Beside the Dying Fire
Posted: Wed Apr 10, 2013 2:48 am
It's a oneshot, but I cut this into two posts because lines or whatever.
Inspired by this song.
Pastebin: http://pastebin.com/Sq6BWbr6
Please enjoy and let me know what you think.
Beside the Dying Fire
The sound of wood chopping, echoing through an empty Alaskan forest. The occasional bird call, the distant sound of rivers flowing and the gentle touch of a cool Spring breeze.
There is the sound of a snapping twig, which shakes Hanako from her tedium. It's close.
She's grown accustomed to the feeling of the axe handle. She listens for any sound that could carry on the wind. She refuses to blink until the details become too obscure, even if she thinks that it is another thing she'd be accustomed to by now.
There's a faint click of a safety being switched, and a grunt as the Nurse pushes himself from his seat. Nobody knows his name, still. The idea that there was a person, with a name, before any of this, hurt to think about. He was the strongest of the group, without a doubt, but he had lost just as much as anyone else. Everyone had ways to cope with their losses. Ways tried and tested.
Except for one of them.
Another snap, closer. It couldn't be more than two. Hanako stands by the firewood, axe close to her chest. She hates fighting them, but she hates them more.
Nurse keeps his pistol trained on the foliage ahead of them, inhaling and exhaling in silent, measured fashion. He was a hell of a shot, and he kept everyone who could hold a gun on a routine. Only two people other than Hanako, now.
Only the sounds of breathing and distant water. Only the touch of a cool Spring breeze.
He whistles.
"What the fuck, Nurse?" Hanako whispers, expression as bitter as her voice.
"It's going to be Emi and Rin," Nurse says, just as quiet but refusing to match the tone. An optimist.
"You don't know that," she says, but she wants to believe him.
They listen. Breathing, water, breeze. No whistles or chirps or barks or growls or moans.
They wait.
From behind them, from the lodge, a door creaks open. A pair of golden eyes look out expectantly. They flicker between despair and hope. The breathing behind her is laboured, and waiting for Misha to come back to her side. She needs her hand in her own now. For the first time in a long time, she worries about the others, about Hanako, Nurse, Emi, Rin, Misha.
She wishes Misha would come back.
She whistles.
Nurse gives Hanako a look. He's unsure. No, he can't be. He had to be sure. Meiko wouldn't fall prey to doubt so easily when it came to her daughter. Another broken promise. Another buried name.
They listen.
A whistle.
Hanako and Nurse almost share a laugh of relief. They settle for a smile instead.
Misha withdraws from her watch, looking away with a tear and a smile.
[Emi and Rin are back,] she signs, walking over to Shizune's side.
Shizune offers a smile, but it is frail. Her sweating hands don't make the effort to move. Even now, she saves her energy to fight on for a little while longer. She doesn't want to leave. She has to.
She wants to stay with her friends, with Misha. She can't. It had been the longest six days of her life, but it only took seven. She doesn't want to go like this.
Misha rests a damp cloth on her forehead and her hand on Shizune's, giving a loving squeeze. She won’t have to go like that. She's not sure if that makes it worse.
"Rabbits, rabbits, rabbits!" Emi speaks up triumphantly, gesturing to the string of meat and fur dangling around Rin's neck. It drapes lazily over her good shoulder.
"Almost looks like enough for a week," Nurse says as walks over to her, casually switching his pistol's safety again and grinning excitedly. Not a toothy grin, though. No more of those.
"I've never seen this kind before," Hanako says as she plays with the rabbit sitting beside Rin's ear. Rin raises a brow, and they all look at Nurse for an answer, as usual.
Nurse brushes his beard in thought, before settling on a likely explanation. "It is Spring, so they could be migrating northward for the warmth and food."
Hanako shudders. 'They' could mean a lot of things. Emi doesn't think much of it. She thinks about how lucky she is, to have warmth and food, and friends. Rin keeps thinking back to the smell of dead rabbit. She thinks about the smell of the cities, and wonders if Yamaku smells anything like that.
The girls move back to their lodge, while Nurse stands outside and watches. He thinks about the smell of home cooking, of breakfast in someone else's house.
Hanako steps out, leaving Emi and Rin to skin their catches. She thinks about how she used to cook with Lilly. She hopes it's better in Scotland. She approaches Misha's and Shizune's cabin, hesitating at the door. She listens.
