Eventually, they reached the edge of the forest, dodging booby trap after pit hole after trip wire. They found base camp. “Thanks boy.” Alfred said, burying his face into Snickers’s ruff. The dog stiffened suddenly and gave a warning bark. Alfred stood, drawing his weapon, as the woman appeared in front of them in a torrent of anger and whirling rage.
“How dare you!” She screeched, unearthly once more, and wrapped tight fingernails around his throat, thumbs on either side of his bobbing Adam’s apple. “How dare you get out! Let’s show you!” And with that, the walls bled away around them, and through his slowly dimming vision and tingling in this furthest extremities (bloodloss, his fuzzy mind supplied readily for him), he felt Snickers lean up against him firmly.
He was in the halls of the UN suddenly, and he reeled, gasping for breath as the woman and the jungle were no more. Alfred looked down at himself. He was… he was himself again, strong and buff! Alfred look down and to his right, and there was Snickers, somehow still there. Just to test himself, he grabbed his dog round the middle and hoisted him into the air. Lord, he felt just like a feather! This was wonderful, he’d so been missing this, he couldn’t believe it! Still, he was at the UN, and since he was the best, and obviously the most powerful nation in the world, he had meetings to attend. And now, since that whole magic thing was obviously just a dream, he could get on with his life of just being awesome and helpful and everything! He picked up his briefcase easily from the floor and, Snickers firmly at his side, passed through security like nobody’s business. It was like nobody could see Snickers or something. Maybe Matt had turned into a German Shepard? Just to test it, Alfred turned to the dog. “Matt, is that you?” Snickers just looked up at him happily like normal, so Alfred just shrugged. Maybe he had an angel dog or something. Wasn’t there a movie or something? It was in the nineties… All Dogs Go To Heaven, that was it. Alfred smiled brightly and just accepted his good fortune.
Alfred looked down the hall as he made his way, admittedly his late way, but as the party didn’t start til he walked in, so whatever, and noticed the carpet and frowned. Hey, hadn’t it been this color forever, and then changed when they remodeled back in ’07? Had they changed it back from that new turquoise color thing already? Oh well, wasn’t his problem what color the floors were.
Alfred reached the wide double doors, took a deep breath, and put on a smile on his face. Whenever he was really late, he needed to face it head on. He pushed open the doors.
The room went deathly silent. Alfred could hear the sound of his footsteps and the soft clicks of Snicker’s nails on the hardwood floors. He sat firmly in his seat. Next to him, Arthur reached over and squeezed his knee, and Snickers was unnoticed behind him, but everyone else was staring at him stonily. “Well, where are they?” Some anonymous voice asked from the crowd, and Alfred turned, wondering who was speaking to him like that and wondering what the hell they were talking about, trying to pinpoint who it was. “Yeah, did you ever find any?” Someone else jeered. “Or did you really invade for the oil?”
Oh god, this wasn’t now, this was back when they’d just discovered there weren’t any WMDs at all… Alfred face burned in shame and disappointment and he felt once again like he was going to cry. God, what were these woman trying to do to him? Damn, it had felt so real…
At this point in the real story, Arthur had leapt up and defended him, but here the shouts and angry murmuring just kept coming and coming and coming and coming and coming…
“ENOUGH!” A great voice shouted, and the walls flew away in an instant to turn back simply into that corridor in Newgrange, at the present time, away from everything in the past.
Alfred brushed his sweaty hair away from his eyes, pushed his glasses back up his nose with his middle finger, and stood. The women were arrayed behind him, teeth bared, and a great, ghostly warrior stood in front of him, staring down at them. “Your deal was seven. That is eight. You cannot keep ‘im ‘ere.”
Crowe 5g/?
“How dare you!” She screeched, unearthly once more, and wrapped tight fingernails around his throat, thumbs on either side of his bobbing Adam’s apple. “How dare you get out! Let’s show you!” And with that, the walls bled away around them, and through his slowly dimming vision and tingling in this furthest extremities (bloodloss, his fuzzy mind supplied readily for him), he felt Snickers lean up against him firmly.
He was in the halls of the UN suddenly, and he reeled, gasping for breath as the woman and the jungle were no more. Alfred looked down at himself. He was… he was himself again, strong and buff! Alfred look down and to his right, and there was Snickers, somehow still there. Just to test himself, he grabbed his dog round the middle and hoisted him into the air. Lord, he felt just like a feather! This was wonderful, he’d so been missing this, he couldn’t believe it! Still, he was at the UN, and since he was the best, and obviously the most powerful nation in the world, he had meetings to attend. And now, since that whole magic thing was obviously just a dream, he could get on with his life of just being awesome and helpful and everything! He picked up his briefcase easily from the floor and, Snickers firmly at his side, passed through security like nobody’s business. It was like nobody could see Snickers or something. Maybe Matt had turned into a German Shepard? Just to test it, Alfred turned to the dog. “Matt, is that you?” Snickers just looked up at him happily like normal, so Alfred just shrugged. Maybe he had an angel dog or something. Wasn’t there a movie or something? It was in the nineties… All Dogs Go To Heaven, that was it. Alfred smiled brightly and just accepted his good fortune.
Alfred looked down the hall as he made his way, admittedly his late way, but as the party didn’t start til he walked in, so whatever, and noticed the carpet and frowned. Hey, hadn’t it been this color forever, and then changed when they remodeled back in ’07? Had they changed it back from that new turquoise color thing already? Oh well, wasn’t his problem what color the floors were.
Alfred reached the wide double doors, took a deep breath, and put on a smile on his face. Whenever he was really late, he needed to face it head on. He pushed open the doors.
The room went deathly silent. Alfred could hear the sound of his footsteps and the soft clicks of Snicker’s nails on the hardwood floors. He sat firmly in his seat. Next to him, Arthur reached over and squeezed his knee, and Snickers was unnoticed behind him, but everyone else was staring at him stonily. “Well, where are they?” Some anonymous voice asked from the crowd, and Alfred turned, wondering who was speaking to him like that and wondering what the hell they were talking about, trying to pinpoint who it was. “Yeah, did you ever find any?” Someone else jeered. “Or did you really invade for the oil?”
Oh god, this wasn’t now, this was back when they’d just discovered there weren’t any WMDs at all… Alfred face burned in shame and disappointment and he felt once again like he was going to cry. God, what were these woman trying to do to him? Damn, it had felt so real…
At this point in the real story, Arthur had leapt up and defended him, but here the shouts and angry murmuring just kept coming and coming and coming and coming and coming…
“ENOUGH!” A great voice shouted, and the walls flew away in an instant to turn back simply into that corridor in Newgrange, at the present time, away from everything in the past.
Alfred brushed his sweaty hair away from his eyes, pushed his glasses back up his nose with his middle finger, and stood. The women were arrayed behind him, teeth bared, and a great, ghostly warrior stood in front of him, staring down at them. “Your deal was seven. That is eight. You cannot keep ‘im ‘ere.”