Category: putting my feet in the dirt

These things tend to be short pieces that may or may not be the beginning of something else. Originally they were 101 words only. I’m less strict about that now. They dont always finish, I just like to try and evoke a certain feeling or scene.

I’m going to tie them to M’s prompts this month.  The prompt was “The explosive egg hunt” which had me thinking about the film alien and all this eggs filled with creatures just ready to burst out and crawl inside you…then there was the idea of the easter egg – the type that gets hidden in games and such.  Anyway this is what came of it.  Seems my preamble is longer that the piece itself.

Caleb brought the ship out of sub space, her beam engines humming into life as the faster than light drives fired down.

Desi unbuckled protesting “Dad’s going to kill us Cal, we shouldn’t be out here.”

“Oh relax sis” Cal answered “he’ll never know.  I just wanted to check.”

Cal tapped the holo screen that appeared before him and initiated a scan of the area.  “there must be something out here” he insisted.  “It’s meant to be out here somewhere.  The old charts in the vault pinpoint it to this sector.”

Desi looked out from the cockpit across the inky blackness of space, stars littered the darkness but nothing more. “Cal there’s nothing here, let’s go home.”

Cal turned to her, frustration etched across his face.  “But the charts Desi, why do you think Dad kept them locked away.  It’s for a reason surely.”

Desi looked up at the holo screen, it blinked confirming what she already knew.

“Earth isn’t out here Cal, It’s been gone for 8oo years now.”

These things tend to be short pieces that may or may not be the beginning of something else. Originally they were 101 words only. I’m less strict about that now. They dont always finish, I just like to try and evoke a certain feeling or scene.

Alan awoke slowly.  It was not something he was used to given that most days started abruptly with a 5.00am alarm.  Being rudely awakened was usually immediately followed by contemplative wondering as to why he had not tried harder in school and a subsequent desire to be anywhere but where he was so this was a nice change.

So pleasant was the experience of waking naturally and finding himself greeted by a soft warm light filling the room that the unfamiliar surroundings did not seem to trouble him one bit.  As his eyes grew accustomed to the brightness he realised that he was not at home in his own bed.  He looked around and all he could make out were stark white walls on each side and an equally plain ceiling above.   Confused, but not alarmed, he tried to sit up but found himself unable to do so.  He was covered in what appeared to be a plain white sheet and despite feeling no restraints he lay quite motionless with the exception of the ability to move his neck and look about.

“Hello” he shouted.  There was no echo.  He waited.  No response.  “Hello, is anybody there?”

No reply came though the light did seem to brighten a little.  He strained again to sit up, this time even a little grunt but he remained exactly where he was and chose instead to lay his head back down and stare at the ceiling.

All the usual thoughts you would expect to think upon finding yourself in such a place went through his head and he realised that he had precisely no answer to any of them.  More curiously though he didn’t seem to care particularly.  He was warm and comfortable and he felt quite at peace.   After a while considering his surroundings the lights once again brightened, and there was a feint hiss as if someone had sneakily opened a bottle of soda.  He attempted to look about but now not even his head would move.

“Hello” he offered.

A rather gruff “Snarkgarblevar untervardel” came the response.

Alan paused.  “Er, hello” was the best he could muster.

The voice spoke again but this time seemed to transition from completely unintelligible to something that sounded very much like his second grade school teacher Mr Bloom.  “Snarkgarblevar unter…senses..and you should find this mostly painless.”

The lights brightened again and he suddenly felt rather less comfortable.  Lying quite still he caught movement in the corner of his eye and then without warning everything stopped making sense.  Assuming any of it already was.

Stood before him, around seven foot tall and in a most vivid hue of blue was a creature that was most definitely not from round his way.  Thick fur covered its body from head to foot and it had bright yellow eyes set deep in a face that had nothing that you could assume as a nose but had plenty of what you knew were teeth.  Long sharp white teeth arranged in a deep red mouth in such a way that left you in no doubt that they were something to be feared and were not just for smiling pleasantly or gently nibbling on fruits, nuts and berries.

The sight of the creature combined with the words “mostly painless” made his bowels instantly grumble.

“Oh now come on” the creature insisted “no need to be so concerned this will be over in no time at all.”

Alan began to breathe rather heavily as it drew near.

“I am Doctor Berlastio” it said quite matter of fact.  “And I will be taking charge of your probing today.”

