This month's Words for Wednesday prompts are provided by Hilary Melton-Butcher. This week's prompts are: Wellington Boot, Art, Murmuration, Sedge, Thresh, Fissure And/or Heath, Race, Cottage, Mosses, Windbreak, Ajax. This time I used all the words. Visit Elephant's Child for more takes on the prompts over here.
Fiction: The Hunt on Wind Breaker Island
Sedge Quickhand was surprised when her left arm broke off. By then, she was already on Wind Breaker Island.
Three days ago, Sedge, her best friend, Ajax 'Boots' Wellington, and six other contestants were dropped off on Wind Breaker Island by boat. They were there for 'The Hunt' to find the buried golden tooth. But it was not much hunting as it was racing about the island and randomly digging. The only thing they were told was that the tooth was buried somewhere in the ground. As the island was the size a small city, there was no way to systematically plan to find the tooth and besides, the other contestant would try to stop you if you did. And even if you find the tooth, you have to find a way to get it off the island and go back to the city to claim your prize assuming no one tries to kill you on the way and tries to steal the tooth from you. 'The Hunt' would last as long as the contestants were alive to dig. In the last hunt, only two people survived and they both gave up without finding the buried item and that was after eight years of searching.
Wind Breaker Island got its name by the stench the wind would blow in every few days. The stench was often vile and anyone present would have smelled it whether they were underground or up in the air. Years ago, people used to live on the island but now it was a heath, full of overgrown trees, half-dead plants and animal bones. A few run-down cottages were still scattered about and covered with moss. Fissures with puddles running through them were everywhere on the ground. They divided up the island in little sections.
'There was no art to digging. Just take a shovel and push,' was all Sedge's father said as she was packing to leave. For supplies, Sedge brought digging equipments, some clothes and bottles for water. Food, she thought, she would find in the water. Upon arrival, she had noted the abundance of wild fruits growing on some of the trees.
Being on the island was not Sedge's idea. Her father gave her two options: go on this hunt or go to jail. Sedge only slightly demolished her ex's ship but he insisted on charges and Sedge's father refused to pay to get her out of jail unless she go on the hunt. Sedge knew her father wanted to keep her out of trouble and out of his sight. At 27, Sedge had never felt anchored to anything or anyone, not Boots not her father nor her dead mother. The years passed her by without her having any directions to her life. Any thought she had of becoming someone's wife and mother were destroyed by her ex. Sedge thought she might as well go on this hunt which might cure some of her restlessness.
The one thing Sedge minded was Boots being her partner, which wouldn't have been much of a problem as Boots was build like an ox and could dig but their minds were linked. It was something Sedge's father had not told her when she agreed to go on the hunt. This link meant whatever Boots thought of, Sedge would thought of and vice versa. Sedge didn't like the idea of someone knowing her every thought. And besides, Boots was a bit dumb from the time he hit his head falling out of a tree trying to catch a squirrel. The linking of minds was to make certain the partners would be one-minded which should make making decisions easier or so they were told. Sedge thought some sick idiot had thought it up as a way to drive people crazy. The linking was done by a set of old mages before the contestants were brought to the island. The link would automatically severed if your partner died or if a mage broke it for you. Sedge hoped for the latter as she didn't like the idea of Boots dying nor her own demise. Already, one pair, a married couple, was seen fighting the moment they landed on the island. Sedge guessed the man had a thought the wife didn't like him having.
A little while ago, Sedge and Boots were digging just like the other six people on the island. Sedge and Boots had claimed a spot near the water's edge. A black hairy creature, the size of a small dog, appeared and jumped on Sedge and gripped her left arm. Boots struck at the creature with his shovel but it smacked Sedge's cheek. Sedge grunted and dropped her shovel. "Sorry," Boots said and laughed. He threw his shovel to the ground and took hold of her arm. "I hold, you strike," he said. She nodded and threshed at the creature while Boots kept tucking at her arm until he fell to the ground unconscious. Her arm had broken off and laid on Boots' chest but the creature was still clinging to it. For a moment, Sedge stared wide-eyed. The creature crawled off Boot's chest onto the sandy ground and started running. Sedge picked up her shovel and whacked it until it let her arm go. It disappeared into the water.
The murmuration all around suddenly seemed too loud to Sedge. She looked around her. The others were far away and besides that, it had gotten dark. Torch lights were lit and placed here and there. Still, Sedge worried one of them might see her. She picked up her arm and screwed it into place and twisted. There was a click and then she was able to feel her arm again. This had never happened before but she had always knew some parts of her were mechanical ever since she got a cut on her left arm and it didn't bleed. There were many chances she could have gotten answers from her father but she didn't want to know. It was frightening enough in finding out her left arm was not her flesh but to find out more would probably drive her insane. The skin on her left arm looked as real as the rest of her and the seam was invisible. Sedge took to always wearing long sleeves just in case. At least, she could lift heavy things with her arm. Still, it was no advantage.
Sedge wiped the sweat on her forehead and face with the back of her right hand. It was hot on the island. Even after three days, the temperature had not dropped. The stench had came by once and it brought tears to her eyes but it was still not the worst scent she had known since she once cleaned toilets. To give up was not an option for Sedge since it would be a waste to be sent here only to end up with nothing. She took out a handkerchief and wrapped it around the bite mark and pulled the sleeve down a little. A cool breeze swept pass her. She sighed.
She picked up her shovel and gave Boots a good kick. His eyes flickered opened and he sat up. For a moment, he stared at her. She tilted her head toward the shovel near his feet. He got up, picked it up, gave her a sheepish grin and began digging. All day, Boots had been thinking about eating coconuts and going swimming. It would have been nice to be so simple-minded. If only Sedge was a little more like Boots. Nearby, a little crab was soaking in a shallow puddle. If that crab can survive, so could Sedge. She picked up her shovel and started digging until a strange cry rung out.
