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Been fiddling around with a book set in a Diablo/Dungeon Siege type RPG for a while. This is a first chapter. Wouldn't mind some feedback if it's going.
Chapter 1
From the moment Aero woke, he thought he was dying. He was so weak he could barely lift his head off the scratchy pillow and when he finally managed it, he wished he hadn’t. This wasn’t his bedroom. This wasn’t anyone’s bedroom. The dingy dank place was more like a barn or a stable, particularly if the smell was any guide. The sharp spike into the back of his head when it dropped again only confirmed this. He wasn’t laying on a pillow rather a sack of straw.
The shock gave him enough energy to sit up properly. This was all wrong. How was he here? What or where was here anyway? His heart raced as his stomach churned. This was a hut of some sort, too small for a barn when he finally took in what he could in the gloom. There was his bed, which was no more than a straw filled sack, a tiny window and bare walls. Beside him there was a candle holder, though the candle was burned out. And there was a book of some sort.
Aero was about to pick the book up, hoping for some clue that would make sense of this when he heard a noise. It was nothing more than a scuffle but it was in the same room as him. The heart that had been racing stopped. There it was again. A thin scratching from the other side of the room, hidden from view by a barrel.
Aero jumped up from his so-called bed as fast as his shaky legs would let him. The effort left him reeling. Even as the blood rushed through his bewildered brain thunderously, he heard the noise again. Something was there and it was watching him. Worse still, it was between him and the planks of wood that served as a door.
Swallowing hard Aero picked up the book, the closest thing he had as a weapon. ‘Who’s there?’ he called out, amazed at how weedy his voice was. Raising the book, he took a step toward the barrel, peering over it while repeating his question. There was no response other than a repeat of the scuffing sound.
Aero took another hesitant step. Even in the dim light, a shape became clearer. IT was something small, barely over a foot high but it was moving. He felt a little braver seeing how tiny whatever it was was but then he remembered that snakes are small too, and some very nasty dogs. He was in no shape to tackle anything, no matter how little. One more step.
The thing launched itself at Aero with a flurry of noise and dirt. Despite himself, Aero fell back onto his bed, covering his face from the attack before he realised what it was. A chicken. He had been attacked by a chicken. In fact he hadn’t even been attacked. The bird was now ignoring him again, going back to scratching the ground as it had been before.
Aero left out a laugh that was too full of relief for his liking. What was going on? He stood again, keeping half an eye on the chicken. He was as irritated now, as he was confused. He walked to the door. There had better be an explanation soon. Enough was enough.
Just as he was about to pull the door open he realised he had no clothes on. He took his hand off the door. Not no clothes exactly. Looking down he could see that he was wearing some kind of primitive underpants made out of rough material that he only then noticed was very uncomfortable. He couldn’t go out looking like this.
Searching the room again, which took about two seconds, told him that there were no other clothes lying around. Where were his clothes? He groaned. This was getting beyond a joke. Who had taken his clothes? He walked around the hut, another two seconds, trying to think of what to do when he had his first decent idea. He would use the sack he had been sleeping on. He might look like a prat but at least he would be decent.
Chucking the straw out of the sack was easy enough and it was so badly made that forcing some holes in it for his head and arms was within even his feeble strength. Feeling a little better, Aero opened the door. Actually, he didn’t open it. He pulled at it and it fell to the ground, leaving him holding the cord that had acted as a handle. Aero went to put the cord in his pocket then realised he had none. Reduced to stuffing it into the side of his underpants, he stepped through the doorway.
Aero hadn’t known what to expect to see so he wasn’t disappointed to see that there wasn’t much to see. He had indeed spent the night in a broken down hut and there two other similarly battered huts scattered in what looked like a muddy field. There were more chickens, some barrels and a field where a man was hacking at some sort of corn with a knife.
This was a farm then, Aero reasoned. He had somehow ended up on a farm and if he talked to the farmer then everything would be sorted out. Good. Straightening up his sack as best he could Aero walked to the farmer who paid him about as much attention as the chickens did.
