Teksal watched
the bok-sikahm soaring high above and thought it was really quite beautiful up
there. The raptor’s eight-foot black wings were highlighted by a white “window”
near the tips, which were outlined in bright blue against the lavender sky.
Her right thigh
spasmed, and she shifted her hip slightly to relieve the pressure, then stilled
when the bok-sikahm turned its head with uncanny precision. With its deeply
curved beak thrown into profile, it once again looked like the death-on-the-wing
she had spent the last six hours trying to avoid.
After a long
moment, the bok-sikahm flapped its wings twice and resumed its lazy circle in
the afternoon thermal. If Teksal could stay still--and if her shield could hide
the scent of her blood--until nightfall in another five hours, she might escape
the bok-sikahm’s attention.
Her shield was
about the only piece of equipment that hadn’t been smashed to pieces in the rockfall.
Only because her helmet and shoulder had taken the hit from the boulder than
then crashed onto her right leg, pinning it below the knee. She had dropped her
utility laser as she fell, and as little as she could move under the bok-sikahm’s
watchful eyes, she could not even see it within reach. The straps of her
archaeology pack had torn off in the fall as well, and although she could see
it, complete with water bottle, it lay past her left toes.
Perhaps the worst
was her comm sig, smashed almost as badly as the fingers on her left hand. Her
only hope of rescue was if Jospul decided to come looking for her when she didn’t
report back to base. He’d be able to track her last known position at the top
of the cliffs. Had the hundred-metre fall triggered the comm sig to send a
location change…
Note: The prompt is literal - I was watching a vulture flying and admiring how beautiful it was. I was inspired to do both a science fiction and fantasy "take" on the same scene. What do you think? Does one work better than the other? What do you like? Dislike? Comments always welcome!
Note: The prompt is literal - I was watching a vulture flying and admiring how beautiful it was. I was inspired to do both a science fiction and fantasy "take" on the same scene. What do you think? Does one work better than the other? What do you like? Dislike? Comments always welcome!
Dogs
in House
|
Houdini, Brindle, Malachi
|
Time
writing
|
25 minutes
|
March
word count
|
4,156
|
No comments:
Post a Comment