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Crystal Smee

Crystal Smee

Posts: 7,994 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
She crumpled, crying, nose running. She wiped her face on her sleeve. “It’s my father’s choice.” She bent over sobbing, cheeks flushed with shame. She felt so powerless, and yet Lucas was everything to her, if she could only be free of all the expect
“Hey, hey, I’m sorry,” he murmured, pulling her into his arms. “I just hate thinking that all I’ll ever get to be is that boy you once knew.”
“That boy that I always loved,” she amended, and reached up to kiss him.
After a moment, he said, “Is there anything I can do to change your mind?”
She pulled him down onto the bed to sit. “I just need to think. About the implications. I was caught by surprise the other day. I wasn’t ready for – it.”
He kissed her again, then said, “This has a time limit, doesn’t it?”
“Lucas…”
“No, it’s true. Someday your father will marry you off. And what’ll I be left with?”
Justine let the memory go, and thought how she was the one who was left with nothing. He’d left her, not the other way around. And this was what she was left with. She had to make a new life somehow. She would’ve wanted the same thing him. So she knocked on the door.
James answered, and they looked at each other for a long time. “Come in,” he said finally.
She entered, silent.
“Drink?”
“Please.”
They sat down, and he regarded her over a cup of wine. “What brings you this way, my Lady?”
“Are you really going to be like that? I’m here, aren’t I?”
“I would just love to know what changed your mind,” James said.
“Exactly. But James, you must understand, I’m not committing to anything with you right now. I mean, you talk about having me as your queen, but I can’t promise you that.” She drank, then said, *I don’t want to be miserable forever.”
“Fair enough. Who wants that?”

03-Aug-2011 03:59:27

Crystal Smee

Crystal Smee

Posts: 7,994 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
He thought for a long time. “Fine, but will you admit that you like me? Just a little?” He grinned, and she couldn’t help laughing.
“Yes, my Prince. I find you quite charming.”
There was an awkward beat of silence between them, then he said, “So how have you been?” She did*’t answer, and he quickly added, “You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want.”
“No, I do. It’s just that I’ve hardly been able to talk about it. I’ve been doing better. This is going to saw completely awful, but in a way it’s almost a relief. Not that he’s gone, but that I don’t have to wonder anymore. I’m used to missing him. And it hurts like hell, knowing that I’ll never seem him again, but at least there’s no suspense. That was just driving me crazy. At least I know.”
He nodded sympathetically, then said, “May I refill your drink?”
She handed him the glass. *What should we do now?*
*Well,” he said, returning the glass full of wine, “there’s a beautiful sunset tonight and my balcony happens to have quite a nice view. Why don’t we just sit out there for awhile?”
“That sounds lovely,” Justine said, and rose to follow him, as he led her out onto the ledge.

03-Aug-2011 03:59:56

Crystal Smee

Crystal Smee

Posts: 7,994 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
Early the next morning, Travis came around to each tent, barging in to wake up the soldiers. Trying to remain quiet, he slapped their faces while covering their mouths with one hand, and hit them again if they groaned too loudly. “Outside. Five minutes,” he hissed to each of them, his breath misting in front of their faces. In only a short while, they were arranged on the beach, all packed up and ready to go. Jonah stood before them as they shivered in the pre-dawn cold. Their commander wore only a thin shirt, yet did*’t even flinch. Lucas watched him with a scowl, thinking of the times Derrick had chattered on about Jonah’s near-superhuman abilities. When the last member of the group had run up, struggling to get his pack on, Jonah motioned for them to move. He never said a word, and neither did anyone else.
Lucas looked eagerly up at the wall of jungle before him. The jungle had begun to wake up; he heard birds chirping and shrieking, and the yelp of what he thought might be a monkey. He wished he had his notebook, to take notes on all he saw. But he’d have to just try to remember it all on his own and record it later. What wonderful science books he could write now, with his first hand experiences no naturalist had had before. He could discover a new species here! If only he wasn’t a soldier on a mission, that was…If he made it out of here alive, when the war was over, he’d come back, he vowed. For now he simply looked on with wonder.
They passed through the first of the trees and into the forest. Instantly they were enveloped by it, as if passing into its waiting arms. It became dark as night and the distant sounds faded, replaced by a chill, eerie silence. There was only the sound of their footsteps, the clouds of their breath in front of them.

12-Aug-2011 02:49:06

Crystal Smee

Crystal Smee

Posts: 7,994 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
They moved in single file through the vegetation. They weaved between tree trunks so wide that Lucas could not have fit both his arms around them, that stretched up so high Lucas could barely see the top, as they faded into the blackness. The roots of these trees bent like swollen knees almost a foot out of the ground. Lucas clambered over these, only to sink into sticky, clinging mud. Long epiphytes hung from the trees like curtains he had to part to get by. At every moment he was struck by the wildlife. He would pass under a tree branch and encounter a large, hanging flower, a vibrant purple or blue color. He longed to stop and examine the exotic bugs he saw, or the birds he could hear and sometimes spot in the canopy above.
As they slogged through, they followed Jonah, who moved without any path or map. He carried a large hunting knife that he used to pry his way through the bush. Their commander followed some internal compass – every so often he would stop and stand in silence, as though listening to the jungle for instructions. As lUcas watched, he wondered if Jonah thought of Derrick at all; if the old soldier ever considered the past or if he only thought of the future, of what would happen next in this mission.
It occurred to Lucas that Jonah might not be thinking about anything. Lucas found his own mind going blank for long periods, he guessed even minutes at a time, as he walked. He simply looked at the ground, watching his boots land in the soft dirt and sink slightly. And he thought of nothing at all. This, he realized, gave him peace. For a few moments at a time, he could zone out and turn everything inside of him off. He could stop thinking and solely exist in the present moment, of himself trekking through the jungle. He felt relaxed for once, just enjoying the sights, not obsessing about anything any more.

