The Waking Dreamer

Blogs and things, I'm a writer. To quote V from V for Vendetta: "While the truncheon may be used in lieu of conversation, words will always retain their power. Words offer the means to meaning, and for those who will listen, the enunciation of truth."

[russellaurthor]

A Little Candle

Tiny spark,

You light my candle.

The small flame within, all of us carry.

You are inspiration’s breath.

A charter of courses.

The tiny gust that ignites the flame that spreads and spreads.

Where darkness finds you, you have that little light in your hands.

It is the light of your soul.

In your darkest hours, it will find you.

Untold treasures are then bestowed upon you.

Tiny light within, you grow and grow.

I must pass you onto others, so that they may have a light of their own.

My spark is now a torch.

Light the flame within.

Your soul was meant to soar.

Spread your wings, little flame.

Branch out and shine bright.

A little candle can light other candles.

In an vacant room,

One lit candle can spread throughout, a cascade of light.

Let your flame catch.

Let your fire spread.

Let your light shine.

A little candle spreads through time.

[russellaurthor]

Isolation

Chapter 3 He awoke to the sound of dripping water and the sudden groan of a low turbine powering on. Pedro wasn’t sure if it was morning or still evening. His face hurt, his body ached and his feet felt like lead. The soles of his feet were sore as all hell, one of them really hurt to move and both were crusted in dry mud from last night’s marathon.

He looked up and saw a single ray of light piercing through the darkness. Yup, it was morning. The night before, his running had led him into this dark, cool bunker. It was pitch dark when he walked in and he nearly had his head taken off, after he’d walked into a metal pipe of some kind. Which only aggravated the other injuries he’d sustained from his kidnapping, and subsequent plane ride. He briefly and gingerly touched his face. It ached something awful from the tiniest brush. Even without any reflective surfaces, he knew that his face was scarred and disfigured from swelling, and he could still feel the bruising on his left cheek and now, his forehead had a fresh lump.

Where the fuck was he and what was this place? He thought about last night's events, trying to make sense of it all. Remembering his brush with death and the large creatures that voraciously pursued him through the jungle. Were they giant lizards? Had he discovered some previously unknown species? All these questions flashed into his mind, while behind him, the hum of the turbine sputtered and choked every now and again.

He carefully got up to examine it, but even as carefully as he did, he winced as he put weight on his right foot. He lifted his foot to see the damage, but in this dimly lit space, it was hard to make out what was dried blood and what was mud. But what was distinct, was the scar that ran the length of his sole. He tore off a piece of his pajamas and did his best to bandage the wound. He wasn’t sure if it did anything, but Pedro knew it was better than being exposed to the elements.

Carefully, he walked over to the source of the noise and discovered that the piping fed into a generator of some sort. This generator continued to sputter and crank, Pedro was not entirely sure what fueled it but, regardless, it still seemed out of place on this remote island, with no apparent human inhabitants. The pipes however, were steaming hot and he now noticed that the ground he lay one was significantly cooler than when he stood. The dripping sound had been condensation, falling from the pipes. Some of them had a chalk-like substance, forming a few tiny stalactites. They smelled like rotting eggs. 

This wasn’t a bunker, it was a maintenance shed. 

“Who built this shit?” he said out loud. Pedro found the pipes lined the walls and fed into the ground, and that from the generators there was another score of pipes bolted to the wall that led to a small, metal box, which in turn led to a medium sized panel. He dusted off the panel door slightly, revealing a red label that read: “GEO-THERM BKR EAST-012”

It seemed to be a breaker panel of some kind, from what he could guess. To the right of the panel door, there was a small dull, red lamp gently pulsing. That’s when he noticed in the background a locker, to the right of the entrance. Maybe there was food?. He knew it wasn't likely, but his gnawing stomach now overrode his logic. He made his way over and opened in. It wasn’t locked. Inside, he found a yellow rain jacket, with spots of mold and a construction helmet with a green and yellow camouflage pattern. He couldn’t make out what the front read, but what he was able to make out was saw a skeletal dinosaur logo, starting to unglue itself from moisture and age. He also found a pair of rubber rain boots and a maglight. Outside of that, there were a couple of pictures taped to the inside of the locker door: one, a magazine cutout of a topless bikini model, the other a photograph of a woman with large, voluminous hair and a boy holding a basketball. The photo was dusty and spotted with mold as well. Beneath was a name tag, hanging from a hook by a lanyard. Pedro examined the name tag and found that the name was smudged slightly, but read: HOWARD, KENT. MAINTENANCE TECH. To the right of that, it showed a blurred image of a man with a mullet and a bushy mustache.

Pedro clicked the flashlight on, but no light came out initially, but then, after giving it a good shake, he realized that it was the kind that had to be shaken to generate power. He put on the raincoat and helmet, and pocketed both the name tag and the maglite. Pedro made for the door, giving one last glance back to the empty maintenance shed. He peered through the porthole briefly. It was difficult to see, since it was filthy, but he saw no movement and hoped that that was a good sign. He took one final deep breath and exited.

It was only mildly cooler back in the shed. As soon as he walked outside, the humidity enveloped him like a wet blanket. Suddenly, it felt like the whole world had turned into a giant sauna, filled with the drone of various insects and bird calls. Maybe wearing this jacket was a bad idea, he thought. Pedro decided to take a look around for a bit, from the safety of the fence of course, to try and get a sense of where he was. The fence enclosed a sort of yard, the area of which was littered in overgrown grass and roots and substrate. There wasn’t much in the way of signs of people, and even in this daylight he looked upon the structure of the bunker. It too, was overrun by moss and vines climbing up every which way, even onto the rectangular roof, it seemed. The surrounding area above the bunker was clear of any trees or overhanging branches. Good, nothing’s gonna jump from any branch to get to me.

Doing a quick circuit around the fence line, he noticed that the top had a score of cables running along the length of it, as did the middle of the fence. He noticed also, that every few feet, there hung a yellow colored, metallic sign, with a hand showing a lightning bolt striking through it. And it dawned on him that these fences had once been electrified. He was starting to grasp that whoever put up these fences, and for that matter, this bunker, had known the types of creatures that resided here. This fence had been to keep them out, and by the look of everything, this place had long since been abandoned.

As he turned the corner, around the backside of the bunker he saw a housing unit of some kind. In fact, it looked like a carport. As he got closer, he noticed that there was a pair of barrels, labeled with a little orange diamond with a worn little flame stenciled in, underneath it were the words: Flammable and adjacent to it, the word Petrol had been stenciled as well. Underneath the barrels hung a long hose, with a nozzle attached. Further in, Pedro found a rusty, leaf covered ATV. A four-wheeler, what luck! Pedro considered for a moment, whether something this old looking would still run. If the battery was still working, then it could, potentially, help him move around faster through these roads.

Pedro approached the ATV. He found that in the ignition, still hung a small black key in it. It was rusted slightly, but he was able to wretch it out of the ignition with relative ease. 

He heard a rustling nearby, followed by a growl and shrill chirp. It was on the other side of the fence, but all the same Pedro tensed up and his heart nearly jumped out of his chest. He went silent, holding his breath and listening for any other noise that came from the brush. When none did, he continued searching. 

Aside from relative disuse and leaf litter, the four-wheeler appeared to be in relatively good order. Whomever the previous owner was, they appeared to have taken good care of it. Pedro hesitated. He wanted to start it just to test it out, but was scared that he would find out what he already knew. Pedro anxiously waivered a moment, but then inserted the key and turned it. It clicked. It sputtered very briefly, but ultimately didn’t turn over.

Pedro checked the dash. He was by no means a mechanic, but he understood enough about how engines worked in cars, and figured that an ATV ran by the same rules. The lights weren’t on, which meant for sure that the battery was dead. He looked around deeper into the carport. There was a wall with a few tools on it, a workbench and with a box of some kind sitting on it, at an odd angle. Pedro investigated and found that the only tools were a screwdriver, a small wrench and some jumper cables.

Jumper cables. Maybe that would work? He made his way over to the table, dusted off the jumper cables. They seemed to be in good condition, but then the problem remained: what would he connect it to, where would he generate power from? Pedro thought for a moment about the generator he’d found in the bunker. Maybe there was a way… there was shrill chirp, louder this time. Somewhere in the trees, followed by a few more in response. Chattering, really. Like birds that were fighting. Pedro tried to take his mind off it. He grabbed the jumper cables and realized that there was a plug connection at one end, with the clamps on the other end. How peculiar. He walked around the other side of the bunker, to see if there was somewhere to plug it in, tracing the backside of where he estimated the generator was. There were a series of large pipes and fat tubes that curved downwards from the back of the building, outside of that there was nothing that he found he would be able to plug into… 

He saw a shoe, lying limp from the other side of some piping. Its owner was obscured behind the rest of the piping. Pedro ran towards it, hoping to find someone, foolishly hoping it was just someone resting. It was hot as hell out, after all. He shuddered and quickly turned away as he arrived, as soon as the smell hit his face like a baseball bat. The image of what he saw burning itself into his mind’s eye. The desiccated remains of a man, garbed in what remained of a slate colored suit and tie. His head, slumped to one side, with the jaw slacked and open. He had no lips and no eyes. What little flesh remained, was browned and clung in little clumps in random spots, he was, however, mostly bone and swarmed with flies. His chest cavity was devoid of any organs whatsoever and the ribs were exposed.

