A bit OT...

First, a few apologies... Stah, I still owe you mail. I haven't forgotten, just been busy as hell. I'll get something to you this weekend, I promise.

Dissy, I've not got back to you about your latest creative efforts. I will get back to you about your poem, essay & Solar Man (in my defense, I have had rather a lot of Solar amn to read!). Also, still have to get back to you on some of your posts over the past few days.

But, it's because of Dissy's recent scribings, and Jester's Tear's awesome poem, I've decided to dust off the old quill, as well.

I've started writing something. Don't know quite where it's going yet, but I thought I'd share what I've got so far with you all.

It's just a first draft, but let me know if you want to read more. If you do, I'll write it for you!

T.

Well, here's the story:

Jacob didn't know what to to do. Should he go for it, take the risk, or shouldn't he? He wasn't sure, so hung back, scared to take the chance.
But, he couldn't stay where he was, that was for sure. Soon, they would find him.

He could see the fires, burning in the distance. The two small lizards hung limply on the wire in his hand - it had been a long time since he'd had fire, a long time since he'd been able to cook what he caught. Tempting, but was the fire worth the risk?

So, Jacob stayed there, by the boulder. And that's when he heard the snapping of the dry brush behind him.

Hutchinson looked cooly at the rattlesnake, motionless in front of him. It was cold, in this dead of night, and the snake lay there unable to move, except for its warning rattle. Hutchinson smiled in satisfaction.

Turn the rocks, and you always find your snake, given time. He kicked out viciously at the reptile, sending it flying across the dirt track. And that's the way to deal with snakes, he thought to himself. Kick 'em, and kick 'em hard.

He turned and strolled back to his cruiser, picked up his radio and called into base.

"Lt Hutchinson calling in."

"10-4, what's your postion?"

"25 miles east of Old Vegas, on a dirt road. Still tracking him. I'm close, I damn well know it - sent Private Dixon out to have a scout around."

"Have you got him this time, Lt Hutchinson?. We need to know if you're close. We've spent a lot of time on this motherfucker already."

Hutchinson gave a wicked grin as he saw two dim figures lumbering through the night over the bluff. "Oh yeah. We got him this time. I'm pretty damn sure."

The morning broke bright and clear on Settlement 258. The slow thrumming of the Sol-Pans warming up woke Ella with a start, and she scrabbled out of her sleep-cos, and pulled her clothes on quickly. She ran over to her grandfather, shaking him vigorously to stir him.

"Hell, leave an old man alone!"

"We gotta go, Gramps! We gotta go! They'll be here soon!"

"Can't you get me something to drink?"

"We have to save the aqua, Gramps. They cut the ration, remember?"

With a groan, the old man sat up, and then threw his legs over the edge of his sleep-cos. Rubbing his head, he wearily stood up.

"Cut the ration, yeah. Cut the goddamn ration. We got any noggy?"

"Only some bread, Gramps. From what we had last night. You have it Gramps - I don't need none."

"Well, you'll have some, anyways."

Gramps walked slowly over to the store cupboard, and pulled the remnants of the hard gray loaf of bread out. Walking back to the table with it, he broke two small pieces off, and thrust one of these into Ella's hand.

The old man tore into his small clump of stale bread, chewing on it hard. Ella tried to push her share back into her grandfather's hand. She was worried about him - he'd been getting weaker these past few months.
Gramps glared at her. "Eat!" he snapped.

"But I don't need no noggy! I ain't hungry!"

"Eat, damn you!"

Feeling guilty, Ella took a small bite from her bread. It was tough, dry, and hard to swallow, but deep down, she knew that she did need it. She was very hungry, and it was all that they had to sustain them.

Standard army issue gray bread. Hard the day you got it, and you had to bang out all the weevils when you did. But it was mostly all that they had. Was all anyone had. Meat was once a week, if you were lucky, and a thin soup every now and then.

So Ella and Gramps ate what they had, and waited for the work detail to show up. And they didn't have to wait for long.

A Section Private threw the door open and strode into their small room, knocking the remains of Gramp's bread out his hand.

"Time to work, Droles! Time to get out there and earn what ya take from us. C'mon, let's go! Move it!" The Private leant down, and thrust himself into Gramp's face. "You're back on the rock breakin' today, old man. I gotcha some real good work for ya."

Ella leapt up. "No! Put me on the rocks, instead! I can do it!"

The Section Private snickered. "You? Doing the rocks? You're just a kid, you'll be no good!"

"But I will be! I'll work real hard, I promise! Please, I really will. My Gramps has shown me how. I can do it, mister, I can. I know it!"

"I'll do it, Ella." Gramp's face was hard as he said it. "I'll do it, don't you worry."

The Section Private sniffed loudly. "Well then. That's settled. On the rocks for the old man, and on the machines for you."

Ella bit her lip till she tasted the blood, and tried hard not to cry. Ella tried very hard not to cry, every day.

Lt Hutchinson leaned against the door of his cruiser as the two figures approached. The first thing that went through his mind was the realization that one of them was pointing a gun at him. The second thing that went through his mind was a 9mm round.

As Hutchinson slid down the side of the cruiser, one of the men kicked his body to one side, then wrenched the door open and picked up the radio.
"This is the rebels callin'," said the man. "We aren't down, we aren't out, and we're comin' back after you."

"Lt Hutchinson? Is that you? Who are you? Identify yourself!"

"I already have. The war has just begun. The rebels aren't beat yet."

With that, the man threw the open can of gasoline in the cruiser, and lobbed in a match. As the car burned, the two rebels walked away.

Jacob scampered up over the bluff from where he'd been told to wait, and ran after the saviours who had just found him.