‘Hello…’ called Aero as he got within feet of the farmer. ‘Hello?’ Was the man deaf? Aero took a step closer, moving into the man’s eye line.
‘There ye are lad,’ said the man, standing and speaking in one movement. ‘I’ve got some work for ye if ye want it.’
‘No, thanks,’ said Aero. ‘I mean thank you but I just want to-’
‘Well just come back when ye’re ready,’ said the man, bending again to continue hacking at the stalks in the ground.
Aero stood, baffled. ‘I…’ but he trailed off as the man was ignoring him again. Looking round, Aero tried to think of something else to say but couldn’t think of anything. He took a step away, considering trying one of the huts to see if there was anyone there who wasn’t mad. Looking at how empty they looked he thought better of it and turned back to the farmer.
‘It’s just that I need to talk to you,’ he said but the man was oblivious. With a grunt of exasperation, Aero stepped back to where the man seemed to need him to be before he would stand up. Right on cue the man stood.
‘There ye are lad,’ he said but Aero cut him off.
‘I need to talk to you’ he said. ‘Where is this? I need to get home.’
‘There might be something in it for ye if you do a sound enough job,’ said the farmer in a way that made it clear that whatever Aero said wasn’t getting through. Aero shook his head.
‘If I do your job will you talk to me?’ he asked in the hope of humouring this weirdo.
‘I’ve got some work for ye if ye want it,’ repeated the man.
‘All right. What work?’ said Aero with a sigh. He didn’t seem to have any choice but to play along.
‘Tis rats. The hut there is infested and I have no time to kill them. Bring me back the tails, five at least, and I’ll reward ye.’ Then surprise surprise, thought Aero, he bent back down to his pointless hacking
‘Rats? Are you joking? I’m not killing rats.’ He wasn’t even remotely surprised to be ignored. This was hopeless. He would need to find someone else to talk to. Traipsing to one of the other huts, hopefully not the one with the rat infestation, Aero stopped in his muddy tracks. There was a club on the ground, a thick piece of wood that hadn’t been there before, he was sure. Well not quite sure but he reckoned he would have noticed it. Glancing round at the mad farmer Aero pick it up.
He didn’t want to think it but the thought came to him anyway. The club was for him to kill the rats with. That meant…well what did that mean? That it had been put there after the farmer had given him the job. That was a creepy thought. It also meant that there was someone else around, someone who was organising all this. Aero looked around, hoping to spot this joker.
There was no one to be seen but perhaps at the other side of those huts. Keeping the club raised Aero went to the gap between the huts, hoping to catch out anyone that might be there. He was a little surprised to find that he couldn’t get through. There was a little fence there, linking the two buildings and even though it wasn’t more than knee high, he couldn’t quite step over it. I must be even weaker than I realised, thought Aero, stepping back.
Standing in front of the huts, Aero did a slow turn and realised something that chilled him. Wherever he looked, sometimes close, sometimes in the middle distance, there was a barrier, either a fence or clump of trees, bushes, and even a river. He was in some kind of prison.
Wait. There was a gate. Aero ran to it. He didn’t want to stay on that farm a moment longer. Up to now it had been confusing and frustrating but now it was menacing. Having had the illusion of being able to go anywhere had been more comforting than he had realised. Having that taken away was a shock.
The gate was made of sterner stuff than the door to his hut, that was for sure. Aero shook it and hit it but it refused to budge. Well he could surely climb over it then. IT was higher than the little fence but not as deep. Anyway it had rungs that he could use as steps.
He couldn’t climb it. Somehow, he either slid off it or it was as if there was another gate on top of it, one he couldn’t see. It made no sense. He should have been able to climb this gate. He had to be able to. But he couldn’t. Simple laws of physics or common sense didn’t apply. The gate seemed to be part of something much taller that reached to the sky. Or something.
Aero fell back on to the mud, panting. He glared at the gate as if it was deliberately trying to thwart him but it ignored him like everything else did. Pulling himself up, he faced back into the farm. After all, he had no choice.
