Writers round table

[Ryan]

Then he let me go and I almost fell to my knees.  Air.  Sweet humid clean air.  I gulped lungs full of it for a few seconds and managed to choke out "What...?"  I wanted to say "what the hell are you talking about" but my abused throat objected and I started to cough.

Thirty hacking seconds later, I could breathe again, but I kept coughing, because something that kind of had the shape of something in the plan neighborhood was forming, and I needed the time. At the full minute mark, I hunched forward, made some dry heaving sounds, and my right hand groped for a stick I'd banged my knee on moments before.

My hand wrapped around it and I straightened right up, took a big, raspy breath, raised my arm and hurled the stick, yelling "Fetch!" as loud as I could (which was almost as loud as my indoor voice). The THING took off into the night, and the knight half-turned to watch it go.

At which point I launched myself to my feet,  sort of latched onto his wrist and hand and pried the lightsaber away, and sprinted down the street, really, really wishing the weapon were real.

Of course, then it was.

[Qualapec]

At which point I launched myself to my feet,  sort of latched onto his wrist and hand and pried the lightsaber away, and sprinted down the street, really, really wishing the weapon were real.

Of course, then it was.

As I fled down the street the pavement ripped at the bottoms of my bare feet, but the rain water was quickly numbing them. Of course, right then it didn't matter. All I knew in that moment was that if I didn't get away from the rent-a-knight behind me I wouldn't be living very long. When it comes down to it that's all that matters, when a person's life is threatened or the lives of someone they love, they'd be amazed just what they can do. I heard the thundering, chain and plate mail behind me like a demonic base drum as the Knight came up behind me at a speed that would put gold metalists to shame. Fear twisted inside me as I turned around to stare at the behemoth behind me.

I was so focused on him I didn't notice the freakin' pot hole in the middle of the road. Between tripping, and catching a variety of injuries in the process, somehow I still managed to keep my eyes on the Knight. He kept coming like a locomotive. That's right folks, he was loco and he had some serious motive to lop my head off, apparently. Again, the realization came that if he caught me again I wouldn't live to regret it. That was when an unexpected thrum of energy came from the device in my left hand as I swung it in hopes of deflecting his massive hand.

[seradhe]

That was when an unexpected thrum of energy came from the device in my left hand as I swung it in hopes of deflecting his massive hand.

I had braced myself for the inevitable impact of the plastic blade against his wrist, but the sudden lack of it caused me to spin wildly around. I tumbled down the road for a few feet, gasping and landing with a loud "oomph".

My own sounds of pain were far outdone by the roaring cry coming from the knight. As I sat up, I noticed a series of deep, perfectly-cut gouges in the asphalt along my route-of-stumbling, leading up to an armored hand.. resting at the feet of the knight.

[Kristine]

As I sat up, I noticed a series of deep, perfectly-cut gouges in the asphalt along my route-of-stumbling, leading up to an armored hand.. resting at the feet of the knight.

Oddly the first thing that went through my already overloaded brain was not,' How the f&%*k did I get a real light saber?' or even 'Holy Crap this knight's going to kill me!' but rather 'HEY! This is just like in Return Of The Jedi'  Then I was too busy surviving as the hound THING came back to defend it's master.  I swung in a wide arcs and the hound skidded to a halt on all fours, ears back, all six eyes squinting in anticipation of a blow.  It managed to avoid my panicked swinging that did make cool buzzing sounds and skittered to stand between it's master and myself.  the knight held his arm to his chest though it wasn't bleeding I can't imagine it didn't hurt. A lot.
     "you further condemn yourself by using the Chimeric you have stolen from the Wildflower"  he said with disgust.
     "I don't know what the hell is happening..." I ended on a hysterical angry note, took a breath and started to giggle again.  Some part of my brain registered that this wasn't helping.
     I could tell he didn't believe me by the tone of his voice, "You can't feel the power?  The bright images that are before you like picture that moves and breaths?"