12-Aug-2011 02:49:29

Crystal Smee

Crystal Smee

Posts: 7,994 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
Was this why the other soldiers traveled in silence? Or did each have his own reasons? He wanted to ask Sorokin what he thought about, or if he knew what Jonah thought about. But he and Sorokin hadn’t spoken since the briefing. Lucas was still angry about the storm, and that Sorokin did*’t see it as a serious issue.
He saw Sorokin walking alongside Jonah now. Their lips moved, but the were so quiet that Lucas couldn’t even hear the murmur of their voices. He tried to suppress the urge to know what they were talking about. It wasn’t his problem. He put his head down, trying to tune it out, to find that quiet peace from before, but he couldn’t. It was only a few minutes before Jonah stopped and threw up a hand to signal them. One by one, the men shuffled to a halt.
“Hear that?” he said softly, but it was so quiet his voice carried to all of them.
There were a few moments of confusion, as the men tipped their heads, listening to the jungle. Then blank stares.
Jonah started moving again, a sly smile on his face. The men looked at each other, curious, hands going instinctively to their weapons. A few more steps, and then Lucas heard it, getting louder – a rushing, a pounding, like thunder. Then the jungle opened up before them, and they piled into the clearing before a tall, streaming waterfall. Sorokin laughed with joy, so taken by surprise he couldn’t help himself. The water poured down, mist rising, creating a small, glimmering rainbow. It created a gleaming, sparkling pool of water that was nearly clear. The waterfall stretched up many feet high up into tall, craggy cliffs.
None of the men knew how to react and milled about in awkward silence, until Jonah reached up and pulled his shirt off. Before any of them could process, he turned and vaulted into the pool. Seeing this, they burst into action, stripping and hurling themselves at the water.

12-Aug-2011 02:50:19

Crystal Smee

Crystal Smee

Posts: 7,994 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
After weeks on the road, on the boat, without a proper bath, the water felt heavenly. Lucas plunged in, submerging completely, letting the cool water swirl through his shaggy hair and brush the dirt off his skin. He broke to the surface, inhaling sharply, watching his companions splash and play and laugh.
Once again, he longed for a notebook, to be able to write, to capture what he saw here. These men, these vicious, hardened men, who had spent the last few months doing nothing but killing and thinking about killing – now playing about like children, dunking each other and diving from the rocks. Lucas felt overcome with emotion, seeing this. They looked so innocent. He pulled himself out and began to scramble up the rocks, chased by Rohan.
Just as he reached a small ledge, he saw Jonah just floating on his back in the middle of the pool, before the young soldier tackled him from behind and they fell down to slap against the water. They wrestled for a moment, before Lucas had to break away for air. Above water, he looked for Jonah again, watched the commander lying so peacefully in the midst of the confusion. So it appeared that even Jonah could regain his innocence.
He thought of Martin, and Derrick, and the lives he had taken on the beach. They all had their regrets. But if he could forgive himself for Martin, he should be able to forgive Jonah for Derrick. Mistakes happened. And if Jonah was a drunk…well, they’d all have to deal with it eventually. But for now, he just wanted to lay down in the water, just float, and let everything else just fade away.

12-Aug-2011 02:52:02

Crystal Smee

Crystal Smee

Posts: 7,994 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
This relative peace that Lucas felt quickly ended when a cry rang out across the glade. Luca turned quickly, identifying the source of the scream. One of the soldiers splashed and flailed near the waterfall, howling in pain. Lucas rushed toward the man and out of the corner of his eye saw Sorokin doing the same. Together they helped carry the man out onto the rocks, where they laid him down. The soldier pushed them away, grumbling, “I’m fine, I’m fine!”
“What happened?” Lucas asked.
“My arm,” the soldier grumbled. *I dove, think I hit some rocks.”
“Sit still,” Sorokin ordered. He gently probed the injured arm, which the soldier had cradled to his chest. Lucas felt the eyes of the entire squad on them. “What’s your name, soldier?” Sorokin asked as he worked.
“Dusty – ahhhh!” Dusty squirmed with pain.
Lucas met Sorokin’s gaze, sensing his worry. He looked down, examined the arm. He could see the pone nearly protruding through the skin. The elbow was out of place – he must have landed on an outstretched arm and dislocated it. They would have to reset the bone.
“Well, Dusty,” he began uncertainly. He looked at Sorokin, who nodded for him to go on, “it looks like your arm is broken. We’re going to have to set it.”
At that moment, Travis marched up to them. “How bad is it?”
Sorokin scowled at him. “Not great. This*ll take a little while.”
“Jonah wanted to move out soon.”
“Then we’ll have to stay here.”
Travis folded his arms. “Don’t be ridiculous, Sorokin.”
“Then tell Jonah he’ll have to deal with it.” Sorokin reached over and yanked Lucas to his feet. “Help me get him up.”
“We’re moving him?”
“Out of the public eye,” Sorokin snapped, glaring at Travis. They hauled Dusty up and helped him toward the waterfall, where they disappeared behind a wall of rocks. In the cool shade, they helped settle him in a sitting position on the ground. “I gotta warn you, this is gonna hurt, man.”

18-Aug-2011 03:22:18

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