Penny Prompt - Something Ugly

Here's another penny-prompt that I did last weekend:

 

 

2) Write about something ugly–war, fear, hate, or cruelty

Johnson swung the barrel of his rifle around in a complete circle, taking in the vast ruined city. ETA of his rescue-chopper was thirty minutes and counting. The air was ghostly quiet.

Might as well do a sweep.

One devastated building blanketed in ivy drew his attention, partially because of the enormous letters painted beneath the ropy vines. He squinted, trying to make out the faded characters.

“ST. MATHESON’S RE----- -OME FOR CHILDREN”

“Refuge home…” he mouthed, intrigued. It looked like it come from an aged fairy-tale. Old brick, faded colors that could’ve been happy – plus, fairy-tales always had orphanages. We drove these kids out. Guilt struck deep beneath his armor as he thought of his own child, only three years old, back home.

He stepped up to a hole in the brick wall and peered in. It was dark and covered in rubble, but he could see light further down the hallway. Probably a battery-powered emergency light. Most public buildings had them.

Despite the fact that nobody was supposed to be there, Johnson couldn’t help but step lightly as he entered the building. It felt haunted, like the ghosts of all his victims had converged on this one spot. A sickening idea struck him: what if there are bodies here? Childrens’ bodies? Now that it occurred to him, it was probably true. Everybody had been taken by surprise when his team swept through, not just the militia. Even the friendlies, even the ones who weren’t supposed to get involved.

On second thought, maybe he ought to go and wait out in the open.

Johnson turned and stepped back into the sunlight. Today wasn’t the day for violence. There would be other opportunities to forage through the tangled, mystical ruins on supply-runs with his team. Natives from the neighboring town would come in and remove the dead. Maybe then they could –

Johnson’s ears perked up. He thought he heard… no, it can't be…

He listened closer.

The sound came again.

“Oh my God!” he shouted, ripping his radio out and pressing the button. “Where are you, Mariel?”

Static. “Captain, are you alright? Are the hostiles back?”    

“The hell they are! I’ve got a survivor on –"

“What are you saying? Calm down! Nobody survived that attack, sir, everyone’s gone – ”

“Don’t talk to me!” He screamed. “I hear it right now! Somebody is crying, I can hear it! Get a medic, now!” He dropped the radio and brought his rifle up to ready position. His own heartbeat was knocking the air out of his lungs. Looks like it’s into the dark, after all.

Muffled static. Finger on trigger.

Muscles tensed, like a prowling cat, Johnson tried to maintain composure. Nobody’s supposed to be alive. Nobody is alive. He proceeded quietly into the darkness, chanting the words over and over in his head.

The sound grew more and more distinct as he advanced through the black hallways. Just a friendly, he began to think, no longer able to accept that he was hallucinating. The crying was too loud, too clear. He kept his eyes forward, ignoring the eerie, peeling wallpaper decorated with flowers and clouds.

There was a shadowy doorway just up ahead. That’s where the sound was coming from, he could tell by the way it echoed. With his lips, he formed the words, “who’s there?” but no sound came out. Fear had caught him by the throat.

SCHHH! “Captain?”

Johnson yelped and pulled the trigger. A deafening bang cut him straight to the bone, and somewhere in front of him, rubble was knocked loose. Johnson disconnected his radio and brought his gun straight back up, panting heavily.

Damn it, damn it, damn it, please, Lord, help me…

There was a moment when he couldn’t hear because his ears were ringing, but then the noise subsided and all that was left was a soft crying. Exactly as before. It hadn’t changed at all. It was a quiet, weak voice, and… somewhat familiar.

Fear turned to terror. Icy terror.

“Oli?” he called out, voice trembling. “My s- oh, God, my son?”

The crying stopped abruptly. Like it had been waiting all along.  

The Book Blogger TMI Tag

A fellow blogger suggested I fill out a pass-along questionnaire. She also happens to be my only (current) reader, to the extent of my knowledge. So thank you, Magic Violinist! This will be good practice.

How old are you?

I am sixteen, going on seventeen…

What book are you reading?

Angels & Demons, by Dan Brown. Highly recommended.

What are you wearing?

I can’t tell. It’s too dark and I’m not motivated to get up and move.

OTP? (One True Pairing – favorite fictional relationship)

Sherlock Holmes and John Watson in the BBC series. Priceless (but probably not romantic).

Blogger or Wordpress?

Let’s see… out of the one I’ve used, I would say… the one I’ve used!

Going outside being active or staying in and reading a book?

What’s "outside"?

What is the last book you read?

The Da Vinci Code, by Dan Brown.

What is the book you’re going to read next?

The sequel to The Da Vinci Code, presumably by Dan Brown.

eBooks – yes or no?

That depends. If it’s on an e-ink reader, then yes. No eye-strain and a Chuck Norris battery (I recommend it for your next intergalactic vacation). Otherwise, my eyes just end up throbbing, and that’s no fun.

Where do you prefer to read?

A masculine variation of this would be awesome:

 

Because, you know, it’s important to preserve one’s dignity while reading about vampires… and headboards…

Who is the last person you tweeted?

Well…

Who’s blog did you look at last?

