Stromberg

By T.M Sutton

Magnus, a lonely teen lost in the shuffle of ordinary life, finds himself thrown into a world amazing and unbelievable. Learning of family heritage and curses, he is tossed into the world of Stromberg. Beautiful scenery and complete polar opposite of what he knows, this new land holds secrets he never even knew existed. He is accompanied by his newly found girlfriend, helping to track down the reason behind some of the world's major problems as well as the problems existing in his own house. It is a difficult task being that he is a quiet and reclusive type trying to stay out of the spotlight and blend in whenever possible. All of a sudden, being launched into the role of hero has him feeling uneasy and afraid that he won't be able to complete the task at hand. Luckily, he finds help in the best places and people. Can he conquer this quest? Will the world be saved, or will things just continue gray and bleak like he is used to?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Page Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Jan 2, 2020
• ISBN: 9781644621257

Book preview

Chapter 1

Worthless, she mutters as she tosses the local newspaper down at her feet, looking out over the front yard. Beautiful, long, living redwoods look back at her as she sits on the deck and enjoys her morning coffee. Caryn enjoys the vice knowing that it isn’t good for her, but some things are nonnegotiable even with yourself. She closes her eyes to the bright sun peeking out over the mountains, streaming through the trees and takes a deep breath. Caryn loves the feel of nature and couldn’t imagine returning to the bustling, smog-filled world of busy city life. Just like the news in the paper she tossed aside, she had cast that life away as well and returns to her roots. She has been forced to stay among it for far too long. Being back in nature allows her to center herself. She knows something is coming. A major something; she could feel it. Though she strains to see or hear what it is, she couldn’t grasp a hold of it. The vision would come, and she would have to face whatever is to be thrown at her. Until then, all she could do is wait.

Chapter 2

Beep. Beep. Beep. That incessant, annoying clamor. Beep. Beep. Beep. Magnus rolls over. He slams his hand around the nightstand, trying to silence the intrusion with a volley of slaps.

"Grrr."

With the mini war waged and lost, he uncovers his head and takes a blurry look across the table. After finding the source of his aggravation, he silences it. He lays his phone back down on the stand among the detritus that most teenage boys seem to collect: soda and energy drink cans, Hot Pockets wrappers, and a plethora of trash from other miscellaneous snack food remnants. With a stretch and another groan, he thinks about what the day is going to bring. Sometimes it feels like the movie Groundhog Day. The same thing over and over repeating itself until he can almost predict what each minute of the day will bring. He always wishes for something exciting to break up the monotony. He finally decides to drag himself from the warm protection of his bed to face the day. Throwing the covers back, he pushes himself to a sitting position. The chill rocks his feet running like a reverse avalanche all the way up to the top of his head. He shivers and rubs his arms to get rid of the sharp edge of the chill. Winter can be brutal in Connecticut especially when you can’t afford the luxury of the heater running all night long to banish the cold. Finances lessen while needs increase. Life is unfair. The room is cast in a grayness that mimics Magnus’s mood. The winter sun struggles to shine through the clouds that are heavy and dark, full of snow and melancholy. With another quick rub on his arms and an aggressive exhale, he scampers to the bathroom to relieve a bladder full from his mini hibernation. He has been sleeping more and more lately. The winter along with life circumstances bring gloom throughout him. Finishing up in the bathroom, he returns to his bedroom. A normal teen room that looks as if a bomb comprised of dirty laundry, comic books, video games, music, and other random objects has exploded leaving no surface untouched. He digs through a pile of clothes sniffing each article to see if it meets his standard of clean to be wearable for the day. He settles on jeans, a T-shirt with Deadpool emblazoned on the front and his favorite, warmest hoodie. He pulls on two pairs of socks and his trusty Chuck Taylors. Not the best for snow but all he has. Comfortable and worn in. He would probably wear them even if money isn’t in short supply. He doesn’t complain though because he understands that it isn’t a choice but a situation that can’t be helped.

After he finishes getting dressed, he returns to the bathroom. He takes a look in the mirror and assesses the condition of his dirty blond hair sticking up in random directions. He splashes a little bit of water on the unruly strands trying to tame them, but they pop back up. With a shrug, he brushes his teeth then takes a minute or two looking in the mirror at his tired gray eyes and the small red dots that will soon be acne appearing. Grumbling his teenage angst, he walks in to the kitchen to greet his mother.

Lauralynn sat at the small kitchen table looking out the window while sipping her tea. Her blond hair piled high on top of her head. The clip holding her hair is losing the struggle, and a few strands have dropped down to frame her face. Her blue eyes are dreamy and unfocused staring out into the morning. She appears to be off in another place not connected to the hustle and bustle of the little rural Connecticut town they call home.

Morning, Mom, Magnus says as he walks into the kitchen.

Morning, hon, she replies instantly coming out of the fugue she is in.

An immediate sparkle comes to her eyes, and a smile breaks her lips when seeing her son. He is the light of her life and center of her universe. The smile camouflages the pain she has from knowing that her husband will not see the man their son is becoming. The absence of her husband and father to her son is a ghost in the house that neither liked to speak about but whose presence is always there, dangling in front of them, swinging slowly, like a pendulum.

Any special plans at school today? she asked, hoping the small talk would coax her son out of his shell and the morning depression.

Nah. Same ol’ same ol’ today.

Well how about breakfast to get you started at least?

No thanks, Mom. I’m just gonna grab something to go.

Magnus grabbed a Dr Pepper from the fridge and a foil pack of Pop-Tarts from the cupboard. With a quick peck on the forehead for his mom, he then grabs his backpack, beanie, and gloves, and heads out into the snow for his journey to school.

Sometimes, to take his mind off things, he imagines he is the character he created in World of Warcraft battling a mass of enemies to level up his character. Today he couldn’t keep his mind off his life though. He appreciated his mom trying to take care of him, but he didn’t like her doing it. First of all, he is a man. He is sixteen, which basically made him an adult who didn’t need his mommy caring for him constantly or doting on him like a child. Secondly, and more importantly, his mom had taken ill, and the smile she always gave him did not completely mask the pain and misery she went through on a daily basis. She had been to numerous doctors, and none had been able to deliver relief or answers of any kind. Frustrated and heartbroken, they both fought through and carried the burdens they bore. He should be taking care of her, not the other way around. He thought of dropping out of school to do just that, but she wouldn’t hear of it.

His father had walked out without a second look back. When the times got tough, the tough got going right out the door. Even tougher now that her health is failing, and she is unable to work. Luckily, he had left a savings account, but it is meager at best. Social services helped fill the gap but doing so cut a hole in his mother’s pride by having to get help from the state. Magnus pulled his hoodie up tighter around his shoulders and tugged the strings to fight the biting cold as he finished the walk to school. He decided to stop thinking about everything and focus on school, leaving the other thoughts where they belonged—at home.

Chapter 3

Magnus approaches school. The high school looms over him just like the morning has. An older building, rumored to be the old prison converted, has a flag pole and a marquee out front. The marquee boasts home games for the football team and cheerleading pep rallies. Meadowridge High is well known for putting sports above education bringing all the jocks out to attend. Unfortunately, such is small town living. It felt as though the whole town had been in a time warp that never moved forward into the future staying stuck in the good old days. He longed for some of the new technology or even seminew technology to appear in this school. If nothing else, he would like to feel like they are on the same level as the rest of the world and not stuck in the late eighties or early nineties. He felt like his high school life is a bad movie from those time periods. He has never