Anyone interested in another chapter?
Chapter 1
From the moment Aero woke, he thought he was dying. He was so weak he could barely lift his head off the scratchy pillow and when he finally managed it, he wished he hadn’t. This wasn’t his bedroom. This wasn’t anyone’s bedroom. The dingy dank place was more like a barn or a stable, particularly if the smell was any guide. The sharp spike into the back of his head when it dropped again only confirmed this. He wasn’t laying on a pillow rather a sack of straw.
The shock gave him enough energy to sit up properly. This was all wrong. How was he here? What or where was here anyway? His heart raced as his stomach churned. This was a hut of some sort, too small for a barn when he finally took in what he could in the gloom. There was his bed, which was no more than a straw filled sack, a tiny window and bare walls. Beside him there was a candle holder, though the candle was burned out. And there was a book of some sort.
Aero was about to pick the book up, hoping for some clue that would make sense of this when he heard a noise. It was nothing more than a scuffle but it was in the same room as him. The heart that had been racing stopped. There it was again. A thin scratching from the other side of the room, hidden from view by a barrel.
Aero jumped up from his so-called bed as fast as his shaky legs would let him. The effort left him reeling. Even as the blood rushed through his bewildered brain thunderously, he heard the noise again. Something was there and it was watching him. Worse still, it was between him and the planks of wood that served as a door.
Swallowing hard Aero picked up the book, the closest thing he had as a weapon. ‘Who’s there?’ he called out, amazed at how weedy his voice was. Raising the book, he took a step toward the barrel, peering over it while repeating his question. There was no response other than a repeat of the scuffing sound.
Aero took another hesitant step. Even in the dim light, a shape became clearer. IT was something small, barely over a foot high but it was moving. He felt a little braver seeing how tiny whatever it was was but then he remembered that snakes are small too, and some very nasty dogs. He was in no shape to tackle anything, no matter how little. One more step.
The thing launched itself at Aero with a flurry of noise and dirt. Despite himself, Aero fell back onto his bed, covering his face from the attack before he realised what it was. A chicken. He had been attacked by a chicken. In fact he hadn’t even been attacked. The bird was now ignoring him again, going back to scratching the ground as it had been before.
Aero left out a laugh that was too full of relief for his liking. What was going on? He stood again, keeping half an eye on the chicken. He was as irritated now, as he was confused. He walked to the door. There had better be an explanation soon. Enough was enough.
Just as he was about to pull the door open he realised he had no clothes on. He took his hand off the door. Not no clothes exactly. Looking down he could see that he was wearing some kind of primitive underpants made out of rough material that he only then noticed was very uncomfortable. He couldn’t go out looking like this.
Searching the room again, which took about two seconds, told him that there were no other clothes lying around. Where were his clothes? He groaned. This was getting beyond a joke. Who had taken his clothes? He walked around the hut, another two seconds, trying to think of what to do when he had his first decent idea. He would use the sack he had been sleeping on. He might look like a prat but at least he would be decent.
Chucking the straw out of the sack was easy enough and it was so badly made that forcing some holes in it for his head and arms was within even his feeble strength. Feeling a little better, Aero opened the door. Actually, he didn’t open it. He pulled at it and it fell to the ground, leaving him holding the cord that had acted as a handle. Aero went to put the cord in his pocket then realised he had none. Reduced to stuffing it into the side of his underpants, he stepped through the doorway.
Aero hadn’t known what to expect to see so he wasn’t disappointed to see that there wasn’t much to see. He had indeed spent the night in a broken down hut and there two other similarly battered huts scattered in what looked like a muddy field. There were more chickens, some barrels and a field where a man was hacking at some sort of corn with a knife.
This was a farm then, Aero reasoned. He had somehow ended up on a farm and if he talked to the farmer then everything would be sorted out. Good. Straightening up his sack as best he could Aero walked to the farmer who paid him about as much attention as the chickens did.
