The Collection: 1st Chronicle

By Jonny B. Mitchell

Journey with Kenny Whitley, the Host of The Chaos Soul seed, the mightiest power in the realms wanted by the most darkest entity. He comes to odds with his life changing in an instant and becoming the coming Messiah; all while keeping his friends, his soul, and the world from the Armageddon.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Oct 13, 2020
• ISBN: 9781716509834

Book preview

Jonny B. Mitchell

The Collection: 1st Chronicle

By

Jonny B. Mitchell

To my grandmother, Frances Wright

Chapter One

Lightning broke through a darkened grey sky, illuminating a sea of vines and thorns intertwined with each other on a destroyed rocky terrain. Fire fell off the sides of steep cliffs into the void of an ocean of stars while a large tower dominated the misty horizon. A tall silhouette of a man stood below the midst. In a rapid shake and distant deep gong sounds, wavy rings of light jetted from the center of the battlements with a whisper of a name in the rush of the wind.

Kenneth.

With a small gasp, an average guy of average height opened his eyes to still find himself waiting in a long grocery store line. Impatiently, he tore off a strand of thread from his short-sleeved auburn plaid V-neck, which complemented his khaki shorts, showing off his semi-hairy caramel skin. Dark blue sunglasses rested on the top of his faded black hair. He gripped a box of red wine in one hand and a case of his favorite pumpkin ale in the other. Two guys ahead of him were arguing with the cashier about the price of a reusable bag. Kenny kept checking the many text messages that vibrated in his pocket from his best friend, Shawn Harris, who was out in the car waiting. 

He had been friends with Shawn since birth and they had grown up in the same neighborhood of Miami, Florida. They both had gone to the same schools until high school, when Shawn had gone away to a military academy and Kenny went to a local public school. They were thick as thieves and typically when one was in trouble, the other was right behind him. During college, the two stopped traveling to see each other with Kenny in college in California and Shawn in the Air Force. A year after a huge break up in which he found himself broke and homeless, Shawn, now living in Oakland, invited his best friend to live with him.

He was grateful to have Shawn in his life and had finally approached the teller, who had annoyingly rung up two beverages, giving a half-smile.

Identification, please. She tapped her register and sighed heavily at Kenny’s full million-dollar smile. He fished his driver’s license out his pants pocket and when the cashier examined it, she quickly muttered,

Miami, huh? You don’t look thirty.

Thanks, and I’ll be thirty-one in less than six months. But I love birthdays and always celebrated in South Beach growing up before my family made me reinvent my life and start-

Great. Twenty eighty-three.

Kenny lost his pleasant smile and made a face as he went in his pocket again for a twenty. His text message alert went off again as kept digging for change.

I have eighty cents. He laid the silver change on the counter.

Twenty…eighty…three.

His blood began to simmer but he inhaled deeply.

Just give me the pumpkin ale then.

Identification.

Again?! Forget it.

Frustrated, Kenny dropped the items on the belt and left out the store without thanks; Only the sound of his brown leather sandals flapping away and the beeps of registers behind him.

It was a partly cloudy day as a flock of geese flew over the grassy hills and the wind rippled through the trees and over houses. Downtown stood high over the lake like dwarves hovering over their gold with songs of horns blaring from the freeways that tore in and out of the heart of it with a large billboard that read ‘Inspire Oakland’. Foliage littered the streets while a warm breeze swayed the leaves gently. The path around Lake Merritt was swarming with joggers and walkers alike, lost in their own world of earphone music, while the geese passed overhead swiftly towards the bay in the sparkles of rays from the lake. The grocery store sat at a junction of the lake and the Oakland Museum, with traffic filling up the parking lot.

A white Jetta, which sat in the fire zone, started honking vigorously when he walked out. Shawn had rolled down the passenger side window and had the fakest expression of anger Kenny ever saw. Shawn always wore loose fitted clothing; today was a button-down blue and white Caribbean shirts with the sleeves that came to his elbows. It hung over his fit chocolate smooth chest and his floppy pants showed no sign of rigorous leg crunches. His dark sunglasses were already perched on his face as Kenny got into the car with a huff.

