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Literature Text
A drabble based off the prompt of my prior Journal
Where are we? What the hell is going on?
Emiliano and Isabella trudged hurriedly and numbly through the snow, both glancing around as the wind howled, nipping their ears with cold gusts.
“Almost… there… I can see the marker James put on the tree… just a little further…”
The dust has only just begun to fall,
The wary duo broke into a desperate run, Emiliano trudging ahead and Isabella in his wake. The two sentries posted called out a warning to the two figures as they approached, pointing two rifles at them from the small stash of fire arms that their group of survivors had managed to muster up.
They stopped, their breaths white puffs in the blizzard and their throats stinging raw from the ice flurries.
“It’s me and Emiliano,” Isabella yelled up to them, trying to make her voice audible against the scream of winter. “Let us in!”
The sentries squawked in surprise, one disappearing for a fraction of a moment, opening the gates a smidgen, just enough for them to squeeze in before he slammed the doors back closed. Isabella and Emiliano hobbled towards the main building within the walls of their ramshackle sanctuary, eager to get into the warm indoors and to the welcoming arms of their friends inside. They had been gone for weeks; nearly a month. Life outside the walls was just has horrific as they remembered. As they entered the building, their ice crusted boots making crunching noises as the heat within hit them.
Emiliano rubbed his hands together, willing the ice bitten appendages to be warmed to liveliness. Before he could even glance about the room, the rest of the occupants charged him and Isabella, enveloping them in hugs, asking questions, weeping with relief….
Yet, he knew he hadn’t returned here on the best of circumstances. Once the room had settled (and Isabella had departed for the sleeping quarters to rest) Malvina got Emiliano some food, quietly gesturing for him to sit by the fire. As soon as he was seated, his half –sister Julieta plopped down next to him, playfully nudging him. “Good to have you back.”
James pulled up a chair, sitting with his chest leaning against the back of the chair. “We really did thought that we’d never see you again,” he murmured, a relieved smile tugging at the corners of his lips. “How was the trip? Did you find-?” Emiliano waved a hand, cutting him off. “No. Nowhere close.”
Malvina grimaced at his words. “Any good news from the outside world then?” She prompted, looking hopeful. Emiliano shook his head once more, his lips pressed into a thin and urgent line. “No, if anything, its’ gotten worse. More infected, and even more bandits willing to kill for a scrap of food.” Emiliano ran a hand through his hair, snow soaked from the melted snow. Julieta pulled her knees to her chest, looking down at the ragged crapet and tracing patterns in the fibers.
Crop circles in the carpet, sinking, feeling.
Andres looked around the room, biting his lip. Tae Hyun was ransacking the place, calling out to his sister. Dashing up and down stairs and in between sleeping quarters, disturbing some of the other slumbering survivors, he continued his search. After a few minutes, he re-entered the room lit with amber light of the fire place. He had a sinking feeling in his stomach, a feeling of knowing. Of knowing what may have happened. He pushed it aside, grinning uneasily at his friend’s assembled. “Where’s Marisol?”
Somehow, the shadows cast on their features by the firelight made the aura within the room seem even more foreboding.
Malvina bristled visibly, and Julieta became suddenly alert, a wild look entering her eyes as realization hit her like a ton of bricks. James licked his lips uneasily, opening and closing his mouth as if there was something he wished to say yet could not bring himself to voice. Andres paled visibly, looking ill. Emiliano sucked in a shaky breath looking Tae Hyun in the eyes. “We were walking through this abandoned town about a two week trek from here. It was still late autumn then…” He chose his words carefully, eyeing Tae Hyun who began to circle them like a caged animal, an odd look starting to spread across his countenance.
This can't be happening.
“We… were ambushed. By infected and bandits. The bandits came first, and their noise attracted the infected. She suggested we split up, make it harder for the bandits to catch us and at the same time leave the bandits to deal with the infected. W-We had a meeting point. But when we got there she---We waited for hours, three days! She never showed u-“
When busy streets amass with people
Would stop to hold their heads heavy.
The room’s air was pierced with a roaring shriek of rage.
Pain.
Horror.
