An Occurance

This is a palce holder for the current peice I'm writing. Take it as you will, there's no offical summary of what I've typed so far.


An Occurrence
by Scott Watson


Chapter 1
Rabbit and Boy



It was falling. This single leaf, wilted with age, was weaving back and forth through the air as gravity slowly pulled it down to the bottom of the Forrest. It was in these parts of the Forrest that daylight was rarely seen, due to the fact that the Sun was unable to penetrate the canopy which was rather thick in this section of the Forrest. As the leaf finally landed on the ground, it lay upon a growing pile of dead leaves. The time of the year was fall, and within the forrest the stagnant air was chilly. Silence filled the air, the only thing that sounded were the tops of the trees which were being blown in the upper winds. Suddenly a small silhouette burst through a bush, the creature was hopping. It was aimed towards the small path which led throughout the entire Forrest. The path had been overran with vegetation, only a small outline was left of the once great road. It’s speed was almost blurring, and behind it was a larger silhouette in pursuit. From above a stream of sunlight shown through the canopy, which both of the creatures ran through. Although the outlines of the creatures became more defined, nothing more came from the sunlight. The smallest creature appeared to be a rabbit, while the largest silhouette gave the impression of a child. On a whim, the rabbit hopped under an ancient and decaying tree log. The child’s reaction time was far too slow and by the time he realized what had happened, the rabbit was gone and all that was left for the child was the darkness that filled the atmosphere around him.

Angered by this error, the child kicked the log in which the rabbit had escaped. The child had traveled for sometime in pursuit of the rabbit, and the end result was far from what he had expected. This region of the Forrest was alien to the child. The rabbit had led him to a fork in the path. The path to the right was trodden and unkempt when compared to the path on the left which was straight and orderly which altogether was very contrast to the rest of the trail on which the child had recently been running on. The path to the right read,

“WHAT IS RIGHT, WILL ALWAYS BE RIGHT.”

Turning his head, he child examined the sign on the left path which questioned him,

“UPON IT’S SIGHTING, WILL YOU REMAIN FAITHFUL?”

The riddle which lay unsolved before the child perplexed him. Sitting on the path, he began too contemplate which way to leave the Forrest. The soil underneath him was cold and clotted; the brown grass was sharp and barren. As he continued to question the riddle, he slowly became relaxed. The darkness’ guise had begun to lull the child into a false sense of safety. In his newly found trance, the child had fallen asleep. As time passed on, the small amount of light that was above began to vanish, leaving the Forrest in almost complete darkness. Even with only the Moon to illuminate the night, even the canopy was unable to block all of it’s light from getting to the area around the child.

“Child, I ask you, why do you sit?” Asked a shrill voice to child. Shuffling about, the child’s eyes began to focus and he turned to look in the direction in which the question resonated. Before the child sat a small rabbit. Darkness encircled the two, only a few feet around them was there enough light to make vision possible.
“Rabbit, what business of yours gives you permission to question my own doings?”
“No need to be rude child, I began with a question. A question cannot be answered with another question. This is simple logic.”
“Your words sound with truth. Aye, I sit because of the riddle asked by the signs.”
“All problems have an answer, usually very simple ones indeed. Allow me to ask the signs themselves.” Hopping past the child, the Rabbit looked up at the Right Sign, “Pip pip, look straight. I ask you, what is it that you’ve said that’s confused the child?” With this, the Right Sign peered down at the Rabbit. Opening it’s mouth it stated,

“WHAT IS RIGHT, WILL ALWAYS BE RIGHT.”

Pondering this the rabbit continued to look at the Right Sign until he looked toward the left sign. Assured that the Rabbit would be as perplexed by the sign’s riddles as he, the child was content with himself. Surely a rabbit wouldn’t best him.
“Look straight. I ask you-” But the rabbit was unable to finish his sentence before he was interrupted by the Left Sign. Giving a scolding laugh, it peered down at the rabbit. It had a smugness that up until now, the child had unnoticed. The Left Sign pondered,

“IF I ALWAYS LIE, HOW WILL YOU KNOW WHAT I SAY IS TRUTH?”

“Obviously you dingo, I will be unable too. But even the child has better manners than thee, but what can I say? This is expected seeing as you’re an ignorant sign.” Leaving the sign triumphant, the rabbit turned around and returned to the child and asked, “Look straight child, what is it that the Left Sign said before? Quickly, before my mind escapes me.”
“Upon it’s sighting, will you remain faithful?”
“Come now child, this is easy. All you need is a basic understanding of logic, and this riddle should unravel it’s self. Prove yourself strong minded, and I may give you my time in the future. Until then, farewell. Matters to attend to, yes?” With his farewell, the rabbit hopped away into the darkness leaving the child alone. All the rabbit had done was confuse him even more, and left him in a state of slight paranoia.



