Desmond
Castaway
"See you in another life, brother..."
Posts: 75
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Post by Desmond on May 28, 2007 14:54:03 GMT
Desmond slung the rifle over his shoulder again. It had been slipping, and he couldn't afford to drop it now he was running. Running though, was an understatement. He was charging, crashing, stumbling, sprinting and tripping, but definitely not running. Running would suggest he wasn't panicked, flustered and breathing as heavily as he should be. All of which, he was. God knows how he managed to wander into the jungle, but he had all the same. It was funny how a little hunt could lead one on a wild goose, or boar, chase and leave one stranded, lost and exposed.
Desmond vaguely wondered if he had been running around in circles, but he knew one thing for sure. He was getting tired, and as soon as he stopped, he'd run into some sort of trouble without needing to move at all. For an island so remote and small that it was on no map, it was very large. And it hid some very strange things, one of which he had just unwittingly disturbed.
The thing had tricked him. It had posed as Penny, her voice, her laugh, her clothes, her fair skin, everything. He was disgusted with himself for falling for it. It was impossible Penny being here on the island, but he had walked towards her anyway, talking to her. Then she had disappeared into the depths of the undergrowth, and when she re-emerged again, she wasn't the same. It had shown him its true form. A dark mass of smoke darting and weaving out of the trees like a monstrosity searching for prey.
Desmond took off at full speed, and hadn't stopped. He could hear plants, small trees, larger trees being ripped out, their roots lying in a heap behind him. He thought it to be the end, and when he couldn't hear the sound anymore, he still kept running. He had heard how clever it was, and he thought it could be throwing him off guard by disappearing.
And now he found himself running blindly through an unfamiliar part of the jungle, with nothing but fear behind him and the unknown before him. If he kept on a straight, he may arrive at the coast and then follow the beach, but as far as he knew, he could be on one edge of the island and moving toward the other. Things were looking bleak, all because he imagined something that wasn't there...
(Someone come help Des out, lol! Open to anyone!)
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Addy
Castaway
Posts: 62
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Post by Addy on May 30, 2007 5:45:46 GMT
((I find it strange how this thread works perfectly for an idea I had in mind. Great how that stuff works out, eh? Hope you don't mind me plopping in!))
It was stupid, really. Possibly border-line insane. How many people actually went out into the jungle hoping to find that strange thing of black smoke? Addy didn't know of anyone who would do it. Under normal circumstances, she wouldn't be anywhere near it. But this wasn't exactly a normal circumstance. No. Addy was out for answers. After all, a miracle had happened just a few days ago.
She'd been out in the jungle with Jack when it started to rain, like it always did. However, rain doesn't mix well with hearing aids, so Addy was soon deaf as a doorknob again. She hated it, always had. But then that smoke thing had shown up. She didn't know how, she didn't know why, but after that encounter... she had her hearing back.
It was a blessing to be able to hear the world without the use of hearing aids. Addy was beyond grateful and a little more than mystified at the whole experience. Which was why she was out in the jungle at this moment.
Her plan, however inadequate, was simple. Wait for the thing to show back up. Addy wasn't expecting instant results, but it was worth a shot, right?
So she was hiding out between the long branches of a tree, hidden inside. She was bored to tears, but she was on a mission. Addy was actually just about to leave her hiding spot when she heard trees being ripped out of the ground. Excited, Addy peeked through the trunks of the trees to try and catch a glimpse. But what she saw was not a monster. It was a man. The man from the hatch, to be more precise.
He was charging in her direction at full speed, running for his life. No matter what her plan was, Addy couldn't just watch him run by. She quickly weaved herself out of the tree and grabbed the arm of the running man before he passed by. "In here!" she hissed, pulling him into her hiding spot.
The only thing left to do at the moment was to wait.
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Desmond
Castaway
"See you in another life, brother..."
Posts: 75
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Post by Desmond on Jun 9, 2007 11:54:48 GMT
Being caught by the arm roughly and then hauled into a clump of branches that could have been a tree on a better day, was the last thing Desmond imagined himself doing. Aside from a small yelp of shock, he made no noise, and didn't struggle from this girl's grasp and escape out into the open again. He was grateful for her being there, but he would have time to thank her later.
He slid in next to her, the place she had chosen to hide in wasn't entirely practical, as there were more branches than floor space on the ground beneath their feet, but the closeness of those branches may well just save them both, as their frames must surely have been shrouded in darkness. He steadied his breathing, and gave the young women a worried look, but remained silent. He couldn't afford to even breath as loudly as he was, in case it gave them away.
He heard the monster, clicking and whirring, dart closer. He could just about see its dark bulk weaving between the trees. He wondered if it had any eyes, sensed them by other means, or had a little camera inside it. God knew what it was, but maybe even God couldn't explain this creature that lurked where people dare not go.
