DormNes
Proton
- Joined
- Feb 5, 2024
- Messages
- 105
- Nebulae
- 86
Long After the Storm Passed...
???
"FOR EARTH, YESTERDAY, TODAY AND TOMORROW!" - Vincent Wesley
___________________________________________________________________________________
_____From darkness to a faint light, he jolted and moved his weary head around, scanning the cave's walls and entrance, before relaxing and laying against the rocks, his ragged breathing slowed and steadied. He re-focused himself and listened to the slow beeping of the gun waiting nearby and the dripping of whatever fluid had condensed onto the roof of his campsite. Fingers tapped onto a pad on the back of the palm of the other hand and a struggling electrical bell followed by a glitched robotic voice spoke "T- the time is nnnnnnnn-now f-f-f-f-f-f-ti-tim-four fourty-six-x..x... A.M." He slumped back even further and rubbed his eyes. He pulled down his beanie, trying to keep his ears warm, and then looked over outside. The swirling blue and pink gasses surrounding bright stars and a haze of purple molecular clouds in the foreground of an endless black void only broken up by further islands that could be barely made out by the eye of any creature that happen to gaze upon it. Including his... His brain fizzed and popped and brought the thought to the forefront... "How'd I even get 'ere."
_____Before he looked at the strange old sentry gun he had found as he explored the islands, it was once a vibrant military green and had become a rusted dull color in due time. It was now his protector from the dangers of the world as he slept in one of it's crannies. The beeping was almost soothing as he dips into the darkness for the moment and then back to the cave, he turned his head back over to a single fleshy stalk illuminating the other side along with an assortment of a large camping bag with various field packs attached to it and a few guns, and a long since died out ash pile sat next to the plant light... He rubbed his stomach, feeling the plate over his abdomen, the thought of the headcrab dinner coming back to him as barely filling the pit as he noshed on it hours ago. His head dropped back as he went back into the black before popping his head up again. He could barely keep his eyes open... And the longer he kept them open, the worse off he would be later on. "'hough..." He thought to himself "I'm prettah accustomed tah long ones at dis point..." He paused and stopped talking to himself, calling it a bad habit before laying his head back onto the rolled up camping bag, deciding it was better to not try to make one when the short ones are the way they are already. As he drifted off to sleep and the cave disappeared from his mind, he wondered what he did to deserve this, to how he got to where he was. To who he was then to who he is now.
Long Before the Storm...
Prologue
"I don't think I've ever, truly taken a break." - Alvise Loredan
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
_____The horizon glows a bright orange as the sun begins to set over the desert of Three Points, Arizona, the sky is mixes of reds, yellows and purples. The clouds are colored the same beautiful orange as the sky line and looks down at the sand dotted with scrubs and cacti... And in a few moments, the peace is disrupted by the shifting of the sand and shaking of the ground, as it happens, a man perks up his eyes and pulls up his straw cowboy hat from over his vision to look out over the land. He took a deep breath, mentally preparing himself for the possible incoming danger. Hard hands grasped the reliable yet scuffed and battered pump shotgun as he stood up from his lawn chair, he looked down at the ground as he heard a clatter, seeing that he had hit a beer bottle that he left there with his old work boots by accident, he kicked it again so it rolled to the side of the space.
_____He moved to look down from over the wood railing at the ground, scanning for spots where sinking sand may appear. He stared at the metal fence running along the perimeter of his home, checking for any holes that may have been made, but the fine sound of tic-tic-tick put his mind at ease. Looking back at over the desert, the rumbling still hadn't stopped and his ears weren't picking up where it was coming from specifically. Turning around to face the large farmhouse long in the distance, it's length marked by growing wheat and barley fields going further and further down, and around the house was various barns and silos and some more recent styled buildings, some held cows, some held food or water, and others were made for milking.
_____Turning to his left and spotting in the corner of the space, the 12-pack box of Dos Equis beer, though now down to 5 along with a few miscellaneous bottles of unknown origins. He put his hand on his face, pulling it down across his face and then letting go, he put out a short breath and started walking over to the corner of the watchtower, the floor creaked as he put his weight on one of the weaker boards, setting down his shotgun next to the box, he grabbed a bottle from within and popped off its cap by placing the rim of the bottle on the railing and slamming the palm of his hand down on it. As the concentrated air left the bottle, the boy looked back down at the large glass jug, a potent smell coming from it, and a foggy clear liquid was in there. He had been refusing it, wanting to keep his wits about him and leaving it for a celebration... hopefully after they figure out how to fix this mess. The shotgun clacked as it picked back up from its position leaning on the railing, he shifted back over to look over the sandy flatlands, trying again to find where the possibly non-existent rumbling was coming from.
