Instantly the brightness blinded her, the screaming winds whipping at her with skeletal fingers full of debris. Karen wondered how she had been able to hear the infant's cry with the winds such a banshee. But there it was, a tiny cry, barely discernible. Karen tracked the sound with her head, her eyes scanning the blasted horizon.
She saw the feet first, sticking out from a nearby pile of boulders left from the last underground construction project. The boulders promised protection from the wind, but they also tended to trap the poisonous gases in the atmosphere in concentrated form. Those born on the surface tended to eschew protection of any kind, and this one had paid for it. Sighing, Karen approached the feet, gripped the legs and pulled.
The woman's face was a rictus of pain, her skin a mottled purple, her eyes white with death. Clutched to her chest, a wiggling bundle wrapped in a pink blanket cried weakly. Karen had a little difficulty pulling the child from the rigor of the mother's dead arms, but with a snap, the child was free. Karen tucked the baby into her pack and headed back to her shelter.
She prayed this one would live.
The prompt is the third definition of the word MASK.
You really set a vivid scene. I actually winced at the "snap" of the dead mother's arms. Ewww!
ReplyDeleteWell done. :)
I agree that 'snap' was perfectly creepy. I also loved the tucking of the baby into her pack and the implication in the last line that this kind of thing happens often.
ReplyDeleteGreat read!
And.......need the rest of the story.....I don't do well with snippets darn it!!!!
ReplyDeleteOH my, what a great and horrific piece. I am awed by the descriptions and the words and then my stomach drops at the thought of this "work" and if it will ever have to happen.
ReplyDeleteWOW.
I cringed at the 'snap' when she took the baby, too. "She prayed this one would live"- that last line says so much...she lives in a devastated world and she's lived this scene before.
ReplyDeleteThe cool, distant voice works this piece so well, Tina! Agree with the others about the 'snap', and the difference between the mother's 'clutch' and Karen's 'tuck' is brutal.
ReplyDeleteGreat survival story!
ReplyDeleteThis is really good. Vivid images. I could see the whole thing really well.
ReplyDeleteI love the attention to detail in the first few sentences. You get "to know" her a bit in an unusual situation.
ReplyDeletewell written
What a terrible scenario -painted so strongly!Loved the details!
ReplyDeleteThis is a grim but wonderfully written tale. The descriptive detail makes the action vivid and real. Very well done.
ReplyDeleteVery vivid, but I must say, I hope I never live this.
ReplyDeleteAh, that's haunting!! Random thought, but this reminded me of when I was in social work school. I worked closely with a woman who was a pioneer in infant mental health. She often dealt with babies who were with their mothers when they died. Sad, sad stuff. Anyway, thanks for linking up.
ReplyDelete