[Fic] An End to Broken Things in Far Away Places
Author: thisnewjoe
Title: An End to Broken Things in Far Away Places
Rating: M
Pairing/s: None
Character/s: Camden Lahey, Jordan Parrish, Original Characters
Summary: A soldier on a mission to investigate a rural Afghan village leads to a police cadet's new life in the world.
Warnings: Canon-typical violence
Content Notes: Military, Canon-inspired death, monsters, graphic descriptions of a supernatural attack, spooky things
Submission Type: Fic
Word Count: 1941
Prompt: #221, "Emergency"
Author's Notes: This my third contribution to the community, and my first publication above 1700 words. I've tried several new things in this piece, so please share your thoughts about what works and what doesn't work for you in this story.
---------------------------------------------------
"Wolf 2, this is Wolf 6. We're in position. Over."
The communications tech grabs a pen and holds it over the pad, ready to write. "Wolf 2 to Wolf 6, what do you see? Over."
"Wolf 2, it's a small village. Seems quiet here, no signs of explosion." He chuckles, and there's a rustling as he looks around. "They're just dancing around a tree. Can you verify our location? Over."
Wolf 2 looks at her monitors, checks the latest drone images, and sees them within a short walk of where nearby villagers reported hearing explosions overnight. She looks to the commander for cross-verification. He checks and nods in response. "Wolf 6, the target is correct. Scout and report. Maybe we can bring you in before midnight this time. Over."
"Wolf 2, got it. And that would be nice. We'll keep the line open. Over."
"Wolf 6, we're listening. Over."
Wolf 2 takes a sip of tea and watches the monitors. Wolf 6 and his squad are highlighted as green dots on the map. The villagers are highlighted as blue dots moving in the circles. Where plants and structures stick up more than a couple feet, they're marked in yellow on the map. She sees Wolf 6 and Wolf 3 moving slowly to the right, followed by Wolf 5, Wolf 8, and Wolf 9, who are skirting in a slightly wider arc around the village, wailing the other two. Both groups are keeping on the far side of cover from the circle of dancing villagers.
"Wait," she says quietly, as she compares the maps and the latest intel report.
"Wolf 2, bad copy. Repeat last. Over."
"Wolf 6, how tall is that tree? Over."
"Wolf 2, Estimate tree is 80 feet tall, and broad. Does intel know this isn't on the map? Over."
The commander looks at the screen, and holds the mics on mute. "There's no way the drone missed that. I'll call Intel. Have them keep us updated, but do not engage. Got it?" The operator nods, marking in her log the new orders and follow-up actions. The commander pulls one headset cuff off his ear and calls the Intel team on the satphone.
She hears Wolf 6 hold his breath. "Wolf 2. We have smoke. Hold." A loud boom rattles her eardrums, and the commander's startled motion caused the headphones to fall. He turns to the other operators and gives rapid-fire orders at them to organize support to the team in the field. "Wolf 2, I-- This ain't right. There was a huge sound, but no fire, no smoke, no panic. Everyone is still dancing. It should be an emergency, but -- Hold on, Wolf 2." There's muffled speaking in the background. "Wolf 3 sees faint green light from the tree. I cannot verify. Rad badges show safe levels. Requesting a rad scanner. Over."
"Wolf 6, good copy. Hold." She points the commander to the written request to have a drone do a radiation detection flyby in the area, while saying, "Wolf 6, command is escalating request. Additional support is inbound to you. Pull back to the hills and keep the line open. Confirm copy. Over."
"Wolf 2, confirmed. Slow ex-fil now." She notes the exfiltration order and time on the log.
Wolf 2 scans her screens. The green dots are slowly retreating, the blue dots are not moving, and there's indication of a fire outside the firepits at the homes.
A boom comes over the line, and in its fading echo comes, "---the fuck is that thing? What the fuck?!" There's screaming and a crunch that grinds into a sloshing sound as Wolf 2 hears the sound of bodies being slammed into the ground. The commander stares at the map. There's nothing there.
"Wolf 6. What's your status? Over." Only a low growl fill their ears, fading in-and-out as though it were pacing the area. Her voice feels weak. "Wolf 6. Do you copy? Over."
There's a slide and a grunt, and a hollow crash that sounds like a helmet falling and being dragged over rocky ground.
"Wolf 6. Support is inbound. Do you copy?" Sweat stings the corners of her eyes. She whispers quietly, "come on, Camden."
A crunching sound starts at some the distance from the mic at the far end, and sounds like it's coming closer. There's a grunt and a sigh of pain.
"--rry, Isaac. I'm sorry, dad. I ca--" and a final squishing crunch bursts over the channel before the signals for the whole squad drop one-by-one.
The comms tech tries over and over again to reach anyone on the squad. The commander is across the room, shouting into the satphone at the Intel team. The rest of the comm techs nearby are rushing to give updates and orders to their squads.
