Tangerine 1 - Panic Attack with Gummy Bears
Author: Tatra
Challenge: Tangerine 1 - Panic Attack
Topping: Gummy Bunnies (Wriye DW prompt 3: Enemies)
Word Count: 1,158
Rating: PG-13
Story: Metawin
Summary: Follows Guided Tour, Queenie finds that it's not all roses and sunshine in the strange town.
Author's Note: I am back after disappearing into writing during July. :D
Queenie followed without thinking as a matter of course. The three of them seemed to generally be freaked out and they were the ones to know. Half a block later, she slowed down to a stop and fixed them with a glare. “What just happened there?”
“We should keep on moving,” James said, heading back towards her. He reached his hand out, but she dodged away from him.
“This isn’t your idea of hazing me, is it?” She narrowed her eyes at them. “Get the new girl to make a fool out of herself.”
“Would we really go through all of this trouble for something like that?” Sloan asked. “Listen, you can get yourself killed if you want, but I’m not about to stick around to be killed by the enemy.”
“What?” Queenie stumbled back, almost falling over. She rallied and firmly planted her feet. “I’m not going to move until I get an explanation.”
“I knew I should have insisted on walking home with you yesterday, but I would have thought that you’d at least get a basic level of introduction from the newcomers course,” James said. He took another step towards her, his eyes earnest. With his strange hair color and the fact that a smirk seemed at home on his face, he seemed to be the type likely to be making fun of her. But something about him said that he wasn’t fooling around at the moment. “I’ll explain everything to you when we’re safe, but for now you have to follow me.” He held his hand out for her to take.
This whole thing was crazy, but she reached out and grabbed his hand. They started running again, heading down the alleyway behind a long row of buildings. Queenie paid attention to where they went, not like it helped as the twists and turns would have left her lost even if she knew her way around town. Still, as she ran, she became more convinced that something was wrong and that the three of them weren’t pulling a prank on her.
“This way,” Merit said, turning to go down another alleyway, but then he jerked to a halt. “Or, better not.”
“The enemy?” Sloan asked. She grabbed onto Merit and dragged him away from the alleyway, helping him get back to the speed of running.
Queenie craned her head to see why going down the alleyway was a bad idea, but she couldn’t see anything but darkness. A thump sounded, like the cliche metal trashcan from the movies. It was creepy enough that she didn’t want to stick around to see what it actually was they were running from.
A stitch started to form on her side and she began relying on James’s lead for where they were running, as she ducked her head and focused on breathing while running. She wouldn’t be able to keep to up for much longer, but they showed no signs of stopping. How they could run while wearing those robes, she didn’t know. At least she had worn her good pair of shoes that looked stylish but were actually comfortable.
They came to an abrupt stop and she stumbled into James, clutching onto his arm to keep from falling over. He seemed to have trouble staying on his feet as well, and they rocked for a terrifying moment before steadying. The ground vibrated under her shoes and she tightened her hold on James’ arm, not caring about how it looked to be so close to a guy like him. “Is there an earthquake?”
“Worse,” James said. His free arm came up and pointed at something ahead of them.
Not sure that she really wanted to see what exactly was causing everyone to freak out, she looked to where he was pointing. The creature towered over them, large, dark, and hairy. It looked like some kind of a mutant gorilla mixed with a bear.
She didn’t even need James pushing her back to start moving away from that creature. “Someone do something.”
“Like what?” Sloan asked.
“I don’t know, magic,” Queenie replied. They had claimed that they learned magic, now was the time for them to prove it. “Magic it away or knock it out.”
“Magic doesn’t solve everything,” Sloan said. She shot a glare over at Queenie before turning to James. “And it’s not actually magic that we’re learning.”
James shrugged, unconcerned about the stink eye Sloan was giving him. “It does some pretty amazing things, I’m just calling Clarke’s Law in reverse.”
“It doesn’t work like that,” Sloan replied.
“Can you guys argue about this later and deal with that thing now?” Queenie huffed. They were just lucky that it was content to just stare at them, but she was sure that it wouldn’t last for very long. “I don’t care if it’s magic or not, do something to get rid of that thing.”
“Even if we wanted to, it’s not like we can just wave our wands and make it disappear,” James said. “Though, I probably could explode a hole in the wall.”
“And kill us,” Sloan said.
“The best thing to do is to just keep backing away and hope it doesn’t notice us,” Merit said.
“I’m not sure how much that will work considering that it’s staring right at us,” Queenie said. They had been backing away slowly but steadily and the beast had continued to just watch them. It hadn’t attacked them, but then she was certain that it wouldn’t just let them leave. If magic wouldn’t work, there had to be something that they could do. “Don’t suppose it’s like a bear and bells would work? Some kind of loud noise?”
“Enemies are creatures from a whole other dimension, what works on bears won’t work on them,” Sloan said.
Queenie resisted the urge to stamp her foot. At least she was trying, in spite of not having a clue what was going on. Her stomach dropped as she stared at the creature. The smell of it was beginning to make her sick, like motor oil and rotten eggs along with the overpowering smell of wet dog. The subtle vibration of its growling worked its way through her limbs and sent her legs quivering. She wanted to turn around and run, but that would be just asking for trouble.
She cast around in the alleyway for some kind of thing to get them out of trouble. There had to be something. James’s wand kept poking her hip, digging into her the more they pressed together as they backed away. It was absolutely crazy, but that was starting to drive her more nuts than the monster in front of them.
Allowing the familiar feeling of annoyance to wrap around her, she grabbed the stick just as the beast decided to finally attack. It barreled down the alleyway towards them. All thoughts of throwing the wand away fled from her mind as she went blank.