Are we going to go to the liquor store or just sit illegally in the fire zone with that silly look on your face?

Silly? Shawn’s tenor voice muttered softly, Nothing about me is silly. And why the hell are we going to a liquor store when we are sitting in front of…oh I don’t know…a store?

It’s Friday afternoon, your face looks silly and you wouldn’t be asking these questions if you were being helped from an unhappy cashier!

Don’t get smart, Shawn threw the car in gear and huffed at three families crossing in front of them, Not even any vodka, huh?

No and that’s what you get for trying to speed out of here, Kenny chuckled, Are we still going to Richmond to pick up Tonya?

Airhead, she’s getting dropped off at our place, remember? Shawn began driving like a bat out of hell.

"Your place and stop speeding! They give out tickets for that!"

Shawn scoffed as he sped down a busy street, weaving in and out of traffic.

You live there too now, he said once they hit a red light, Stop acting like you’re a nomad and settle into one place.

"And that one place just happens to be your place?"

"Our place."

I just moved in like a week ago-

And that makes it somehow not your place because…?

They began speeding again but Kenny stayed silent.

Hello? Shawn mocked, Caller are you there?

Shut up. Just get me to your house in one piece, please.

Look, Shawn turned on the radio but turned the volume to zero, "That William guy disappeared on you God knows how many times, after everything you gave his sorry ass, with nothing but a pot to piss in. Just vanished! Gone! Bye-bye! And then he yanked the pot from under you too! So, just shut up with correcting me and accept that you have a fuckin’ permanent place to stay."

Shawn spun onto a wraparound Forty-Fourth Street lined with two-story narrow houses and duplexes of different pastel colors and white wired fences, except for the grey abandoned one story at the end of the curve. Pumpkins of scary, sad, and happy faces were carved and lined many porches and manicured lawns. Posters of witches and zombies were taped on windows with black security bars. Rows of redwoods littered with stretched out cotton in its branches lined the edge of the back end of the street to protect from the unsightly view of the freeway. Patches of pine trees welcomed the curve to the intersection of Telegraph Avenue along with a fast-food restaurant and liquor store on the corner.

The two jolted to the end of the street, after the quick pit stop to the liquor store, to a green paneled house with burgundy front steps and onto a white stone driveway with an uncarved pumpkin at the mailbox that sat at the entrance. White painted bars outlined the first-floor windows and the trimming around the second story was a dim looking pearl.

That’s where the car was shut off.

What was the point of turning on the radio?

Get off my nuts, okay? It gives me calm and a sense of control.

Kenny rolled his eyes as he carried the cases of beer and wine but before they had reached the long storm door, it swung open and a short slender woman walked out. Her hair was long, brown and wavy, her eyes were light brown along with her shirtless jumper dress and flip flops.

How the hell did you get in my house? Shawn’s face twisted at the woman as Kenny rolled his eyes behind his friend’s head as he passed to go into the house.

You ask that every time. I’ve been known how to break in for a while now: I just come in through Junior’s back gate then I jimmy your lock to the left with a quick jab up and I’m in. she hugged Kenny, taking a case of beer and waved Shawn away, Hey Ken-doll.

Hey, Tonya.

Tonya Brown-Bolaño was half black and half Mexican but she hated her Mexican side all through high school as she refused to learn Spanish or celebrate the Mexican holidays. The two met in high school once her family relocated from Los Angeles to Miami. After a huge feud that went on until the middle of freshman year, it ended in both being embarrassed in front of the student body.

And then a solid bond was formed. Their fast and close friendship became the envy of the school. They were even voted ‘Most Likely To Remain BFFs’ and rumor floated that Kenny wasn’t gay but was dating Tonya in secret. The two loved to gossip to each other at night about each new rumor they heard, sometimes under the stars at the beach or over the kitchen phone late at night. When one was in the principal’s office, the other was right next to them.

