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Writing Prompt 4
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***comment***WARNING
Use of the F-word and a little blood and gore. *Author's note on name pronunciations. Cesare="Chez-uh-ray", Aiden="Ay-den".
***Post***
Logan glanced over his shoulder to Cesare. "This doesn't look good" he muttered. He could feel the smaller man's back press against his own as the pack methodically tightened their circle surrounding the two men.
Cesare chuckled. "We've been in worse scrapes before. Not that any come to mind at the moment."
The dogs stopped their slow advance and stood tensed and snarling. They were grotesque and mutated from the virus. Their flesh hung off their frames in chunks. The air was choked with the stench of their rotting meat. Some were missing legs or ears or eyes-one was even missing half its face, another was missing a giant chunk out of its side exposing the ribs beneath. The pack parted a bit on one side of the circle. A massive wolf-like beast stepped into the opening. It's teeth were bared and a low growl emanated from deep in its chest.
Logan let out a low whistle. "Holy hell Cesare. Do you see that? Please tell me you see that" They stared in disbelief. The creature threw its head back as if to howl and a great cracking sound rent the air. A shower of blood spurted from the wolf/dog's face and slowly it split into a myriad of tentacle-like appendages. They fanned out like some monstrous parody of a carnivorous plant. The tentacles were covered in teeth and surrounded a gaping maw at their epicenter. The beast opened its mouth and shrieked, a high-pitched keening note that seemed to go on forever.
"Fuck!!" Cesare swore. "What do we do now?"
Logan hesitated only a moment before shouting "RUN!" He aimed at the nearest dog between him and freedom and pulled the trigger. The canine went down with a pitiful yelp. He grabbed Cesare's wrist and took off into a full-out sprint. They darted through the opening in the circle and ran as fast as they could. They needed to get somewhere safe, somewhere high perhaps; there was no way they could outrun the pack forever. The pack was close on their heels snarling and snapping. The alpha was closing on them even faster. Shots echoed off the buildings around them. Cesare fired into the sea of mongrels as they ran but for every one he put down another seemed to take its place.
He turned to see where Logan was leading them. "Hurry, hurry, hurry" he called in an increasingly panicked voice. "They're gaining on us."
A shout came from a nearby building. "Up here quick!" It was Aiden.
"About time" Logan yelled back. He steered Cesare into an alley running beside the building. Aiden was on the fire escape motioning wildly for the pair. He released the ladder and it dropped down---and stopped halfway.
"Dammit!" he yelled, giving the ladder a hard kick but it refused to budge further.
"Aidennnn...hurry" Logan called. They were almost to the fire escape. Aiden kicked the ladder again but it still wouldn't move. He swore loudly and climbed down the ladder himself. He hooked his right arm through the rungs and hung as low as he could, his left arm outstretched. Even dangling from the ladder as he was, he was still a good six or so feet from the ground.
"Jump" he commanded. Logan let go of Cesare and shoved his gun into his waistband. Kicking off the dumpster next to him he leaped into the air and grabbed Aiden's hand. Aiden hauled him up onto the ladder and Logan scrambled onto the walkway. Cesare jumped and missed Aiden's hand by mere inches. The pack was coming down the alley now. They would be on him in seconds. Cesare took a few steps back in the direction of the pack. They were almost on him now.
"Cesare!" Logan screamed. Logan stood watching in white-knuckled horror, gripping the railing. Aiden strained to lean down even further as Cesare took a running jump-and caught Aiden's hand. He dangled there like an inviting piece of meat as Aiden struggled to pull him up. The pack was circling beneath the fire escape now. One of them jumped and caught the hem of Cesare's jeans. Cesare struggled to dislodge the animal and felt himself drop a few inches lower. Aiden's grip on the ladder was slipping.