Chapter 2
The Land Of Nod

His brain, which was in a state of slight madness, eventually settled on going left. Through an opening in the trees above the moonlight illuminated the left path, supporting the child's decision. As he began to walk, the child started to realize how long he had stay immobile. The Sun had obviously went down and the darkness was oppressing. As the path continued, the brush around the well groomed path began to become thick and sinister. Anxiety appeared on the child's face, and soon he began to second guess his decision. Turning around to face the way he had traveled, the child saw that the path behind him was completely shrouded in darkness. From his memory, the child remembered that the path in front of him only minutes prior was lit enough for him too see, but now it had been tarnished by darkness. Not thinking this possible, the child turned to continue down the path. Farther down the path was a light. Increasing his pace, the child neared the light, until eventually it lay directly before him on the path.

The source of the light appeared to be a large glowing ball. The light coming off it radiated the trees around the child. Upon closer inspection, the light appeared to levitate off the ground, being held up by a very large tail. It ever so slowly weaved up and down, too and fro. Going to the side of the ball of light, the boy followed the tail which was linked to a very large mass of fur. Compelled to feel the fur, the child petted the mass. With a start, the mass quickly arose, and the mass transformed into the body of a weasel.
“Who awakens En Gordo from the land of Nod?” asked En Gordo the Weasel.
“Good sir, surely you know that we are still in the land of Nod?” Facing the child, En Gordo changed attitudes. Laying back down, he completely blocked the path the child had been traveling on.
“Child, why do you walk this path and not the Right? The path is not for the small.” The Weasel, even while laying, was five feet taller than the child. In his current state, En Gordo seemed timid. But rather than provoke him, the child instead replied,
“I walk the Left because of the treachery of the rabbit and the Sign.”
“Watch your tongue child, for the rabbit’s agents are about.”

-That's where I cut off.

Next thing.

Alright, so basically it's about a concentration guard in modern day. It's completely fictional, but I think it's pretty good. I'm killing through it right now, so expect it to be done in a bit.

Flash

By Scott Watson 

July 30th, 2010

Behind the cover, Private William Smith could feel rounds flying over his head. The gunfire was overwhelming. Behind him laid the humvee on it's side, which minutes prior held William and his squad before a mine laying on the side exploded, and set it ablaze. The sergeant was still inside, and his friend was wounded, laying on the ground. He called out to William. It tore William apart for he was unable to help him, doing so would endanger himself. Alongside him was the only other soldier, whom at the moment was keeping the ever growing enemy at bay. WIlliam knew that to stay in the same spot for too long was suicide, but moving out of cover would mean instant death. On the ridge to his right he spotted an enemy sniper. Dropping, he yelled, "Hit the de-" but was cut off by the sound of the sniper's rifle. The other soldier was hit in the chest. William was alone, surrounded, and was left with no options. He rose from his spot, and began shooting his assault rifle at the enemy.

Overhead he heard something. The distinct noise of chopping air. Above him flew over an Apache attack helicopter. Curling around, machine gun fire erupted from beneath the cockpit of the helicopter, and several missiles shot from either side of it. A building near William exploded, chunks of concrete bursting outwards. Bullets peppered the ground, flinging sand up into the air. Before him, enemy after enemy was slain. After a few moments, the enemy was retreating, leaving William alone. The Apache followed in pursuit, leaving behind a massacre. A silence set in. Bullet holes covered nearly every surface around him. The ground in the area was occasionally charred black. Looking down, he realized that his friend had bled out during the fire fight. He fought back tears, and started to think of the situation. He was stuck in between his destination, the humvee was destroyed, his squad was dissolved, and he had no idea whether or not help would be on it's way. Reloading his rifle, he began backtracking to his post at the base many miles down the road.

Soon down the road, the humvee was out of sight. The sun was noticeably beginning to start it's distant, although it would be sometime before darkness would envelop him. The thought excited him. The heat was oppressive, especially with his military attire on. He knew that he would need to be back at the base before then though; local militants were partial to doing occasional sweeps at night. Going off the road would also be dangerous. The desert stretched for hundreds of miles. Continuing, he was glad for his conditioning. Without it, the heat would make him collapse eventually. He thought of another threat. The desert was home to many different types of wildlife. Scorpions, snakes, and predators would all be a threat to him. All of which came out at night. Staying on the road seemed a reasonable decision. Moving became almost mechanic, and this lead to thoughts taking root.

