Untitled.

There was a feeling of real fear amongst the tribal members that gathered in the roundhouse that moonless night.The tension was palpable.The women and children sat close to the open fire in the middle,the men nervously paced around carrying their primitive clubs and spears.The bravest tribal members occasionally wandered outside of the roundhouse but not too far outside most were satisfied with a look out of the door every now and again.The men muttered quietly to each other about how to defend the womenfolk,the women whispered soothingly to the children desperate that they should keep quiet.
It had been a couple of hours since one of them had spotted the lights and they did not know what it mean't.They knew of sunlight,moonlight,and starlight.They did not understand them but they had always been there.The sun,they knew,warmed them.The moon and stars were constant companions in the darkness.The only artificial light that they knew of was the fire that they warmed themselves by and cooked on.These lights ,that danced on the plain about a mile away,were not like their firelight,flickering and warm,these lights were cold and they feared them greatly.
On the plain the two lights continued to play.They both cast beams that penetrated the darkness for ten metres or so.Then they were still.The men in the roundhouse watched this and wondered what this portended.It could not possibly be good.Nothing that was out of the ordinary was ever good.The older men remembered well the time twenty years before when the earth shook.When they had returned to the camp they had found several huts and the roundhouse had collapsed.Their old chief had been among three that had died that day buried beneath the heavy wooden beams that held the roof up.No,they knew,nothing that was out of the ordinary was ever good.

It was few hours later and the lights had still not moved.They were tired in the roundhouse but there was a slight chill in the air and dew was started to form on the grass just outside.Dawn was fast aproaching and the darkness would soon be vanquished by the morning sun.It was around this time that the lights disapeared and within fifteens minutes the first orange rays of the sun stretched across the land from the eastern horizon.With the coming of the daylight came a new confidence in the tribe.The women remained inside the roundhouse at first but no longer huddled close to the fire.The men gathered outside the hut and,no longer talking in nervous whispers,discussed in an animated manner whether they should investigate the area where the lights had been.The chief remained silent listening carefully to both the brave and cautious.Finally he raised his hand and the men were silent.It had been a long and fraught night,he explained,They would eat and let the sun rise in the sky before investigating.There was no dissent and the tribe prepared for breakfast.
When they had eaten and the sun was higher the men,armed and far more confident than earlier,set off through the waist high grass in the direction the lights had been that night.That new confidence slowly dissipated as,step by step,they aproached where they estimated the nocturnal activity had taken place.


Ultra-Phoenix and Zion Mainframe were extremely unsteady on their feet and giggling like naughty school children as they walked into a bar carrying a black plastic bag full of empty beer cans and crisp packets.It had been an extraordinary stroke of luck when Ultra had happened upon that Time Machine in an old Antiques shop in a seldom visited quarter of Brussels but what to do with it?It had been Zion who had suggested,after drinking too much beer,that they embark on the adventure they had just returned from.All they needed was some rope and a large plank of wood,he had explained to Ultra,and it was only natural to have a few drinks after the hard work.So equipped with the plank,rope,a torch each,thirty cans of Stella Artois,and assorted snacks,they had set off together.
Zion ordered two more beers and turned to give one to Ultra.
"It will be OK don't worry Ultra."
"I just feel that we shouldn't of left anything"Slurred Ultra."We can never know the consequences of our actions"
Zion put his hand on Ultra's shoulder,whether to reassure Ultra or steady himself is unknown.
"You can't change history Ultra.It will all work out you'll see"