“Oh good God” Alan exclaimed already attempting to clench his non responding bottom.  “Must you really?”  In no time at all he seemed to have accepted the fact of the being before him and was now more occupied with its desire to take a peek inside him.

“Oh absolutely I must” it insisted, the large rows of teeth still very much on show. “It’s all part of the programme you see, we simply must.”

“Programme?” Alan asked still attempting to find any part of his body – other than his head – that might respond to his orders to move.

“Oh Yes, yes.  All very important.  It’s the reason we’re here you see.” The Doctor answered.  He seemed surprisingly willing to share the reasons for what Alan assumed was going to be most unpleasant, and whilst he had no previous experience of aliens of any description he had most definitely not expected them to be so forthcoming and polite.

“Er…” Alan hesitated. Perhaps if he kept it talking he might find a way out of this.  “And why exactly are you here?” he asked.

The doctor paused and then his smile turned into something wholly more sinister looking.  His fur seemed to bristle and his eyes narrowed.

“I shall let you into a little secret I think” it answered, “You wont remember any of this when we pop you back down on Earth anyway.”

Alan wanted to answer, to protest, but now found himself now unable to speak.  Now no part of him responded.

Berlastio grinned.  “We need somewhere to incubate our larvae obviously.  Now lie back and relax, we will have you back in bed before your alarm goes off.”

These things tend to be short pieces that may or may not be the beginning of something else. Originally they were 101 words only. I’m less strict about that now. They dont always finish, I just like to try and evoke a certain feeling or scene.

A thick fog rolled in across the Thames as Big Ben chimed nine times.

“That’s locking up time I reckon” Darla said to her husband getting up from behind the counter and heading over to the shop door.  It had been another quiet night, it always was when the pea-souper rolled in.  “People just don’t being out in it do they.” She added.

“Uh-huh” Bran responded not looking up from his newspaper.  He was very much looking forward to heading upstairs and putting his feet up.

Darla flipped over the sign on the door and reached for the top bolt, but before she could slide it closed the door burst open with such force that she was thrown backwards into the shelving at the end of the aisle and she collapsed to the floor with a scream.

“What the…” her husband exclaimed dropping his newspaper and standing from his chair as two men, dishevelled and dressed mostly in rags, burst through the door and headed straight for him.  “Now just you wait a minute” he shouted without any fear seeing his wife’s legs protruding into the aisle.

“Just shut it and empty the till into the bag” the larger of the two shouted pulling a long metal blade from his belt and waving it wildly.  The smaller squarer man reached across the counter and pushed a bag into his chest.

Darla rubbed her head and attempted to stand knocking cans to the floor, and both men turned to see her slip back down to the floor.

“Hurry up” the tall one shouted.  “In the bag. Now”

With the contents of the till emptied into the bag the short man reached over and grabbed  it and as he pulled back threw a wild square into the jaw of Bran dropping him to the floor.  For a while he lay there, his head spinning and attempted to regain his feet.  By the time he did the door of the shop stood open and Darla was steadying herself leaning against the aisle shelving.

“Are you okay” she asked walking slowly towards him as he leaned against the counter breathing heavily.  He nodded.

“You?”

She smiled and rubbed her head.

“Takes more than that to upset me” she answered  “Do you think we should call the police?”.

Bran reached out and placed a hand on her arm. “No, let them have it dear, there’s no wonder these humans are an endangered species the way they behave…”

These things tend to be short pieces that may or may not be the beginning of something else. Originally they were 101 words only. I’m less strict about that now. They dont always finish, I just like to try and evoke a certain feeling or scene.

As the rain fell outside, walls of neon reflected in the gathering dark pools, Aldous watched her from the warmth of his car.  It was always so busy down here, a sea of umbrellas pushing through the main through way and hooded figures darting in the shadows as the distant thud of music mixed with the patter of rain and the hum of the vehicles buzzing along the street twenty feet from the ground.

He shifted excitedly in his seat, the sleek lines of his executive model car almost hidden from view as he parked up under the overhang of one of the old hab blocks that towered high into the night sky.  Each of the huge steel and concrete monoliths that were dotted across the city housed a mix of nearly four thousand humans and other species from across the galaxy in the most awful of conditions, yet here at ground level, where quite literally you would find the lowest of society there was only one that he cared about.

Every day Aldous watched her from the same place as he headed to work.  His mind raced when he saw her waiting on the corner, her blue skin bright against the dark of the permanent night of ground level.  His imagination fired as he watched her walk back and forth waiting for her next customer and he imagined, as he had done so many times, those long slender legs wrapped around his back and the talons on her fingers digging into his flesh as she moved against him and her rough tongue slowly tasting the sweat on his skin.