‘Hello…’ called Aero as he got within feet of the farmer. ‘Hello?’ Was the man deaf? Aero took a step closer, moving into the man’s eye line.
‘There ye are lad,’ said the man, standing and speaking in one movement. ‘I’ve got some work for ye if ye want it.’
‘No, thanks,’ said Aero. ‘I mean thank you but I just want to-’
‘Well just come back when ye’re ready,’ said the man, bending again to continue hacking at the stalks in the ground.
Aero stood, baffled. ‘I…’ but he trailed off as the man was ignoring him again. Looking round, Aero tried to think of something else to say but couldn’t think of anything. He took a step away, considering trying one of the huts to see if there was anyone there who wasn’t mad. Looking at how empty they looked he thought better of it and turned back to the farmer.
‘It’s just that I need to talk to you,’ he said but the man was oblivious. With a grunt of exasperation, Aero stepped back to where the man seemed to need him to be before he would stand up. Right on cue the man stood.
‘There ye are lad,’ he said but Aero cut him off.
‘I need to talk to you’ he said. ‘Where is this? I need to get home.’
‘There might be something in it for ye if you do a sound enough job,’ said the farmer in a way that made it clear that whatever Aero said wasn’t getting through. Aero shook his head.
‘If I do your job will you talk to me?’ he asked in the hope of humouring this weirdo.
‘I’ve got some work for ye if ye want it,’ repeated the man.
‘All right. What work?’ said Aero with a sigh. He didn’t seem to have any choice but to play along.
‘Tis rats. The hut there is infested and I have no time to kill them. Bring me back the tails, five at least, and I’ll reward ye.’ Then surprise surprise, thought Aero, he bent back down to his pointless hacking
‘Rats? Are you joking? I’m not killing rats.’ He wasn’t even remotely surprised to be ignored. This was hopeless. He would need to find someone else to talk to. Traipsing to one of the other huts, hopefully not the one with the rat infestation, Aero stopped in his muddy tracks. There was a club on the ground, a thick piece of wood that hadn’t been there before, he was sure. Well not quite sure but he reckoned he would have noticed it. Glancing round at the mad farmer Aero pick it up.
He didn’t want to think it but the thought came to him anyway. The club was for him to kill the rats with. That meant…well what did that mean? That it had been put there after the farmer had given him the job. That was a creepy thought. It also meant that there was someone else around, someone who was organising all this. Aero looked around, hoping to spot this joker.
There was no one to be seen but perhaps at the other side of those huts. Keeping the club raised Aero went to the gap between the huts, hoping to catch out anyone that might be there. He was a little surprised to find that he couldn’t get through. There was a little fence there, linking the two buildings and even though it wasn’t more than knee high, he couldn’t quite step over it. I must be even weaker than I realised, thought Aero, stepping back.
Standing in front of the huts, Aero did a slow turn and realised something that chilled him. Wherever he looked, sometimes close, sometimes in the middle distance, there was a barrier, either a fence or clump of trees, bushes, and even a river. He was in some kind of prison.
Wait. There was a gate. Aero ran to it. He didn’t want to stay on that farm a moment longer. Up to now it had been confusing and frustrating but now it was menacing. Having had the illusion of being able to go anywhere had been more comforting than he had realised. Having that taken away was a shock.
The gate was made of sterner stuff than the door to his hut, that was for sure. Aero shook it and hit it but it refused to budge. Well he could surely climb over it then. IT was higher than the little fence but not as deep. Anyway it had rungs that he could use as steps.
He couldn’t climb it. Somehow, he either slid off it or it was as if there was another gate on top of it, one he couldn’t see. It made no sense. He should have been able to climb this gate. He had to be able to. But he couldn’t. Simple laws of physics or common sense didn’t apply. The gate seemed to be part of something much taller that reached to the sky. Or something.
Aero fell back on to the mud, panting. He glared at the gate as if it was deliberately trying to thwart him but it ignored him like everything else did. Pulling himself up, he faced back into the farm. After all, he had no choice.
Anyone interested in another chapter?
