Woof was uneasy and sticking close to Zane who was in turn was damn near stuck to me. Probably because I had pulled him close. Funny how Shelli and her friends hadn't rushed up real close to pinch Zane's cheek and tousle his hair. I guess the worlds largest known German Shepherd has that effect on people.
Damn Woof should be past his growing stage but he was getting bigger, a lot bigger since we had first met. Probably all the growth hormones and what not in the people dined on. He did seem happier lately too. I wondered who was taking antidepressants that he munched on. These were just random thoughts that run through your mind as head into what was probably going to be some kind of meaningful for the masses but intensely boring for me ceremony.Then it struck me that this might be my ceremony! That would be nice. Unlikely, but nice.
Shelli led us or rather I let her take the lead. The Horde started moving too. I could hear orders being barked around me. They were being called to formation. Shelli was talking over her shoulder to me and Zane telling us "Okay guys. When we get almost to the church I'll show you where you need to stand. Freya and everyone should be coming out .... yes...here they come. You will need to wait for my prompt..."
They filed out of the double doors of church like they had practiced it which I really hoped they hadn't. First came Night with Ninja right behind her. I grinned at her, she waved and Ninja gave me a raised fist salute while grinning like a maniac. Maybe fifteen paces behind them came Freya and Max. Freya looked radiant and yes, she was not a kid anymore. Her hair was still shiny. That unicorn piss worked wonders. The long white cotton dress she wore set her best features off perfectly, especially when the sun got behind her and outlined her body. Max wasn't geared up, actually, for him, he looked dressed up. Plain green BDU's, a white t-shirt, and his .45 worn in a law enforcement rig on his belt. He was looking past me to watch the Horde as it finished getting in formation. I was wondering where in the hell you find stainless white clothes like that these days when Carol came out after them maintaining the same spacing. She too was wearing a long dress but hers was more of an organic brownish white. It suited her. Her hair was down and the blond highlists seemed brighter as did her eyes. She had put on a couple of pounds and she looked good. Real good. I went back to looking at Night.
Carol Who? you mean Zane's mom? Zane and I got along real well,good kid. I sure missed you,what's for dinner?
ReplyDeleteNova, you have me guessing. (Which is par for the course.)
ReplyDeleteI wish I knew more about the pageantry of Freya's world. I'm sure the order of appearance would mean something. Why was Carol last? Is she the most important? The guest of honor? The sacrifice?
And what is Woof becoming? Just a really big dog? Something more? He's already smarter than most people. (But that may be true for most German Shepherds.) I would love to have a Woof, but I don't know how I'd feed him.
And what's going on with the Horde? Night is assigning guards to everything valuable, and she is the logistics guru. Freya could alert the warriors to outside threats, so is there an internal dissension. Or is the horde running low on supplies? Or something else?
As usual, you've got my full attention. Thank you for sharing, we are all grateful to get to read a work in progress.
p.s. - to clarify, I was wrong to say that Freya was justice incarnate. She's more like retribution, I think. That would be a better description. Sort of like the way alcohol burns when it cleanses a dirty wound. Until she orders the death of innocents, I think the analogy makes sense. If that line is crossed, she loses moral authority, and she might lose at least some of her followers. Especially those that think that preserving the lives of innocents is the only reason to keep on fighting in this distopian nightmare of a world.
I kinda agree with Kristina, the Max/Gardener partnership has kinda been a fulcrum of sorts of the story thus far. Destroying that might well prove terminal to the story.
ReplyDeleteWith the horde seeming to be of around company strength Night having the supplies and vehicles a special guard detail makes me think that she's worried about internal theft.
This whole ceremony seems kinda contrived, which makes me think that Freya is behind it.
I would like to see Thursday come back though, Mjolnir is supposed to be an awesome weapon.
As for feeding woof, I'd suggest using a BIG shovel.