Morning all. It is a frosty one today, so I am using the morning prompt to warm up both fingers and brain cells. Then I am getting the coffee to help complete the warming process. So let’s jump in. Timers at the ready and off we go for fifteen minutes.
I think my brain started to try to edit as I was going through. Or at least try to figure out eh scenario. I like the concept of someone who grew up in violence working to find peace, I just need to focus on whatever scene I put him into. So for this I ended up liking the concept of the character more than anything else.
Tuesday, December 12th: Shots were fired.
Shots were fired. What turned into a peaceful negotiation suddenly erupted in chaos. Both sides dove for cover and where there were once two opposing factions facing off, there was now one group of people cowering out of sight of whoever was shooting. Jake found himself crouched next to a woman who, given her clothing, would have counted him an enemy, even if it was only from a political viewpoint.
Now they cowered together in mutual fear and when it came time to follow the others out, she accepted his help gratefully and the two of them held hands, supporting each other as they eased out of firing range.
They made it to safety and let go of each other. She offered him a smile of thanks before moving off to join her friends. He went to join his, their moment of camaraderie ended, but remaining stamped in his mind.
Out of immediate danger, Jake wondered who was firing. He could allow his mind to wander through the possibilities. It was a relief from feeling like a small, trapped animal and his mind reveled in theoretical details as proof that he was once again human and capable of more than just survival. It was a relief to be a thinking creature again.
Even if his thoughts didn’t much matter.
He was not the one who would be dealing with anything. He was not in charge of anything here and hadn’t been before the gunfire started. He was a messenger at best, the man who held the paperwork at worst. He had no power. At the moment though, those in charge of either side had no real power. It suddenly became a military matter and those with guns went out searching for the others with guns who disrupted proceedings.
Jake hoped no one had more than guns. He much preferred the peaceful negotiations to anything involving gunfire. There was too much violence in the world already and his child hood had been steeped in it. He tried his best to leave it behind. To work in environments that promoted peace. Sometimes he was more successful than others. As always he went through stages with the aftermath of violence. At first he was relieved, and then he searched for the parts of himself that were non-violent. That kept him looking for peace, his intellect and rational thought. It would only hold the anger at bay for so long. Then he felt the rage rising.
He felt it for those who would defile another’s attempts to find peace. His attempt to find peace. The rage would burn hot through him and he felt as if his entire body was vibrating with it. Through an act of will he imagines ice water slowly being poured over his insides chilling the rage.
He had seen what happened when rage was allowed to flame into violence far too many times. In his family the rage was a common thing and few worked to calm it, preferring to let it spew out into the world. It was with great effort that he prevented his own rage from burning down the world.
Ten til Midnight 