10-23-2015, 11:19 AM
Declan Gregory,
PPC
Soren's shadow passed him by as Declan knelt over the snow-dusted body of his friend. He promptly brushed away the fresh powder only to wince upon first glimpse of the face beneath. Noah's frozen expression was eternally fixed with fright, a fright that turned Declan's stomach to knots.
Daruka remained uphill, watching over the scene like a guardian on high. But Declan would bet money the native would flee faster than any of them at the first sight or sound of trouble. Soren meanwhile was investigating the lake itself. Whatever there was to discover, Declan couldn't fathom. There was nothing there that wasn't already known to science. An army of skeletons a thousand years old for a lake bed. Everything of value had long been stripped away by grave robbers, or worse. Yet Noah was a reasonable and reliable man. The awe in his voice moments before his death was obvious. But looking upon that frozen face now, Declan appreciated how awe turned to horror.
The snow stuck to his skin like frost clinging to a window, but as Declan smoothed more away from the body, craters in the flesh became obvious. Something pelted the man, as though he'd been stoned to death. How Biblical. But for what sin?
Declan took photos of the crater-like impressions in Noah's skull. Pink frost rimmed their edges, and gentle palpation revealed the indention fractured the bone beneath. Poor man. Hail could be so damaging and the pellets of ice would certainly be obscured in this weather, but such powerful snow storms were rare in this climate. The kind of updrafts required to produce hail were more typical of a temperate climate where angry thunderheads were fueled by flatlands and tropical temperatures.
The transformation of their own serene weather was preceded by a wind pushing on the back of his neck. Declan's scarf whipped around his neck, and Declan looked over one shoulder just in time to witness Soren snap to attention at the sudden rising howl. His friend jumped to his feet and rushed from the lakeside, his face a terror of warning. A mad terror ripped the two men apart, and in the moment Declan's heart stopped, he shifted his gaze to the surface of the lake as ice broke on the rising waves. From the churning of white crests rose something dark: long limbs like spindles, knotted with fluid joints, tickling the sky and reaching for land.
The first projectile whipped from the water like a missle. A rock the size of a football, it thumped into the snow within arm's reach, spraying powder into Declan's face. More followed, raining behind Soren as he ran who grabbed Declan on the arm and ushered him to his feet.
Fear gave his legs warmth. The piercing howl broke his ear drums, and he covered the sides of his head with his hands, but he didn't look back. He didn't want to see the source of such fury, although images of monsters from the deep, hellish eyes, tentacles and teeth rotated in his mind.
Declan kept his eyes on Daruka like the man was a bastion of safety if he could be reache alive but whose shadow quickly disappeared from the hilltop. Half way to safety, pelted by rocks and boulders in their wake, Declan tripped, and grabbed at Soren's arm, nearly pulling him down in his haste. "Help!"
He cried.
PPC
Soren's shadow passed him by as Declan knelt over the snow-dusted body of his friend. He promptly brushed away the fresh powder only to wince upon first glimpse of the face beneath. Noah's frozen expression was eternally fixed with fright, a fright that turned Declan's stomach to knots.
Daruka remained uphill, watching over the scene like a guardian on high. But Declan would bet money the native would flee faster than any of them at the first sight or sound of trouble. Soren meanwhile was investigating the lake itself. Whatever there was to discover, Declan couldn't fathom. There was nothing there that wasn't already known to science. An army of skeletons a thousand years old for a lake bed. Everything of value had long been stripped away by grave robbers, or worse. Yet Noah was a reasonable and reliable man. The awe in his voice moments before his death was obvious. But looking upon that frozen face now, Declan appreciated how awe turned to horror.
The snow stuck to his skin like frost clinging to a window, but as Declan smoothed more away from the body, craters in the flesh became obvious. Something pelted the man, as though he'd been stoned to death. How Biblical. But for what sin?
Declan took photos of the crater-like impressions in Noah's skull. Pink frost rimmed their edges, and gentle palpation revealed the indention fractured the bone beneath. Poor man. Hail could be so damaging and the pellets of ice would certainly be obscured in this weather, but such powerful snow storms were rare in this climate. The kind of updrafts required to produce hail were more typical of a temperate climate where angry thunderheads were fueled by flatlands and tropical temperatures.
The transformation of their own serene weather was preceded by a wind pushing on the back of his neck. Declan's scarf whipped around his neck, and Declan looked over one shoulder just in time to witness Soren snap to attention at the sudden rising howl. His friend jumped to his feet and rushed from the lakeside, his face a terror of warning. A mad terror ripped the two men apart, and in the moment Declan's heart stopped, he shifted his gaze to the surface of the lake as ice broke on the rising waves. From the churning of white crests rose something dark: long limbs like spindles, knotted with fluid joints, tickling the sky and reaching for land.
The first projectile whipped from the water like a missle. A rock the size of a football, it thumped into the snow within arm's reach, spraying powder into Declan's face. More followed, raining behind Soren as he ran who grabbed Declan on the arm and ushered him to his feet.
Fear gave his legs warmth. The piercing howl broke his ear drums, and he covered the sides of his head with his hands, but he didn't look back. He didn't want to see the source of such fury, although images of monsters from the deep, hellish eyes, tentacles and teeth rotated in his mind.
Declan kept his eyes on Daruka like the man was a bastion of safety if he could be reache alive but whose shadow quickly disappeared from the hilltop. Half way to safety, pelted by rocks and boulders in their wake, Declan tripped, and grabbed at Soren's arm, nearly pulling him down in his haste. "Help!"
He cried.