An alarm clock rings, the time reading 7:00. The date is February 17th, 1996. A hand hits the 'Snooze' button, stopping the sound of the alarm clock. A man gets up from his bed, and proceeds to do his daily stretches. The man then puts on some clothes, and heads to his kitchen to make some breakfast. He makes a breakfast that has bacon, eggs, sausage, toast, and a couple other things that you would see in an English breakfast. After enjoying this meal, he hears a ringing sound, which was coming from the cell phone he had bought earlier that year.
-- TIME: 7:20 --
???: Huh? That's odd, why is someone calling me at this time?
The man then goes to the phone and sees who's calling.
???: (Hm? What's he calling me for? I guess I'll see what he has to say)
-- PHONE CALL --
CALLER: Hey! I've been trying to call you since yesterday! Looks like instead of taking my calls, Sweet Tony takes his sweet time!
???: I told you that name got old after secondary school, Nick. Just call me Anthony or Tony, like everyone else does.
Nick: Come on, I gotta have fun with you sometimes, you know! And besides, that nickname reminds me of how great secondary school was.
Anthony: Well, I guess you're right. Call me what you will. But I would rather you tell me what you called me for.
Nick: Oh, right. I heard about this pretty nice restaurant that I thought we could head to. It's called La Vida. It's a Hispanic restaurant not far from your place.
Anthony: La Vida, huh? Never had Hispanic before. It'll be nice to try something new. We should definitely eat there.
Nick: We can head there later today, I just gotta finish up stuff here first. I'll pick you up later, how does 12 o'clock sound?
Anthony: 12 o'clock sounds like 12 o'clock no matter how you put it.
Nick: Eh?
Anthony: You know I'm just messing with you, Nick. 12 is fine.
Nick: Great! It's settled, then! See ya around Sweet Tony!
-- CALL END --
After the call, Anthony prepares for a workout session, and sets a time for 35 minutes. He then proceeds to do exercises such as lifting weights, pushups, and sit-ups. He does these to keep the physique that he has. After a good workout, he decides to watch a couple hours of television while waiting for Nick to pick him up. He then goes outside to rest on a lawn chair, enjoying the peace of the outdoors.
-- TIME: 12:00 --
As Anthony is resting on the chair, he hears a car arrive in his driveway. "That must be Nick" he thought to himself. He gets in the car, and they drive to the restaurant. After arriving, they go in and are greeted by the workers.
Worker 1: Bienvenidos a La Vida! (Welcome to La Vida!)
Worker 2: [Oh, do we have new customers?]
Worker 1: [Yeah, it's these two Englishmen!]
Worker 2: [Two Englishmen, yeah? That's nice, we don't usually have English customers here!]
The worker then seats them at their table, and gives them the menu.
Worker 1: When you are ready to order, I'll come back around here.
Nick: So, Sweet Tony, what do you think I should order? These Que-sa-dill-uhs look really good.
Anthony - It's quesadillas, Nick.
Nick: Well, whatever! I'm definitely ordering these.
Anthony: I guess I'll have the beef burrito.
Nick: We should be ready to order, then!
The waiter comes around and asks them if they're ready to order. "We are." Anthony responds. After telling the waiter their orders, the waiter leaves, and eventually they get their food.
Nick: This looks pretty good, don't you think?
Anthony: Yeah. Let's dig in!
Nick: That's the spirit!
As they're eating the food, Anthony notices something in the corner of his vision. A man is near Nick's car. He sees as he tries opening the door, but it fails since it's locked. "Hold on one second." says Anthony, as he goes out to see what's going on. Nick questions this seemingly random leave, but he knows Anthony knows what he's doing.
Man: This is a nice car!
Anthony: Hey. What are you doing?
The man, shocked, can't even get out his words. And Anthony remembers something that Nick said before. He told him that if someone ever broke into his car, he'd be devastated. Devastated. Devastated. The word echoes in Anthony's mind, usually he would simply forget about these kinds of thoughts. But because of the long friendship he had with Nick, and not wanting to see him suffer, he couldn't control himself. And without thinking, struck the man in the face with his fist.
Man: B-but I just like this vehic-
Before he could say more, Anthony was overcome by his thoughts, and started to beat the man furiously. Some people nearby heard, and called the police to assess the situation. But by the time they arrived, the man was already beaten half to death, and Anthony was looking at his bloody hands, wondering what he had just done. Nick overheard the commotion, and went outside to see what happened. But when Nick arrived, Anthony was already in cuffs.
Officer: Sir, you have the right to remain silent.
Nick, seeing the friend he made in secondary school arrested, couldn't help but question Anthony, as he was in disbelief in what happened
Nick (concernedly): What the hell did you just do, Tony? WHAT DID YOU DO?!
Anthony: I did something I shouldn't have.
As the officers put him in the car, Nick screamed Anthony's name, but he had already been driven away.
-- Crown Court - Courtroom #2 --
After hearing about what had happened in the parking lot of the restaurant, the Judge gave his final verdict.
Judge: Hearing what has happened, I find the defendant Anthony Devain, guilty of grievous body harm, and thus shall be sentenced to four years in prison.
--GUILDFORD PRISON ; TIME: 17:20--
The guard takes Anthony to his cell, and tells him that because of what he did, he'll be spending the next four years in this prison. Anthony heads in the cell, and it gets locked by the guard. Anthony realizes quickly the true length of four years, and he gets a feeling of dread, knowing he won't be able to see the outside world for a while. But he decides that it's for the best that he stays here after what he did.
-- PROLOGUE - END --
YOU ARE READING
Pride From Vain
ActionSometime after a horrible fall from grace, Anthony Devain, while trying to figure out the reason behind his friend's disappearance, ends up in the city of Harhalgh. He finds himself wrapped up in one of the city's greatest mysteries, and takes it up...