(You two would die on a ship together, wouldn’t you?)

Kenny often would come to her for advice at how to deal with his younger brother, Martin, and his girlfriend issues, so he could seem to be the better brother over their older brother, Malcolm. Tonya too happily helped. She even would stop by once or twice, but her unfiltered mouth would always get her kicked out, although she remained wildly popular with his siblings. Before Kenny came out to his parents at sixteen, Tonya had agreed to pose as his girlfriend, so they had more time to play cards in his room or computer games in the family room. Once he came out, he confessed the lie in front of his overly religious parents who had reacted with extreme anger.

When Shawn first met Tonya in junior year, he summed her up by calling her ‘a firecracker stuffed in a spicy enchilada’ in Spanish but messed up and called her a ‘cookie with fire’. She immediately accepted her cookies were fire and the two clicked. He was instantly in love with her unfiltered attitude because he thought anyone who pushed against society's boundaries deserved his company. Even though high school friendships came and faded or survived the first four years, but not adult life, Tonya and Shawn never faltered away.

They never lost touch and they never stopped being friends together.

Remind me to get a dog, Shawn muttered into a small recorder taken from his back pants pocket, before abruptly stuffing it away and walking in, Where is your friend, speaking of?

Junior said something about meeting us there at the park, Tonya followed the two into the kitchen just down the hall beside the narrow steps, I think he wants to get the decorations set up.

What decorations? We are going to be in the middle of a damn national park. Shawn perched his sunglasses on his bald head revealing his dark brown eyes. He pulled out a cooler from the pantry with an elongated wooden door and passed it to Kenny, who had retrieved two bags of ice from the steel double door fridge. Tonya just shrugged as she leaned against the marble island separating her from the boys and placed the apple-flavored beer in front of her.

"You know Mr. Over-Due-It, its Jerry’s birthday and you know how much he loves celebrations." She had a tired tone in her voice as she opened the bottle on the side of the marble. Shawn had started placing the drinks in the cooler as Kenny poured ice on top.

As much as this one, Shawn motioned his head toward Kenny.

Yes, okay, I love parties and birthdays. It’s the one day a year that’s all about you and the day you became one with the world. Kenny started fantasizing away but was jolted back to reality with a snap of Shawn’s fingers.

Focus! You're spilling the ice!

Shawn, did I ever tell you that you are a gaping asshole? Kenny said coolly.

Don’t forget pig-headed! Tonya chimed in, taking another swig.

And arrogant. Kenny nodded.

Anal retentive.

I do love my anal.

Everyone laughed.

That’s disgusting. Kenny joked as Shawn closed the cooler. The three packed the Jetta with the cooler, a picnic basket of roast beef or turkey sandwiches, and a small folded card table. He toted a small beige satchel that Shawn rolled his eyes at every time he saw it. As the boys made a final run into the house for some blankets, Tonya was calling for them from outside.

Shawn! Kenny! Come look at this!

They had only just got to the opening of the storm door when they saw that a tall black-haired businesswoman jabbing a ‘For Sale’ sign onto the abandoned lawn, overgrown with weeds and crabgrass. She smiled and waved politely.

About goddamn time they are doing something with that house, Shawn said.

Oh! Kenny looked at the time on his cell phone, It's three! We need to leave now! Jerry’ll be at the park in an hour.

And without another word, Shawn pushed him out the house, locked up and they were speeding down the highway, weaving in and out of traffic with the radio on but set to mute. Every once and awhile, Shawn would yell out a curse to another driver, Kenny would scold him, and Tonya would laugh at their quarrel. Minutes later, they were parked next to a black Camaro and had met Teddy and Junior on the outer edge of Redwood National Park in the Oakland Hills.