Tae Hyun had practically launched himself at Emiliano, screaming profanities in a mixture of Korean, Tagalog, and English. Malvina pried him off, Julieta yelling at him to stop, to think of what he was doing, to just take a moment to calm down.
James scrambled to his feet, knocking the chair over and stumbling to aid the girls with prying Tae Hyun away from a startled Emiliano. Andres remained sitting on the floor, stunned into an uncharacteristic silence. He hugged his knees to his chest, shaking his head in disbelief. “She…She’s probably just outside with the sentries.. just outside…she’s…”
Tae Hyun tore himself free from the other three’s grasp, huffing and breathing heavily like a beast set to attack. It was the first time any of them had ever seen him in such a state. Nor had they ever seen him weep.
Tae Hyun was heaving angry sobs, glaring accusingly at them over his shades which had been knocked askew during the tussle.
“You, b-b-bastard damn you..you..you!!! Damn you, you were supposed to protect her!” He howled, pointing an accusing finger at Emiliano.
“It was no one’s fault,” Julieta bit back, standing boldly before her elder brother and staring Tae Hyun down challengingly. “You know what it’s like out there. You can die any minute. Marisol wasn’t the sort to-“
“SHUT UP. JUST SHUT UP!” Tae Hyun snapped back, surprising Julieta but only serving to infuriate her even further. Before the verbal fight could become physical, Malvina intervened, putting her hands on Tae Hyun’s chest to push him back a little, murmuring words of reason. “Tae, Tae Hyun calm down. You’ll wake up Isabella and the rest.”
The room gradually went silent, save for the crackles and pops of the burning wood and Tae Hyun’s shuddering breaths. They all looked to James who was leaning against the fireplace, looking into the flames as though he were trying to discern some divine sign that would miraculously calm their current situation. James sighed heavily, rolling a kings piece from chess in the palm of his hand to think. The brunette cast a downward glance to his blonde brother who remained on the floor, still in a state of silent contemplation. He still wondered what Marisol actually meant to Andres.
Marisol. Oh, that’s right. She’s possibly..Possibly..
James sighed again, looking at Malvina and giving her a nod to escort a distraught Tae Hyun out of the room. Before she managed to lead him all the way out, he looked over his shoulder at the remaining four, the fury ever present in his eyes.
“You’re responsible,” he grit out in a hushed, reproachful voice. “You’re responsible for her…Her…” Malvina didn’t allow him to finish, roughly pushing him into the dining area, slamming the door shut. As soon as they left, Emiliano leaned and rightened the chair that James had knocked over, sitting heavily upon it with an exhausted noise of exasperation. Julieta glanced at him before striding to where Andres sat and throwing herself down beside him with a grunt. Andres regarded her with a knowing look.
The two were best friends. They could easily convey their emotions to one another without saying a single word.
Abruptly, James set down the king piece with a sharp ‘tap’ upon the fireplace mantle. A signal that he had settled upon his thoughts and wanted their attention. They all looked up almost imploringly at him. James pinched the bridge of his nose, squeezing his eyes shut. “For now, we must-“ his sentence was interrupted by Tae Hyun bursting free from the kitchen, making a mad dash towards the doors leading to the outside. Malvina sprinted after him, three more survivors trailing after her and yelling at the frenzied young man.
“Tae Hyun, are you absolutely mad? It’s a blizzard!”
James slammed his fist on the mantle, his eye twitching with aggravation. “Oh bloody hell get that stubborn ass locked away before he hurts himself in his grief!” They complied, wrangling a screaming Tae Hyun back into the dining area. James waited until the muffled noise beyond the door died down, signaling that they had succeeded into calming Tae Hyun down to some degree.
James then peered at Julieta, Andres, and Emiliano.