Been fiddling around with a book set in a Diablo/Dungeon Siege type RPG for a while. This is a first chapter. Wouldn't mind some feedback if it's going.
Chapter 1
From the moment Aero woke, he thought he was dying. He was so weak he could barely lift his head off the scratchy pillow and when he finally managed it, he wished he hadn’t. This wasn’t his bedroom. This wasn’t anyone’s bedroom. The dingy dank place was more like a barn or a stable, particularly if the smell was any guide. The sharp spike into the back of his head when it dropped again only confirmed this. He wasn’t laying on a pillow rather a sack of straw.
The shock gave him enough energy to sit up properly. This was all wrong. How was he here? What or where was here anyway? His heart raced as his stomach churned. This was a hut of some sort, too small for a barn when he finally took in what he could in the gloom. There was his bed, which was no more than a straw filled sack, a tiny window and bare walls. Beside him there was a candle holder, though the candle was burned out. And there was a book of some sort.
Aero was about to pick the book up, hoping for some clue that would make sense of this when he heard a noise. It was nothing more than a scuffle but it was in the same room as him. The heart that had been racing stopped. There it was again. A thin scratching from the other side of the room, hidden from view by a barrel.
Aero jumped up from his so-called bed as fast as his shaky legs would let him. The effort left him reeling. Even as the blood rushed through his bewildered brain thunderously, he heard the noise again. Something was there and it was watching him. Worse still, it was between him and the planks of wood that served as a door.
Swallowing hard Aero picked up the book, the closest thing he had as a weapon. ‘Who’s there?’ he called out, amazed at how weedy his voice was. Raising the book, he took a step toward the barrel, peering over it while repeating his question. There was no response other than a repeat of the scuffing sound.
Aero took another hesitant step. Even in the dim light, a shape became clearer. IT was something small, barely over a foot high but it was moving. He felt a little braver seeing how tiny whatever it was was but then he remembered that snakes are small too, and some very nasty dogs. He was in no shape to tackle anything, no matter how little. One more step.
The thing launched itself at Aero with a flurry of noise and dirt. Despite himself, Aero fell back onto his bed, covering his face from the attack before he realised what it was. A chicken. He had been attacked by a chicken. In fact he hadn’t even been attacked. The bird was now ignoring him again, going back to scratching the ground as it had been before.
Aero left out a laugh that was too full of relief for his liking. What was going on? He stood again, keeping half an eye on the chicken. He was as irritated now, as he was confused. He walked to the door. There had better be an explanation soon. Enough was enough.
Just as he was about to pull the door open he realised he had no clothes on. He took his hand off the door. Not no clothes exactly. Looking down he could see that he was wearing some kind of primitive underpants made out of rough material that he only then noticed was very uncomfortable. He couldn’t go out looking like this.
Searching the room again, which took about two seconds, told him that there were no other clothes lying around. Where were his clothes? He groaned. This was getting beyond a joke. Who had taken his clothes? He walked around the hut, another two seconds, trying to think of what to do when he had his first decent idea. He would use the sack he had been sleeping on. He might look like a prat but at least he would be decent.
Chucking the straw out of the sack was easy enough and it was so badly made that forcing some holes in it for his head and arms was within even his feeble strength. Feeling a little better, Aero opened the door. Actually, he didn’t open it. He pulled at it and it fell to the ground, leaving him holding the cord that had acted as a handle. Aero went to put the cord in his pocket then realised he had none. Reduced to stuffing it into the side of his underpants, he stepped through the doorway.
Aero hadn’t known what to expect to see so he wasn’t disappointed to see that there wasn’t much to see. He had indeed spent the night in a broken down hut and there two other similarly battered huts scattered in what looked like a muddy field. There were more chickens, some barrels and a field where a man was hacking at some sort of corn with a knife.
This was a farm then, Aero reasoned. He had somehow ended up on a farm and if he talked to the farmer then everything would be sorted out. Good. Straightening up his sack as best he could Aero walked to the farmer who paid him about as much attention as the chickens did.
