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Feel the Silence

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Crystal Smee

Crystal Smee

Posts: 7,994 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
Hey, I know it's been a while, sorry guys. It's been a long and painful winter. But we're almost through. Things are looking better for next quarter, and I do have a break coming up. So hopefully there'll be something in the near-ish future.
I'm sorry the adds are so spaced out. I know I always say this, but I haven't forgotten about this story, really.

25-Feb-2011 00:35:41

Crystal Smee

Crystal Smee

Posts: 7,994 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
The rocking of the boat was beginning to make Jonah nauseous. It wasn’t that he got seasick; he had years of experience at sea, and his stomach was usually perfectly settled even in the worst of storms. This wasn’t even a storm. Although there was one coming – the captain had pointed out the billowing clouds on this horizon earlier that day. But it wouldn’* hit them for another day or so. He’d prep the men tomorrow. Right now, they’d all been sent to their beds for the night, and Jonah sat alone in his tiny, cramped cabin, leaned back on his bunk with his knees drawn up, a half-full bottle of cheap, disgusting rum at his side. The other half currently swirled around his stomach. He felt pleasantly drunk. The world would have been spinning just the right amount, had the waves not made it spin faster than he intended. Sober, yes, his stomach was perfectly settled at sea. Drunk, things started to get shaky.
But even nausea was better than pain. The alcohol did*’t dull the pain, but it dulled his mind, which stopped thinking so hard. Then he did*’t really think about the pain. And that was good enough.
There was a knock at his door. “Whosit?” he yelled.
“Sorokin.”
“Come on in.”
The closed behind the large medic. “Aw, you’re drunk,” Sorokin accused.
“Am I that obvious?”
“I’ve seen it before.”
“Want some?”
“Always.” Sorokin plopped down next to him on the bed and took a long pull from the bottle. “This is disgusting.”
“All they got on this damn boat.”
Sorokin drank again. “Why now, man?”
“Why not?”
“We got a storm coming.”
“Yeah, I saw. But no battles. Not for a while yet. So I figured I’d enjoy it while I could.” Jonah leaned back, letting his head slam against the wooden wall. It sounded hollow, and he giggled. “I mean, when’s the next time I’ll get to be completely drunk? In the jungle?”

09-Mar-2011 21:04:46

Crystal Smee

Crystal Smee

Posts: 7,994 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
The medic raised the bottle as if to toast. “Amen to that. Now*s as good as any time, I suppose. But I mean, why are you drinking at all, now? I thought you quit.”
Jonah snatched the bottle back and drank heavily. “Oh, I never quit, you know that.” Sorokin was silent, and the commander stared at his hands, which trembled. A sob shuddered through his body. “I’m sick of this,” he whispered. “All of it. I kept looking for her, in Falador. I almost thought I saw her once.”
“Don’t do this to yourself, man,” Sorokin sighed.
Jonah slammed his head against the wall again. Now that he’d let the walls down, the emotions came rushing in. “I’m going to kill them all.”
“You’re talking crazy.”
“Maybe. But I want to. Every last one.”
Sorokin hopped off the bed. “Get some sleep, Chief.”
“I can** sleep. I never can. I’m too angry. It’s tearing me up.” This confession bubbled out before he could stop it, and he slammed his head against the wall yet again, as though to stop himself from speaking further.
“I know, man. I know.” Sorokin reached out, touched his shoulder and squeezed it reassuringly. “Save it for the Kandarins. Try and rest, there’s work to be done tomorrow.”

Lucas carried his tray into the small, cramped dining hall and stared around the sea of faces. The room buzzed with conversations and laughter. It looked like there were no seats open. He scanned for familiar faces, and recognized a few – Derrick, surrounded by other men, was laughing uproariously at some joke. Sorokin sat across from Jonah, the two men eating in silence. Here and there was a man he’d had a conversation with, thought he’d connected with, but they already seemed to have their circles. Lucas, despite his casual acquaintance with many of the men, found himself feeling incredibly alone.

09-Mar-2011 21:05:34

Crystal Smee

Crystal Smee

Posts: 7,994 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
He pushed his way to Derrick’s table and gestured. “Mind if I, uh, squeeze in?” he mumbled. The men barely glanced at him, but shifted down to make room before continuing their conversation. He perched on the edge of the bench and tried to listen in, but could only make out various words.
“So then this broad…”
Raucous laughter. Lucas missed the joke, but laughed anyway. Derrick waved at him from further down the table. He smiled in response, and tried to ask him a question, but it was drowned out in the clamor for more details. Derrick was obviously the life of the party. He told story after story of meeting girls in bars, intermixed with other men sharing their own stories.
“And then I found out she was the sister of the girl from like three weeks before…”
“Hey, Lucas, you got a story?”
He jerked his head up. “Um, what?”
“Tell us somethin’. What kinda crazy things you been up to?”
Lucas looked like a fish out of water. “I, um, well, I did*’t – um,”
“Spit it out, man!” said soldier next to him, and pounded on his back. Lucas coughed up some of the porridge he had been eating.
“I did*’t do much crazy stuff,” he said softly.
“You must have some stories!” Derrick insisted.
“I, well, there was the time Justine and I snuck out to a bar—she’s my fiancée, Justine—“
“Boy has a fiancée!”
“Snuck out? Why’d you have to sneak?”
Lucas wiped his forehead, which had broken out in sweat. “We lived in – I mean, her father was very strict. Did*’t want her to go out much. We were probably fourteen or so.”
Silence.
He gulped. “Yeah, so, I had to get her out, like through the window, so the ser*so her father wouldn’t notice.”
“Did she throw her hair down for ya?” someone hooted.
“I uh, climbed up with a rope ladder,” Lucas said awkwardly. He stuffed another bite of food in his mouth to buy some time. “So yeah, we headed over to the Blue Moon –“

09-Mar-2011 21:06:33

Crystal Smee

Crystal Smee

Posts: 7,994 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
“Aw, I love that place! You know the bartender? Gerry?”
“Yeah, yeah, he’s cool. So then—“
“You and I should head over for a drink when we get out. Celebrate living, y’know?” The young man leaned across the table and offered his hand. “I’m Rohan.” He grinned, and Lucas couldn’t help but smile back.
“Lucas. And yeah, I’d love to.”
The conversation drifted on, and Lucas realized he’d never finished his story. But that wasn’t important. He smothered the memory of dancing with Justine in the hazy light of the bar, the noise, the feel of her body against his, everything fuzzy with drink. He tried to forget, focused on the men in front of him instead. He was no longer silent, no longer closing himself off. The men were friendly. He threw his head back and laughed a joke, realizing it wasn’t so bad. He did*’t have to be alone if he did*’t want to be.
-- End of Chapter --

09-Mar-2011 21:06:59

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