Word: Thunderstone.

        

thunderstone

or thun·der-stone

[thuhn-der-stohn]

noun

1. any of various stones or fossils formerly thought to be fallen thunderbolts.
2. Archaic. a thunderbolt or flash of lightning.

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      Ted ran into the room with a long, thin package clutched in his hand and a wide-eyed smile on his face.  He spotted his three friends sitting around the table and dashed over to them.

               “Guys, guys, guess what I found?” He asked hurriedly.

               “Your sanity?” Carl asked, looking at his friend’s excited expression with boredom.

               “The ability to think?” Leon asked. 

               “Common curtesy?” Jim finished.  His voice was tinged with annoyance.  Ted had interrupted a perfectly good meal where nobody was talking to each other, and Jim, in particular, loved such meals.

               “Even better.” Ted said.  He knew better than to respond to such base insults.

               He slammed the package down on the table, making the various plates on it jump.  He quickly unwrapped the bundle of cloth to reveal its contents.  It was a pink speckled, cylindrical rock that was quite unremarkable. 

               “Pretty neat, huh?” Ted asked proudly.  The others were less impressed.

               “It’s a rock.” Leon pointed out.  “What’s so great about a rock?”

               “It’s not just any rock.  This particular type of rock is called a thunderstone.  I looked it up.” Ted added in quickly before any of the others could say anything.  “Normally, they’re just rocks with a cool name.  But this one?  This one’s a bit different.  Check it out.”

               Ted ran further into the apartment and rummaged through a small storage closet.  He came back with a lightbulb.  He held the bulb in one hand and the stone in the other, presenting them for his less than impressed friends.  Then he brought them together.  The lightbulb lit up.

               “So, you’ve hidden a battery in there.  Good job.” Jim said.

               “I didn’t.  You can see it’s solid.” Ted presented the flat ends of the stone to show that no battery was present.  “It’s the stone.  It generates electricity.”

               Carl motioned to hand the stone over.  When he handled it, he touched the ends experimentally.  He winced and pulled his finger back quickly.

               “Okay, yeah, that’s a pretty good shock.” He said, placing the stone down. 

               “I know, right?  It got me pretty good when I found it.  Touching the side is fine.  Only the ends will shock you.”

               Leon picked it up next and examined it closely.  He could see no obvious openings or pieces of metal anywhere.  It looked like any other rock, save for the shape and color.  It was even the right weight for a stone of its size.  And there was definitely no way for it to generate a current. 

               “How do you think it works?” He asked.

               “No idea.  But it’s pretty cool, right?”

               “I’d say mildly interesting.” Jim said, casting his gaze towards the stone.

               “Are you kidding?” Ted replied.  “This is life changing.  World changing even.  If we can figure out how this works, then just imagine the possibilities.  We might even be able to make unlimited energy.”

               “What makes you think this is unlimited?” Carl pointed out.  “You only found it today, right?  Plus, even if it is unlimited, it’s not very strong.”

               “Yeah, but that’s only this one stone.  We’d have to figure out how it works first.  Then, sky’s the limit.”

               The other three looked at each other in thought. 

               “There’s just one problem with that.” Jim said.  The others turned to look at him.  “None of us know anything about this kind of thing, so how are we supposed to figure this out?”

               Ted opened his mouth to reply, but closed it.  He could not deny that. 

               “Well, it’s still damn amazing.”

              

               *************************

Just so you know, this is what a thunderstone looks like.

Word: Ineluctable

     

ineluctable

[in-i-luhk-tuh-buh l]

adjective

1. incapable of being evaded; inescapable: an ineluctable destiny.

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         Jess’ heart raced and her lungs screamed for air as she ran through the dark, dingy corridor.  She scrambled to find an open door.  Or at least one that wasn’t unlocked.  So far, all that was left was to scramble and run through the hall.

               “You can’t run forever!” Shouted the man.

               Jess risked a glance over her shoulder at the sound.  She was faster than the large man, so she had been able to stay out of sight of his greasy, pockmarked form.  But that also meant she would tire much faster than him, even if he was a disgusting sack of lard.

               “I’ll get you eventually.” He called. 

               She heard his footsteps creaking on the old wood.  Jess knew she needed to rest, but doing so would only invite disaster by giving her captor time to catch up.  No, she needed to keep going.  For the first time in her life, she regretted not joining the track team way back in high school.  Maybe then she would have a little more stamina.  She was already on her third wind.

               “It’s inevitable, really.  Why make this harder than it needs to be?”

