The Ordinary Dead

The Damsel In Distress

This book has been completed at roughly 66k words.

In case you have a slight interest, I'm starting a new series called Praecantrix.
Very Latin based. New ideas. Check it out.
Please.

*****
"I myself am made entirely of flaws, stitched together with good intentions."

-Augusten Burroughs, Magical Thinking: True Stories.

*****

Kyran stood outside of the room, and his heart beat like a bird's wings. His posture was limp, but he straightened himself up before he took a deep breath in, and placed his hand on the cool metal of the handle. Through the small window on the door, he could see the columns of desks, each with people behind, as if it were an average, everyday office. He pulled the door open, and walked into the room. Suddenly, an overwhelming urge came over him, and he found himself wanting to run away. It was the first job he'd ever taken, and this job wasn't exactly going to be the easiest for him. He strolled slowly from the door towards a touch screen computer so that he could sign himself in, and entered his name, and date of birth.

"Kyran DeNash," He murmured to himself as he typed with a single finger. "14/08/1997."

The screen flashed to a simple grey background with white text: 'PLEASE TAKE A SEAT AND WAIT UNTIL CALLED OVER'

Kyran sat down softly onto a turquoise leather chair in the designated area. It was warm from where someone had sat in it before, but nevertheless comfortable. He never paid much attention to colour or design - but the colour of the room stood out to him. It was a lime green, with turquoise seats and green foot stalls. Considering the job he was about to undertake - he would have thought it should have been different shades of red and black, or at least something a little less friendly than a lime green. The room smelled faintly of cheap perfume, sweat and faintly of cleaning solutions. He could barely hear himself think over the sounds of chatter and phones ringing, but still sat down thinking about the colour scheme, and how they could have chosen something to fit the job he was about to take a bit more.

He stared at the colours as they mixed into one, and glanced every so often at the clock on the wall to his right. He was pulled out of his thoughts by a small voice shouting out his name. "Kyran DeNash?"

He stood up, and found a pretty blonde woman, who wore what looked like an air hostess's uniform, waving her hand and smiling at him. She was holding a clip board in one of her hands with names scrawled on it, and with a closer look, Kyran saw his own name written in calligraphic writing. The uniform was also different shades of green and a light blue, to match the theme of the room, and he couldn't help but think that he should really suggest a change of theme.

He brushed off his shirt and jeans in an attempt to make himself look a little bit more presentable. He smiled, and held his hand out to the woman, who shook it firmly. Her soft skin made her seem a little nicer to Kyran, but he couldn't help but feel a little bit embarrassed at having hands that were a little bit sweaty. She let go of his hand, smiling brightly still, and toppled over to her desk on her high heels. It seemed like she couldn't really walk in them well, as if nobody had taught her, or if in fact she was a little bit drunk.

 "If you'd take a seat," She gestured towards the seat in front of her, walking around to the opposite side of the desk, and sitting poised at her computer. "I'll just type in your name, have a look at your assignment, and print it off for you." She beamed, starting to type on the keyboard.