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I hope there's no correlation between entering on the last day and losing. In.
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Oct 18, 2013 19:49
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| # ¿ Apr 26, 2024 14:50 |
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Climb High (752 words) My best friend and I walked by the tallest tree in town, frequently described by her as the most exciting place possible. I’d love to agree with her, but I’m not much of a climber. Nobody could miss the little pink flag at the top of it with “Annie’s” scribbled on it; especially not when most people still remembered how she fell off one of the lower branches two years ago and broke her leg. After a few months of bed rest I went to check on her. Her cast was in bed, but she wasn’t. I found her sitting on the highest branch of that giant tree with a broad grin and her hands tying the flag on. It only took her a few minutes to climb down, but her hands and legs were bleeding from numerous scratches. Her eyes bright and shining, she grasped my hands and asked; “Did you see how high I was?” Something was different about the tree today, there was a familiar face scampering up the top branches. Annie pointed him out to me; my nine year old brother Jordan was bruised, scratched, and steadily ascending. Annie cupped her hands and was ready to yell out before I covered her mouth. “Don’t scare him.” She nodded. An unexpected noise could break his concentration and he was too high to lose it. He reached the top of the tree and stretched out, his arms wobbling and barely long enough to reach Annie’s flag. His legs had a tight grasp on the branch beneath him, but it swayed a little in the breeze. Something caught his attention and he looked down to see us. His eyes widened in surprise, he’d finally noticed exactly how high he’d gone. He called out, “Hey Annie, how’d you get down from this high?” “I took it slowly, one branch at a time,” she yelled up. “But the wind is really strong!” Annie took a deep breath and sighed. “Just hang on, I’ll be right there.” She winked at me as she was getting ready to climb. Just another trip up the tree wouldn’t be a problem. Her hands grabbed onto the lowest branch and she hauled herself up with sure and practiced movements. She reached Jordan and hugged him close. “What’d you come up here for, you little monkey?” He pulled two flags out of his pockets, one red and one blue with his name on one and mine on the other. Annie took them and tied them both onto hers. A sad and limp looking flag without any wind lifting it. He seemed satisfied with it though, shooting me a quick smile. “Very cute, now get down here so I can scold you.” I felt a strong gust of wind blow through the town. I don’t know if it was the extra passenger or the surprise gust, but Annie lost her grip on the tree. There was nothing I could do to help as both of them hurtled towards the ground. I flinched when Annie hit the ground, a momentary blink filled with the sound of a muffled thump punctuated by bones breaking, and a suppressed cry. Then another dreadful thump that sounded much lighter than the first. I forced my eyes open and saw Annie lying still, blood leaking out of a few points where bones punctured her skin, her broken arms still hugging Jordan. I fought down the tears and vomit trying to hold me in place and ran over with my phone out, calling for help. My brother and I were both crying and holding Annie’s hands, as the doctor arrived. Jordan managed to explain how Annie kept a strong hold on him as they fell. Not letting go even when her body bounced from the impact. --- It’s Jordan’s birthday and he wants to take his first skydive: he happens to know a great pilot. We take my rented plane up after tying two dirty flags onto it in a safe spot. “The wind is intense out there, isn’t it?” he asked as we got close to the jump height. “You’re not scared, are you?” He nods. His eyes are excited, but his legs are shaking. “Well, that’s what your instructor is here for. She'll do her job after she's done giggling to herself.” “Maybe he'll relax with another story about my full body cast,” Annie said with an impish grin.
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Oct 21, 2013 00:46
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In because my head's bleeding, but my fingers aren't.
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Oct 22, 2013 14:14
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Won't let a little  get in the way, still In.
