Visual Similes

 

Short Story: Escape From Kraznir

Day One

The chest weighed a ton.

Together, Doughty, Athor, and me, heaved the chest up and edged our way to the stairs. Together we made our way up the stairs through the velvet darkness and broke through an oak door into a room with a guard.

"Well, well, well," he sniggered. "Spies and thieves!"

"We're done for," whispered Little John in a nervous voice.

"Speak up titch, make the comment public!" cackled the guard.

"I said... CATCH!" Yelled Little John hurling his dagger for the guards chest. It struck with sickening aim.

THWOCK.

The knife hung out of the guard's chest with flesh dangling off it. The whole of the blade was coated in fresh blood.

"I didn't do anything w... wrong..." he trembled, gasping for breath. With a sudden crack, he tumbled backwards, dead.

Touchfire emerged from the shadows of the cellar.

"Did I miss anything?" he asked.

I just laughed.

"Little John, get that bag of food. Athor get that barrel, come on let's get going," I called.

We crept back through the laser guard and slipped through the shadows to the door.

"Pass me that grenade," I whispered to Doughty.

He rolled it to me.

"Ta."

I loaded into a grenade launcher and shot it to the backup laser panel. It hit it and detonated turning off the laser. The others slide through with the gear.

"C'mon everybody, let's go home," I said.

We slide out of the room on tiptoe and into the corridor.

Stealthily we made it to the tunnel and through the network of holes to the other side. We emerged onto the other side behind a guard. I cracked him with my mace and he fell over the cliffs edge to an assured fate. We threw the other weapons over the cliff apart from one P97 and a grenade launcher. We looked up at the darkening sky and set off along a narrow walkway. We had several slips and trips, but finally we made it to the other end. The darkness had wrapped around us like a blanket. We couldn't continue, because we couldn't see, so we made ourselves comfy, had a snack then went to sleep snuggled in the folds of friendship.

Day Two

As I awoke from my gentle slumber, I was aware of a deafening scraping sound. The sound that makes your skin crawl and your blood run cold. Slowly me and Doughty dragged the chest up the mountainside and the sound grew louder, and became accompanied by a hissing sound.

Athor, Touchfire, and Little John headed on around the corner ahead of us. Suddenly a blood curdling scream pierced the still darkness. In the pale sunlight I saw Little John faint. I looked at Doughty and he looked at me. We dropped the chest and ran to the corner. It was then that we saw what had made Little John faint.

A giant spider blocked the path. It's mouth was as big as a cupboard and it's pincers were as sharp as knives. The spider clutched Little John in one of its hands and clamped its jaw around his head. Blood oozed out of it's mouth as we heard the crunch of Little John's skull. It let Little John's limp body crumple to the floor. A shot of acid struck Athor in the face. All of his skin melted and his bone could be seen. He fell down dead as well.

Doughty ran towards me and I launched him on top of the spider. Doughty removed his sword from its sheath and forced it into the spiders back. The spider howled and tumbled over the cliffs edge with Doughty on it's back.

I ran over to the cliffs edge and saw Doughty hanging onto the hard grey rock. I reached down and grabbed his arm. Touchfire grabbed around my waist and yanked me back. Doughty fell over the corner of the cliff on top of me.

Nobody spoke for the rest of that day. As we plodded on up the mountain sweating to death.

We reached our resting place and sat down, had a snack, had a drink, and went to slumberland.

Day Three

As we plodded slowly on, Doughty dropped the chest and yelled "I've got it!"

"What exactly have you got?" I replied.

"An idea!"

"Well spit it out then!" I replied excitedly.

"If we were to empty the chest..." he started.

"Then we wouldn't have to carry it!" I finished.

"Yeah!" he yelled.

We opened the chest and pulled out all the plans. We stuffed them into our pockets, shirts, socks, shoes, you name it, we put them there!

The we dragged our two bags and our tired bodies on the small, yet sturdy water vehicle. Me and Doughty headed out across the surface of the river when a shrill scream pierced the air.

We looked towards the shore behind us to see Touchfire alight! A figure had strapped him to a tree, smothered him in petrol, and sparked up.

Doughty yelled an inappropriate word at the figure. The figure retaliated with a bolt of electricity nailing Doughty between the eyes. Doughty tumbled sideways over-board and sunk into the murky depths. Luckily I had the plans needed so it wasn't too much of a loss.

I looked over to the shore. The "Man" was pawing through Touchfire's ashes. Looking for the plans I imagined.

I pulled out my walkie-talkie and spoke into it. "Come in Brother Bird, do you copy?"

