(A/N: This story was written in turns at today’s meeting by bowlcutbob, fishtailbraid, Joshua, and SS. The prompt was ‘eclipse’.)
The light had always been there, but now is uncertainty.
The planet shuddered slightly, feeling the change imminent.
Silence permeated the rolling deep and something seemed to be coming, fast.
A large shadow over the airfield ground overcasted by the stealth bomber brought a huge sigh of relief to the General’s face, as his grim face loosened up.
There was nothing known about what was called “the eclipse”; their history had never recorded such an event.
The General signaled for his men to stand down, and stepped forward to welcome the bomber’s passengers, “Professors, please, time is of the essence here, tell me what you know about this eclipse.”
White-haired men looked nervously at each other and shook their heads – they had no idea as well.
The general’s mind was filled with both suspense and frustration. He had his own suspicions, but decided to hold them back.
One of the men, a supposed ‘expert’ on The planets, chimed in that, “This darkness will pass – this is only a misalignment of The planets and The sun.”
By now, the light was fully gone, and reports of people panicking came through on the comms systems; terrified voices shrieking through tiny speakers.
The surrounding air seemed to shudder with heat waves. The general was unaccustomed to this chaos. Before he could react, light came back – only it wasn’t the sun.
The whole day had been really a trying one for the general. Having taken command of various leadership roles in the military, his nerves of steel were put to the test today. He approached the professor from behind.
“Professor”, he demanded, “Can you guarantee the people that we will survive?”
“I think that will be up to them,” the professor pointed a nervous finger at the giant spaceship that was causing the new light as it entered the atmosphere.
All the people suddenly stopped screaming and running. The general’s brain froze and shut down. A ramp emerged from the spaceship and someone came slowly down.
“Damn, it’s him again,” the general cursed under his breath. The well suited man hastily made his way down the ramp. “Secretary, what’s going on here?” the general looked quizzed and impatient, “General, we are carrying out an immediate evacuation. No questions asked till we reach central base.” The general shook his head and tapped his fingers, signaling the men to follow suit.
(A/N: Anyone who would like to take this idea up, flesh it out or write an ‘episode 2’ is most welcome. Just leave a note here.)
theswigs 