Untitled One Page Fiction

        This was a short fiction piece I wrote some time ago which the only requirement was for it to be only one page. Obviously if you take this and actually look at it, it’s really one and a little bit pages, but it’s close enough. Obviously this was during the time period where I was still really into writing war-ish themed stuff. Though this piece also has a twinge of sci-fi/horror in it. What is chasing Jason and how was it able to make him so afraid. I didn’t have a lot of space to really capture that so I hope the work I did in that opening paragraph did enough. This honestly felt more like it should be treated as the start of a larger story. We have the beginning which sets up one conflict while the flashback sequence sets up the other. For one page, having it be able to wrap both up was never going to happen, but perhaps I will spend time to expand more on this story. In the meantime, all feedback is welcome and I can’t wait to be back tomorrow with another post.

---


The moonlight gave no reprieve to Jason as he ran through the trees. The sound of his heart beating in his ears was almost as loud as the sound of his breathing as he just barely sidestepped to avoid a head-on collision. The sound of rushing water pierced the desperate flurry of emotions in his mind as he tried to devise a plan on avoiding whatever was hunting him. As he got closer to the water he found a boat on the shore of the river, no other signs of civilization to be seen. He quickly dove under the boat covers and tried to calm his breathing. He didn’t have much, he lost his backpack full of spare supplies and his rifle when the beast tore through his other squadmates. All that was left was a knife and a flare gun with one shot. As the thundering footsteps behind him got closer to the boat he tried to calm himself by going back to the one memory that always did so.


Some years ago


“Private Jason!” A gravelly voice barked.


“Yes sir!” Jason, much younger and very nervous, replied.


“What is this?” A paper target was flown in front of him.


“All misses sir!” He winced, but it was unfortunately the truth.


“Come here.” His superior motioned him outside the range.


Jason followed, scared that he was gonna receive yet another reprimanding after yet another poor performance.


“Look, I know why you’re really here, I’ve read your files.” The commanding officer took a much softer tone, “Do you truly believe this is the best place for you?”


“If you’ve read my files, then you know that I have to do this, my brother is out there and I have to find him.”


“Then start acting like you really want to find him!” The shift in tone surprised Jason, “You’re coming at this acting like you have everything to lose! Is this really what he’d be proud of?”


“No sir.”


“Then get back in there and actually hit the target, show him what you’re made out of!”


“Yes sir!”


Present

As Jason began to doze off, he clutched a photo of him and his brother.


“When I make it out of this. I’m gonna bring you home…”

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Departure

         “Synthesis complete.” An artificial voice, slightly distorted and almost sounding quite satisfied with itself, rang throughout a mostly empty room. In the center was a large cylindrical chamber. While the walls were glass, it was impossible to see inside due to large plumes of smoke flowing around, following an indistinguishable current. Slowly but surely, the smoke started to settle as whatever process had been going on finished. On one end of the room there was a row of empty desks, some of them had leftover pieces of stationary almost as if the lab had been cleared out in a hurry. On the farthest end of the row there was still a fully equipped desk. The room’s only occupant, asleep at said desk, began to stir upon hearing the voice. “Attempt number 597 is ready for evaluation, please retrieve it.” A hint of urgency came through, almost sounding impatient. “What…” The scientist groggily sat up in his chair, wiping away the sleep from his ey...
Read more

Goodbye Counter Strike: Global Offensive

  Well, considering everything that's happening in CSGO right this moment I think it's very likely today is the last day for the game. I don’t really wanna make this some long sappy post about the really nice memories I’ve had with this game so I’ll just keep it short and simple. Without CSGO, my life would never have gone this way. After spending many years failing at sports I was beginning to accept that I would never genuinely be good at anything competitive. CSGO helped me find something I could enjoy in that way. The game’s emphasis on skill and constant dedication enabled me to really feel like my time investment was going to something I was actually improving at. It’s so weird to think that for a little under half my lifetime I have been putting in hours practicing spray patterns, learning new smoke lineups, and making new friends in this game. I’m glad that the game gets to go out on its own terms, very few games of this type ever get to do so. They wither away and die ...
Read more

Geoff and Karl

  As the dropship flew back to base, there were no words spoken. Given the situation, Karl couldn’t blame anyone. Death was something that very few of them had ever had to deal with. “If you don’t mind me asking sir,” Artyom asked from across the cabin, “who is DeWitt?” Karl took a deep breath, there was also that matter. It was easy to forget that no one in the squad had ever met DeWitt. That’s just what happens with people so new to the war, “My old CO…” Karl answered bluntly. “Your old CO?” Artyom looked puzzled, “I thought you said he died at the beginning of the war?” “Clearly not.” Beth said from deeper in the cabin, “in fact, it seems that he’s doing pretty well for himself.” “What makes you say that?” Artyom grumbled. “Didn’t you see their gear? They made what we had look like scraps!” “I guess you have a point there.” There was a long stretch of silence. The mood for talking had very quickly left the dropship. It was Artyom who finally decided to break ...
Read more