‘Hello…’ called Aero as he got within feet of the farmer. ‘Hello?’ Was the man deaf? Aero took a step closer, moving into the man’s eye line.
‘There ye are lad,’ said the man, standing and speaking in one movement. ‘I’ve got some work for ye if ye want it.’
‘No, thanks,’ said Aero. ‘I mean thank you but I just want to-’
‘Well just come back when ye’re ready,’ said the man, bending again to continue hacking at the stalks in the ground.
Aero stood, baffled. ‘I…’ but he trailed off as the man was ignoring him again. Looking round, Aero tried to think of something else to say but couldn’t think of anything. He took a step away, considering trying one of the huts to see if there was anyone there who wasn’t mad. Looking at how empty they looked he thought better of it and turned back to the farmer.
‘It’s just that I need to talk to you,’ he said but the man was oblivious. With a grunt of exasperation, Aero stepped back to where the man seemed to need him to be before he would stand up. Right on cue the man stood.
‘There ye are lad,’ he said but Aero cut him off.
‘I need to talk to you’ he said. ‘Where is this? I need to get home.’
‘There might be something in it for ye if you do a sound enough job,’ said the farmer in a way that made it clear that whatever Aero said wasn’t getting through. Aero shook his head.
‘If I do your job will you talk to me?’ he asked in the hope of humouring this weirdo.
‘I’ve got some work for ye if ye want it,’ repeated the man.
‘All right. What work?’ said Aero with a sigh. He didn’t seem to have any choice but to play along.
‘Tis rats. The hut there is infested and I have no time to kill them. Bring me back the tails, five at least, and I’ll reward ye.’ Then surprise surprise, thought Aero, he bent back down to his pointless hacking
‘Rats? Are you joking? I’m not killing rats.’ He wasn’t even remotely surprised to be ignored. This was hopeless. He would need to find someone else to talk to. Traipsing to one of the other huts, hopefully not the one with the rat infestation, Aero stopped in his muddy tracks. There was a club on the ground, a thick piece of wood that hadn’t been there before, he was sure. Well not quite sure but he reckoned he would have noticed it. Glancing round at the mad farmer Aero pick it up.
He didn’t want to think it but the thought came to him anyway. The club was for him to kill the rats with. That meant…well what did that mean? That it had been put there after the farmer had given him the job. That was a creepy thought. It also meant that there was someone else around, someone who was organising all this. Aero looked around, hoping to spot this joker.
There was no one to be seen but perhaps at the other side of those huts. Keeping the club raised Aero went to the gap between the huts, hoping to catch out anyone that might be there. He was a little surprised to find that he couldn’t get through. There was a little fence there, linking the two buildings and even though it wasn’t more than knee high, he couldn’t quite step over it. I must be even weaker than I realised, thought Aero, stepping back.
Standing in front of the huts, Aero did a slow turn and realised something that chilled him. Wherever he looked, sometimes close, sometimes in the middle distance, there was a barrier, either a fence or clump of trees, bushes, and even a river. He was in some kind of prison.
Wait. There was a gate. Aero ran to it. He didn’t want to stay on that farm a moment longer. Up to now it had been confusing and frustrating but now it was menacing. Having had the illusion of being able to go anywhere had been more comforting than he had realised. Having that taken away was a shock.
The gate was made of sterner stuff than the door to his hut, that was for sure. Aero shook it and hit it but it refused to budge. Well he could surely climb over it then. IT was higher than the little fence but not as deep. Anyway it had rungs that he could use as steps.
He couldn’t climb it. Somehow, he either slid off it or it was as if there was another gate on top of it, one he couldn’t see. It made no sense. He should have been able to climb this gate. He had to be able to. But he couldn’t. Simple laws of physics or common sense didn’t apply. The gate seemed to be part of something much taller that reached to the sky. Or something.
Aero fell back on to the mud, panting. He glared at the gate as if it was deliberately trying to thwart him but it ignored him like everything else did. Pulling himself up, he faced back into the farm. After all, he had no choice.
