News

Date/Timing: 11 August 2013, early morning
Setting: Rianne & Val's home; Koffiefontein, FS, South Africa
.
Pietr blinks in dim light, sits up. He rubs his eyes, stretches his arms over his head, inhales—
‒/bacon!‒
Pops out of bed, skips—doubles back for the mobile under his pillow—skips into the kitchen.
Mamma looks up from her newspaper puzzle. ::Good morning.::
::Morning~! Smells /great!::
::The rest is for you.::
Tosses the mobile on the table, throws his arms around her shoulders, hugs, bounces away.
Mamma straightens her hair, grinning. ::Your pappa and Maarten've already gone.::
Sighs, slouches a little.
::No work today?::
Shakes his head.
::Well, /I have a job for you.::
Brightens.
::I need someone to wash the laundry, straighten the house, and watch the roast while I'm out.::
Skeptical look (mostly). ::What's the pay?::
Mamma's eyes sparkle and she bites her lip against laughing. ::All the coffee you can drink.::
::Sold!::
::Then I'm off!:: Stands, pecks Pietr's cheek, separates. ::There's a list of times to check the roast on the message board and I'll be back by one.::
Salutes.
Mamma laughs, grabs her pocketbook, leaves out the back door.
Pietr bounds to the cupboard, retrieves his favourite mug, fills it to the brim with hot coffee. Gulps a mouthful, sighs happily into the steam. Reluctantly ferries it to the table, returns to the stove and heaps the waiting plate with every morsel available. Slides into place at the table and sets to savoring every bite.
Halfway through, his mobile wiggles.
Pietr considers, shrugs, spears another—
Mobile wiggles.
Rolls his eyes, nabs the annoying thing with one hand, wraps the other around his coffee.
air_lucas: Seen teh news?
air_lucas: Wake up lazy!!!
p_a_vos: 凸(-_-)凸
p_a_vos: No?
air_lucas: Theres a monster attackng the usa
Eyebrows climb.
p_a_vos: Srsly?
air_lucas: Srsly
air_lucas: Knocked down that bridge
air_lucas: Chk the news
Frowns, trades mobile for newspaper, flips to the 'World' section.
Riot in Belfast.
Volcano in Indonesia.
Drones everywhere.
Earthquake cleanup in Guam.
Leaky nuclear reactor in Taiwan.
Collapsed bridge in—
Blinks.
- Golden Gate Bridge collapses; hundreds feared dead -
Swallows.
- A portion of California's iconic Golden Gate Bridge collapsed Saturday, sending dozens of cars and hundreds of people plunging into San Francisco Bay.
Witnesses report the majority of the iconic 76-year-old structure's central span tore away soon after the conclusion of the morning rush hour.
The cause of the collapse is being investigated, but seismic monitoring stations around the world report the failure closely followed an earthquake centered on the Marin Headlands, near the bridge's north end. -
Back to the mobile.
p_a_vos: Nt in paper
air_lucas: ಠ_ಠ
p_a_vos: ???
air_lucas: OMG PIET
air_lucas: INTERNET
air_lucas: TV
Pietr huffs, abandons his coffee, shuffles to the front room, pokes the clicker—
A /thing, grainy and shaky, grey and yellow and /claws, surrounded by smoke and fire and dust.
A remote-control helicopter zips across the frame, model pilots leaning—
Not models.
Pietr folds to the couch, forces himself to breathe, swallows.
p_a_vos: o_O
air_lucas: I KNOW
air_lucas: Its like a movie
p_a_vos: Scray movie
air_lucas: Yeaaaaaa
Deep breath.
p_a_vos: Wht is it?
air_lucas: They dnt know
air_lucas: Walked outta the ocean n started smashin thngs
air_lucas: Their army cant stop it
Most of the front room's colours drain away.
p_a_vos: Ppl r dying?
air_lucas: Prbly?
air_lucas: Its slow so ppl are evacing ahead now but
Shaky exhale.
air_lucas: shit gotta go
air_lucas: take care
p_a_vos: bye!
Pietr sets the mobile aside, drags a hand down his face, peeks out between his fingers—
Grey and yellow and claws and /teeth smashes a ... /fighter /jet in midair.
—stabs the remote.
Grey and yellow and claws and teeth fade.
Seven deep breaths and he pushes to his feet, shuffles back to the kitchen and the comfort of his coffee.
Category:Ficlet
Category:Forging of a Skeleton Key storyline
Category:Koffiefontein (setting)
Category:Conversations via SMS
Category:Pietr
Category:Pietr's POV
Category:Pietr (ficlet)
Category:Rianne
Category:Rianne (ficlet)
Category:Lucas
Category:Lucas (mention)
Category:Val (mention)
Category:Maarten (mention)
Category:Trespasser (mention)
Category:Ficlets with images