Showing posts with label prehistoric. Show all posts
Showing posts with label prehistoric. Show all posts

Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Wednesday Briefs: Trapped in Time

It's Wednesday, so it must be time for more flash fiction from the Wednesday Briefers!  This week, the prompt was: "Suffer the little..." or the alternate prompts:  Use: three, hairy, billiard ball or "When can I see you again?" or "He/she said what?" or Use: scales, tradition, engine or use: dapper, dandelion, direct or "If I were you, I'd..."

Last week, in Trapped in Time, Vittorio and Doll named their new son, and they discovered that they were near the end of their journey. Today, they push on to reach the mysterious Professor... Enjoy! Then don't forget to visit all the Wednesday Briefers whose links follow my tales!



Trapped in Time #21



We are far too nervous and excited for sleep, so we gather around the communal fire and discuss the subject of mutual interest to us all—the mysterious Professor. It is amazing to us that there is another human here in this prehistoric place. We’d assumed we were the only ones, as our arrival predates that of man by many years. So who is this man and how did he come to be here?

Charlie is unable to provide us with any answers. “I do not know,” he confesses, somewhat apologetically. “I’ve never actually spoken to him as I speak with you.” That’s only natural, as he has only met the Professor while he was a monkey, a condition that Myron has changed.

“It’s all right,” Myron reassures him with tender kisses and gentle caresses. They’ve become very close since Charlie’s transformation. I’m concerned at what might ensue should the spell that binds Charlie as he is should fail. For both of them.

“How old is he?” Vittorio asks. Good idea. Perhaps we can piece together clues from what Charlie can tell us.  “Is he our age? Older than we are? Younger?” Of course, this assumes that Charlie has been observant of these types of things, a rather broad assumption to make.

Charlie puckers his brow in thought. “Older. Definitely older.”

“Are there any other people like him or is he alone?” I ask.

“Only him. He is the only one.”

“Does he live in a cave?” Myron contributes.  It has become almost a game to see who can ask the right question to elicit the most informative response.

Charlie shakes his head. “No, the Professor built something from the trees. He is very clever, he is. He says he is also lucky that he had some of his things with him.”

“What kind of things?” I eagerly ask.

“I do not know,” Charlie says again.

By the time we are ready to retire for the night, we’ve learned little.

“We’ll get all of our answers soon,” Vittorio assures me.

At that moment, Myron and Charlie walk by us, hand in hand. Charlie says something, but I cannot understand his words. He looks over his shoulder at Myron, then disappears behind some rocks a short distance from our camp.

I look at Myron quizzically.  “He said what?” I swear Myron is blushing, but in the darkness it’s hard to tell.
“He said to meet him over there…” He waves a hand toward the rocks.

“But why…” I begin, only to have Vittorio squeeze my hand.

“Go on, Myron,” he says softly. “Mary and Kitty are both asleep. Everything is well.”

Myron doesn’t look at us; he mumbles a quick thank you and follows in the same direction that Charlie took.
It’s only when Vittorio draws me to him and our lips meet that I realize what is going on, and that we too need time apart from them, time for ourselves.

We quickly take advantage of this unexpected solitude to remove all of our clothes and press our naked bodies close together: stroking, kissing, touching, loving. We make love until we are spent, and then we cuddle by the fire and dream together.

Morning comes. Charlie and Myron have returned, and Charlie brings some fruit he has found. It looks like a banana, but fatter and sweeter. I slice them and cook them and they are very delicious. We clean up our camp and set off.  It is heartening to know we are close to our goal, and to the only other human being in this entire world. We can only pray that he has some answers to our questions. Undoubtedly he has an interesting story to tell of how he came to be here, and we can tell our tale to him, if he is interested in listening.

From what little Charlie has told us, it sounds as though this Professor is very self-sufficient. Perhaps, if we are lucky, he has some knowledge of our situation and how to reverse it.  Although I do not expect this to be the case. Unless he just happens to know magic, like Myron.

It’s a beautiful day. Kitty is in a playful mood. He’s tired of being carried, so we let him walk, even if it slows us down a little. Mary is just as watchful of him as we are, and is quick to put him back on the right path if he seems about to stray.

For lunch, we content ourselves with fruit, not wishing to take the time for a fire or to hunt for small game.  Our path leads us downward into a shady valley where we find a small stream. We jump into the water fully clothed. The sun will dry us again, and it is the best we can do at the moment regarding our laundry situation, but soon, I vow, we shall do better.

Afterward, we climb up the gentle slope until we reach the top.

“Look!” Charlie points. There ahead of us, to our amazement, we see what appear to be two wooden huts huddled close to some very large rocks, as well as a small pond.  Smoke curls up from one of the huts; a most welcome sight.

We cannot help but hasten our steps, eager to meet this mystery man if for no other reason than he is one of us, even if he is a stranger. Vittorio gathers Kitty, and holds him, despite his protests—good thing he has not yet learned to use his claws—while Mary sits on the seat of the penny farthing.

Suddenly a figure emerges from one of the huts, sees our group and stops, no doubt amazed by our sudden appearance.  As we draw nearer, he begins to wave.

Suddenly, I stop and I stare, and my mouth falls open in amazement.

“Doll?” Vittorio asks in concern.

“Doll?” the man also asks.

I stare at him in disbelief. “Vati?”

And then I faint.

to be continued


Don't forget to check out the other Wednesday Briefers:



Nephylim
  
   m/m
Lily Sawyer      m/m 
Michael Mandrake     m/m
Cia Nordwell  m/m
MA Church     m/m

Until next time, take care!

