Higher Motives [Rettick's Third Fic]
okay, since i have discontinued 'Undercover Operations' [by popular demand, apparently], then my previous plan - that my third fic would be a sequel to UO - is down the drain, so i have begun this. it was totally spur-of-the-moment, so i have no idea where this is going to go or how long it'll last, but bear with me.
and PLEASE reply! i need feedback!
State of Play 1
I can barely see in the darkness. I should have stayed on the road, but then I would’ve been out in the open, and open to attack. Branches keep hitting me in the face as I run, but I can think of worse things that could be hitting me. Bullets, for example.
Shit, I can hear voices. Stop. Listen. They’re getting closer. My breaths are coming faster now, as I hasten through the trees, no longer caring about the brambles whipping at my legs. Shit, my arm hurts. I should’ve been more careful coming across the river, but it’s too late for self-recriminations now. Think in the present. That’s what I should do. Besides, the water probably disguised my scent.
I just realised, I have no idea whether my pursuers have any slogs with them or not. If they have, I’m probably dead: they can follow my scent. It’s only a matter of time. Shit, I hope they don’t. I wonder who they are…
I stumble. As I struggle to rise, I hear their voices again. They seem further away this time, and slightly to my left. Rising to my feet, I head to my right, onto firmer, clearer ground. Things are looking slightly up.
CHAPTER 1
As the birds slowly begin to reclaim the clearing, unruffling their feathers, and wondering what all the fuss was about – it was only a single mudokon on its own, nothing to be afraid of, they should have stood their ground like the tough birds they know themselves to be inside, whatever their songbird exterior – something else emerges from the surrounding vegetation, causing the birds to take flight once more. A tall, heavily built Glukkon bursts between two bushes, looking around and grunting in aggravation. As he sits on a rock at the side of the clearing, dejectedly, a second glukkon follows. After looking around for a brief second, he strides up to the first glukkon.
“Lost him?”
The tall glukkon nods. “The ground’s softer here, I can’t see which way he went.”
The other glukkon is probably about average height, but the sheer size of his companion makes him seem short, and his skinny build makes him seem almost childlike as he sits beside his companion. “Shit!” He looks up into his companion’s face. “We can’t have lost him!”
The taller glukkon gestures across the clearing with a handfoot. “Well, he ain’t here, is he?”
His smaller companion sits quietly for a moment, chewing the nails on his handfeet, before coming to a decision. Leaping to his feet, he turns to his colleague. “He can’t have gone far! He’s probably heading for that village we saw on the map; we can head him off there!”
The other glukkon looks up at him. “How’re you gonna overtake him?”
“We can just head for the road and stay on it. As long as he stays in the forest, he won’t be able to go very fast. And if he emerges onto the road, we’ll see him and catch him. He can’t outrun us on the flat.”
The other looks down at his handfeet. “I don’t like mud villages; you know that.”
The smaller glukkon pauses. “Oh, right. Well, why don’t you get the flyer, go back to the nearest city – Carthag’s nearest, I think – and hire us some mercenaries. This guy hasn’t given us much trouble yet, but they said he’d be dangerous when cornered.”
The sitting glukkon brightens, and rises to his feet. “Where shall we meet after?”
“Radio me when you’ve got someone.”
“Right.” The glukkon began to turn, then turned back. “Good luck. Let’s hope yer don’t need it.”
The smaller glukkon nods, biting his lip, and heads out into the undergrowth, towards the road. The larger glukkon turns without a second thought, and heads back the way they’d come.
[ August 31, 2001: Message edited by: Rettick ]
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Guns don't kill people, People kill people! Using Guns.
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