Practice Writing A-14: An Unexpected Meeting

Writing Practice(s): File A-14 Date Published: 11:12, 1 July 2013 (Minnesota Time) Category: Drama Title: An Unexpected Meeting

Writing Practice(s): File A-14

Category: Drama

Title: An Unexpected Meeting

 

      Cody set his pencil down on his desk and stared intently down at the piece of paper before him. It was a drawing of a small wolf standing stiffly on a boulder watching rapturously and attentively at its viewer with solemn, wary, and wise eyes.

      He sighed and placed his hands behind his head and leaned back in his chair. It still needed color and a decent background, and the ears were too big and the back legs were too small. It wasn’t very good, he was so much better at drawing birds than wolves, but wolves were his favorites and he wanted to do something special for his best friend, Marrok.

      Hm, I wonder if he would like it? Maybe I could ask him. Cody thought to himself.

      “Marrok! Marrok!” Cody called into the empty air and awaited his friend’s reply.

      A small wolf with a white half-moon marking on his forehead lifted its head and gazed at Cody with curious bright green eyes. It stood up from its bed and shook its midnight black fur and padded over to his human friend. He placed his front paws on the desk and stared up at Cody and tilted his head to the right.

      “Marrok, what do you think of your picture?” Cody asked earnestly and pointed to the drawing.

      The black wolf gazed at the drawing with pleasing eyes, tilting his head to the left and to the right and to the left again. He turned and licked his friend on the cheek and nuzzled under his chin.

      Cody laughed innocently and scratched the aging wolf behind the ear. His tail wagged and his eyes shut in silent delight.

      “I’m glad you like it, Marrok,” laughed Cody. The black wolf suddenly pulled away from him and nudged a green and black colored pencil towards Cody with his nose and stared up at him with expectant eyes.

      “You’re right; it needs color,” he commented and began to draw in the pencil wolf’s eyes an intense shade of green.

*****

Two days earlier

*****

      The sounds of footsteps pounding down the steel reinforced hallways echoed and hammered throughout the tense air. His breathing came out in heavy and ragged breaths and his legs pumped harder than they ever had before.

      “Hey you! Stop!” cried out the police officer and shot into the air.

      The boy ducked instinctively and sprinted even harder towards the exit. His heart beat in his chest like the drum roll preceding to someone’s execution.

      He skidded around the corner and nearly lost his footing in the process. The din of German shepherds barking behind him was nearly deafening and aroused the fear and panic in his chest, pushing him to run even harder.

      Perspiration dripped from his temple and soaked his body. His form was hardly more than an orange streak in the dull metal hallways of the compound.

      Oh God, what am I doing? I’m gonna get myself killed!! He screamed in his head, unsure whether he was praying or cursing.

      They’re gonna kill me for sure. If they catch me they’ll add another ten years to my sentence! The more he continued to go through the horrible scenarios in his head the greater his fear increased.

      “Attention all personal, Prisoner 267398; Simhonds has escaped from Cell 67 on sublevel 9 and is currently on ground level 1 in quadrant 4. Apprehend immediately and restrain. Punishment will be inflicted shortly after inmate is secured,” broadcasted the announcer in his usual monotone on the speakerphone.

      The proclamation was like a death sentence ringing in his ears. The last line repeated itself in his mind like a broken record.

      Punishment will be inflicted shortly after inmate is secured.

      He knew what it meant and it bombarded his heart with terror. It meant his hands would be locked in electric handcuffs and his ankles in leg restraints. A gag would be secured on his head and in his mouth and he would be led into the one of the “correction” rooms and strapped into a steel chair. After that any form of horrible punishment ranging from beatings to psychological torture would commence.

      He tore down the hallway and past a guard escorting another inmate in a jumpsuit and electric handcuffs. The guard and the inmate stared after him in shock; the officer probably wondering how he could have gotten out of his cell and eluded the guards and the inmate wondering what madness was driving him to attempt something so risky and dangerous.

      Three seconds after he had raced past the guard and the inmate a hoard of officers and two dogs whizzed past them in pursue of their escaped prey. The rage of the dogs’ barking ravaged his being and made him dizzy with terror.

      “Halt!” commanded one of the guards in a voice full of authority.

      The boy ignored the command and ran even harder.

      Oh Butch, what have you gotten yourself into now?

*****

      Cody jumped off the last few rungs on the ladder to his tree house. It would be dusk in about an hour or so. Marrok wined from the doorway, unable to get down without severely injuring himself.

      “Hang on, Marrok, I’m coming,” replied Cody to his canine friend and stepped over to the side of the tree house. He had set up a kind of makeshift elevator for Marrok so he could get in and out of the tree house. It was basically a wooden platform with rope tied to the corners and a pulley system attached to the area above the side door.

      Marrok trotted to the elevator entryway and waited patiently for Cody to bring it up.

