Zombie Space Unicorn: Chapter Two
Nov. 3rd, 2012 11:57 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
the_siobhanWe're having issues with the wireless. Don't be surprised if you get a barf of entries at the end of the night.
That's the collective noun for a whole lot of NaDruWriNi entries. A barf.
Getting onto the ship rather abruptly stopped being something that people were fooling around with for the purpose of amusing youtube videos. The girls's mother tried to grab one of the aliens but her hands slid off the robes with every attempt. She shouted ineffectually and followed them around, slamming her hands against their sides over and over again. They didn't notice her. I saw one of my neighbours crouching down with his son, gently asking questions. The little boy answered in monosyllables, his fists crammed against his mouth.
I spotted another neighbour I knew and walked over to where she was standing and staring at the aliens, her hands on her hips. "There has to be a pattern here," she whispered, half to me and half to herself. I stood next to her, staring intently, the two of us trying to figure out what happened as if we could bore out the information by the force of will alone.
The aliens were still walking back and forth, carrying random objects into their ship. A chair. A stirring spoon. An empty bookcase. Something started to niggle at me as I watched them.
A side table. Salad bowls. A picture frame.
The niggling was getting louder. I tried to focus on it.
A kitchen drawer. A piece of bannister.
"It's wood," I said out loud.
My neighbour was staring at me. Franklin, I remembered. Her name was Franklin. "It's all made out of wood."
We stared around at the aliens, both of us doing a mental inventory. We reached the same conclusion at the same time and suddenly scrambled in seperate directions. I ran and scooped a broken tree branch off the ground near one of the flower beds. Franklin disappeared and then ran back carrying a wooden block for holding knives. The two of us bolted towards the doorle almost simultaneously.
Both of us slammed into the invisible barrior at full speed and reeled backwards, almost falling.
I let the branch drop out of my fingers and watched one of the alien's walking down the street. I straightened up and started following him. The branch had obviously been a stupid idea, the objects of interest were all tools of some kind. But the block Franklin had retrieved from her kitchen hadn't worked either. Maybe it was just wooden things from specific houses. The alien I was following reached a door and I ran to catch up with it. I caught up just in time to slip inside beside him. The door slammed shut behind me. I tried the door and it was locked. The alien paid no attention to me.
The alien picked up a set of salad tongs from the counter and turned around. I scanned the kitchen quickly and spotted a wooden spice rack. I grabbed it and shook the spice containers out onto the counter then ran after the alien. I barely managed to slip though the door before it slammed shut behind him.
Franklin was nearby, talking to somebody as I ran to keep up with the alien. Funny how they never hurried but they travelled faster than any of us could keep up. "I went in the door with him," I shouted and I saw her head turn towards me as I went past. "I took a spice rack out of the same kitchen where he got his salad tongs, it's still all wood." She was looking at me as I shouted at her so I knew she was paying attention. I felt foolish. If I couldn't get in I was making a big fuss about doing the same thing that kept not working every time any body else tried it. I was going to feel really silly sitting in the grass with a bruise on my nose after I had made all this production.
The alien stepped through the door and I ran after him. I charged past him and into the centre of the ship.
I skidded to a stop and the rack I was clutching to my chest fell onto the floor. It made almost no noise. I was alone in a round room with what looked like a large circular hole in the centre of the floor. Six corriders radiated outwards from the room, including the one I had passed through to get here. The walls, ceiling and floors were a dull grey colour and everything was dimly lit. There were no shadows and no apparent source to the soft grey light.
I put my hand against a nearby wall. It felt dry and cool. I dug a thumbnail into the wall and then let go, watching the tiny groove slowly swell back out into smoothness. It felt weirdly like I was watching flesh bounce back.
I heard Franklin enter before I saw her because I was expecting her to come in through the same door I had. Other people trailed in until there were about a dozen of us. Everybody was looking around, mouths open and whispering if they spoke at all. There were no aliens anywhere in sight.
