Earth, Sky, Fire and Rain - Chapter 4

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Alisaura

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Let me know if I'm going too fast... :uhoh:

Disclaimer: None of this is true.


end of chapter 3:
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I made the decision. Let the ground here remain a mystery, for at least a little longer.

All the way back to the village, I berated myself for unprofessional conduct. What if they never employ you again? I asked myself. There are other universities, I replied, and besides, it's not as if I didn't do what I'd been employed to do. No one had mentioned that circle to me specifically. For all I knew, they didn't even know it was there. My professional self scoffed at that, and I had to concede the point. I had put my reputation at risk, and for what? No good reason at all.


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Chapter 4:
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While my fascination with the earth led me to study it, there was also a somewhat less credible attraction. I was also fascinated by Earth as one of the classical elements, along with Air, Water, and Fire. It was inexplicable, the equal and opposite side of rigorous science and logical thought, yet there it was. One no doubt led to the other. There is an elegant simplicity to the concept that ancient people divided their world into four elemental influences; I never for a moment believed that any of it was real, but I also never tired of reading about it. It was like a guilty pleasure, an unseemly indulgence for someone studying a hard science. I couldn't wholly discard the romantic notion that there was some sort of power in the Earth, lingering in rock and stone.

The other elements held their own appeal as well. I loved windy days, feeling the pressure of the atmosphere rushing past – it never failed to lift my spirits. I loved to swim, and could watch the sea for hours, finding patterns in the waves and the wash of water against the shore. And I always loved fire, lighting the Bunsen burners in school, bugging my parents to let me have bonfires, or light candles. Like a moth to a flame, indeed.

I had been told, once, that I was an Air person, because I was tall and intellectual. I did not consider myself to be the most intellectual of people, but I knew bullshit when I heard it. Claims like that reminded me of why I was a scientist, and not a mystic.

But at the end of the day, I always felt myself to be a child of Earth.

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In due course, I put all the data together in a nice shiny presentation, and delivered it to the university. The geophys data had come up very well, as I'd expected, and they were talking about organising digs as I left. The preliminary results I'd got with the soil samples showed a more alkaline pH than you might expect, but I left the detailed analysis to the university scientists.

A week later, I got a phone call, and was summoned into the archaeology department. I felt a moment of sinking dread that I hadn't experienced since I'd been waiting for my viva results, many years before. It could be anything, I told myself. And as usual, my self had a different opinion. Anyway, I added, Dr. Lawson seemed like a nice guy. It's not as if he's going to bite my head off. Right?


Dr. Lawson shook my hand and smiled after I knocked on his door, and asked me to take a seat in his office. I saw a printout of one section of the geophys on his desk. I did my best to pretend I had no idea why I was there.

"Have you been out into the field already?" I asked, having declined any tea or coffee. Academics live on coffee, and not much else, it seems.

Dr. Lawson was English as well, and seemed uniformly grey. About 50, his hair, eyebrows, and occasional stubble were all grey, and he possessed a cadaverous face that matched his lanky frame. The dress code at the university was casual, and I'd yet to see him wearing anything other than faded jeans and a neutrally-toned shirt. I, of course, was rather overdressed in a brown pants suit. It was a bit late to be making a good impression, but I figured it was worth a try.

"No," he replied, and took his own seat. He took a map off his desk and glanced at it. "I was just wondering why you hadn't taken any readings on this hill top." He pointed at a section of the map, and I leaned forward to look, as if I didn't know exactly where he was pointing. "I believe there's a stone circle in the vicinity, is that correct?" He looked at me with an expression of polite curiosity.

Hell, nothing like getting straight to the point, Doc. I don't know how successful I was at keeping the heat out of my face – probably not very.

"There is," I allowed, "but it wasn't part of the survey area," I added as smoothly as I could. "I thought you must already have had data from there." The lie came to me in that moment, and it was better than playing completely dumb.

He just stared at me, and I met his eyes, willing sincerity into my expression. No telling if that worked, either.

"We don't, actually," he said. "I had been rather hoping that circle had fallen into your survey area – or rather, I had assumed that it had. It appears our maps of the area are less than completely accurate."

Pause. I said nothing.

"I would also have hoped that you might have shown some initiative, and taken some readings there on the off-chance that we didn't have any data. You're hardly an amateur, after all."

I definitely went red then. Nice guy, was he? Not when he was dressing down the hired help, it seemed.

