RoustWriter: Blog

This week with Times 7:

...Kathy tried to free herself enough to check on Thad. Although she could feel him next to her, she couldn’t see him. Her body felt strange – almost as if it didn’t have substance. That wasn’t right either. She was surrounded by green– a very delicate, light shade that, under other circumstances, would have been pleasing to the eye. She should have been able to see Mack. He had a leg and an arm across her, and she could feel them, but she couldn’t see either of the men or even her own hand as she held it in front of her face. Her eyes registered only the one color. A strange, almost rumbling sound surrounded them, and it had an eerie quality to it, almost an echo...

Have a goodun;

Roust

This week with Times 7:

...Someone (something?) a few hundred meters down the hill fired a long burst toward a boulder Kathy was crouched behind, and then snapped a short burst toward Thad, almost catching him off guard. When he saw the weapon turn toward him, Thad fired a bolt and quickly moved fully behind the boulder, but the wound made his movement slow. His face tingled as the enemy’s bolt passed so close that its flare caught him. Must be a particle beam similar to ours, he thought as he moved to a new position behind the boulder. I can’t let this thing keep firing at Kathy. As he took a quick peek above the boulder, he got his first clear look at what was shooting at them. It’s not human. That much was clear enough, even as he snapped off another shot. The bolt plowed into the ground near the assailant and attracted its attention back to Thad...

Have a goodun;

Roust

This week with Times 7:

...This woman is drop-dead gorgeous, but she acts as if she doesn’t know it.

After a moment of silence while they ate, Mack looked up to see two sets of eyes watching him. Once more, the fear of being thought insane crossed his mind, but he cast the thought aside. “I’m going to tell this the way I remember it. I know it sounds crazy… maybe it is, but here goes.”

The unfamiliar trees, even the strange cries of the birds strengthened his will as he forced himself to remember his last ride in the car with Janie. “My wife and I had been visiting friends, and no, we had not been drinking,” came out barely above a whisper. Tears misted his eyes as he, determined, continued, “We were on the way home when this oncoming car suddenly swerved across the center line and into our lane. There was no time to react…”

Have a goodun;

Roust

This week with Times 7:

...Drinking the coffee had made her feel much better. The outside of her suit was damp with dew, as was everything else she touched. Although her body was comfortable in the suit environment, she could feel cool air on her face. Surprised that the night had cooled off so much, she wondered if the blanket were enough to keep the Traveler warm. After taking her light out of her pack, she went back inside the tent. The fire near the entrance seems to have added sufficient warmth for the Traveler, she decided. After cupping her hand around her light, she turned it on but only opened her hand enough to allow a thin beam to show on the Traveler. His breathing was deep and regular as she knelt beside him, leaned over and keyed the medkit for an update. The kit beeped quietly and listed the patient’s vital signs, which seemed low to her. His pulse rate was fifty-four, and his blood pressure was ninety-eight over sixty-five, but the medkit had “Normal” indicated beside the readings. As she gently raised the side of the medkit for a peek at the wound, a hand clamped down hard on her right arm. She let out a startled squeak and dropped the light onto the man’s chest. The hand relaxed its crushing pressure but didn’t let her go as a deep voice asked, “What’re you doing?”...

Have a goodun;

Roust

This week with Times 7:

...“What if it rains? He doesn’t even have a shirt on.”

“I have an extra one in my pack, but I think we can forego that until he’s better. We shouldn’t be here long, anyway. We each have a blanket. We can make him as comfortable as possible with those and put the polymer up for a temporary shelter. Chances are we’ll get picked up before we get the polymer in position anyway.”

“Polymer?” Kathy asked while wrinkling her brow.

“Yeah. It’s part of the survival pack.”

“Oh, you mean the stuff we had to use at Op school?”

Thad laughed. “From the expression on your face, that must have been it.”

“I can’t believe anyone actually uses that stuff. Why didn’t you bring a lightweight tent?” she asked indignantly.

“Because I had rather have some heavyweight food,” he answered in a slightly mocking tone...

Have a goodun;

Roust