Challenge: Tangerine 1 - Panic Attack
Topping: Gummy Bunnies (Wriye DW prompt 3: Enemies)
Word Count: 1,158
Rating: PG-13
Story: Metawin
Summary: Follows Guided Tour, Queenie finds that it's not all roses and sunshine in the strange town.
Author's Note: I am back after disappearing into writing during July. :D
Queenie followed without thinking as a matter of course. The three of them seemed to generally be freaked out and they were the ones to know. Half a block later, she slowed down to a stop and fixed them with a glare. “What just happened there?”
“We should keep on moving,” James said, heading back towards her. He reached his hand out, but she dodged away from him.
“This isn’t your idea of hazing me, is it?” She narrowed her eyes at them. “Get the new girl to make a fool out of herself.”
“Would we really go through all of this trouble for something like that?” Sloan asked. “Listen, you can get yourself killed if you want, but I’m not about to stick around to be killed by the enemy.”
“What?” Queenie stumbled back, almost falling over. She rallied and firmly planted her feet. “I’m not going to move until I get an explanation.”
“I knew I should have insisted on walking home with you yesterday, but I would have thought that you’d at least get a basic level of introduction from the newcomers course,” James said. He took another step towards her, his eyes earnest. With his strange hair color and the fact that a smirk seemed at home on his face, he seemed to be the type likely to be making fun of her. But something about him said that he wasn’t fooling around at the moment. “I’ll explain everything to you when we’re safe, but for now you have to follow me.” He held his hand out for her to take.
This whole thing was crazy, but she reached out and grabbed his hand. They started running again, heading down the alleyway behind a long row of buildings. Queenie paid attention to where they went, not like it helped as the twists and turns would have left her lost even if she knew her way around town. Still, as she ran, she became more convinced that something was wrong and that the three of them weren’t pulling a prank on her.
“This way,” Merit said, turning to go down another alleyway, but then he jerked to a halt. “Or, better not.”
“The enemy?” Sloan asked. She grabbed onto Merit and dragged him away from the alleyway, helping him get back to the speed of running.
Queenie craned her head to see why going down the alleyway was a bad idea, but she couldn’t see anything but darkness. A thump sounded, like the cliche metal trashcan from the movies. It was creepy enough that she didn’t want to stick around to see what it actually was they were running from.
A stitch started to form on her side and she began relying on James’s lead for where they were running, as she ducked her head and focused on breathing while running. She wouldn’t be able to keep to up for much longer, but they showed no signs of stopping. How they could run while wearing those robes, she didn’t know. At least she had worn her good pair of shoes that looked stylish but were actually comfortable.
They came to an abrupt stop and she stumbled into James, clutching onto his arm to keep from falling over. He seemed to have trouble staying on his feet as well, and they rocked for a terrifying moment before steadying. The ground vibrated under her shoes and she tightened her hold on James’ arm, not caring about how it looked to be so close to a guy like him. “Is there an earthquake?”
“Worse,” James said. His free arm came up and pointed at something ahead of them.
Not sure that she really wanted to see what exactly was causing everyone to freak out, she looked to where he was pointing. The creature towered over them, large, dark, and hairy. It looked like some kind of a mutant gorilla mixed with a bear.
She didn’t even need James pushing her back to start moving away from that creature. “Someone do something.”
“Like what?” Sloan asked.
“I don’t know, magic,” Queenie replied. They had claimed that they learned magic, now was the time for them to prove it. “Magic it away or knock it out.”
“Magic doesn’t solve everything,” Sloan said. She shot a glare over at Queenie before turning to James. “And it’s not actually magic that we’re learning.”
James shrugged, unconcerned about the stink eye Sloan was giving him. “It does some pretty amazing things, I’m just calling Clarke’s Law in reverse.”
“It doesn’t work like that,” Sloan replied.
“Can you guys argue about this later and deal with that thing now?” Queenie huffed. They were just lucky that it was content to just stare at them, but she was sure that it wouldn’t last for very long. “I don’t care if it’s magic or not, do something to get rid of that thing.”
“Even if we wanted to, it’s not like we can just wave our wands and make it disappear,” James said. “Though, I probably could explode a hole in the wall.”
“And kill us,” Sloan said.
“The best thing to do is to just keep backing away and hope it doesn’t notice us,” Merit said.
“I’m not sure how much that will work considering that it’s staring right at us,” Queenie said. They had been backing away slowly but steadily and the beast had continued to just watch them. It hadn’t attacked them, but then she was certain that it wouldn’t just let them leave. If magic wouldn’t work, there had to be something that they could do. “Don’t suppose it’s like a bear and bells would work? Some kind of loud noise?”
“Enemies are creatures from a whole other dimension, what works on bears won’t work on them,” Sloan said.
Queenie resisted the urge to stamp her foot. At least she was trying, in spite of not having a clue what was going on. Her stomach dropped as she stared at the creature. The smell of it was beginning to make her sick, like motor oil and rotten eggs along with the overpowering smell of wet dog. The subtle vibration of its growling worked its way through her limbs and sent her legs quivering. She wanted to turn around and run, but that would be just asking for trouble.
She cast around in the alleyway for some kind of thing to get them out of trouble. There had to be something. James’s wand kept poking her hip, digging into her the more they pressed together as they backed away. It was absolutely crazy, but that was starting to drive her more nuts than the monster in front of them.
Allowing the familiar feeling of annoyance to wrap around her, she grabbed the stick just as the beast decided to finally attack. It barreled down the alleyway towards them. All thoughts of throwing the wand away fled from her mind as she went blank.