It's true...
...week two is always awful. I did get a bit ill over the weekend, so that didn't help my wordcount at all. At least I was ahead, so now I'm not very behind. I'll try to get another 2k done tonight and then tomorrow, I'll be at the parents house for a couple of days (getting the car inspected) so yay, internet. Hopefully that will boost me beyond 15k.
Wordcount: 13,364
"They don't even have the same body language that we can tell," Mara said aloud. "Except for pointing. We can at least use that. That one scientist did it when they brought those cube things."
Chris was looking at the lack-of-door right now. "Heads up, here they come again." Mara looked quick to see one of the scientists coming with his own personal guard alien. The two guards moved aside to let the other two aliens through as the door appeared again and slid aside.
Chris was standing a little bit on one side of the room and Mara was standing and leaning against the wall on the opposite side of the room. They both eyed the two aliens, watching for them to make the first move.
The scientist had a new toy with him. It looked like a stick of clear plastic in his hands but before their eyes, he unrolled it into a flat plastic like sheet...and stuck it up in midair. Mara's jaw unhinged as she watched the scientist bring up a computer display with diagrams and alien words on the piece of see through plastic suspended in midair in front of him. She could see straight through it to him and yet could barely believe she was seeing it at all. Chris was having a similar reaction.
"Tell me you're seeing this too," she heard him say from his position on his side of the room.
"I think so," she finally managed to say. "Just when I'd thought I'd seen everything..." It was then that she noticed her voice was being picked up by the clear computer readout. She could make out a backwards osilloscope or something equivalent that the scientist was looking at. "I think it's recording me," she said in a hushed voice only meant for Chris to hear. He said quietly back, "Maybe they're checking to see if the....you-know-what thing works..."
Mara nodded. Keeping her eye on the guard in the room, she slowly stepped around, trying to find a position so she could see the computer readout from the front without being too close to either of the aliens. She stopped when the guard placed his hand on the handle of his weapon in its holster. She took a step back at that. She wasn't in the mood to be shot again, stunned or otherwise.
"Careful," Chris said, watching her movements closely. The scientist was watching too. He whistled softly to the computer and Mara heard the monotone computer voice translate what he said. "First Scientist dsgfliseepdhre (something that was obviously his name and couldn't be translated properly) commence experiment 74205B, computer logged time."
"What did he say?" Chris asked quietly.
"He's starting another experiment, I think," Mara answered, not moving as the scientist turned to her next. He opened his hand to reveal a familiar looking cube food product, this one red. Mara groaned inwardly but managed to keep it to a a grimace outwardly. "Oh, not this again," she said.
"Eat this," said the scientist to her as he held it out at arm's length.
Mara sighed and slowly took it from his hand. "Eat it. Food is good," said the monotone computer voice. Mara smirked. "Yeah, you Tarzan, me Jane."
The scientist was looking at his computer readouts. "It does not work yet. It may need time to adjust."
"I still don't think they understand me yet," Mara said to Chris, turning the red cube over and over in her hands.
"Maybe you're being to complicated, try something simple," Chris said.
Mara shrugged, "Why not, he seems to be doing it to me." She slowly got down into what she hoped was a non-threatening squating position and held out the red cube as the alien scientist had done. He turned, as if interested, and watched what she was doing.
"Um," Mara tried to begin without feeling foolish. "Eat this?" The unblinking white eyes still watched her but he didn't speak. "Please?" Mara added, hoping the aliens had a word for please somewhere in their vocabulary.
After a moment, the alien reached out and took the cube from Mara's hand. But instead of pressing it to his chest to consume it, he returned it to his pocket. "Saving it for later?" Mara asked, hopeful.
The scientist turned from her back to his suspended computer readout and said, "Current status: unsuccessful. Neophyte is unable to understand. Opinion: Programming adjustment recommended before second attempt is made. Ending Experiment 74205B. Computer log."
"No, no, no," Mara said, getting up as the scientist was taking down his computer readout and rolling it up. "They're quitting. No, I can understand you, please!" She stepped forward. "You've got to hear me!" The guard reacted to her advance.