Junior had put up a large popup tent that had blue and yellow streamers and solar lights in the shapes of suns dangling from the edges and the rims. He had red and black streamers webbing out from the point of the tip to the closest branches of redwood. Suns dangled from a few branches and a Happy Birthday banner hung on a large bush with a small rope. He was on a step ladder, long locks pulled in a ponytail, adjusting streamers on the inside the tent as Teddy was stretched out on a lawn chair, sipping on red wine from a water bottle and sunglasses on.

Hey, guys! Junior beamed as he stepped off and hugged everyone.

You did all this in an hour? Kenny, with his satchel around his waist, placed the cooler under the tent as Shawn unfolded the card table and Tonya sheeted them with the checkered blanket and placed the picnic basket on top.

I took half a day and came straight here.

Poor kids subjected to half of the day of substitutes, Shawn sarcastically muttered.

He has to overdue everything! Teddy stammered.

"Aye! I said the same thing earlier!" Tonya exclaimed.

I do not!

You kind of do, Shawn frowned looking around at everything.

It doesn’t matter, Kenny hugged Teddy, Jerry will love it. Especially the color of our fraternity and the school colors.

Junior smiled and pulled out a deck of cards from his backpack that Teddy was sitting overtop of.

Could you get the chairs for me please, Teddy?

Get your lazy ass up and make yourself useful, you lush. Shawn scoffed at Teddy’s glare but silently wobbled up and staggered to the car. Once they had the chairs set up, Junior set out four decks of thirteen cards face down, leaving no spare cards in the center. Kenny began rummaging in his satchel and counting silently to himself.

What you are looking for in that bag? Teddy hiccupped.

Nothing! Kenny snapped the bag shut and blushed. Shawn rolled his eyes and sat down.

His weed. Are you in this game or not?

Everyone giggled as Kenny blushed when he sat.

Yeah, it is my weed. I was making sure I had everything ready for Jerry, you know.

I don’t care, just light up! And pass it my way when you’re done. Teddy slurred.

Once Jerry gets here.

They began playing a card game called Bullshit, or to Junior who doesn’t cuss, ‘I Doubt It’, to which Shawn declared himself the lead. Everyone immediately began protesting the self-claimed titled, including Teddy, who was lounged on his lawn chair with his water bottle of wine. They voted on Junior being the lead to which Shawn now had a protest. But it fell on deaf ears as Junior began the play amid Shawn’s uproar. He quickly steamed off as his turn came and they played for twenty minutes before a luxury beige Sedan pulled beside Shawn’s Jetta and out popped a dark-haired, perfect smiled guy.

Jerry was dressed as he came straight from work; a three-piece suit, shiny black shoes, and a head full of curly brown hair pulled backward. He wore a tie with a birthday cake of pink frosting and one candle against a powder blue shirt. Kenny met him in a tight hug as he greeted the rest of the group.

Sorry I didn’t have time to change, Jerry quickly began when he saw the puzzled looks, Alice’s nanny was running late, and I had a last-minute client of all days when I had to fire the front desk girl. She was monstrous when it came to her work so it’s no big loss, really.

He sat in Kenny’s open spot as Shawn has remotely opened his trunk for an extra seat stashed away.

We are not here to talk about work, Junior dealt the cards once more, It’s your birthday!

Jerry casually waved him away as he took off his jacket.

Eh, I don’t care too much for this day today. I say we celebrate Kenny’s return!

No, we bought a cake. Shawn sternly implied.

Kenny sat right at his side.

Oh, don’t be such a sour puss. He jokingly mocked, poking his hip repeatedly.

Get away from me.

Sorry, I already sat here and claimed this spot. Kenny winked at a chuckling Junior. When no one was looking, Shawn twisted Kenny’s finger that had been poking him.

For real, I mean we have birthdays every single year. Jerry looked at his cards, What are we playing?

"Bullshit," Kenny answered while shooting a glare to his side.

"The proper name is I Doubt It." Junior cleared his throat at the curse word.

Bullshit. Tonya smiled.

Please stop.

Bullshit. Shawn joined.

Look, guys-

BULL… SHIT! Teddy fell over and began snoring.

