Skip to main content

Vagrant - Part IV


           “Yes,” Van replied simply, still with a smile on his face.  “Undoubtedly.  Finnian Pell is still my brother.  You were my brother too, once.”
“I still am,” Thrace barked.  “Perhaps an older brother, admittedly.  I think the two of you are fools and I do not believe this is a good idea.  Van, you have natural talent but it takes discipline to be a soldier.”
“Thrace please,” Van grew earnest and let the smile fall from his face.  “Let me prove to you that I am not a cynical man.  I simply have not found what I was put on this earth to do.  I want to do something I believe in, with people I believe in.  Let me fight for you.”
Thrace looked hard at Van, studying the resolve of this would-be recruit.
“You’re drunk,” Thrace said simply.
“A bit, yes,” Van admitted, the smile returned so easily.  “But I’m honest when I’m drunk.”
“Please Thrace,” Finnian pushed.
“You understand you’ll have to change your entire way of living if you join my battalion?” Thrace put to Van.
“Of course,” Van answered.
“Will you?” Thrace pressed.
“I will,” Van put a hand to his heart.
“Then let us drink to our newest recruit…” Thrace raised his glass.
Van and Finnian looked at each other with stunned smiles.  Quickly, they raised their mugs and touched them together with Thrace’s so that all three vessels were linked above their heads.
“…and to the dyad of Finnian Pell and Van Orel.”
“Here here,” Van and Finnian said as one.
The three of them brought down their mugs and drank deep.  Then, they talked - for hours; about the past, about the present, and all the possibilities that this new, exciting future held for them.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Kiki's Cat Cafe

INT. KIKI’S KITTY CAT CAFÉ Along the walls are a bunch of loose cushions and bean bag chairs – lots of soft stuff. Kids are running all over chasing and playing with all kinds of cats. High-top tables line the center of the room where trendy adults stand, sipping organic teas and ignoring their kids. Behind the coffee bar in the back is a 40-ish white woman with the build of a shot-putter – like from the Olympics. This is KIKI, and she watches on with a relaxed smile. A THIN WOMAN and TREVOR, her ten-year old, approach Kiki.                           THIN WOMAN                We’re done.                           TREVOR    ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Guardian Angel - Teaser

EXT. DESERT – DAY We move slowly across a stark, red desert.   In the distance, there are the clay walls of a city.   Outside the main gate, a mix of men and women: some in woolen tunics and cinctures, others in rich Roman robes: come and go about their business. This is not the modern world. We keep moving, slowly, finally settling on a small, solitary hill.   Through the shimmering desert heat, the hill looks like the back of a skull cap, with two crosses sticking out the top of it like swords. And in the distance, we hear the faint CLINK. EXT. DESERT HILL – CONTINUOUS A twitching hand fills the frame.   Fingers are bent at unnatural angles, but where they split, we can see the signs of something dull, grey, and blurry.   There is a loud CLINK, and as the blurry grey thing is pushed down, a blurry crimson shoots up.                ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Vagrant - Part III

            “So what is this dyad initiative?” Van asked before the silence became noticeable to the others.         “It’s actually quite a brilliant idea,” Finnian enthused.         “By the king’s grace, I will be given command of a battalion of one hundred men in defense of his city,” Thrace began.  “The dyad initiative is an experiment.  The battalion will be trained as a group, just like any other.  But in addition to training as a single unit, all the men will be divided into pairs.  These pairs, or dyads, will be training together, fighting together, responsible for each other.  This ensures that each man in my battalion has someone watching their back, and that they’re watching someone else’s.  Like brothers, they will be.  Each man is accountable.”         “The brilliant thing, though, is that th...
Post a Comment
Read more