Big Dog [ONC 2022]

10

"The Prime Minister has called an emergency Cabinet meeting in the wake of the sinking of HMS Salubrious in the Gulf of Oman. Reports say that the ship, a logistical support vessel with little in the way of defensive capabilities had been told to heave to and receive boarders.

The crew are said to have refused until they received orders, yet the attackers, who have yet to claim responsibility, fired upon them without warning. We can confirm that only two nations in that area of influence have weapons capable of sinking a ship of Salubrious' size and the ambassadors of both countries have been summoned to Downing Street, raising fears that all-out war may be upon us."

-+-

10

The sudden return of the wind caught Runa by surprise, but that paled in comparison to the surprise she felt finding herself standing outside the cottage, the faces of her children gazing out through the windows. Her hand rose to her hair, strands flicking and whipping against her cheeks, and she glanced behind her, towards the beach. She couldn't remember walking back this way.

The storm had died down, once more, making the same tour around the island that it had performed before and Runa felt certain, now, that this was no ordinary storm. For the first time in days, she saw two birds flying above the roof of the cottage. Big birds, with wide wingspans and black feathers. They circled above the cottage a couple of times and then flew away, to the north, following the unnatural path of the storm.

Her other hand still gripped her coat closed, the knuckles white from holding on so tight. She couldn't think of any good reason why she still stood outside in the wind and the rain and reached out for the door handle, and stopped. Something felt off. Wrong, but she couldn't quite put a finger on it.

To the north, she saw the storm hugging the coastline of the island and then stop itself. The clouds circling above the wind turbines, only one of which continued to turn. It felt as though the storm examined the turbines and those two black birds flew in that direction. She scowled as she looked towards the worst of the storm, almost certain she could see the giant, amorphous features of a man within the clouds.

When she finally entered the cottage, slamming the door closed behind her, she felt her body release such a sigh of relief, it felt as though she had been away for some time. For a long time. Her back pressed upon the closed door and she wanted to stay there, at border between the inside and outside. It felt safer here. The sound of pounding feet put paid to that little fragment of solace as Stigr raced from the living room.

"I'm sorry, mummy. I won't mention Big Dog again, I promise. And I won't go out at night, either." His arms wrapped around her waist and Runa could do nothing but feel such a deep swell of love for her son. For both her children, as Hertha appeared, edging around the living room doorway.

"I'm sorry, too, mummy." Hertha's fingers picked at each other as she looked at the floor. "I should know better."

Runa didn't press the matter. They had apologised without prompting and that should be enough. She leaned down and kissed Stigr's mess of hair and began to head towards the living room, reaching out a hand for Hertha. Her daughter caught hold of that hand and Runa gave a squeeze. She smiled at them both, but she knew the smile only reached her lips.