Okay, okay you guys, Shawn sighed, Let’s all just leave Mister Do-Good-All-The-Time alone before he starts pouting.

Everyone but Junior snickered.

Okay, Jerry interjected placing his queen down, How about this, we celebrate my birthday today and I will throw a shin-dig for our dear friend’s return to the West.

What the hell did you say? Shawn placed down a king.

A party. Jerry eyed Kenny’s satchel and a huge child-like smile spread, Is that…?

Yes, Kenny smiled and placed down a two of hearts.

Light up! Tonya yelled, We ain’t got all night.

"It’s ‘we don’t have all night’ to be correct." Junior placed down an Ace of Spades to which Tonya gave him the bird. Kenny had used this time to pull out a rainbow pipe with plastic wrap keeping the green plant in the bowl. For this, he moved between Tonya and Jerry while the game continued.

"You always have to be so goddamn literal, don’t you?" Shawn barked softly.

Why are you so morose and use such derogatory language? Junior sighed, We are black men and should be proud of our heritage by not using such foul uneducated language. We are in this country as oppressed-

"Shut the fuck up. Shawn grumpily placed down another king, Oh, my dearest apologies. I’m sorry. Please dear Mister proud black man, shut the fuck up."

You ain’t right. Tonya took a hit and placed down a five of diamonds, "Wait a minute, I’m sorry, it’s ‘you isn’t right’, correct?"

Anyways, Kenny did the same, but he put down a three of spades, So what has been new with everyone since I have been in God’s armpit?

Madison is a team captain on his football team, Junior proudly stated.

Your son’s in high school now, right? Jerry put down an Ace of Hearts to which Junior challenged.

And yes, he’s in the ninth grade.

Damn, time flies.

You see I got the house that someone hasn’t been able to stay out or away from. Shawn wide-eyed Tonya.

Phoebe and I are on the rocks right now. Tonya rebutted as the game ended, Your place is cozier and gayer.

"When aren’t you guys, or girls, guys, girls on the rocks?"

Shut up Shawn. Let’s see you get and keep a relationship first.

"I don’t have time to waste on that bullshit. Ha! See how I did that?"

Alice has started preschool and she loves her new friends. Jerry beamed to Kenny as Junior restarted another game grumpily.

They played for a few more hours, even after the sun went down and the cold settled in. Teddy was passed out on the chair and given a heavy blanket by Junior while Shawn had brought out two portal fire pits that he placed by Junior and another by Jerry. Tonya had brought her fur coat and Kenny had a beanie and sweatshirt stashed in the trunk in a small suitcase. After the card game finally ended, they brought out an ice cream cake from the back of Junior’s car and they all sang Jerry a happy birthday.

The friends enjoyed talking about everything in their own space together. Especially their problems: Tonya voiced her concern with her failing relationship and Junior worried about his evaluation coming up. Shawn was concerned with his job’s drug test from all the weed the three were smoking but was worried about his health. Jerry hated his job and even though he started it, he wanted to be done with it.

Kenny was silent the entire time.

What about you? Junior took a swig of his Angry Orchard.

Oh, Kenny blushed, I have been having this strange feeling and the weirdest dream.

About what? Jerry had packed another bowl.

I am lost in this jungle. It’s not dead but I can tell everything in the jungle is withered. As I proceed through, the vines and brush just become too thick. My hands get cut and pretty soon I’m lost. Then I wake up.

Everyone remained silent now.

I mean, I’ve been having it every night since I got here, and each night is another part of the dream. Like I am watching a daily thriller.

I have a dream book you could read. Shawn said as he opened his Budweiser, It’s in my room on the floor somewhere.

That’s not surprising, Kenny scoffed, You kept your room like that as kids. I remember always hearing your mother yelling-

Thank YOU! Shawn bellowed as laughter ensued, We aren’t talking about me anymore. Tell us why you really left Miami?

Yeah, we don’t believe that bit about your roommate getting a movie deal and you having to move. Weren’t you living with William? Doesn’t your brother own like three houses? Tonya joined.

