Ywrighting: TCT

Showing posts with label TCT. Show all posts

Field of the town

The field connecting the two towns together was in an Autumn rush. Scarcely, could one see the oily green hidden in between the golden yellow, not to mention the fiery red fruits that hung low in the bush.

The country road that ran all the way straight, mountain after mountain, was waiting eagerly for its usual customers--travelers that went all the way from the west to the east, through the almost forgotten passage.

Carriages with two horses trod the path unhurriedly; while cabins with four horses, or sometimes up to eight with firm muscles, ran along with haste.

Dust was dancing in the dry air, under each step of a horse.

The riders, mostly dressed in their casual shorts, would envy the vast field at first sight, but as the journey continued, they would soon lose interest in the wild untamed nature, and return to their never ceasing chatters.

Hurricane Poker Night

Ali and three other friends seated in the center of the room, with the windows closed and the fire burning, Light was off because of suspended electricity supply in extreme weather condition. So the candles in reserve were lit around the Ali’s tiny apartment. The sound of rain hitting on the glass and the charcoal bumping in the fireplace and the occasional distant thunder clashing, made it the perfect night to Poker.

Poker is better with friends. Erik, Steve and Dean sat quietly in their seats, waiting for Ali to make his move. The candle flame flickered on the middle of the table, their shadows cast on the wall distorted and struggled, but soon returned to its true host. Ali invited the three loners over to his place because he knew they would be doing nothing on their own anyway.

Ali rubbed his cards and at once raised five bucks with a smirk at Erik. The round proceeded as the rest called to the five dollars, The fourth card was shown, a demanding bloody heart Queen. They checked their cards together. Steve rubbed his stub and let out a tiresome groan while the others remained silence. Ali sipped from the Whiskey bottle, and checked.

The other two complied except Erik who apparently not in his right mind, raised another five bucks, even when his facial expression and body language displayed his frustration in plain sight. Others gladly followed for but remain skeptical.

The fifth card was dealt and a mad black club Ace was shown.

“Come on,” sighed Dean. “This is bullshit.”

“Chill out there, cowboy, what have you got.” asked Ali.

“None of your fucking business is what I've got.” said Dean.

“Fine.”

Steve checked the hand and so did the others.

Ali came up with a pair of Ace, Erik a pair of Queen, Steve a two pairs of Queen and Two, and Dean got nothing much than an Ace High.

Steve hugged his victory chips and pushed them toward his own stash.

“Damn it, you are a real cunning one you know that. Why aren't you going to the undercover and let me be the detective?” remarked Dean.

“It’s just me, or is there something buzzing in the room?” laughed Steve.

Erik picked up the cards and shuffled them in silence. Ali stood up and checked the fireplace.

“Are you guys warm enough?” said Ali.

“It’s all good here.”

Ali poked the charcoal with a crumpled and twisted newspaper and sent it to the heart. He returned to his seat and offered the fellows a refill.

Steve shook his head. “Nah, another few fingers of that and I am going to lose all my baby chips.”

Ali poured the Whiskey into Erik and Dean’s cup, and gave them some more ice into the mix.

“So, Dean, two weeks and you will be in the deep, right?” Erik eyed him.

“Like I said, none of your fucking business either. Captain Reynolds.” Dean swallowed a finger of whiskey with the ice lingering in his mouth.

“Hey, all right, into your character already, I like that.” commented Erik.

“Just deal the hand.”

Erik flipped the cards in his hand and shuffled twice more.

The new hands wasn't any better to Dean, a pair of Two.

Ali got an Eight with the bloody heart Queen haunting him.

Erik peeked at his hands, a Diamond Knight and a Three.

A pair of Ace grinned at Steve.

Steve checked his hands and the other called to the blind of two bucks.

The Flop consisted of a pair of Three and a Seven.

Steve, Dean and Ali checked again, only Erik raised three bucks for his hand. They called.

The Turn turned out to be a Two.

Steve again, held his ground. Dean raised two bucks and Ali called but Erik raised another three bucks. Steve called, Dean called, Ali Folded.