"I apologise for the lapse in judgement," I said tightly. Arse, I added silently. What was I supposed to do, read your bloody mind from hundreds of miles away?

I nearly believed my own lie. I could also feel the expectation that I would offer to go out there again, free of charge, and take the bloody readings. The silence stretched.

"If the opportunity presents itself, I would be happy to do some complimentary geophys on that hill for you, but it's not financially feasible to make that the sole project if I'm to travel that far," I said at last. "You understand." We both had budgets to work with, after all. And I wasn't going out there again if I wasn't going to get paid.

He did understand, but his face made a shape that said he wasn't happy. Too bad, that's as much as he was getting. "Well, the work you have done is good, although we'll see what's under there in the coming field season. I'm sure someone at the university will have more work for you in the future. Be sure to let me know if you find yourself in that area again, Dr. Erikson." He stood up. I was dismissed, it seemed.

I stood up as well, although I would have rather kicked him at that point. "I will, Dr. Lawson," I replied, and marched out of the office before I saw if he was going to offer me a parting handshake.

My poor, long-suffering car took the kick I would have liked to deliver to Dr. Lawson. I apologised more sincerely to it than I had to him, however.


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"And then the miserable git says, 'The work you HAVE done was good, but we'll see what we find in the field'! As if he can blame me if all they find are bits of old pipes and unexploded bombs! I hope that's all they DO find." I stopped before wishing that one of those hypothetical bombs would blow up in his face.

I was supposed to be cooking dinner, but instead I was ranting to Glen, pacing up and down in the kitchen, waving a wooden spoon and decorating the walls with pasta sauce. He was watching me with tolerant brown eyes, and a mostly sympathetic expression.

"You did show me a photograph of him once," Glen mused in his delicious lilting accent. "I think he got into archaeology because those mummies probably look like close relatives."

My sense of humour over-rode my indignation with an explosive snort of laughter, and I lowered the spoon.

"That's much better," Glen smiled. "Now, step slowly away from the bolognese. We can talk about this..."

"Oh shut up, you Welsh madman," I chuckled, surrendering my grumpy mood.

"Who's madder, the madman or the woman who lives with him, eh?" Glen came around the counter, within range of my spoon. I gave him a playful thwack with it. Well, I figured it was playful. He yelped.

"Don't you be bringin' me sanity into question, boyo," I said in my worst Welsh accent. It probably sounded more Irish than anything else.

"Are you gonna finish cooking that, or will I be lickin' dinner off the wallpaper?" Glen said in mock frustration. He rubbed his shoulder, rolling his eyes at the stain on his t-shirt.

"Well, after that slop you served up last night, I've a mind to..."

"Slop, was it? I suppose you won't mind doing all the cooking from now on, then..."

"Hah! Nice try." I turned back to the pan of sauce, which had been bubbling away merrily. I was just as glad it hadn't caught fire – there was a reason I was a geologist and not a chef. "What sort of garlic level do we want? Paint-peeling or vampire-slaying?"

"Surprise me," Glen said, in a tone that suggested very little I said could surprise him these days.


I loved the solitude of fieldwork, but I loved him, too. It was good to spend some time at home with him, again.


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There was intense heat, looming figures, flickering light and darkness. Voices. Crackling. Groaning, from wood and throats. A snap. Cries of alarm, a muted crash which was lost inside a horribly brief, bubbling shriek of agony.

Hands were on me, shaking me, a voice in my ear.

"Lisa, wake up! Come on, it's just a dream... it's okay love, come on, wake up..."

Cold air a shock on a sweating body that remembered blistering heat. Darkness almost complete, sheets tangled about my legs, breath coming in ragged gasps, the memory of horror fading almost immediately. Images lost. I fumbled for the duvet and covered myself up again. Eyes wide, I tried to take stock of what had happened.

"Jeez, you got me there..."

"... Did I hit you?"

"Yeah. You need to cut your nails."

"I'm sorry."

"It's all right, I'm still pretty."

I wasn't in the mood for joking now. I snuggled closer to Glen, and he put an arm around me. I couldn't suppress a shiver.

"That must have been some nightmare," Glen said, sounding concerned.

"I can't even remember it," I replied. I didn't want to think about it. I couldn't remember the last time I'd had a dream so intense. All I had left was a lingering feeling of dread, or grief, or something.

