Amnesty 2007 - Water Challenge, by Fionnabair
Title: Still Waters
Author: Fionnabair
Fandom: Life on Mars
Summary: Gene deals with some business
Rating: Green Cortina
Word count: 310
Author's notes: Just a brief vignette in the Hookerverse. Gene deals with some business. Thanks, as ever, to m31andy for the beta.
The canal was often busy during the day. The boats had gone, but there were always people along it. Drunks, derelicts, dedicated fishermen who baited their hooks, cast their lines and pulled in their sinkers, sometimes snagging a perch or a roach, only to throw it back. The canal was patient, as were those who used it. Its patience continued all the time. It was always deserted at this time of the night. Sometimes it rained, soaking Gene to the core, despite the heavy coat he habitually wore. Sometimes the winds howled down from the Pennines, a suitable dirge for the work being done.
It might be black as pitch, too dark for shadows, or it might be like tonight, clear, serene, the full moon reflected in the water. It kept its secrets like the grave, did the canal, and Gene kept his.
It was a silent act. He didn’t even swear to himself as he hauled out the awkward bundle, wrapped in sacking and linoleum. He unwrapped it, pushing the coverings back in the car, propping the contents against his shoulder.
It was almost a religious act. It was in some ways. Certainly Gene was substituting for another religious ceremony as he swung his offering over his shoulder and walked the few steps to the canal bank. As gently as a priest baptising a new born, he lowered the bundle into the canal.
The water rippled, the perfect circle of the moon disrupted as the bundle slid in. Even this was a silent act, no splash or murmur from the water as it embraced its offering and swallowed it.
Gene stood in the moonlight, watching the waters settle again, back to their pristine stillness as if nothing had disturbed them. Then he turned back to his car.
Another dangerous problem dealt with permanently.
Author: Fionnabair
Fandom: Life on Mars
Summary: Gene deals with some business
Rating: Green Cortina
Word count: 310
Author's notes: Just a brief vignette in the Hookerverse. Gene deals with some business. Thanks, as ever, to m31andy for the beta.
The canal was often busy during the day. The boats had gone, but there were always people along it. Drunks, derelicts, dedicated fishermen who baited their hooks, cast their lines and pulled in their sinkers, sometimes snagging a perch or a roach, only to throw it back. The canal was patient, as were those who used it. Its patience continued all the time. It was always deserted at this time of the night. Sometimes it rained, soaking Gene to the core, despite the heavy coat he habitually wore. Sometimes the winds howled down from the Pennines, a suitable dirge for the work being done.
It might be black as pitch, too dark for shadows, or it might be like tonight, clear, serene, the full moon reflected in the water. It kept its secrets like the grave, did the canal, and Gene kept his.
It was a silent act. He didn’t even swear to himself as he hauled out the awkward bundle, wrapped in sacking and linoleum. He unwrapped it, pushing the coverings back in the car, propping the contents against his shoulder.
It was almost a religious act. It was in some ways. Certainly Gene was substituting for another religious ceremony as he swung his offering over his shoulder and walked the few steps to the canal bank. As gently as a priest baptising a new born, he lowered the bundle into the canal.
The water rippled, the perfect circle of the moon disrupted as the bundle slid in. Even this was a silent act, no splash or murmur from the water as it embraced its offering and swallowed it.
Gene stood in the moonlight, watching the waters settle again, back to their pristine stillness as if nothing had disturbed them. Then he turned back to his car.
Another dangerous problem dealt with permanently.