He loosened his tie as a young human male, probably in his thirties, walked across to her.  She stood a good two feet taller than him and as he reached into his pocket she placed an hand on his arm.  He knew what would happen next, he had seen it endless times before yet even now it still filled him with such anger and jealousy.

“Mine” he muttered to himself “get your damn hands off of her she’s m…” but he didn’t finish, unable to speak as she took her client by the hand and led him through a dimly lit open door only a few metres from where she had been just moments before.

Aldous sat for some time, heart racing and obsessing about what she was probably doing to him.  Slowly he reached to undo his belt but stopped as his comms beeped to indicate it was 8pm.  He needed to get to work, people would be waiting.

He punched the car into life and barked out instructions.

“Alexa, take me to work”.

“Affirmative” she confirmed.  “Destination set.”

The car pulled out from under the cover of the hab and slowly rose into the air, quickly syncing speed with the traffic above and joining the flow.  It weaved its way through the other vehicles, the neon advertising boards lighting up the night and throwing their day glow hues into the darkness.  He looked down and watched as the lower levels disappeared into murky nothing and sat back in his seat, eyes closed, and waited.

Alexa confirmed that he had reached his destination and the doors of the vehicle opened with a feint hiss.  Aldous stepped out onto the landing pad and felt the wind on his face.  He wandered across to the edge of the pad and looked out across the city.  He loved being so high up, it gave you a real idea of just how vast the city was and with the sun still able to filter through this high up the late evening sun felt good.

“Were ready for you sir” came a voice accompanied by hurried footsteps.  “Everyone is waiting.”

He turned to see a pretty dark haired assistant who’s name he could not quite remember.

“Thank you” he said taking a large leather book from her.  “Claire isn’t it?”

“Karen” she answered, cheeks flushed.  “It’s Karen.”

“Karen.  Right, thank you Karen” Aldous said and disappeared through a door at the edge of the landing pad.  He could still see her in his head, the rain falling and the neon blinking.  He quickly skipped down two flights of stairs, straightening his tie and running over his notes in his head.  Another assistant was waiting for him and she quickly ushered him towards a door at the end of a corridor.

“Thank you” he said politely, this time choosing not to get another name wrong, and stepped through the door and onto the large stage.  He knew there were thousands of eyes focussed on him but he looked straight ahead and headed to the lectern.  He carefully placed the book on it and opened it to the bookmarked page before composing himself and looking up.

“Good Evening” he said smiling broadly and standing tall.  “My name is Aldous Emerick, I am the Pastor of The Holy Enlightened Church of Christ, and tonight we are going to be learning more about why these aliens are an abomination in the eyes of the Lord.”

These things tend to be short pieces that may or may not be the beginning of something else. Originally they were 101 words only. I’m less strict about that now. They dont always finish, I just like to try and evoke a certain feeling or scene.

Captain Trexel was a rather large and imposing creature at the best of times, but when enraged was something beyond fierce and for most creature trouser soilingly terrifying.

“Enter” he barked at the rap on his quarters door, waiting and watching as Corporal Dartus entered and snapped to attention in front of the desk at which Trexel sat.  “Explain yourself Corporal” he demanded.

The best Dartus could manage was a confused “Captain?”

“The Humans” Trexel shouted, “Explain your treatment of the humans boy.  Reports suggest that you have not been treating them with kindness and compassion.  They may be our property but we do not abuse them.”

Dartus stammered.  “S-S-Sir I just thought that they didn’t matter give we have so many.”

Trexel stood, rising up to his full and thoroughly impressive 8 foot height.  His lips smacked and teeth began to grind.

“Do you not get it boy” he snarled, “We need to treat them with kindness, tenderness and ensure they are comfortable and enjoy their time with us.”

“Sir, yes Sir” he responded.

“And besides” Trexel continued, “If you cause them undue stress by killing one of them for sports in full sight of the others their flesh becomes rather tough and most unpleasant to eat…”

These things tend to be short pieces that may or may not be the beginning of something else. Originally they were 101 words only. I’m less strict about that now. They dont always finish, I just like to try and evoke a certain feeling or scene.