“Damn son, seriously, this is the worst hand tonight.” cried Ali, and he moved away to the the windows looking out at the city’s scattered candle lights.

Erik flipped out the River, a classic Ace.

The three of them smiled at their cards. Steve raised ten bucks and Dean added another ten, Erik and Steve called.

Just as they were about to show their hands, Ali opened the window and a gust of wind rushed through the room, the burning charcoal jumped everywhere and the cards on the table flowed on the floor. Ali quickly banged close the window.

“Damn it, Ali. What the hell do you think you are doing?” barked Dean.

“Yeah, what the hell is that about?” said Steve.

“Nothing, just taking some fresh air.” Ali walked to the fireplace and fixed the charcoal back to their position.

The three of them picked up the cards and the four of them seated down once again for the game.

Falling Latex

In came the Wolf, Sonny Valens, with his partner in crime, Robin Tick, also known as the Eagle. For the duo, it was just killing with improvisation, which excited them because of the random factor involved in one murder. Together, they committed and achieved many gruesome crimes in the city, where as the most memorable and recent one for the public being the ‘Falling Latex’ job.

It was the golden age of criminal activities, as once again the government was in partial shutdown. The countdown began for both parties and senselessly argument guaranteed till the ends meet. Before it was resolved, though, it was the killing season.

They received the job from a subcontractor in the middle of a national crisis, meaning they would never have to deal with the person they were working for directly, nor verbally, because only then would the timid people be bold enough to make the call.

The objective was simple, eliminate the target by any means necessary, and retrieve the parcel.

Crouching in position from a rooftop adjacent to ‘The Mercil Building’, Robin spotted the target approaching the lifting helicopter clumsily with a heavy black luggage through an extended military binoculars.

“Wolf, this is Eagle. Player is running with the ball. Repeat, Interception in TEN.”

“Eagle, sky is blue and ballpark’s clear, fire away.”

Robin swapped to the sniper rifle with a silencer attached. He steadied the beast on the platform and peered through the glass with his finger rested on the trigger. As the target walked into the shooting range, Robin gradually adjusted his breathing, and took the shot aiming for the big, fat , oily neck. Profit.

The bullet pierce straight through common carotid artery and there was nothing to do about it except letting the blood gone wild on the concret. Exactly ten seconds. Sonny jumped out under the helipad on the left and flanked the pilot with a silenced pistol at close range before he could realize what happened. One of the benefit about not having the security to mess around, Sonny thought.

“Parcel retrieved, beginning extraction.”

Robin on the other side had already packed up after the shot was fired, and sky dived to an entrance of the city’s most notorious underpass as soon as he received the signal. Sonny, however, thought of something else.

He took the few bottles of yellow latex paint under the helipad where he once stayed hidden, and poured over the dead man’s body. He then kicked him off the roof, and down the yellow latex man went. The remaining paint was also downed dry after the guy. What people walking on the pavement witnessed was the most horrific mixture of the most gruesome yellow and red. As if they were real art. Some of the paint stuck on the wall and a few stripes of nonconsecutive line formed a pattern resembling the game of Tetris.

After the session of inspirational art, Sonny took off from the helicopter, where the seat was full of the pilot’s blood, and parachuted to the rendezvous point before crashing the bird into the ocean from 3,000 feet.

Bat Me

I had never swung a bat at people. Until now.

A baseball bat wasn't that heavy, but the swing from a powerful arm could deliver a devastating blow. Imagine you were hit by a bat swung for home run, do you get the idea? Good. Now, if the baseball bat was the only thing available to you as a weapon other than your fearless fists, would you not use that? I know I would, and I was.

My folks introduced me to baseball back in the days when I was still a 6th grader, I was in the little league all right, swinging the bat and running the base, an all around. When I was born, I remember we used to like the Yankees and watched their games together and enjoyed it, then somehow years later we were on the Red Sox's stadium cheering for their opponent instead. The sweating crowd and the soda that never run dry was the best I could recall. Bearded men shouting and yelling, too.