Willie and I broke up like at the beginning of the year, remember? I was living in Fort Lauderdale. And no, Malcolm owns one house in South Beach that’s his and the other is my parents he bought for them.

Lies. Shawn coughed to which Kenny made a face.

"Fine! I was tired of living and paying rent in that cold lonely apartment that belonged to that cheating bastard!"

There’s the truth. Shawn smiled, Plus your brother has a condo in Palm Beach.

You still haven’t heard from him since the breakup? Junior passed Jerry a beer like his, talking over Shawn purposely.

Kenny shook his head (after shooting Shawn a questionable look) and sighed.

Phone was disconnected, his job said he never came back in, but his family said they had heard from him briefly, but I don’t know. I figured he ran off with the little Spanish tart he left me for.

I can find him. Shawn had pulled out his phone and began dialing.

Stop! No, I don’t care anymore. Let him stay gone for all I care.

Shawn smacked his lips and stuffed it back in his coat pocket.

"If you want to sue, I will work with and for you pro bono." Jerry smiled and patted Kenny’s back.

Thanks, but I truly am over it.

The evening had set well into the eight o’clock hour before they cleaned up and broke down the gathering and parted ways. Jerry headed back to San Francisco while Junior took Tonya home since he had to go that direction to take drunken Teddy to Emeryville. Once Shawn and Kenny made it back, they noticed that the abandoned house had a Sold sign on it but was too tired to care.

Kenny’s room was the only room upstairs with a laundry closet adjacent to his door. The walls were painted a golden yellow color with white trimmings. Short vertical blinds covered both windows in the room. The first looked out toward the hills and the rest of the houses on the street. A double door sat directly to the right as you walked into which Kenny never closed. It was his walk-in closet and every time he walked in the room, he undressed and threw them in the closet anywhere. Another door sat in front of the bed which led to the marble bathroom with a bathtub and standing shower. It too was gold and white.

  He had boxes still packed on top of each other; with a few open ones on top marked ‘Important’, five on the bottom marked ‘Books’, the other few marked ‘Clothes’ or ‘Misc.’. However, there was enough room to maneuver around to the bed by the furthest window. It faced the front yard and the abandoned house across the street had a backyard full of dead leaves. Kenny wondered what the new neighbors would be like and thought he saw someone stirring in the backyard, but he drifted off to sleep.

And the dream began again.

He was dressed in nothing but his Miami Heat pajamas in the middle of a gloomy, foggy jungle that was extremely overgrown with vines and foliage. It was difficult to find the path and after many failed attempts, Kenny gave up and sat against a large root. He buried his head in his hands and groaned loudly when a small sparkling female black-chinned hummingbird with a red tail hovered around his head. After a few swats to shoo her away, she perched right on his knees, ruffled her feathers, and pecked.

Reluctantly, Kenny paid her attention and she happily fluttered off to the right into the jungle. And that’s when he saw the rocky path underneath the brush, and he sprang up to follow it. The hummingbird would constantly come back to Kenny and then fly off in a different direction. He followed the uneven terrain, climbing over roots, pulling tangled vines apart that crumpled at his touch.

The sky was not much brighter than the jungle and there were no stars out. Just a hidden faint light above the cloudy night. Kenny was growing frustrated with the hummingbirds constantly changing directions and just when he was about to protest, he ran into a thick wall of vine. The hummingbird was hovering at the very top and Kenny could see a pulsating light from the other side. But just when he was peeking through the vines to see the light, he was awoken by the beams of morning.

The digital clock that was wedged between the wall and the bed flickered that it was now eight in the morning on a Saturday. Kenny cussed at the sun and them himself for not closing the blinds, but he immediately noticed something out the window. The sold abandoned house was freshly manicured, and a few rose bushes lined the walkway. Flowers of all kinds had sprouted around the entire house and the backyard was free of leaves. The house was painted two shades of orange; peach looking color on the base and auburn on the trimming and designs.

But he didn’t see any sign of someone moved in yet by