Yours, my only (current) reader!

Who is your favorite Blogger?

I don’t follow many blogs, but I do have a few that I check up on, including DeeJ’s, Andy Dudynsky’s, and that one dude who’s been popular on Facebook lately… is it Matt Walsh?

Who is your favorite booktuber?

Gesundheit!

What do you do when someone tells you reading is boring?

Who is the last author you spoke to?

Brandon Mull, author of the Fablehaven series, Candy Shop War series, and Beyonders series. Whaddayaknow? He’s Mormon too!

Who is the last person you texted?

I faintly remember texting at one point in my life…

Who is your all-time favorite book character?

Probably Ender, from Ender’s Game (see last post). Other than that, I love Severus Snape, Dumbledore, and Robert Langdon. Oh, and Emma Watson – uh, I mean, Hermione… 

UKYA or USYA?

Assuming that “YA” is “Young Adult” and that we are referencing genres, not people, I would have to say USYA. If you’re talking TV, though, definitely UK.

What is your preferred drink whilst reading?

H2O. It slows the progress of the inevitable headache.

If you hated reading, what would you be doing instead?

Programming some rad text-based games, or possibly talking to other human beings.

How many bookshelves/bookcases do you have?

Oh, how I wish I had shelves! How I wish they lined the walls and piled on the floor and hung from the ceiling!

Right now: 0 shelves, 2 crates, 2038495720345345873 piles.

In my future home: A library.

If you had the choice to meet all of your favorite book bloggers or all of your favorite authors, which would you pick? You can only pick one.

Authors, without a doubt.

Insta-love: yes or no?

Nah, too shallow, at least at first. Of course, one thing that I’ve learned is that there are always exceptions. To EVERYTHING. Except gravity. Don’t count on being the exception to gravity.

Favorite author?

Ooh… It’s a three-way tie between J.K. Rowling, Orson Scott Card, and Dan Brown.

Rowling for fantasy, Card for sci-fi, and Brown for brain-boggling weirdness.

What is the number-one book on your wishlist?

Right now? Probably World War Z. I’ve heard that’s a good one.

Do you prefer books with female or male protagonists?

That ain’t what it’s about. I love any book that grabs me by the spinal column and dunks me in a pool of emotion.

Which is your favorite book-to-film adaption?

The Harry Potter movies. And there’s probably others that I can’t remember off the top of my head.

What is the last song you listened to?

“If you’re happy and you know it, clap your hands” *clap, clap*

Which do you enjoy reading more – negative reviews or positive reviews?

Whatever these are: http://slightlyviral.com/beware-sugarless-gummy-bears-on-amazon-com/

Who are you going to tag?

Ummm… *cricket chirps*

My imaginary friend.

Ender's Game - A Review

 

It seems appropriate that my first real post be a review of my favorite book.

Ender's Game. How did you know?

This year, there was a new movie BASED on the book. I capitalize “based” because it really, really, failed to capture the imagination of the story. You see children being swept away to a school in the sky, a school where they are trained to be soldiers. They are preparing to combat an insectoid, hive-minded alien race called the Buggers.

From the outside, a pretty typical sci-fi.

The book offers a much more personal account from right inside the main character's head, where it’s most interesting. Andrew Wiggin. Also called Ender. He’s a boy-genius with an emphasis in strategy and social manipulation, but he also possesses something that many of his peers lack: a strong moral compass. Throughout the novel, he struggles to live up to his potential, but also to stay faithful to his morals within a system that is, by nature, cutthroat and unforgiving.

One of the main plot devices is the Battle Room, which is a unique concept that Orson Scott Card, the author, developed while imagining how one would train for zero-gravity combat. The team rankings and individual statistics each player earns during the mock war are the core of Battle School, and so they occupy a large portion of the book. The thing is, the physical play-space is always changing, so it never gets old to watch and feel through Ender’s strategic perspective.

A personal favorite quote of mine:

“In the moment when I truly understand my enemy, understand him well enough to defeat him, then in that very moment I also love him. I think it’s impossible to really understand somebody, what they want, what they believe, and not love them the way they love themselves. And then, in that very moment when I love them.... I destroy them.” – Ender

Ender’s older brother, Peter, is also a genius, but he was rejected from Battle School because of his inborn cruelty, which Card gives us a glimpse of pretty early on. He tells Ender to play “buggers and astronauts,” but is really just looking for an excuse to beat him up. Not even forest animals are safe – Peter has a disturbing habit of capturing and impaling squirrels on sticks.

Ender frequently compares himself to his brother and even cries when he matches up too well. It really gives you a sense of how profoundly sensitive he is, a nice contrast to the cold-killer-face he puts on in order to fulfill his duties as a soldier.

The whole story is a wonderful blend of emotion, adventure, and philosophy. If you haven’t read it yet and are into science-fiction…

Read it. There’s really no excuse not to.

Oh, and just a side-note. I haven’t read a lot about Orson Scott Card, but people tell me he’s got some whacked-out politics. DON’T LET THAT STOP YOU. I promise – there’s not any evidence of that in his books (at least the ones I’ve read).

Besides, good lit is good lit, right?