The Substance of Things Hoped For

By Wayne Evermore

College student and former abuse victim Benjamin Franklin Bishop has suffered emotional turmoil nearly his entire life. Now, one final traumatic experience has pushed him over the edge of reality and beyond. As a result, he finds himself placed in a world where he is hailed as a hero and a savior, and has finally found acceptance, true friendship, and love. However, in the shadows, a dark force threatens to bring ruin to this new world and to destroy any chance of happiness Benjamin may have found.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Wayne Evermore
• Release date: May 2, 2017
• ISBN: 9781370469758

Wayne Evermore

T. Wayne HenleyResides in Kernersville NC

Book preview

The Substance Of Things Hoped For

By Wayne Evermore

Distributed by Smashwords

Copyright 2017 Wayne Evermore

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Table of Contents:

Prologue

Chapter One - Endings and Beginnings

Chapter Two - Paradise Lost

Chapter Three - The Tribulations of Leticia Warren

Chapter Four - Realization

Chapter Five - Love Making on Life World

Chapter Six - The Getaway

Chapter Seven - Past Imperfect

Chapter Eight - The Fall Of Nooetopia

Chapter Nine - In Zauria

Chapter Ten - Betrayal

Chapter Eleven - The Apocalypse

Chapter Twelve - Ragnarok

Chapter Thirteen - Resurrection

Epilogue

BOOK I :

The Substance Of Things Hoped For

PROLOGUE

The universe is a vast place. Who can know all the many wonders it contains? Who can say whether Life World exists as an objective reality rather than the phenomenological concept we imagine it to be? There is perhaps only one man in all of creation who can know it for certain, but he has long since stopped speaking on the topic. The best we can do, as I try to relate his incredible tale to the best of my ability, is to try and decide if Life World is real to us. To fully understand such a tale though, requires faith. For faith is the substance of things hoped for.

CHAPTER ONE - Endings and Beginnings

Painful endings are often disguised… His clouded brain wouldn’t allow him to remember the full Lao Tzu quote, something about endings and beginnings. How this particular February began wasn’t nearly as important as its ending.

The darkness and the cold outside matched the darkness inside his apartment and inside his skull. It shrouded him like a cloak, highlighting the effect of antidepressant drugs which he had minutes ago washed down with a healthy amount of gin.

Benjamin Franklin Bishop could barely feel his injuries now, or think about the drama which had occurred here in his apartment only a short while ago, an event which had finally succeeded in pushing him over the edge. His head was pounding now, dully at first but growing with intensity. Then despite his tenuous

grip on his faculties, he realized the source of the pounding was someone at the door of his apartment. Leticia, his estranged fiancée, banging desperately at the door to get his attention.

Go away, ‘Tecia. I don’t need any help, especially not from you. His voice slurred from the combination of drugs and alcohol, and quite possibly from a broken jaw. Leticia was horrified-she realized how dangerous a situation this was. Since she had known him, Benjamin had suffered from low self esteem and self confidence issues; the trauma he had just experienced had no doubt pushed him too far.

Benjamin, please open up,'' she cried. You have to let me help you." When there was no further answer from inside the apartment, she cried out in panic and immediately hit 911 on her cell. When first responders finally arrived and forced the door, Benjamin was lying there unconscious, blissfully oblivious to  Leticia's wail of despair. Tears streamed down her face in rivlets as she wept.

Oh no, Benjamin! God, what have I done to you?

It was some time later when Benjamin awoke. Firstly, he was surprised to be alive and he balked that he had failed to take his own life, just as he had failed so much in  life. Then, slowly he realized that he wasn’t merely alive, but his body was completely healed as well. Finally, and most startling, he realized he was no longer in familiar surroundings. That last thought was an extre me understatement; it appeared he was no longer on earth at all. And as he sat there on an open plain before a body of water that could have been either a large lake or small sea, blinking in the sunlight-make that, in the light of two suns-he became convinced that he was actually experiencing a drug induced hallucination.

As he stood tentatively and dusted himself off, he took stock of himself and his surroundings.