Something stirred down stairs and I woke up to the sound of it. Someone had broken into my house. I rolled to the edge of the bed and carefully stood up, not wanting to alert the thief of my presence. Slowly I walked to the stairs and peeked down and listened, the steps of that person, although very light, still distinguishable. The sound was coming my way. I quickly retreated to the guest room, emptied except the baseball bat leaning against the wall under the windows. I grabbed its cold metal handle and felt the grip from years ago still lingering in my hands, the moon shone on the bat and the shadow extended to the door. A human figure with a bat in hand. Pure evil.

Whoever intruded my place, would taste a heavy beating of a life time.

The stairs started to creak, I knew it was coming my way so I stood at the darker corner of the room, where no moon was lighting, only the shadow's passenger awaited. I took a good hold on the bat, as soon as anything poked into this room, I would smash it hard, like a home run to the center of the earth.

The silence went on for a while, the electric wave piercing my ear kept my alert. Sweat ran down my naked shoulder and soaked by my sleeveless shirt, my nose itching. A rumbling noise came from my bedroom, drawers pulled, wardrobe cleared, desktop swiped. I stuck on the wall and listened to every bit of noise made next door.

The steps coming my way. I held on tight to the baseball bat, it might be my only chance to get out of here alive. I knew I should have bought a piece when I moved to this neighborhood, but damn, I thought I would be safe with all the patrol details out there.

The light went on outside as I saw a familiar shadows.

Needs to Remember [Mike VS Jasper]

They robbed a local bank on impulse, but the money were gone with Mike after things went south when a cop showed up unexpectedly during their escape. There was no plan B.

"Where is the money, Mike. We don't have to do this. Hell, I don't want to do this to you buddy," Jasper pushed the gun harder against Mike's temple, "Just tell me where the money is and this will all be over." Jasper hit Mike in the face with the back of the gun. Mike's face was already covered in blood. "I knew you had the money when the manager packed them full in the bag." Jasper said. "Please Mike, where did you put them when we ran our separate way? I trusted you man." Jasper paced around the chair.

The manager didn't care if they took all the money, the insurance company would cover for it. Jasper was on crowd control, but since the bank was deserted at the afternoon, there was only a guard, two staffs and a manager. Mike knocked out the guard first and they did not see the three had any suspicious movement trying to call for help. The cops shouldn't be there at that time.

"Come on Mikey, is this worth it?"
Mike spat blood from his mouth, his eyes closed, his breathing steady, his head nodding slightly.

When Mike signaled Jasper that it was time to go, they busted out the heavy glass door and went straight for their drive away vehicle, a black SUV. A cop shouted at them as they were approaching the car, they froze for a second there looking at the cop, and ran their separate way. The cop fired a shot but they were out of the street corner.

"What happened when we separated Mike? Tell me, please." Jasper begged him.
Mike stopped jerking back and forth.

Jasper ran along the blocks and hijacked a black sedan, he drove around town searching Mike for a while but decided it was too dangerous cruising in a stolen vehicle. He ditched the sedan at a car park and changed his clothes and carried the bag to the warehouse. The police cruisers were everywhere. He tried to call Mike. Mike was already there. Jasper pinned him down and tied him to a chair afterward. Jasper interrogated Mike.

"Why are you doing this to me Mike?" Jasper walked in circles. "I thought we had a deal."

A can smashed the window and landed near Jasper. Flash, he was blinded. Boom, ringing in his ear. Then he heard shouting from every direction. He was forced to face the ground and cuffed.
He saw the police was releasing Mike from the chain.
"Are you okay, sir? I am sorry we hadn't arrived earlier." A police said.

And Jasper realized.
"You are a rat? You are a rat, you are a fracking rat!"
"Sorry, buddy."

[Again, something similar to Quentin Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs]

Jessie and James were en route to the rescue. They were merely three minute apart at the current speed. James shifted 'Unic0rn' twelve degree right and set up the shield, loaded the weapon. They were ready to fence off the pirate.

Ken was pushing the throttle hard while trying to dodge the pirate's bullet storm. 'Nex0n' swayed in the space hopelessly, waiting for rescue.

