James Pleiades Hawkins!! (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
rattlingthestars) wrote2015-07-04 02:26 am
rattlingthestars) wrote2015-07-04 02:26 am
Entry tags:
Prose Snowblind Sample
Jim wasn't going anywhere in particular.
It had been a week since he found anything that seemed important, and nearly two days since he bumped into another person. In that time he wandered north along the wall, for lack of anything better to do. The long, glittering mass of it stretched along his left side, close enough that his hand sometimes skimmed it by accident. Occasionally, he diverted his path to skirt around houses or ruins that bisected the barrier, but for the most part he stayed close and struggled against the endless flurries of snow that were falling even at noon. His pack and the small piece of scrap metal in his hand felt unbearably heavy.
In moments like this, when his entire body felt like it might freeze to the core and his mind was filled with a growing certainty that he was the last person left alive, Jim got angry.
He was angry at Norfinbury for existing. He was angry at whoever had brought him here and abandoned him to the elements. He was angry at Silver for betraying him and saving him and leaving him, again. He was angry at the universe, for being unfair, and himself, for not being strong and smart enough to deal with it. He was angry.
Suddenly, it was too much to deal with. His anger flared like a supernova; he flung his pack to the ground and shoved his scrap into the wall. He chipped at it, flinging his weight into it with every blow, screaming wordlessly. Nothing happened. No one could hear him. The supernova collapsed into a black hole and he fell to his knees in the snow.
Jim wasn't sure how long he stayed there before he heard the voices. It sounded like a whole party of people, cheerful despite the weather and the circumstances, and the thought of dealing with any of them sent him to his feet. He retrieved his bag and the scrap before fleeing to hide behind a ruined wall. He could just see the group approaching from his position.
The relief of seeing other people took him by surprise. Whatever was happening in this town, he wasn't alone and seeing them out there drove that home in a way the Network device didn't. Jim glanced down at his soaked clothes and wondered what he looked like, how they would perceive him. Hopeless, lad, whispered a voice in his head that sounded like Silver. It would be better if he kept to himself. There would be no one to steal his food or boss him around that way. But no one to help him, either. No one to save him if he needed a hand up. He needed someone, if he was going to make it here without going insane.
Jim took a deep breath and stepped forward.
It had been a week since he found anything that seemed important, and nearly two days since he bumped into another person. In that time he wandered north along the wall, for lack of anything better to do. The long, glittering mass of it stretched along his left side, close enough that his hand sometimes skimmed it by accident. Occasionally, he diverted his path to skirt around houses or ruins that bisected the barrier, but for the most part he stayed close and struggled against the endless flurries of snow that were falling even at noon. His pack and the small piece of scrap metal in his hand felt unbearably heavy.
In moments like this, when his entire body felt like it might freeze to the core and his mind was filled with a growing certainty that he was the last person left alive, Jim got angry.
He was angry at Norfinbury for existing. He was angry at whoever had brought him here and abandoned him to the elements. He was angry at Silver for betraying him and saving him and leaving him, again. He was angry at the universe, for being unfair, and himself, for not being strong and smart enough to deal with it. He was angry.
Suddenly, it was too much to deal with. His anger flared like a supernova; he flung his pack to the ground and shoved his scrap into the wall. He chipped at it, flinging his weight into it with every blow, screaming wordlessly. Nothing happened. No one could hear him. The supernova collapsed into a black hole and he fell to his knees in the snow.
Jim wasn't sure how long he stayed there before he heard the voices. It sounded like a whole party of people, cheerful despite the weather and the circumstances, and the thought of dealing with any of them sent him to his feet. He retrieved his bag and the scrap before fleeing to hide behind a ruined wall. He could just see the group approaching from his position.
The relief of seeing other people took him by surprise. Whatever was happening in this town, he wasn't alone and seeing them out there drove that home in a way the Network device didn't. Jim glanced down at his soaked clothes and wondered what he looked like, how they would perceive him. Hopeless, lad, whispered a voice in his head that sounded like Silver. It would be better if he kept to himself. There would be no one to steal his food or boss him around that way. But no one to help him, either. No one to save him if he needed a hand up. He needed someone, if he was going to make it here without going insane.
Jim took a deep breath and stepped forward.