By the time the drone passes far over the site again a few minutes later, there are only blue dots moving casually toward their homes, marked in yellow. There are no green dots left.
###
Five shapes appear at the scene, in the moment after the soldier was killed by the beast. The Five stand in an arc around him, considering his body crushed in the jaws of the beast.
One of them hisses. "Crude". And she claws it with disgust. Time is frozen here, and the beast is unaware and unable to respond. When time resumes, it will experience a fierce agony, and disappear from existence.
The bald one leans down, tilts is head back and forth. "He'll need a new assignment."
The smiling one begins a slow dance, pushing and pulling at the air and the earth as if gathering and sorting thousands of invisible threads.
The bald one nods. "We sould send him home. They need another guardian."
Another of the Five returns from looking at the other soldiers, observing someone passively at the bodies in various states of dismemberment. "Yes." It tastes the air, and turns to the tree in the distance. It looks like a mirage now. "This one must be destroyed. The others must do more to take it's place." With the barest flick, the tree snaps out of existence, and in the places where it's roots had burrowed, there was empty void. When time returned to this place, the ground will shudder and fall, and the village will crumble.
The bald one stands-up at the head of the soldier. The hissing one moves in to investigate the corpse before them. The dancer is weaving the threads in the air into a tight sphere, which is starting to glow. The long one stands still, seeming to stare into the sky at the horizon. The quiet one lets a tear fall to the ground, and a small mountain flower grows and blooms in its place.
The Third of The Five flicks a tail. The irritation and impatience are showing through more in this age than in the past. "We still cannot stop death, and we cannot force these beings to heal the broken world. But they must do it, and when they fall, we must help, if we can."
The hissing one turns, flashing its purple eyelets at the soldier. "This one has been ash so many times before." Spittle flies across the head and across the crushed torso. "It's a waste."
"No." The bald one reaches into a bag it carries. "These have never been his fault." It pulls a knife out. "It's his nature, just as it is with these." He slashes the air, slicing some vital part of a second beast that was frozen in air, about to dig through the entrails of the soldier torn in two.
A Small One of The Five grabs cups the glowing sphere and pulls it out of the air. It sits in the air, orb in its lap, and regards it for several moments. A singing that has no voice pours out over the landscape, filling the air with a steady shimmer. It waves for the others, who move to stand before it as it regards the glowing ball.
Thin whisps of smoke light gently from its surface. As each stretches out, it snaps out far to attach to some point long past the horizon.
The whisps glow and fade, watched by all, until one glows brighter and a thread forms.
"Oh! He will be a soldier again?"
"Not quite," comes the hissed reply. "An officer this time!" A hissing laughter follows, "A protector of citizens in the city. This is how we first found him in Carthage," it looks to the sky. "No, in the realm before that." It waves away the thought, as though matters of time were a trifling frustration.
The ball hums harmoniously as the lines begin to strengthen and organize until they have all pulled to a single point 7000 miles away.
"That settles it, then. He goes home."
"He has family there."
"They will not know each other."
The quiet one wipes away a fresh tear. It does not fall this time, and no mountain flower grows.
"He makes his home where he is. That suits him well." It makes a silent, caring hiss. "The Hunt will have great difficulty finding him in that place, but it will not be impossible."
The bald one smiles. "That will be fine. More than enough, as he will discover some of his true nature this time, too."
The wispy one looks over to the village. "Are you sure that was wise?"
"The village deserves no respect. They are barely living, and this will provide them relief."
The One with the orb kisses it gently, and pulls it apart until it fades into invisible threads again.
"The villagers failed to protect it." The wispy one considers this. "That was their promise, and without the promise, they are nothing."
"Life will fade from here for a while. Balance must be restored."
"The other nemeton is deeply corrupted, and it will not fully recover, but it is not beyond healing and eventual rebirth. Yes, now is the time."
A pop brings time back to the world again. The village shudders and falls into itself, leaving only a pit with everything nearby crushed. The soldiers have disappeared, as have the beasts. The Spirit of the Hound flies to the green place, far away, for its new life.
###
On a winding road cut through the tall trees of Beacon County, California, a car appears from nowhere. It is traveling at speed, the driver unaware that it has only in this moment come into existence.
Jordan Parrish glances through breaks in the trees to the valley below. This might be a nice assignment when he's done training at the police academy, so long as it's not too sleepy. He hopes his high explosives training will never be needed, but in case it is, he knows his trade well, and he appreciates most the lessons of discipline and rigor that he got in his time in the military.
He sips from his water bottle, then cracks the window open. The rush of wind is like a passionate caress across his hot skin. He is unaware that he was dead a few moments ago, and is here only by the influence of The Five. The young supernaturals in this area will help him discover his nature, several years from now, but until then, he will live mostly peacefully unware of his timeless past and extraordinary history.