      Cody tugged on the rope tied to the trunk of the dying oak tree and undid the knot and pulled the rope down. The platform was lifted into the air like a hot air balloon and came to a gentle stop in front of Marrok. He stepped in and sat down, clawing at the wood as a signal that he was ready.

      Cody carefully and leisurely lowered the wolf down, vigilant not to let go of the rope or lower him down too quickly. The platform touched down on the ground and Marrok quickly climbed out and shook out the leaves in his mangy ebony fur.

      Cody smiled and stared out into the forest and into the distant horizon. The tips of the sky faded into a perfect orange like watercolor on a new canvas.

      He breathed out a relaxed sigh let the evening breeze cool down his unsteady nerves.

*****

The present

*****

      Butch sat down on the soggy leaves and panted heavily. He had narrowly escaped the compound and was now on the run. It was nearly twilight and he still needed to find shelter. His jumpsuit was torn and muddy and provided very little protection and warmth.

      His stomach growled hungrily and he groaned and rubbed his barren stomach. It had been two days since his last meal, and even that morsel had left him ravenous.

      He rested his head against the trunk of the tree and sighed heavily.

      What am I gonna do? He wondered mournfully. He couldn’t go back. If he did his life would not be worth living and would become nothing but a hideous and tormenting hell. But if he continued forward he was almost certain wild and unknown dangers awaited him and starvation would devour his being until there was nothing left to devour.

      He stood up and trudged forward. It was better to keep moving rather than take the chance of being tracked down and captured, even at this distance.

      His only hope now was he wouldn’t get caught and that his strength would hold up as he continued forward.

*****

      Marrok’s ears perked and he sniffed the air intently.

      “What is it, Marrok?” inquired Cody and stared into the forest himself. Nothing seemed to be unusual or off. Everything was as it was supposed to be.

      Marrok lowered his ears and growled, shifting his eyes back and forth. Scanning the forest for danger.

      Alright, something’s up. Cody concluded and squinted. His eyes glowed with a fierce green light as he scanned the grove for threats or anything that wasn’t supposed to be there.

      After a moment he blinked and looked down at Marrok.

      “You’re right, Marrok. There’s definitely something out there,” he concluded and stared back into the forest.

      “Let’s go find out what it is,”

*****

      Butch pushed past the branch in his way and stepped over the fallen tree. He wasn’t used to dodging so many plants or wildlife and seeking shelter in a wooded area. He preferred the concrete streets and noisy traffic of the city over the lush flora and fauna of the woods.

      A twig snapped beneath his foot and he froze, almost expecting someone or something to jump out at him and drag him away. But it never came he drew out a sigh of relief and trekked forward.

*****

      Cody stooped dead in his tracks and listened. Next to him Marrok growled softly.

      “You heard that too, huh?” commented Cody and stared into the depths of the forest.

      What in the world is out there? He wondered and continued forward.

*****

      Butch couldn’t shake the feeling something was watching him. Maybe it came from spending two years in a maximum-security prison and constantly being on surveillance, but not he was out in the wilderness with no technology of any kind or any sign of another human being. What could possibly be watching him besides the birds and the insects?

*****

      Cody stepped over a fallen tree and ducked under a low-hanging branch. He was sure he had heard the sound come from somewhere around here.

      Marrok stopped and perked his ears. His fierce green eyes were wide as they scanned the lush landscape. His nose pointed to the northeast and immediately his ears lowered and he barred his teeth and growled.

      “What it is?” he asked his black friend, but almost as soon as he uttered it a wisp of orange appeared out of the corner of his eyes.

      He turned towards the movement and squinted hard, his eyes glowing a fierce green. Something about a foot taller than him was on the move about thirty meters away. And it certainly wasn’t a forest animal.

      Marrok crouched down until his belly fur brushed against the leaf littered soil and stealthily crept forward towards the orange smudge.

      He was but a mere seven meters away when he lunged.

*****

      “AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!” Butch screeched and fell backwards as a dark creature lunged at him and pinned him to the ground. It snarled in his face and forced him into the muddy ground by pressing his paws into the boy’s shoulders.

      “Please! Don’t hurt me! I’m sorry, OK! Just take me back!” he blubbered and struggled in a vain attempt of escape. But despite the creature’s size he was incredibly strong.

      The snarling subsided a little and faded into a low growl. Almost as if the creature understood him and was backing off a little.

      “Marrok! Marrok! What did you find?” a voice called through the trees.

      Panic swelled in Butch’s chest as images of horrific torture and life in the compound flashed in his mind. This was it. He was going back. Back to hell.

      “Marrok!” the voice called again and a figure pushed past the trees and came into view. Butch expected to see a tracker or a mercenary or even a police officer �" but what he saw instead was boy somewhere around the age of twelve. He appeared to be much shorter and much smaller than himself and was certainly much younger.

      “Marrok! What did you find?” asked the boy to the dark creature but his question was immediately answered when he saw him. At first he just stared Butch but quickly shook his head.

