Script (The Sentinel - gen, 2150 words)

[sallymn]

Okay, a last-minute scramble, but I have something to offer for the Spook Me Multi-Fandom Ficathon. The prompt was a picture of Ye Classic Olde Horror Story Grimoire, and I admit I only used it for a starting place and went off the track more than a little...

This was also written to fit (if with a pinch, because it's larger than normal :) the sentinel_thurs

Comments

[entropy_house]

Excellent, very spooky (which none of mine were).

Yours reminds me a bit of parts of 'The Face in the Frost' where a monk is driven nearly insane by trying to learn to read a book written in no known language.

(I think this is my only remotely spooky icon.)

[sallymn]

I haven't read that, must see if I can find it :)

Thanks! (I don't have many spooky icons, this is I guess the closest)

[entropy_house]

Oh, The Face in the Frost is awesome. It's pretty much a classic. Wonderful protagonists, eerie mystery, epic journey, courage, friendship, amazing world building (the hero's house is practically a character on its own)... and it's beautifully written, clean and evocative. (There, I tried really hard not to spoiler it.)

Definitely recommend you try to find that book. It's by John Bellairs and was written in 1969 (at a time when an author could write a short novel and not be forced to pad it out into a bloated huge thing.) It may take some doing to locate a copy, but it's well worth the effort.

[stargatesg1971]

Ooo, I really enjoyed this piece!! So creepy and eerie in a soft and menacing way, very cool. Thanks for participating and sharing.

[sallymn]

Thanks :) I tried to keep it quietly creepy...

[kernel1]

Very creepy and I loved Jim's no nonsense way of dealing with it!

[sallymn]

He's a pragmatist, our Jim. Blair would have wanted to talk and talk about it....

[svetlanacat4]

This is very spooky, but also a moment of true friendship ("Blair's soul is safe in my keeping, it has to be") I do love Jim's analysis ("Guns and explosions and doing things the simple way, that's more like me.")

[sallymn]

Thankee! Jim's protectiveness is one of the things I most love about him :)

[unbelievable2]

This is absolutely superb - properly haunted and scary, and with beautiful writing at the same time.

[sallymn]

Too kind... I did try for visually evocative imagery, so this makes me very happy :)