Fiction

Tom lay on his belly and sighted down the rifle barrel. He found the position uncomfortable. He wiggled, trying to find a more comfortable position on the sandy blue pad. On either side of him were other young men on blue mats, some adjusting themselves to the new experience, others at home on the range. Shots began to ring out as he found a position that didn't bother him too much. Targets at the end of the range bled bright green as shots found their marks. Tom grabbed the lever on the bolt and swung it up and back. He grabbed a bullet from the box beside him and slid it into the barrel.

Anne sat on the bench facing the library. She couldn't help but feel what she was seeing was partly her fault. She also thought it was a hoot. The library in front of her was covered in a tent, looking for all the world as if it were a circus. Men in hazard suits came in and out of flaps positioned where the front door would be. Two months before, Anne and Pat had been going through books that had been donated to the library when Anne had found something unique. It was one of those cardboard gimmick books that doubled as a toy.

Man my head hurts. I'm driving home from a long day of classes and I can tell I've started a sinus infection. Snot is pouring down my throat like it's the Mississippi. If someone were to ask me how I felt right now, I would answer "viciously unpleasant". I don't want any more snot reaching my stomach. This headache is bad enough, I don't need a stomach ache to add to it. I reach out and grab my McDonald's cup from this morning and spit down the straw. Man that's disgusting. Boy am I glad this cup is opaque.

It was during a demonstration of the fall-stopper that Thomas found his nest. Standing on a branch three meters in the air, he addressed his students on the ground. "Now when you are ready to come down," he yelled, "be sure to check your stopper to ensure it is secured to your body. The shoulder-straps need to be tight, as do the leg-straps and chest-strap." A small commotion began on the ground, with some of the student's pointing and yelling. A cacophony of shouts made it hard to hear what they were saying. "What was that? Behind me? Did Edward pin something obscene to my stopper again?" He craned his neck in an attempt to better view his back. "I don't see anything back there."

Thomas wasn't always considered to be the wisest of the little people; one of the smartest for sure, but not the wisest. His inquisitive mind always led down paths that many would not follow, leading to many bruises and the occasional broken bone. His fall-stopper was a prime example of his intelligence overriding common sense. It consisted of a large amount of duck feathers, only one of which was obtained from the duck*, woven into a large sheet of netting.