Inspired by this song.
Pastebin: http://pastebin.com/Sq6BWbr6
Please enjoy and let me know what you think.
Beside the Dying Fire
The sound of wood chopping, echoing through an empty Alaskan forest. The occasional bird call, the distant sound of rivers flowing and the gentle touch of a cool Spring breeze.
There is the sound of a snapping twig, which shakes Hanako from her tedium. It's close.
She's grown accustomed to the feeling of the axe handle. She listens for any sound that could carry on the wind. She refuses to blink until the details become too obscure, even if she thinks that it is another thing she'd be accustomed to by now.
There's a faint click of a safety being switched, and a grunt as the Nurse pushes himself from his seat. Nobody knows his name, still. The idea that there was a person, with a name, before any of this, hurt to think about. He was the strongest of the group, without a doubt, but he had lost just as much as anyone else. Everyone had ways to cope with their losses. Ways tried and tested.
Except for one of them.
Another snap, closer. It couldn't be more than two. Hanako stands by the firewood, axe close to her chest. She hates fighting them, but she hates them more.
Nurse keeps his pistol trained on the foliage ahead of them, inhaling and exhaling in silent, measured fashion. He was a hell of a shot, and he kept everyone who could hold a gun on a routine. Only two people other than Hanako, now.
Only the sounds of breathing and distant water. Only the touch of a cool Spring breeze.
He whistles.
"What the fuck, Nurse?" Hanako whispers, expression as bitter as her voice.
"It's going to be Emi and Rin," Nurse says, just as quiet but refusing to match the tone. An optimist.
"You don't know that," she says, but she wants to believe him.
They listen. Breathing, water, breeze. No whistles or chirps or barks or growls or moans.
They wait.
From behind them, from the lodge, a door creaks open. A pair of golden eyes look out expectantly. They flicker between despair and hope. The breathing behind her is laboured, and waiting for Misha to come back to her side. She needs her hand in her own now. For the first time in a long time, she worries about the others, about Hanako, Nurse, Emi, Rin, Misha.
She wishes Misha would come back.
She whistles.
Nurse gives Hanako a look. He's unsure. No, he can't be. He had to be sure. Meiko wouldn't fall prey to doubt so easily when it came to her daughter. Another broken promise. Another buried name.
They listen.
A whistle.
Hanako and Nurse almost share a laugh of relief. They settle for a smile instead.
Misha withdraws from her watch, looking away with a tear and a smile.
[Emi and Rin are back,] she signs, walking over to Shizune's side.
Shizune offers a smile, but it is frail. Her sweating hands don't make the effort to move. Even now, she saves her energy to fight on for a little while longer. She doesn't want to leave. She has to.
She wants to stay with her friends, with Misha. She can't. It had been the longest six days of her life, but it only took seven. She doesn't want to go like this.
Misha rests a damp cloth on her forehead and her hand on Shizune's, giving a loving squeeze. She won’t have to go like that. She's not sure if that makes it worse.
"Rabbits, rabbits, rabbits!" Emi speaks up triumphantly, gesturing to the string of meat and fur dangling around Rin's neck. It drapes lazily over her good shoulder.
"Almost looks like enough for a week," Nurse says as walks over to her, casually switching his pistol's safety again and grinning excitedly. Not a toothy grin, though. No more of those.
"I've never seen this kind before," Hanako says as she plays with the rabbit sitting beside Rin's ear. Rin raises a brow, and they all look at Nurse for an answer, as usual.
Nurse brushes his beard in thought, before settling on a likely explanation. "It is Spring, so they could be migrating northward for the warmth and food."
Hanako shudders. 'They' could mean a lot of things. Emi doesn't think much of it. She thinks about how lucky she is, to have warmth and food, and friends. Rin keeps thinking back to the smell of dead rabbit. She thinks about the smell of the cities, and wonders if Yamaku smells anything like that.
The girls move back to their lodge, while Nurse stands outside and watches. He thinks about the smell of home cooking, of breakfast in someone else's house.
Hanako steps out, leaving Emi and Rin to skin their catches. She thinks about how she used to cook with Lilly. She hopes it's better in Scotland. She approaches Misha's and Shizune's cabin, hesitating at the door. She listens.
