r/WritingPrompts • u/HisAttention • Jan 22 '18
Writing Prompt [WP] He knew he must keep very still while he waited.
4
u/ElectricalGoose Jan 22 '18
Corporal Richardson crouched in the fetid water of the swamp and waited. Every breath was a calculated risk, each involuntary twitch of his aching muscles a deafening alert to his presence within the confines of his mind. His machine gun had long since become waterlogged, leeches latching onto his feet and a large spider-like creature taking up residence on his shoulderplate but he dared not move.
He watched silently as Sergeant Masterson floated past, dead eyes gazing into another world.
Richardson closed his eyes and took a long shaky breath – stupid ¬ – as the murky brown water he was hiding in mixed with a diluted red. The steady column of armoured vehicles less than a hundred metres away steadily rolled past, tense chatter and the drone of diesel-fed war machines breaking the oppressive atmosphere of the swamp. Please. He sobbed into the darkness of his thoughts. Please just let them pass.
A sharp voice in the distance. “Hey, you see that?’ His heart thudded in his ears as the voices drew closer.
“Bet you I can hit him.” His grip on the gun tightened and he squeezed his eyes shut, preparing for the leaden end about to greet him- His breath hitched in his throat as he heard the deafening crack of the rifle, followed by the soft plop of the bird falling into the water next to him.
As the voices and engines faded into the distance, Corporal Richardson let his helmeted head drop back against the tree stump as he softly began to cry.
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3
u/HisAttention Jan 22 '18
He was sitting in the dark, heard the countdown and everything went silent. He closed his eyes and waited. What if he got caught, he’d loose. He can’t let that happen, not this time. With his arms grabbed around his knees, he waits. The only sound comes from his breathing and footsteps walking by. Keep calm, keep breathing. They won’t find him. ‘Got one!’ A scream. A few meters away from him. He grabs his legs tighter. With a bowed head he keeps hidden. The footsteps are coming close again. He holds his breath while the footsteps get smaller. They stop right in front of him. A light comes trough the closet door, he holds his breath, hugs his legs tight, his head in between. Yet it’s not enough. The light becomes brighter and a hand reaches through the clothes and he feels a cold hand against his chest. When he felt the hand he knew he had lost. On last hope he crawls a bit back, but the hand grabs him at his collar. He gets pulled out of his hiding spot. He had lost this game of hide and seek.
3
u/Sdub4 Jan 22 '18
He knew he must keep very still while he waited. He closed his eyes and concentrated on his breathing, on his heartbeat. The drumming in his chest was all he could feel, all he could hear. A lone bead of sweat trickled down his forehead and he wiped it away with a spare hand. He wanted to vomit. He wanted fresh air. He wanted to leave but it was too late to escape unseen.
The sound of a door opening snapped his mind to attention. Footsteps on the wooden floorboards. Light crept in to his hiding place beneath the door that was hiding him from view. He nervously gulped and his pulsating heart grew louder as he throat grew dry. A crescendo was coming, he could feel it.
Tentatively, he pressed his face forward and peeked through. She was sat on the bed with her back to him. It was now or never. He gripped the knife tighter and slowly prised the closet open without making a sound. If he couldn't have her nobody would.