother still covering my mouth, he whispered in my ear, Shhh, not a sound.

My heart pounded hard against my chest. We stood there silent for what seemed like an eternity. Then, the two ear-splitting shots rang out, and I let out a small whimper.

Hey! Where you goin’? the harsh-voiced man asked.

Another voice that sounded close to us yelled back to the harsh-voiced man, I thought I heard somethin’ over there!

Forget that! It’s go time with the Kyeadd! C’mon! the harsh-voiced man replied.

We waited until it was silent and confirmed they had departed, leaving two corpses in their wake. Then, we crossed the T-shaped back alley without incident and without being seen.

My brother, Ryu, gave me an earful later that day after we found a place to settle down for the night. I learned several lessons. First, whenever Ryu and I ventured out looking for scraps of food wherever we could find them, I stayed quiet and right next to his side. Second, the residents of Belleburg may look beautiful on the outside, but they were hideous on the inside. Lastly, we didn’t fit into the gentrified Bella District of Belleburg because we lived in the Exster District, which was right next to the Bella District. The Exster District was commonly called shantytown, but I preferred to call it Startown, mainly because when I first heard the word Exster, I mistook it for Ex-Star. Startown, however, was far from being a star in any sense of the word. In fact, it was the complete opposite.

Our district was unsanitary and run-down, so much so that there was filth on top of the existing filth. With the buildings of Startown being completely dilapidated, the whole district looked dingy and unwelcoming. In fact, the wooden materials throughout the buildings were in shambles with some pieces missing and others falling apart. This prompted makeshift walls plastered to cover up the holes in the buildings with either old, rusted metal sheets or thin pieces of wood. Trash bags littered every street, every corner, and any other place with space throughout Startown. I couldn’t walk a few steps without seeing bags upon bags piled higher than me. The downright stomach-churning odors from these mounds of trash pervaded the entire district. I never got used to that pungent stench of rotten eggs, perished leftovers, and festering feces.

As for the residents of Startown, nobody cared about fashion or their external appearance because their clothing was grimy—similar to what Ryu and I wore—and almost everyone here looked awful, sickly, or both because stress, anger, and sadness were the predominant facial expressions—along with scowls—on both men and women alike. Also, drugs, weapons, death threats, and murder ran rampant every single day and were the norm in our district. The harsh-voiced man and his gang were prime examples of the constant dangers we faced living here.

One warm day some time after that incident with that hideous woman that called me a subtwal, we managed to salvage scraps of thrown away food crusts from the dumpster behind a restaurant only a few blocks going into Belleburg. Upon arrival to one of our usual back alleys in Startown, Ryu went to make sure the alley was safe to set up for the night seeing as night was fast approaching, and I stood there awaiting his return. Every night, we sought an empty back alley with limited streetlights. Ryu always reminded me that we couldn’t set up our blankets to sleep until the area met two requirements. The first requirement was that we needed to be the only two Etwalians there. The second was that there should be some source of light. I always figured he wanted us to have enough light so I wouldn’t get scared.

Later that same night in our safe area, I found myself staring blankly into the starless sky, unable to sleep, gripping tightly onto my dirty blanket. The noises of the city were not the cause of my sleeplessness. Those ambient noises had faded long ago. Not even my older brother’s snores kept me awake. Instead, I kept feeling an odd sensation in the pit of my stomach. It felt like hunger, but I had eaten those food crusts earlier. Maybe they didn’t agree with my stomach, but it was strange because I had eaten dumpster food for as far back as I can remember, and my body had acclimated to eating thrown away leftovers. Besides, I had not gotten sick from dumpster leftovers in a long time.

I rolled over to my right side. Ryu tended to shift positions in his sleep, and he was sleeping on his back again. His snores sounded like a giant predator hunting its prey. Wake up, Ry. Yur snorin’ again, I whispered as I shook his arm. This became a regular routine for us because he trusted me to make sure he didn’t make too much noise. Quiet at night was our number one safety rule.

Huh, wuz up? he responded groggily, rotating his head toward me while still lying on his back.

I looked at his dimly lit face. His tan-colored, oval-shaped face was pleasant to the eyes, especially when he smiled. His twinkling, brown eyes and his dazzling smile could light up any dark alley in an instant. Then, I whispered, Yur snorin’, so turn over. I pulled his arm toward me to get him to turn over on his left side.

Huh? He opened his eyes slightly. Yea, ok, ok. Then, he shifted to his left side.

Hey, Ry. My stomach suddenly let out a huge growl. I’m hunggie.

Again? Didn’t we just eat? he asked, this time with eyes wide open looking at me.

Yea, but I’m hunggie again. I placed my hands over my stomach.

Yea, he sighed. Give me a bit, and we’ll go get some good grub.

Um hum! I squealed and jumped up to my hands and knees because I immediately became elated. Those two magical words always evoked a positive reaction out of me. Good grub! That meant we were going to the Bella District for the good stuff, not dumpster food. I groped for my backpack, which also doubled as my pillow, and I quickly stuffed my grimy blanket into my backpack. Then, I pulled on Ryu’s blanket. C’mon, Ry, get up!