_____Grabbing a pair of binoculars hung from the rafters, he began scanning the skyline for rustling or any figures juxtaposed against the sun which was very nearly settled. Seeing only some faint dog-like figures running along and then disappearing into the dust and every so often a small tree or a large cactus, his eyes remained on the horizon but a lean, strong arm reached over for a tin can hung up on the roof supports, a thick string with bells going down the line was connected to the can, it jangle as he brought it down to ear level. He shook the can a few times to send some vibrations down the line. The string ran like a telephone line on wood poles to the leftmost watchtower, as did one to the rightmost tower. Along with one long line from the leftmost tower down to the rightmost tower. The cowboy awaited a voice from the other end, still scanning and still seeing nothing out of the ordinary, and then a deep muffled voice with a southern texture reverberated in the can "Whuhdayah want Neil? I'm tryuna rest up till supper time comes." Neil swigged down some of the beer and licked his lips to wet his whistle "You're always sleepin'... Listen, do yah feel aknee termahs on your end. Cuz I'm feelin' dah shakes from 'ere but I don't see nuttin'." For a moment, nothing came from the can, the cowboy made a face as he waited for his brother to answer his question, he perked up his ear for any chittering...
Still nothing...
_____He focused back his hearing to the inside of the can- Suddenly, his vision trailed off to something in the distance, some werid shape coming closer and closer. It had horns, or antlers but whatever it was, it was coming fast.... The binoculars were tossed aside and Neil flicked on his flashlight, he turned it over to the creature closing in... As it shone over its ochre orange and bright white fur, he lowered his shotgun to see a male pronghorn all on its lonesome. It looked up at Neil with its dark eyes in a dull stare as the farm boy huffed and looked over at the other can leading to the rightmost tower. The bells jingled and jangled, waiting for an answer, Neil spoke in it "Whuh?" And from the can came a muffled young lady with a twang in her voice, it taunted him "Hehe, whuh? Scared of a pronghorn lil' man?" Neil retorted back to the voice in a mocking tone "Whole lotta' lip comin' from a namby-pamby like you..." and she came back at him with "Not my fault youse 'bout as green as dat shirt you wear or dah fields out dhere."
_____Neil looked down at his flannel shirt and then back up to see the Pronghorn running off, yet the rumblings still continued and he focused back on that. He talked into the can "Whatevah... Hey listen up real quick, have yah been feelin' any of dah grounds shakin'? Cuz I've been feelin' dis real low quakin' in dah area and it hasn't left since dah sun began settin'." and the can talked back "Can't say I have... You been sleepin' well? Maybe you jus' need sum rest kid." He picked at his big bottom lip before speaking back "I sleep jus' like a babe, Sass. Y'know I keep tah muh regiment." and all he got back was "Shure, peanut, jus' stop worryin' so much, yah know dhey don't like tah come out at nahight. Maw should be bringin' supper out soon so maybe dat'll calm your nerves. But trust me, no bugs are gonna be tryin' tah get in, I promise." Neil let out a huff and said back "Shure... if I don't tawlk tah yah latah, sleep tight 'kay?" and his sister's muffled voice spoke "You too lil' man."
_____Hanging back up the empty bean can onto the rafter, he positioned himself over by the left phone can and shook the line again. Awaiting the answer, he looked out at the sky as it fell into darkness, and so did the world. The line rattled and caught his attention, the deeper voice spoke again, more groggy than it was before. "Turn on yahr lights first before you ask me anythang boah." and Neil agreed reluctantly "'Kay." before mumbling about punching his lights out, Neil took his flashlight from off the railing and shifted over to the right corner, he found the latch and pulled the trapdoor up, he set his shotgun aside as he began his descent. Sliding down the aluminum ladder, he stopped on the third rail and got off, now Neil could feel the ground rumbling, the ground shifting somewhere outwards past the fence, he hesitated for a moment, before turning the bright beacon shone from his light onto a generator with a few fuel cans surrounding it, and walked over to find the fuel valve, he set down the flashlight to be able to see what he was doing, he found and flipped the valve, turning it on and then brought his hand over the choke, bringing it all the way to the other end. He then grabbed the pull cord and struck and ripped it away, trying to get the generator to start.