Pedro hesitated a moment, but decided to check his pockets, holding his breath. This man couldn’t have been here that long, how did he end up like this? Pedro then tasted the bile rising to the back of his throat and he quickly turned away from the corpse to throw up. After a moment, he caught his breath and summoned all his courage again to resume checking the man’s pockets. They were mostly empty, except for a wallet. Pedro checked the ID, it was a California license: Brian Campbell. DOB: August 1, 1970. Eye: BLU. Class C.

Brian was 33, he was only five years older than Pedro. “If he didn’t make it…”  Pedro shook his head thoughts that wouldn’t help him and tried to think about how he was going to get that Four-wheeler to start. Pedro checked the inside of Brian’s blazer, and found a holster. No gun, unfortunately. However, what he did find gave him pause. A badge attached to the wallet. It was by no means a new badge, but certainly wasn’t old either. The shield-shaped metallic credential, with the bold letters distinctly spelling out the phrase Federal Bureau of Investigation and Department of Justice just underneath it.

Pedro picked up the badge and looked at the remains of the man.

“You pissed off El Jefe too, huh?” Pedro muttered. He returned the items, save for the holster and the belt, nearly breaking the bones of the man to get it and returned to the ATV. The belt he imagined would be useful, if he needed to climb or defend himself, but the holster gave him some sense of security.

He made his way back to the carport, trying to think of how he could make this ATV turn over, that’s when he spotted a small outlet, jutting out from the back of the shed. The length of the jumper cables would not reach, but Pedro thought if he put the ATV in neutral, he could roll it closer to the outlet, and maybe that would work. Examining the ATV, it made more sense to somehow remove the battery and put the jumpers on it closer to the bunker.

Using the small wrench, he removed the battery, being careful not to lose the nuts that held it in place, and transferred it over to nearer to the outlet. He then placed the jumpers to the positive and negative nodes, and waited. He wasn’t sure how he would know if the battery was charged, as there were no indicators on it. He just slumped down next to it and waited, listening to the droning insects, in this God awful heat. 

Pedro was starving. He wondered if he stepped out the fenceline, perhaps to find some fruit or even some water. Then he remembered the snarling teeth, and the snapping jaws of the creatures from last night and shuddered to think about what those teeth would have done to him.

There was a thud near him and Pedro froze. He didn’t want to look, but his curiosity, fueled by his terror compelled him to turn, slowly in the direction of the sound. Pedro felt his throat dry up, as he struggled to swallow. He was now looking at the muscular legs of a bipedal reptile. Tracing slowly upwards, he found the head of this creature. Now in the daylight, he could see the brightly colored V-shaped crest, looking back at him with small round eyes, staring back at him. It let out a small hoot, just like the monkeys had back at the beach. He almost wished it had been monkeys now.

Another hoot replied, on the opposite side of him. They were just staring at him. The movements on these things were sharp, like a turkey or a chicken. As they stared at him, he stared back. Slowly, turning his face from one of them to the other he suddenly realized that they were trying to figure out how to get on the other side of the fence. They were trying to get to him.

[russellaurthor]

Isolation

Chapter 2

A slap of thunder jolted him awake. It was cold and he was wet and shivering. It was dark, save for what moonlight escaped through the somewhat distant clouds and the occasional flash of lightning. 

The storm wasn't yet upon him, but he could feel a humid breeze blowing in his direction, which meant the storm was heading this way. Between flashes and the delayed thunder that followed, Pedro decided that his next course of action was to find him some shelter. His stomach growled. He would need to deal with that later. Right now, however, he just needed a place to think and to rest properly. 

He briefly thought of Elena; he wondered what became of her after he was taken. The last he saw of her she was being dragged, screaming, by the arm out of the bathroom right before a bag was forced over his head. He shuddered at the thought of what might have happened to her, but then he remembered who she was and what the Pony-tailed man had said. Pedro at least found some comfort in the fact that it was not likely that El Jefe would kill his own daughter. 

His stomach was gnawing at him, as he stumbled through the sandy bank. He had no clue where he was going, but he figured he would find some sign of life or civilization, potentially, if he just kept walking. At the very least, he could get a general idea of where he was. He followed the beach north, keeping the crashing waves to his left side. The sand was mostly clear, devoid of any signs of being disturbed by anything human. He did, however, find many bird tracks of varying size along the way.

After traveling a few minutes longer, he started noticing large rocks starting to pepper the beach and the sand began to thin the further he traveled. Finally, In the distance, he saw a light. Just over a ridge of jagged rocks, there was a light emanating from just over it. Naturally, he ran to see what the source was. What luck! It might be a boat or a vessel of some kind. Hell, it might even be headlights! Where there was light, there had to be other people.

The closer he got, however, the hotter it became. Where before the air was just humid, this had become more like he was entering a sauna. The air was starting to bite his skin, particularly around the ears and nostrils. Even his eyes were starting to sting a little, but he kept pushing forward. Until at last he reached where the light glowed from. His face molded into an expression of dismay, when he realized what his “salvation” actually was.

A river of lava, carving its way from the side of a volcano had apparently been carving itself down the mountainside, and leaving a crevice in its wake. The glow was just a side effect of molting rock's heat and in tracing the river of lava, he found that it traveled along the length of the island's radius until it hit the water, hissing. He only knew that, because he could see the steam floating off in the distance.

Pedro shook his head. He decided that he wasn’t going to find anything of use along this ridge, so he turned, now staring into the jungle. He wondered what lay beyond the greenery. He certainly wasn’t dressed for a safari or hiking trip, and for a moment he worried how dirty his clothes would be. He wore nothing but his t-shirt and pajama pants, he wasn’t given time to grab sneakers, let alone socks or even mildly appropriate clothes for such an undertaking. He wasn’t even wearing shoes. It occurred to him that he wasn’t supposed to survive this and thus wasn’t given time to grab anything, but then…

“Why did they give me a parachute?” he thought aloud. Right then, as if in response, there was a chirp just ahead of him, coming from the brush. Then there came a hoot, and the chirp became a hoot in reply.

    “Hello?” said Pedro,“is someone there?”

    There was no reply.

There was, however, another hoot, followed by a shuffling noise. Then there was a third hoot, then another and another, until there were about half a dozen hoots all echoing each other near him, shuffling through the foliage, he even heard some up in the trees.

Pedro frowned. 

"Just monkeys,” he said, throwing his hands up “just monkeys playing in the fucking trees…".

Pedro's stomach growled again, he had to find shelter and food. And water. He finally noticed he was starting to get thirsty as well. He wondered if there was a waterfall or some type of freshwater source nearby, but the brush was too thick, how would he get to one? Certainly, he could just listen for the roaring water, but wouldn’t it just be easier to call for help?

“Help, somebody, anybody!” Pedro called out to the jungle. He paused, waiting. A few moments later, he tried again, and waited. He tried this a few more times, desperately. He just wanted a response from anyone. He screamed at the top of his lungs, but quickly realized, no one could hear him. He was all alone on this island. Just him and the monkeys.

Just then, he heard a muffled thud off to his left, it could've been a coconut or something hitting the sand, but Pedro wasn’t confident enough to go rooting around in the dark for it. By this time, he had moved a few yards back down the beach close to where he had washed up. Then the hooting started up again, followed by chirps in response.

The sound grew closer and closer, the more he walked. Initially he paid it no mind, but he quickly noticed that it followed him. The more he walked, the more and more it grew agitated and fervent it became. Finally, when it had reached its loudest volume and he could stand it no longer, he shouted into the jungle.

"Shut the fuck up!"

The sounds fell silent.

However, as soon as he took one step, it started back up again in full volume. Pedro angrily scoured the sand for something heavy, perhaps some driftwood or a rock. He just needed a moment of silence to think of his next move, and this incessant hooting was driving him insane. He was tired from the swim, not to mention the day he’d had and now his hunger was making him irritable.

He found a large piece of driftwood, about two feet or so in length and he brandished it as a weapon. He was about to chuck into the brush to scare off the monkeys, when he noticed something off about this particular piece of driftwood. It was smoother than he thought wood ought to be. Not particularly rough or grainy, and there were grooves on the side that went against the grain. A lot of grooves. Actually, these were more like deep gashes into the wood, they felt almost like something had been gnawing on it. Pedro felt a chill run down his spine, for right then, in the now waxing darkness, he realized what he was holding was not driftwood, but a femur. A human femur. Those groove marks were made by teeth. Sharp teeth. At the realization, he dropped the femur into the sand. 

Pedro hadn’t noticed at first, but then became painfully aware. The hooting noise was now eerily silent, like the way you only really notice the wind in its absence. He slowly turned and peered into the dark brush, as the tendrils of palm leaves and branches beckoned him silently toward him. Whispering as the leaves rubbed against each other, in the growing wind. Just then, out of the darkness came a snuffling sound extending to his left and to his right, out of the brush. The storm was now upon them, starting off as just a droplet, followed by another and another, as it quickly transformed into a shower. Lightning flashed, followed shortly by a loud crash of thunder, causing Pedro to jump violently.