[tagnizkur]

"Here is what I feel.  Glass in my ass from the wrecked van.  Bruises everywhere bruises shouldn't me.  A wedgie so deep that the abyss of the ocean feels for me."

I take a deep breath thinking at the same time why the hell am I being tough and beligerent at a moment like this,  and were they hell are my ruby slippers bercause I wanna go home

The knight glares at me and his digust with me only worsens.  "Now you dare mock my holy words."

The next thought that rages through my mind as the knight charges is thank goodness is raining, that way the stain I am about to make won't be so bad when my corpse is identified

[meg_evonne]

In amazing perfect Skywalker form, I spun the lightsabre full circle, brandishing it, and the knight stopped so fast he sent water from a puddle up and it steamed as it struck the activated weapon.  The six eyed THING slid out of control and its nose pinged against the lightsabre's path, it growled in pain and backed cautiously away. 

"Not so fast, Wildflower Knight."  For emphasis I stepped forward.  The knight and the THING backed up a pace, which was heartening.  I didn't push it by taking another step.  I needed time to think, never exactly my strong point, so I needed a fair chunk of time.   I was damn sure these two were not going to let me slip into the night, they'd be after me immediately OR they'd come after me when I wasn't prepared.

"This weapon that you claim I took was a gift from a friend.  I've only had it a short time and I'm pretty sure you want the person who actually lifted it from Wildfire, right?" 

"The one who stole the light-sword must face the consequences of the Justice of Wildfire."

"Right, so you want her.  I'm an innocent in this, do you hear?  I propose we meet here tomorrow night at this exact time.  I vow, upon my honor--"  I struggled to sound official and noticed the two street signs behind the knight illuminated in the street light through the rain, "as Knight of Addison & Clark, to be here with this weapon and the person who stole it and release both to you to answer to those charges." 

I was going to kill Debbie, absolutely without question, I was going to kill her.  She'd looked suspicious when she'd carelessly left it behind in my bedroom and now I knew that it wasn't so "carelessly" left.  Damn her and her antiquity dealings in parallel worlds. I just hoped I could find her in time.  If she was on the run, it wouldn't be easy, especially if she had shifted to a parallel world.  If she'd left the lightsabre as a decoy to get them to come after me, she was on the run with something even more valuable, something that this Knight knew nothing about. SomeONE probably bigger and meaner than these two was watching and waiting.  I swore that this time, I'd hand them Debbie's head on a platter and hightail it out of Dodge.

[Qualapec]

If she'd left the lightsabre as a decoy to get them to come after me, she was on the run with something even more valuable, something that this Knight knew nothing about. SomeONE probably bigger and meaner than these two was watching and waiting.  I swore that this time, I'd hand them Debbie's head on a platter and hightail it out of Dodge

It was a great plan. In theory. First I needed to get away from the neanderthall and his pooch. Which, in and of itself was going to be difficult. I may have had a wicked powerful weapon that could slice through that chain mail, but really my only experience with swords of any kind was a fencing class I took in fifth grade. But it would cut through anything, and that sounded like a winning-

...What the hell? Before my very eyes, the THING stalked over to the severed hand that lay on the soaking concrete. It stared at it for a moment of hesitation, before picking it up viciously in it's mouth and swallowing it whole like a bird, mail and all. I was pondering how painful it must have been as the streetlight above flickered. Something warm and prickly brushed against my cold skin. Like a balmy breeze. The streetlight reluctantly flickered back to life...and the knight's hand was back...Right where it should have been. Not even the armor showed the signs of melting off.

"It is in your possession, you are guilty despite your involvement in the theft." He said in that same monotonous voice, "You shall face your punishment. Now, will you lay down your weapon and ride on the Messenger Hound, or shall you insist on loss and ride in it?"

[meg_evonne]

"It is in your possession, you are guilty despite your involvement in the theft." He said in that same monotonous voice, "You shall face your punishment. Now, will you lay down your weapon and ride on the Messenger Hound, or shall you insist on loss and ride in it?"  quote Qualapec

*Really cool with the hand bit...  :-)*

Plan B.. Bizerko mode, my forte anyway....