_____Eventually, it began to vibrate and growl that grew louder as Neil took it off choke, and travelling through the extension cords, 4 spotlights on all corners of the watchtower's roof lit up along with a singular light hung from the ceiling. Neil grabbed his light and scurried back up the ladder, not wishing to stay on the ground any longer than he has to. Slamming down the trapdoor and looking out at the other watchtowers as they each lit up one by one, Neil leaned down on the rough wood railing, putting his head into his arms for a moment and then pointing his head up, looking out at the land that was only ever so brightened before being enveloped by darkness.
____Picking back up his head, he took out a carton of cigarettes from the left pocket of his dirty and bug blood stained jeans, and a BIC lighter from it's right pocket. He stuck the white death stick between his lips and brought the lighter to the front, he cupped his hand around the top of the lighter and started hitting the red striker till a flame was lit and the end of the cigarette started to turn to ash on its tip. The lighter was tucked back into the old pair of pants and the cigarette was moved off to the left side of his mouth with a bright glow emanating from it as he sucked on ash for a moment before releasing out the smoke out the other side of his mouth. He reached for the can and shook it, its bells jangle though a little less excitedly than the last few times, he grabbed his binoculars and looked out into the darkness, letting out another puff as he felt the next tremor come and pass.
____The bells jingled... Neil grabbed the can and brought it to his mouth "Well?" and all he heard was "I felt it too." and as soon as he did, the can dropped and he gripped the scratched wood of the pump and grip of his gun. He pulled the can back and said "Whereja feel it!?" and his brother just said "Outsahde dah perimeter, all ovah dah place. Jus'- jus' be ready for anythan' kid..." Neil set the can and wrapped the string around the rafter, he went over to a small cardboard box in the opposite corner of the trapdoor, and opened it to grab out his "armor." A strange harness made out of car straps holding cast-iron pans, 2 large ones going down the chest and stomach and 4 small ones covering the back and regardless, taking off his raggedy overshirt, he slipped on his homemade armor, not wishing to go out there again just to lose months inside the house doing nothing after getting slashed and stabbed by those monsters. Rushing over to the railing, he turned on his flashlight, pointing it around to pierce the darkness like a bullet going through flesh, and the sand... was falling into holes, and was only becoming ever larger.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
*~~|~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~'~~*~~*~~*~~|~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~'
*~~|~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~'~~*~~*~~*~~|~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~'
____He screamed out "BUGS! WE GOT BUGS! BIG BUGS!!!" As the first bug left it's hole, a shot in the dark from the right was sent through it's head and it slumped down. Five came out following the one, more shots, Neil kept his flashlight over the bugs, his siblings wouldn't be able to see them otherwise. His brother howled out "NEIL, SHINE YOUR LIGHT OVAH ON MAH END!", Neil's beacon flew over to the left, and the light shined off the carapaces of about ten or more antlions, a second light joined his, and his brother bellowed out "FOCUS ON KATE, I CAN HANDLE DIS!", the light moved across to the right, finding another eight big bugs making their way to the fence, once Kate got sight of the creatures, she began to swiftly take out one after another. She looked over at Neil and yelled out "DON'T WORRY 'BOUT ME, 'LIL MAN, YOU GOT YAHR OWN TAH TAKE CARE OF!" Then it hit Neil that there were a lot more on his end than on theirs. He tossed his flashlight aside and whipped out his shotgun, steading his aim onto the inky darkness, chewing on his cigarette, awaiting the creatures who only want to tear into his flesh and ravage the rest.
____Their sharp chitin stabbed into the sand as they began to rush towards the middle tower, some slammed their bodies against the metal fence, the wires holding their bodies to the fence, the heat burning their flesh to the metal, and their innards melting almost instantly as the insanely high voltages flowed through them, others were shot mid-flight as they jumped above the fence and attempted to glide their way into the space, but regardless, they wouldn't stop coming. And for every single one that fell, it felt like another three would take their place, it was more than Neil had ever seen or fought before and yet he kept sending shot after shot. It felt as if for every buckshot loaded into the magazine tube, another was leaving the barrel, it didn't matter how many he shot, for another had to be loaded. Grabbing box after box after box, always in need of more and that more was running thinner and thinner.
