NDA Art Critique Message Boards

One night, I attempted to sneak out of the warehouse. Soul had gone to his quarters, and I to I waited for a half hour and then silently stalked towards the main doors.

Earlier that day, Soul had told me about something he was working on. He was attempting to make an upgrade that allows my body to transform and camouflage itself into looking like me. The old me. Normal, old Ace. I was excited, but Soul said that it was still in development and would take months to perfect. I couldn’t wait months to be able to leave the place, so I decided to sneak out.

I inched my way across the cold cement floor. Hopefully, I would make it out and back in without Soul even noticing. I reached the main doors, grabbed the handle with my rectangular fingers, and turned.
“Where do you think you’re going?” Soul’s voice echoed throughout the room. I was so startled that I ripped the door right off its hinges.

“I was… um… going for a walk.” I smiled innocently as Soul came walking towards me from across the floor.

“Is that so? Where were you planning on going?”

“Well… heck, I don’t even know where we are now! I don’t really know where I was going… just a walk.”

“Well…” Soul thought for a minute, “Fine. Use your GPS to get back here, and be back by morning.” He said, walking away. I was surprised at how easily he let me go. I stood there a moment, and then walked out, leaving the broken door leaning against a wall.

I discovered that the warehouse was deep within the Industrial District, surrounded by smoke-stacked factories and power plants. The white concrete building was on the corner of 21st Street and Shamrock Avenue, and I knew that if I followed Shamrock, it would lead me to the Theater district. I decided to go that way.

As I walked down the street, I noticed that there weren’t any people around. It made sense, it was the middle of the night, and not many people like to take a stroll near smog-spilling factories. Still, I was anxious to see other people and how they reacted to me. I kept walking until I started hearing shouting and yelling. I glanced around, but saw no one, so I continued walking, but the sounds kept growing louder.

After a few blocks, I found the source of the screams. Down one of the streets was a man with round glasses and a ripped up business suit. Surrounding him was a small gang of thugs, five of them, and they were pushing the man into each other in a circle. He was shouting and screaming for help.

“Hey! Kid! Help! Call the police!” He shouted to me over the cackling voices of the crooks. I started to walk away when I realized something. What did I have to be afraid of? I wanted to see how people reacted to me, and here was my chance.

I walked towards the gang casually. They seemed too busy to notice me, so I tapped a large guy on the shoulder. He turned around angrily, looked me over, and then laughed.

“Ain’t it a little early for Halloween, kid?” He asked. The gang started laughing and cackling.

“This isn’t a costume.” I said, ready for a fight. “I have to warn you. I have more of a punch in one finger than you do in both your arms.”

“Kid, are you callin’ me weak?” The guy, who I assumed was the leader of the gang, said as the others started cracking their knuckles.

“No, not weak, just weaker than me.” I answered casually. The guy nearly lost it. I expected him to start throwing punches, but he pulled out a 0.9 millimeter from his pocket.. I braced myself as he raised the gun, took aim at my head, and fired.