A face rose from the black watery
depths as the swirly water bubbled and churned. Thunder cracked overhead and it
struck the land not two feet away.
“Beware of lightning.” A robotic
and irritatingly loud voice said from somewhere.
“Thank you June, I’m well away of
that.” An annoyed voice responded. Or would have responded had not the water he
was in filled his mouth as he tried to speak.
“Incomprehensible. Please restate.”
The face slid back down into the water. A few moments later a sleek body in a
wetsuit slid onto the beach like a snake. A few seconds after that, the water
he had been floating in was hit by a loud slash of lightning.
Samuel placed a hand on the wall
that surrounded the complex he had been assigned to infiltrate. He drew a knife
from his belt and plunged it into the wall. A dulled alarm sounded and Samuel
smiled. Perfect. He turned and plunged back into the sea. His H.U.D. showed
guards rushing to the scene. His night vision setting had been turned up by 25%
because of the blackness of the night, but the thunderstorm had been a
surprise. Even so it had set the scene. Samuel turned his attention back to the
wall just in time to dive down into the depths, before bullets ripped into the
water.
“You think he’s dead?” one guard
asked.
“no.” the other replied. “But do you want to go in and find out?” the
other guard took the knife and walked around to the gate. Samuel couldn’t hold
his breath much longer. He relaxed and closed his eyes. Floating onto the shore
he lay barely breathing as though he had been shot. The remaining guard walked
toward him slowly and crouched.
“So we did get you, you bas-AH!” he
jerked up as Samuel snapped up and grabbed his face and twisted his neck.
Samuel left the dead man on the beach, walking away with regret. Every time he
had to kill he had regret. He looked back at the dead man with a sad face.
Maybe he had a family. A wife, waiting at home with dinner on the table, set
for a man never coming home. A son perhaps. A blind son, with no ability to
make money himself. And then his wife leaves his son, and the son must make his
way in the world… No. No time to reminisce. He had a job to do.
Samuel moved toward a cliff face
that made up one of the walls. How ironic. The elements were being mined by
these people, and the elements would defeat them. Samuel raised his wrist
grapple gun and fired it at the cliff face. It lodged in a crag and Samuel
pulled on it. It held. Samuel placed one foot on the rock wall and began the
long climb up the mountain. It was a daunting task and Samuel began to work up
the mountain slowly. The rocks were unstable and he slipped once or twice.
“Warning. Slate is a fragile rock
capable of easy fractures. Extreme caution is advised.” The robotic voice of
the heads up display. Samuel closed his eyes as the alarm rang out. Samuel
looked down and immediately figured out the sea was not an option. He left his
one hand from the cliff face, and using the cable, he swung to the other side
seconds before the spotlight flashed where he just was. He breathed slowly, as
though the most minute sound would alert the enemy to his presence.
When the spotlight left him, Samuel
released his pent up breath and swung back around. As he pulled on the cable
again it sprang loose along with the crag it had attached to. The rock flew
down along with the hook, scratching Samuel’s arms and back. When the rocks
stopped, Samuel looked back down the cliff face to see the cable and hook
smashed and mangled at the bottom of the rock face.
He pulled up with his left arm and
gasped as pain shot up his arm. He pulled his arm away from the precipice to
see a two inch long gash just below his elbow. The blood flowed back down his
arm to his shoulder where it dripped down the long fall to the cliff bottom. He
groaned as he saw the remaining distance to the top. Without the cable it would
be too hard to get up there.
This was it. He had failed. He was
too weak to continue, yet it was too far to go back. He would hold on to the
overhang until he became too weak to do that, then he would fall down and be
smashed on the grass at the base of the wall… no. That wouldn’t happen. Not if
he kept trying. Besides, if he did that the fall wouldn’t kill him so he’d be
in agony there unless he was lucky enough to be speared by the hook, or shot if
the soldiers heard. He would have to go on.
He reached his hand up to the next
rock and he gripped it tightly. He pulled upwards, even through the agony of
his pain. He reached up and pulled on the next rock. Soon he had a steady
rhythm going. He finally reached the top and lay there gasping for breath. He
rose his eyes to see the thunder clouds breaking. A bright ray of yellow
sunlight broke the grey blackness. Then another broke through, and another.
Samuel lifted himself up to his feet and stumbled toward the edge of the cliff
and fell again. He just sat there on his knees staring at the sun.
He turned his head and saw the man
he had killed laying on the sand. He glanced between that and the sun and the
gash on his arm, and in that moment, he swore he would never kill again.
this is just a little piece i did during writer's group so i'd love to know what you think and would love constructive criticism.