Alex sneaked around hoping to find his EMP without luck. He figured if he stayed any longer, the pirate might have a greater chance recognizing him. He had to leave it behind. He doubled back to his ship and initiated the starting sequence yet again.

As 'Unic0rn' and 'Nex0n' crossed path at the three minute window, Jessie already took down two of the pirate jet from a far using the tracking missile. The third one were supposed to be down too but for some reason it didn't.
Jessie flew past Ken and tried to gun down the last pirate jet.
"Damn, this is a slippery one." Jessie said.
"I hate the slippery one." James commented.
"Exactly." Jessie grinned.
Jessie held tight on the control, each burst of bullet went right into the deep space, they were spinning and circling and trying to take out each other. From Ken's cockpit view, he only saw two jet flying in circle shooting at each other as if showing off their skills in piloting. It was more a showoff than showdown.

Alex ignited the Hawk and flew toward where the pirate jets went with the radar temporarily down. He was about thirty seconds away from the light show and identified the 'Unic0rn' immediately because of it's vibrant color on the hatch. He tried the comm.

Jessie lost her grip on the control while trying to follow the sudden jerk back of the enemy when she heard Alex's voice cracked from the comm, and the pirate ship seized the gap to fire at 'Unic0rn'. It was hit slightly in both the engine and the wing though the ship was still intact and under control. She executed series of evasive moves and fell back into the loop.

Alex got closer and tried the comm again. "Jessie, are you there?"
"Hey Alex, we are sure as hell glad to hear from you. I am busy shooting this old fox down, can you help?"
"Yeah, I need you to break away when I say the word okay? I will shoot it down for ya."

"Break, Break, Break."
'Unic0rn' fell out of the ring and sped away, at the same time Alex fired rounds of bullet at the pirate ship and broke down the circus dance.
The damage caused an explosion and they thought it was over. Another explosion came and released a blue aura from the ship's wreckage and reached the Hawks.
"Oh no you don't." Jessie sighed.

The ship Alex just blew up carried the EMP from his Hawk, and by that they were immobilized in the pirate territory for exactly ten minutes.
Their ship drifted in the air. They saw each other through the cockpit window when they almost ran into a collision path.

SEE YOU SPACE PIRATE...

Space Pirate [Part 3 of 4]

Alex was asleep in a filthy room chained to a pillar by a rusty cuff when he heard the sound of an explosion, he saw the guards rushed out at once when the alarm went off.
He slowly crouched down and shifted his body so that he could grab the wire inside his belt. He had been carrying it for years in case of something like this happened. Swiftly he poked the wire into the lock with a few twists and released himself from the restraint. The door was unlocked. He kept his head low while running toward the landing pad where he and his ship were captured, hoping that he could return home safe. The alarm going back and forth in the corridor, Alex wondered maybe the pirate tried to fly his ship and mistakenly fired a missile at their own ship.
He hadn't met a soul during the escape, when he reached his destination, there was no guard either. He climbed back onto his ship and initiated the starting sequence. He checked the weapon system and found all were intact except the EMP. He restarted the scan and was given the same result. He rolled back to the weapon storage and found the slot supposed to be equipped with EMP was now empty.
"Damn pirates." Alex cursed.

What he need to do before leaving was obvious --- find the missing EMP and bring it home.

Jumping down the ship, he was confronted with a pirate facing back to him. He sneaked up and took him down by suffocation before anything else. He dragged the guy into a vent after he wear the pirate's clothes.
He went with the blinking light and soon arrived at a Hangar full of pirates. Roaming around with a bunch of scumbag was not an easy task, though everyone ignored him as he walked by. Alex felt uncanny. He overheard people talking about a loose fish and a great salvage. He assumed the great salvage was the EMP, but what was with a loose fish, were they talking about him? He saw a crane arm floated in the space and the capital ship was moving around, did someone escaped?
Someone in front of the crowd spoke "Fellas, we will not let them get away, we will chase them down and crush them, right?" The guy pointed out at the empty space.
"Yes, crush 'em!" Everyone shouted.
Three small jet ejected from the hangar bay as they chanted, Alex saw a small object not far away flying on the same path. Whoever they were, they were not going to make it out alive.