Anyone interested in another chapter?
Chapter 1
From the moment Aero woke, he thought he was dying. He was so weak he could barely lift his head off the scratchy pillow and when he finally managed it, he wished he hadn’t. This wasn’t his bedroom. This wasn’t anyone’s bedroom. The dingy dank place was more like a barn or a stable, particularly if the smell was any guide. The sharp spike into the back of his head when it dropped again only confirmed this. He wasn’t laying on a pillow rather a sack of straw.
The shock gave him enough energy to sit up properly. This was all wrong. How was he here? What or where was here anyway? His heart raced as his stomach churned. This was a hut of some sort, too small for a barn when he finally took in what he could in the gloom. There was his bed, which was no more than a straw filled sack, a tiny window and bare walls. Beside him there was a candle holder, though the candle was burned out. And there was a book of some sort.
Aero was about to pick the book up, hoping for some clue that would make sense of this when he heard a noise. It was nothing more than a scuffle but it was in the same room as him. The heart that had been racing stopped. There it was again. A thin scratching from the other side of the room, hidden from view by a barrel.
Aero jumped up from his so-called bed as fast as his shaky legs would let him. The effort left him reeling. Even as the blood rushed through his bewildered brain thunderously, he heard the noise again. Something was there and it was watching him. Worse still, it was between him and the planks of wood that served as a door.
Swallowing hard Aero picked up the book, the closest thing he had as a weapon. ‘Who’s there?’ he called out, amazed at how weedy his voice was. Raising the book, he took a step toward the barrel, peering over it while repeating his question. There was no response other than a repeat of the scuffing sound.
Aero took another hesitant step. Even in the dim light, a shape became clearer. IT was something small, barely over a foot high but it was moving. He felt a little braver seeing how tiny whatever it was was but then he remembered that snakes are small too, and some very nasty dogs. He was in no shape to tackle anything, no matter how little. One more step.
The thing launched itself at Aero with a flurry of noise and dirt. Despite himself, Aero fell back onto his bed, covering his face from the attack before he realised what it was. A chicken. He had been attacked by a chicken. In fact he hadn’t even been attacked. The bird was now ignoring him again, going back to scratching the ground as it had been before.
Aero left out a laugh that was too full of relief for his liking. What was going on? He stood again, keeping half an eye on the chicken. He was as irritated now, as he was confused. He walked to the door. There had better be an explanation soon. Enough was enough.
Just as he was about to pull the door open he realised he had no clothes on. He took his hand off the door. Not no clothes exactly. Looking down he could see that he was wearing some kind of primitive underpants made out of rough material that he only then noticed was very uncomfortable. He couldn’t go out looking like this.
Searching the room again, which took about two seconds, told him that there were no other clothes lying around. Where were his clothes? He groaned. This was getting beyond a joke. Who had taken his clothes? He walked around the hut, another two seconds, trying to think of what to do when he had his first decent idea. He would use the sack he had been sleeping on. He might look like a prat but at least he would be decent.
Chucking the straw out of the sack was easy enough and it was so badly made that forcing some holes in it for his head and arms was within even his feeble strength. Feeling a little better, Aero opened the door. Actually, he didn’t open it. He pulled at it and it fell to the ground, leaving him holding the cord that had acted as a handle. Aero went to put the cord in his pocket then realised he had none. Reduced to stuffing it into the side of his underpants, he stepped through the doorway.
Aero hadn’t known what to expect to see so he wasn’t disappointed to see that there wasn’t much to see. He had indeed spent the night in a broken down hut and there two other similarly battered huts scattered in what looked like a muddy field. There were more chickens, some barrels and a field where a man was hacking at some sort of corn with a knife.
This was a farm then, Aero reasoned. He had somehow ended up on a farm and if he talked to the farmer then everything would be sorted out. Good. Straightening up his sack as best he could Aero walked to the farmer who paid him about as much attention as the chickens did.
‘Hello…’ called Aero as he got within feet of the farmer. ‘Hello?’ Was the man deaf? Aero took a step closer, moving into the man’s eye line.