“It’s kind of a frightening thing in itself,” he remarked, quirking a thick brow. “To see him like that. I’ve never seen him loose his cool, and to see him like this,” he chuckled darkly. “The old Tae Hyun I used to know wouldn’t be caught dead like this.” Emiliano was quiet for a few heartbeats before responding. “None of us are the same people we were a few months ago.” Julieta nodded. “We've seen things, seen people get killed, killed other people… killed other things…” Andres heaved a sigh, laying down flat on his back and staring at the ceiling. “If we are no longer the people we once were, who are we?” Emiliano and Julieta’s brows arched at the odd question, but James supplied the answer. “We are our selves, but we are no longer hiding. This is who we truly are, you know. Who we were before… That was our mask, the mask we were hiding behind. But this is no longer a time to hide. We aren't children anymore. We have to learn to become adults. This world we live in now kills the weak. This isn't a world for child’s games. This is no longer a time to play hide and seek.”
Julieta rolled her eyes. “How poetic,” she muttered, grabbing Andres by the arm and hauling him up with her. “Let’s go to bed, I’m exhausted.” Andres yawned in response, stretching and cracking his sore muscles and bones. “Yeah.. yeah…” He followed her out of the room and upstairs to where the other survivors were resting. Only James and Emiliano remained.
Silence.
“You know,” James began rather awkwardly, taking note that he was now treading on a very touchy subject. “Whatever happened wasn't your fault.” Emiliano flinched at his words, swallowing hard before speaking. “She seemed so sure, but they grabbed her by the hair and—“
“She should have cut it.” They both jumped at the quiet voice, looking over to see Malvina leaning against the wall, partly hidden in its shadow. Her voice was soft, sad, and yet stern. “Hair that long leaves you liable to get snagged.” She let her words hang in the air for a small span of time before bidding the boys goodnight and departing upstairs. James watched her go before slowly following, mumbling about checking up on Isabella. Emiliano stayed behind to brew over his own thoughts.
“We’re no longer children. People die. There’s no time for anymore children’s games. This is life.”
Hide and Seek.
Where are we? What the hell is going on?
Emiliano and Isabella trudged hurriedly and numbly through the snow, both glancing around as the wind howled, nipping their ears with cold gusts.
“Almost… there… I can see the marker James put on the tree… just a little further…”
The dust has only just begun to fall,
The wary duo broke into a desperate run, Emiliano trudging ahead and Isabella in his wake. The two sentries posted called out a warning to the two figures as they approached, pointing two rifles at them from the small stash of fire arms that their group of survivors had managed to muster up.
They stopped, their breaths white puffs in the blizzard and their throats stinging raw from the ice flurries.
“It’s me and Emiliano,” Isabella yelled up to them, trying to make her voice audible against the scream of winter. “Let us in!”
The sentries squawked in surprise, one disappearing for a fraction of a moment, opening the gates a smidgen, just enough for them to squeeze in before he slammed the doors back closed. Isabella and Emiliano hobbled towards the main building within the walls of their ramshackle sanctuary, eager to get into the warm indoors and to the welcoming arms of their friends inside. They had been gone for weeks; nearly a month. Life outside the walls was just has horrific as they remembered. As they entered the building, their ice crusted boots making crunching noises as the heat within hit them.
Emiliano rubbed his hands together, willing the ice bitten appendages to be warmed to liveliness. Before he could even glance about the room, the rest of the occupants charged him and Isabella, enveloping them in hugs, asking questions, weeping with relief….
Yet, he knew he hadn’t returned here on the best of circumstances. Once the room had settled (and Isabella had departed for the sleeping quarters to rest) Malvina got Emiliano some food, quietly gesturing for him to sit by the fire. As soon as he was seated, his half –sister Julieta plopped down next to him, playfully nudging him. “Good to have you back.”
James pulled up a chair, sitting with his chest leaning against the back of the chair. “We really did thought that we’d never see you again,” he murmured, a relieved smile tugging at the corners of his lips. “How was the trip? Did you find-?” Emiliano waved a hand, cutting him off. “No. Nowhere close.”
Malvina grimaced at his words. “Any good news from the outside world then?” She prompted, looking hopeful. Emiliano shook his head once more, his lips pressed into a thin and urgent line. “No, if anything, its’ gotten worse. More infected, and even more bandits willing to kill for a scrap of food.” Emiliano ran a hand through his hair, snow soaked from the melted snow. Julieta pulled her knees to her chest, looking down at the ragged crapet and tracing patterns in the fibers.
Crop circles in the carpet, sinking, feeling.
