As the pink dawn touched the horizon, spreading fingers of flame over the receding night sky, I stretched and winced at my bruises, and turned to check on Caryn.To my shock, Caryn was sitting up in the gloom of the cave, looking very much alert and not at all incapacitated. She said,
"Sorry, love, but I have to keep you with me for a while." With that, Caryn rabbit punched me on the temple, and the world went dark.
When I awoke, it was night again outside the windows, so I had been out of it for some time. "Hang on .. windows?? In a cave??" I sat up warily, shaking off the dizziness that came and went, and looked around.
I was on a bed of some sort, in what looked like a surgery. As I went to swing my legs off the bed, I realised I was securely cuffed hand and foot to it. My heart starting to pound, I wondered where I was and what in the world was happening to me?"That's the last time I play the Good Samaritan game," I thought to myself as the door opened.
A short blonde woman in camouflage gear entered, marching sharply over to the bed and coolly looking me up and down. She didn't say anything, but pressed a button near my head, and the wall behind the bed opened up.
The bed started to move into the wall ...
My bed entered some sort of white tunnel. After a moment I figured it was one of those medical scanning machines. It began to hum and I did my level best not to become a screaming psychomaniac in such a claustrophobic lack of space.
After an interminable time, the humming stopped and my bed moved back out of the wall. The blonde woman had been joined by a darkly complected man in more camouflage gear. Still nobody said anything, but the dark man leaned over and unlocked my handcuffs.
Still silent, the camouflaged pair took one arm each of mine, and marched me through the door into another room, where there were a large number of what seemed to be army issue bunks, most of which obviously held a sleeping person.
I was firmly but gently sat down upon one of the empty bunks, and my feet were shackled again to the bed; however, this time, my hands were left free. Without a word, the two then turned and marched away, leaving the bunk room.
Still somewhat confused and headachey after her blow to the head then waking in such strange surroundings, I decided to rest my weary head and fell asleep.
Dawn came and I woke when the welcome sunlight touched my face.I looked about me and the bunkhouse was empty. I badly needed to go to the toilet, but was still shackled to the bed.
Eventually, just as I thought I was going to have to just let my bladder go, the short blonde strode into the bunkhouse and, avoiding my eyes, unshackled me and led me to the bathroom. I was finally able to go, but was uncomfortable under the blonde's gaze.
"Could you please .. err .. turn away?" I asked.No answer. Oh well. I undid my jeans, sat down and did my business, doing my best not to blush.
As quickly as possible, I was done and washed my hands, whereupon the blonde guard led me outside into the blinding sunlight.
I was taken to a very solid outdoor timber table and bench combination, and was again shackled there. The blonde woman went to a nearby block building and came back with a tray.On the tray were rockmelon, apple and banana all cut up into a fruit salad, a bowl of muesli, and a small jug of milk. There was also a glass of orange juice. I ate and drank it all, realising just how very hungry I was after all that had gone on before. My headache receding, I looked around more attentively.
The grounds of the area I was in were very clean and tidy, with surprisingly attractive clumps of tropical type trees here and there, bordered by oddly colorful plants.There were block buildings here and there, including the bunkhouse building with the medical room I had first woken up in.There was no one to be seen but myself and my silent blonde guard. However, I sensed that there were many people nearby. Definitely too nearby to risk attempting to punch out the blonde guard and unlock my shackles to make a bid for freedom.
I decided to sit this one out as long as I was not physically harmed, and see what opportunities showed themselves to get myself out of wherever I was.
Now that I was finished what was evidently my breakfast, the blonde guard took the tray back to the block building, assumedly a kitchen. She then returned, unshackled me, and, gripping my arm firmly, marched me to a well worn path between the trees.
We emerged from the shadow of the trees into a well sunlit grassy arena, where there was a bunch of sad, defeated looking people in the middle, surrounded by persons of the blonde guard's silent ilk, all in camouflage.
As I watched amazedly, a prisoner was dragged from the bunch and shoved in front of a dominant personage at the edge of the grassy arena. The personage was gowned in a white robe and had a judicious expression on his otherwise noble features.