He held his breath, and kept his eyes locked onto the black, swirling smoke gracefully gliding closer. The clicking sounded more like an irritated beetle than a ferocious monster, but he knew what it could do. It ripped up trees and dragged people into the brush. It somehow had this immense power behind it, and it was terrifying.
(Sorry I took so long to reply there, and this reply isn't too wonderful! Slap bang in the middle of an exam season, so I am pretty slow!)
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Addy
Castaway
Posts: 62
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Post by Addy on Jun 9, 2007 16:27:12 GMT
((Exams are icky. Don't worry about it, I understand.)) Addy didn't even realize that she was holding her breath. Standing there in the darkness of the branches and trying to hide for your own safety didn't exactly focus your mind on the small things... like breathing. Feeling a tightness in her chest at the lack of oxygen, she slowly took in air through her nose, trying her hardest to be as silent as possible. Her hands gripped the branches around her as her eyes followed the ominous smoke monster outside of their hiding spot. Addy could feel her heart racing, could feel it pounding in her chest. It seemed possible that it would just pound its way right out of her. She could hear its steady thumping steadily increasing in tempo. But that was the joy of being able to hear, wasn't it? It wasn't a gift she'd had for more than a couple of days now. And it was all thanks to this swirling monster outside of the tree. Her heart rate wasn't so intense due to fear, not really. She was more excited than frightened at the moment. It was easy for her to see that the Scotsman next to her was scared, probably terrified. But Addy continued to stare at the monster in interest and hope. Would this be a moment when they could finally find out what this monster really was? The smoke slowly started to slink away, crackling and chittering as it went. Was it really going away? It had just gotten here! Addy watched it as its dark form vanished into the jungle, seeming to break apart into three different parts and take different paths through the trees. She eyed it in fascination, almost sad that it was leaving. She stood there in silence for another moment, making sure the thing was really gone before turning to the man next to her. She could just make out his outline in the shadows of the branches, but that didn't really matter. "You alright?" she asked him quietly, her voice barely above a whisper. The man had been running pretty hard before she'd pulled him into the branches; she wanted to make sure he wasn't hurt or anything.
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Desmond
Castaway
"See you in another life, brother..."
Posts: 75
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Post by Desmond on Jun 9, 2007 16:42:58 GMT
Desmond glanced to the woman beside him and nodded meekly. He then started to smile, and then laugh. There wasn't anything funny about what she said, or the monster, but they say that when people are terrified out their wits so much, they actually laugh. There was a fine line between happiness and fear, then. He cut off his laughing as soon as he realized he might have been too loud, and attract the smoke back to them.
He coughed quietly, and then spoke properly, his voice barely audible, in a harsh whisper. "Yeah, I'm fine..." he breathed, peering through the branches. He had watched the smoke slink away with keen eyes and hadn't taken them from it until it had completely disappeared. The thing was fascinating, yet awful, at the same time. It was clever, and no mass of black cloud should be clever.
He looked at the woman askance and wondered what she was thinking. She had watched the black smoke creature as intently and carefully as he had, but for an obviously different reason. He wouldn't ask her quite yet though. He really wanted to know what she had been doing out here in the first place, and how she came to be so conveniently placed in order to save his life.
She had saved his life. That had only just occurred to him. He opened his mouth to thank her, but then he didn't know what to say, "Thanks for savin' m'life and all..." or "Not that I don't appreciate it, but...". Of all the ways he thought up, none sounded grateful enough.
(Dead annoying! But they're over soon! ^^)
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Addy
Castaway
Posts: 62
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Post by Addy on Jun 9, 2007 17:31:02 GMT
((I had mine a couple weeks ago, but they're over now, as well as my high school career! Huzzah for graduation!))
Addy looked at the man curiously as he started to laugh. She didn't quite understand what was so entertaining about what had just happened. Maybe it was just a nervous laugh. Sure enough, the Scottish man soon stopped his laughter and replied that he was fine. Addy nodded, glad that nothing was wrong (other than being scared to death).
She was silent for a moment, listening intently for any sounds that would give away the presence of the monster. Not hearing any, Addy started to carefully weave her way out of the brambles of branches. She looked back at Desmond. "So what'd you do to get that thing chasing after you like it was?" she asked him curiously, still keeping her voice low in case that thing was hiding nearby somewhere. Maybe if she knew how to attract this thing, then she'd be able to learn more about this thing.
Addy stopped to untangle her hair as it tugged on a branch. That was the bad part about her hiding spot. She'd been here for about two or three hours and her arms had a good number of scratches and small cuts on them. Her shoulder-length brown hair was a mess as well, but it didn't really bother her at the moment. That was all the price for waiting for something like this.
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