Grand Marshall Gliebnar strolled onto the bridge of the Valdar Type 2 Imperial Cruiser with an air of a man that said today was the day that he would invade Earth and capture her for the glory of the Torzgar empire.  If there was any doubt on the matter, which there most certainly was not, but if there was then the dossier in his hand confirmed precisely that and today was the day that he would invade earth and capture her for the glory of the Torzgar empire.  It said it across the front.  In a rather large and shouty font.

“Commander Dren” he said hands on hips staring out into the inky blackness.  “Please confirm all stations ready and the fleet is ready for stage 1 invasion.”

Commander Dren paused and looked quite uncomfortable.  He was sweating profusely and his norbel gland was throbbing rather intensely.

“Commander?” Gliebnar shouted turning to face him.  “What is it, is there a problem?”  The thick scales on his face seemed to ripple as he ground his teeth.  He was a terrible teeth grinder.

Dren tried to speak. “I..it’s just that…”

“On come on man out with it” Gliebnar barked.

He held out a paper, his claws shaking as Gliebnar snatched it from him.  “It’s about the Humans Grand Marshall.  A paper prepared by the Office of Alien Landing and Occupation.  I think perhaps we may want to reconsider our approach.”

“Our approach?” Gliebnar snapped.  “The same approach that has worked on endless civilisations that have succumbed to the might of the mighty Torzgar empire?”  As he said this he stood a little taller, his shoulders back and his chest out.

“Well yes sire it’s just that they seem rather difficult sir.”

“Difficult? Dren I will have you know that they will succumb and surrender like the countless that have gone before and be assimilated into the empire.”

Dren backed away slightly wary of the Grand Marshall’s temper.  He has once seen him beat a man until he cried for his mother for no reason other than a request to attend his own wedding.  “Please sir” he stammered, “please just read the report.”

Gliebnar paused.  “You seem convinced Dren” he answered, “I shall take a look then” and settled into his chair and began to scan through the report.

After a short while he looked up.  “Are we sure this is right?” he asked.

“We are sir.”

“And this has been verified. A planet of hundreds of individual tribes.  All with their own leaders?”

“Yes sir.”

“And despite the significant resources the majority live in poverty?”

“Hard to believe Grand Marshall I realise, but they are in many ways little more than savages.”

Gliebnar placed the report down on his lap.

“Thank you Dens” he said rising to his feet and reaching for the comms.  “I think perhaps extermination will prove far easier…”

These things tend to be short pieces that may or may not be the beginning of something else. Originally they were 101 words only. I’m less strict about that now. They dont always finish, I just like to try and evoke a certain feeling or scene.

Spencer stirred slowly as the cryo pod hissed and opened, his head pounding and the cabin lights causing him to reach up and cover his eyes.  He breathed deep trying to quell the nausea.  Hauling derilium ore across the galaxy was great money and the chance to see the colonies was something so few Earth born would ever experience but he’d never get used to the effects of coming out of deep sleep no matter how many times he did it.

Still squinting he checked the readout on the small display on his wrist.  Coordinates and timings checked out, he was back home.  Excited, he pulled himself from the pod, head spinning and stumbled over to the bridge, desperate to get a glimpse of the planet he had left behind nearly 150 years ago.

“What the…” he mumbled steadying himself against the back of a large chair.  He looked down at the control panel in front of him, lights blinking.

“Calista, confirm destination coordinates reached.” He said stabbing at a flashing red button.  The proximity sensors were on overload.

A flat calm voice responded.  “Coordinates for Earth orbit reached, local year is 2187.”

They had to be wrong.  “Calista please recalibrate and verify coordinates.”

“Coordinates for Earth orbit reached” she repeated.

Struggling forward he walked slowly over to the long wide window at the far end of the deck.  Where there should have been a planet all there was rock and debris as far as he could see.

“Calista where is Earth?” he asked.  There was a brief pause.

“Coordinates for Earth orbit reached” she answered.  “Records show no transmissions from Earth for 30 solar cycles.”

“Scan for local signals” he instructed.  Something must have survived whatever had happened.

Ore freighters didn’t have a crew or captain, programmed to track to their destination coordinates and only wake the solitary crew member – the engineer – in the event of significant technical difficulties.  Obviously Earth being rubble was for some reason not classed as a significant.

“No signals across any frequency detected” she answered.  “Scanning complete”

He stood and considered what to do next, his head still fuzzy from the effects of spending 70 year frozen as he tore across the galaxy.

“Calista, estimate return route to nearest Earth outpost, factor in remaining cryo reserves.”  HE knew he didn’t have enough for a full trip back to the nearest colonies but reserves should get him somewhere he could refuel and refill the cryo.

