Prism System

By George Vaughan

A martial artist... a tour-boat steward... a mosh pit queen... join these young people, and other ordinary New Yorkers, as they make the same-but-different journey through Manhattan's subways in the dead of winter... but, really, just how different are these strangers from each other? Could each of them actually want much the same thing? (Warning: contains mild triggers)

• Language: English
• Publisher: George Vaughan
• Release date: Apr 12, 2020
• ISBN: 9780463072776

George Vaughan

George Vaughan is a lover of all things creative from Tasmania, Australia, who has been writing stories for the last fifteen years. His books will be especially enjoyable for fans of Marcus Sedgewick, Lauren Kate and Laini Taylor.First published in 2013 with Out There On Bruny, a story serialised in a local newspaper, George's first actual book, Through Unseeing Eyes, arrived in 2016 to raise money for the conservation of local birdlife.He loves trying all genres and styles, but especially loves it when people have fun reading the end result!

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PRISM SYSTEM

George Vaughan

Copyright 2020 by George Vaughan

Distributed by Smashwords

Smashwords Edition, License Notes:

Thank you for downloading this eBook. This book may not be redistributed for commercial or noncommercial purposes. If you enjoyed this book, please encourage your friends to download their own copy from their favourite retailer. Thank you for your support.

This is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters and incidents either are a product of the authors imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

Cover design by George Vaughan using template from Postermywall.

Note:

This book would be impossible without various online content creators whose videos have educated me on an interesting, thought provoking world that many of us will never experience. So as not to spoil any of the story to come, I sadly can’t name them here… but love and respect to them all for spreading education and good vibes!

‘Excuse me, man, but could you stop with the humming? Please?’

Just like that, the jovial thoughts in Rory Mullholland’s head were broken. Hah! There he was, back in the real world! Back in the dull cold of that pretty much empty subway car, rhythmically clunking as it swayed from side to side. You almost had to wonder, or at least Rory always did, where the hell the corners on these tracks came from; Manhattan had such a solidly logical layout on the surface, with all those grids of streets and skyscrapers…

Oh, and yeah, there was also this random guy sitting next to him, a young guy with all the aspect of an Ostrich, gripping the handrailing with white knuckles.

Chuckling, uncrossing the mighty arms under his even mightier beard, Rory’s eyes twinkled, as cheerful as his bulk was imposing. Well, you didn’t get to a certain shade of karate belt by the age of twenty-eight without bulking up a little! Muscle and scars, like the one that snaked over his eye…

Anyway! About the humming…

‘Sure thing, dude!’ Rory clapped the younger guy on the shoulder; he looked so down, or maybe nervous about something? Someone ought to cheer him up! ‘Yeah, sure thing…’

Silence fell again, for a moment or two. Another moment or two for Rory to revel in the contentment that she was back! Her… it’d taken so long, but now she was here, back from that inexplicable disappearance with important news, and he had more than a fair idea of what that might mean…

‘You seem happy.’

That was the young guy again, piping up from his huddle of nerves. He sounded like he needed anything, any story, to distract him from whatever was eating at him.

Rory’s story was perfect for now; it had a happy ending! What could be better, at a time like this?

That’s why he craned around, glancing down from his great height, nodding. ‘Well, sure! I’m going to see her again!’

‘Her?’ The young guy winced; why in the world would he cringe like that? Ah well!

‘Sure! And it’s pretty damn awesome, I don’t mind saying! Well, she’s awesome. Ah… gotta love Polly.’ The big guy shifted fully now, heaving himself around in his seat to face his interlocutor. ‘It’s kind of a saga; you have time?’

The young guy shrugged politely. ‘Yeah, man. Until Grand Central, actually.’

‘Same as me! So, anyway… you from round here? You know Central Park well?’

When the answer to that was another of those well-mannered shrugs, Rory continued cheerily, ‘in the summer, a pal of mine runs this karate thing on the playing fields; it’s a good time! They’re pretty much all good folks there, and I rose up the ranks!’

‘Nice.’

‘Yeah! But there’s one kid there I’ve always had this kinda connection with, I guess you could say. Her name’s Polly, just so you know. We’ve got a real friendship, a real one.’

‘Is she a Viking too or something?’

Now that made Rory burst out laughing, rocking back in his seat, because yeah he did look a lot like a Viking! Several passengers not in the conversations’ loop were staring at him now. Never mind! ‘No, no! Polly’s a superhero! Ok, she wishes she was. Karate’s the next best thing, I guess… you kinda remind me of her, dude! She’s a gawky kid too. Always laughs at her own jokes, like she thinks they mightn’t be hilarious enough already! Have you ever heard someone who actually says teehee when laughing?’

‘Nah. Sounds nice, though.’

‘It is! And I never saw anyone before with so little coordination in sparring!’

The memories of all Polly’s greatest hits left Rory just about beside himself with laughter; he only reigned it back in with a lot of difficulty, huffing and puffing like a Bear with a cold. ‘Ah, Polly! I could tell you a hundred stories about her… hey, you see this scar?’

‘Oof! Nasty!’

‘Polly gave me that!’

Not many people would’ve sound as proud of their attacker as Rory was of his, but that wasn’t the point! ‘Remember how I said she has no coordination? Like, look at it this way; that girl’s addicted to strawberry milkshakes, but I never saw anyone