And yet, as perfect as the day was, somewhere, deep in the back of
his
mind, Tenchi couldn't shake the feeling that something was... wrong,
something was missing. That something just wasn't right. It was strange,
as though a voice was telling him... what? He glanced up, at the black
sky
with it's
its
purple sun; the sparkling of the light of the lake of boiling
blood;
Yeah, that might have something to do with that feeling of wrongness.
Everone knows the lake of blood doesn't boil until after noon.
Actually, I was going to chide you for the 'It was a bright and sunny day'
opening paragraph, but now it has a purpose as it contrasts with this
delightful little scene.
rubbed his hands on his bare arms in a vain attempt to shake off the
howling, icy gale.
Abruptly Tenchi blinked; black sky, purple sun? A lake of boiling
blood tossed by an icy wind? Eyes widening, he looked around himself to
find that he was once again in a peaceful, tranquil forest. After a
moment,
he shook his head, dismissing it as a day dream, or rather, day nightmare,
and began walking again.
If he can dismiss a hallucination like that, he's definitely more than a
little wierd.
But now, he slowly became aware of the fact that he didn't feel at
ease
anymore, of a strange, creeping, silently whispering chill that started at
the very base of his spine, and ever so slowly began a painful crawl
upwards.
That sentence is awkward. I'd reword it somehow.
The birds soft chirping, before seemingly afraid of being too
loud, began to crowd in on him. It was a quiet, haunting sound; as it
fell
on his ears it seemed to change from one of beauty to a sinister, evil
song
that made his very marrow freeze. Slowly, he stopped, frowning, looking
about himself warily. That sense of something wrong came back, and for
some
reason he found himself looking to the sky expectantly, as if waiting for
something there.
But no, the moon was bleeding, like it always did at this time of day.
Around him, the trees began to creak, change
changing
from ancient, holy things
to twisted, gnarled claws. The leaves turned gray; they fell away from
the
oaks and sycamores and birch and cherry trees with a dead rustle. The
bark
darkened from healthy reds, browns and whites to dark, drab gray. The
once
gentle breeze now began to blow harder, whistling and moaning through the
gnarled behemoths; cold chiller
chillier (I think)
A shadow fell over the land; he looked up to see the sun being
eclipsed, turning the sky black. For a moment, he thought that he could
see
something, some strange, indistinct kind of mask. Then the sun was fully
eclipsed; a sphere of purple light somehow pushing through in it's place.
its
"Ahhh!" shouted Tenchi, as he sat bolt upright, gasping for breath.
Heart pounding, he began to panic as he realized that while he could
breath
again, he still couldn't see, and frightening as the world had become, it
was sheer terrifying
terror
At thirty-eight, Achika Masaki still looked like she was only twenty.
Cosmetic surgery did wonders nowadays.
"Tenchi, what's wrong?" she asked, coming over to the side of the
bed.
Shaking his head again, he smiled at her.
"Nothing, mother,
Mother (I think)
I just... had a really weird dream," he told her. "A
really, really weird dream." The nightmare was already fading away as
most
dreams did, yet... it had felt so real. Abruptly Achika
Abruptly, Achika
"What..." He paused, as he felt something hot on his cheek.
Blinking,
he reached up and lightly touched it; his fingers came away smeared with
crimson, and he felt the blood drain from his face.
Well of course it would, he's bleeding. ^_^
"No, I'm... I'm fine, mom. I must have scratched myself during that
dream," he said. For a moment, she frowned at him consideringly, before
nodding.
"Alright." She paused a moment, and suddenly Tenchi's alarm clock
went
off, making them both jump. Looking at each other, they laughed, as he
reached over and hit the off switch. "Get cleaned up and ready for school
Tenchi,"
I'd drop 'Tenchi' there. He's the only one in the room she could be talking
too and wouldn't say his name like that, IMO.
"Yes, Sensei," he answered. The bell rang; his teacher told them
that
they were excused, and reminded them to pick up a permission slip for the
next week's field trip. Tenchi packed away his things; after a moment's
thought, he tucked the drawing of the golden eyed girl into his book bag
too. Kei elbowed him lightly in the side as he moved toward the door. He
grabbed a pair of the permission slips and placed one in her hand; she
tucked it into her bag.
"So, who is she?" she asked, grinning. He winced.
Ah. One of 'those' kind of grins. The kind that cries out 'no matter what
answer you give, you're dead meat.'
"Tenchi no baka!" Kei answered, scowling and looking away. He
grinned.
"Are you saying that I would dare forget about our date at the
carnival? How could I, you
could I? You
Of course, what most people didn't know was that she was also blind,
and had been since birth. The reason that most didn't was that she didn't
act blind; she looked at people when they spoke, and seemed to have some
sort of personal sonar that kept her from running into people and things.
And she could draw! She could draw things from simple descriptions; all
she
had to do was touch a person's face once and she could draw it in perfect
detail. He had never once seen her need to erase a line or alter a
drawing
because she'd made a mistake on proportioning.
Neat. Now I'm intriguied to discover if she's friend or foe here.
"An uncanny sense of character? He
he
asked. She grinned at him. Lately
they'd had special cause for celebration. Because she could differentiate
between different levels of light, his aunt Washu, a doctor and researcher
at the hospital,
Hmm. Washu is present, but Ryouko is not.
So many nights, waking up, screaming, as the blob turned toward her.
Sighing, she uncurled, and stood, making her way to her washroom.
Turning on the faucet, she splashed herself with cold water, letting the
chill wash away the last of her dream. Ayeka looked up at the mirror, at
a
miserable looking woman. Her night gown
nightgown
"Thank you Azaka.
you, Azaka
Sasami trailed off,
but her hand traced the line of Ayeka's scar on her own chin. Her sister
had always been a little uncomfortable talking about it; Juraian tradition
put physical beauty on a high pedestal,
right next to how much money you had.
and it was something that she
intended to change. Perhaps that was something she had learned; the
silver
lining of that dark day. The ability to see the hypocrisy of the
government
she had been raised to one day take over.
"You know that couldn't be Sasami;
be, Sasami
no one has been able to remove it."
She sighed, but smiled slightly. "After this long, I probably wouldn't let
them do it anyway. It's become as much a part of who I am as my training.
A valuable reminder of a lesson that I was given." Sasami sighed.
Put 'Sasami sighed into the next paragraph.
Stepping back into her room and letting the towel drop, she set about
trying to find her uniform. She wasn't entirely sure where she'd tossed
it
all when she'd staggered into her bedroom the night before and dropped
onto
her bed almost before tugging on her nightshirt. Bit by bit, it did come
together though. Bra, shirt, pants, socks,panties
dog collar
"Hey mom, dad, I'm home!" called Tenchi, as he opened the door.
Setting his school bag on the table and taking off his shoes, he walked
upstairs.
"Don't forget about the carnival Tenchi!"
carnival, Tenchi
"Mom, you know me -" He paused as his wrist watch beeped. "Oh man,
I
gotta go, it's quarter after three. Kei will kill me if I'm late!" he
exclaimed, looking at the watch. Nobuyuki dug into his pocket, and pulled
out the mini-van keys.
"Here Tenchi,"
Here, Tenchi
he said, tossing them to him. "Have a good time."
"Thanks dad!"
Thanks, Dad
"Then if she was right, the others will be drawn here as well."
"And once they arrive, what then?" asked Achika. Washu shrugged.
"If their Washu was right, and since I always am she must be too,
we'll
be tugged in the right direction until we can find a way to repair the
damage done by Ryoko's death.
Use lots of duct tape. You can never use too much
D.B. Sommer