____Till, for a moment, things slowed. Neil was able to catch a glimpse at his siblings, still relentlessly fighting, but unable to push back the horde, something had to change else they were just gonna keep fighting till they ran out of ammo. He took a sip out of his bottle for his parched throat before pausing, his eyes following down to the box in the corner and the sound of the generator burning deep into his ears. Wrapping his gun's sling over his shoulder, he rushed over to the beer box and counted how many he had, regardless, one was more than enough to him, ripping the box away from its position, and rushing down the ladder, almost falling every other step, he made his way to the generator.
____He started emptying out the bottles of their light orange fuzzy drink, busting off their caps through sheer will and a little liquid fear, not that it was unjustified as time was beginning to run short, the antlion call to arms was very well known to him at this point and the loud pitter-patter of big bug legs getting closer were not helping for his stress. Once all were emptied, he grabbed a gas can and start splashing its contents into the bottles, a lot on the ground, a lot in the bottles and a little on himself. Each were filled and soon Neil saw the next wave approaching, he turned around, his gun straight into his arms and pointed at the sandbugs, he had to defend the bottles, and from the pockets of his pants to the bodies of his enemies, that's what he did. Many flew over past the fence, over Neil and turning around to get him, the one that got the closest after the others had managed to wear him down and came at him with one strike, a long deep mark down on his chest pan, another strike, moved out of the way and his cigarette on the ground, a third one attempted before a barrel came under it's neck and tore through the flesh keeping the body and head connected till it was no more.
____A sigh of relief turned strain, the bugs were still growing in number, he had to make them now before any more jumped the fence. all he needed now as cloth... He looked down at his ratty overshirt, grabbing at it, tearing it apart and off of his body turning them into rags, and dousing them in gasoline for a quicker burn and finally one stuffed for all 5 bottles. Each one were put back into their case, he slinged his shotgun over his shoulder once more and pulled out his BIC lighter, if there was ever a light needed, it was now. He looked for the door in the gate, it was quite hard to see with all the gored bodies still clinging to the fence but there it was, it was like a large chunk out of the fence had been taken out and then instead of adding more chainlink, they just created a frame out of it and slammed a fence door there. At least they knew not to put wires along the door and electrify anyone who touched it. Out the door and into the desert, his siblings were barely holding them off at this point, more and more close calls, more and more jumps, more and more swipes... He pulled out his shotgun and ran into the middle of the fight and let out a shot into the sky, he made many screeches and screams before caterwauling out...
"COME GIT SUM YOU STUPID BUGS SONS OF BITCHES!"
*~~|~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~'~~*~~*~~*~~|~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~'
*~~'~~*~~~*~~<^#^#^>~~*~~*~~*~~|~~*~~*<^#^#^>~*~~*~~'~~|<^#^#^>~~*
____The many bugs making up this creepy-crawly army turned their heads as the stamping of feet, loud bangs and a screaming head sounded off, a fine target to take. Neil slung his shotgun as the antlions charged them, their bodies became blurs of creams, reds, oranges, and yellows, their loud collective stomps filled his ears. He took out his first bottle and tucked the case under his arm, he brought his lighter to the soaked rag, he looked behind himself at the pitch darkness and walked backwards as the antlions came closer. Flick, flick, flick, and a thoomph as the shirt sleeve began to curl dark, the antlions were on Neil's toes at this point and the more he walked back, the less he was sure of where to plant his feet, he needed light but his family were still busy with the lingering antlions, and there was only one way to make it. He threw the first bottle hard into the face of a bug with it's body raised up and it's smaller claws ready to strike down at Neil's head, it broke over it's hard carapace, almost like a small explosion and the lit gas spread over the other antlions, lighting them up, and as they screamed and threw their bodies around in pain, they began trying to crawl over others or under or pushing them out of the way, spreading it to them.
____Neil looked behind himself, the fire lighting up the world behind him the flames spread, he saw the antlions' burrows and skirted around them, avoiding them like those tire practices you see in the military but instead of going in the holes, it's on their edges. While he passed through, the lit antlions fell in their holes, while the not-on-fire antlions jumped over the holes, separating them out those on fire, not that the gas was being spread much further anyway. Neil got ready for another bottle throw, a bright light washed over him and the antlions from the rightmost tower, Kate was fine, had to keep going, Neil lit up the rag and looked for a good candidate to carry his flame, one of the sandbugs jumped up as if it was raising his hand to answer a question, Neil chucked it straight at it as it began to fly at him, contact, then a break, then the gas lit up, and washed over the front lines of the antlions, the one flying at Neil dropped like a ton of bricks and started writhing in pain, and the others followed soon after, at least 3 rows had been caught up in the gas' spread and it was almost like a line in the sand, a fire wall of antlion corpses that the others kept running through and lighting themselves ablaze too.