"Hang on" Logan ordered. He pulled his gun, took careful aim and missed. The bullet ricocheted off the dumpster and dropped another dog on the ground below. He was lining up a second shot when Cesare's jeans ripped and the dog fell to the pavement. With a mighty grunt Aiden managed to pull Cesare up onto the ladder and two of them collapsed in a heap on the landing. Logan stood doubled over with his hands on his knees breathing hard. Aiden, sprawled on his back, looked up at Logan with a cocky grin.
"Nice shot" he teased. Logan kicked him in the shoulder playfully.
"Where the hell were you" Logan demanded through gasping breaths. Aiden gripped his shoulder and pretended to look hurt.
Cesare sat up and interrupted, his voice dripping with sarcasm, "I'm alright if anyone cared to notice." Logan and Aiden looked at each other and then at Cesare. The three of them burst out laughing. The pack was still circling below and the alpha let out an angry howl.
*** Comment ***A good first submission for this prompt. The interaction between animal and man is tense, the scene sets the urgency and pace very well.
one small comment, as soon as they start running you indicate "The pack was close on their heels snarling and snapping. The alpha was closing on them even faster."
This seems contradictory to me, as if they are really 'on their heels' then there is hardly any distance between them, and there can't really be anything that is closer than that. Also, if the pack is faster than the humans, then if they give chase right away they are going to pretty much catch them right away. You need to find a way to give them some distance (a distraction, a jump off a cliff, something that gives the pack pause or puts some distance betwen them. You may have the lesser dogs ravage the one just shot, and the alpha has to rally them.)
***comment***This is why I love being able to get feedback. I didn't even catch that distance thing when I was writing it. That's a great idea having them go after the shot dog. I'll probably go ahead and use that if it's okay with you (it was your idea and all.) :)
*** Comment ****By all means. Have at it.
*** Post ***This is more of a work I have started, those who've read Prompt 3 will know Elena....
****
Elena woke suddenly and completely, her senses tingling with trepidation. Cautiously she took stock of her surroundings, surveying the area with her ears and her nose while she allowed her eyes to grow accustomed to the early morning light. The stillness of the morning was palpable, unusually so. There were no birds singing in the morning, no scurrying of small forest creatures, even the buzz of insect life was absent. From the fire came the scent of ash, from her the smells of leather and cloth, damp with dew, and in the air the smell of the earth and the scent of pine from her shelter beneath its boughs.
Her eyes now accustomed, she scanned her field of view while she remained still on the ground. The remains of the fire were near and blocked much at ground level, but she could see the needles of the pine and the trunks of the trees round about her, and as she scanned, she also saw the yellow of animal eyes.
Not more than ten feet from her a small dark shape was concealed in the morning half-light, but its eyes held her, and in them was a savagery that she had not encountered before. Slowly Elena reached for her staff, the motion hardly a crawl, and she gathered herself mentally and emotionally. Calling on her gift, she cast her emotions out to the creature, reaching with arms of thought to touch upon its mind. As she connected, a flood of loss and raw hunger poured across the link and Elena entered a divided state, part of her in the animals mind, part in her own.
Immediately she knew that what she faced was a wolf, but also that it was alone, which surprised her. Her fingers closed about her staff, and she both saw from the wolf’s eyes and felt her own movements as she started to rise. Fear surfaced in the wolf’s mind, raw and pungent, but its hunger drove it to ignore the fear and it hunkered down, baring its teeth with a menacing growl. Elena circled out of the sheltering tree in a low crouch, her staff held in front of her, and the wolf matched her movements, sizing her up and preparing for attack.
Shadows were lessening with the rising sun, though it had still not risen above the canopy of the wood. Elena examined the form of her attacker in the increased light. The wolf was young, perhaps only a few months old, but he was extremely lean, his skin taught across his flesh and his bones pronounced in his legs and abdomen. Normally such a young wolf would still be with his pack, not even venturing out for a full hunt yet. To find him in such a shape bode ill for this wood, a suspicion Elena had known for the past several days travelling through it.
With quick darts of her eyes Elena looked for a way of retreat, though the animal was small, it was desperate, a dangerous trait, and her efforts to calm it with her gift were being rebounded. The drive of its hunger was just too strong.
