The Pit - Rumbling

      This is the fourth installment to my ongoing series, The Pit. The previous parts can be found here: part 1, part 2, & part 3.

Summary

      The village lies near a forbidding opening, named The Pit. Every four months, a team is sent into its depths on the orders of the council elders. The lives of these excavators depends upon their loyalty to each other and the fortitude of their minds. Pitfall, an event that claims the lives of those working within, puts them at perpetual risk. Abandonment of one's team is a grave sin, the penalty for which is consumption by the village.

      Within the Gatehouse lives a child, a chosen Watcher, who keeps vigil over the doorway to The Pit. Under the command of the council elders, the Cloaks (soldiers with artificial bodies) prevent the child from leaving and the people of the village from entering. The current Watcher, an orphan raised by an elder named Donja, has found a way to perform a Make, a forbidden spell. Cut off from the world for over two years, loneliness has driven her to use the tabooed magic, unbeknownst to Martin, the Cloak secretly under the control of Donja.

      Pen scraped across the paper, lines and curves forming a toilet upon which sat a dog. Martin chuckled to himself, picturing the look on her face when he delivered this drawing with the day's breakfast. He dipped the pen's tip into a well of thick ink, Donja's specific red blend, then sketched a tiny teacup and newspaper in the animal's paws. This was sure to get his little Watcher to laugh. It would feel good to hear that sound again. Feel...

      He glanced down to the tray beside him. Toast, sausages and an apple were waiting, arranged neatly on a plate. Picking up a sausage, Martin inhaled, pulling in the smell of roasted meat. His tongue snaked out, sliding across the edge of the casing, hoping for just one taste. Wanting the reality to match his memory.

      Nothing. Nothing aside from the usual acrid, sand-papery flatness. Like ash in his mouth. Disgusted, he wiped the sausage off on his pant leg and returned it to her plate. Why did he bother trying anymore? Teasing himself with the smells...

      Frustrated, he added a few more lines to the paper, wrapping it around her fork once the ink had set. He'd better get a move on anyway. Her food was cooling and the sun was creeping above the treeline. It's warmth did nothing for him. The light simply meant a new day. Another day of rounds. Another day of obedience. Another day where only her voice kept him going. Kept him from...

      A rumble beneath Martin's feet made him lurch forward. Slamming into the tree he'd been sitting under, he lost his hold on the tray. Its contents fell, scattering across the quaking ground. Sharp cries rang through the air, the alarm of his fellow Cloaks driving him back to his feet. The trembling gained in intensity, making balance hard to maintain as he sped to the Gatehouse.

      Martin raced past a screaming couple, lying on the ground as they clutched each other in fear. More yells could be heard further in the village, recognition of the shaking earth drawing panic from the people. Again! Why was this happening again?! The roof of the Gatehouse came into view, smoke billowing out from the chimney. The warning fire had been lit.

      They were in the midst of another Pitfall.

---

Thank you @omra-sky for my sweet Squirrple Necklace separator!
Main image via pixabayFor the 5/26/2018 Weekend Freewrite Single Option - Ash by @mariannewest.Much appreciation Marianne!

---

art and flair courtesy of @PegasusPhysics

Squirrel World GIF by @Omra-sky. Thank you! 😻
GIF by @Omra-sky.
Carl GIF by @snook! 💖 - Personalized by @Omra-sky
_{Keep up to date with everything #freewrite related!
Click the graphic to join in the fun!}

This awesome badge was made by @fireawaymarmot & personalized by @omra-sky!

---

Thank YOU for reading!