Thread: 03/22/09 - Put The Hammer Down

SevenWritez
1 Month Ban

Who'd a' believed it?

DUSK: ASGARD
(350 words)

She found him at the edge of the fiord staring sullenly out across the sea. Even reflected light of the ascending full moon could not bring a sparkle to his sad blue eyes. Without a word, Sif wrapped her arms around one of his and snuggled close beside him, flowing strands of both their long golden locks mingling together in the brisk ocean winds.

After a moment, he pulled her into a full embrace and they stood there entwined, he still lost somewhere near the waves lapping the horizon, she barely able to see over his broad shoulder the long house she had just left, its torch lights dancing to the tunes of the merriment inside.

“As one who holds much credit for the festivities this night, you don’t seem to be enjoying the fruits of your triumph,” she purred. “Heimdall seeks to finally best you at drinking of the mead and Odin sent me to have his brave and beloved son lead the celebration song.”

“Celebrate what?” he groaned, burying his bearded chin further into the hollow of her slender neck just below her ear. “The Titans have been defeated, all our lesser enemies are vanquished, and pieces of the mighty Midgard dragon lay scattered over the countryside dispatched by the mightier blows of my trusty Mjolnir.”

To emphasize his words, he thrust the mystical mallet high into the heavens as lightning cascaded among the black clouds now beginning to drape the night sky.

Slipping from his arms, Sif took his free hand in both of hers and backed away from the cliffside, tenderly tugging him toward his waiting companions.

“So the only thing the great warrior fears is the lack of fearsome war,” she smiled as he finally started moving away with her. “Ragnarok is over, my dearest darling Thor. Welcome to Valhalla and the pleasures of the peace you’ve created, ready for your pursuit. On the morrow as with every dawn, all your fallen foes and comrades will rise again to join you in battle…but for this evening it is time to put the hammer down.”

_ . _

SevenWritez
1 Month Ban

Who'd a' believed it?

How come they pick the only reader here who likes my stuff?

Adrian

Word Count- 349


When the Hammer Falls-

I can't believe how much my hand is throbbing right now. I should have known not to trust Dirty Lyle with any tools, but I did need his help. The man is probably the most incompetent man to ever wield a wrench, but what can I say? He works the only trucker's station for 80 miles around Jack's Hole, and when something goes wrong, though, you can't afford to go any farther than that. He came out from the Hole, as it's called around here, to help me after I had a blowout.

Well, I'm sure Murphy is laughin' from hell right about now, since as soon as Lyle got to where I'd had to stop, his truck overheated, making damn sure we'd have to stay for the night out in the middle of nowhere. We hauled out a tent for Lyle, since I had my bunk in my rig, but Lyle had nowhere. I grabbed the pegs and Lyle the mallet, and staked it in under the overpass about fifty-five yards from where we stopped. It looked like rain- of course, after the luck we'd had, we weren't surprised when it turned out to be almost a flood. We ended up having to move the tent and try to restake it out in the rain, since water on top was more agreeable to the both of us than water below. Lyle in his wonderfulness, however, had broken the hammer and failed to tell me. So, he tried to duct-tape it back together. When we went to stake it out, the damn thing broke again and slammed my hand into the mud, with the stake under it. I almost bashed in that fool's head right then and there, but instead went back to my truck and left him in the wet.

We did get the tire fixed, but I have no intention of paying the man, so soon as I can get some rest and move my hand, I'm gonna put my hammer down and drive on out of here. I get a bonus for delivering early, anyway.

The Ones Who Have The Hammers

Word Count: 459

BANG! He put the hammer down.

The noise flared into a life and that life dropped down a funnel of ethereal light into the world below it…

A sharp slap on the back side sent Meryl screaming into animation. “It’s a girl!” called the nurse triumphantly, having delivered her first - live - baby. Relief washed over the nurse, she no longer had to fear for her future and job. She could only cringe at what would have happened if this one had died too…

The new mother clutched her baby tightly, sobbing with happiness.

***
Twenty-seven years later Meryl stood before the alter, eager to promise her life away. Her heart missed a beat as Ethan slipped the ring onto her finger. That was it, she thought, this is my life and I couldn’t wish for anymore. Her happiness was unbound and she knew that she would never regret spending the rest of her life with this man.

***

Meryl was handed her son. She decided that she would call him John, after her father. Lying in the hospital bed she cradled her happiness incarnate. Her husband leaned over and kissed them both, regardless to the fact they were sweaty and odorous.

***

A mere ten years later the soil dropped lifelessly from her hand. It gently thudded onto the wooden coffin beneath her. The sound was as hollow as her soul which, in turn, was as lifeless as Ethan. She fought to hold back her tears; she must be strong for the children. She failed; tear after tear silently streamed down her emaciated face. That day, along with Ethan she buried a splinter of her fragmented soul.

***

“I’m sorry. There’s nothing we can do for you, it’s terminal.”

After Ethan’s funeral she had spent years in recluse but, with the help of John, she had rediscovered life. She had realised it upon the birth of her grand-children and then recognised it within John. Now she felt the familiarity of emptiness return. Meryl was devastated; the chance to see her grand-children grow up had been stolen from her. Cancer had come like a thief in the night; stealing everything of value.

***

Meryl’s family were crowded around her bed, not a single face was dry. They all felt that life had cheated them. With her family around her Meryl gave them all a final smile before taking her final rasp of air—

BANG! They put the hammer down.

Meryl’s soul lost all its earthly bonds. It dropped down through a vortex of malignity.
The Deity swore - he’d lost this one. He felt pity for Meryl, Ethan had gone up.

But then again…some went up some went down.

It all depended who put the hammer down harder.

“They don’t believe in me anymore. “Thor said slowly, his face devoid of any emotion. He took several deep breaths, before exploding “These fickle mortals! I offer them protection, guidance, and justice for thousands of years. For millennia they feel the weight of my presence, and now, they dare abandon me?”

“What can you do my beloved?” Sif asked sadly.

“What can I do? I am Thor, the lightning bearer, wielder of the mighty hammer Mjolnir, lord of Asgard, and high king of thunder. Woman, well do you know what I can do. Why do you question me so?”

Sif sighed softly, and, with eyes downcast said in a near whisper “Your power was indeed great, my mighty lord of thunder, but that is not so anymore. Your power is from their belief, and without it, your powers have disappeared. As will you, in time.”

“I alone decide when my time is past.”

“No Thor, that is not so.” Sif insisted.

Frustrated, he snapped “How can this be. A mere mortal cannot have power over a god. Who are they to think they can take from me my power?”

“They are your essence, your soul. With them, you are everything, and without them, nothing.”

“And you accept this fate? You’ll let me disappear into the mist so easily? It appears the mortals aren’t the only ones who have abandoned me” He turned away, hands clenching his mighty hammer until his knuckles turned white.

“Thor…” Sif was behind him, soft cool fingers tracing the lines of his broad shoulders. “Thor…” She whispered again. “When you disappear from this world, so too will I. It is time my beloved. Put down the hammer.”

Author's Note:

This is me practising dialogue. It's one of my weaker areas.

Well, it's 11:33 PM my time and I'm off to bed, so...

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