| Jagged Rock Splinters by IamBoris Jagged rock splinters, I watch them fly outward from the impacted boulder in a brilliant burst of light and fire. Silently, the small, sharp fragments shoot through the planet�s thin atmosphere, leaving dying trails of fire in their wake and nearly piercing deadly holes in the young soldier�s steel-grey uniform as they go by. I want to help, but I�m afraid. Will I help or harm us both? The rock had not self-destructed, of course. The source of the annihilation was a beam of energy emitted from a small atmospheric cruiser from a base in the distant Ice Mountains. Through his helmet, the war-embittered man sees his attacker, and despite the lack of markings, he knows by the sleek silver design who it is. I want to help, but do I dare doom myself for him, a man I�ve never met? He draws his weapon and fires fiercely, again and again� but to no avail. His final shot is scarcely fired when the leather-hued stone erupts once more, sheering lethal gashes in his protective uniform, his only safeguard from the planet�s harsh environment and thin air. I should help him, but the enemy�s still here. I�d die too, and we�d both be lost. Life and oxygen slowly seep from the ragged uniform. In a futile attempt to save his dwindling life, the doomed warrior launches himself from the auburn shore into the reflective water of the bordering bay. It�s too late! My God! It�s too late! His impact sends ripples cascading through the water, distorting the image of the crystal city across the bay. The ripples secede. The image returns. The soldier is no more. The craft departs, and all is as it was. But for my grief, but for my regret. I could have helped him. I could have saved him. I should have helped him� |