Wordcount: 594
Rating/Warnings: PG-13 for fighting and injury
Summary: Gray’s attempt at a rage-quit is interrupted by wildlife.

NOTE: This is a very rough draft with no editing at all (per National Novel Wiriting Month rules) and is presented for amusement value only. Think of it as a periscope into my writing process rather than a coherent story!

There will most likely be spelling and grammatical errors afoot as well as flat out bad writing, info dumps, plot holes, contradictions/retcons, uneven characterization and pacing. These snippits are also posted out of order, so please refer to the Outline to figure out where it’s supposed to fit.

~*~*~*~*~

A Ticket To Ride

“Open.” Gray says, not expecting anything, but furious and wanting to go home.

There is a bellowing roar from the sea behind them and a landshark crests out of the grass beside them, slamming Tan backwards into the tree with a sharp snap of a foreleg bone and a pained yelp. Gray scrambles backwards away from the wide sharp horns, cursing.

She keeps it distracted long enough for Tan to limp out of range.

There’s no way to fight a landshark and she has no weapons. If she’s lucky she can move far enough back into the forest that it won’t be able to follow her through the trees.

She yells at Tan to run away and then starts her move, only to be cut off as the landshark charges between her and safety.

Gray is looking for a way around when there’s a blood curdling yell and both her and the landshark turn to see smart kid’s friend come charging out of the trees at the landshark, saber in hand.

The landshark bellows and lowers its head to gore the kid, but it jumps up, lands on the broad thick shovel nose just as it sweeps up and used the momentum to bounce onto the broad shoulders.

The landshark bellows in anger and spins, but the kid is already hacking at the neck. The landsharks manages to toss the kid off, but it lands rolling and springs back on its feet and charges the bull again.

They do the same assisted leap and this time the kid gets in the lucky stroke and the landshark stumbles to its knees bellowing in pain and confusion. This time the kid doesn’t land as well and looses the saber in the fall.

But the kid is back up on its feet again, scrambling for the weapon, but the landshark is down for the count, still bellowing, but in more of a whispered objection. The kid picks up the saber and walks over to deliver the killing blow.

“What are you doing?” yelled Gray trying to grab the saber away from the kid, who deftly slips it away from her and goes on the defensive.

“Saving your life.” it snaps.

“You almost died!” objects Gray angrily. “We were just fine.”

“Didn’t look fine to me,” said the kid looking over at Tan and then back at Gray angrily. “And it works.”

“What?” asked Gray.

“His technique works.” said the kid. “You saw it.”

“That doesn’t make it right!” snaps Gray. “Never ever put your life in danger when you don’t have to!”

“You do it to save someone.” objects the kid. “You did it for Tan.”

“But you don’t do it for me!” says Gray. “You save the young, never the old, the young are the only future you have.”

“And the old are the only past.” the kid snaps. “You’ll never understand will you.” The kid is furious and frustrated and disappointed. “Just go, they were right, you don’t belong here.”

“You don’t need to die!” snaps Gray. “You’re perfectly fine where you are. Stop this, stop it now before someone dies.”

“Like you?” asked the kid, acidly.

“I was just trying to go home.” snaps Gray. “I wasn’t trying to get killed.”

“No one is,” said the kid. “So go, and don’t come back.”

“The door isn’t–”

“Yes it is.” said Tan with a pained pant, limping, but now putting weight on the leg.

She turned and saw the glowing archway into the tree and saw her pack tossed through it from behind her.