It was first light and a low-lying mist hovered over the undulating plain. Trees on the skyline to the right marked the way toward Area Seven. With Ragged Wood to the rear and soft ripples of the stream in the base of the valley, a lookout shifted beneath dewy fern. The air was cold. He shivered and scanned the stillness of the landscape with a pair of binoculars. Birds broke the quiet as morning rays created a shimmer across open land. The idyllic scene veiled a terrible day ahead. Destiny was dawning.
Continue reading “The Day”Fear
“Show me!” Gronk ordered.
Continue reading “Fear”Hunted
Gronk was incensed, but quickly pulled a handkerchief from a pocket to wipe his bloody nose. The roar of a Destructor drew closer. By the time its doors opened and boots hit the tarmac, Steve had already run up a street, into a driveway and double-backed along an adjacent garden, shielded by a large hedge. Posh voices could be heard as he grabbed the top of a fence which had been drilled onto a crumbling, ivy-clad brick wall at the end of the garden. Leaping over, he landed in a crouch. The long grass was damp. He was in the cemetery. The moon’s glow cast a dim, silvery-blue light over gravestones and stone statues, which had partially sunk into the soft ground and leant in various directions. It was like an incoming tide had washed and hissed around the graves.
Continue reading “Hunted”Encounter
Later in the evening, after a luxury feed and tales from Gideon about bullying children at school, Gronk felt less angry. Especially when he heard Gideon had been picking on friends of Steve Nobody’s son. Whatever his name is, the little scrote, he thought. Gronk went to bed. Relaxing with plump pillows propped up, he leant back and clasped his hands together. He liked to go home on a night and revel in his status. Gronk sighed.
Continue reading “Encounter”Graffiti
The sun rose to reveal what should have been a glorious day. Gronk had to arrange overnight repairs to his house. His men came to sweep up and replace the window, so it was finished first thing in the morning. Gronk had found the brick and the map. He studied it and his blood boiled. It showed Areas Six and Seven. The meadows and woodland in between had been officially marked as ‘no man’s land,’ but it had been struck out and replaced with ‘Nobody’s land.’ He ripped the map up in a rage. The brick incident frightened his family, but Gronk explained over and again this was a hazard of his greatness and they would have to buck up. Fathead assured him there was no chance of catching the culprit, but the night patrols would be diverted more regularly past Gronk’s house.
Continue reading “Graffiti”Mission
A raw freshness cut into the air. Sunlight dipped over the trees, but inactivity was making him cold. When the time came to move out, his cotton and woollen clothes would prevent any rustling. The olive green combat trousers, disruptive pattern material combat jacket, balaclava and gloves ensured he was well camouflaged. Flattened down in the tall grass, he waited and looked back at his mud-spattered boots. He tapped a side pocket in his trousers holding a necessary piece of equipment and a Pinkshirt map, which had been found in Area Seven. The treetops swayed with the blustery weather.
Continue reading “Mission”The Good Side
Meanwhile, the Good Side remained a hotbed of snobbery and prejudice. The brightly coloured dogsbodies were harangued and incessantly talked about as they hobbled about the place. Pinkshirts marched up and down the streets in formation to reinforce their impressiveness. It was all about looking good in their book. Gossips in the Department of Disinformation worked hard at sullying the names of Outsiders.
Continue reading “The Good Side”Wretched
Although dirt-poor and subdued in those austere times, Outsiders showed steadfastness in their squalor. Life had knocked the stuffing out of them, but some still had hidden radios. When Pinkshirt patrols were far enough away, they listened to snippets of news bulletins from the outside world. There was a strict censorship of information about BogSplat’s Areas, but EthixCo provided updates to the news agencies about its free Areas. There was intelligence that EthixCo supported mutineers in many Areas surrounding SmogCity. Restaurant staff and servants in the Poshey houses listened out for any useful information. It was all put together and passed back to the Missing when their operatives made it through with food.
Continue reading “Wretched”Urban Misery
Gronk pulled an all-nighter in his office to review his tyrannical approach. He had an unshakeable self-confidence in carrying out his work and was convinced ruthless oppression was the only thing to do. And he would not listen to advice from anyone but himself. His lack of pity and feeling of infallibility bolstered a desire to dominate. Gronk was determined to suppress the spirit of the Outsiders. Subjugation was going well enough, but the necessary harm needed to be stepped up. Intransigence was his key to winning. Low-level job allocations, forcing people to live on the appropriate sides of Area Seven, information stranglehold and arrests were all a triumph. He stroked his pencil moustache. But the curfew and containment were only moderate successes. Breaches in security needed to be addressed immediately. He decided to increase patrols and introduce regular house-to-house searches.
Continue reading “Urban Misery”Shock
Gronk gathered his men together in the remains of the encampment. “We may not have taken any prisoners, but we are returning to warm houses. This crappy woodland is all this lot has got. And they were too cowardly to face us. So, I ask you… who are the victors?”
Continue reading “Shock”