Hey, Readerland! Barely twelve hours since my last post and I am back again to kick of Day 17 the right way. Honestly, I prefer writing in the evenings after everything is done, but I have a gaming session later on today and I won't be getting back until late, so a morning entry it is. That also means caffeine a little earlier than usual.
Well, let's get this road on the show! (Yes, I know I have that backwards)
What is today's topic?
24. Create tension by writing a scene where a character you adore does something you hate.
I had problems with this one when I did it before, because it took me a while to come up with a character I liked enough to write something that I hated that they did. I picked Pete Lattimer from Warehouse 13 the last time. I think I have an idea for this time. Let's see how it works.
Yeah, this doesn't really fit in with the timeline of the show/movie at all. Just roll with it. Maybe it's a dream or something.
"You did what?" Mal asked.
Mal hadn't yelled or screamed or any of that nonsense. That made Jayne more nervous. "Mal, they was Reavers! There was nothing I could do!" Jayne said.
"You left Simon and Kaylee for the Reavers?" Mal asked, turning his head slightly to look Jayne right in the eye. "You let the Reavers have two of my crew and you did nothing to stop it?"
"Mal, please." Jayne said. "There were thirty or forty of 'em! What was I supposed to do?"
"Maybe someday you should try thinking about other people for once." Mal said. He grabbed the closest speaker. "Wash, turn around. We're going back."
"What?" Wash asked. "Mal, Jayne said there were Reavers and honestly, I'm pretty partial to keeping my skin where it is."
"The Reavers have Simon and Kaylee." Mal said.
Mal and Jayne could feel Serenity slow and turn around. Mal simply stared at Jayne the whole time.
"Dammit Mal! You're gonna get us all killed!" Jayne yelled.
"Maybe," Mal said. "But at least we're gonna die trying to get our people back."
As the ship landed near where Jayne said he had left the other two, every gathered their guns and equipment.
"Jayne, would you be so kind as to lead the way?" Mal asked.
Jayne wasn't sure he wanted Mal behind him, but he didn't have much choice. "Sure, Mal. This way."
They trekked for about fifteen minutes before spotting a gang of Reavers.
"What I tell you, Mal? Huh? Reavers." Jayne said.
"I don't see Kaylee or Simon." Zoe said.
"Probably because they're dead." Jayne said. He immediately regretted it. "Sorry."
"You're gonna be sorry you keep talking the way you're talking." Mal said. "Let's go."
"Go?" Jayne asked. "Go where?"
"We're gonna find the people that you left behind." Mal said. He got up and started walking toward the Reavers.
"Mal! Wait!" Jayne said. "That's suicide."
"Better suicide than leaving someone behind." Zoe said. She exhaled deeply and followed Mal.
Jayne shook his head and followed the other two.
They were still a ways away when Zoe raised her rifle and shot one of the Reavers in the head. The rest of the clan turned toward her, so she shot another one. And another. And another. Seven in all before the clan realized they were being killed and rushed at Mal, Zoe and Jayne en masse.
Mal drew his revolver and slowly walked forward, firing precise shots, taking down the Reavers as they charged him.
Jayne raised Vera and unloaded a full clip into the Reavers in short bursts, taking down over a dozen Reavers. But there always seemed to be more. When Vera went empty, Jayne turned and ran.
"Jayne!" Mal yelled. He turned to fire on Jayne, but the Reaveres caught up to him and dragged him down. Zoe went down a second later.
Jayne watched the whole thing from the top of the hill. He threw a grenade down the hill, hoping it killed Mal and Zoe before the Reavers could do anything too bad to them, but once the grenade was out of his hand, he ran and ran. He didn't head for Serenity, he just ran.
When he finally stopped and found a cave to rest in, Jayne kept remembering the faces of Mal and Zoe. When he tried to sleep, he was haunted by their screams and the screams of Kaylee and Simon. He would never be able to forgive himself. But there was nothing he could do.
Again, this was tough to write. Even as a mercenary and mostly a jerkass, I can't really see Jayne leaving Mal and Zoe behind, although I could see him leaving Simon behind, like he tried to sell out Simon and River in 'The Message.'
So, a successful morning entry is done and out of the way. *Edit* It's now 11:06 pm in Colorado, so I guess this still counts as Day 17. Weirdness happened. Go fig.
So, for tomorrow, the exercise is:
13. A character is crossing the road. Something bad happens. Describe it. No -- don't let it just be
a car striking them. Too easy. Dig deeper. Once you find the conflict, add another. And another.
Each conflict must be worse than the last. Escalate, escalate, escalate.
Hm. Lots of death and destruction lately in the exercises. Chuck is a weird man.
Anyway, that's going to do it for Day 17. We're past the halfway point. The end is in sight. Until tomorrow, I am the Ogre saying take care and be awesome to each other.
#WWWYKI
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