The exercise:
Write four lines of prose about: the hearing test.
Another (cold) day in the books. Next four days off, and then the final run of four commences. Very much looking forward to doing something else for a while.
They were doing hearing tests this morning (the crew has to do one annually because so many of them work with loud machinery) and I (eventually) opted to join in. It's been a long time since my last one, so I was feeling a bit nervous.
Turns out my hearing is pretty much perfect and that I did the best on the test of everybody who did it this morning.
Must remember to rub that in their faces next week...
Mine:
"Did you hear that?"
"Knock it off, Derek."
"Come on, I'm just trying to make sure your hearing is okay after the accident!"
"Your accident... and if you set off one more firework in my office I'm going to fire you."
4 comments:
Less than a week to go! I can understand how you're feeling a little checked out right now :) And well done on the hearing test; I definitely think you should wander around next week saying "Huh?" a lot and holding your hand by your ear. It's what the crew would expect ;-)
Hmm, fireworks in the office sound entertaining, I shall have to look into this. I think it might have been easier to do in Malta though, oddly enough. Still, I like this pair, they're giving me ideas. More please!
The hearing test
"Is... is this a hospital?"
"Yes, you failed the hearing test."
"Do... do people always end up in hospital when they fail the hearing test, boss?"
"Most of them end up in the morgue, Jim, since you're supposed to hear the guns firing and get out of the way."
Re-posted because I screwed up.
So, I initially misread the prompt and didn't see that it was for four lines. Here's my four-liner:
The Hearing Test
“Unfit for duty,” the sterile sheet of paper said, red ink mocking Jeremy.
He stuffed it into his pants pocket, and left the recruiter’s office, hands balled into fists.
There was a war on, for fuck’s sake, and he knew he didn’t need ears to fly.
He also knew where to get a second-hand starfighter, and where Dad kept his credit chip.
---
And my lengthy one:
The Hearing Test (Nathan and Clyde 2) 1/2
Clyde haphazardly flung salt around us in an approximation of a circle, spoke a word in Gaelic, or whatever it was that he thought sounded powerful, and I felt a pressure around us as the circle sprung to life, containing the magic energy in the air around us. It was weaker than it could have been, given that the circle was less than perfect. The energy around us sputtered like a chainsaw that was low on gas, and shimmers of iridescent color flashed here and there as energy bled through the barrier. But it held.
With a crow of triumph, he clapped me on the back, hard enough to drive me forward a step. I rebounded off the unseen barrier, and scowled. “Careful, Clyde!”
He gave me a sheepish look. “Sorry, Nathan.” He brightened again, almost instantly. “It’s just, this is the first time I’ve gotten a quick salt circle to hold.”
And it was a damn good thing he did, too. Before I could express my concern that it may, in fact, not hold much longer, a horde of tiny, leathery-brown creatures, each roughly the size of a kitten, swarmed us from everywhere and nowhere. They had large, solid black eyes, like soulless pits, small, puckered mouths, and legs similar to a frog’s, made for leaping. And they leapt repeatedly at the wavering energy barrier, blue and white sparks glancing off wherever they made contact. Nothing they did, not even striking the barrier, made any sound. All we could hear around us was a deep rumble, as if the earth under our feet was disturbed by our presence.
“Try to get another door open,” I said, “I’m going to feel around.”
I closed my eyes, hoping the swarm of hell-frogs wouldn’t break the circle, and tried to focus on the swirling magical forces outside of the circle. It’s hard to do from inside a circle, and any good one can shut you off entirely from outside forces, but a random flailing of salt in a circle-like shape didn’t make for a “good” one. With a little effort, picturing myself atomizing and sailing through the barrier, I was able to bypass it and let the magical atmosphere into my senses.
It was different than magic I was used to sensing; deeper, older. Hostile, but not necessarily sinister – more like a feral cat than a fighting dog. It was an aura of savage, untamed survival above all else, and I felt a stirring deep in my bones to touch it. Nothing existed around me except the vortex of untapped power, waiting for a strong enough hand to shape it. It was warm, primal. The feeling of leading a wolfpack, or soaring above mountains on my own powerful wings. The surge of pride and might of the apex hunter, and it was all for me.
The Hearing Test (Nathan and Clyde 2) 2/2
Clyde struck me again, with his improvised staff. His eyes were wide with worry and panic. “Get it together, boss! Don’t let it pull you.”
I felt dazed, fuzzy. I remembered something about flying, teeth, some kind of wild arrogance. I shivered. “Thanks, man.”
Before I could reorient myself completely, a hard rumble shook the ground around us. The throng of hell-frogs scattered. As the last of them scampered off, the magic energy of the salt-circle flickered, and fizzled out. The smell of charred ozone hung where it had been, even as the hot, jagged winds of this place picked back up around us.
Clyde made a whimpering sound, scooting a little closer to me. “No circle, boss. No door. What now?”
In the distance, the cavorting figures that we had seen before entering the portal were making like the hell-frogs, and fleeing from our sight. Another rumble kicked up, making us stumble. I slipped in some of the salt and barely kept from busting my ass.
A feeling of brute hunger, deeper than physical, washed over me, and the memory of the power in the air came flooding back. But this wasn’t the same – this was directed at me from something else. Something that thought I smelled delicious, and wanted me to know that.
The ground started quaking steadily, and a short, intense, bellow threatened to make my skull explode. It sounded like a grouchy volcano waking up too early from a nap.
I grabbed Clyde by the wrist and ran, dragging him behind me until he gained his feet. He panted behind me, his breath laced with a faint, but audible, panic-whine.
“Where are we going?!”
“Does it matter?” I snapped back. “We can’t stay in the open. C’mon!”
I extended my senses as I ran, not enough to lose focus on running, just enough to feel for other creatures around us. Everything I could touch was fleeing, and faster than us. That meant we would surely be the top choice at the buffet today. Gulp.
Clyde stiffened his legs, pulling both of us to a stop. Through his panting, he was studying my face, puzzled and worried.
“What the hell, Nathan?” He wheezed between the words.
“What the hell, what?” I growled back, pulling against him to resume running. “We have to get the fuck out of here, man! Or do you want some mega-demon to swallow us whole?”
Clyde tugged his wrist free of my grip, rubbing it, still giving me an odd look.
“Boss, what are you talking about? You just started charging off like a spooked rabbit.” He gave a perfunctory look around, but his worry seemed to be entirely for me.
I gaped at him. “The big roar, the shaking ground! Clyde, what’s with you?”
Clyde blinked at me, his breathing less erratic now. “Yeah, the ground shook – it’s been doing that since we got here.”
He cocked his head, as if listening hard. “But what roar?”
Greg - hah, yes, that would be a good way to make sure they remember the results of the test :)
And I like this pair as well, so hopefully they shall become regulars!
Yes, I could see how that hearing test would be a little more... urgent than the one I did. Nice take on the prompt :)
Kyle - no worries on the misread! I like your four line version a whole lot, there's a lot of story (and potential for more story) packed into it.
And I'm glad you also shared your longer take on the prompt, especially because it continues your previous tale. Some neat details in here, and you've kept the atmosphere intense but also intriguing. Nice work!
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