Unless.

Located on the edge of the galaxy, Faro is filled with a belt of space debris and enormous asteroids, which provided the perfect hideout for any criminal outlaws who enjoy privacy and liberty.

Jessie was roaming in her 'Unic0rn', Class A Hawk fighter jet, near Faro searching for the recently missing identical model. Reports indicated the aircraft last appeared on Faro and was likely to be captured by the pirate and possibly had already been salvaged into pieces as a warning for the Acting Galactic Government regarding the asteroid dusting project. She thought she should at least poke around before giving up the jet which sparked up an argument between her and the co-pilot.

"Just because central had lost connection with Alex doesn't mean he's captured." She said with frustration to James.

"But it's likely. Haven't you heard about what the pirates are capable of? They sunk ships. And jet won't drop the connection in this sector, right? At least we are still connected now." James said.

"Whatever, I am not giving up on Alex." Jessie said.

"Just be careful Jess, if they do have Alex, they might already have the EMP all figured out and I don't want to be any part of their experiment on our most advanced weapon."

"Don't worry, I will protect us, and Alex."

"I hope you know what you are doing, Jessie, I hope it will be worth the risk."

"What do you mean worth it? Saving Alex doesn't mean anything you? He's our friend, James, how could you say something like that."

"I just don't want us to be captured like Alex, that's all."

"Alex is not captured" Jessie shouted.

They both went silence when flying through pile and pile of scraps.

***

Ken kept tabs on the incoming pirate fighter jets while trying to broadcast a distress signal, hoping someone would be able to help or at least provide diversion. Some of the researchers walked up to the cockpit and asked what they could do to help.

"Just get back to your seat, I will handle this. Please, get back." Ken pushed them out and closed the door.

The beeping started and light blinked on the engine indicator showing a partial damage on the first generator.

Another spark of sound, someone was trying to connect.

"This is Jessie Pink, pilot of Class A Hawk. Are you all right? We have picked up your distress signal, is there anything we could do?"

"This is Ken Besin, I am transporting a team of researcher back to the Government Flag Ship on a Class B Tiger, but we are now under pursuit of three pirate fighter jets, we need immediate support and escort. Be aware, the Pirate Capital Ship have the salvaged EMP from your model, you should be clear of their effective range. Repeat, do not get close to the Capital Ship."

As Ken spoke 'EMP from your model', Jessie's heart skipped a beat. It was over, for Alex.

Or was it?

Space Pirate [Part 1 of 4]

"We are breaking off, hang tight!" Ken yelled from the cockpit.
The aircraft blasted off from the landing port in a terrible tremble and snapped off the connecting crane arm. They had escaped but the hull took a massive damage that disabled both the shield and the secondary weapon system. Their breaches also triggered the alarm on the pirate ship, the red light kept blinking on the lower deck, indicating the alarm's origin for the pirates on site.
Ken tilted the ship nose up and flew away from the pirate base in maximum speed. The bulky pirate capital ship floated in the space, trying to drift around very slowly. Three small pirate fighter jet emerged from the left hangar of the mother ship and sped up in pursuit of the ship on the loose.
The paint on the ship read 'Nex0n'.

***

Ken was the pilot of 'Nex0n', a class B Tiger - small exploration ship modeled after the Class C Leopard with the same purpose. His primary objective was to navigate the ship and transport a team of researchers around the Faro - also known as the Far-off Sector for scientific exploration. With five years of flying in the open space, he is both a certified pilot for all ship class and is licensed to use Grade B weapon or below.
He had encountered the pirate before, they were a loose army fighting for resources and liberty with cunning tactics. He evaded them most of the time, trying not to provoke or fly into their ambush around the asteroid field. It worked before the Acting Galactic Government announced the project to manually 'push' the asteroids into a nearby deserted planet in the sector where the pirate was the most active as to create a new and safe route for Inter-station transportation. The pirate across the sector revolted and decided to take action by hijacking any non-pirate ship appeared on radar.

