Is this going to be a superhero themed week by any chance? Or have you just been watching films with the boys and they're inspiring you? :)
Mrs Indestructible "I sort of admire her," said Tomasz after a pause. "She walks into that Temple like she's Mrs Indestructible going shopping." Samual snorted with laughter. "Maybe she knows something we don't? And if we did, I'd be Mr Brick and you'd be Mr Shi-" he stopped mid-word, suddenly realising that he should have put the names the other way round to be sure of not giving offence. Tomasz smiled though. "Yes," he said. "Though that's not how we put it in Polish. What did you find?" Samual showed him: a wooden box, dry and brittle in the oxidizing atmosphere of Carcosa. Holes in it revealed javelins bound with a green fibre. "Weapons cache," said Tomasz. "This has been defended before then." "I wonder why," said Samual. "I mean, it's not like the Witnesses aren't a good defence themselves." "Attackers came from the other side?" They both looked around: behind the Temple the land fell away sharply: not exactly a cliff, but certainly something that would take time and equipment to ascend. To the left and right the land was broken and rocky, nothing men could march across or form up on. "Not easily," said Samual slowly. "Maybe... they came from inside?" "I do not like the idea of that," said Tomasz. His voice was firm, but his eyes were staring at the box of javelins. "I think that perhaps we should inspect these weapons more closely." "...and see if there are any more," said Samual.
Three soldiers approached the crest of a hill, their footsteps slow and their feet dragging now and then again the turned earth. Their faces were white with fatigue, which was turned grey by ash and dirt. Smoke drifted by on the wind, mingling the woody notes of something burning with an onion-like aroma from various plants growing wherever there was greenery and an earthier, less-pleasant smell of latrines. Before they reached the top of the incline the lead soldier held up a hand to signal a halt, and stared at the ground at his feet. The other two relaxed, though from their weary stance this was almost invisible, and pockets were searched again for any cigarettes that might have escaped notice the last eight times. There were still none. "Slady stop," said the lead soldier. Footprints. "Too many, too fresh." "They're looking for us?" "They're looking out for us." Two birds, black silhouettes against the grayish sky, took wing from a tree behind them, and a raucous cheer of caws followed them. "Time for some unplanned R&R," said the lead soldier thoughtfully. "We can report back later." "How much later?" He stretched, his arms out to the side, the vertebrae of his spine crackling with the unaccustomed movement. "A year, maybe two? When this bloody war is over? The choice is yours, zuch."
Greg - wanted something to pair with the previous day's prompt and this was what I ended up with. *shrug*
I'm deeply curious about these soldiers of yours. I hope to find clarity in their story eventually, though I'm certainly in no hurry to get to that point.
This development of a weapons cache that might be meant to defend against attackers from inside... well, hooks upon hooks upon hooks you've sunk into me with this tale.
2 comments:
Is this going to be a superhero themed week by any chance? Or have you just been watching films with the boys and they're inspiring you? :)
Mrs Indestructible
"I sort of admire her," said Tomasz after a pause. "She walks into that Temple like she's Mrs Indestructible going shopping."
Samual snorted with laughter. "Maybe she knows something we don't? And if we did, I'd be Mr Brick and you'd be Mr Shi-" he stopped mid-word, suddenly realising that he should have put the names the other way round to be sure of not giving offence. Tomasz smiled though.
"Yes," he said. "Though that's not how we put it in Polish. What did you find?"
Samual showed him: a wooden box, dry and brittle in the oxidizing atmosphere of Carcosa. Holes in it revealed javelins bound with a green fibre.
"Weapons cache," said Tomasz. "This has been defended before then."
"I wonder why," said Samual. "I mean, it's not like the Witnesses aren't a good defence themselves."
"Attackers came from the other side?" They both looked around: behind the Temple the land fell away sharply: not exactly a cliff, but certainly something that would take time and equipment to ascend. To the left and right the land was broken and rocky, nothing men could march across or form up on.
"Not easily," said Samual slowly. "Maybe... they came from inside?"
"I do not like the idea of that," said Tomasz. His voice was firm, but his eyes were staring at the box of javelins. "I think that perhaps we should inspect these weapons more closely."
"...and see if there are any more," said Samual.
Three soldiers approached the crest of a hill, their footsteps slow and their feet dragging now and then again the turned earth. Their faces were white with fatigue, which was turned grey by ash and dirt. Smoke drifted by on the wind, mingling the woody notes of something burning with an onion-like aroma from various plants growing wherever there was greenery and an earthier, less-pleasant smell of latrines.
Before they reached the top of the incline the lead soldier held up a hand to signal a halt, and stared at the ground at his feet. The other two relaxed, though from their weary stance this was almost invisible, and pockets were searched again for any cigarettes that might have escaped notice the last eight times. There were still none.
"Slady stop," said the lead soldier. Footprints. "Too many, too fresh."
"They're looking for us?"
"They're looking out for us."
Two birds, black silhouettes against the grayish sky, took wing from a tree behind them, and a raucous cheer of caws followed them.
"Time for some unplanned R&R," said the lead soldier thoughtfully. "We can report back later."
"How much later?"
He stretched, his arms out to the side, the vertebrae of his spine crackling with the unaccustomed movement. "A year, maybe two? When this bloody war is over? The choice is yours, zuch."
Greg - wanted something to pair with the previous day's prompt and this was what I ended up with. *shrug*
I'm deeply curious about these soldiers of yours. I hope to find clarity in their story eventually, though I'm certainly in no hurry to get to that point.
This development of a weapons cache that might be meant to defend against attackers from inside... well, hooks upon hooks upon hooks you've sunk into me with this tale.
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