fiction - brigits_flame - Then and Now

[hwango]

Sir Hatter spared a quick glance at his arm to see how badly he was bleeding, and then immediately returned his attention to the doorway. It wasn't that bad, really – the bullet had only grazed him. Certainly he'd had worse. Or seen worse, at least. Now that he came to think about it a bit more, it was usually other people standing near him who tended to get injured. That being the case, it was something of a pity that he was currently alone in his study.

Hatter silently chided himself for thinking such a selfish thought. Then one of his assailants leaned out into doorway long enough to fire off another shot, and as the bullet tore a chunk of wood out of the corner of his desk he couldn't help thinking it again. He fired back in reply, but succeeded only in hitting some unseen bit of pottery further down the hall. Hopefully it wasn't that rather large pot he'd brought back from his expedition to Llu. In addition to being quite irreplaceable, it was also a handsome shade of green, and currently contained a rather lovely rhododendron.

Ah, Llu. What an amazing place that had been. The spectacular Underground Cathedral. The majestic Howling Cliff. That incredibly colorful variety of poisonous snake that he had found in his boot one day. That tree that burst into flames when you tried to pick a piece of fruit from it. So many wonderfully interesting memories.

Such thoughts led Hatter to consider again how absurd it would be to be killed in his own home, and by something so mundane as men with guns. He'd been attacked by giant squid, tigers, a quite astonishing variety of dinosaurs, more carnivorous plants than he would have ever dreamed existed, all manner of unquiet dead, and quite possibly every curse and booby trap ever concocted by men who didn't want other men poking around in their tombs, temples, or root cellars. To have survived all that, only to be shot? It was unthinkable.

A long moment passed as everyone seemed to waiting for someone else to shoot next. Perhaps they had all run out of bullets, Hatter thought. Wouldn't that be marvelous? He frowned as he considered his own reserves of ammunition. Hatter reached up to open the top drawer of his desk and awkwardly rummaged in the corners for any spare bullets that might be lurking there. It would have been nice to stand up and conduct a proper search, but that would have meant surrendering the cover provided by the heavy wooden desk.

Two more bullets. He added them to the three still remaining in his revolver. Five bullets for two more targets. Not quite the ratio he might have hoped for. At least the weapon was of sufficient caliber that a single hit for each would be all that was required. The size of the hole that he'd blown in the third attacker was probably the reason the remaining two seemed to be exercising so much caution in spite of their superior numbers.

Hatter smiled. Superior numbers? There were only two of them, and he was Sir Reginald Hatter. He was not going to die today.

Comments

[belluminabyssus.livejournal.com]

Ooh! What a fabulous ending. Tell me you will have more of this ... I want to see more of this character!

[hwango.livejournal.com]

Thanks - this was me trying to write a bit for my NaNoWriMo novel and the writing activity at the same time, so rest assured there is more of Sir Reginald Hatter and the Hyperdimensional Interlopers. = )

[yuunaluna.livejournal.com]

really enjoyed the voice of this character. i'm not sure someone would do quite so much thinking during a shoot out, but the commentary is amusing enough that i didn't mind. job well done!

[hwango.livejournal.com]

Thanks! You know, I should probably break up the thinking with a bit more shooting. Otherwise it could appear that this is all taking place in the span of a few seconds, or that everyone is waiting several minutes between salvos.

[yuunaluna.livejournal.com]

that would be the perfect fix!

[keppiehed.livejournal.com]

This was great! I really hope you have a link to your novel at the end of NaNo, because I am hooked! Your imagination really showed in the details, which were written so effortlessly. I can't wait to read more!

[hwango.livejournal.com]

Thanks - I'll see if I can cook up enough material to make it worth putting up a link.

[silverflight8.livejournal.com]

I like the character you've constructed here - wry, rationalizing a bit, funny. I especially like your third paragraph; it made me laugh.

I'm going to echo belluminabyssus and hope that you post more of this. It sounds very, very intriguing.

[hwango.livejournal.com]

Thanks - we'll see how it goes. I keep getting distracted by other things.

[thorarosebird.livejournal.com]

Sorry that this is so late after the voting but I'm only just getting round to the entries!

Ahh, this was a fabulous piece - it reads very easily and it's just enjoyable as a piece of fiction. The tone of voice ("rather lovely rhododendron" :D) is amiable and humourous to read. :)

I think that the wording (lots of use of "rather", "quite", "absurd") makes me think that this character is ... British? In which case you may want to consider having all British spellings for authenticity, such as "calibre"?

Anyway, that's such a small thing for you to change - I really enjoyed reading this and honestly can't think of how this could be bettered. :)

[hwango.livejournal.com]

Thanks! It's tempting it Britify (almost certainly not a real word) all the spelling, but what if I miss one? I could change all of the "grays" to "grey" and whatnot, but what if I miss an "armor" in there somehwere? I should check to see if my version of Word has a spellchecker option for British English. That might be fun.

[thorarosebird.livejournal.com]

It should do! Mine's set to UK English, obviously, but it keeps flicking back to US English, so keep an eye on that if you do. ;)

[missflyer.livejournal.com]

I always love reading your work -- it has such a nice balance, and flow, and is always a pleasure to read in tone and detail and action. The last paragraph is just the icing on the cake, I think :) Will you be posting more of Sir Reginald Hatter for BF, do you think?

[hwango.livejournal.com]

Thanks! I hope so - not this week, obviously, since I couldn't come up with a piece of the story I wanted to tell that went well with the prompt, and then of course I went all crazy and everything. But if I make it next week maybe I can write another bit for that week if the topic is a better match.

[missflyer.livejournal.com]

I'll look forward to it, then! (btw, may I friend you, please? :) )

[hwango.livejournal.com]

Of course! I have people I've never heard of in Russia who friend me. I certainly can't complain about being friended by people that I've actually talked to. = )

[missflyer.livejournal.com]

Thanks! :D