Monday, May 16, 2022

5-16-22, with a snippet...

W: 341.4

Story snippet:

After two hours walking, Eliza stopped by some trees and allowed him to catch up. “Here we rest for a short while.  You are breathing too loud, like a mule.  Try to control yourself big man” she whispered. “From here on we must be silent.  The British seldom patrol here, but smugglers may. I prefer no one know we were here”.

Whispering in return, Charles replied “Can you tell me where we are going?  Do you even know, or do your spirits guide you?”.

She stared at him in the gloomy moonlight coming through the trees.  His eyes were acclimated nicely, and he could see as well as feel the heat of her stare. “My father thinks you must understand and believe. I do not. Your belief means nothing to me, only whether you are a danger to us”.

Once again, Marshall felt the chill of fear he’d never admit to anyone.  In the daylight this girl was pretty and competent, if a bit distant to him.  On a mission, she was nothing but frigidly efficient and emotionless. He had no doubts she could leave his body buried in a shallow ditch without shedding a tear.  

Being honest with himself, he was finding her both frightening and attractive, and that was distracting him from his job.  He smiled a little, and when he saw her eyes widen when she noticed, he smiled even more.  If this went on, he’d be laughing like an idiot, so he looked away and shut his mouth.

Without another word, Eliza stepped away from the shelter and shadow of the trees and moved back to the path.  Setting off at a quicker pace than before she was forcing him to match her or fall behind.  She didn’t look back, but he was aware she could hear his breathing which was soon ‘As loud as Mule’ again, and he resented it.  Petty Officers didn’t do a lot of hiking around moonlit goat paths, and that was yet another thing that rankled him.  ‘Join the Navy and see the world’ he thought.   There was a recruiter who certainly needed a dose of reality.  He spent the next few minutes fantasizing about having his recruiter alone in the rope locker for a discussion on Naval lifestyles.


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