New Arrivals
Author-Vision
Titles

Tribal Rain
Chapter One: The Awakening
by Vision

Disclaimer: Canon characters do not belong to me. They are the property of Pet Fly and Paramount. I don't make any money etc. etc. Vision sends Becky a big thank you for all of her work.

"Hang on boys, we're going down!"

A bullet pings off the side of the helicopter just inches from my head. The crew braces themselves for the approaching darkness. White-knuckled hands grasp at imaginary straws. The copter lurches violently from side to side, the engine sputtering as it fishtails towards the ground. Seven pairs of eyes sweep my own, awaiting their last orders. What "order" can I possibly give? What possible military garble could fix something like this? Even in death they remain loyal to their country with not a single plea for redemption. I inhale sharply, hoping that my words carry with them some solace from our impending doom.

"It's been an honor and a privilege to serve alongside you. May God be with you."

In the seconds that follow, my senses nosedive into a freefall. For so many years I have kept them under lock and key, And now, faced with my own death, my true self emerges...

I hear their cries shrieking along my eardrum. Guttural moans drowning in their own blood. Bone shattering against metal, lungs heaving in desperation. The deafening thud of ground and machine becoming one. My eyes absorb their pain all too clearly. Their bodies strewn in all directions, limbs entangling themselves in the wreckage. A part of me yearns to close my eyes, to block out the blood and the horror of such a violent death. The other part of me, the soldier, memorizes each of their faces, mentally logging their last living moments. There is no honor in death, only duty...

The smell of sweat and blood is overwhelming. My head swims with the overpowering stench of death. My hands are but weak, unresponsive extensions of my body - all feeling lost.

I too have been catapulted into hell's waiting arms, I welcome the rest, the release from the burden of my life. The lies I have lived with, the secrets I have kept. What joy it is to be free...

____________________________

Let me die...

All I'm asking is to be allowed to die in peace. Is that too much to ask? Who are you? Why do you even care? For some reason I can understand you. I don't get it. I've never heard this language before, and yet I understand. You're some kind of medicine man, a healer maybe. I wish you'd just leave me alone. You keep telling me to search myself, to trust in my power, rebel against the darkness and let the light shine forth from within. What is that supposed to mean? You don't get it, do you? It's over.... What was that? What did you say? You can't possibly know that. Oh my God. You know...

The End (for now)

---