Wednesday Briefs - In Enemy Hands #2.2

Welcome to the Wednesday Briefs flash group (click to go to the site). The short stories have a maximum of a 1000 word count plus links at the bottom to the other flashers. If interested in joining us, drop me a line and I'll tell you how. :)Prompts for this week:


“Welcome to the jungle.”

“It’ll bring you to your knees.”

“It’s the price you pay.”

“That certainly was not my idea of fun.”

“I’m buying dinner.”

“I never kiss and tell.”

“Only three days left.”

“A day late and a dollar short.”

“Slide that on back here.”

“There’s a crack in the window.”

or use: bee, panel, shoe

or use: brick, flower, diamond

or use: tears, hammer, zipper

or have your character dance in the rain

or use: red, eyes, string

or have a character mail something

or have a character make dinner

or have a character get a ticket

or have a character find a hundred dollar bill 
or “Butter my toes…”
or “Last one in’s a rotten egg”
or “Come hell or high water”
or use a chocolate fountain
or have a dance contest
or use some kind of a whisperer in your story



Chapter 2.2
 Stars, he couldn’t shake the feeling he’d just buried part of himself in that shallow grave.

Desperate to shake off the unsettling premonition, he quickly scouted the surrounding area, making sure his men hadn’t left any sign of flight. He had no doubt the Helkans would seize the shuttle, and go through it. Let them. They would find nothing of the males who crashed it there.

Turning, he ran toward the jungle, the mist enveloping him.

In the fading twilight, the jungle glowed with vibrant, misty blues, smoky grays, and luxuriant deep purples that blended with the surrounding landscape. A nearby waterfall shimmered as the water splashed gently into a small pool lined with lush plants and wind-smoothed pewter rocks. The dim sliver of light cast a bright radiance over the surrounding water.

How odd that various plants sparkled in the encroaching darkness. He had no idea the landscape was so stunning and well-maintained. Never would he have imagined the Helkans had such ties to the environment, which obviously they did, from what he saw around him. How could violent people live in such beauty and be so devoid of warmth themselves?

After securing his pak, Varo knelt at the waterfall. His hands hovered above the gently rippling waves. The water had such a sweet, clean scent. He noticed his refection staring back at him. As odd as it was to think in such terms, he was prey. As such, he needed to blend in as much as possible. His dark skin would help hide him, but his hair color was nothing more than a beacon in the night.

He plunged his hands into the water and grabbed fistfuls of mud. Wrinkling his nose, he rubbed the muck into in his hair, covering his blond tresses. He kept at it until he was sure there was no blond remaining. Of course, now his head was damp, and it was getting chiller as the thin streams of daylight receded.

It was so calm and… peaceful. Peace was a commodity he hadn’t enjoyed in a long time, thanks to the uproar on his planet. His thoughts returned to why his planet was in an uproar, and the answer led straight back to the Helkans. Everything came back to them. And he didn’t have time to lose himself in the usual sorry thoughts about his enemy.

Confused and disheartened, Varo shoved the thought away and wiped his damp hand on his pants leg. Kneeling there, lost in dire thoughts, wasn’t doing him any good. In fact, it was dangerous. It was easier to take prey down at a water source. Only this time, he wasn’t the predator.

“Just call me prey,” he muttered to the surrounding jungle.

An abrupt displacement of air next to him drew his attention. A lone, dark purple vine with a silvery, delicate flower reached out toward him. Varo stood quickly, stepping away from the waterfall. Nothing was as delicate as it seemed. He’d learned that lesson at his father’s knee.

The vine hesitated, shivering slightly. It bobbed slowly, weaving in place as if searching for whatever had just been there. It was oddly hypnotic, but the compelling movement was nothing more than a trap. Varo studied it, wondering if the vine used infrared to track prey. As he debated the thought, a small, winged pest buzzed past. The vine struck. The petals acted as a mouth, snapping closed on the struggling insect. Well, wasn't that a nice welcome to the jungle?