____The others wisened up to the wall and began jumping over, though Neil had made sure to make some distance between him and the bugs, a good couple of feet out, past some cactus and trees, the guard towers were beginning to become an outline in the distance. Then the leftmost tower lit up, pointing at Neil. That was Baylor. The amount of hardened bug drones were dwindling, he may actually get out of this, he thought, shots sounded off in the distance from the towers, taking some from the back line while the farmboy lined up his next mollie, he looked at the scattered antlions, he looked for the bigger group, till he looked at his left and saw how close that the big ones had gotten to him, a large poke into his stomach was what he got as he turned to throw, the pan had a long massive dent into it and Neil himself got sent flying back, his person scraped against rock and sand, the bottle flung out of his hand and near some antlions, taking them with it. The case of bottles knocked clear from under his armpit and off to the side, though his gun was still on his back, he stopped after hitting a dead shrub with his back, he looked up to the running antlion and pulled the blackened scratched metal and chipped wood accessories from off himself and sent the bug careering back with it's head blown open.
____He looked over to the side at the box, it wasn't on fire, but god only knew if it's contents had spilled. More antlions came his way, he rushed to his feet, grabbing the shrub to help himself up, planting his feet like roots and sending out buckshot like it was his seeds, and he started planting them into the antlions like they were the earth that would grow a buckshot tree from their corpses. Managing to make his way to the beer case, peering inside to see at least one of the bottles had been preserved in the case while the other fell out of the cardboard holding and spilled the gasoline all over the side of the box. Hands turned to fists as he looked at the last few groups of Antlions, an irrational anger even for someone whose dealt with these creatures for months, his face turned a deep red, as he grabbed the bottle and ran silently over to the bugs, as he neared, he began shouting so long you could feel his vocal cords straining and snapping, trying to get the remainings' attention, he rushed past them as they followed, like a horrible parade, soon, the last of the packs had regrouped and they were all on him, he was rushing back for the compound, the other towers started to send whatever they had left into taking down as many of the bugs off of Neil as they could.
____Managing to make it past the burrows and burnt corpses, and the shot-deads, his voice was creaking and the taste of blood was in his mouth as he reached the fence, he turned around to face the antlions. There was a good 4 feet away from him thanks to his siblings, the back of his head and body's hair stuck up like spikes, attracted to the dangerous high voltage, it was always scary to even get 2 feet near this thing, yet here he was, as close as he ever gotten, on mounds of corpses. And 20 or so antlions charging him, he tossed the bottle over the crowd, it dropped onto the head of one them, glass shattering and falling off of the antlion while the gas exploded out from the middle to the outer rims of antlions and coated all those in between, it was a giant mass of screeching tortured alien bugs tearing at each other to make it stop, spreading the pain further amongst each other till all burned.... The orange glow fell over his face and the pungent smell of dead corpses passed through his nostrils but all he could do is hold his shotgun till the fire died and to ensure that the raid was finally over...
*~~'~~*~~~*~~<^#^#^>~~*~~*~~*~~|~~*~~*<^#^#^>~*~~*~~'~~|<^#^#^>~~*
me no like-y dah background for this but its literally the only instrumental verison of this that wasn't ai or some shit
⬆□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□⬆□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□⬆
me no like-y dah background for this but its literally the only instrumental verison of this that wasn't ai or some shit
⬆□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□⬆□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□⬆
____As the blaze turned to embers, and whatever warm air was left turned cold, the farmhand dragged himself back to his watchtower, muscles strained and ached climbing the ladder, shutting the trapdoor ever so slowly to avoid hearing a loud bang as his ears were still ringing from the screams of the antlions, he dropped his empty gun to the floor, it made a few clicks and clacks as it fell onto the wood boards. The cans shook from either side, calling for him, instead the ruined haphazard vest dropped to the floor, and he slumped into the plastic lawn-chair. He grabbed the sides of the chair and bounced forwards towards the railing, once he was there, he reached over for one can and then the other and just said simply in a strained voice "Heeeyy..." his ears were flooded by southern concern talking over each other, "Hellfire boah, you got 'em go- Youse alright peanut!- We's gotta make moah of d- I saw yah git hit a few times, you bleedin'?-" Deep breaths, deep, deep breaths and then he spoke over them, mustering what he could as he rasped and squeaked "I- I'm fine! Gimme a frickin' break... I'm alright, I-" He pulled up his shirt to reveal a massive deep purple bruise over his stomach to go along with his various thick scars along his body from many close calls, "I'ms dandy, it's jus' a bruise, but othah dhan dat I'm alright.", the right can spoke "Yah shure? You ain't feelin' odd at all?" and the other can followed "Yeeh, kid, yah shure?", Neil leaned back in the chair. "Jus' see if supper's ready for me, and uh... please grab me anuttah case of beer if you can... dhank you." The left can bellowed "Alright buttercup... anythan' for you. Heh... Well, Sissy, you can handle dah beer right?" and the right can let out a hmph and went "Whahevah." The cans were let go and they dropped and clanged on the floor.