"Has something happened?" Glen can't stand a mystery. He has to get to the bottom of things.

"No," I said.

"Are you still upset about what that Lawson guy said?"

"No," I repeated, although the memory of that 'meeting' made me scowl, even after more than a week. Glen must have felt me tense up.

"Don't let it bother you. The man sounds like a right prat."

I sighed. "He did have a point. I really should have scanned the whole hill." From Glen's brief silence, I could tell he thought so too, but had been too diplomatic to say so, bless his boots.

"You did what you'd been contracted for, they can't expect more than that," he said, though. Feeding me my own justification.

"It's going that extra step that makes a good reputation, you know that," I said.

Glen's question hung heavy in the air before he even asked it. "So... why didn't you scan the hilltop?"

"I don't even know." It was the truth, if not all of it. "I guess I was just tired and wanted to go home. Having one of those perverse moods. I know I should have, but I just didn't." I was scowling again.

"Hey, hey, it's okay. It's in the past now." Glen started to massage what he could reach of my shoulders. I heard him stifle a yawn. But I wasn't ready for him to go back to sleep, not yet.

"C'mere," I said, and turned around to kiss him. I wanted to banish even the faint memory of that nightmare, thoroughly.


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There you go.... sorry there's no Ed :reject:
He will pop up again, never fear! :yes:
 
:drool: freaky.... I've a feeling something's happening on that hilltop!


:yes: must be the location where Edge makes contact with his alien family and where they put him down on earht!
 
:yikes: Creepy stone circles....:crazy:

This keeps getting better...



(Is Edge gonna be up there, dancing naked in the dead of night? :evil: If he's looking for a sacrificial virgin to give to Bono then I'm free...:evil: ).


Seriously though, this is good, Ali. Very good.
 
I have a feeling you're not qualified for the virgin part of that job description YDW :evil:

This is a good story. I love mythology type stories. Well, I love mythology type stories that are set in the present but have mythilogical aspects.

(I just wrote that after being awake for all of 10 minutes :ohmy: )
 
Galeongirl said:
:yes: must be the location where Edge makes contact with his alien family and where they put him down on earth!
:ohmy: How did you guess?? Seriously, you and YDW need to stop reading my mind :tsk: ... (that's supposed to be my job, anyway :wink: )
... :uhoh:


:lol:


I had similar misgivings about YDW's qualifications, Diane :giggle:
 
Alisaura said:

:ohmy: How did you guess?? Seriously, you and YDW need to stop reading my mind :tsk: ... (that's supposed to be my job, anyway :wink: )
... :uhoh:


:lol:


I had similar misgivings about YDW's qualifications, Diane :giggle:


:drool: similar minds...:drool:


...and what's all this about me not being able to be a sacrificial virgin for Bono? :angry: Oh, ye of little faith...:angry:
 
Alisaura said:

:ohmy: How did you guess?? Seriously, you and YDW need to stop reading my mind :tsk: ... (that's supposed to be my job, anyway :wink: )
... :uhoh:


:lol:


I had similar misgivings about YDW's qualifications, Diane :giggle:


:clone: :sexywink:
 
:shocked: I read this and I never commented on it

Ali, :bow: Forgive me. I am but a humble earthling who's head has obviously been stuck under a rock.

Once again I love how this is coming along. You're going to have all of us hooked on geology soon! You're going to make up for Ed not appearing in this chapter....aren't you :evil:.....
 
Ali! :applaud: Another rock-solid chapter from you. (Yes, pun intended, :lmao: )

:hyper: When will we see Ed again? (Will he be dancing naked on the hilltop? :shifty: Please can he dance naked on the hilltop? :reject: )
 
^ Ooh yes Frankie!! It could be a 'signal' to his family in outer space. He could take off his beanie revealing a hi-tech communications device....:shifty:



:giggle:
 
:hyper: This is so absorbing! I keep saying to myself "what what what?!"

:applaud:
 
gluey said:
Ali, :bow: Forgive me. I am but a humble earthling who's head has obviously been stuck under a rock.
Oooh, what kind of rock was it? :hyper:

All this talk of naked dancing is just making me think of Billy Connolly dancing nude around various remote monuments... :huh:
(and if you haven't seen his various TV series', that will sound very strange indeed... :lol: )

There may or may not be a chapter, much much much later on, sans beanie... :whistle:


Thanks again :D
 
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