“Lovely and dangerous. But I’m a little larger than a bug.”

The vine withdrew, coiling itself back toward a large bluish purple oblong plant that glowed from within. He watched as the bug, still wiggling, traveled down the vine. Dinner was served. Lucky plant.

Varo scanned the area. This wasn’t where he wanted to make his last stand. In fact…. He glanced upward, toward the top of the trees—the nice, full treetops.

“Hmm.” Varo turned in a circle, judging the area. “Nice. Very nice. I might as well put the jungle to use since it’s here and all. And maybe, with a little luck, I can take out a few Helkans.”

Varo moved away from the waterfall. As he walked, he moved deeper into the tangled mass of trees and planets, careful not to disrupt the environment around him. Sounds of wildlife came to him. A steady chirp, chirp, chirp followed by a deep, throaty grunt from some sort of large animal.

Varo scowled at the jungle. “Or it might be me taken out, is that what you’re saying?”

A lone, shrill cry filled the night. Chill bumps raced over his body. The cry sounded astoundingly like a scream. Answering calls bounced all around him, climbing in crescendo until they peaked. Silence fell, a heavy weight that lasted for several heart-stopping units of time.

Varo would have sworn on one of their most sacred artifacts that the jungle just answered him. “Well, not without a fight, I promise you that.” Varo fingered the knife strapped to his leg.

Steadily moving deeper into the jungle, he sought just the right tree. He needed something full and thick, but with branches not too far from the ground. His scouting paid off when he finally found what he needed. With a thick base and a full canopy, this was perfect. Grabbing a limb, he swung himself up.

He barely cleared the first branch when he suddenly snarled in pain. “Bedamned!”

Blood dripped from a ragged cut across the top of his right hand. Glaring, he settled on the branch, holding his injury against his chest until he was sure his seat was secured in the tree. Then he tore a strip off the bottom of his uniform shirt and wrapped the cut. He’d treat it just as soon as he stopped the bleeding.

“What a rookie mistake. Gods and goddess, I deserve to get caught.”

Varo studied the nearby foliage. The hand-size broad leaves had a jagged edge, something he hadn’t thought to check before he started climbing. That was what had cut him, and it was deep enough he’d bled—which any predator with a decent nose could now smell. He had to get the blood stopped, and he refused to think about infection.

If the bedamned Helkans didn’t get him, the planet just might.

Staying there was no longer an option now that he was bleeding everywhere, which was too bad since it had been the perfect place for an ambush. Who knew how much farther he’d have to travel before he found another tree that met his needs?

Disgruntled, he climbed down. Or he attempted to. Instead, he found his body swaying precariously. He threw out a hand to steady himself as his vision blurred then cleared. He grabbed at another branch with his injured hand, and horror filled his head. He couldn’t make a fist.

He felt nothing at all in his right hand, and the numbness was traveling up his arm. Panicked, he shook his hand, trying to get the feeling back. Sweat broke out across his forehead as another wave of dizziness swept over him. The light was gone, taking what measly heat it had offered with it. He knew it was too cool for him to be sweating.

He fought back the fear that threatened to rise. There was no time for that. He yanked the pak off his back and ripped it opened. There was standard issue antiserum inside, but he had no idea if it would work. He pressed the metal tube to his arm and tapped the button on the bottom. There was a hiss signifying automatic injection of the antiserum into his arm. Now all he could do was wait.

Whatever sap the leaves contained was affecting his body, and he was losing control of his movements. Was he safer in the tree or on the ground? Another wave of dizziness hit him, and this time when it receded, his vision didn’t return.

Darkness that had nothing to do with the planet’s source of daylight crept up on him. He was about to pass out. Well, that answered that. No way could he get down now without breaking something. Frantically, he wedged himself into the bend of the tree, hoping when he woke, he’d be okay.

At this point he just hoped he woke.

TBC
Kazy ReedVictoria AdamsJon KeysCarol PedrosoCia NordwellAvery DawesJim DunawayTali SpencerJohayanJulie Lynn Hayes