Title: An End to Broken Things in Far Away Places
Rating: M
Pairing/s: None
Character/s: Camden Lahey, Jordan Parrish, Original Characters
Summary: A soldier on a mission to investigate a rural Afghan village leads to a police cadet's new life in the world.
Warnings: Canon-typical violence
Content Notes: Military, Canon-inspired death, monsters, graphic descriptions of a supernatural attack, spooky things
Submission Type: Fic
Word Count: 1941
Prompt: #221, "Emergency"
Author's Notes: This my third contribution to the community, and my first publication above 1700 words. I've tried several new things in this piece, so please share your thoughts about what works and what doesn't work for you in this story.
---------------------------------------------------
"Wolf 2, this is Wolf 6. We're in position. Over."
The communications tech grabs a pen and holds it over the pad, ready to write. "Wolf 2 to Wolf 6, what do you see? Over."
"Wolf 2, it's a small village. Seems quiet here, no signs of explosion." He chuckles, and there's a rustling as he looks around. "They're just dancing around a tree. Can you verify our location? Over."
Wolf 2 looks at her monitors, checks the latest drone images, and sees them within a short walk of where nearby villagers reported hearing explosions overnight. She looks to the commander for cross-verification. He checks and nods in response. "Wolf 6, the target is correct. Scout and report. Maybe we can bring you in before midnight this time. Over."
"Wolf 2, got it. And that would be nice. We'll keep the line open. Over."
"Wolf 6, we're listening. Over."
Wolf 2 takes a sip of tea and watches the monitors. Wolf 6 and his squad are highlighted as green dots on the map. The villagers are highlighted as blue dots moving in the circles. Where plants and structures stick up more than a couple feet, they're marked in yellow on the map. She sees Wolf 6 and Wolf 3 moving slowly to the right, followed by Wolf 5, Wolf 8, and Wolf 9, who are skirting in a slightly wider arc around the village, wailing the other two. Both groups are keeping on the far side of cover from the circle of dancing villagers.
"Wait," she says quietly, as she compares the maps and the latest intel report.
"Wolf 2, bad copy. Repeat last. Over."
"Wolf 6, how tall is that tree? Over."
"Wolf 2, Estimate tree is 80 feet tall, and broad. Does intel know this isn't on the map? Over."
The commander looks at the screen, and holds the mics on mute. "There's no way the drone missed that. I'll call Intel. Have them keep us updated, but do not engage. Got it?" The operator nods, marking in her log the new orders and follow-up actions. The commander pulls one headset cuff off his ear and calls the Intel team on the satphone.
She hears Wolf 6 hold his breath. "Wolf 2. We have smoke. Hold." A loud boom rattles her eardrums, and the commander's startled motion caused the headphones to fall. He turns to the other operators and gives rapid-fire orders at them to organize support to the team in the field. "Wolf 2, I-- This ain't right. There was a huge sound, but no fire, no smoke, no panic. Everyone is still dancing. It should be an emergency, but -- Hold on, Wolf 2." There's muffled speaking in the background. "Wolf 3 sees faint green light from the tree. I cannot verify. Rad badges show safe levels. Requesting a rad scanner. Over."
"Wolf 6, good copy. Hold." She points the commander to the written request to have a drone do a radiation detection flyby in the area, while saying, "Wolf 6, command is escalating request. Additional support is inbound to you. Pull back to the hills and keep the line open. Confirm copy. Over."
"Wolf 2, confirmed. Slow ex-fil now." She notes the exfiltration order and time on the log.
Wolf 2 scans her screens. The green dots are slowly retreating, the blue dots are not moving, and there's indication of a fire outside the firepits at the homes.
A boom comes over the line, and in its fading echo comes, "---the fuck is that thing? What the fuck?!" There's screaming and a crunch that grinds into a sloshing sound as Wolf 2 hears the sound of bodies being slammed into the ground. The commander stares at the map. There's nothing there.
"Wolf 6. What's your status? Over." Only a low growl fill their ears, fading in-and-out as though it were pacing the area. Her voice feels weak. "Wolf 6. Do you copy? Over."
There's a slide and a grunt, and a hollow crash that sounds like a helmet falling and being dragged over rocky ground.
"Wolf 6. Support is inbound. Do you copy?" Sweat stings the corners of her eyes. She whispers quietly, "come on, Camden."
A crunching sound starts at some the distance from the mic at the far end, and sounds like it's coming closer. There's a grunt and a sigh of pain.
"--rry, Isaac. I'm sorry, dad. I ca--" and a final squishing crunch bursts over the channel before the signals for the whole squad drop one-by-one.
The comms tech tries over and over again to reach anyone on the squad. The commander is across the room, shouting into the satphone at the Intel team. The rest of the comm techs nearby are rushing to give updates and orders to their squads.
