Well, I didn't finish it in time for the January deadline, so I'm going back and going to go through it before I post. Just want to put this as a goal for me to finish it…
Wish me luck...
Well, I didn't finish it in time for the January deadline, so I'm going back and going to go through it before I post. Just want to put this as a goal for me to finish it…
Wish me luck...
Except that now you have to be punished for getting my hopes up for nothing. :(
It will be up for the February Competition…it will be finished...
cracks the whip
Do it!
God, Shu, this is a waste of a thread.
Waste of a thread.
Chapter One:
! My palms were sweating, beads of sweat poured off my brow, and my breath became slow and staggered. These were all normal responses given the task I was given. I looked up the tall and treacherous hill that stood before me, almost laughing at me, willing me to fail. I slowly gripped the handle of the cart I was tasked to return to the top of the hill. As I willed myself to push I was met with the obvious resistance that fought against my tired frame. After a few minutes of trying and failing to move the cart, I released the handle and put my hands on my knees and tried to capture the breath that had escaped me. Suddenly, I remembered what letting the cart go meant and felt the stinging pain of the vehicle hit my head with the force of a bull. In quick action, I ignored the pain and grasped the handle once again, only this time it was to save myself from being trampled. As I strained to stop the cart, I felt the object slowly bend to my will and came to a stop.
! Breathing heavily, I contemplated my next move. At the moment, I was just barely holding the cart with the remaining strength my body could muster. If I was having so much trouble just keeping it inert, how was I supposed to push it up this hill? Pushing this foreboding question from my mind, I filled it's void with a quiet determination. It was small, frail even, but it was enough. With all my might, I threw my weight against the cart and pushed. Slowly, but surely, the cart began to give way. I moved my left foot forward and gave myself the momentum to move it even further forward, then did the same with my right. The cart began to groan in contempt, but obeyed my instruction and trundled on.
! The hill decided to throw its hand into the process, much to my chagrin. the front of the cart hit the rise in elevation and felt like it had gained in weight, causing me to falter a moment. As if to mock me further, the cart began to move backward once more, this time with every intent to flatten me. I regained my composure in time and fought back, pushing with all my might. The cart returned my bravado, but soon gave up as I felt it move further up the hill. The terrain fought back with renewed vigor, but quickly learned that I wasn't going to give up. As the weight continued to build, I felt my body protest and demand a break. I ignored the pleads and pressed on.
! After a few more furious minutes, I had gotten it to the cusp of the hill. For a split second, I felt relieved and actually relaxed. Suddenly, a loud blaring noise invaded my ears, causing me to jump. Making sure I still had a firm grip, I looked for the noise and saw a large metallic creature behind me. It was short in height, but made up for its body being long and bulky. Instead of normal legs, it moved on appendages that reminded me of wheels. It was slowly advancing on me, its large jagged jaws agape, showing rows of large sharp teeth.
! Frozen in place, my eyes widened. I hated this part of the job mainly because of these encounters. Finally regaining the feeling in my legs, I threw my might at the carts and rushed as fast as I could, the beast snapping at my heels as I went. As I ran, the area where the cart belonged loomed into view. Without looking back, I pushed the cart closer and closer to the lodge, feeling the beasts rancid breath on my back. With another nighty roar the monster pounced, ready to eat me whole.
! With one swift action, I dodged the it's attack, as best I could with the heavy load, and pushed it into the small structure. With the heavy cart finally placed within the building, I slammed the door and locked it up tight. The doors trembled when the creature hit them, causing the hinges to groan, but held their place. It growled once more, but realized that it's prey was out of reach. As I gasped for breath, I listened as the sound of the creature slowly grew fainter.
! "Um Jake?"
! Startled, I straightened up and did a quick about face, acting like I hadn't been dying of suffocation. I turned a little too fast however, as I then felt my body fall to the hard asphalt, landing right on my face.
! "Yesh mamff," I said through a fresh broken nose.
! A pair of hands grabbed me by my shoulders and helped me stand shaikly on my feet. As I winced from the pain of my nose and the feeling of a liquid pouring out of my nose, I saw my boss, Patti, in front of me, arms folded across her chest. She was a short woman with curly dirty blonde hair that sat on top of her head, thanks to the copious amounts of hairspray she applied everyday. Her face was heavily made-up with blue eyeshadow and large eyelashes that She wore a tan smock over her street clothes and a nametag with 'Patti' printed on it. Her outfit was completed with a pair of black dress pants that ended at her black sneakers.
! I quickly grabbed my nose and tried to stem the flow of blood. Looking around, I saw that the building that I was in had actually just been an alcove on the outside of a large supermarket. Next to me was a row of shopping carts along with a long train of carts that had actually what I had been pushing. Looking further, I saw that the beast that had been bearing down on me was actually a car, the occupant looking at me angerly and honking the horn, the source of the 'growl'.
! "Are you okay?" She inquired.
! "Uhhh, yesh mamff, Id ffim"
! Patti sighed and took a tissue from her pocket and handed it to me. I took it and twisted it up and stuffed it up my nostril, mush to her disgust.
! "Nuch dedder, fangs Taffy!" I said brightly. Patti was not amused.
! "you need to be more careful, you were almost run over. What have I said about pushing more than five carts at a time?"
! "Umm, 15 times, and there was that one time when I pulled three more behind me too, you almost fired me then~"
! Patti put her face in her had, shaking her head in the process.
! "What am I going to do with you? You constantly push yourself too hard, not to mention you keep on muttering to yourself like a crazy person"
! Taking the tissue out of my nose and seeing that it wasn't bleeding anymore, quickly pocketed it.
! "You know as well as I do that working at a supermarket is boring, I just like to make it more interesting…" I trailed off. She sighed again.
! "I know, but sometimes you need to focus and not let your mind wander so much. If you keep on getting distracted, you can't do your job properly and then I really will have to fire you." She put her hand on my shoulder, trying to be as comforting as possible. "Try not to get too out of hand huh?"
! I nodded and looked at her brightly once more. "Alright Patti, I won't let you down~"
! She removed her hand and smiled. "Okay, now I need you to come inside and grab a register, we're getting mobbed in there."
! "Yes ma'am~"
! Patti shook her head again, but this time like a mother who found what her child said amusing. She turned and headed for the door inside and I eagerly followed.