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Chapter or Story
Disclaimer: The characters of Jarod and Miss Parker are not mine... blah... blah... blah. Not earning any money here; just entertaining the heck out of myself.
Author's Note: This is a little exercise I did a few months back: four related short pieces set post-IotH that take place over the course of a couple weeks. I kind of like 'em so I thought I'd slap 'em up here.
The Dream Cycle One: Gray
By Ginger
*Gray...*
*Winter gray...*
And such a long winter it was turning out to be, seemingly endless as it stretched from the harrowing events of early December all the way the to this dreary Thursday in mid-March, and showing no signs of retreat. For months she could feel its icy fingers on her skin, clawing at her, trying to reach inside. Not that it mattered, though, there was nothing there to disturb; she felt empty, used up.
Such were her thoughts as, out of the corner of her eye, she caught sight of something, moving swiftly towards her from the right, and hit the brakes of the black sedan. She skidded on the slippery pavement, the light rain that fell earlier now freezing to a slick coating on the quiet back road she always took home, everything moving in slow motion as she heard the loud thud, followed by the crash of shattering glass. Only when she'd coasted to a stop diagonally across the narrow road did it register that she'd collided with something. And that something was a deer.
A large deer, a buck now sprawled on the hood, his twitching head making his large, vine-like antlers jerk uncomfortably close to her face. The windshield was all but gone; she was showered with glass. She swallowed hard and swiftly unbuckled her seatbelt, trying the door and exhaling with relief when it opened. She carefully slid out of the driver's seat and stood frozen for a moment, staring at the nauseating scene before her. He was still alive. *Fuck.*
He emitted small, labored grunts as his chest heaved, steam rising from his quivering nostrils and mouth as he fought for breath. His neck was craned in an unnatural position, probably broken, and his lungs were more than likely collapsed by the impact. He would either slowly suffocate as his breathing grew increasingly shallow, or drown as his chest cavity filled with blood. Either way, it wouldn't be pleasant.
She met the doomed beast's eyes, big brown eyes with thick, dark lashes. She shuddered, turning away as she was reminded of the only image that made her feel anything these days.
*Dark eyes...*
*Soulful eyes...*
*Pleading eyes...*
*Fuck.*
She walked around to the passenger side and opened the door, reaching into the glove compartment to retrieve something. She walked back around the car and, again meeting the creature's agonizingly beautiful eyes, raised her gun and fired once, the bullet piercing a spot right between them. No more grunts of pain. No more steam rising from his nose and mouth. Only silence as a light snow began to fall, white flakes making a stark if fleeting contrast with the rich brown of his coat before quickly melting away on his still-warm body.
She had no idea how long she stood there, arms raised, staring at the corpse on the hood of the now wrecked car. With a sigh, she slowly lowered her arms and crouched down then raised her head to look heavenward, blinking at the snowflakes that fell on her face, adding moisture to cheeks already dampened by tears she hadn't even realized were shed.
"AREN'T WE GETTING A LITTLE HEAVY HANDED WITH THE SYMBOLISM?"
She shouted at the sky then dropped her head, laughing bitterly as she reached up to brush aside the curtain of hair that had fallen into her face. Wincing, she pulled her hand away from her forehead to find her fingers stained red.
"Perfect," she muttered then stood and ambled over to the passenger side of the car.
Absently dropping the gun onto the seat, she reached in to retrieve another item, her cell phone. She hit auto-dial and a number, drawing her free arm tightly around her waist and rocking slightly on her heels as she held the phone to her ear and waited. She was cold. It was cold, very cold. And gray.
# # # #
Author's Note: This is a little exercise I did a few months back: four related short pieces set post-IotH that take place over the course of a couple weeks. I kind of like 'em so I thought I'd slap 'em up here.
The Dream Cycle One: Gray
By Ginger
*Gray...*
*Winter gray...*
And such a long winter it was turning out to be, seemingly endless as it stretched from the harrowing events of early December all the way the to this dreary Thursday in mid-March, and showing no signs of retreat. For months she could feel its icy fingers on her skin, clawing at her, trying to reach inside. Not that it mattered, though, there was nothing there to disturb; she felt empty, used up.
Such were her thoughts as, out of the corner of her eye, she caught sight of something, moving swiftly towards her from the right, and hit the brakes of the black sedan. She skidded on the slippery pavement, the light rain that fell earlier now freezing to a slick coating on the quiet back road she always took home, everything moving in slow motion as she heard the loud thud, followed by the crash of shattering glass. Only when she'd coasted to a stop diagonally across the narrow road did it register that she'd collided with something. And that something was a deer.
A large deer, a buck now sprawled on the hood, his twitching head making his large, vine-like antlers jerk uncomfortably close to her face. The windshield was all but gone; she was showered with glass. She swallowed hard and swiftly unbuckled her seatbelt, trying the door and exhaling with relief when it opened. She carefully slid out of the driver's seat and stood frozen for a moment, staring at the nauseating scene before her. He was still alive. *Fuck.*
He emitted small, labored grunts as his chest heaved, steam rising from his quivering nostrils and mouth as he fought for breath. His neck was craned in an unnatural position, probably broken, and his lungs were more than likely collapsed by the impact. He would either slowly suffocate as his breathing grew increasingly shallow, or drown as his chest cavity filled with blood. Either way, it wouldn't be pleasant.
She met the doomed beast's eyes, big brown eyes with thick, dark lashes. She shuddered, turning away as she was reminded of the only image that made her feel anything these days.
*Dark eyes...*
*Soulful eyes...*
*Pleading eyes...*
*Fuck.*
She walked around to the passenger side and opened the door, reaching into the glove compartment to retrieve something. She walked back around the car and, again meeting the creature's agonizingly beautiful eyes, raised her gun and fired once, the bullet piercing a spot right between them. No more grunts of pain. No more steam rising from his nose and mouth. Only silence as a light snow began to fall, white flakes making a stark if fleeting contrast with the rich brown of his coat before quickly melting away on his still-warm body.
She had no idea how long she stood there, arms raised, staring at the corpse on the hood of the now wrecked car. With a sigh, she slowly lowered her arms and crouched down then raised her head to look heavenward, blinking at the snowflakes that fell on her face, adding moisture to cheeks already dampened by tears she hadn't even realized were shed.
"AREN'T WE GETTING A LITTLE HEAVY HANDED WITH THE SYMBOLISM?"
She shouted at the sky then dropped her head, laughing bitterly as she reached up to brush aside the curtain of hair that had fallen into her face. Wincing, she pulled her hand away from her forehead to find her fingers stained red.
"Perfect," she muttered then stood and ambled over to the passenger side of the car.
Absently dropping the gun onto the seat, she reached in to retrieve another item, her cell phone. She hit auto-dial and a number, drawing her free arm tightly around her waist and rocking slightly on her heels as she held the phone to her ear and waited. She was cold. It was cold, very cold. And gray.
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