I decided to join a forum challenge a while back.
The challenge being to write a complete, stand-alone story in 1.000 words or less.
Knowing my average word count is about 50.000, doing it in under 1.000 was a *real* challenge for me.
It took a few tries and a lot of tweaking to get it right, but I've managed to write a few.
Here's a first one.
Enjoy!
SOS
The night was dark, a promise of a
thunderous downpour hung thick in the air around him. He was dressed all in
black, a ski mask rolled up to allow easier breathing until it was time to
move. The distant rumble could be thunder, but he recognized it for what it
was; the slowly growing roar of a jet engine. If his information was accurate,
it would land on this strip, but he had no idea if they were coming in from the
north or south, so he had positioned a team on each end, taking up his own
position with another team in the middle of the long stretch of hard-packed
dirt. He tried to pierce the clouds with his eyes, his night-vision goggles
enhancing his natural vision, but it wasn’t until the roar of the engine was
almost on top of him that the jet’s flashing lights became visible through the
clouds. They were coming in from the south and Jack ordered the south team to
hustle to the north end as quickly and as quietly as possible. He held his team
in hiding until the jet sped past them, then he ordered the two quads to fall
in behind and trail it.
When the plane pulled to a stop, Jack and
his team were coming up fast and the sound of the dying engine covered the
sound of their quads which allowed them to creep right up behind it and take up
their positions. The north team moved in as well, cautiously so as not to be
spotted by the pilot or anybody else on board.
The south team reported they were 60
seconds out.
Jack knew there would only be a pilot and
two men, but they had to move cautiously, he could not afford to make any
mistakes on this one. If he blew it, he was a dead man.
The lock on the door above disengaged and
Jack watched the door open, unfolding to become a staircase. The man at the top
of the stairs stayed in the shadows and Jack couldn’t see him, nor could he see
a thing inside.
The pilot left the plane after a few
minutes and he turned away from Jack, he stretched as he took a few steps away
from the stairs and Jack clicked the radio transmitter twice. A shadow rose
behind the pilot and enveloped him in a swift and silent move, taking him out
of action. He was dragged away and hidden behind one of the quads. His white
shirt would draw immediate attention.
Jack heard voices from inside the jet. They
were getting impatient.
“He’s late.”
“Maybe he’s on the other side, it could
take some time to get here.”
“He’d better hurry, we have a package to
deliver.”
Jack heard a short cry of pain and he felt
the adrenaline in his blood peak.
They had better not be hurting her.
He moved in on the staircase, keeping his
eyes and silenced gun on the dark gap up above.
“Go check if you can see him.”
Jack stalled, his foot on the first step;
his hands tightened around the gun as he raised it.
The man came into view and as he stuck his
head out to check around, Jack squeezed the trigger twice in quick succession.
Both bullets struck home and the man fell forward, tumbling down the stairs
towards him. Jack took a quick step back, keeping his gun trained on the gap
above.
“Brandon?” the other called.
“Brandon talk to me.”
Jack stepped over the downed man and
started up, keeping his gun on the gap. He made it all the way up and as he
slowly angled his arms and head around the edge of the doorway, he saw them.
The hostile was holding her in front of him, using her as a shield.
“CTU!” Jack yelled, “Drop the gun!”
“Get the fuck out of here!” the man yelled
back, “Or I’ll kill her.”
The gun moved from Jack to the woman’s head
and she screamed in panic.
She was struggling to get away from him,
but he held her tightly.
“Do you want her death on your head?” the
hostile snarled.
“Take it easy.” Jack said, calmly now.
“The plane is surrounded. You have nowhere
to go. Release her and nothing will happen to you.”
His gun was aimed at the man’s head. He
knew he could take the shot if he had to, his aim was true and his hand steady.
“Get the fuck out!” the man yelled again.
He was getting agitated and Jack saw the
sweat beading on his brow.
“You gambled and you lost,” Jack said
calmly, “you have nowhere to go. Give yourself up.”
“Fuck you!” the man snapped.
His gun angled towards Jack who reacted on
instinct, closing his left eye and curling his finger tighter around the
trigger, it wouldn’t take much more pressure to squeeze off the shot.
“Drop it!” Jack warned one last time.
The man’s gun was leveling out, finger on
the trigger and Jack put that extra little pressure, squeezing off one round.
The bullet slammed into the man’s forehead, throwing his head back, killing him
on the spot, but his finger tightened on the trigger as well and his gun spat
one bullet. It hit Jack squarely in the chest, smashing into his vest and doing
no harm whatsoever.
He staggered half a step back under the
power of the impact but kept his gun on the falling hostile.
Once his body hit the ground, Jack turned
his attention to the woman.
He closed the distance and held out his
hand to her.
“Ma’am, I’m federal agent Jack Bauer,
you’re safe now.”
She hesitantly took his hand and let him
help her to her feet.
He holstered his weapon and hit a button on
his radio.
“CTU, this is Bauer, be advised the First
Lady is safe, I repeat, the First Lady is safe.”
No comments:
Post a Comment