Pedro now considered his options. Whatever had gnawed on the bone, was likely still around and stalking him. Did he take his chances on the beach or would he venture into the jungle?

Pedro bit his lip and pondered, now frozen by cold rain and fear. He let out a growl of frustration, then barreled head first into the forest. He noticed immediately when the sand turned into rough grass, then branches and roots, and then mud. He wasn’t sure what he was looking for, but he figured more than likely a cave or waterfall might be near the mountains in the distance. If there were no people here, he might still find shelter. At least, for the moment, the large canopy of the overarching branches were keeping him drier than he would be, standing on the beach.

He heard another hoot, he noticed now that these sounded more like owls, and less like monkeys. It echoed on either side of him, keeping pace with him as he ran. He felt their footfalls matching his own and in a brief flash of lightning, looking on either side, he caught glimpses of leathery skin and a v-shaped crest. Pedro was then motivated to double his pace, when he saw briefly a flash serrated teeth from an open jaw, and a pair of extended black claws. He was sprinting, drawing in wheezing, panicked breaths as he ran, ignoring the rain that slapped his face through openings in the canopy.

It seemed to be all in vain, for whatever these things were, they kept pace with him and didn’t appear to slow at all. He was pretty sure that one of his feet might actually be bleeding, from stepping on the sticks and rough roots with such careless disregard. And he was now running out of steam. He searched the above for overhanging branches. Maybe these things couldn’t climb? Even if they could, he couldn’t take his chances by trying to outrun them. He leapt for the nearest overhanging branch, and it broke in his hand, without him losing too much momentum. Dammit, not big enough!

He suddenly felt something warm slap his back. This wasn’t rain that hit him, for it clung to his back, and oozed slowly. He looked briefly behind him, just as a large wad of some substance hit his shoulder, and cheek. The spot where it hit his cheek, tingled violently. It was foamy, and viscous like spit. Pedro panicked and tried to break right, towards a split in the trees, when suddenly the ground’s texture changed, rough but completely different to the ground he had been running on before. During a particularly bright flash of lightning, he was able to make out a fence directly ahead of him. He was sure of it. A chain link fence! Another flash of lightning, revealed that it was connected by a gate. Wherever he was right now, this was definitely a road, leading to a gate. Yes! This was a paved road. Asphalt. Which meant there were people at the end of the road!

“Help!” Pedro cried “Please, help me!” This time, he didn't wait for a response. He was out of breath, and the closer he got to the fence, the more he heard the snuffling and snorting from the two creatures that pursued him. He was nearly 50 yards from the fence, when he saw that on the other side there was a concrete bunker. Not a particularly large one, but large enough for him. He briefly felt the hot breath of his pursuers behind him, and a snap of jaws narrowly missing their mark, as he leapt for the fence and scrambled up the top, his pursuers in tow. By the time he had made it to the fence, they were still on the ground, hissing at him. Pedro could now see, the fence was only about thirty-five or forty feet. 

He was surprised at how quickly he scaled it, as he scaled a ways down a bit, before he jumped down the other side.  Behind him, he could just make out the pair of creatures. They stood about 8 feet in height, each with a distinct V-shaped crest on both of their heads, leading from the top of their heads, down to the middle of their snout. Their arms were long, with bony digits, both sets now folded beneath their body. They were bipedal with long balancing tails, whipping in anticipation behind them as they peered with dark eyes at Pedro. He was only about 6 feet from the fence now, and he scrambled back towards the bunker to put more distance between them, never once taking his eyes off the creatures. If he didn’t know any better, they looked like a pair of very large lizards.

“Dinosaurs?” he said aloud, as if asking them.

The pair cocked their heads and hooted at one another, as they looked up and down the fence briefly, before turning around and bolting back into the forest. Pedro, alarmed, out of breath and soaked to the bone, searched around the bunker for a door, which didn’t take long to find.

The bunker was a solid, slate-colored, brick building, with a lighter gray door. There were no windows save for the square porthole on the door. The handle appeared to have been chrome once, but was now orange and brown in some areas, rusted with age. He hoped to God that it wasn’t locked. He hesitated a moment, listening to the rain and looking all around him. The gate for the fence appeared to be chained closed, from what he could tell. But he was still on edge, worried that one of those things would climb the fence or burst through somehow. He took a breath. He tried his best to block out any thought that told him that it was probably locked and that he should give up, but he was stubborn. Pedro twisted the knob. Miraculously, the door opened, and he walked into the cool darkness of the bunker, shutting the world out behind him.

[oddcryptidwrites]

If you write scifi I need you to reply to and reblog this immediately so I can follow you... And you need to add me to your tag lists! Especially if it's either zombie-apocalypse or adjacent sci-fi OR politics-focused sci-fi.

Non sci-fi writers, also reblog, because I will also follow you plus you help boost the message :)

[russellaurthor]

Isolation

Chapter 1

“Wake up!” said a harsh voice. But he didn’t budge. He was tired and hated being awakened from sleep.

“Wake up, idiota!” the voice said again, harsher this time. 

Pedro was roused from his sleep, violently and suddenly, as he was shaken and forced to stand on his feet. Everything was dark. The only point of reference he had for the moment, was that he knew he had not had time to brush his teeth before he had been taken, for his breath stank.

Suddenly, he felt a dull pain, as a heavy impact to his left cheek left him slightly dazed. He could already feel the injury start to swell, as he shook his head from the blow.

“Rise and shine, buttercup,” said a voice. Just then, the burlap sack that was once covering his head, was roughly removed and he was suddenly reminded of where he was.

Initially he had thought it had been a dream he was having. He had been asleep at his penthouse in LA just 8 hours ago, sleeping naked next to the most beautiful Chicana he’d ever laid eyes on. Unfortunately, even roses have their thorns. Except this rose, on top of thorns, had baggage and not just the ones she had left at the doorway by the entrance. No, these were in fact, baggage that barged into his home with guns, shouted in Spanish, bound his hands and forced a bag over his head.

It was hours before he awoke to the sound of a helicopter, before being manhandled once again and thrown into what he could only assume was one cargo hold after another. With his ears adjusting to the pressure changes, in this final location he quickly deduced he had to be on a plane. A large plane, just based on the muffled roar of the engine.

It took his eyes a moment to adjust to the sudden change in lighting. Before him stood a broad shouldered man with black hair, tied back into a slick ponytail. His broad smile, exposing a gold tooth.

“My friend,” the man said, in a thick Spanish accent “You’re lucky.”

“How do you figure?” croaked Pedro, suddenly realizing he was having to speak louder over the engines.

The man laughed “because El Jefe only reserves this death for people that really piss him off.”

“Look, if he didn’t want his wife sleeping with other men, then maybe don’t abandon them in LA, alone”

“That wasn’t his wife, cabron,” he said, sneering “That was his daughter.”

Pedro was taken aback.

“Oh, well he can sleep with her if she wants. I am not one to kink shame–"

Pedro let out a loud wheeze before he’d even been able finish his sentence, as he was socked in the stomach. The wind instantly knocked out of him. Pedro was roughly hoisted by his collar, towards the silhouette of a pistol barrel. Pedro felt the cold steel, as it pressed under his chin.

Another voice spoke, off to his left.

“The only reason I don’t just shoot right now, Mr. Pedro, is because you don’t deserve it.” said the voice “it’s too quick, you see.”

Pedro tried to turn to see to whom the voice belonged, but just as he turned his head, the Pony-tailed man forced his head back forward.

“You needn’t see who I am,” the disembodied voice said, “Only know that it’ll be the last human voice you’ll hear…”

Pedro struggled briefly, but then relaxed as the Pony-Tailed man’s grip tightened. 

“Look, I don’t know who you are…” he chose his words carefully “But I have a ton of money, locked up in an offshore account—One phone call and it’s yours, just please…” Pedro lowered his head, “Please don’t kill me.”

The voice fell silent. After a moment, however, it began to chuckle. The chuckle became a chortle, before overflowing briefly into a laugh. The Pony-tailed man joined in, until suddenly, Pedro was keenly aware that there were other voices; the other men in the cargo hold joined in the laughter. 

There must have been six or seven of them, by his count.

“Mr. Pedro,” said the voice “I didn't figure you for a man that would beg for his life, how amusing.”

The laughter ended and the voice continued, even over the muffled engine.

“You think money is the only thing I care for, what about honor, do you have enough money to buy that?”

Pedro searched the dim light for something to say.

Then he heard footsteps approach, and the voice was now louder.

“You are just like every other rat in that city. Pitiful, and always searching for a way out. To survive”

The man spat. At this proximity, Pedro could smell his cologne. The smell of clean clothes, and expensive aftershave. He was tall, from what he could tell. And lean, though he seemed to be supporting part of his weight on a cane. What little light there was, reflected off the shiny brass top. It had been molded to some kind of shape, though what shape Pedro could not tell.

“Now, we shall put those survival skills to the test, Mr. Pedro. I am not going to kill you.”

He briefly gave a sigh of relief.

The voice continued.

“Though I cannot speak for what lies in wait for you, down below.”

