Yes, I know I should be working on Chapter 1 first, but I suddenly realized how to use a particular quote and the scene pretty much had to go into Chapter 2.
Anyway... enough setup so that people will know where the scene goes, then the quote:
"That looks like it could be fun!"
"No, Marie, that isn't a fun thing to do. Since M. Ayerton has been buried up to his neck, he can't get out of the direct sun if he starts to feel too hot. That can make a person very ill."
"Oh." She thought about that for a moment while I started digging at the sand around the man's head and shoulders. I really didn't want to show off my powers to everyone I was meeting in this world, since there was no way to tell who might be connected with that "Neo-Atlantis" group that Nadia hated so much. Marie finally asked, "why'd you do something silly like that, M. Ayerton?"
"It wasn't my choice, young lady," he replied. "Those three devils forced me into this pit!"
The youngsters recoiled at his mention of devils. "You're speaking metaphorically, right?" Ayerton nodded, and the others relaxed. (Marie relaxed after Jean told her what "metaphorically" meant.) "I don't know whether they were tormenting or punishing you, or if even you did anything wrong, and I don't care. Unless you killed one of their friends ..."
"I would never stoop to something so crass as murder, sir." He seemed offended at the suggestion.
That was a bit of a relief. "Leaving someone alone in this situation is tantamount to a slow death sentence. I intend to find whoever gave the order to bury you like this and give him a piece of my mind."
Ayerton interrupted me. "You should have said 'her', sir. Their leader is a woman."
So I tripped over another anachronism ... "Hmmm. Pronoun trouble."
-Rob Kelk
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."
- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012
Anyway... enough setup so that people will know where the scene goes, then the quote:
"That looks like it could be fun!"
"No, Marie, that isn't a fun thing to do. Since M. Ayerton has been buried up to his neck, he can't get out of the direct sun if he starts to feel too hot. That can make a person very ill."
"Oh." She thought about that for a moment while I started digging at the sand around the man's head and shoulders. I really didn't want to show off my powers to everyone I was meeting in this world, since there was no way to tell who might be connected with that "Neo-Atlantis" group that Nadia hated so much. Marie finally asked, "why'd you do something silly like that, M. Ayerton?"
"It wasn't my choice, young lady," he replied. "Those three devils forced me into this pit!"
The youngsters recoiled at his mention of devils. "You're speaking metaphorically, right?" Ayerton nodded, and the others relaxed. (Marie relaxed after Jean told her what "metaphorically" meant.) "I don't know whether they were tormenting or punishing you, or if even you did anything wrong, and I don't care. Unless you killed one of their friends ..."
"I would never stoop to something so crass as murder, sir." He seemed offended at the suggestion.
That was a bit of a relief. "Leaving someone alone in this situation is tantamount to a slow death sentence. I intend to find whoever gave the order to bury you like this and give him a piece of my mind."
Ayerton interrupted me. "You should have said 'her', sir. Their leader is a woman."
So I tripped over another anachronism ... "Hmmm. Pronoun trouble."
-Rob Kelk
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."
- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012