Dwellings in the Wind: Break
It was a midsummer day; the heat and humidity set upon the two in hopes of invoking a sweat, but the pond had other ideas. Within its depths it lunched upon the balmy rays, pausing only to exhale a fine mist from its placid surface.
"Oh, I see one! Over there, Nathan."
The man affected a smirk of self-control and whipped a red bamboo pole around his head, flinging an odd looking, impaled insect through the air upon an invisible string. It landed just inside the second capillary wave left behind by whatever the woman had seen.
"Now you'll see, Kara. We shall catch something today after all."
"I didn't doubt you, dear." Kara broke her attention from the bait placement to study their surroundings: an idyllic, oval shaped pond overlooked by a high red clay cliff on its southernmost bank; willow trees dotted the water's edge otherwise, creating cool canopies of shadow; the sun's reflection on the water followed behind their gondola like a lost lamb of pure effulgence.
The bait writhed upon a thin sheen of water-tension; a barbed, yellow gut smudged hook still protruded through its striped thorax. She never did enjoy watching Nathan set the hook; it was the thing she most regretted from these trips--bad karma, at least the fish had a fighting chance.
Suddenly, a whirlpool formed beneath it and the fishing line twisted into opacity. The edges of the vortex rose into the air, revealing monstrous, fleshy pink lips and dagger gray teeth. The lips closed around the line like the chubby hand of a child.
"Ha!" Nathan said, "That's a fine specimen; may be my biggest catch here yet."
"Is it yet caught?" Kara half grinned, keeping her eyes on their prey as it sunk back into the depths from which it sprung.
The line went taught and the boat shook as Nathan struggled with the pole; his face speckled red with strain. "No you don't, dinner!" He set his feet against the wooden stern and pulled back with all his might, making meager gains and giving them swiftly back.
Then the undulant flapping of giant membranous wings became audible, a familiar sound that wafted over the cliff above like a heavy smoke, proclaiming the arrival of suited men. As if leaping from the precipice, the silhouettes of three man-sized grasshoppers came to hover over the pond, generating sharp gusts like invisible sword strokes, cutting the water into a churning grid. Kara could smell an acrid odor permeating the atmosphere and felt the band around her left forearm contract slightly. Pulling back her sleeve showed the grafted site had turned from a normal human flesh tone to a phosphorescent bright green: a warning--a call to battle. The suits lifted away into the clouds above and vanished, presumably to continue spreading the alarm.
All light and mirth had gone from Nathan's face, wholly replaced by a dour squint that weighed upon the edges of his mouth. He unfastened the mantid blade at his hip and drew it across the fishing line, setting his lake spawned nemesis free. "Let's go," he said.
Suddenly, a whirlpool formed beneath it and the fishing line twisted into opacity. The edges of the vortex rose into the air, revealing monstrous, fleshy pink lips and dagger gray teeth. The lips closed around the line like the chubby hand of a child.
"Ha!" Nathan said, "That's a fine specimen; may be my biggest catch here yet."
"Is it yet caught?" Kara half grinned, keeping her eyes on their prey as it sunk back into the depths from which it sprung.
The line went taught and the boat shook as Nathan struggled with the pole; his face speckled red with strain. "No you don't, dinner!" He set his feet against the wooden stern and pulled back with all his might, making meager gains and giving them swiftly back.
Then the undulant flapping of giant membranous wings became audible, a familiar sound that wafted over the cliff above like a heavy smoke, proclaiming the arrival of suited men. As if leaping from the precipice, the silhouettes of three man-sized grasshoppers came to hover over the pond, generating sharp gusts like invisible sword strokes, cutting the water into a churning grid. Kara could smell an acrid odor permeating the atmosphere and felt the band around her left forearm contract slightly. Pulling back her sleeve showed the grafted site had turned from a normal human flesh tone to a phosphorescent bright green: a warning--a call to battle. The suits lifted away into the clouds above and vanished, presumably to continue spreading the alarm.
All light and mirth had gone from Nathan's face, wholly replaced by a dour squint that weighed upon the edges of his mouth. He unfastened the mantid blade at his hip and drew it across the fishing line, setting his lake spawned nemesis free. "Let's go," he said.
Comments
Post a Comment