By the time the drone passes far over the site again a few minutes later, there are only blue dots moving casually toward their homes, marked in yellow. There are no green dots left.
###
Five shapes appear at the scene, in the moment after the soldier was killed by the beast. The Five stand in an arc around him, considering his body crushed in the jaws of the beast.
One of them hisses. "Crude". And she claws it with disgust. Time is frozen here, and the beast is unaware and unable to respond. When time resumes, it will experience a fierce agony, and disappear from existence.
The bald one leans down, tilts is head back and forth. "He'll need a new assignment."
The smiling one begins a slow dance, pushing and pulling at the air and the earth as if gathering and sorting thousands of invisible threads.
The bald one nods. "We sould send him home. They need another guardian."
Another of the Five returns from looking at the other soldiers, observing someone passively at the bodies in various states of dismemberment. "Yes." It tastes the air, and turns to the tree in the distance. It looks like a mirage now. "This one must be destroyed. The others must do more to take it's place." With the barest flick, the tree snaps out of existence, and in the places where it's roots had burrowed, there was empty void. When time returned to this place, the ground will shudder and fall, and the village will crumble.
The bald one stands-up at the head of the soldier. The hissing one moves in to investigate the corpse before them. The dancer is weaving the threads in the air into a tight sphere, which is starting to glow. The long one stands still, seeming to stare into the sky at the horizon. The quiet one lets a tear fall to the ground, and a small mountain flower grows and blooms in its place.
The Third of The Five flicks a tail. The irritation and impatience are showing through more in this age than in the past. "We still cannot stop death, and we cannot force these beings to heal the broken world. But they must do it, and when they fall, we must help, if we can."
The hissing one turns, flashing its purple eyelets at the soldier. "This one has been ash so many times before." Spittle flies across the head and across the crushed torso. "It's a waste."
"No." The bald one reaches into a bag it carries. "These have never been his fault." It pulls a knife out. "It's his nature, just as it is with these." He slashes the air, slicing some vital part of a second beast that was frozen in air, about to dig through the entrails of the soldier torn in two.
A Small One of The Five grabs cups the glowing sphere and pulls it out of the air. It sits in the air, orb in its lap, and regards it for several moments. A singing that has no voice pours out over the landscape, filling the air with a steady shimmer. It waves for the others, who move to stand before it as it regards the glowing ball.
Thin whisps of smoke light gently from its surface. As each stretches out, it snaps out far to attach to some point long past the horizon.
The whisps glow and fade, watched by all, until one glows brighter and a thread forms.
"Oh! He will be a soldier again?"
"Not quite," comes the hissed reply. "An officer this time!" A hissing laughter follows, "A protector of citizens in the city. This is how we first found him in Carthage," it looks to the sky. "No, in the realm before that." It waves away the thought, as though matters of time were a trifling frustration.
The ball hums harmoniously as the lines begin to strengthen and organize until they have all pulled to a single point 7000 miles away.
"That settles it, then. He goes home."
"He has family there."
"They will not know each other."
The quiet one wipes away a fresh tear. It does not fall this time, and no mountain flower grows.
"He makes his home where he is. That suits him well." It makes a silent, caring hiss. "The Hunt will have great difficulty finding him in that place, but it will not be impossible."
The bald one smiles. "That will be fine. More than enough, as he will discover some of his true nature this time, too."
The wispy one looks over to the village. "Are you sure that was wise?"
"The village deserves no respect. They are barely living, and this will provide them relief."
The One with the orb kisses it gently, and pulls it apart until it fades into invisible threads again.
"The villagers failed to protect it." The wispy one considers this. "That was their promise, and without the promise, they are nothing."
"Life will fade from here for a while. Balance must be restored."
"The other nemeton is deeply corrupted, and it will not fully recover, but it is not beyond healing and eventual rebirth. Yes, now is the time."
A pop brings time back to the world again. The village shudders and falls into itself, leaving only a pit with everything nearby crushed. The soldiers have disappeared, as have the beasts. The Spirit of the Hound flies to the green place, far away, for its new life.
###
On a winding road cut through the tall trees of Beacon County, California, a car appears from nowhere. It is traveling at speed, the driver unaware that it has only in this moment come into existence.
Jordan Parrish glances through breaks in the trees to the valley below. This might be a nice assignment when he's done training at the police academy, so long as it's not too sleepy. He hopes his high explosives training will never be needed, but in case it is, he knows his trade well, and he appreciates most the lessons of discipline and rigor that he got in his time in the military.
He sips from his water bottle, then cracks the window open. The rush of wind is like a passionate caress across his hot skin. He is unaware that he was dead a few moments ago, and is here only by the influence of The Five. The young supernaturals in this area will help him discover his nature, several years from now, but until then, he will live mostly peacefully unware of his timeless past and extraordinary history.