//------------------------------// // Flickers of Gray Footage // Story: Celestia Member of Her Magesty's Service B.F.G, Giant Slayers Division // by Arn //------------------------------// Those endless wars in Afghanistan where he met Celesta and worked with her. Gone! Everyone Gone! Everyone he had trained with! Everyone he worked with! It called to him, the cave it was his only hope it called to him and he had run.! Yet his strength began to ebb away as he heard the things begin to pursue, not two feat but for four each as the made that unholy sound. "Who could fight such...hate?" Too many bad B movies danced in Christoff's head! Trying hard not to think on them, keep running, keep running. Old scratch plied at the soldier's mind, why oh why had they watched monster movies the night before...told creepy tales that night? Shoot back, shoot back!!! Mostly misses, some contact, sounding so very unsatisfactory, metal...other things, for the amount of ammo pumped. As he neared the cave he felt his strength begin to go where he would follow, if he let it. Imagining a giant stepping out of the cave to face him swinging a club to swat him to jelly! He felt...the invisible light of two smoldering lamps upon his frame.... "Live!" came the voice through those beams of light. "Live David! (expletive) Live!!!" David? How appropriate as the imaginary giant dissipated in the shadows and moonlight! His heart pulled his strength back just in time to hear that still quiet voice carry the soldier the rest of the way. American accent, a little high pitched but still American as pie! Just get to that cave, get away from this Malay of swarming slashing...whatevers! He reached the cave. "Kiss it man!" screamed the voice. He did so, falling to the ground flat as possible...massive volleys, rapid, fast, wising past! Unbelievable quick hallow thumps! Bullets/ shells, satisfying mad contact! The monster retreating making gibbering howling sounds. Christoff knew they were regrouping! Whoever, in the cave, they were, they were packing massive caliber! Click! Click! Click! ...and were out of amo. This was followed by a voice in French accent swearing absentees followed by, "Stupid American Cowboy!" The snarling, growling retreated from behind him and Chrisoff put his back against a wall between the sounds of them...the only thing he could think of was Ghosts of Mars come to life! More swearing in French. "Ok."click, click, click "get your bayonet"click,click,click"they're going to charge!"click, click "Only thing can stop them."click "Hand to hand!" "What are they??!"Christoff turned on a flashlight. Click, click,click, click"Don't turn on the...!" toward the source of the voice, "...light...."click. ,to be met by a bipedal raccoon.."What are you??!!" The Raccoon calmly reached out and pinched the switch, "No time. With the American W.W.G.W.W.D...." "What does that mean??!!" he said to the Cheshire grin in the dark. "If we live, you have to drink a whole case of Samuel Adams , I'll tell you..."c-l-i-c-c-k"Shoot!" "Here, over !" said the French voice."Christoff obeyed relieved that it was a human body beside him. The voice started hitting with his beret, yelling. "No! pumpit! Pump It! Pump it! they come!!" Click. "Stop messing with zee club!"He threw a rock at the Raccoon. Eyes gleaming with the celestial light of hateful night."Pump it"~ epitaph! Christoff read Tolkien's Silmarillion once...dark, starstruck... "Ready! Pump it!!!!"Screamed the elf hitting Christoff with his barrette. Christoff pushed it out of his mind. Swarming through...the cave acted as the perfected bottleneck! For his unit, for his friends for his country...as they swarmed and swarmed cutting off the moonlight. Christoff took them with his bayonet. Screaming, orcs try to scatter everywhere, but were caught at the caves maw. "Woo Wooo!" cried the laughing jolly Raccoon."Here comes the Giant Slayer, express!" The French voice in exuberation. Less of them now. They got through. Cristoff and his friends, waiting and taking them down. Separated. An foul stinking thing leapt up, tumbling with Christoff as he kicked and beat with but body and bayonet, till he rid himself of it in the near dark, standing up as it felt three others fell upon him attacked him. He blocking and beating back best he could! Cristoff heard the French voice swearing again, then the raccoon, a horrible grinding noise, "Its about time, he's over there! Go!Go!GO!" The monsters were cleared away by something glittering in the dark like a sideways tornado. At first though reminded of the movie Critters, then all was quiet except for heavy panting, his and something else and he thought a heavy heart bead massive in volume, a sound over powering his own and yet strangely calming. Once again he turned on his light. A lanky figure, monstrous face, hair/spines on its back...he only saw a gimps, its gleaming eyes, pupils expanding and contracting at each beat. Those beams! Those lamps on him before! Now his heart beat was sounding through the light from those eyes! "Turn off that light!!"Bellowed a voice, with a hint of femininity in it, snarled hands with impossibly spindly fingers and nobly joints dashed the flashlight from his hand shattering as it hit the cave wall, bending the flashlight body unrecognizable. Cristoff began to faint. "Damn it Celestia!"said the raccoon."You scared him!" "Stupid American..." came the Frenchman's voice as Cristoff drifted into darkness."Shock...like this...till..med!!!" He swore again. The soldier felt as if he were in the arms of his mom. __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Christoff looked at the woman napping in the other jumper seat of the chopper, like fairy princess godmother. He remembered the first time he saw that face awake.