We all heard the distinctive whooshing sound at the same time. Every single one of us looked back at the passage where we had entered. The doors were closed and shadowed.
"Aww shit," said Franklin.
That's the collective noun for a whole lot of NaDruWriNi entries. A barf.
Getting onto the ship rather abruptly stopped being something that people were fooling around with for the purpose of amusing youtube videos. The girls's mother tried to grab one of the aliens but her hands slid off the robes with every attempt. She shouted ineffectually and followed them around, slamming her hands against their sides over and over again. They didn't notice her. I saw one of my neighbours crouching down with his son, gently asking questions. The little boy answered in monosyllables, his fists crammed against his mouth.
I spotted another neighbour I knew and walked over to where she was standing and staring at the aliens, her hands on her hips. "There has to be a pattern here," she whispered, half to me and half to herself. I stood next to her, staring intently, the two of us trying to figure out what happened as if we could bore out the information by the force of will alone.
The aliens were still walking back and forth, carrying random objects into their ship. A chair. A stirring spoon. An empty bookcase. Something started to niggle at me as I watched them.
A side table. Salad bowls. A picture frame.
The niggling was getting louder. I tried to focus on it.
A kitchen drawer. A piece of bannister.
"It's wood," I said out loud.
My neighbour was staring at me. Franklin, I remembered. Her name was Franklin. "It's all made out of wood."
We stared around at the aliens, both of us doing a mental inventory. We reached the same conclusion at the same time and suddenly scrambled in seperate directions. I ran and scooped a broken tree branch off the ground near one of the flower beds. Franklin disappeared and then ran back carrying a wooden block for holding knives. The two of us bolted towards the doorle almost simultaneously.
Both of us slammed into the invisible barrior at full speed and reeled backwards, almost falling.
I let the branch drop out of my fingers and watched one of the alien's walking down the street. I straightened up and started following him. The branch had obviously been a stupid idea, the objects of interest were all tools of some kind. But the block Franklin had retrieved from her kitchen hadn't worked either. Maybe it was just wooden things from specific houses. The alien I was following reached a door and I ran to catch up with it. I caught up just in time to slip inside beside him. The door slammed shut behind me. I tried the door and it was locked. The alien paid no attention to me.
The alien picked up a set of salad tongs from the counter and turned around. I scanned the kitchen quickly and spotted a wooden spice rack. I grabbed it and shook the spice containers out onto the counter then ran after the alien. I barely managed to slip though the door before it slammed shut behind him.
Franklin was nearby, talking to somebody as I ran to keep up with the alien. Funny how they never hurried but they travelled faster than any of us could keep up. "I went in the door with him," I shouted and I saw her head turn towards me as I went past. "I took a spice rack out of the same kitchen where he got his salad tongs, it's still all wood." She was looking at me as I shouted at her so I knew she was paying attention. I felt foolish. If I couldn't get in I was making a big fuss about doing the same thing that kept not working every time any body else tried it. I was going to feel really silly sitting in the grass with a bruise on my nose after I had made all this production.
The alien stepped through the door and I ran after him. I charged past him and into the centre of the ship.
I skidded to a stop and the rack I was clutching to my chest fell onto the floor. It made almost no noise. I was alone in a round room with what looked like a large circular hole in the centre of the floor. Six corriders radiated outwards from the room, including the one I had passed through to get here. The walls, ceiling and floors were a dull grey colour and everything was dimly lit. There were no shadows and no apparent source to the soft grey light.
I put my hand against a nearby wall. It felt dry and cool. I dug a thumbnail into the wall and then let go, watching the tiny groove slowly swell back out into smoothness. It felt weirdly like I was watching flesh bounce back.
I heard Franklin enter before I saw her because I was expecting her to come in through the same door I had. Other people trailed in until there were about a dozen of us. Everybody was looking around, mouths open and whispering if they spoke at all. There were no aliens anywhere in sight.
We all heard the distinctive whooshing sound at the same time. Every single one of us looked back at the passage where we had entered. The doors were closed and shadowed.
"Aww shit," said Franklin.