"No!" Chris said, trying to reach her to pull her back as she was getting too close to the first scientist. One blue shot came from the guards gun weapon and Mara fell to the floor. She couldn't move. Her eyes were looking up at the ceiling and could see it but she was paralyzed. Chris had reached her and was trying to lift her head and shoulders into his lap, saying "I've got you, it will wear off. Don't worry." Mara wanted so badly to answer him but couldn't. It was like someone had severed all communications between her brain and her body. She yelled no over and over inside her head as the aliens were pulling Chris away with the handcuffs. He was resisting as strongly as he could against the energy bands, telling them in as many words not to take her away. Mara was being lifted by the two guards from outside while the third was holding Chris aside. "Let me go!" he was saying. "Mara! Mara!"
"Bedtime, Mark!" his mom called from downstairs. "Awwww!" said both boys on both ends of the phone. Mark's mom stood at the top of the stairs at the other end of his room. "Don't give me that, you two will see each other at the picnic. Say goodnight to James."
"Yes, mom," Mark growled a response.
"Two minutes, I'm watching the clock," his mom said as she walked back downstairs.
"Maybe we should read an uninteresting book," James said from his end of the line. "Then she'd never interrupt us."
"I doubt that would be worth it," said Mark, taking off the necklace bookmark and marking where they'd left off. "Ok, see you tomorrow."
"Don't you dare read any of that before me tonight," James said. Mark was checking through his drawers again. Still no flashlight. "No problem there. Mom's confiscated my flashlight."
"Good, I don't want you getting ahead of me. That wouldn't be fair."
"And what if I do? You would totally read it without me if you could, so why should I wait?"
There was a pause on the other end. "You have me there," James said ruefully. "How about because....because...." he was trying to think of a good reason and not able to think of anything. Mark laughed at his friend's discomfort. "Ok, ok, I promise I won't read it till the picnic, deal?"
"I'm holding you to that," James said.
"15 seconds!" Mark's mom's voice came up the stairs.
"Gotta go, talk to you later at the picnic! Bye!" Mark said in a rush.
"Bye!" James said before Mark hung up as quick as he could.
"I'm off! I'm off!" he called back down. His mom met him at the top of the stairs to relieve him of the white mobile phone unit." Thank you," she said with a smile and kissed him on the top of his head. "Goodnight."
"Goodnight," Mark said, trying to rub the kiss off as she turned to go back downstairs. Moms were so mushy sometimes. He flopped back down on his bed and stowed the journal in his side table drawer before flicking off the lights. The moon was shining through his window onto the bed and Mark watched it for a few minutes, imagining two people trapped on an alien spaceship before dropping off to sleep.
Wordcount: 13,364
"They don't even have the same body language that we can tell," Mara said aloud. "Except for pointing. We can at least use that. That one scientist did it when they brought those cube things."
Chris was looking at the lack-of-door right now. "Heads up, here they come again." Mara looked quick to see one of the scientists coming with his own personal guard alien. The two guards moved aside to let the other two aliens through as the door appeared again and slid aside.
Chris was standing a little bit on one side of the room and Mara was standing and leaning against the wall on the opposite side of the room. They both eyed the two aliens, watching for them to make the first move.
The scientist had a new toy with him. It looked like a stick of clear plastic in his hands but before their eyes, he unrolled it into a flat plastic like sheet...and stuck it up in midair. Mara's jaw unhinged as she watched the scientist bring up a computer display with diagrams and alien words on the piece of see through plastic suspended in midair in front of him. She could see straight through it to him and yet could barely believe she was seeing it at all. Chris was having a similar reaction.
"Tell me you're seeing this too," she heard him say from his position on his side of the room.
"I think so," she finally managed to say. "Just when I'd thought I'd seen everything..." It was then that she noticed her voice was being picked up by the clear computer readout. She could make out a backwards osilloscope or something equivalent that the scientist was looking at. "I think it's recording me," she said in a hushed voice only meant for Chris to hear. He said quietly back, "Maybe they're checking to see if the....you-know-what thing works..."
Mara nodded. Keeping her eye on the guard in the room, she slowly stepped around, trying to find a position so she could see the computer readout from the front without being too close to either of the aliens. She stopped when the guard placed his hand on the handle of his weapon in its holster. She took a step back at that. She wasn't in the mood to be shot again, stunned or otherwise.
"Careful," Chris said, watching her movements closely. The scientist was watching too. He whistled softly to the computer and Mara heard the monotone computer voice translate what he said. "First Scientist dsgfliseepdhre (something that was obviously his name and couldn't be translated properly) commence experiment 74205B, computer logged time."
"What did he say?" Chris asked quietly.