Andres looked around the room, biting his lip. Tae Hyun was ransacking the place, calling out to his sister. Dashing up and down stairs and in between sleeping quarters, disturbing some of the other slumbering survivors, he continued his search. After a few minutes, he re-entered the room lit with amber light of the fire place. He had a sinking feeling in his stomach, a feeling of knowing. Of knowing what may have happened. He pushed it aside, grinning uneasily at his friend’s assembled. “Where’s Marisol?”
Somehow, the shadows cast on their features by the firelight made the aura within the room seem even more foreboding.
Malvina bristled visibly, and Julieta became suddenly alert, a wild look entering her eyes as realization hit her like a ton of bricks. James licked his lips uneasily, opening and closing his mouth as if there was something he wished to say yet could not bring himself to voice. Andres paled visibly, looking ill. Emiliano sucked in a shaky breath looking Tae Hyun in the eyes. “We were walking through this abandoned town about a two week trek from here. It was still late autumn then…” He chose his words carefully, eyeing Tae Hyun who began to circle them like a caged animal, an odd look starting to spread across his countenance.
This can't be happening.
“We… were ambushed. By infected and bandits. The bandits came first, and their noise attracted the infected. She suggested we split up, make it harder for the bandits to catch us and at the same time leave the bandits to deal with the infected. W-We had a meeting point. But when we got there she---We waited for hours, three days! She never showed u-“
When busy streets amass with people
Would stop to hold their heads heavy.
The room’s air was pierced with a roaring shriek of rage.
Pain.
Horror.
Tae Hyun had practically launched himself at Emiliano, screaming profanities in a mixture of Korean, Tagalog, and English. Malvina pried him off, Julieta yelling at him to stop, to think of what he was doing, to just take a moment to calm down.
James scrambled to his feet, knocking the chair over and stumbling to aid the girls with prying Tae Hyun away from a startled Emiliano. Andres remained sitting on the floor, stunned into an uncharacteristic silence. He hugged his knees to his chest, shaking his head in disbelief. “She…She’s probably just outside with the sentries.. just outside…she’s…”
Tae Hyun tore himself free from the other three’s grasp, huffing and breathing heavily like a beast set to attack. It was the first time any of them had ever seen him in such a state. Nor had they ever seen him weep.
Tae Hyun was heaving angry sobs, glaring accusingly at them over his shades which had been knocked askew during the tussle.
“You, b-b-bastard damn you..you..you!!! Damn you, you were supposed to protect her!” He howled, pointing an accusing finger at Emiliano.
“It was no one’s fault,” Julieta bit back, standing boldly before her elder brother and staring Tae Hyun down challengingly. “You know what it’s like out there. You can die any minute. Marisol wasn’t the sort to-“
“SHUT UP. JUST SHUT UP!” Tae Hyun snapped back, surprising Julieta but only serving to infuriate her even further. Before the verbal fight could become physical, Malvina intervened, putting her hands on Tae Hyun’s chest to push him back a little, murmuring words of reason. “Tae, Tae Hyun calm down. You’ll wake up Isabella and the rest.”
The room gradually went silent, save for the crackles and pops of the burning wood and Tae Hyun’s shuddering breaths. They all looked to James who was leaning against the fireplace, looking into the flames as though he were trying to discern some divine sign that would miraculously calm their current situation. James sighed heavily, rolling a kings piece from chess in the palm of his hand to think. The brunette cast a downward glance to his blonde brother who remained on the floor, still in a state of silent contemplation. He still wondered what Marisol actually meant to Andres.
Marisol. Oh, that’s right. She’s possibly..Possibly..
James sighed again, looking at Malvina and giving her a nod to escort a distraught Tae Hyun out of the room. Before she managed to lead him all the way out, he looked over his shoulder at the remaining four, the fury ever present in his eyes.
“You’re responsible,” he grit out in a hushed, reproachful voice. “You’re responsible for her…Her…” Malvina didn’t allow him to finish, roughly pushing him into the dining area, slamming the door shut. As soon as they left, Emiliano leaned and rightened the chair that James had knocked over, sitting heavily upon it with an exhausted noise of exasperation. Julieta glanced at him before striding to where Andres sat and throwing herself down beside him with a grunt. Andres regarded her with a knowing look.
