Below him the sky opened up as the jungle receded to the edges of the world, the ground, still a distant circle of brown was rapidly growing. This time, it was the end. This time they would not be able to fix the damage. Touching the sky once before cost him his leg, this time touching the ground would cost him everything. He had escaped one world full of hidebound, petty tyrants to plunge to his death in the next.
The blow surprised him, knocking the air out of his lungs. The ground was still thousands of feet below but he was now careening towards the wall of thick jungle foliage. Something clung to him clutching and pulling at him. Then it kicked him like a mule sending him faster towards the safety of the wall.
His assailant fell with him, arms and legs spread flat, catching the air and turning to face him. Time stopped as her green eyes met his. Her long black hair blew up away from her face showing her delicate cheeks. Her tiny mouth turned up into a grin and then she was gone. Fabric between her outstretched arms and legs caught the air lifting her up and away with the grace of a soaring eagle. For a moment he forgot the panic of certain death lost in the simple beauty of her face. The enchantment was interrupted as he crashed painfully into the jungle. The hooked straps she had lashed to him caught the leaves and branches, shredding them and slowing his plunge. He dangled helplessly from the branches when she alighted in the tree above him. “Well, that was dumb.” the angel stated.
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Word Count: 312
Submitted to: Trifecta Writing Challenge Week 93
I absolutely adored this line, and it's terrible implications-
ReplyDelete"Touching the sky once before cost him his leg, this time touching the ground would cost him everything."
And then you presented me with such a wonderfully lighthearted ending-I actually breathed an audible sigh of relief!
This was fantastic, Ben! Excellent work!
Thank you Valerie, I condensed this out of an idea for a much longer story. I'm glad you could go on the exciting ride with the hero. Thanks for your kind comments.
DeleteThank you! So happy you liked this. Thank you for taking time to read and comment.
ReplyDeleteWonderful!I specially loved the twist at the end :-)
ReplyDeleteThanks. It couldn't end with a splat!
Deletehahaha love it
ReplyDeleteThanks :-)
DeleteI love the suspense!
ReplyDeleteThanks. I'm glad there was enough space in so few words to create some.
DeleteThis is such a cool response to the prompt. Thank you for sharing this piece with us. Don't forget to go back to Trifecta to vote for your top three.
ReplyDeleteVery funny ending.
ReplyDeleteThanks Kymm. I thought it brought the adrenaline level down to close out the snippet.
Delete