The landscape before him was practically idyllic. The plain on which he found himself gave way to the typical coastal terran heading toward the sea. Beyond that lay a lush forest with gentle, rolling hills. It was beautiful, and any other time Benjamin could have been completely at ease here; but this wasn’t any other time. This was a drug induced hallucination suffered by a man on the brink of death. To the south of his position-or what he took to be south- was a dark, foreboding area. Where everything else here was beautiful and inviting-the pinkish sky, the twin glowing suns  reflecting off the calm, sparkling sea- this

region appeared barren and lifeless as far as he could tell. Even the light of the dual suns failed to fully penetrate this darkness.

Most interestingly, though, he noted what appeared to be changes in his own body. He was taller, now. He couldn't really be sure that he was, since here upon this rather flat and level plain he had no point of reference as to height, but he certainly felt  taller. But he was definitely more muscular and heavier than before. He tentatively patted his own own body down, both to assure himself that he was indeed awake and to give proof to the reality of his new and improved musculature, as if any of this was indeed reality. There were other things that seemed to lend further evidence to the reality of the situation. Things such as the hunger pangs he was beginning to feel-and thirst.

As he looked back to his surroundings once more, He noticed a group of people headed his way. They appeared to be riding horseback, but from this distance he couldn’t yet tell whether they were horses or something else. In any case, they were riding some sort of animals, and as they drew closer he could see that they were large and multi-legged, but definitely not horses. They were more akin to reptiles in form, although they had some mammalian characteristics as well. They reminded him most closely of the long extinct Dimetrodon , but even those dinosaur-like creatures never had three pairs of legs. Like the dimetrodon, these animals likewise had a sail, but these sails crested at the beasts’ heads, instead of the center of its back. From there, the crests tapered down to what appeared to be almost feather-like hairs that ended on its whip-like tail.

From there Benjamin took stock of the riders. In all respects they appeared human, although Benjamin couldn’t make out their race or nationality. They were practically racially ambiguous; they may have African-American with mixtures of Native American, Asian ancestry, and a smidge of Caucasian and Latino. Indeed, they could have been all of these-or none.

As they approached, Benjamin squinted in the sunlight, which although bright, he found was not particularly hot. One rider in particular was moving around toward the front. His ‘horse’ Benjamin saw was pulling some sort of wheelless chariot in which the rider was housed. The chariot, for lack of a better word, floated along behind the horse which pulled it; it made no contact with the ground in any way. It appeared to totally defy gravity, using no form of support whatsoever, and its function appeared to be solely to provide this particular rider with a more comfortable trip than his companions.

Greetings, he called out to Benjamin. And welcome at long last, to Life World! Your long awaited arrival has come just as the prophecies have said, in this, our most urgent hour of need.

Benjamin stared at this older man incredulously, noting his attire which appeared to be some sort of futuristic-feudal Japanese mashup, complete with his over the top, imperious manner of speech.

Then, the gentleman stood waiting, as they all did, as if expecting Benjamin to make some grand proclamation. He merely continued to stare, wide-eyed and disbelieving as his overwrought brain strained feverishly to catch up to this new circumstance he found himself thrust into. Then, without warning, his brain failed him, and for the second time in as many hours, everything went black…

CHAPTER TWO - Paradise Lost

Benjamin awoke sometime later-still clearly in this strange new environment. He found himself in a spacious room where he woke on a futon-like bed. The room was very similar to washitu  - a traditional style Japanese bedroom. Past the typical sliding shōji  door was an adjoining larger room; a tokonoma . However, within this somewhat more decorative room was also a space for bathing and toilet facilities. Benjamin sought to avail himself of this room. He audibly groaned as he arose from the futon. Despite the fact that his previous injuries had miraculously healed, the futon still didn’t offer the most comfortable rest. Also within was a suit of clothing similar to the one worn by  the older man who had found him out by the sea, along with a rather ornate nodachi in its sheath. After bathing, he dressed himself in the outfit, since his own street clothing had obviously been removed while he slept. He left the nodachi where it lay.

As he stepped to the door to exit the room, he was met by the older man who had found him on that beach.

Ah, my lord. I see that you have awakened. Good. The queen is anxious to speak with you. I trust you rested well?

Who are you? Benjamin asked, somewhat demandingly. "You keep talking like