Pedro was immediately fitted with straps on his thighs and across his chest. Pedro couldn’t move, his hands were still bound. The struggle was violent, but brief. Just then, there sounded a loud klaxon alarm, followed almost immediately by what sounded like a very large latch being opened, then a whirring of hydraulic doors slowly creaking open. Ahead of him, a thin, rectangular light grew brighter and wider, revealing the cargo door. The wind quickly began whistling loudly, as Pedro realized what was about to happen. The cargo bay was being opened. This was a military craft, like the ones you saw in those recruitment commercials for Marines.

Only this was different. This was real. The howling wind, rustling harshly blowing his hair. As he was pushed towards the open lip of the craft. Pedro cried and dug his heels in, to no avail. When he reached the very edge, he was overlooking a large island, dark green with vegetation. In the far edges of it, there were large billowing smoke stacks that looked almost like coal chimneys.

Pedro was hoisted once more by his collar, and in the howling wind, he managed to make out the Pony-tailed man’s voice.

“Adios, amigo.”

Pedro screamed, but couldn’t hear it. It was stifled by the wind rushing into his lungs, he also couldn’t hear a thing through the whistling in his ears. Up was down, down was up. He couldn’t make heads or tails of anything, as he tried to regain control of something. Anything. The ground was rushing toward him, but there was no stopping. No brakes he could cling onto.

It was just gravity, him and the ground. His vision was completely blurred from sheer speed, and tears completely fogged what little sight he had. He knew only that it was day time, and that he was now hurtling toward an island, which was now growing larger by the second. An idea flashed in his mind: maybe he would aim for the water, softer landing. He tried to use his legs and shoulders to steady himself, but it was useless.

He was going to die, and there was nothing he could do about it.

He wondered if the impact would kill him instantly, or if there was a moment where he would feel the pain. Would it all go black?

As he fell and was trying to come to terms with his immediate death, he suddenly jolted, the likes of which nearly pulled his arms from their sockets. There was a loud unfurling and a large flapping sound, as his freefall plummet had now drastically slowed into a gentle descent.

He looked up and saw the parachute, that must have been what they attached to him, while he had been hoisted. The plane was some distance away now. Not quite a speck, but small enough that he could see the small tether that had been attached to the parachute ripcord, shrinking towards the plane.

As the relief of not being dead came over him, he was immediately swarmed by panic, as he realized he had no way of navigating or directing this parachute, as his hands were still bound. He was essentially adrift to the will of the wind, as it were. Beneath him, he could make out a small stretch of beach to his left, to his right there were jagged outcrops, jutting out in every direction. Meanwhile, directly below him were waves. They seemed calm enough, that he would likely be alright landing in the water. He held his breath, hoping that a strong gust wouldn’t suddenly face-plant him directly onto a rock shelf.

Closer and closer the water got, until his sneakers finally touched the water, biting into his ankles. It was freezing!

The frigid temperature suddenly swallowed his legs, he could feel his gonads shrivel into his body, then his chest. Finally, with one last gasp of air, his head. The canvas gently landed in the waves behind him, and Pedro kicked his legs to keep him afloat, before finally realizing that his hands would work better in front of him, than they would behind him. He dove briefly, as the darkness of the water engulfed him, suddenly leaving him feeling vulnerable, exposed. He pushed his hands underneath his legs, so that at least he had the added benefit of his hands.

He turned around to and fro, until he found the island and then found the stretch of beach in the distance. At first glance, it didn’t appear too far away, but Pedro knew all too well that appearances can be deceiving. He started to swim when from the corner of his eye, he saw a shadow flash. It was so quick in the water that he wasn’t even sure he’d seen it, he tried to ignore it.

“It’s all in your head, Pedro.” he said to himself.

Something brushed past his leg. It was heavy and it was rough.

“Oh fuck…” he said aloud “oh shit!”

Pedro doubled his pace, but found he hadn’t moved from his place. The canvas was taking water and weighing him down.

Then something heavy hit him in the water and he watched a triangular fin, briefly cresting the surface a few feet ahead of him, as it swam away. Pedro’s heart was throbbing in his ears, as he dug and pulled and kicked, as much as possible aiming for the beach. Every heartbeat, laced with adrenaline as he pushed towards the beach. He was about 100 yards away. He was going to make it. He was going to live.

Suddenly, behind him there was a thrashing and a tug, he was being pulled backwards, he spun around quickly, to see what was happening and was horrified to see that it wasn’t in his mind. A shark, about his size, had gotten tangled in the suspension lines, and had swam towards the canopy. It was now stuck and in a frenzy, trying to free itself.

Pedro panicked and sank under the water again, this time  he could see, it was a lot clearer. There must have been dozens of them. All circling, waiting, lurking. Pedro felt a chill run through his body, even through the frigid water. He quickly detached the buckles from his thighs and chest. 

As soon as he was freed, he didn’t look back. He did his best butterfly stroke and found himself so close, he could almost taste the sand. Suddenly, a rush of water pushed him towards the beach. A stroke of good fortune, as he felt the reef and sand scratch his pant legs. He could see the treeline. The sweet, sweet treeline and he rode the waves until he washed up on the shore. He laid there for a moment, exhausted and catching his breath on the warm sand, while the waves gently washed over his feet and legs. The sun was just starting to inch toward the horizon now, as he lay there listening to the seagulls, calling in the distance and the occasional distant chirp of tropical birds, mixed in with the droning buzz of insects. He closed his eyes again, trying to piece together what had happened, trying to figure out where he went wrong.

He had begun drifting off to sleep, when he heard, off in the distance, a loud, echoing roar. *Thank you for reading, I will be posting more. If you enjoyed this content, please give me a like and follow for more. 

[russellaurthor]

Dive into a Historical Fantasy novel about a journalist named Jaems Arthur, as he delves headfirst into the heart of the French revolution, led by his infatuation of the headstrong Alexandria Bordeaux, who is also the obsession of the leader of the revolt, the villainous Jonn Valjean. In the midst of battle, Jaems and Alexandria stumble upon a supernatural secret, kept hidden for millennia, right under the streets of Paris. A secret that will change their fate forever.

Hello everyone!  I recently published an original novel titled L’Amour Immortel: The Love Immortal. Currently available on Amazon and Kindle Direct. Click the Link above to read now! Please Check my website,  https://russellaurthor.com/  for updates. I am currently working on an untitled Sci-Fi thriller, keep an eye out for the release date coming soon!

[russellaurthor]

The Wasted Rose

A Rose.

So much was the life given to the rose in the earth.

Watered and cared for like a child

Deep were the roots, strong or so perceived.

But it bore too many thorns and much blood flowed like rivers down the hands of the lovers that held it.

It was beautiful, that rose.

Petals red, as wine.

Leaves green that loved the sun, it glowed with radiance.

Year round it remained, strong and unwithered by any winter.

For three winters, strong it remained.

Then a blemish, then a tilt, as the hearth of the wilt showed its face.

Its sadness becoming apparent.

When the lovers held it, one bled more than the other.

Grasping at the root, the lover forced himself to tear it from the earth, the roots caved, revealing their falsehood.

Left upon the ground, like an abandoned child.

As the lover tore his life from him, it murdered him to abandon the child.

His insides were now hollow, calloused.

A bleeding hole was left behind, but the blood on his hands had now dried.

Like the abandoned child, it was unclear where the river was sourced; from her eyes or the lover’s.

But there it was, the wilted rose.

The wilted lie.

Dried up and crisp.

The wasted rose.

[russellaurthor]

I Loved Her, But I'm No One's Slave.

I loved her, but I'm no one's slave.

I set a gunpowder barrel off in the ship's gunnery quarters and leapt off the side.

Now, I'm floating on debris through a storm.

Until I find my island paradise.

Sometimes the storm let's up.

But the ocean is vast, so sometimes the storms come back.

Because my imagination is very powerful.

And I'm a very passionate man.

Maddeningly so.

When there is a fight between my heart and mind, the result is panic.

My mind tells my heart to shut the fuck up!

But my heart is a rampaging T-Rex, and you can't just tell a T-Rex to simply shut the fuck up.

So it takes me a moment and then I'm able to grab the reigns.

But then I wonder: am I just suppressing the bleeding or am I bandaging an infection?

[writingdotcoffee]

“Writing is the only thing that when I do it, I don’t feel I should be doing something else.”

— Gloria Steinem

[russellaurthor]

So true

[russellaurthor]

The Void

Cold, is the void. Sharp are the teeth that pierce my soul.

My heart, a stone, hardened by pain, numbing so that it won’t be hurt again.

However, that doesn’t mean that it stopped beating. Still, it beats

There is a desire to fill the void, that all the empty experiences in the world don’t seem or would never be able to occupy.

The world is changing.

Love is a word I hated, but I miss it's bittersweet song. It once was a vice that had negative effects from prolonged use, but now it is a poison and I am recovering from it.

But I miss the idea of it.

Like drinking still water when parched; it's bad for you, but you need it no matter what.

[russellaurthor]

In the Interest of Time

There is something that can be said about a sense of urgency and the interest of time. What is that? What is it that people mean when they say this? I took a dive into this concept to get a better understanding of what that meant. As a kid, I was one of those kids who was born with two feet made out of lead. Things that were meant to be done quickly, I hated. In my mind, was it really necessary? I coasted through life from one passively completed task to another, I can’t tell you how many school projects I worked on the day before it was due, sometimes stretching the truth so as to make the facts appear more credible. 