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Nov 5, 2013 21:28
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Week LXVI entry. ---------------- En Route Mortality (909 words) Resting in the deep sea, Hookjaw feels a peculiar pulsing one night. A throbbing in his body, with painful intensity. He shakes in the water, unable to rid himself of the feeling. Fully awake, he swims around a little. The pain gradually eases and he starts to relax again. Throb. Throb. His tail propels him through the water; the pain is more demanding than before. He notices a feeling of relief as he heads inland. His tired body no longer feels the absence of sleep, replaced with an unknown excitement. He spots other salmon moving inland as well. A cacophony of moving fish drowns out any possibility of polite chatter. Hookjaw only manages to pick up four words in the deluge of sound: The run has come. The salmon’s final journey, a lifetime of training just for this endurance run. Thousands of salmon are moving towards a river opening, all heading to their birthplace with familiar smells to guide them. Compared to the serenity of the sea, the river’s mouth is a deafening torrent; a great beast swallowing any salmon with the courage to approach. Hookjaw stares at the unbelievable jump from sea to river, five feet of surging water. He flexes his muscles and tenses his tail as he watches other fish clear the jump. Hookjaw shuts out all the noise around him and focuses on the roaring in his head, the adrenaline rushing through his body. His tail tears the water as his head breaks through the surface. Hookjaw flies through the air and lands with a satisfying splash in the freshwater river. As soon as his body hits the new water, it screams in response. Every scale, every muscle, every organ realizes what is happening. Freshwater is poison to adult salmon. Only Hookjaw’s instincts carry him forward through the river. His body will slowly break down and there’s nothing he can do except push on. He hears frantic screaming from the salmon in front of him. Hookjaw sees another jump ahead, much smaller than the first. The water around it is tinged with red. He squints towards the sides of the river and sees several bulky shadows in the water. Hookjaw swims to the jump and blasts upwards. One of the black shapes approach and white teeth glint in the moonlight. Hookjaw pumps all of his energy into his tail and arcs his body to the left. A horrifying abyss snaps shut behind him with a clack. The river is filled with blood and mutilated fish parts from unlucky salmon. Hookjaw speeds past the fish graveyard and the black bears without looking back. Hookjaw’s muscles ache from exertion and the freshwater, but all he can do is swim forward. The sun crests over the trees as he spots his goal, the breeding grounds. He puts the pain away where it can’t interfere and hustles forward. Hookjaw pauses as he hears a fearsome roar ahead. A group of grizzlies have taken over the entrance to the breeding grounds, blocking it with a wall of fur and claws. The water before them is thick with scared and exhausted fish. A few brave, or desperate, ones try to make it past the grizzlies. If a hundred leap towards salvation, only one finishes their jump. The water is murky and hard to breathe in due to the fish congestion; a perfect breeding ground for deadly parasites. Hookjaw pushes past the cowering salmon around him and stops to watch the bears. The largest towers over his brethren, watching them snatch jumping salmon with their razor sharp teeth. The largest doesn’t partake in the buffet of fish around him. He chooses to throw his weight around instead, harassing other grizzlies for their kills. His titanic bulk moves quickly through the water, maiming and crushing weak fish beneath him as he races towards a skinny bear in a prime spot. His massive claws knock the bear off the ledge as his teeth grab the dead fish from the other’s mouth. Taking note of the crushed fish near him, Hookjaw hatches a plan. The salmon around him are avoiding this behemoth, but he’s the only one that isn’t grabbing jumping fish. Hookjaw spurs his body into action and heads straight towards the alpha grizzly. He pours all of his effort into his tail fin, tapping into his last reservoir of energy. With the aim and power of a torpedo, Hookjaw flows through the air right in front of the alpha grizzly’s face. Hookjaw is satisfied when the gigantic predator’s eyes widen in shock as a potential meal outsmarts it. He adds his own flair to the performance, his tail swings through the air and lands a wet slap on the bear’s snout. Hookjaw hears a bellow behind him filled with malice. The grizzly doesn’t follow the speedy salmon; there are weaker bears around to take his rage. Hookjaw finally relaxes his muscles and arrives in the spawning grounds past all of the ravenous bears. After a little searching, Hookjaw finds a suitable place in the lake, oxygen-rich water and free from predators. He looks in the gravel and finds fresh salmon eggs waiting with a female nearby. Belligerent males approach them, but quickly leave after running into the fish that smacked a grizzly. Hookjaw will die taking the confidence with him that he’s given his offspring the best chance to survive, more than any of the other salmon will leave with.
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Nov 10, 2013 22:06
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| # ¿ Apr 26, 2024 14:50 |
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In.
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Nov 12, 2013 01:15
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