***

The pirate's capital ship was lurking around a huge rock when Ken was flying the vessel back to the Central Hub. By the time Ken spotted the enemy on the radar, the ship had already lose its power because of the electromagnetic pulse the pirate sent out.
A ship painted in the dirty pirate black with a crane arm on top flew by and clamped the Nex0n's wing and dragged it back to the pirate base.
The researchers on the ship were terrified about their capture. Some of them said the pirate would kill the weak and old, enslave the strong and young.
Ken remain seated, he looked to the side and saw the ship dragging them was a remote control prototype developed for space building, which mean the ship had an access point open for scan. He checked his mechanical watch bought as a gift by his father years ago when he was still a cadet. Almost ten minutes. The effect of the EMP would wear off in ten minutes if the pirate used the one they salvaged from the recently missing fighter jet Hawk. He had to take the chance.
Ken prepared for the system to go online while readying to interrupt the remote control frequency.
Exactly ten minutes later, the light and engine came back and Ken worked his way into the control port and gained access. He waited until the other ship kissed the landing pad and sent a command signal for the crane to lose its grip on Nex0n.
He didn't wait for the crane to complete the action and took off with a shout.

Treasure Hunting

Jack held tight on the thick rope and leaped out with a kicking run, he hung on the air for a second and landed hard on the other side rolling as the jump gathered more momentum than he had expected. He swept the dust off and tucked the rope in bag. He looked down at the edge, it was quite a cross from the fall around hundred meters deep.
He hadn't been to this part of the forest but heard tales of this place, and the treasure at the end, an big old chest full of jewelry that was said from the pirates. None had ventured far enough to verify it, none had seen it before, and none had the picture of the chest. It might very likely to be just another tale, though soggy ancient maps were found in several locations with identical markings.
Ran through the first marking; jumped over the second one; the next one would be a dangling wooded bridge connected by hemp rope. He doubted it would be any use after all these years, with the rain and wind here in Hawaii, it is difficult to keep the wood intact and the rope firm.
Few minutes of hiking through the woods brought him to the bridge where the whole thing had split into two halves. He stood near the cliff, the drop was around 5 meters with a rocky bottom. Jack searched for a crossing alternative with no yield so he bundled the rope with a hook mounted on the bridge post, with swiftness he descended because he was afraid that the wood could not support his weight and broken up. He did the same while climbing up on the other side but with multiple throws to finally secure the hook in place.
The path got slippery when the rain started to down pour, sticky dirt on his boot and wetness in his clothes. He walked slower with his head tipped low, eyes on the final marking before the chest.
With effort he managed to reach the final challenge, a riptide.
The current roared and cheered, she made fun of Jack while he stood helpless. And then he saw it, a line that connected the two side by two giant Maua, the perfect slide-away. He wore his protective glove, climbed up the tree, grasped the line, and tested the strength. Unlike modern Zip-line, the rope was not made for such function. The only way is to hold on to it and start crawling horizontally on the line while facing upward.
A tiresome crossing, Jack stood panting and sipped just enough water to hydrate his burning throat. The prize could wait.
He regained his strength and started searching for the chest. According to the map, it was a three minutes walk from the stream and to the left of a stone plaque.

Time Watcher

"Put the GUN down, now! Do it, put the gun DOWN!"

"Nice and easy. Come on, easy, easy."

"Okay now, just put it down nice and easy. There we go, now turn around and put your hands over your head."

***

The watch busted out wave length of sparks and silence. It couldn't be repaired anymore. Dan grabbed the pile of scrap and threw it out from his first-story apartment window with tears running down his cheeks. It had to come to an end after all these years.

He received the watch from his father as an heirloom passed down for six generations back when watches were used for keeping time, marking time, planning against time. There was no one left who could made watch repair except him. He was the last on the timeline, the last watchmaker.

People didn't care about old-fashion watches anymore, it had way passed the time where wearing a handmade watch would represent one's power and wealth which had been replaced by the digital platform now. The fact is, watches is the time's junk.

He worked hard to keep his shop in the darker part of the alley, there's nothing could made him felt proud than his watches ticking.