It didn’t make sense to rush into things right away, right? Haste makes waste, after all. But what I discovered was that this was not the correct use of that particular proverb. The truth is, haste does make waste when rushing an activity, but it’s a message about carelessness, whereby you sacrifice of quality of one’s work for completing a time sensitive task. However, you do not have to forgo quality in lieu of speed and vice versa. It has taken me a while, but I find that if I just sit down (to paraphrase Henry Jones Sr, from Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade) a solution presents itself, so to speak.

Take the time, to make the time, is the way it goes. Find yourself the way to get started and chip away. That is the true key element in making urgency apart of your life. Curiously, this sense of urgency first developed in me while I was working at a parcel packaging plant, where everything was time sensitive. I remember my manager yelling at me “Sense of urgency! Sense of urgency!” and I remember I would tell him where to go and what to do under my breath, but he had a point. Where was my sense of urgency? I personally did not care about the time constraints of packages and arrival times, or whether or not the medical supplies arrived on time but then I realize that deadlines are only as important as we make them.

I then had the thought “Why didn’t I use this in my own life and apply it to other areas?” Suddenly, I remembered a friend of my from my Capoeira academy telling me once that his best friend used to play a trick on his own mind in order to develop his sense of urgency, which basically boiled down to the following thought: “If I don’t do this now, I am going to die.” Impending doom will give you a certain kind of motivation, won’t it? Like that scene from The Dark Knight Rises, where Bruce Wayne has to make the climb without the rope in order to make the climb successfully, with fear giving him the power to do so.

Now, I’m not saying that you should tell yourself the same thing (though, by all means, if it helps you) but I am saying that in the interest of time, there is a way that we can motivate ourselves, if we have never been taught how to, to develop this sense of urgency.

Much in the same manner we develop any skill, this particular art must be practiced. I always suggest starting with something small, like washing the dishes, taking out the trash, sweeping your house (or mowing your lawn) little things here and there, and then you can progress to bigger and better things. Another such good habit in order to develop this skill: Make the habit of writing to-do lists. Doing this will help get your mind organized to be able to keep track, and even if you don’t complete all of the tasks on the list, guess what? Majority rules, at least if you complete most of the tasks, there are less things to complete tomorrow. Working at this for a while, you can then progress into adding another task completed on the list, and another, and another, until pretty soon you notice that there are pages of completed tasks completed daily.

Circling back onto that topic of time, it is with certainty that I say this: When you make the habit of writing a to-do list and then completing each task per day, you will eventually have to start looking for things to add on that list, freeing up that mystical and longed for free time, that so many successful people seemed to have magically obtained that, up until then, was all but a mystery to you. I’ve done a lot of research regarding this, I’ve studied Earl Nightingale, Napoleon Hill, Zig Ziglar, Dr. Norman Vincent Peale, Dr. Wayne Dyer, Dr. Joe Dispenza, Les Brown, Eric Thomas, just to name a few of the great and wildly successful people that I’ve made a habit of listening to as often as possible and have developed sort of a blend of ideas that they all share.

There truly is something that can be said regarding them and that the words “Do it NOW!” seems to be something that they all seem to share, and this is not just taking the opportunity of the moment, it goes deeper than that. We have a short time on this Earth, if you truly consider the vastness of eternity and the time that has passed before us from before we were children or even considering the idea of the time that was here, that now has passed. Now, without getting the reader into an existential crisis, this information can do either one of two things: Imprison you or liberate you. I read a book once called, The 50th Law by Robert Greene in association with one of my favorite rappers, 50 Cent, wherein they talk about how the risk of death and the fear of death need not frighten you, but should build in you the sense of urgency to take care of your business here before you leave. Every minute counts. Like Les Brown always says “Live full, Die empty”. This is the true meaning behind a sense of urgency and in the interest of time, let me not take up any more of yours. 

Get out there and get it done!

[writingdotcoffee]

“You just have to go on when it is worst and most helpless — there is only one thing to do with a novel and that is go straight on through to the end of the damn thing.”

— Ernest Hemingway

[russellaurthor]

Lessons from Mowing the Lawn

It’s a Saturday morning and my only day off from the daily grind of the week from a job that I have to wake up at 2 am sometimes 3 am to load boxes for 5 to 6 hours non stop. After being unemployed for a month it had never occurred to me that I needed to cut the grass, mowing the yard was just another task that I used to designate to someone else; someone that I could just pay to use their industrial grade equipment. I’d pay the man a nominal $40 each time, wish him all the best and send him on his way and that would be the end of our interaction in order to get my lawn trimmed. But having been the laziest I’d been in months, not working out and not really happy with the job I was at (and not having the money to pay said man as before), my lawn had taken to growing to the height of my hip. So now; having been fired from my job, been forced to find any job and ending up with a dockworker’s job with ungodly hours, I was learning a lesson in humility and paying for the mistakes of the past.

So on this day, I got all fired up (As I write this, I’m reminded of one of my favorite animes, Fairy Tail, where the main character, Natsu, uses this catchphrase quite frequently) I decided it was way past the time to mow this grass, where quite often my puppies (I have two Maltese-terrier mixed pups) would often end up disappearing into the grass, the only notable way to find them being to find where the grass parted in their wake. I headed on over to my mother’s house, who lives down the street from me, and asked to borrow her lawnmower. She told me that I was allowed to borrow it, on the condition that I mow her front and backyard as well.

Naturally, I did not contest to borrowing a lawnmower for free with the only condition being to mow the lawn of my beloved mother, who’s yard was less overgrown and a slight bit smaller than my own. I had a goal: I was going to finish mowing her yard and my own before 5 o’clock (of course I said this at around 2 o’clock, before truly considering the extent of overgrowth of my own yard). I rushed over with enthusiasm, and filled the tank with gas, pressed the primer 3x as is instructed on the manual and pulled the cord. No response. Tried it a second time. No response. 

I called my mother “Mom, this thing won’t turn on, I think it’s broken, are you sure it’s brand new?” I asked “Yes” she said “But it’s been sitting in the shed for nearly a year without use, you’ve probably gotta put some oil in it.” she went on “check the shelf in the shed, there should be a bottle or two of oil” I arrogantly, did not listen, and yanked the pull cord a few more times and the machine started, but as I finished the first line or two, it kept stopping. The machined would shut off and then I’d have to repeat the process all over again. After about the 5th time doing this, in a huff, I checked the oil level. It was basically empty, so I quickly set off and grabbed the oil, checked to make sure that the oil levels were optimal and started the machine again. Continuing down the line horizontally back and forth, every few feet or so, the machine would just shut off, the grass being so high was literally choking the machine and this was just the backyard (I hadn’t even began the front yard). About halfway through, The machine stopped again, in 101°F weather, in Florida. In the distance, I saw large clouds thundering in the distance and if you don’t know, trying to mow the lawn in the rain, is next to impossible to complete with a regular hand-pushed mower. In my head I kept remembering the saying “By the yard, it’s hard, but by the inch, anything is a cinch.” Now, by this point I could have given up, I could have said “well it looks like rain, it will be impossible to complete this task, look at the weather, let me go inside” but then the task would have never got completed and the grass would just grow another inch taller, only making it harder. For the record, not a drop of rain fell on this day.

I had to keep going or I was going to be at this the whole day, and who wants to burn through their only day off mowing the yard? (Mind you, on Sunday, I would have to go to sleep super early, around 6 pm, in order to get to work on time at 02:45 on Monday) I kept at it, While I kept pushing, I had finally learned that if I held the machine and pushed just with the back wheels, it wouldn’t get as clogged and therefore, wouldn’t shut off. Pretty soon, it shut off less and less, until I was done with the backyard (whoo-hoo!) but I was not done yet, I had the entire front yard to do still. 

I dragged the mower to the front yard, and utilizing the same method I had used in the backyard, I finished the front yard in half the time. It didn’t choke up once, it didn’t stop. I was in the rhythm of it, and so determined was I to finish, that stopping was never a concern anymore because I focused on the end result: Finishing before 5 PM. I could hear the crowd cheering in my head as I finished, checking my watch and clocking in at around 3:45 pm, but the worst was yet to come, never celebrate prematurely, remember the old adage we hear quite often from the old opera houses: “It ain’t over ‘till the fat lady sings”, but the worst was yet to come.

“Alright,” I thought “Now to get the mower to my house and get started on reclaiming the jungle.” I wheeled the device over to my house, filled the gas tank once again and got to work. Immediately, the machine choked 3 times, the grass was simply too high. It would get maybe 5 feet, then shut off, it would get another 5 feet, then shut off, and isn’t life just like that? We get 5 feet, we’re on a roll and then something chokes up, our motor seizes and we get sidetracked by frustration or anger and we feel like the world is conspiring against us to not complete our objective, but I learned many years ago from an enlightened biology professor I had in college that when one wants something you must “pursue until you do”

I was tired, frustrated and hungry, but I couldn’t let go of this task, I remembered a quote from Zig Ziglar once saying that his mother used to say “Once a task is just begun, you’ll leave it naught until it's done”. So as I kept at it, I began pondering the predicament I was in, I wondered how I got here. It was taking me an additional hour to two hours to get through this and exhaustion had already set in, a side-effect from working long hours hauling heavy boxes and working 5 days a week, nearly all of them 12 hours days with little recovery time. So how did I get here? Well, in a word, Neglect. I pushed the very idea of cutting the grass to the side, it was the last thing on my mind “I’ll get to it” I said “who cares if the grass is tall, it’s my house?” but that’s exactly the problem, isn’t it? I care. I wanted to be able to walk outside in a lawn, not in a densely packed forest, I wanted to be able to walk my dogs without fear of snakes or other vermin adhering to them.