      “Marrok, get off of him! Get off!” he ordered and shooed the beast off and away. The creature obeyed but not before he snarled in Butch’s face. Butch watched the brute remove itself from his torso and then gazed up at the darkening sky, too dumbfounded and fear stricken to move.

      “Are you alright?”

      Butch turned towards the voice and stared up at the boy. His eyes were full of concern and he didn’t seem to have any ill intentions.

      “Huh? Yeah yeah, I’m OK,” he reassured shakily and rubbed his forehead wearily.

      “You don’t look OK,” he commented and stretched out his hand to him in a friendly gesture.

      Butch hesitated before grabbing it and allowing the boy to pull him up. He staggered for a moment before he regained his footing and his breathing came out in ragged breaths.

      “What is that thing, anyway?” he inquired and rubbed his sore shoulders. The beast growled softly at him.

      “Who? Marrok?” the boy laughed. “He’s my friend,”

      “No, no, I mean what kind of creature is it?”

      “A wolf,”

      “A wolf?” Butch questioned, surprised by the answer.

      The boy smiled. “Yeah, a wolf. I found him in the woods about eight months ago. Or rather, he found me,” he petted the dark animal on the head and scratched behind his ear. Its tail wagged happily and its eyes closed in silent delight.

      “Sure kid, whatever you say,” he replied rather sarcastically, unable to belief such a far-fetched story.

      “Quick question,”

      “Sure,”

      “Why are you wearing a jumpsuit?”

      Butch froze. He was on to him. It probably wouldn’t be long before he realized he was a fugitive and called the authorities.

      Whoa, whoa there Butch. You’re getting ahead of yourself there. He’s probably just curious is all. No need to panic.

      The boy’s eyes narrowed. “You’re a fugitive, aren’t you?”

      Butch’s eyes widened with fear as he turned towards him, his expression begging him not to tell.

      The boy relaxed and folded his arms. “What did you do?”

      For several agonizing moments he said nothing. The moments dragged on like hours. The boy looked at him expectantly, but not accusingly.

      He took a deep and uneven breath. “I . . .” he began but stopped. What was he doing? He should be running away right now! Not lingering and confessing to a complete stranger!

      “I . . . I was part of an illegal scandal,” he stated. This much was true. He had been part of an illegal scandal that would have succeeded if they hadn’t been found out by that citizen. Then he wouldn’t have ended up in this never-ending mess.

      “OK. So why are you running?” his tone was calm and his voice was steady. He seemed much older than his appearance suggested.

      He shook his head. “I . . . I can’t go back there. No. Never again. They . . .” he started but stopped, afraid if he shared his experience he would be punished if he was ever found out.

      The boy stared at him sympathetically. He reached out his hand in greeting.

      “I’m Cody,”

      Butch returned the gesture and shook it. “Butch. Butch Simhonds,”

      Cody smiled. “It’s nice to meet you Butch. I’m sorry about Marrok, he doesn’t do well around strangers,”

      Butch nodded. “That’s fine. I’ll be alright. He’s pretty strong though for a little guy,”

      Marrok growled at Butch. Butch jumped back in fear and held up his hands warily.

      “Marrok,” scolded Cody to the dark wolf.

      The creature stopped and licked Cody’s hand and turned his gaze back to Butch. He almost seemed to be glaring at him.

      Cody chuckled. “You have to be careful what you say to him; he can understand English,”

      Butch blew his bangs out of his eyes in disbelief. “Yeah, right,”

      Cody sighed and placed a hand on Butch’s shoulder.

      “Come ‘on, why don’t we find you somewhere to stay for the night? You look tired,”

      Butch shook his head. “I can’t. If I’m caught-“

      “You can stay in my tree house tonight if you want. It’s not much but I’m sure it’s better than sleeping out here. I have some blankets and a cot up there you can sleep on,”

      Butch weighed his options and sighed heavily, giving into the suggestion.

      “Alright, you win. How far is it?”

      “Not far. It’s deep enough in the woods that no one should find you and you should be comfy enough,”

      A ghost of a smile materialized on Butch’s face.

      “Thanks kid, I really appreciate it,” he thanked earnestly. He couldn’t remember the last time someone had treated him so kindly before.

      “Hey, it’s no problem big guy,” he paused for a moment. “Oh, and just so you know Marrok’s gonna be sleeping there too,”

      “What?”

      “He can’t sleep in my house so he sleeps out in the tree house. I hope you don’t mind,”

      Butch glanced down at the dark wolf nervously. It stared back up at him and almost seemed to be smiling mischievously.

      He looked back up with slightly fearful eyes. “Oh boy,”

Author's Note

I post these practice writings every two weeks. Let me know if you have any requests.

Reviews

[She With Eyes Like Unsh..]

Haha! I loved the ending - it was really cute! Great job!