Yea, yea. He yawned and stretched, and then he sat bolt upright and yawned again. Then, he groped groggily for his backpack and slung it over his right shoulder. Finally, he got to his feet, picked up his blanket, handed it to me, and said, Here. When he stood up, he towered over me. He was about twice as tall with a lanky physique and almost twice my age. His shirt and jeans were grimy and tattered with holes in them, and his dark-colored shoes were both one seam away from falling apart.

First, I got to my feet. Then, I grabbed my backpack from the ground and unzipped a different compartment to stuff his blanket inside. Finally, I slung it over my right shoulder with both arms through the loops, and I grabbed his left hand with my right one. Ok, les go!

He turned his head to look at me and asked, So, wha’ ya feel like eatin’?

Somethin’ fancy! I yelled, jumping up in the air.

Shhh! Keep it down! he hissed chidingly, turning his whole body to face mine.

In that instant, I lost sight of all twinkle in his eyes. They went completely dark as if I stared straight into the eyes of a black-eyed beast. I immediately lowered my head and looked down. He might as well have hit me over the head, like some untrained pet that relieved itself inside the house. I’m sorry, Ry, I murmured, still looking down.

He placed his right hand below my chin and slowly lifted my head so our eyes met. The twinkle in his eyes returned. Then, he grabbed my right hand in between both of his. Thas ok—just remember our number one safety rule. Quiet at—

Night, I chimed in automatically. Yea, I know, I know. I was just excited is all.

He smiled as he asked, So, wha’ kind of fancy did ya have in mind?

Meat, I responded swiftly in a whisper, vividly remembering the last time I relished the succulent taste of the delicious, smoky juices of the meat cooked to a well-done perfection.

He let go of my hands and shook my hair all in a mess. Hahaha, ya had that at the ready, didn’t ya?

I grabbed his hands and pulled away because I didn’t want him dirtying up my hair. Then, I nodded. Um hum!

From where? he asked.

I smiled and replied, Purple Eclipse.

Sounds good, lil sis, he said. So, ya know wha’ to do?

I nodded.

I gotta hear the words, Coco, he said, teasing me while he pinched my cheeks.

I forced his hands away from my face. I’ve outgrown that silly name, ya know.

My big brother laughed, then asked, Ya sure about that?

When he laughed at me, it irritated me, so I frowned and pointed at him. I can say the whole word now, ya know.

He leaned in closer to me, lowered my arm down, and pinched my cheeks again. Whatever ya say, Coco, but I still gotta hear the words.

Annoyed with him pinching my cheeks, I returned the favor and pinched both of his cheeks. Chocolate, cha-koo-let! See there—I know the word.

He grabbed my hands with his and shook his head. No, silly. You gotta tell me wha’ yur gonna do on the way—

Be quiet and stick close, I interrupted.

He released my hands and nodded his head. Thas right, lil sis, ya got it. So, from here on, we remain silent. Then, he placed his right forefinger over his mouth. We only talk if absolutely needed. Ya stay here. He pointed at me and gestured to stay put, then he pointed to each end of the alley. I’ll be back. He moved silently along the shadows from end to end of the alley and came back. Finally, he whispered, C’mon, les go.

I followed his lead as I always did because he made me feel safe, so wherever he stepped, I stepped, and whenever he stopped, I stopped. As we came closer to the end of the alley, it seemed as if the light pushed the shadows back, forcing me to squint to keep up with the silhouette leading the way. When my eyes finally adjusted to the light at the end of the alley, the Ryu I knew and love replaced the silhouette leading the way. However, the dark night still enveloped everything and everywhere, except for the few streetlights lit up. Along the way, I saw some Etwalians staggering, stumbling, and falling as they walked. They talked loudly and slowly, hiccupping in between every few slurred words, and laughing at everything.

My brother told me long ago to ignore these buffoons, the ones who slurred their words and stumbled as they walked out in the streets late at night and in the early mornings because they were not in their right state of mind after partying. I never knew at the time what caused them to act so unusual, but I enjoyed watching these partygoers because it reminded me of a story Ryu once told me on a day that had me feeling extra sad.

On that sad day, he wiped away the tears from my cheeks. Then, he took out something all wrapped up from his backpack and handed it to me. Here, lil sis, enjoy and listen up cuz yur gonna laugh so hard that I’m gonna need to stitch yur stomach back up!

I unwrapped his gift to me, and with pure delight, I bit into the meat. That first, delicious, melt-in-your-mouth bite teleported me to the sky as I closed my eyes, and I felt so light and good as if I could fly. Then, I opened my eyes back up and said, Thank you! Thank you! Thank you, Ry! Ok, I’m listenin’.

Before ya were born, Mama got some buffoon to come and entertain me and a couple friends. He came with his face painted white and had this big, bright-red circle thing on his nose. And his hair was crazy lookin’ because it looked like he just got out of bed, then looked at the mirror and messed it up even more. And thas not all! My brother placed his hand