               She would not waste breath answering.  She was too focused on running and checking doors.  The hall was mostly straight, with only the occasional corner to break it up.  Had she not been so focused on putting one foot in front of the other, she would have wondered how such a thing was possible.  The turns were not all in the same direction, so she knew it was not one big square.  But it seemed far too long to be in any building she knew of.  As it was, her mind was occupied with not getting caught.

               “I can make this fun for both of us, you know.”

               She paused to check a door, fully expecting it to be locked, just like all the others.  Much to her surprise, it opened with the creak of old wood.  Jess paused for a moment.  She could go in, but the sound made it obvious where she was.  No, now was the time for guile.  She closed the door, attempting to be quiet about it.  Then she moved on, moving slower and softer.  She even forced herself to breath quieter, even if her lungs demanded more.

               “Ah-hah!  I know where you are now!” Her captor cried with joy.  “That room’s a dead end.  Now we can have some real fun!”

               Her plan worked, at least for the moment.  Jess crept down the hall, moving at a more reasonable pace to let her body recover a bit.  She knew that her little ploy would not distract the horrid man for long.  A few minutes, at most.  But it was something.  Maybe if she kept going, she would find the exit.  Or someone to help her.  She would even take another unlocked door. 

               “Oh, you’re cleaver.” Came her captor’s voice.  “That just makes me want you more.  Now come here and we can have some fun.”

               Jess looked back, and then once more started running.

****************************

I wonder how many women have had a nightmare like this.  A lot, I bet.  I mean, it's terrifying. 

Word: Rewild

rewild

[ree-wahyld]

verb (used with object)

1. to introduce (animals or plants) to their original habitat or to a habitat similar to their natural one: proposals to rewild elephants to the American plains.
2. to return (land) to a more natural state: rewilding an unpopulated island for use as an animal preserve.

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               “Do we really have to let them go?” Sarah whined.

               “You know we do.” Phil answered as he got out of the van.

               “But…but they’re so sweet and nice and gentle.”

               She looked towards the back of the van, where a large cage rested.  The occupants of the cage raised their heads and looked at her.

               “Sarah, they’re wild animals.  They’re gentle now because they’re young.  But once they get older…”

               Sarah let out a pathetic little whimper and looked at her co-worker with wide eyes.

               “Oh don’t give me that look.” Phil said as he rolled his eyes.  “Remember, these aren’t dogs, they’re wolves.  Wild born wolves.”

               “I know that.  But still.”

               “Get out of the van, Sarah.  Let’s get these two out into the woods.”

               “I don’t want to.”

               “My god, woman, you’re 32 years old.  Stop acting like a spoiled child.”

               Sarah’s expression hardened and she glared at Phil for daring to mention her age.  Sure, there were no other people around, but it was the principle of the thing.  He chose to ignore her ire and headed to the back of the van, opening the doors to get access to the wolves’ cage.  The animals turned from Sarah to the open door.  One of them stood and began to pace.

               “We can’t let them go.” Sarah said.  She unbuckled her seatbelt and jumped out of the van.  “They’re too gentle and sweet.  Besides, by now, we’re pretty much their pack.  They need us.”

               “No they don’t.  They’ll either make a new pack or join an existing one.  And they’re gentle now because they’re in the beta mindset.  What happens when one of them decides he wants to be the alpha?  They won’t seem so gentle then.”

               “But…but…”

               “No buts.  You know this has to happen.  The best thing you can do right now is come out here and help me.  See them off as they head back into the wild, which you know as well as I do is where they belong.”

               Sarah huffed and muttered and whined the entire time, but she joined Phil at the cage.  Each of them grabbed a side of it and together they got it out of the van.  The positioned the door towards the nearby forest. 

               Tears started to well up in Sarah’s eyes as Phil opened the cage door.  The two young wolves dashed out of the cage.  They stopped and sniffed at the trees before heading in.  One of the animals slowly approached Sarah and Phil and sniffed them for a moment.  Sarah held out her hand to the animal.  It sniffed the offered limb and licked it lightly.  A quick bark from the other wolf, and both dashed off, quickly disappearing into the trees.

               Phil patted Sarah on the back.  “You know we did the right thing.”

               “I know.” Sarah said with watery eyes.  “I just…”

               “I know, I know.  Tell you what, when we get back we’ll talk to some of the others at the shelter.  Maybe we can get a dog there.”

               “Really?”

               “Yes, really.”

               Sarah sniffed and wiped her eyes.  “I’d like that.”

               ****************

  Remember, wild animals might seem as cute and friendly as their domesticated cousins, but that only lasts until the animal decides it's time for a change.  Then they might not be so great to have around.