The first sprinkle of Gentlemen’s Spice
Should I feel bad?
It will be irrelevant in a few hours, the sand will engulf both our wretched bodies. Christ!
Thompson bought it last night, though the sun had claimed his mind a lot earlier. He had spent most of his final hours on his stomach, just laying there resting his cheek against the sand, a miserable specimen of a man. He didn’t move or make a sound, and the only sign that marked his passing was when his eyes no longer blinked.
This morning I mustered what little energy I had and dug a shallow grave for him. There will be no one around to give me such an honour in the undoubtedly short time I have left.
Our flight was originally meant to take four hours tops, and as such we did not have much in the way of supplies. What water we did have ran out some three days ago. We… well, I… managed to distill the engine’s antifreeze. But I drank the final sip of that this morning, shortly after burying Thompson, I might add. I’m past caring how dry my throat feels in this cursed heat. I would give anything for some shade right now.
Shortly after the crash, when we were both full of strength, we had propped what remained of the starboard wing against the wreckage of the fuselage. This provided a small but perfectly adequate amount of shade. The bitter Saharan winds got up early this morning, and thanks to them, the wing now lays some three foot away. If Thompson was still here, I might have some sort of chance of putting it back, even though he was in a state of madness. Alas, I barely have the energy to stand.
Damn you, Thompson! Damn you.
It had been your idea to take this blasted trip in the first place.
“There’s a marvelous oasis one simply must visit.”
You said.
“I know a very reasonable place we can get a plane.”
You said!
“Not that old Charlie fellow from the embassy.”
I said.
“Come on old boy, where is your spirit of adventure ?”
You said!
Oh, I tell you exactly where my spirit is at the moment. Not only was it your wretched idea and your wretched flying that got us here, but you had the god-damn indecency to die this morning!
So, no. I shall not feel bad, nor shall I feel guilty. I will drag myself over, so I can lean comfortably against the fuselage. I will remove my shirt and tie it around my head. The sun can burn my chest. I want some shade god damn it. I will then enjoy my final hours before the sun blinds me with the picture of Thompson’s wife in one hand and my whore-pipe in the other.
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Tags: #fridayflash, 1920's, 1925, Africa, Crash, Egypt, Gentlemens Spice, Plane, Sahara, Sun, Tompson
Really feel for the guy who’s just waiting to die. Though, I’m sure the antifreeze will get him very soon.
Very well done!
Welcome to #fridayflash.
Great job! Intense and your MC’s voice comes across really well.
Dear god wasn’t expecting that
It certainly made me laugh.
Oh – quite a tale in so few words. I felt the heat!
What a way to go — with a picture of your dead friend’s wife in one hand and your whore-pipe in the other. I shouldn’t laugh at the fellow. He’s suffering! But, yeah, I did.
Jeff Posey
What a way to go! Welcome to #fridayflash.
I almost asked what a whore-pipe was…then kindof figured it out. Is that a real term or did you make that up? (just curious exactly how creative you are, lol) Poor guy. I feel bad for him that his last thought was of revenge and not family or love. Looking foward to reading more of you! Welcome
Its a real term!
thanks to the most wonderful resource of the
1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue by Francis Grose
http://1811vulgar.com/
Final moments are so much fun to write. We just don’t know so we can make it however we see fit. I loved this.
Really well told story of the man’s last hours. I thought the use of separating the dialog tags as stand alone sentences really added punch to his anger. Good technique, that.
~jon
Felt for the guy up to the end. Sort of a sad way to go.
Great ending. Like others have said, I didn’t want to laugh at this poor dying guy, but I couldn’t help it.
Many thanks for all the comments, really glad to have discovered #fridayflash
Oh, I thought that was great, but I didn’t laugh at the end, and I didn’t get revenge out of it. For me it felt like it was comfort – may have started out as revenge initially but by the time he was telling us about it, he was just holding on to the only life he could find – like a great desperate “Fuck You!!!” to death, not to his friend, so much…I was really feeling him… This is one of my favorites for this week! Thanks C! we sure are glad you discovered #fridayflash too! – K