♥ Julie

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Wednesday Briefs: Trapped in Time #20

Happy Wednesday one and all and welcome to more flash fiction from the Wednesday Briefers! We have a new Briefer this week, please put your hands together and welcome Cia Nordwell! We're excited to have her join us. This week, the prompt was: "You are the sunshine of my..." and the alternate prompts were: Use: butts, pudding, cat or "I'd like to make you an offer..." or use something with stripes in  your story or use: whole new world or "I always thought you look like..."

Last week, as you'll recall, in Trapped in Time, they came across a dying mother and an orphaned sabre-tooth tiger. See what has become of them! And don't forget to visit the other Briefers, whose links follow my tale. Enjoy!

Trapped in Time #20



Although numerous suggestions are made as to what to name the new member of our little group, Vittorio and I find ourselves calling him Kitty—having ascertained his gender in the usual way—and Kitty he stays. I am nervous at first, but Vittorio remains his usual unflappable self. It’s obvious to me that he was born to be a father, he is such a natural at it, and my heart swells with pride when I look at the two of them together. I love him more and more with each passing day. He never ceases to amaze me.

Our first concern is what shall we feed our new son? Mother’s milk is not exactly flowing from the ground, if you know what I mean, and none of us are adequately equipped to supply the necessary nutrient for his diet. We give him some water from what we have, but it is obvious that he wishes for more, and for that I cannot blame him.
Our prayers are answered—in more ways than one—in an unexpected way.

We have decided to stay in this cave for a day or two, until we make sure that Kitty is strong enough to travel. Vittorio and I do not wish to take any chances, he is so young and has been through a most traumatic experience.

 And then my lover has a most brilliant idea! He takes some of the rocks that lie about the cave and beats them, one against the other, until he discovers which is strongest, and hones it as sharp as he can. Using that, he takes some of the small sticks that litter the ground, remnants of snapped branches that have fallen from the trees, and fashions a few stakes. Charlie and Mary help us, collecting some branches. From them, we remove the heaviest of the leaves and weave them together to form a rope of sorts. We add the rope to the stakes, and thus we have a snare! Vittorio sets out the snare, and we go about our business until he says it is time to check it, to see if we have caught anything. Shortly after that we find ourselves with a small animal that somewhat resembles a rabbit, but with shorter ears and longer tail, and my mouth waters at the idea of hasenpfeffer, but that must wait until we have a pot in which to cook such a rabbit stew. For now I am content to roast it on the spit that Vittorio makes for me, and such a feast we have!

As it cooks, we take the juices from the meat, add it to some water, forming a broth, and feed that to Kitty, anxiously watching his reaction. He loves it!

“Doll, his teeth seem pretty sharp,” Daddy Vittorio says, running a careful finger along the edge of one. Kitty doesn’t mind. He mews at him and tries to nip his finger, playfully. “I wonder if his mama was already weaning him?”

So we carefully offer him small pieces of meat, watching to make sure he can handle them, and he devours them as fast as we can feed them to him. Then he falls asleep in Vittorio’s lap, as we all sit about the fire and admire our beautiful new baby, and make plans to resume our journey on the morrow.

Morning comes and we set off once more. Myron generously offers to push our penny farthing for us, as we now have our hands rather full with our baby. Vittorio and I take turns carrying Kitty when he sleeps, which he often does. Sometimes Myron allows Mary to be a passenger; she climbs upon the bike and sits on the seat, enjoying the view. Sometimes she does gymnastics, such as hand stands and such, swinging herself from the handle bars. We cannot help but laugh at such a sight.

The weather is beautiful. Not too warm, not too cold. Just right.  Even when it rains, the water is warm and feels nice, as we take shelter under a large tree. When we stop walking for the day, we have no cave to sleep in, but we make ourselves comfortable near the base of a large boulder, and Vittorio sets his snares again. This time he catches a fat bird that reminds me of a quail. Together we clean it and remove all the feathers—Mary and Kitty and even Charlie are more than happy to eat the bird’s insides, although I say I would rather not. I season it as well as I can with herbs, and then I stuff it with vegetables and roast it. Kitty ignores the vegetables, but he happily devours the tender flesh. After dinner, we all sit around the campfire, watching Kitty gambol and cavort. He alternates between chasing his tail and chasing after our fingers and toes. Then He climbs into Myron’s lap, and at first Myron seems apprehensive, but we smile and tell him it’s all right, and Kitty falls asleep in his arms.

Vittorio and I stretch out together, and gaze up into the sky. So many stars. So very beautiful. I lay my head upon his chest and turn my eyes to him, as I simply drink in his beauty.

“Are you happy, Doll?” he asks.

“Very,” I reply.

Suddenly he looks away from me and for a moment I am disturbed as he rises to a sitting position, a frown creasing his handsome features.

“What is it? Is something wrong?” He pulls me up, placing an arm about my shoulder as he points to something on the far horizon. I squint into the distance. Is that smoke that I see?

We beckon to Myron and Charlie, and we all look into the darkness. Straining to see the faintest trace of smoke there.

Charlie dispels the mystery.

“That’s from the Professor,” he announces.

Our journey is almost at an end!

to be continued

Don't forget to visit the other Wednesday Briefers and see what they're up to!


Nephylim
  
   m/m
Michael Mandrake     m/m
Cia Nordwell   m/m     virgin alert!
MA Church     m/m 
Elyzabeth VaLey      m/f
Tali      m/f


 Until next time, take care!

♥ Julie