[Praying Mantidae]

This is a little something I've been working on. I don't really know why I started writing it, but here it is.

"A Day in the Life"

Lorchon awakens to the sound of klaxons sounding. 02:13 hours, hitting late this time, he thinks to himself. Lorchon springs out of his cot, and finds his rifle in the ruddy glow of emergency lights. He walks out into the hallway and is swept along with the crowd to the outer walls of Fortress 009. Lorchon quickly finds his sergeant.
"Fortress 021." Lorchon's sergeant says. That's all Lorchon needs to know.
Lorchon breathes out as he pulls the trigger. The figure below is pitched off its feet by the Magnum bullet. Lorchon is already picking out his next target. He never watches his kills.
Off to Lorchon's left, there is a heavy gun turret spraying .30 caliber bullets down into the mass of faceless infantry.
No heavies. Lorchon thinks to himself.

Inhale. Exhale. Pull the trigger. Next target. Its almost like a meditation. There is a rhythm to sniping, Lorchon thinks to himself.

04:30 hours. Over two hours of killing, and the Twenty Ones finally withdraw. Lorchon looks over the piles of corpses in the Frozen Desert below. He knows none of them. They are all strangers to him; enemies of 009. The Outsiders from the Frozen Desert will be here soon, he knows, to pick the bodies clean of everything. Then the Ravans will come and take the bodies away. Ravans seem to be the only other living thing out here. Lorchon falls in with the crowd leaving the walls, heading back into the confines of the Main Hall.

09:30 hours: Morning meal. The same slop that Lorchon has been eating for as long as he can remember. Bland, tasteless. Everyone eats quickly, and leaves the mess hall.

10:00 hours. More Klaxons sounding. This time the emergency lights are yellow. Yellow means Storm. Second one this week, Lorchon thinks to himself. He gets up from cleaning his gun, and joins the crowd moving down the hall. Like blood flowing through a vein... Lorchon starts. Where did that thought come from?
The crowd bears him outside. Lorchon looks out over the walls, and can see the darkness of the approaching Storm. He quickly gets to work, battening hatches and tying down everything that is light enough to be carried off by the Storm. Which is everything, the Storms carry away everything that is not held down in some way.
Now Lorchon can hear the storm; a tortured, screaming sound like a wounded Ravan. Someone yells to get inside, the Storm is too close! Lorchon follows the rush to get to shelter before the Storm hits.
The blast doors slam shut, blocking out the scream of the Storm. Lorchon goes back to his room to clean his gun in the yellow glow of the emergency lights. Lorchon strips his rifle again, and starts oiling and cleaning. Where do the Storms come from? Lorchon glances up quickly- he could have sworn someone else had asked the question. The Storms come from the Frozen Desert, and they take everything that isn't held down with them. That is all Lorchon needs to know.

12:00 hours. The Storm has passed and the emergency lights flash green for a moment, then are replaced by the normal white glow. Lorchon gets up and goes outside into the hallway. No one is there this time. He walks out onto the walls of 009. Almost all of the bodies from the morning's assault are gone, taken away by the Storm. Like some sort of insane carrion creature... Lorchon glances around again, but no one is on the walls with him. The only other living thing around is the Ravan that is feeding on one of the dead Twenty Ones. Lorchon watches in morbid fascination as the giant black bird bites off the corpse's head with a sickening crunch-squelch.

Where do the Ravans come from? Lorchon is back in his room, cleaning his rifle. He is starting to get used to this other voice asking questions. Good questions, he thinks. Why do the other Fortresses attack us? Do the other Fortresses attack each other as well? Where do the Outsiders come from? How do the Outsiders survive in the Frozen Desert? Multitudes of questions, and no answers for them.

13:15 Midday meal. Lorchon stares at his tasteless sludge. What is this made of? Is it even good for me? His reluctance is drawing strange looks from the others who shovel down the food quickly and leave the mess hall. After 15 minutes, Lorchon is alone in the hall, still staring at his food. He feels a strange sensation suddenly overcome him. He doesn't know what it is, but it scares him for some reason. He feels dampness on his cheeks, and raises a hand to touch it. Water. Lorchon tastes it; strange tasting, he thinks.

14:50 Lorchon is back in his room. The questions flowing through his head are almost unbearable now. Suddenly, he grabs his knife and stabs it into the wall. He feels as though he is watching himself do this, as if someone else is using his body. And Lorchon knows that this is true; someone else is using his body, the same someone who keeps asking questions. Lorchon watches as the knife begins scraping the paint away, forming letters, then words, then sentences.

15:30. Lorchon bursts from his room, the door hitting the wall with a resounding bang. People look out from their rooms to see what has caused this commotion. Lorchon doesn't care, the questions are too much for him now. Its as if the other person in him is trying to ask all of them at once. Lorchon runs out into the courtyard, facing the gates that lead out into the Frozen Desert. The gates begin to open, slowly, as if someone knew this was going to happen.

19:00. Lorchon can't see 009 anymore. All he can see is Frozen Desert.
"Is this how the Outsiders get here?" Lorchon jumps at the sound. He is not used to his own voice. He feels another strange feeling overtaking him. This one does not scare him, instead he feels good. He hears a strange grating sound, and realizes it is coming from his own throat, and chest. This feels good, he thinks to himself.

Is this what it means to Live? Is this what it means to be Human? To question, to wonder, and to explore the Universe that we inhabit?
[hr]
So... what do you think? Comments much appreciated as always.

[Earring]

Did he commit sucide?

I really like this story, I like all of your stories...they are [good] ;D

[minor tau Dodd]

Originally Posted by Earring

Did he commit sucide?

I really like this story, I like all of your stories...they are the **** ;D

I thought that was swearing?

[Earring]

jeez, that was posted almost a month ago, and now someone notices? Shows how much a lot of people pay attention... either way I think you should keep all your stories saved somewhere and tried getting them published one day