Strawberry #13, Rocky Road #29, Pear #19, with a cherry on top.
Author: Jess.
Rating: PG.
Challenge: Strawberry #13: smoke, Rocky Road #29: out in the cold, Pear #19: crash and burn, and a cherry for no dialogue.
Word count: Roughly 1,100.
I have a feeling I repeated what I was saying here... xD
Trevor and Mason struggled through the night. They were far from anywhere - how had they let themselves get so far away? They were lost, honestly. The initial idea had been innocent enough, but it had progressed to a level that would better be left untouched.
The day had started out with the two of them chilling out at Trevor’s house. They simply watched TV at first, but they had soon grown bored of the quality of television shows that played in the middle of the day. When Trevor had suggested that they go out for a walk in the fields on the distant edges of Archerville’s lines, Mace had been even quicker to agree.
How long had it been, since they had last journeyed that far away? The last time that either of them could recall had taken place on Trevor’s thirteenth birthday. The others had been with them then, Sonny and Damon, and they hadn’t gone very far into the fields, anyway. They were young, and they possessed no means of transportation faster than a bicycle. It had taken them a while to even arrive at the edge of the fields - to allow themselves time to get home again, it left them with a short walk. They’d never let the dirt road leave their sight, and that had been the smart thing to do.
Trevor and Mace needed to get home, now. It was nearing two in the morning, and they were both shivering and tiring. Neither had brought jackets. They’d left when the sun was high in the sky - how were they supposed to know what would happen?
Sighing and kicking another stalk of corn out of the way, Trevor sank to the ground. Mace spun around in a full circle, eyes questioning and face burning with puzzlement. Where had Trevor gone? It took the sound of his voice to draw Mace back to a state of understanding. Though it was clear that Trevor wanted a rest from all this walking, Mace confessed that he thought it was best for them to keep going. They found themselves in an argument - no, a debate - when they first heard the noise that would seal them to a night of pure horror.
Neither had been sure of what it was at first. Mace had thought a plane, Trevor a piece of machinery in one of the old barns. What they saw shocked them even more, and it had taken them a moment to fully take in what they were seeing.
Its headlights pierced the dark of the night, illuminating a patch of corn further ahead and to their left. The engine roared, and there was an odd sound as the object collided with a barrel of some sorts that had been abandoned out the front of the nearest shed. The thing continued to move, and Mace and Trevor gazed toward it with wonderment.
It was a tractor.
A flurry of words had emitted from the two boys, probing each other for answers of what to do now. It was two in the morning, and these old sheds were not in use! What was someone doing riding a tractor around? They fell silent as they heard a change in the hum of the engine; spinning their heads to look at the tractor, they saw that it was headed straight for them, the distance between them perhaps a pathetic twenty or thirty metres. It would not be hard for the tractor to catch them.
The resolution came to the boys at the same time: run. They turned and began to flail away, but they soon found themselves halted by another sound penetrating the night’s still air. It was another tractor, and it was coming at them from the opposite direction.
Mace turned to go left, Travis turned to go right; spinning to see the movements of each other, they collided somewhere in the centre. They wanted to scream questions at one another, to ask what they should do, but of course neither of them knew. The tractors continued to grow closer and closer, the distance between them and the nearest one standing now at a mere fifteen metres.
Their answer of what to do came in the most simplest of forms - perhaps? - and it was something that caught them once again off guard. There was a second clink against a barrel, and all was still and quiet for a nanosecond. Then: another sound rang out, but this one was different, deeper. Twisting in the direction of the nearest tractor, they found their vision interrupted by a blinding flash of light. It was brighter than any strike of lightning either of them had ever seen, and the boom of a sound was louder than any thunder. In a body of flames, the tractor was swallowed. The boys dropped to their ground, arms struggling over their heads in a weak attempt to protect themselves from any debris that may have fallen. They heard a crash to their right, to their left, and with horror they noted that pieces of the tractor were scattering themselves all about the field. They remained on the ground for a while yet, and when Trevor’s head first broke over the top of the corn, he could see a wreck of fire towering by the barn. It was beginning to spread to the field - they had to get out of there, and fast.
Leaping to their feet, the boys took off to their left. They weren’t sure that it was the right way to go, but at that moment it didn’t matter. They just had to get away. When they came to a huddle of trees, they collapsed against them, breathing heavily with the effort of running and not disputing when they found their legs unable to hold them anymore. They may not have been home, but they were safe.
* * *
From the wreckage of the tractor, a figure emerged. They’d been thrown in the explosion, and they hadn’t left their seat until after their flight through the air was over. They stood and gazed at the flames engulfing what remained of the machine, and then their eyes drifted somewhere else. Across at the other barn, the other tractor lay abandoned. Their companion obviously hadn’t wanted to risk the same fate. Tracing the tips of the corn to the trees in the distance, a menacing smile grew across their face. Trevor and Mason... oh, he wasn’t done with them. An evil crack of laughter burst from his mouth before he began his trek towards the group of trees. Oh, no, no, his work was far from done.