5th Grade fencing aside, my time playing Star Wars must have worn off.  I attacked with fury, the saber whirled over head as if it was choreographing the movement itself.  They backed off fast, but I was faster.  I swept the saber in an arch chopping through the knight's other hand and in the returning motion slashed at the three foot thick trunk of an oak tree beside us.  I swept back, missing the knight who retreated quickly, stumbling over the same pot hole I had previously.  The six eyed THING snarled but I sliced through two of it's legs and it collapsed at my feet.  Again on the return motion I swiped the tree trunk with the 2nd lumberjack angled cut and the tree crashed downwards.  The knight screamed but I wasn't done yet.  Rather than returning the stroke towards the two I let the arch carry it over my head, brought it down in classic fencing style and jabbed through the two middle eyes of the messenger beast, impaling what I assumed was it's brain. 

As the tree fell down on the knight, I used my other hand, avoiding the lightsaber and snagged up the beast.  It was heavy and not moving, thank goodness.  I could have killed the knight, but whatever had sent one knight might send 10 the next time around.  I waited only a few seconds to make sure the knight was down for the count for a least several minutes and then turned, beast in hand, and ran through the rain, splashing through the rain puddles and patches of street lights on the sidewalk, and turned sharply into the Red Line stop and bounded up the stairs to the train platform above.  I managed to catch the train as the doors were closing and it headed south. 

The locals in the car took one look at the flaming lightsaber and the dead beastie, that thankfully wasn't bleeding, I must have cauterized the veins as I had impaled it, and they shifted to another car.  I was too keyed up to sit down and I watched the buildings flash by.   If I wanted out of this I needed to find Debbie and to find her I needed a certain item I'd deposited at the magic pawn shop, near the university.  I needit to get rent money.  I rechecked the beast to make sure it was still dead, I'd stab it again if it even twitched.  Hopefully, the pawn shop owner would let me trade one worn messenger beast that could rejuvenate body parts for the device I'd hawked (help spelling?). 

With the few minutes left before the train reached the station I needed, I wondered if I'd remembered to set the Tivo to record House.

[GWiz]

With the few minutes left before the train reached the station I needed, I wondered if I'd remembered to set the Tivo to record House.

Slimy Paul’s sits on Market and 8th streets. It’s not really called Slimy Paul’s; the name is, creatively, Pawn World. Those of us in the know call it Slimy Paul’s in dubious honor of the current proprietor, Paul Watanabe. We call Paul Slimy in dubious honor of the fact that, should you be unfortunate enough to catch sight of him un-Doubled, you’d see that he was…….well, rather slimy. And kinda smelly. None of which really mattered right now, ‘cause I needed to see him, regardless of form, pretty badly.
   I’d managed to turn off the lightsaber and stuff it into my belt without pruning anything off accidentally. The rest of my impromptu train ride was fairly uneventful, and I made it to the Market Street station without anything attacking me. I was wondering how I was gonna pull off dragging the carcass of the messenger beast without attracting the attention of the party going public that inhabited downtown on a Friday night. I was just getting ready to fake a foo-doggish stole when the lights in my lonely car went dim, then out completely.

[meg_evonne]

I was wondering how I was gonna pull off dragging the carcass of the messenger beast without attracting the attention of the party going public that inhabited downtown on a Friday night. I was just getting ready to fake a foo-doggish stole when the lights in my lonely car went dim, then out completely.

"Crap."  That was an understatment...

[Qualapec]

"Crap."  That was an understatment...

I didn't have time to gather enough wits about me before a low growl rumbled in the creature I carried. I felt it more than heard it, which was impressive considering the size. Dull shock shot through me as I glanced down at the creature. Slowly, but all too quickly the six eyes opened to wolf-like golden eyes. Myself and the messenger beast stared at each other for a moment. Knowing that if I moved it would kill me. More importantly, it knew that if I moved it would kill me.