Most people would hustle pass his business, only a few would pay attention to the circling of the clock hands. People don't need watches because they have the time all over the place: on the grid, digital panels and interfaces. Time is the least they should worry about.

***

A group of kids usually gathered around the alley once in a while to take money from the tenants, though they won't bother Dan since they knew there's no money from him, all he got were the watches.

Only this time, new faces came by and threatened Dan for they didn't know the situation well. The kids did not play nice, one of them pulled him head-on to the glass panel and cracked his head right through, others trashed his clocks, throwing, knocking, stepping on them.

For what seemed like an hour, Dan slowly regained conscious and stood straight, blood slipping down his forehead and glasses shattered everywhere. He sat down on the arm chair and took a few deep breaths.

Other shopkeepers came offering help when the kids were gone, they helped him clean up the glass and collected as many damaged watch parts as possible in a pile. He thanked them and took a rest on the attic.

***

The watch is beyond his help.

He's old, his business’s going down and he couldn't even protect a single watch.

He felt the cold from the gun in his pocket. He went to the street and stood in the middle of the traffic. He pulled the trigger under his chin.

Silence. Time flew away.

[What happened in the the timeline, stays in the timeline.]

D&D Anyone?

As T descended the dungeon holding the torch up in his left hand, his cowboy boot clanked loud against rocky steps and his shadows casted on uneven surface of the wall. The group followed carefully after him and inspected the bright area searching for unexpected, and most importantly, avoid monsters that lurked around taken this place home.

Inside an environment unknown to them: Four round pillars supported the room, a door at the end with dust and spider webs sprawling around everywhere. They searched but came up with nothing interesting or useful. T commanded forward.

Upon entering, they encountered three slender hounds tearing and eating something vaguely resembled the shape of a deer, their mouths bloody, and eyes in frenzy. The party stood aligned and H the priest unleashed an aura, G and T rushed in front of the magical fence to repel the attack from the hounds. The beasts abandoned the feast they were having, obviously angry at the human's intrusion. Those gory sharp teeth and the low groan made T shivered. He drew out an iron sword while keeping the torch high to illuminate the room in order to provide the best field of view. G held tight on his Iron Shield and an iron blade.

Two hounds charged at them with their muddy claws, G stepped forward and blocked it with the shield, the two collided claw-on with the shield and sent out a terrible snap sound of bone fracture, those two let out a cold cry and stayed down. The third one rolled back barking frantically. T slashed at the two injured ending their suffering. The last one retreated down the corridor.

The party resumed their search and came up with quite a few items, including a shiny orange-red amber that could be used in jewelry, it might yield a few gold. H tuck it in her pocket smiling, said something like 'a girl looks after her accessories well'.

Continue on the path, the soft growl of the hound gave them the chill, such sound could only be heard from a person's funeral.

The flame was flickering when they had reached the end of the passage, there was a hole the size of the hound at the bottom center, but too small for the fully equipped to crawl through, even for H the slimmest in the party, in which case she would definitely said no.

The flame flickered again toward left.

The flame gave T an idea. He asked G to help him push against the surface of the rock on the left. Slowly, the rock shifted and eventually they were able to squeeze into the other side.

It was a cave, round like a dome and very humid with a hole the size of a window at the center of the wall, they could hear water running from the outside. Drops of liquid kept dripping from the top which is about ten meters high when they walked around the cave.

T noticed that the top was unnaturally dark. He held up the fire, and as it happened, hundreds of bats took off at the same time from the ceiling rushing down toward them and made a sharp turn, out of the hole they went.

Dayz - Boot camp

I woke up in a mist with dripping wet military uniform and lying face down on a beach where grass grew wildly, the wave kept pushing me ashore while simultaneously dragging me down. I rolled over facing the murky sky, then stood checking equipment I have: three pack of .45 ammunition were clipped around my waist and a .45 semi-automatic pistol held in the holster. I was carrying a black and sandy camo backpack, I went through the items and found three can of beans and a can of soda, a pack of six bandages plus an adrenaline shot syringe, a compass and a pair of sunglasses.

