“This is it…” He thinks to himself, setting out his homework in front of him. He’s got an essay to write before tomorrow, and he can’t fail this assignment.
Tick, tock, tick, tock.
His pencil trembles feebly against the ever blank paper, blank like a tundra, an unwelcoming landscape with horrors unseen, lying in wait beneath the snow. No! He shakes away the thought, trying to think of a good idea for his essay.
Tick, tock, tick, tock.
He lifts the tip of his pencil from the page, thinking. He stares at the paper, deep in thought.
That horrible, white paper. White like the milky sclera of an eyeball, waiting to turn around and stare through him in the horrible way it always does. Just waiting to pounce on him… he knows it’s going to happen… no!
He shakes the thought away yet again.
Tick, tock, tick, tock.
He places his pencil back down, as aimless as before. That page, stark white, fades to bleary greys and reds as the shock of the flashbang wears away.
Tick, tock, tick, tock…
No! He can’t fail here. He shakes away the bleariness in his mind.
Back against a wall, ears full of a shrill ringing that drowns out the warfare around him, he pulls out a scrap of paper.
Tick, tock, tick, tock…
A sharp X marks where he stands. The enemy can’t be far… He draws a long, waving line to where he’s sure the enemy must be.
Large blobs represent the fire and rubble about. A few more X’s here and there, where his allies must be, and that’s that. He grabs a piece of rebar nearby.
Tock, tock, tock, tock…
His rebar cane makes a loud noise with each step he takes. Pain rips through his body, fire singing his hair, but he knows he must finish the mission no matter what.
Tick, tock, tick, tock…
The enemy stands, clapping his hands. “You’ve done well! I’m surprised you survived that blast. You won’t survive this one!”
Tick, tock, tick, tock, tick, tock!
All of a sudden, a hundred red lights fill the room, like the glare of a thousand spiders in their den.
The bite that these bombs pack is far more deadly than any poison of any spider.
Tick tick tick tick tick tick tick…!!!
The room is filled with a sound like no other, the hundreds of bombs creating a cacophony of harrowing noise as they approach detonation.
Time seems to slow down as he rushes towards the man.
Tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick ,tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick….
In one final rush, he uses the last of his strength to bring his rebar cane down on the man…
Tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick ,tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick ,tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick.!
Bang!
The bombs all detonate behind him, sending him flying, but he’s finished the job.
He lies on the ground with a smile on his face. He finished the job. He closes his eyes, slowly drifting off after a job well done.
Tick, tock, tick, tick, tock, tick…
BRRRIIIIININNGGGG!!!!!!
The weary soldier awakens, turning off his alarm, and he stares down at the essay he wrote.
The next day, it’s hard for him to explain to his teacher why his essay about the Renaissance is actually a plan to assassinate an enemy general.
-Carson Mayeske