It took her longer than he had expected.  “Calista?”

“Estimates indicate that with current reserves and running STL drives at 10 percent to maximise remaning fuel it will take approximately 22 years to reach the nearest outpost at Sentauri.”

“And how much capacity have we got in cryo?  I really don’t want to be awake for 22 years with just you for company, no offence intended”

“None taken” Calista responded.  “Reserves will permit 5 years of additional deep sleep.”

“That’s it?  Five?”

“Affirmitive, Five”

Spencer sat down in the large chair and stared out into space and wondered whether the ships computer had solitaire built in…

These things tend to be short pieces that may or may not be the beginning of something else. Originally they were 101 words only. I’m less strict about that now. They dont always finish, I just like to try and evoke a certain feeling or scene.

The smell of blood and gunpowder mixed with the crack and fizz of musket balls filled Abel’s senses. Cold steel met soft flesh and a young lad, no more than 18 years old, collapsed lifeless next to him – dark blood seeping into his grey uniform. His heart thundered like the endless roar of cannons trained on their position from the ridge and he took a drink from his canteen.

Looking over to where General Lee stood he reached for his revolver. It was time to end this war.

He raised his revolver but before he had chance to squeeze the trigger there was a flash of light and he found himself back on the table in the departure centre.

“Change of plans Abel” came a voice over the comms, “were going to let the war continue a bit longer.”

These things tend to be short pieces that may or may not be the beginning of something else.  Originally they were 101 words only.  I’m less strict about that now.  They dont always finish, I just like to try and evoke a certain feeling or scene.

Amos sat in the old rocker looking out across the open fields in front of the farm house.  He watched wisps of clouds dancing across the sky and jet trails slowly dissolving into the blue and remembered a time, long ago now, when he was more than the frail old man now living out the last of his days watching the seasons pass from his window.  Snippets of another life he was no longer sure were even his.

“You see that girl” he said looking over at a canary is a small cage on a dresser next to the window.  “you see those vapour trails? That was me once.”

The small yellow bird cheeped almost as if in response.

His eyes weren’t what they once were but he could still make out the feint outline of the city in the distance and he watched as shuttles, from this distance mere specks, took off and headed upwards towards the east pacific low orbit station.

There was a flash of silver as the sun caught the side of a large long haul transporter rising slowly upwards and he remembered, not at all fondly, the early days long before anti-grav when they had to strap you to a rocket just to get you into orbit.

He didn’t miss the take offs but he each landing was fresh in his mind as the day he had made them

“Good times” he mumbled to himself rolling a small red rock no larger than a thumbnail between his fingers, a memento of his last trip to Mars smuggled home and his most prized possession.  He rocked slowly and pulled a blanket over his knees.  He looked at it and his eyes lit up and a smile spread across his face.  He had kept it locked away for decades but today, today he wanted to hold it.  It was softer to the touch than he remembered, perhaps from being kept in the old cigarette tin in the dresser.

“I went there you know” he told his canary.  He had told her uncountable times but he didn’t know that, not anymore.  His once sharp mind was now a lottery when it came to the things he remembered and the things he did not.  “I saw sunrise over the Martian planes, before we stopped going there and trust me, it was a sight to behold.  Miles of red, like a sea of blood stretched out before us.”

The canary cheeped and cleaned her feathers, then hopped down to the bottom of the cage.

“Oh yes” he continued proudly, fragments of past glories now darting about his mind. “I was a real American hero indeed.”

The canary chirped again, and then for a second time as Amos suddenly stiffened, a look of pain etched across his face.  His right arm reached for his chest and the small rock fell from his hand.  Amos gasped as the bird continued to chirp loudly, now in full cardiac arrest.  Hands clenched into fists the life ebbed slowly from his body as his eyes glazed over and with a final gasp Amos McCartney drifted into nothing.

And with that final, his body now relaxed the chair rocked forward crushing the small rock fragment, red dust smeared on the carpet beneath the runner of the old rocking chair.  The canary chirped wildly, hopping up to the small wooden perch and then back to the cage floor but there was nobody to hear it or heed it’s warnings.

Slowly, spreading out from the spot under the chair a red stain began to creep.  It first engulfed the chair and Amos, turning them a dark ochre red and, moments later,  the wood and flesh and plaid blanket on his knees suddenly collapsed into dust.   The canary chirped wildly, flying around the small cage panicked.

Outwards it then began to spread and in a moment the chirps of the canary were  silenced…