Your life is the same way, if you neglect it, meaning, if you neglect taking care of the problems you need to take care of, the tasks that need to be taken care of, it will grow into unmanageable levels and we always, always pay for our mistakes. Furthermore, the motors or the tools that we would use to just chip away at the problems or issues and get them taken care of easily, if they are not used on a regular basis, likened to your talents and abilities, they will atrophy and by the time you get the momentum, the task is now twice as hard, and you have to put in twice the regular effort in order to accomplish it.

I had finally finished the front lawn, when my girlfriend steps out of my house and after taking a long look at the backyard says the one thing you wanted to hear “That looks impossible, it’s a lot, why don’t you do it tomorrow?” I shook my head and became the embodiment of wisdom as I said this unconsciously “If I don’t do this now, then I will just have to do it twice” you see, sometimes you will have people in your life who just want what’s best for your, but unconsciously will try to deter you from the task at hand because to them, it may look impossible and it might hurt you and they don’t want to see you upset or hurt, so they will put a hand on your head and say “come, you don’t have to do this, it’s too hard.” She went on to say, as I caught my breath and drank some water sitting on my porch “you did an amazing job with the grass so far” I shook my head again “Amazing is not phenomenal” 

She’s a sweetheart, but she couldn’t understand why I was so persistent to cut grass, after all it was just the lawn. But it wasn’t just a lawn, this was my life, because a couple of months ago, I didn’t do what I was doing now and because of that I was paying for it. If I had just worked on it regularly, like I was supposed to, then I wouldn’t be suffering now the way I was, in the scalding heat and dehydration and sore arms and shoulders from having to yank on the pull cord so many damn times to get the machine to start again only to have it shut off after about 5 or 6 feet. Like everything else in my life, if I took care of what I needed to take care of, I would be further along towards my dreams; not working a job I hated, not missing out on sleep and not nearly as exhausted as I was right now, mowing a yard that had grown out of control.

I had begun on the backyard by this point, and it was about 7pm. I was 2 hours past my goal time, and not nearly done and in the thickest part of the bush. The grass in front of my shed grows thickest, because it receives the most sunlight. I grew increasingly angry at the grass, of all things, for growing so thick, in other words, doing exactly what it’s supposed to do. Plants take in sunlight, and they grow. The grass had done what it needed to do, but I was the one who hadn’t. It took me a while, but I had managed to get through the thicker portion in an hour, it was now 8 o’clock and I was now on the furthest part in the back of my backyard. Usually when I’m at the end of a task, particularly a hard one, some people call it the homestretch, I, on the other hand, call it Miracle Mile, because it’s nothing short of a miracle that I got here. Finally, after struggling, pushing and pulling, dragging, putting gas more than once in the machine, only to realize it was full and had stopped turning on because it was clogged by all of the grass, after all of that and then having to literally speak the lawnmower into turning on again (often times in life, you will need to speak certain things into existence, believe it or not, that includes your lawnmower who wants to give up the same amount if not more than you do) after all of this pain, I was finally done.

I can tell you this, that cold shower I took afterwards and that plate of food I had never before in my life had tasted so good. It’s been said that the harder the battle, the sweeter the victory and trust that cutting the thicket with the equivalent of a pair of scissors takes a while, but it can be done. I’m reminded of an important lesson from one of my favorite movies in the world, Back to the Future, where Marty McFly says at some point “If you put your mind to it, you can accomplish anything”. I could have given up a few times, there were moments where I could have put it off for tomorrow, but I didn’t and I got it done. 

With that said, what is the point of all of this? What are the lessons from mowing the lawn, that I want to pass onto you, the reader? 1) Always cut your grass regularly, if not, like everything else in your life, it will grow wildly out of control. Your problems will grow, not may grow, will grow if we don’t take care of them right away and regularly. 2) Always use your lawnmower or it will stop working and it will take a long while to work properly again; i.e. Your talents, abilities, and skills will stop working and atrophy if you do not use them regularly and practice them, that’s with anything: working out, martial arts, musical instruments, writing, singing, painting, if you do not use them regularly, they stop working properly and if completely ignored, stop working altogether and you will reach the end of your life having never given them a chance to truly blossom. 4) Listen to heart, trust yourself, don’t necessarily listen to other people who say something or some task you are about to embark on, is impossible. Like my girlfriend who meant well, I didn’t listen to impossible and I completed the task and what’s more important, I showed her that even something deemed “impossible” by somebody else is possible to complete in the same day for a mind that has been made up. 4) Persistence, never give up. “Never give in. Never give in. Never, never, never, never—in nothing, great or small, large or petty—never give in, except to convictions of honour and good sense. Never yield to force. Never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy.” Winston Churchill said in one of his speeches the people of England when the might of the third Reich was knocking at their door, see you might not draw the parallel between cutting the grass and Nazi’s but think of it this way, England had neglected to adequately assess the threat of the Nazi force was (as I neglected to assess the threat of my grass and every other problem in my life)and because of their mistake, they paid for it dearly with the Blitz. The Nazi “grass” grew monstrously out of control, until it was too late and it was knocking at their door. Even when it looks like it’s about to rain, remember, that it might not actually rain. The English never gave up and the rest is history. Never give up at the task at hand until it is done because believe me when I say if you never give up, you will get your very own VE Day. 

[wordsnstuff]

Resources For Describing Emotion

Emotions

Without Making Your Character Feel Too Self Aware

Showing Emotion Without Telling About It

Emotions Associated With Body Language

Telling Readers What The Character Doesn’t Want To Show

Hiding Emotions

Expressing Cardinal Emotions: Masculine vs. Feminine

Writing Extreme Emotion Without Melodrama

Specific Emotions

Conveying Shock

Conveying Embarrassment

Conveying Disappointment

Conveying Love/Attraction

Conveying Annoyance

Conveying Relief

Conveying Uncertainty

Conveying Impatience

Conveying Shame

Conveying Resentment

Conveying Panic

Conveying Guilt

Conveying Desperation

Conveying Sarcasm & Verbal Disrespect

Conveying Confusion

Conveying Stubbornness

Conveying Frustration

Conveying Indifference

Conveying Indignation

Conveying Confidence & Pride

Conveying Smugness

Conveying Enthusiasm

Conveying Curiosity

Conveying Hopefulness

Conveying Unease

Conveying Reluctance

Conveying Worry

Conveying Humility & Meekness

Conveying Happiness & Joy

Conveying Amusement

Conveying Disgust

Conveying Resignation

Conveying Jealousy

Conveying Anticipation

Conveying Contentment

Conveying Defeat

Conveying Excitement

Conveying Fear

Conveying Hatred

Conveying Hurt

Conveying Being Overwhelmed

Conveying Sadness & Grief

Conveying Satisfaction

Conveying Somberness

Conveying Sympathy & Empathy

Conveying Wariness

Conveying Defensiveness

Conveying Desire

Conveying Doubt

Conveying Energy

Conveying Exhaustion

Conveying Hunger

Conveying Loneliness

Conveying Physical Pain

Emotional Wounds

A Role Model Who Disappoints

A Sibling’s Betrayal

A Speech Impediment

Becoming a Caregiver at an Early Age

Being Bullied

Being Fired or Laid Off

Being Held Captive

Being Mugged

Being Publicly Humiliated

Being Raised by Neglectful Parents

Being Raised by Overprotective Parents

Being So Beautiful It’s All People See

Being the Victim of a Vicious Rumor

Being Stalked

Being Trapped in a Collapsed Building

Being Unfairly Blamed For The Death of Another

Childhood Sexual Abuse (by a family member or known person)

Discovering One’s Parent is a Monster

Discovering One’s Sibling was Abused

Experiencing a Miscarriage or Stillbirth

Failing At School

Failing To Do The Right Thing

Financial Ruin Due To A Spouse’s Irresponsibility

Finding Out One’s Child Was Abused

Finding Out One Was Adopted

Getting Lost In a Natural Environment

Growing Up In A Cult

Growing Up in a Dangerous Neighborhood

Growing Up In Foster Care

Growing Up In The Public Eye

Growing Up In The Shadow of a Successful Sibling

Growing Up with a Sibling Who Has a Chronic Disability or Illness

Having Parents Who Favored One Child Over Another

Having To Kill Another Person To Survive

Infertility

Infidelity (emotional or physical)