William thought of the family that was waiting for him. Before he joined the Army, his wife had given birth to his first born child. The baby girl looked exactly like her father. His eyes were hers, as was his smile. Every time she giggled, his heart melted. His wife and daughter were the loves of his life. Everything was going great until William lost his job. His wife worked at a local gas station, so money was extremely tight. Knowing that he wasn't providing for his family was hard on him. When William was given the proposition to join the Army, he met opposition from his wife. Late at night they argued about it. The yelling would wake the baby. Knowing they needed the money, he joined without his wife's blessing. He promised he would be back in six months, but that had been a year ago.

The Sun was at an angle now. It was a huge orb in the sky. As time went on, his movement started to slow down. His pack was so heavy. Reaching down, his heart dropped. His canteen was nowhere to be found. It must have fallen off when the humvee was hit. His mouth was so dry. He began to wonder how far he had traveled, surely he must be getting close. He thought he must be nearly half way there. Happy by his realization, his thoughts were shattered. There was a shot. William dropped. He began to crawl towards the side of the road, and in a shallow ditch he began to examine the horizon. The area around was flat, the shot had to of come from afar. Was the sniper back? He laid there. Perspiration started to drip off his brow, seeping down towards his eyes. There were no other shots. Poking his head up, he realized there was no one to be seen. He thought of an idea. He grabbed a book from his pack. Perhaps he could fool the sniper into giving away his position. Tossing the book up in the air, he awaited the sniper's shot. Gravity brought the book back down on William, hitting him in the face. He tried again to no avail. Trying his luck, he began to creep down the road again, but this time much more cautiously. No shots. Scraping the little bit of dignity he had left, he started down the road again at a normal pace. For the time remaining he would keep his senses on edge.

But as time continued to pass him, William's thoughts started to get the better of him. His senses began to numb, and William started to think of his upbringing. Born on a Sunday in the town of Hucksville, Georgia William Smith was the youngest of three children. Hucksville was primarily a town of the upper class, but William's lower class family lived on the rural outskirts of the town. Many of the families owned plantations, but the Smiths didn't. Instead, Williams father worked on one of them. Before moving his family to Hucksville, William's father had previously lived and worked at a small town in South Carolina. His father had worked all his life at getting his own plantation.  At one point he had the funds, and work had begun on the plantation. But as it neared completion, a fire started. William suspected someone in town had done it, but an arrest was never made. Heartbroken, William's father and mother moved to Hucksville which was known for it's hospitality. While the hospitality was true, William couldn't help but to feel underprivileged. Everyone in town lived in leisure, while his family worked constantly just to stay afloat. William promised that he would give his child a different life.

The sun was nearly half way down. William was so thirsty. How could he have been so stupid as to not check his equipment before he began to move? Looking at the sun, it was in front of him. Even if he didn't make it back to base before it set, a beautiful sight it would make as it went down over the horizon. The heat rising from the road was beginning to become unbearable. His head began to throb. Stopping, he threw his helmet behind him and cupped his hands around his forehead. Taking a knee, his stomach began to cramp. Dehydration was taking a toll on him. William heard a shell case fall on the ground, and the sound of a metallic ping. The sniper had returned. Looking backwards he saw that his helmet had a large hole in it. The sniper was obviously playing with him. William began to sprint down the road. His boots scraped sand up behind him. With all his might, he began to feel that he had left the sniper far behind. Slowing his pace, he didn't know whether or not he regretted his running. His fatigue was crippling. He hadn't drunken anything in hours, which in this heat wasn't smart. His jog slowed to a walk. For then on, William knew he had to preserve his energy. The base was getting closer and closer. He thought. At that point, he had no idea how far he had traveled.

How could this of happened? The road had ended. It was miraculous. Perhaps along the road he had taken the wrong way. But he had not seen a single other path. Several feet from the ending of the road was a large rocky cliff. He stood at the end of it, looking down. The drop was intimidating. The edge where he stood was grassy. Beneath his feet the ground was soft. Looking up, the Sun began to set. A wave of relaxation hit him. Hit mouth was no longer dry. He heard,

"William." come from his side. Looking over he saw his wife with his daughter. They  were reaching out their hands. Looking down, his daughter smiled up at him. William grabbed both of their hands.

William was alone, surrounded, and was left with no options. He rose from his spot, and began shooting his assault rifle at the enemy. The sniper on the ridge aimed his cross hairs over his helmet. With the shot, his shell fell on the ground.

Private William Smith was KIA on a Sunday. His family members were informed a week later.