‘There ye are lad,’ said the man, standing and speaking in one movement. ‘I’ve got some work for ye if ye want it.’
‘No, thanks,’ said Aero. ‘I mean thank you but I just want to-’
‘Well just come back when ye’re ready,’ said the man, bending again to continue hacking at the stalks in the ground.
Aero stood, baffled. ‘I…’ but he trailed off as the man was ignoring him again. Looking round, Aero tried to think of something else to say but couldn’t think of anything. He took a step away, considering trying one of the huts to see if there was anyone there who wasn’t mad. Looking at how empty they looked he thought better of it and turned back to the farmer.
‘It’s just that I need to talk to you,’ he said but the man was oblivious. With a grunt of exasperation, Aero stepped back to where the man seemed to need him to be before he would stand up. Right on cue the man stood.
‘There ye are lad,’ he said but Aero cut him off.
‘I need to talk to you’ he said. ‘Where is this? I need to get home.’
‘There might be something in it for ye if you do a sound enough job,’ said the farmer in a way that made it clear that whatever Aero said wasn’t getting through. Aero shook his head.
‘If I do your job will you talk to me?’ he asked in the hope of humouring this weirdo.
‘I’ve got some work for ye if ye want it,’ repeated the man.
‘All right. What work?’ said Aero with a sigh. He didn’t seem to have any choice but to play along.
‘Tis rats. The hut there is infested and I have no time to kill them. Bring me back the tails, five at least, and I’ll reward ye.’ Then surprise surprise, thought Aero, he bent back down to his pointless hacking
‘Rats? Are you joking? I’m not killing rats.’ He wasn’t even remotely surprised to be ignored. This was hopeless. He would need to find someone else to talk to. Traipsing to one of the other huts, hopefully not the one with the rat infestation, Aero stopped in his muddy tracks. There was a club on the ground, a thick piece of wood that hadn’t been there before, he was sure. Well not quite sure but he reckoned he would have noticed it. Glancing round at the mad farmer Aero pick it up.
He didn’t want to think it but the thought came to him anyway. The club was for him to kill the rats with. That meant…well what did that mean? That it had been put there after the farmer had given him the job. That was a creepy thought. It also meant that there was someone else around, someone who was organising all this. Aero looked around, hoping to spot this joker.
There was no one to be seen but perhaps at the other side of those huts. Keeping the club raised Aero went to the gap between the huts, hoping to catch out anyone that might be there. He was a little surprised to find that he couldn’t get through. There was a little fence there, linking the two buildings and even though it wasn’t more than knee high, he couldn’t quite step over it. I must be even weaker than I realised, thought Aero, stepping back.
Standing in front of the huts, Aero did a slow turn and realised something that chilled him. Wherever he looked, sometimes close, sometimes in the middle distance, there was a barrier, either a fence or clump of trees, bushes, and even a river. He was in some kind of prison.
Wait. There was a gate. Aero ran to it. He didn’t want to stay on that farm a moment longer. Up to now it had been confusing and frustrating but now it was menacing. Having had the illusion of being able to go anywhere had been more comforting than he had realised. Having that taken away was a shock.
The gate was made of sterner stuff than the door to his hut, that was for sure. Aero shook it and hit it but it refused to budge. Well he could surely climb over it then. IT was higher than the little fence but not as deep. Anyway it had rungs that he could use as steps.
He couldn’t climb it. Somehow, he either slid off it or it was as if there was another gate on top of it, one he couldn’t see. It made no sense. He should have been able to climb this gate. He had to be able to. But he couldn’t. Simple laws of physics or common sense didn’t apply. The gate seemed to be part of something much taller that reached to the sky. Or something.
Aero fell back on to the mud, panting. He glared at the gate as if it was deliberately trying to thwart him but it ignored him like everything else did. Pulling himself up, he faced back into the farm. After all, he had no choice.
Anyone interested in another chapter?
Very good yes I think you should do a second chapter. I want to know more.