Scythe Flash Fiction

You’ve selected option 3

Nacht and Tag let out a low, rolling growl as they stopped at the edge of the treeline, their long snouts sniffing furiously at the air, ears bent flat against their furry heads. Moving almost as silently as the dire wolves, Gunter Von Duisburg joined his two companions, making use of the limited cover the small cluster of trees provided. Gunter stepped between the wolves and put a hand on both of their heads, softly petting Nacht on his left and Tag on his right. His six foot two frame barely managed to eclipse the wolves height. With their heads raised, they came up to Gunter’s shoulders.

“Hush now, I see them too.” Peering past their wooden refuge, Gunter could see what had drawn the attention of his wolves; a large herd of sheep in a vibrantly green pasture. Their bleating clearly audible over the laughter of the shepherds sprawled out on the grass enjoying the warm, sunny afternoon while their flock grazed peacefully.

“Hungry boys?” Nacht turned towards Gunter, a slobbery pink tongue licked his hand in response. As Gunter took a menacing step towards the flock, he stopped short as a thirty foot, bipedal, mechanical monstrosity stomped its way into Gunter’s narrow field of vision offered by the camouflaging thicket.

“Looks like a change of plans.” He studied the mech’s movements, noting the length of its stride as it placed one metal foot in front of the other. He counted the number of seconds the mech took to turn its upper body. One. Two. Three. . . . Seven seconds. Rotating at the waist, it surveyed the pasture, its blocky form sweeping left to right. The ends of menacing gun barrels mounted on either side of its body took the visage of lifeless black eyes passing judgement, and sentencing death on all that opposed it.

Finding no threats, the mech pushed forward, away from Gunter and his wolves. Quickly formulating a plan of attack, Gunter issued a command.

“Stopp!” He turned to his right and started sprinting through the trees along the edge of the treeline, still hidden from sight. Nacht and Tag each let out a low whine, but did not chase after their master. Reaching the end of the copse, Gunter stepped out of the relative safety of the trees and drew his pistol from the securely fastened holster at his side.

“FOR SAXONY!” With both hands gripping his pistol, he took aim and fired at the mech, knowing that any hit he landed at this range would only do superficial damage. The shouting and gunfire startled the shepherds, their relaxed demeanor turned to stiff alertness. The mech stopped its movement and started its slow turn as the PING PING PING of ricocheting bullets rang through the air. Nacht and Tag watched from their cover and still did not move.

. . . Three. Four. FIVE. Gunter dove back into the trees, sprinting back to his wolves and issuing another command. Two seconds later, fist sized holes punched through the tree trunks and sent splinters flying through the air behind Gunter. The double FOOMF FOOMF, FOOMF FOOMF of the mech’s weapons rang through the air as it fired large balls of metal from its weaponry.

“Gehen!” At Gunter’s command, Nacht darted into the field, keeping his jet black body low to the ground, and cut to the left of the flock, trying to put the sheep between him and the mech. Tag mimicked Nacht’s movements, following closely behind like an inversely coloured shadow. His white fur reflected the sun and momentarily blinded the shepherds as they turned to run at the sight of the enormous dire wolves.

The wolves easily outpaced the fleeing shepherds but had no interest in them. Breaking off from each other, Nacht continued to the left, Tag cut to the right, both letting out quick, sharp barks. The sheep’s bleating became more urgent as the flock panicked and fled, the wolves herding them towards the mech.

Gunter left the meager shelter of the trees yet again, cutting through the field towards the flock, drawing the mech’s fire once more. FOOMF FOOMF, FOOMF FOOMF. Its metal projectiles tore long strips out of the earth only a step behind Gunter. Two steps behind Gunter. Now three steps behind Gunter. Turning too slowly to hit its moving target, the mech started to move, its body pointed at a ninety degree angle to the left of its forward movement.
Now moving parallel to Gunter, more terra firma was ripped from its resting place as the mech continued to fire.

FOOMF FOOMF. FOOMF FOOMF. Three steps behind Gunter. FOOMF FOOMF. FOOMF FOOMF. Two steps behind Gunter. FOOMF FOOMF. FOOMF FOOMF. One step behind Gunter. FOOMF FOOMF. FOOMF FOOMF. Gunter dove into the air, his legs pushing with every ounce of strength he could muster. Clods of dirt and clumps of grass from the very spot he was just standing rained down on Gunter as the inevitability of gravity pulled him out of his dive. He hit the ground hard and rolled, the air in his lungs pushed out from the force of the landing.

Still blindly moving forward, the collision course of metal and flesh, of mech and sheep, finally met. The right foot of the mech came stomping down on a frightened sheep, pulverizing the animal and transforming it into a pulpy mess. Now slick from the gore of the sheep, the mech’s foot slipped on the grass and folded in under itself. Its heavy upper body pitched to the right, pulling its gun barrels up, into the air, as it still continued to fire. These shots sailed high above Gunter as he hugged the ground and made himself as small as possible.

The back of the mech’s body crashed into the ground, driving itself into the soft earth, it’s weaponry now harmlessly pointed straight up. With a last futile kick of its legs, the mech remained motionless. Gunter stood up, catching his breath, and surveyed the work of his wolves. Brushing the dirt off of himself, he started towards the downed mech. From the bottom of the mech, now the side of the mech in its current position, a metal panel popped out and revealed the mech’s driver. He was clad in mechanic coveralls with the unmistakable red bear insignia of Polania displayed on the front. The man dropped down from his escape hatch, stumbling as he turned to run from the downed mech.

Before Gunter could draw his weapon, Nacht and Tag were after the mech pilot. He made it ten feet before Tag leaped into the air, hitting the man in the back with his giant paws. Now sprawled on the ground, the pilot’s screams were cut short as Nacht gripped the man’s throat in his powerful jaws. Looks like they’ll get to eat after all, thought Gunter.

L.