Battlefield Timing

By the third day of being on the front line, I’d stopped throwing up whenever I saw a corpse. My CO noticed.

“So, finally gotten over the fact that it ain’t like the movies, huh kid?”

I managed a weak nod.

“Well, get used to it. Not just war, neither. Love, parenting… Life is just one battle after another. They don’t show you that in the fucking movies.”

Everything he said was true, but even so, the universe still had the occasional moment of comic timing, as evidenced by the stray bullet.

“But the most important thing to remember is-“

Running From Power

He was pulling the crab trap out of the murky swamp when he heard the coughing. He leaned down, and saw her head, just above the water.

Eventually he coaxed her out, although she refused, or was unable, to speak. He guessed she was maybe twelve, and the rags she wore suggested she’d escaped from a plantation.

Over the months she never spoke, but she began to learn how to live off the land with him. Then one day, a gator bit his leg off, and then she reattached it with a touch.

He got over three grand for her.

Best. Analogy. Ever.

“I think you should just give it a try dude. It’ll be fun!”

He sat for a moment, thinking of a witty reply. After a moment he began to type.

“Oh, but you know me. I’m as lazy as a drunk cat.”

The chat room suddenly came alive as LOLs came thick and fast.

He suddenly saw a meme being born. Of captioned photos, t-shirts, fame, fortune, even if only for fifteen minutes.

But then he remembered that he was, as said, as lazy as a drunk cat. So he stopped dreaming and went back to dodging responsibilities as usual.

Seeing It Through

For centuries, each generation of the family was given the same deal. They would be looked after financially by the many trusts, and in all other ways by carefully selected servants, but they had to pursue The Quest, to reunite the shards of the Sacred Gemstone Sceptre, which, if reunited, would grant whoever did so true omniscience.

Sarah Wilkington-Freeya had a boost though, since she was the first to have access to the internet. And thus she was able to rebuild it, finally, and got true omniscience.

She froze, staring at nothing.

And then she turned to stare at you.

Saying Something

He stared out at the darkened auditorium.

“From the moment one is born, society begins to alter you to fit. It starts physical, parts of you are removed for aesthetics, religion or just to fit in, you are injected to ensure the herd’s health. Then mentally, you are trained how to think, how to act, how to live. And then your spiritual side is beaten down, day after day, moment after moment. Eventually, you conform. And then you die.”

The universe took a beat.

“Uh, thanks, I got my levels sorted now, you can stop talking…” the sound tech mumbled.

Found in Translation

Inside the darkened campus building, in a dimly lit room, a graduate student carefully slid the tattered book underneath the glass, and then flicked the switch. As the computer whirred into life, the door to the lab opened and the cleaner came in, mopping the floor.

“Oh, sorry love, didn’t know anyone was still around.”

“It’s all right, just translating the last book for the night.”

She turned to the screen and began to read the translated text.

“Whomsoever should read these words shall henceforth become the conduit for the return of His Majesty-“

And then the lights went out.

Having An In

He stood at the back of the theatre, listing to the speech she was giving. She rarely spoke in public, often saying that she wanted her books to speak for themselves, that anything she had to say would eventually end up in a book. But for her alma mater, she made an exception. And thus, this was his moment to score her. For he had an in.

So he waited till she finished and began to head past him towards the door.

“Professor Cerio says hello, and that your secondary characters need more nuance.”

“I agree.” she said without stopping.