Story [Issue 20] The Paint Desert

[Vikingsrallentando 3,058]

 

 To continue our exploration of how paints got their names; our previous adventure. 

 

    Minutes after receiving Carl’s distress call, Scott Hamilton was searching for his car keys, being distracted by his wife Cheryl.

 

“Where are you going, honey?” she questioned, unaware of what had unfolded.

 

“Mary is missing, Carl is panicking, I’m heading down there. Where are my keys?” he retorted as calmly as he could.

 

“I...I don’t know. Did you check your coat pocket?”

 

“Umm...” He shoves his hands into the pockets, “Ah, here they are.” He kissed her, grabbed a suitcase, and opened the door.

 

“I’m coming with you.” Cheryl said, grabbing her coat.

 

“No, you’re not. I’ll be back in a few days.” Scott said, before slamming the door and getting in his car.

 

~~~

 

    Heading south on I-75 from Detroit, it only took Scott three hours to get to the Tennessee border. The trip left him restless so he stopped to get coffee at a gas station and to refuel for the next hour. The entire building smells of gasoline of course, and fried chicken. However the clerk did not, she was a pleasant woman that smelled like daffodils, which kicked off his allergies. He tried to keep the confrontation short as his eyes watered. He purchased the coffee and paid for the gas then proceeded out of the gas station, sneezing all the way to his car.

 

    Getting back on the road, he drove by a VFW post, reminding him of his time in the army. A combined total of eight years of service for the United States, his last two of which were overseas in the Middle East. In a routine trip down a road, his truck was hit by an IED. In an instant, the truck was engulfed in flames and on its side. Scott miraculously survived, but two of his comrades were not so lucky. For the next few years he suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder, which had subsided exponentially in the past two years. He shoved the memory away for the time being as he continued south.

 

    Half an hour later, Scott arrived at Mary’s house, not greeted by birds in song, rather crickets communicating with each other as rain started to sprinkle on his windshield.  He pulled into the driveway, stopped, and opened his suitcase. It contained his Colt .45 pistol which he took and loaded. He got out of the car to tuck it in the side of his pants, just in case. He grabbed a flashlight and began walking towards the house.

 

“Car is missing, signs of forced entry” Scott pointed out to himself as he approached the dark home, which stood out amongst the green foliage, noticing everything Carl did. “Abduction using her own car?” Scott thought, “That doesn’t seem sensible...” Also noticing that Carl and any form of law enforcement was nowhere to be found. “That's odd,” he thought. “Why didn’t he do anything?”

 

He walked in, seeing something Carl hadn’t; a garbage can was sitting in the middle of the room with a clock display on top counting down and it was at 5 seconds. Scott ran out as fast as he could, nearly slipping on the shattered glass. He made it about 10 metres past the corner of the house when it blew. The inferno broke the windows, releasing several feet of flames in the air. Scott was knocked on the ground from the impact, landed badly on his right knee, and way too close to the burning house. Embers were falling everywhere, one of which fell on his left leg and somehow caught fire. Grunting, he started rolling back and forth to stop his pant leg from burning anymore. Out of breath, he tried yelling for help.

 

“Help!? Anyone?!” He shouted in between his hard breaths. Five minutes later, police, fire, and ambulance crews were on the scene. Two policemen were out of their car and by Scott within seconds.

 

“Are you alright sir?” one officer asked. “He’s over here!” the other shouted to the paramedic in the ambulance.

 

“Yeah” Scott managed to say while grabbing his right knee.

 

“It’s going to be okay, take deep breaths,” said the first officer as the paramedic started to examine his leg and the scratches and scrapes on Scott’s head and arms. He was then put on a stretcher and taken to the ambulance.

 

    The whole trip to the hospital in the ambulance kept him guessing, curious as to what exactly went on, why Mary’s home was blown up and why she was missing. This extraordinary arson also brought back the thoughts of the IED explosion, once again putting those images in his head. Though the incidents were similar, this time he could see it coming; but the impact of the explosion will once again haunt him for the rest of his life.

 

The paint “Desert” was added to the game to commemorate Scott's bravery and endurance overseas. The intruders have Mary and burned her house down, why and where is she now?

 

Thanks for reading, and hope you enjoyed.

[doduobird 315]

First! Great article I like these series

[ATHENA123 56]

nice story :)

[GoldRock 6,165]

Upon seeing this, I initially thought "Ah, another one of these... maybe they're dragging on a bit?". However, as I read it, I realised that it was actually really interesting, original, and excellently written, and I was just about forming an overall (very postive) verdict when I reached the end. The end. I just feel that the ending used here has very little relevance to the story itself; you build up and develop a series of events only to go "actually the paint Desert was added because he was a soldier in the Middle East some years ago". Kind of frustrating, disappointing, underwhelming... feels like a brilliant story cut short, if I'm honest. I know that you were trying to round the story off, but I personally don't think you did it in a very suitable way. Other than that, I'm very impressed by the rest of it - nicely done.

[r_nobodygood0 2]

this is a cool thing youve got going

[D1E 257]

Upon seeing this, I initially thought "Ah, another one of these... maybe they're dragging on a bit?". However, as I read it, I realised that it was actually really interesting, original, and excellently written, and I was just about forming an overall (very postive) verdict when I reached the end. The end. I just feel that the ending used here has very little relevance to the story itself; you build up and develop a series of events only to go "actually the paint Desert was added because he was a soldier in the Middle East some years ago". Kind of frustrating, disappointing, underwhelming... feels like a brilliant story cut short, if I'm honest. I know that you were trying to round the story off, but I personally don't think you did it in a very suitable way. Other than that, I'm very impressed by the rest of it - nicely done.

What gold said :/

[MA3CTPO_HA_XAHTEP 832]

Very nice, I'm enjoying when I'm reading those stories.

[Vikingsrallentando 3,058]

You're right and I agree, I shaped the story to a high intensity point and ended it short. I'm supprised you braught that up now. Mind you, the past parts of the story have ended similarly.  Mary gets kidnapped, then it stops. Carl becomes a trainwreck, then it stops.  This time it was more abrupt and unsatisfying, leaving you hanging, creating more questions than answers to keep you hooked. The endings have relevence to the character, as they have been surrounded by different characters thus far.  I didn't want it to be just another series with a "Part 1" a "Part 2" and so on; its my way of expanding on Mary's disapearance through many character situations, y'know what I mean?

[alezm 44]

 nice story .

Edited February 6, 2014 by alezm