____Neil tossed his head back, staring up at the handcrafted wood ceiling, surprised that it came out as well as it did, his gaze moved onto the single lightbulb hanging by a wire, a slight buzz or maybe that just the lack of noise creating a noise in his head to hear... He wasn't very sure. He rubbed his tired eyes and looked over at the sleeping bag to his left along with the discarded and not-so discarded boxes of buckshots in the corner behind the bag. He looked away and sighed, his face was squeezed as he put his hand over his stomach or at least tried as he had to pull it away as soon as it began to sting like he had been stabbed. All he could do is wince in his monobloc and wait for his dinner...
____Thoughts drifted off from food and onto where he was at... at this current point in his life, in his time, in what he's doing with it... It had been... months at this point of day in, day out, at this watchtower killing bugs, hoping it would be enough to make them leave but they haven't, they grew in numbers... He looked down at the burnt corpses below, yeah... grew in numbers for sure. And that wasn't even the tip, the portals delivering the werid eyes, the squid creatures, the red headed devils, gigantic stampeding mouths just to name a few... And the landscape being ravaged, not being able to see it under the cloak of night but knowing there was those strange quarantined lands out there though he didn't know what was actually out there but it had to be bad. He wasn't sure for how much longer he could take of this. How much more he was willing to stand to live his life up in this tower, defending this farm, but he felt wrong... Wrong to say that, that he didn't want to defend his home and family anymore... just such a bitter taste left in his mouth.
____He kicked up his feet onto the railing, but as he tried to set them down, his stomach felt like a thousand needles had been put into his skin all at the same time, he dropped his legs down and screamed out in pain, a reflex of jumping off and holding his stomach, curling up in pain on the floor. Seething, muttering curses and apologies under the same breath, shaking his head as the pain finally subsided, he stayed on the floor for a few more minutes before picking himself back up, he held himself up on the railing, breathing in... breathing out... rhythmically, staring out into the world always out of reach, always near his grasp... His gaze was kept on the starry night till a bang hit the trapdoor and this sweet aged yet firm voice emitted from underneath asking "Shug... you mind openin' up? Supper's gettin' cold dah longah you wait."
____Dragging his feet against the hard wood and struggled to bend over to pick up the door, just bending his body hurt his stomach, he winced as he let the lady in. Her hand held completely straight as she climbed into the space, her brown with strays of grey hair tied neatly into a bun, a beige button up neatly pressed, blue khakis held tight by a belt, a pair of new looking boots, and a warm gentle face with a button nose and hard staring eyes that almost melt away as she looked at Neil, she put down the bowl onto the seat of the chair and took off her mitt so she could feel her son's face with her own hand, she pushed back his long ginger hair and said "You really needa hair cut boah... you-" She stopped herself before licking her thumb and rubbing some alien blood off of his cheek, she wiped her spittle on her light blue jacket and asked "I heard you got hit hard out dere... Are yah feelin' alright peanut?" He shrugged and leaned on the railing, his body convulsing very slightly as he brought his body into an arch, he tried to not make a face as he looked back out into a bright blue star filled sky. His mom made a face as her son put on a strong front for no reason. "Where'd you git hurt dis time?" He looked over at her, eyebrows twitched and his lip quiver ever so slightly "I dunna know whadja mean Maw... I'm all fine n' dandy." He shifted his weight and leaned against the pole behind him just so he was facing her proper, his face betrayed his facade as he scrunched and winced, and she took well enough notice.