The prisoner was made to stand in front of the personage, near where I stood with my blonde guard.
The tall personage stared at the prisoner for a while, then turned slowly and picked up a sword from a table nearby.
He swung back to thrust through the prisoner.
Thursday, June 21, 2007
Monday, June 18, 2007
Blood Fairy
An Australian Tale Dark and Dreary
By C. R. Booth
Chapter One
I always enjoyed driving along the Mt Lindesay Highway in the hush of the predawn. The road rumbled quietly along under me while my eyes pierced the calm wisps of fog rising in front of the Commodore. I couldn’t ask for a nicer time to have to drive to work.
A flash of grey registered in the calm hum of my mind, then I became fully alert and aware just as the grille of my car thumped into a big kangaroo, the leader of many stampeding in fear across the road. My forearms bounced off my steering wheel and my car went into a tailspin off the road, spearing me deeply into the bush. I smacked my temple on the side door window hard enough to make me dizzy.My Commodore came to a stop in a slew of dust and grass, just short of a rocky outcrop.
The stars shone down on a suddenly silent scene as the motor cut out.A few minutes later, I had shaken most of the dizziness from my mind and managed to open the door and haul myself out of the car. Groaning quiet invectives at the surly Fates that had placed me in such discomfort, I inspected the damage and concluded I was not going to be back on the road any time soon.
The normal bush noises returned as my dizziness receded.Looking around, there were no lights to be seen. Either there were no homes close by or people were still asleep, so they didn’t have their lights on. I started walking back to where she thought the road was .. it was still dark and hard to see where the trail the car had cut through the bush was.
Suddenly I heard an odd sound, like a whimpering, that did not fit in with the bush noises.
I thought to myself that it sounded perhaps like a hurt wombat, like the one I had rescued from the side of the road and given to the ranger last year. Maybe I hit a wombat? I hoped not.
I started pushing through the bush towards the sound. As my legs pushed my firmly through the tangles, I told myself off for my lack of wisdom in following an unknown sound through the barely starlit darkness. Thinking back to my childhood, I remembered my mother saying "Kat is well named ... she's as curious as a cat. Let's just hope curiosity doesn't kill Kat!" as she pulled me out of one dangerous scrape after another.
Eventually my not so lean jean clad body forced its way through closer to the source of the odd sound. It was still a quiet sound but much clearer and sounded like a fast strong panting with a bit of a panicked whine in it. Maybe something just a bit bigger than a wombat?
I peered around in the moonlight, noting a nearby darker patch that indicated a probable cave mouth, perhaps suitable for a further potholing expedition next time I was out this way. The sound wasn't coming from there however; it was coming from the rocky outcrop that seemed to have bordered all the bush I had trampled through from my car.
I made my way over to the sound, careful not to trip on the bare rocky soil. I could see a dark patch lying on the outcrop with the paler blotch of a face leaping out into my sight, and my mind registered that the so-called hurt animal was in fact a woman.
I fell to my knees and reached out to her. Before I touched her, a massive impact struck my midsection and flung me a couple of metres away from the body.
I looked up, gasping for breath, and saw faintly a savage visage staring at me in the starlight. Suddenly the face turned to the eastern sky, and then turned away hastily and fled soundlessly from the area.
For a few minutes I continued to lie on the ground, gathering my breath and wits, and nursing my skinned elbows and knees. Still gasping a little, I forced myself to my hands and knees and crawled over to the hurt woman. Touching her, I realised the woman was still breathing in that strange hurt whine.
"Are you okay? Can you hear me?" I asked. There was no answer so I turned her over into the recovery position.
Suddenly she opened her eyes and emitted a strange wild hiss. I recoiled in shock, then scolded myself for being so easily spooked and moved back in again, feeling over her for wounds and speaking softly and soothingly, asking where her hurts were.
At first the woman did not reply. I found some serious wounds, mainly on her chest and arms. Obviously she had fought hard whoever had attacked her.
