Crystal Island - R3 P6 (FIN) by Techn0Gecko, literature
Literature
Crystal Island - R3 P6 (FIN)
Once I'd recovered from my shock, Biscuits and I quickly righted my chair and we scarpered from the cave sharpish, scared that something else might happen if we dawdled. To our profound relief, we sprinted out of the now-silent cave unhindered, bursting out of the exit at breakneck speed, Roger in tow. As soon as we were clear of danger, we both skidded to a halt, fighting for breath. I was tired, battered and bruised but I didn't care. I was gripped with profound gratefulness that I was alive. Tears beaded at the corner of my eyes. "Ah, you made it!" In an instant, my joy fell awake. The voice sent a shiver up my spine. I looked up to see Derek standing there wearing his trademark smirk, arms crossed over his chest. At the sight of the host, Biscuits shrank away, anxious. Meanwhile, still hopped up on adrenaline, I was suddenly filled with blazing rage. "We did, by some miracle!" I growled, seething, "What the hell was that?! Those eels were something else! We barely escaped
***Check desc for trigger warnings*** Upon the rock formations, there were several unmistakable pairs of amber eyes peering at me. "Oh, bloody hell!" I muttered, drawing Biscuit's attention. As soon as I flashed the light on them, they froze and shrivelled in the light. Their mottled dark grey colouring perfectly mimicked the natural rock around us, creating a convincing illusion in and out of the light. As Bee had suggested, the light seemed to have stunned them. Having said that, the light only reached so far. Somehow, the eels seemed to collectively realise we had spotted them and I saw shadows move around me. "Watch out!" I shouted as a 'stalactite' suddenly struck out at me, revealing itself to be an eel. Instinctively, I swung my umbrella at it in mid-air. The blow connected and the eel went flying into the darkness. To my dismay, though, this sudden movement had an unintended side effect. The two wheels my tilted powerchair was precariously balancing on shifted, making
***Please note the trigger warnings in the description!*** Unfortunately, the passage was every bit as unpleasant as it looked. The cramped path was difficult enough to squeeze into, let alone manoeuvre a power chair through. Movement was only possible in single file and, even then, the path's twists and turns hid Biscuits from view half the time. My wheels skidded dangerously on the steep, rocky slope. Every surface of the tunnel was wet to the touch, dripping with slimy moisture, reducing my wheel grip. However, Biscuits was a trooper at guiding me, going on ahead and lighting my way for the tricky or steep bits. That said, I'd be lying if I said my powerchair hadn't collected a series of deep scratches and dents in quick succession. We definitely had to brute force the wheelchair through more than once! If squeezing and scraping around rocks hadn't made things bad enough, menacing gloom hung over everything. Even with our bright torches, the darkness refused to dissipate
Well, dear lars, if you thought my match up with Biscuits was a sadistic joke at your expense, I'm afraid not. Sadly, the truth is that this was an unforeseen twist in my story. I'd known that being paired up with a friend was possible - after all, I'd had to face Conifer and Permafrost in the previous challenge - but I'd never dreamed I'd go up against Biscuits. Out of all the expeditioners, they were the one I was perhaps most fond of. Being paired against them genuinely broke my heart, even before we'd entered the tunnel. So, it's no exaggeration to say that the mood was sombre as we began our journey together. Still overcoming the shock of our new circumstances, I don't think either of us could think of a word to say. We plodded along, side by side with each other, grim looks on our faces. Biscuits scarcely looked in my direction, clearly upset by the arrangements. Even Roger was subdued, not letting out a peep. My mind was bleak. I found myself driving on autopilot as I mulled
The next thing I remember is waking up with cold wetness creeping up my legs. Rubbing the sleep from my eyes, I hazily realised that my sleeping bag was now sitting in a couple of inches of water. "Wake up, everyone!" Bee barked, her voice reverberating off the walls, "We're going to have to move. The cave is flooding!" The ensuing panic was immediate. Dazed, I watched as the expeditioners leapt to their feet, hurriedly collecting their sodden belongings. The walls around us were slick with moisture, the sound of rushing water swirling around us. "Rough night, lah?" The voice tore me from my daze. Aguinei was looking down at me, a touch concerned and amused. "You could say that," I sighed, shivering as the cold finally registered in my mind. "Don't blame you for feeling shag, lah. But I bet you'll feel better for getting out of that puddle," she said kindly, "Would you like a hand, Boleh?" The nyao-long offered her hand and I took it gratefully. With her help, I wrenched my
Sometimes we can fall into the trap of thinking of our lives as a simple tale. We expect them to be structured - offering a defined beginning, a middle, and an end. We think that a baby has many adventures ahead of them while an old lady like me is so close to their ending, there are few life stories left to write. My! I remember being in my 20's and thinking that life after 40 would be so boring it would be barely worth living! But no, darling lars, life is made up of chapters that are as worthwhile and important to live as one another. Every one has the potential to bring joy and struggles - expected and unexpected. In times of change or strife, it can be easy to forget this. The way ahead might feel so treacherous and unrecognisable you might feel that your life is over. But, my friends, I can promise you that it isn't. There are still more chapters to unfold, as yet unwritten. They might not be the one you expected but, as long as we breathe, our journey continues. So it was
Safe by Sunset - R1 P4 (FIN) by Techn0Gecko, literature
Literature
Safe by Sunset - R1 P4 (FIN)
"Come on then, Walkies," Teasel said as brightly as she could muster. "Let's start walking around the valley. We won't have to cross the water that way." The pup didn't need any further encouragement. He sprinted ahead, chattering excitedly about his new friends and telling Teasel that she had to go faster. The vole did her best to keep her facade of cheer but she found it increasingly difficult. She didn't have the heart to tell Walkies that it wasn't worth rushing anymore - that they wouldn't get to the meeting point by dawn using this route even if they sprinted. She knew she would have to eventually but it felt almost cruel to wrench Walkies new friends away from him just after he'd met them. But eventually, she'd have to. She didn't know the way to Braymire and she knew that chances were that they'd never see cluster six again. Teasel's heart sank. Walkies' distress at losing his friends would soon be the least of their worries. They were both now alone, without a plan and
Safe by Sunset: [R3] Chapter 2 by AlfaFilly, literature
Literature
Safe by Sunset: [R3] Chapter 2
Safe by Sunset Round Three Chapter 2: Hissy did not like that dream. Ooh! But what she did not like even more was how itchy she was! The one blessing to having hands, perhaps, was being able to scratch beneath her scales. Maybe Dutchess or Mac could scratch her if she asked? Yeah! That was a great idea! She just needed to… W-Wait… why couldn’t she… “AHHH!! HISSY NO SEE!!!! HISSY BLIND!!!! HEEEEEEELP!!” The other animals nearby were startled at her sudden squealing. They all rustled from their resting spots, feathers and fur on edge. To no surprise, Dutchess was the first to the snake’s side. “Dear me! Oh, how dreadful! Art thou okay?! Thine skin hath deepened its tone!” Hissy’s eyes were foggy and tinted with a ghostly blue. She had such poor vision to begin with, but now she could not see much of anything at all! Did this have something to do with her dream? She could see so well in that! Then she touched that weird glowing orb… did that cause
I'm a 28 year old who loves writing and appreciates all things arty. After being struck by a crippling chronic pain disorder in 2019, I am working to reshape my life. Please do be patient with me if I ever forget to respond or am not entirely with it, my brain only works at 50% capacity these days.
Winner of Spiral Down Films OCT and Xotiathon OCT. Currently participating in Crystal Island OCT and auditioning for Safe by Sunset OCT.