"Copy that," came the comforting voice of Plugeral.

"We have four men down, repeat we have four men down in a devastating massacre!"

"We copy that Diaxton, do you have the plans, all of the plans?"

"Negative Brother Bird!"

"Well which plans do you have?"

"Everything necessary to intercept the takeout!"

"We copy that. Listen, take the plans and sit tight, we're sending in the cavalry!!!"

"Roger that, I'll meet you by Arrow Rock. If I'm not there by noon, write me off as dead and abort. Over and out!"

I lay in that boat for a couple of minutes working out an attack plan. Luckily there was no damage caused to the vessel, yet it needed two people, one to steer and one to row. But I was alone, so I'd have to do something to allow me to complete this mission. Alive.

I looked over the edge of the boat and performed a superman dive overboard and grabbed a branch. I'll never know where the strength came from but somehow I heard my body through the overpowering rapids to shore. All I remember after that was lying on the wet sand thinking someone up there must like me.

Day Four

As I trekked towards the morning sun, the heat melting my shoulders, I nearly fainted when I noticed a huge shadow fall upon me. The shadow of a fully grown Magatroth.

What a way to start the day, huh?

It's two heads stared menacingly at me. It stood baring it's teeth looking down at me as if I were a pesky flea. It swept down and attempted to remove my head, but in the process it received the full blow of my sword to its neck. It reared back in an enraged tantrum. It swung again, and this time made impact with my right arm. I stumbled backwards clutching my severed arm.

The Magatroth let out a roar of triumph and then came in for second helpings... only this time, he was on the plate. I took one well aimed jab and caught the Magatroth in it's eye.

I glanced at my watch: 11:00. One hour.

"Let's rock this joint!" I yelled diving into the Magatroth. I hacked at it's neck till it's left head tumbled to the floor, then tackled the right head. "Parties over!" I yelled removing the right head. It fell dead at my feet.

I jumped off its back and ran into the sands of the desert. On the horizon I could make out the shape of the "Arrow Rock". I stared at my watch: 12:03.

"Damn!" I screamed falling on my knees. "God damn you cruel world."

I collapsed in tears. I was doomed.

I pulled my wasted body and my enchained sword through the desert sands. I reached Arrow Rock. 12:34.

"Agh!" I screamed as a pain shot up my left leg. I looked down at a bullet.

"Parties over, punk!" yelled a person with a gun.

"Wrong again," I yelled swiping his legs. I grabbed the gun and shot him in the chest, then in his arms, then in his legs, and finally in his head. He fell down, blood glistening in the sun. I looked at his body and saw he had a flare gun. Life.

I reached down and grabbed the gun.

Suddenly the man who I'd shot got onto his hands and knees. I shot him at point blank range with the flare gun. I received the full impact and fell back on fire. I ripped my burning shirt off and threw it onto the floor. I fell back exhausted under the night sky. The time was 8:30pm.

I put my walkie talkie to my mouth.

"Brother Bird, do you copy?" I croaked.

"Is that you Brother Bear?"

"Well who else do you think would have survived a Magatroth, and some camel who thinks he's action man because he's got a Revel 447?"

"We are ten hours from the evacuation deadline, will you make it back in time?"

"You can count on me. I'll be there."

"Can you make it seven hours?"

"I said I'll be there. Over."

Day Five

I stumbled through the undergrowth of the forest when I came upon an old man sitting in a Razordrop 786.

"Hey bruv, let us borrow ya motor" I said.

"You talkin' to me chico?" he asked.

"No, I'm talking to Arnold Schwartznegger."

"Cut the bull," he said. "No you can't borrow my car."

"Wrong, yes I can borrow your car."

"Says who?"

"Me."

"Let's say I kick your stupid ass into next week?"

"Let's say I kick your stupid ass into next year?"

"Bring it on."

"Yeah? I'd whip your ass with my eyes closed!"£

"Like I said, give it your best shot!"

I lent forward and nutted him.

"Agh!"

I punched him everywhere humanly possible, then threw him head first through the windscreen. I dragged his body out and slumped it against a tree. Then I got into the Razordrop 786 and hit the accelerator.

Rmm, rmm, rmmmmmm.

I rared through the forest leaving a line of fire behind me. I bounced past the last tree across the river, and up to Rindequinn Special Elite Force's HQ.

I pulled out the plans and handed them to Plugeral.

"Well done soldier, I knew you'd make it."

"Yeah?" I asked.

"I never doubted you," he said.

"Well what's that?" I said, pointing to my name in the Dead Soldiers Memorial Book...