Losing a Limb

Losing a Loved One To A Random Act of Violence

Making a Very Public Mistake

Overly Critical or Strict Parents

Physical Disfigurement

Rejection By One’s Peers

Telling The Truth But Not Being Believed

The Death of a Child On One’s Watch

Victimization via Identity Theft

Watching A Loved One Die

Wrongful Imprisonment

Spending Time In Jail

Suffering From a Learning Disability

Motivation

Achieving Spiritual Enlightenment

Avoiding Certain Death

Avoiding Financial Ruin

Beating a Diagnosis or Condition

Being Acknowledged and Appreciated by Family

Being a Leader of Others

Being the Best At Something

Caring for an Aging Parent

Carrying on a Legacy

Catching The Bad Guy or Girl

Coming To Grips With Mental Illness

Discovering One’s True Self

Escaping a Dangerous Life one Doesn’t Want

Escaping a Killer

Escaping a Widespread Disaster

Escaping Confinement

Escaping Homelessness

Escaping Invaders

Finding Friendship or Companionship

Finding a Lifelong Partner

Having a Child

Helping a Loved One See They Are Hurting Themselves and Others

Obtaining Shelter From The Elements

Overcoming Abuse and Learning To Trust

Overcoming Addiction

Protecting One’s Home or Property

Pursuing Justice For Oneself or Others

Realizing a Dream

Reconciling with an Estranged Family Member

Rescuing a Loved One From a Captor

Restoring A Name or Reputation

Righting a Deep Wrong

Seeking Out One’s Biological Roots

Stopping an Event From Happening

Trying Again When One Has Previously Failed

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[hard2bard-deactivated20210217]

AU MASTER LIST

So here is a bunch of AU’s that I’ve collected over…. a long time. Enjoy

Awkward Meetings

I broke your nose in a mosh pit, sorry

I hit you with my car and was the only one to visit you in the hospital, this is sort of awkward, are you okay?

You’re getting chased by the police and you just jumped in my car and yelled drive, wtf man

You just punched me in the face while gesturing wildly to a friend, your friend can’t stop laughing and im too shocked to respond to your apologies

You laughed in a restaurant, but your laugh is really weird and I thought you were choking so I’m awkwardly humping you while attempting to perform the Heimlich manoeuvre and why isn’t this working, you’re just choking harder now this is aweful

We met on a Sunday morning, both doing our walk of shame

I get really sick on roller-coasters and you are sitting in front of me, im so sorry

You’re the bastard who keeps parking in front of my house and you just caught me drawing a dick on your window with a permanent marker… ugh, oops.

I work at a department store and if you take out and unfold another fucking shirt and just leave it, I’m going to fucking shove it down your throat

You broke into my apartment drunk thinking it was your friends place and I should call the cops by my cat likes you so????

You’re my new dealer and you just friended me on Facebook and idk how to react to that

You saw me reading the same book you are and now we are arguing about the motives of the antagonist

This is a five-hour-long plane ride, we’re sitting together and  you’re deathly afraid of flying. 

I got into a cab to find someone already inside

You thought I was your friend/sister

Holy shit, im in the wrong car.

I was walking by a roller coaster and your shoe flew off and hit me in the head and now I’m on the floor trying not to fall unconscious.

It’s 2am and I’m drunk and I need some salt for my fries and I know your awake so OPEN THE FUCKING DOOR

You fell asleep on me in the subway and I should probably wake you up and its my stop next stop but it’s okay, I can always just catch the subway back…

I know nothing about camping and all my friends left me at the site. Please, help me, I think I just heard a bear

This has been a shitty week and you just grabbed the last box of my favourite comfort food from the shelf, do you really want to fight me rn?

We met in a movie theatre and now you’re clinging to me because your terrified and I’m okay with that because it means I get your popcorn.

You had a party and I got really drunk and stole your microwave, so now I’m at your place and your super hungover so here, I made breakfast?

Neighbour/Roomate

The guy living below me has a really loud alarm clock that always wakes me up at the crack of dawn

I went to investigate a scream and found my neighbour standing on a chair to avoid a rat/mouse/cricket (etc.)

My neighbour has a really squeaky bed and my bedroom is below theirs

You keep stealing my doormat and HAH, I’ve got you this time thief!

The apartment above me has left their tap on or something and water is leaking through my ceiling

My neighbour’s sibling got the wrong house number and barged into my apartment on accident.

My roommate keeps stealing my coffee so now I make extra 

You’re my new neighbour and wow man, you have some really weird habits.

You’re my neighbour and you are stealing my wifi to watch porn and can you not?

You locked yourself outside of your apartment and there’s a storm rolling in and I pity you so please come into my apartment I’ll make you hot chocolate?

I heard you singing at 3 am and joined in and now you’re at my door and wtf mate I think your drunk but your voice is really nice so?

I just set the fire alarm in our building off again… sorry. I know its like the fourth time this week…

You keep mowing your lawn when I’m trying to sleep and seriously FUCK YOU

My new neighbour is really hot and wow I didn’t even like women until now? And now she is in the garden planting flowers in her bikini wow… im in too deep

It’s 3 am and you’re blasting off classic rock at full volume and your music taste might be awesome but soME PEOPLE are trying to sLEEP

We’ve never met but we shower at the same time and our showers are on opposite sides of the same apartment wall so sometimes we start duets?

Pets

I’m out walking and my dog started chasing your dog. 

My cat/dog ran away and you just found it but refuse to accept the reward. 

We are neighbours and your cat got my cat pregnant… so, wanna raise this little kitty family?

My pet tarantula/snake (etc) escaped and I forgot to warn the guy below me who is terrified of snakes/spiders

I need you to pet sit my pet for a while and I forgot to mention it’s a snake, the mice are in the freezer. Thanks, bye

My cat really hates you cat and that’s the third time this week I’ve had to pry them apart.

My cat keeps breaking into your apartment and it ate all your plants… dinner to make up for it?

My cat sneaked out on the balcony and into your open window and he has this habit of destroying furniture and pissing everywhere so I followed him inside and you cam home earlier than I expected and found me in the middle of your living room and honestly I’m not a burglar

Your dog likes me a thousand times better than she likes your partner and sorry not sorry I love this dog

You were walking your dog when you found me passed out on a park bench and thank you for waking me up and buying coffee instead of stealing my wallet

Music

I’m on a bus and wow, you’re singing really loudly and everyone is giving you weird looks, hey bud, tone it down, also great choice in music

You play Double Bass/Cello and I play 1st chair Violin and we keep making eye contact and damn your super cute.

You play in an orchestra and I love these songs so much, plus you’re really cute. Shit man, you’ll never notice me in the huge crowd…

Music is kinda illegal and my friend just died and apparently he wrote music and wow I want to know what it sounds like and to play it at his funeral but I don’t know how to. You’re a well-known music dealer, do you happen to understand these notes? Can you help me?

I tried to act cool at this concert and I thought I was leaning on a wall but apparently it was a speaker and now it’s on the ground in pieces and everyone’s glaring at me… sorry?

Supernatural

I’m a wizard and I just accidently apparated into your house. Oops.

I died over 2000 years ago and you’ve been dead for like 2 hours, man, damn it now I have to explain this shit to you. Great.

I’m immortal and you’re mortal and I don’t know how to explain this to you and soon enough you’re going to realise that I’m not aging… shiiittt

You’re a greek god and I’m the roman counterpart. 

I’m a ghost and your alive and I think I’m in love with you…. Fuck. 

You’re a faun and I’m a Satry

I’m half demon and people often judge me based on my looks, but your blind and wow you actually like me? 

I’m a time traveller and I went back in time and wow I think I’m in love with you, fuck this isn’t good, I just faked being George Washington… wait what? George Washington doesn’t exist here? Shit… I actually am George Washington.

I’m a writer and your my character and wtf how the heck did you just literally climb out of my first draft? 

I’m a werewolf but I don’t want to tell you because my wolf form might be that really small chihuahua you keep mentioning you see when I go out…

I’m an android and you’re a human and wow what is that warmth I feel when I see you?

I’m a homesick telepath and you’re the poor soul who is receiving all these emotions, sorry

Somehow I’m in your body and you’re in mine and shit man being this close to the ground is fucked up.

I’m a genie an d you rubbed my lamp so congrats you get three wishes but you can’t seem to think of shit and why the fuck do I have to be stuck with you? Hurry up and think of some wishes okay?

I was an awful angel and as punishment I have to be your guardian angel and wow your super cute and nice but I still hate you

You keep having strange dreams that turn out to be us in a past life and you’re determined to fine me again but in this life I’m already dead.

We live in the year 3090, you’re a scientist and I’m your assistant. Unfortunately and experiment goes wrong and I die. Now you’re trying to put my brain into a robot but its not the same

I’m a vampire and I have a moment of weakness, you’re nearby and lets just say it doesn’t end well

I’m a dragon and you’re a really hot prince, that’s right, they locked up the wrong royalty.

You’re a pirate and I’m a siren and woah… are you asexual? That’s so cool, hey wait, don’t go I just want to talk

Your mirror is a doorway into my dimension and I can see everything…. 

Listen I am genetically modified and you WILL let me hide in your house

Ok, so I panicked and kissed this human so he wouldn’t drown. And I know you don’t want me to keep him, and we can’t let him leave if he knows about us mere people so what do you want to do?