____Looking down at the floor till she found her pans in a some sort of harness, with large dents and scratches, she looked back up at him "Whudidja do tah my pans!" Neil looked down at the harness and back up at her, his not-so-tanned skin turned a bright red, "I- I, they ain'tchu pans I promise Maw! I- it's dah pans I asked yah tah git whens you went out last time!" She just looked at him werid before shaking her head and asked "Shugs, didja git hurt in the front or dah back." Neil squirmed for a few seconds before relenting, he unbuttoned his green flannel and pulled up his black undershirt to showed the massive bruise, yellowed and layered over that with purple and brown over the entirety of his stomach, he cringed as he did, another thousand daggers filled his stomach as he revealed it.
____Maw moved in closer to look at the damage, she didn't even try to touch it, she just followed the outline with her eyes before looking up at Neil, "Whydja take dis long tah tell me?" he just quietly said "I didn't want yah tah worry. It's only a bruise, it'll git bettah on it's own. Yah always git all... 'I gots tah make shure you're okay, jus' sit down for a whole week, I'll take care of yah.' when somebody's just even slightly hurt. Trust me, I'll be fine, I don'ts plan on doin' dat again." She held his face, running her thumb across his cheek, "Do you wan' an ice pack at deh very least?", Neil held the hand on his face before gently grabbing it and giving it back, he weakly said "Fine..." his head was brought down by her hand and she left a kiss on his forehead, she then pulled back and said "Jus' make shure tah eat your stew before it gets cold 'kay, I'll be back."
____As she turned, he immediately started to wipe his forehead off from the kiss, she turned back to look at him, he dropped his hand down, she gave him a look before going back down the ladder. Neil moved over to say "And tell Kate to hurry up wit' my beer! Please." and he got back "Shure, hun." and she got a "Dhanks!" The door closed back down and he was once again alone with his thoughts, he looked down at the bowl in his chair, the once steaming hot stew was now lukewarm, at least he didn't have to blow on it anymore. He sat back down in the plastic seat, the bowl in his lap and the mitt planted against one of the chair's legs, picking at boiled potatoes, carrots, peppers, beans and sitting alongside a white meat lined and sprinkled with a deep set orange resembling almost lobster but not quite. Scooping up some, he brought it to his lips and sipped a bit of the broth before putting the spoon into his mouth and out. Still wasn't used to the taste or the texture of the bug meat but it went fine with the vegetables that surrounded it, at least it was chewable.
____The irony was not lost upon him, he thought about how they wanted to eat him, but here he was eating them. At least there was some solace in that, still, the tedium... the monotony... not even the life-threatening situation broke it up, in fact it was apart of it. The first few times, it was scary, then it was thrilling, then it was grating and now indifference. He looked back at the sleeping bag, eyeing a Nature magazine that was poking out from under the covers, it's face was covered by large winding mountains with snow sprinkled over them, hard winds had picked them up and left a white fog over the landscape... he looked back over to the void of the flatlands though only for a moment, his mind strained at its sight, it had been the same sight since... his entire life and it would be till the end of time to him. He felt the food in his mouth was a fine mush and swallowed, and then took another spoonful and wandered his mind back onto the train of thought... He looked down at his gun, he felt like he had handled that thing for so long that it had become so familiar yet so alien to him, that it was never meant to be held as long as he had put his hands around it, yet it was the same it had always have been.
____It felt... inhuman to be this way, like a machine, doing the same things all day everyday, that he was but a tool like a tractor or the pasteurizers, just doing the same task that they were built for... but he wasn't made for this, was he? Was he a machine made for watching out on a land that he felt constrained him more than it freed him, it was a desert, you can't get more uninterrupted out here than that, and it was to do what? Learn about it's land, cultivate something? No, it was to point and shoot and kill then you just... go back to your business and wait for the next bug to pop out of the ground... Just protect and protect and protect... till there's nothing to protect no more and what is he left with, a scarred and torn up body? A business that more than likely won't even be his? That this is his family's land? He scratched his chest, the same feeling of bitterness... but... all he could think was that... he didn't want to be a machine... waiting to shoot something that may or may not come... putting his life on the line to protect something he didn't really know what it would be by the end, of if there was an end.
⬆□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□⬆□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□⬆
Last edited:
Reactions:
List