The tribe were very close now.Progress was slow and confidence had given way to the same fear they had felt the previous night.The chief,who was leading the party,suddenly emerged into a clearing that he was sure had not been there before.He put his hand up and his men stopped imediatly.He carefully looked around him.The clearing was almost perfectly circular and the tall grass apeared flattened and unbroken lying in a regular circular pattern.He walked slowly around the inside circumference of the circular clearing but he could find no telltale crop disturbances that would tell him a man had been there.The only one was where he had come in.
What was that in the middle?
He approached the centre of this strange circle,motioning with his hand for his men to follow.
In the centre were twenty strange objects in a small pile.The objects were cylindrical in shape and aproximately eight inches high.They were white and gold and had strange red markings on them.The men gathered around them but not too close.It was the chief who tentatively aproached.He stuck out his hand and touched one then withdrew his hand quickly.It was cold and had a strange feel.Nothing else happened so he touched it again for longer,his tribe marveled at his bravery.He then picked it up it,it was heavy and he noticed it had a small semi-circular pin on one end.He pinged it with his fingernail,he pinged it again and it hissed.His warriors scattered to the edges of the clearing.The chief had been paralised by fear and remained rooted to the spot still holding the object.It did nothing else and the warriors closed in again,the chief sniffed the small hole that had appeared in the top of the object.It smelt funny.He slightly turned it so it was no longer upright and a small quantity of yellow liquid spilt out.He poured a little more onto his open hand,it was cold.To a murmer from his men he raised his hand to his mouth.It was not water,it was sparkling and it made him feel slightly refreshed.He put the small opening to his mouth and poured some of the liquid directly in.The chief smiled.

Two hours later the chief was lying on the flattened grass looking over the Wiltshire countryside with a can of Stella Artois in his hand.His men were not used to the alcohol a few were asleep.The other two lay next to him in a similar pose taking occasional sips from their cans and talking about how their wives didn't understand them.
"How many cans we got left"asked the chief shaking his empty can.
"Only three"said one of his companions.
"One more each for the road then"said the chief"drink up"
The chief reached for the final three cans while his two friends knocked back their beer.In unison they pulled the ringpull and they looked at each other and giggled.
"Do you think they will come back?" said one of the men.
The chief took a long sip and smacked his lips.
"I was thinking about that" said the chief."How about we raise those big stones we have by the camp around this circular clearing.Then if the come back they will know where to put this magic water and we will know where to find it."
"I knew they was a reason you are chief" said his friend "you have all the best ideas.We'll start tomorrow."

[Edited on 1-7-2003 by John bull 1]

I was captured by the first sentance.

That is true writers art. If you can capture the reader in the first sentance than the written material is automatically sold. Good work John. I especially like the usage of our members here. Way to keep it in the family.

For being the first to reply I'll write you into the next one I do AV.

Great story John bull 1...I'll never look at stone henge the same again.

_____________________________________________
Be Cool
K_OS

Originally posted by John bull 1
For being the first to reply I'll write you into the next one I do AV.

You don't have to do that!


But if you insist.

Just don't make me a bad guy.

That was great. I had no idea where you were going with that but it was about perfect.

OK,Thanks for all the positive replies.
I've already developed the next story which I'll post tomorrow.
I'm pretty sure you'll enjoy it also.As promised AV will feature.

Originally posted by observer
That was great. I had no idea where you were going with that but it was about perfect.

That says it all...

Beautifull story John... it was a delight to read it.. keep up the good work.

Peace,

MrFreeze

So...who's playing the girl????

I know who Freezie would pick???

Just remind him that if he writes one...it has to have snow in it!

Gryff

Gryff my dear,you will only feature briefly in the new story and not in person as you will see tomorrow but I'm sure I can think up a story for you
Softly spoken scots girl,windswept and desolate locality.

Unfortunately you'll have to wait a day or two.

John make shure you mention some Ice... in all kinds of shapes and sizes... Gryff just loves ice...

Freeze

Great story JB1. Hope to read many more from you.

Very good story!

Very interesting perspective on Stonehenge, considering the Druidic connotations associated with the Henge, I guess it would be associated with beer somehow!

Greetings all.
Some comments regarding Untitled written by John Bull 1.
I enjoyed reading the story, especially the suspense built up around the tribal group and their initial reactions to the implied threat they were under. I was drawn into the action taking place, and was genuinely interested in finding out what they were looking at.
The unexpected jump into another time frame was a little abrupt, for my taste, and it took my brain a few sentences before I connected the second scene with the first. Also, the shift from a third person narrative to a vague dialogue between two brand new characters was disconcerting, and there were a few examples of sentences running together.
With a little more descriptive detail and defining of genre (I didn't see this as humor until after two-thirds of the story, I was expecting sci-fi at first), and some general editing, I think this short story could have merited submission to a science fiction or fantasy website.
Still, good job overall, and I rate it a 4 out of 5.

Fantastic story...really enjoyed that. thanks for sharing.