School/College

I just got partnered with you in dance class and I can’t dance for shit

You’re my science lab partner and how the fuck did you just explode that beaker?

I’m an art student and you just found my sketchbook and you’re going through it. Shit man can you give that back, I don’t care how good you think they are just don’t turn that page…

You’re the school dork and I’m the school jock and fuck you can see where this is going

We are the only two kids who ride this school bus, maybe we should carpool?

I thought you were my roomies new boyfriend so I invited you in but your actually the RA of the dorm and now you think I want to have sex with you

I accidently flooded the laundry room and you really need to do laundry

You’re sitting in my seat in this lecture and who even are you? I’ve never seen you before… wait what, stop checking me out!

We argued so much during a class discussion that we both got kicked out and we’re still arguing outside the class

You left your USB in the library computer and I had to go through your files to figure out who you are and in the end I read the entirety of this book you’re working on and wow you’re really good?

I’m a traditional painter who has to take a basic Photoshop class, you’re a graphic design major sitting next to me and getting sucked into helping me out because Im so shitty at this

My pottery bowl exploded in the kiln and I feel like a failure, you found me crying about it in the hallway and are now trying to comfort me and your sweater is really soft wow sorry

You and your friends have been playing the penis game in the library for the last five minutes and none of you have gotten above a quiet yell and fuck it I’m trying to study over her so fuck you I’m going to put an end to this game by winning 

We are both teachers and at the end of the year we compare how many gifts we’ve received from student and you’ve won for the past three years

Romeo and Juliet of the math and English departments 

I want to get along with you roomie… but I like star wars… and you like star trek… this isn’t going to work.

I usually talk to my friends through morse code in class but… apparently you know morse too… and now you know I think your butt is cute

I got cursed and turned into an animal and taken to the shelter and now I’m being adopted by someone who is really hot OH FUCKING NO

Near Death Experiences

Wow I was just in a fatal accident and who the hell are you? What is this I’m I dying? Wait no, I don’t want this, how do I get out of it? A deal you say, I’ll take it.

You’re an executioner and I’m about to be executed but you can’t seem to run the guillotine, wait what, why are we running away, man you’re my favourite executioner

Our plane/boat crashed and now it’s just us on this island. 

I just took a super dangerous job and your trying to talk me out of it, but we really need the money

It’s the middle of a war and I’m on a ship that you’re ship just torpedoed. Now I’m a prisoner and wow why can’t I feel my legs. I’m not cooperating until I can feel them again. What the fuck do you mean I’m paralysed?

I’m addicted to ____ (drugs/alcohol etc) and you found me in an alleyway due to after effects of my addiction (beat up, overdose etc) and decide to take me in.

I sold my soul to bring you back to life and I don’t have long left please make this time count

Mistaken and Secret Identities

I’m  a thief/hacker/murder and you’ve found out my identity and have been bugging me for days to take you on as your partner

I’m a superhero and you want to be like me but in doing so become a supervillain, what do you mean you don’t understand why I’m punching you?

I’m a superhero, you’re a supervillain, but we don’t know each other’s identities and we are actually best friends

I’m runaway royalty and you’re a commoner, fuck I’m so screwed I need your help, I’ll explain later

You think I’m a celebrity and you’re talking too much for me to explain I am defintely not… that dude. What was his name again?

You’re a superhero and I’m your best friend and what the fuck man? Why the hell didn’t you tell me? If you had maybe I would be fucking caught with this stupid ass monologue-ing villain

I have a very cute neighbour and very thin walls and one day I call you and err… your moans are very synchronised with my neighbour's…

I’m a superhero and you’re a supervillain and I saw you visiting kids at the children’s hospital and letting them act like they defeated you and now it’s really hard to punch you in the face

Profession Based

Your my mailman and I can’t help but notice that you linger at my door slightly longer than you need to ever since you saw me that one time. Do you want to come inside?

I’m a private detective and your my client and fuck man you’re in some deep shit

You’re a protester and I’m a police officer. Seriously can you please calm down a little bit, this is my job not my  beliefs.

I’m a make-up artist/hair stylist and I you’re an actor/model and are you flirting or???

You’re a celebrity and sorry mate, I have to take pictures to pay rent, I know its invasive seriously, sorry

You’re a store clerk and fuck, is that my ex? Can I please hide behind this counter?

You’re a lifeguard at my kid’s swimming competition and I fell in the pool with all my clothes on and you awkwardly tried to save me even though I didn’t need it.

You work at a pet store and I came in to look at tarantulas but somehow we lost the biggest one and its loose somewhere in the store and it really doesn’t help that you’re terrified of spiders

I’m a firefighter and you started a fire in your kitchen but you’re still flirting with me even though you’re not wearing pants and I’m carrying you down a ladder. Stop complimenting my muscles for fucks sake

We work at the same company and I kind of had a crush on you until I noticed that you’re the asshole stealing my lunch from the office fridge.

I’m a firefighter and you live near the station I work at and we talk/flirt with each other a lot. One day me and my team get called to put out a fire and it’s your home ablaze. You don’t make it.

I work at a fruit store and you come in almost every day and rearrange stuff on the shelves and then leave. Today you made the apples spell ‘call me’

It’s 2am and I was just trying to get home but I left my sunroof open all day and now there’s a squirrel in my car and it scared me and I drove into a pole - stop laughing! You’re a cop, aren’t you supposed to be helping?

You’re drunk and want my name tattooed on your ass.

You always bring your dates to the restaurant I wait at and now you’re here alone… you okay mate?

Winter Times

It’s snowing and I usually walk to work but that’s not happening, hey roomie, can you please drive me? Yes I know its 4am

I accidently gave all my winter clothes to charity over the summer and not its not so much summer, but I’m broke and hey… could you give me your old winter clothes… maybe?

I love the cold, but I promised to visit you for a good 4 months and wow, why did I do this? There isn’t snow here?

I don’t know you, but you just threw a snowball at my face, mate, its on.

I don’t know who the hell you are, but my roommate has someone over and It’s really cold outside…. Can I come in? Or like, have a blanket, or even a towel?

Old Friends

I knew you in high school and I ran into you at a renaissance fair wearing full knight regalia

I met you once when I was 12, we started a pen-pal relationship across the world and haven’t stopped even though we are a lot older now. 

You were my best friend when we were younger but your family moved to the other side of the world, and we haven’t talked in years. But now your back and wow how did you recognise me when I can’t even remember your name?

Fake Dating

I hired you to be my date for a wedding but your super cute, maybe we cannot fake-date? 

I’m fake dating you to have someone to vent to on family gatherings while also pissing off my conservative uncle that I never liked and wow… have your eyes always been this nice?

We’re both cosplayers and we somehow always manage to meet each other at cons dressed as a popular ship and people always want photos of us in compromising positions and so we always end up fake-dating the entire day but you’re actually really hot and I’m head over heels for you

My friend dragged me to this party and I just saw my ex, quick make out with me, I’ll pay you.

Miscellaneous

I’m blind and wow your voice is absolutely beautiful can you just keep talking? Forever? Please?

My younger sibling is besties with your sibling and even though we hate each other I guess we’ve got to start hanging out a little

We are both at a grocery store at am and you offered to arm wrestle me for the last box of cereal, its on!

You’re sleeping on my best friend’s couch while your house is being renovated and you have really weird habits like attempting to sing opera in the shower and you keep eating all my Nutigrain 

We bump into each other every Friday at the supermarket to buy the same ice-cream and maybe we should eat it together?

Our parents are dating and thank god I’m not the only one pissed off about this

I went to museum to get some inspiration and then I saw you staring at one of the paintings in awe and wow you just noticed me drawing you and this is awkward

I decide to take a shortcut home that involves crawling through a really tight hole in a fence and I end up getting stuck and you just happened to pass by and now you’re laughing at me

I took a bunch of free condoms from health services just because I could and they all fell out of my bag at once and now you’re staring at me weirdly

We are trapped in a bank during a robbery

Your country is trying to take over mine and I might be a little attracted to you and stop this it’s really hard to retaliate okay?

I was on my balcony and you started loudly quoting romeo and juliet at me

[thebeginningwriter]

[russellaurthor]

The Struggle

I would like to first start out by saying, You are beautiful  

You are worth it.  

You are the valued result of your life.  

Your life is you and you are your life.

As a result of your decisions and your actions, you’ve been brought to this point, but the point is not the end.  There’s another battle beginning, that we call The Struggle.

The struggle is real, the struggle is truth.

The Struggle is feeling, the struggle is proof.

Don’t be aloof, there are times where the grip is tightest and you feel it’s about take the very life you fought to have from you.

But then you perceive the grip is faltering, there is a light emanating from the grasp of the life’s claws.

See the glisten, is it God?

No, it is you.

You are your savior.

You are your warrior, the light you see is your own.

Shine brighter than the sun, shine brighter than you could ever shine. Darkness is often broken by light, but as you know, the brighter the light, then so too must be the shadow cast.

The Struggle may not defeat you, so long as your spirit is up.

The Struggle is eternal but not immortal, it will have to give up some time.

The question is, will remain a Victim or will you vanquish the God-ordained opportunity and be a victor?

Are you a Victim or are you a Victor?

The Struggle cares not.