I took my cotton shirt off and ripped it into rough bandages, thanking God that it had been chilly enough for me to decide to wear a singlet over my bra and under my shirt. I bound up the woman's wounds as best as I could, the strangely alert in spite of her hurts eyes tracking me as I worked.
When I had finished binding the worst of the wound, I sat back and felt my own chest. I wouldn't be surprised if the impact from the savage man had not cracked a rib or two, I was still gasping a little and my midsection was sore to the touch.Suddenly the woman spoke, startling me into poking my sore spot harder than I had intended. With a pained grunt, I looked in her direction reproachfully.
"I need to get into shelter," she gasped. Even hurt as she was, her words held a commanding presence and I found myself responding instinctively, looking around for shelter.
"I'm sorry, lady, but I haven't seen any houses hereabouts. If you wait till sunrise, I'll be able to see better and find a house so I can call you an ambulance or something" I replied.
"Get me under shelter NOW!" growled the woman, suddenly menacing, even weak and suffering from blood loss as she must be. I backed up a little, suddenly getting a bit more worried than I already was.
She saw me back up, and suddenly really looked at me.
"I'm sorry. I need to get under cover before sunrise. I am photosensitive and need to stay out of the sunlight. Also, Anton may come back, so we should hide. What is your name?"
"Kat. What's yours?" I replied. After some hesistation, the woman replied.
"My name's Caryn."
I thought for a minute. I sure didn’t want to run into Anton again if that was him who had thrown me. I remembered the cave.
"Caryn, there may be a cave just a bit back down here. How about I help you there? Can you walk?"
"I can walk if you help me, Kat."
I managed to prop Caryn up against my shoulder. As my arm encircled Caryn's waist, I felt an odd shiver run through my body. Putting it down to shock and fatigue, I laboured up the trail to where I had seen the cave. As the sky brightened, I could see it was indeed a cave mouth, and I carefully half walked, half dragged Caryn into its darkness.
The cave was not very big, but had a dog leg turn ending in an alcove that I judged would shelter Caryn from the impending sunrise. Scuffing away the bat poop on the ground with my boot, I laid Caryn gently down. My arm was oddly reluctant to leave Caryn's waist. Perhaps I was tired and slow?
I sat down beside Caryn and waited for the sun to rise.
End of Chapter One.
An Australian Tale Dark and Dreary
By C. R. Booth
Chapter One
I always enjoyed driving along the Mt Lindesay Highway in the hush of the predawn. The road rumbled quietly along under me while my eyes pierced the calm wisps of fog rising in front of the Commodore. I couldn’t ask for a nicer time to have to drive to work.
A flash of grey registered in the calm hum of my mind, then I became fully alert and aware just as the grille of my car thumped into a big kangaroo, the leader of many stampeding in fear across the road. My forearms bounced off my steering wheel and my car went into a tailspin off the road, spearing me deeply into the bush. I smacked my temple on the side door window hard enough to make me dizzy.My Commodore came to a stop in a slew of dust and grass, just short of a rocky outcrop.
The stars shone down on a suddenly silent scene as the motor cut out.A few minutes later, I had shaken most of the dizziness from my mind and managed to open the door and haul myself out of the car. Groaning quiet invectives at the surly Fates that had placed me in such discomfort, I inspected the damage and concluded I was not going to be back on the road any time soon.
The normal bush noises returned as my dizziness receded.Looking around, there were no lights to be seen. Either there were no homes close by or people were still asleep, so they didn’t have their lights on. I started walking back to where she thought the road was .. it was still dark and hard to see where the trail the car had cut through the bush was.
Suddenly I heard an odd sound, like a whimpering, that did not fit in with the bush noises.
I thought to myself that it sounded perhaps like a hurt wombat, like the one I had rescued from the side of the road and given to the ranger last year. Maybe I hit a wombat? I hoped not.
I started pushing through the bush towards the sound. As my legs pushed my firmly through the tangles, I told myself off for my lack of wisdom in following an unknown sound through the barely starlit darkness. Thinking back to my childhood, I remembered my mother saying "Kat is well named ... she's as curious as a cat. Let's just hope curiosity doesn't kill Kat!" as she pulled me out of one dangerous scrape after another.