In distant the thunder groaned, the rain was getting heavier. I should make haste to some cover before the storm hit. I zipped the bag and ran toward the inner land searching for cover.

Going deeper, I faced the mountain half covered in cloud, making it difficult to estimate its height. Behind me was the ocean in roar. I could go anywhere but near the water.

I ventured into the forest with each step taking more energy under the rainfall, it felt like carrying a load of stones instead of supplies that weighted less than comfortable, especially when walking in these wildly grown plants which I had to shove aside every time I progressed forward.

After 7 miles of hiking, I spotted a one-story farm house uphill across the seemingly abandoned crop field a klick away. I went around the area for a quick scout and found no one in sight. I sprinted near the structure, crouched at about 10 meters away under a cart full of damp hay for cover. I listened and surveyed the site and looked like it had been unattended for quite a while. I could smell a rotten and disgusting stench even though the rain was falling. Dead bodies on the field resembled the shape of farm animals were decomposing, showing bite marks and trails of being feasted on. Some were showing bones, others were missing bones. Torn off by extreme force? What kind of beast this place have certainly terrified me.

I walked up to the house and tried the doorknob and to my expectation, it was unlocked and the room was deserted. I locked the door and threw my bag at the corner. The sleeping room was small, a bed and a drawer at the inner left corner, to my right was the writing desk, and a few cabinets to my left.

I lit a candle found in one of the cabinets and lowered the blinder on the only window in the room which faced south and aligned with the door. I found some food and things that might be useful: sodas, bottle of Aspirin with not much left, a flashlight with two batteries, two lighters and a binocular. I moved on to the drawer and to my surprise, the previous owner have left a pack of ammunition but no match to my weapon, still, I took it and clipped it because you will never know when it might become useful.

Going through the drawer, I also found clothing that matched my size. I soon stripped off the military and soak up the rain with a dry shirt then put on the civilian. I hung the soaking wet uniform on the wire overhead hoping they would be dried off by tomorrow.

I leaned back on the chair from the desk, picking up the papers sheet by sheet. It was about a contagious disease spreading around town and suggested the receivers to evacuate from it. A black and white family photo tainted with yellow was stapled on a letter - a family of four, father and mother both holding their children not older than 5. I gently stroked across the photo, wishing them well.

Random Encounter [2]

Kat was sipping her hot latte down the throat in a nice cozy coffee shop's window seat near the train station. She doubted anyone would have the leisure to sit with her in this particular cold winter mid-afternoon after getting what she called 'The Jump' which is the career advancement she has always been worked for. The word wasn't out yet, her presence here precisely was to think up how to bring this amazing news to her family, friends and her boyfriend.
As the steam waving up her cheek, the glass window in front of her grew a layer of thin white vapors on which she drew a smiley face.
The shop was quiet except for the couple sat at the back corner who would giggle occasionally. Maned only by a boy who's probably still in the college trying to earn a few buck to get by the weekend. Jazz playing in the background, everything is fine beside the weather.
A man in bulky dark-blue greatcoat strolled pass, and pushed the heavy wooden front door open with his right shoulder seconds later, apparently trying to avoid touching the steel handle barehanded. He settled down on a seat near Kat, the door was still ajar when he turned to look at her soon-to-disappear smiley face on the window. He gave a genuine smile at her direction and ordered black from the kid.
A L train flew by with a few passengers.
Kat thought she would just told her parent when she went home on the phone; Talk to her boyfriend at night; Social media to all friends tomorrow. As of right now, She just wanted to sat at ease and enjoy the coffee.
Feeling the warmth came out from both the coffee and the shop, she laid down her folded light-brown keen length coat on her thigh, seeing the man have also taken his greatcoat off without her even noticing. Maybe she had drifted into a deeper state than she realized, or the man performed the movement so swiftly that she didn't pick it up on her peripheral vision.
He glanced at her direction, gave her another friendly nod, and back to his Blackberry.
By the time Kat had drained the last drop of coffee, the smiley face was gone. She stood up and slipped on the coat, prepared to return home, only to find that the guy have too, put on the coat. How did she miss that, twice, how was that possible?

Ywrighting

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