Could I pull the Light Sabre from my jeans before it could latch onto my throat? Or would it just be best to stand there, keeping it in a staring contest until its master came to claim his pet and prize? What to do, oh what to do.

It made the first move, its legs stiffened and it launched its massive jaws at my throat from point blank range. I couldn't have grasped the Light Sabre even if I'd had time to consider the option. Long, sharp fangs slipped through my skin and muscles, severing tendons and vessels. Through the searing pain in my neck and head I tried to reach for the weapon in my pants, or at very least tried to kick and wretch myself free of the hound. My efforts were abruptly halted with a sharp twist of jaws that ended in all feeling disapearing from my body, and my neck at a wrong angle. The thought crossed my mind that I had to be dead, otherwise it would be hurting, right? The other thought that crossed my mind was Debbie. We were friends, why would she possibly want this for me? What alternitives could she have had? Were we ever friends? In those moments I lost all desire for retribution, all that remained was the question of why.

And the beast swallowed me, body and soul. With as great an ease as it had swallowed the hand...

[GWiz]

And the beast swallowed me, body and soul. With as great an ease as it had swallowed the hand...

     I woke up. I wasn’t dead. Or, if I was dead, I certainly didn’t expect it to be like this. The first thing I noticed was the cold floor. Stone. Cold. Amplified by my nudity. HEY! Who the hell stole my clothes? I’m not normally described as modest, but I'm not exactly an exhibitionist, either. I sat up, which did lots of unpleasant things to my balance. Eventually, I felt like I might be able to check out the rest of the room without emptying my stomach. Small, maybe ten feet to a side. Two bodies chained to the wall. Dead bodies. One fresh, one not so fresh. Was I worried? Did I panic? Hell no, the mummy to my right had clothes which I was determined to liberate.
   Since my cell mates were hung from the wrists, it was easy to strip the pants off my deceased benefactor (I eschewed his undies, though) but the shirt was a different matter. I ended up ripping a hunk of material away from my desiccated friend and wrapping it around my chest. I now looked like a hooker from a South Beach graveyard, but hey, as least I was covered. My continued exploration of my new digs, and any further ponderings as to how I got here, were interrupted by heavy, clanging steps swiftly approaching. In the dim torchlight (torchlight? Who uses torches anymore….) I could just make out the heavy ironbound door behind me. Keys rattled in the lock and the door swung inward with a groaning sigh.
   “Wow. Great ensemble,” she said. “Nuevo Decomposed?”

[meg_evonne]

"Debbie?"   

[GWiz]

"Debbie?"   

"Wrong, sweetie. But she's on the list too."

[Kristine]

"Wrong, sweetie. But she's on the list too."

   "What list?" I said bluntly.
   She smiled as if I had said something funny.
   I pointed at the floor I had just occupied, "Listen lady, I was just eaten by a big dog with six eyes, I was put in a cell with two dead..." I tried to identify the gender of my cell mates and failed, "...people, and worst of all, I was attacked by a medeavil knight spouting off about the Sunflower... "
     "Wildflower." she corrected archly
     "Wildflower, wildfire, wilderbeast...whatever he was, he was PISSED OFF at me for no good reason!"  I took a breath as I knew this special brand of supernatural weirdness did not take kindly to the normals like me getting uppity.  "I'm supposed to get a phone call." I finished lamely.
     She raised one of the segmented shapeshifter eyebrows that looked so much like Debbie's, "We don't have a...phone..." she seemed amused and I resisted telling her she looked a lot like my half breed friend, just to see her come unglued.
     "Look,  I've always said I'd prefer to stay out of sight of the supernatural big boys, Why, for the love of all that is wholesome would I have a working light saber at my house other than it was left their by someone else?"
    She cocked her head quizicly at me, "Is that what you saw it as?" she was suppressing a grin and I wanted to strangle her.
    "Yes, that's what it was" I said patienty as if I was talking to a child, then it dawned on me what she had just implied, "What was it really?"