Eventually my not so lean jean clad body forced its way through closer to the source of the odd sound. It was still a quiet sound but much clearer and sounded like a fast strong panting with a bit of a panicked whine in it. Maybe something just a bit bigger than a wombat?
I peered around in the moonlight, noting a nearby darker patch that indicated a probable cave mouth, perhaps suitable for a further potholing expedition next time I was out this way. The sound wasn't coming from there however; it was coming from the rocky outcrop that seemed to have bordered all the bush I had trampled through from my car.
I made my way over to the sound, careful not to trip on the bare rocky soil. I could see a dark patch lying on the outcrop with the paler blotch of a face leaping out into my sight, and my mind registered that the so-called hurt animal was in fact a woman.
I fell to my knees and reached out to her. Before I touched her, a massive impact struck my midsection and flung me a couple of metres away from the body.
I looked up, gasping for breath, and saw faintly a savage visage staring at me in the starlight. Suddenly the face turned to the eastern sky, and then turned away hastily and fled soundlessly from the area.
For a few minutes I continued to lie on the ground, gathering my breath and wits, and nursing my skinned elbows and knees. Still gasping a little, I forced myself to my hands and knees and crawled over to the hurt woman. Touching her, I realised the woman was still breathing in that strange hurt whine.
"Are you okay? Can you hear me?" I asked. There was no answer so I turned her over into the recovery position.
Suddenly she opened her eyes and emitted a strange wild hiss. I recoiled in shock, then scolded myself for being so easily spooked and moved back in again, feeling over her for wounds and speaking softly and soothingly, asking where her hurts were.
At first the woman did not reply. I found some serious wounds, mainly on her chest and arms. Obviously she had fought hard whoever had attacked her.
I took my cotton shirt off and ripped it into rough bandages, thanking God that it had been chilly enough for me to decide to wear a singlet over my bra and under my shirt. I bound up the woman's wounds as best as I could, the strangely alert in spite of her hurts eyes tracking me as I worked.
When I had finished binding the worst of the wound, I sat back and felt my own chest. I wouldn't be surprised if the impact from the savage man had not cracked a rib or two, I was still gasping a little and my midsection was sore to the touch.Suddenly the woman spoke, startling me into poking my sore spot harder than I had intended. With a pained grunt, I looked in her direction reproachfully.
"I need to get into shelter," she gasped. Even hurt as she was, her words held a commanding presence and I found myself responding instinctively, looking around for shelter.
"I'm sorry, lady, but I haven't seen any houses hereabouts. If you wait till sunrise, I'll be able to see better and find a house so I can call you an ambulance or something" I replied.
"Get me under shelter NOW!" growled the woman, suddenly menacing, even weak and suffering from blood loss as she must be. I backed up a little, suddenly getting a bit more worried than I already was.
She saw me back up, and suddenly really looked at me.
"I'm sorry. I need to get under cover before sunrise. I am photosensitive and need to stay out of the sunlight. Also, Anton may come back, so we should hide. What is your name?"
"Kat. What's yours?" I replied. After some hesistation, the woman replied.
"My name's Caryn."
I thought for a minute. I sure didn’t want to run into Anton again if that was him who had thrown me. I remembered the cave.
"Caryn, there may be a cave just a bit back down here. How about I help you there? Can you walk?"
"I can walk if you help me, Kat."
I managed to prop Caryn up against my shoulder. As my arm encircled Caryn's waist, I felt an odd shiver run through my body. Putting it down to shock and fatigue, I laboured up the trail to where I had seen the cave. As the sky brightened, I could see it was indeed a cave mouth, and I carefully half walked, half dragged Caryn into its darkness.
The cave was not very big, but had a dog leg turn ending in an alcove that I judged would shelter Caryn from the impending sunrise. Scuffing away the bat poop on the ground with my boot, I laid Caryn gently down. My arm was oddly reluctant to leave Caryn's waist. Perhaps I was tired and slow?
I sat down beside Caryn and waited for the sun to rise.
End of Chapter One.
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