Rating: PG.
Challenge: Strawberry #13: smoke, Rocky Road #29: out in the cold, Pear #19: crash and burn, and a cherry for no dialogue.
Word count: Roughly 1,100.
I have a feeling I repeated what I was saying here... xD
Trevor and Mason struggled through the night. They were far from anywhere - how had they let themselves get so far away? They were lost, honestly. The initial idea had been innocent enough, but it had progressed to a level that would better be left untouched.
The day had started out with the two of them chilling out at Trevor’s house. They simply watched TV at first, but they had soon grown bored of the quality of television shows that played in the middle of the day. When Trevor had suggested that they go out for a walk in the fields on the distant edges of Archerville’s lines, Mace had been even quicker to agree.
How long had it been, since they had last journeyed that far away? The last time that either of them could recall had taken place on Trevor’s thirteenth birthday. The others had been with them then, Sonny and Damon, and they hadn’t gone very far into the fields, anyway. They were young, and they possessed no means of transportation faster than a bicycle. It had taken them a while to even arrive at the edge of the fields - to allow themselves time to get home again, it left them with a short walk. They’d never let the dirt road leave their sight, and that had been the smart thing to do.
Trevor and Mace needed to get home, now. It was nearing two in the morning, and they were both shivering and tiring. Neither had brought jackets. They’d left when the sun was high in the sky - how were they supposed to know what would happen?
Sighing and kicking another stalk of corn out of the way, Trevor sank to the ground. Mace spun around in a full circle, eyes questioning and face burning with puzzlement. Where had Trevor gone? It took the sound of his voice to draw Mace back to a state of understanding. Though it was clear that Trevor wanted a rest from all this walking, Mace confessed that he thought it was best for them to keep going. They found themselves in an argument - no, a debate - when they first heard the noise that would seal them to a night of pure horror.
Neither had been sure of what it was at first. Mace had thought a plane, Trevor a piece of machinery in one of the old barns. What they saw shocked them even more, and it had taken them a moment to fully take in what they were seeing.
Its headlights pierced the dark of the night, illuminating a patch of corn further ahead and to their left. The engine roared, and there was an odd sound as the object collided with a barrel of some sorts that had been abandoned out the front of the nearest shed. The thing continued to move, and Mace and Trevor gazed toward it with wonderment.
It was a tractor.
A flurry of words had emitted from the two boys, probing each other for answers of what to do now. It was two in the morning, and these old sheds were not in use! What was someone doing riding a tractor around? They fell silent as they heard a change in the hum of the engine; spinning their heads to look at the tractor, they saw that it was headed straight for them, the distance between them perhaps a pathetic twenty or thirty metres. It would not be hard for the tractor to catch them.
The resolution came to the boys at the same time: run. They turned and began to flail away, but they soon found themselves halted by another sound penetrating the night’s still air. It was another tractor, and it was coming at them from the opposite direction.
Mace turned to go left, Travis turned to go right; spinning to see the movements of each other, they collided somewhere in the centre. They wanted to scream questions at one another, to ask what they should do, but of course neither of them knew. The tractors continued to grow closer and closer, the distance between them and the nearest one standing now at a mere fifteen metres.
Their answer of what to do came in the most simplest of forms - perhaps? - and it was something that caught them once again off guard. There was a second clink against a barrel, and all was still and quiet for a nanosecond. Then: another sound rang out, but this one was different, deeper. Twisting in the direction of the nearest tractor, they found their vision interrupted by a blinding flash of light. It was brighter than any strike of lightning either of them had ever seen, and the boom of a sound was louder than any thunder. In a body of flames, the tractor was swallowed. The boys dropped to their ground, arms struggling over their heads in a weak attempt to protect themselves from any debris that may have fallen. They heard a crash to their right, to their left, and with horror they noted that pieces of the tractor were scattering themselves all about the field. They remained on the ground for a while yet, and when Trevor’s head first broke over the top of the corn, he could see a wreck of fire towering by the barn. It was beginning to spread to the field - they had to get out of there, and fast.
Leaping to their feet, the boys took off to their left. They weren’t sure that it was the right way to go, but at that moment it didn’t matter. They just had to get away. When they came to a huddle of trees, they collapsed against them, breathing heavily with the effort of running and not disputing when they found their legs unable to hold them anymore. They may not have been home, but they were safe.
* * *
From the wreckage of the tractor, a figure emerged. They’d been thrown in the explosion, and they hadn’t left their seat until after their flight through the air was over. They stood and gazed at the flames engulfing what remained of the machine, and then their eyes drifted somewhere else. Across at the other barn, the other tractor lay abandoned. Their companion obviously hadn’t wanted to risk the same fate. Tracing the tips of the corn to the trees in the distance, a menacing smile grew across their face. Trevor and Mason... oh, he wasn’t done with them. An evil crack of laughter burst from his mouth before he began his trek towards the group of trees. Oh, no, no, his work was far from done.