Abruptly her time to escape ended as the wolf lunged at her. Elena dropped lower, bracing her staff to meet the charge. The wolf was aiming low trying to wound or lame her to make its job easier, but she brought the staff down to intercept his bite and rolled back with his charge. Pivoting it through its jaws on her staff she kicked her heels into its stomach, sending the animal over her and flying into the woods. As her momentum carried her feet over her Elena heard a heavy thud and a pained yelp from her foe. She hoped it would reconsider its attack, but could feel in her mind that its need was too great. Completing her roll, Elena came back to her feet and spun quickly to face the wolf again.
Its first assault thwarted, the animal was more cautious, though the hunter instinct was quickly giving way to the survival need again. Elena knew there would be no easy end to this, it was life and death to this creature, no other option would be entertained. They began circling again, Elena trying to keep the wolf at bay, the wolf looking for opportunity or weakness. The adrenaline ignited in her blood made time seem to crawl, and though she knew it was only moments, they seemed to gauge each other in that slow circle for an eternity. Unfortunately the confines of the wood, while fairly open compared to some, were too close to allow her full movement; the wolf was closing the distance to her.
Inexorably Elena watched as the wolf moved closer and closer, every so often darting in to snap at her feet before retreating quickly. The path forward stretched out in her mind, and she knew that it would soon be time to kill or be killed; the animal could give her no other choice. With regret Elena resolved to do what must be done and drew back from its mind so she could prepare herself.
The wolf lunged, and Elena brought her staff around, striking it hard on the shoulder as she twisted away. A few well-placed strikes and she could stay the beast; maybe even leave it wounded, but alive. She misjudged its desperation however and it rebounded very quickly, before she could turn to face it. Teeth sunk into the flesh of her thigh just above the knee and she let out a cry. Fire erupted through her body from the wound and the strength of the leg wavered, buckling, she started to fall. As she twisted on her way down she tried to bring her staff between her and the wolf, certain it would move to strike her throat, and she wasn’t wrong. Teeth gnashed at the staff as she held it over her chest, all her strength directed to keeping the starving animal at bay.
Elena was no longer afraid for the animal, but was now afraid for herself. On the ground, the wolf was over her, and while not full grown, it was still large enough to present a problem even without the wound on her leg. Relentlessly the beast was snapping at her neck, its claws ripping at her chest and abdomen as it lunged and rebounded, stopped only by the staff, though she didn’t know how long she would be strong enough or lucky enough to keep up against it.
Desperately Elena tried to turn the tide, kicking with her good leg and twisting her body to try and move away from the wolf, but it all seemed to no avail, it kept coming, its teeth closing on her staff sending hot breath and warm saliva against her face, again, and again. Her strength now was all but gone, exacerbated by her loss of blood. The staff was splintered and gnawed, even if she could continue to bring it to bear, it would break under this onslaught.
As if knowing the end was near, the wolf withdrew a few feet, readying for a final attack, and Elena dropped her arms , uncertain if she could hold them if she’d tried. Closing her eyes, she prepared for the end, the thought at once welcome and sorrowful. Before she could contemplate these further, a new sound filled her ears, the rapid strike of paw on ground, and a long howl from behind her.
Elena lifter her eyes to see a silver-gray blur fly from the woods. It struck the advancing form of the young wolf full force, throwing it back against a tree as the silver gray stopped and resolved into the shape of Grune. Saved!
Realization of her salvation washed over her and the adrenaline left her, draining what strength she had and clouding her mind. Her eyes fluttered and closed.
***
BTW, Grune is a large, elder Gray Wolf, which figures in other parts of the story.
So, lets add to the kitty. (pun intended)
For this prompt, the central tenet/scene/conflict needs to revolve around an animal. Fictional/new animals are possible. This could be a hunt, a battle, or even just a lazy day where attention is paid to the meanderings of a cat. Have fun!