"He's starting another experiment, I think," Mara answered, not moving as the scientist turned to her next. He opened his hand to reveal a familiar looking cube food product, this one red. Mara groaned inwardly but managed to keep it to a a grimace outwardly. "Oh, not this again," she said.
"Eat this," said the scientist to her as he held it out at arm's length.
Mara sighed and slowly took it from his hand. "Eat it. Food is good," said the monotone computer voice. Mara smirked. "Yeah, you Tarzan, me Jane."
The scientist was looking at his computer readouts. "It does not work yet. It may need time to adjust."
"I still don't think they understand me yet," Mara said to Chris, turning the red cube over and over in her hands.
"Maybe you're being to complicated, try something simple," Chris said.
Mara shrugged, "Why not, he seems to be doing it to me." She slowly got down into what she hoped was a non-threatening squating position and held out the red cube as the alien scientist had done. He turned, as if interested, and watched what she was doing.
"Um," Mara tried to begin without feeling foolish. "Eat this?" The unblinking white eyes still watched her but he didn't speak. "Please?" Mara added, hoping the aliens had a word for please somewhere in their vocabulary.
After a moment, the alien reached out and took the cube from Mara's hand. But instead of pressing it to his chest to consume it, he returned it to his pocket. "Saving it for later?" Mara asked, hopeful.
The scientist turned from her back to his suspended computer readout and said, "Current status: unsuccessful. Neophyte is unable to understand. Opinion: Programming adjustment recommended before second attempt is made. Ending Experiment 74205B. Computer log."
"No, no, no," Mara said, getting up as the scientist was taking down his computer readout and rolling it up. "They're quitting. No, I can understand you, please!" She stepped forward. "You've got to hear me!" The guard reacted to her advance.
"No!" Chris said, trying to reach her to pull her back as she was getting too close to the first scientist. One blue shot came from the guards gun weapon and Mara fell to the floor. She couldn't move. Her eyes were looking up at the ceiling and could see it but she was paralyzed. Chris had reached her and was trying to lift her head and shoulders into his lap, saying "I've got you, it will wear off. Don't worry." Mara wanted so badly to answer him but couldn't. It was like someone had severed all communications between her brain and her body. She yelled no over and over inside her head as the aliens were pulling Chris away with the handcuffs. He was resisting as strongly as he could against the energy bands, telling them in as many words not to take her away. Mara was being lifted by the two guards from outside while the third was holding Chris aside. "Let me go!" he was saying. "Mara! Mara!"
"Bedtime, Mark!" his mom called from downstairs. "Awwww!" said both boys on both ends of the phone. Mark's mom stood at the top of the stairs at the other end of his room. "Don't give me that, you two will see each other at the picnic. Say goodnight to James."
"Yes, mom," Mark growled a response.
"Two minutes, I'm watching the clock," his mom said as she walked back downstairs.
"Maybe we should read an uninteresting book," James said from his end of the line. "Then she'd never interrupt us."
"I doubt that would be worth it," said Mark, taking off the necklace bookmark and marking where they'd left off. "Ok, see you tomorrow."
"Don't you dare read any of that before me tonight," James said. Mark was checking through his drawers again. Still no flashlight. "No problem there. Mom's confiscated my flashlight."
"Good, I don't want you getting ahead of me. That wouldn't be fair."
"And what if I do? You would totally read it without me if you could, so why should I wait?"
There was a pause on the other end. "You have me there," James said ruefully. "How about because....because...." he was trying to think of a good reason and not able to think of anything. Mark laughed at his friend's discomfort. "Ok, ok, I promise I won't read it till the picnic, deal?"
"I'm holding you to that," James said.
"15 seconds!" Mark's mom's voice came up the stairs.
"Gotta go, talk to you later at the picnic! Bye!" Mark said in a rush.
"Bye!" James said before Mark hung up as quick as he could.
"I'm off! I'm off!" he called back down. His mom met him at the top of the stairs to relieve him of the white mobile phone unit." Thank you," she said with a smile and kissed him on the top of his head. "Goodnight."
"Goodnight," Mark said, trying to rub the kiss off as she turned to go back downstairs. Moms were so mushy sometimes. He flopped back down on his bed and stowed the journal in his side table drawer before flicking off the lights. The moon was shining through his window onto the bed and Mark watched it for a few minutes, imagining two people trapped on an alien spaceship before dropping off to sleep.