The two were best friends. They could easily convey their emotions to one another without saying a single word.
Abruptly, James set down the king piece with a sharp ‘tap’ upon the fireplace mantle. A signal that he had settled upon his thoughts and wanted their attention. They all looked up almost imploringly at him. James pinched the bridge of his nose, squeezing his eyes shut. “For now, we must-“ his sentence was interrupted by Tae Hyun bursting free from the kitchen, making a mad dash towards the doors leading to the outside. Malvina sprinted after him, three more survivors trailing after her and yelling at the frenzied young man.
“Tae Hyun, are you absolutely mad? It’s a blizzard!”
James slammed his fist on the mantle, his eye twitching with aggravation. “Oh bloody hell get that stubborn ass locked away before he hurts himself in his grief!” They complied, wrangling a screaming Tae Hyun back into the dining area. James waited until the muffled noise beyond the door died down, signaling that they had succeeded into calming Tae Hyun down to some degree.
James then peered at Julieta, Andres, and Emiliano.
“It’s kind of a frightening thing in itself,” he remarked, quirking a thick brow. “To see him like that. I’ve never seen him loose his cool, and to see him like this,” he chuckled darkly. “The old Tae Hyun I used to know wouldn’t be caught dead like this.” Emiliano was quiet for a few heartbeats before responding. “None of us are the same people we were a few months ago.” Julieta nodded. “We've seen things, seen people get killed, killed other people… killed other things…” Andres heaved a sigh, laying down flat on his back and staring at the ceiling. “If we are no longer the people we once were, who are we?” Emiliano and Julieta’s brows arched at the odd question, but James supplied the answer. “We are our selves, but we are no longer hiding. This is who we truly are, you know. Who we were before… That was our mask, the mask we were hiding behind. But this is no longer a time to hide. We aren't children anymore. We have to learn to become adults. This world we live in now kills the weak. This isn't a world for child’s games. This is no longer a time to play hide and seek.”
Julieta rolled her eyes. “How poetic,” she muttered, grabbing Andres by the arm and hauling him up with her. “Let’s go to bed, I’m exhausted.” Andres yawned in response, stretching and cracking his sore muscles and bones. “Yeah.. yeah…” He followed her out of the room and upstairs to where the other survivors were resting. Only James and Emiliano remained.
Silence.
“You know,” James began rather awkwardly, taking note that he was now treading on a very touchy subject. “Whatever happened wasn't your fault.” Emiliano flinched at his words, swallowing hard before speaking. “She seemed so sure, but they grabbed her by the hair and—“
“She should have cut it.” They both jumped at the quiet voice, looking over to see Malvina leaning against the wall, partly hidden in its shadow. Her voice was soft, sad, and yet stern. “Hair that long leaves you liable to get snagged.” She let her words hang in the air for a small span of time before bidding the boys goodnight and departing upstairs. James watched her go before slowly following, mumbling about checking up on Isabella. Emiliano stayed behind to brew over his own thoughts.
“We’re no longer children. People die. There’s no time for anymore children’s games. This is life.”
Hide and Seek.
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Comments2
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Oh
my
holy
shiet.
OH HOLY GOD.
I AM SO EXCITED AND AMUSED BY THIS STORY THAN I AM FORGETTIN HOW TO ENGLISH
ES TAN. UGHHHHHHHHHHHHH PERFECT.
Really you do all the characters so credible that I am in tears.
Tae hyun's rage is just shocking,and I love how over these things, James and Malvina has that calm way to see the things. Otherwise, Julieta's way to protect her only support and relative over Tae Hyun's rage is just heart broking ; ; I can't imagine that feeling of being halved between her brother and his Crush/friend
Tae hyun's rage is just shocking,and I love how over these things, James and Malvina has that calm way to see the things. Otherwise, Julieta's way to protect her only support and relative over Tae Hyun's rage is just heart broking ; ; I can't imagine that feeling of being halved between her brother and his Crush/friend
Ugh.
you killed meeeee
you killed meeeee
I want more ; ; //rolls off ...but first kisses you forever because this is art and nothing hurts.