z

Young Writers Society


12+

Savage

by Pomeroy


Dayton’s body felt heavy, his eyes stung, and all he wanted was to go home. He hadn’t slept in well over twenty-four hours and it was catching up to him. He lifted his head at the sound of the door opening. Charlotte came into the room, looking as refreshed and flawless as she always did. He envied her ability to always look so well put together.

She went straight to the two-way mirror. “Has he spoken?”

Dayton grimaced, turning his head to look into the room on the other side. The savage sat with his hands chained to the table, glaring at the mirror. It almost felt like he could see straight through it and was looking directly at Dayton. The savage was filthy, caked in blood and dirt, greasy blond hair stuck to his face, his clothes were ripped and frayed, and he was covered in scars. He was everything Dayton expected from a savage.

“Not a word,” Leax answered.

Dayton grunted, “I don’t see why we didn’t just shoot him down like a dog when we saw him outside the wall.”

Leax looked at him, his usual neutral expression adopting a disapproving frown. Dayton looked away.

“Leax, I want you to talk to him again,” Charlotte said, ignoring Dayton's remark. “Have someone fetch me when you get him talking.”

“Yes ma’am.”

With that, she left the room.

“He could be useful," Leax told Dayton. "He doesn't seem like the others we've seen." With that, he left the room.

A moment later, Dayton saw him come through the door into the investigation room, brandishing a cup of water.

Dayton took a seat, resting his elbows on his knees as he watched. He would make sure not to get too comfortable, though, just in case he had to intervene. These savages were unpredictable.

Leax sat across from the savage. He pushed the cup of water over to the bloody man. “You must be thirsty. Your rations were rather low when we found you.”

The blond glanced down at the cup, then glared up at Leax. He stayed silent.

Dayton wouldn’t deny his amazement at how long the savage held his stare. As a personal victim of Leax’s eerie stare, he could attest that it was no easy feat to keep eye contact for long. There was something deep and terrifying about them. Vast, yet so empty, almost threatening to pull you into a void which you could never escape.

Unsurprisingly, the savage was the first to avert his gaze. He looked back to the cup, and with slow, calculated movement, he grabbed the cup and took a slow drink. Leax shot a smug look Dayton’s way. Dayton rolled his eyes.

“My friend insists on calling you by slurs like savage and mongrel,” Leax stated. “I like to think I’m not so uncivilized. Do you have a name?”

The blond scoffed. He took another drink and reclined in his seat. “Your friend must be lovely company.”

Dayton sat up in surprise. “So the little rat speaks.” Though the speaking wasn’t what quite caught him off guard, but rather the way he spoke. Everything about his posture, his tone, his arrogant attitude as if he were in control while he sat cuffed and covered in blood. He seemed more intelligent than Dayton had given him credit for. “Or maybe he’s just crazy,” Dayton muttered.

In the room, Leax nodded, “Lovely is one way to put it.”

Was Leax… bantering? This entire exchange was making Dayton dizzy.

The blond was smiling. His teeth looked strikingly white up against the blood and grime all over his face. “Ralys,” He said. “My name is Ralys.”

A/N: Just some quick questions that I have, and that might help you review. This is an excerpt from an actual story I'm writing, so the reader (you) kinda gets plopped into the middle without any context. Sorry about that.

1) Are the characters consistent? Do you get a feel for who and how they are?

2) Does the dialogue seem stiff or out of place anywhere?


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Points: 200
Reviews: 2

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Tue Apr 09, 2019 1:52 am
ConstantineCondor wrote a review...



Hello Pomeroy! Me again.

Anyways, to begin, I’d like to address the fact that when the so called “savage” was revealed to be Ralys, I was quite stunned. You did a spectacular job of keeping me from suspecting that it could be Rayls, as of the fact that you kept the from describing him in “Scavenger”. The ending was very unexpected, to say the least.

On the topic of characters, I’m guessing that any further chapters involving these characters will either be about Dayton or Ralys. I can infer that because Charlotte pops in just for a little, and Leax seems to be there mainly for the purpose of having a sort of opposing force of friendliness to oppose Dayton’s not-so-outgoing approach. Don’t get me wrong, both have neatly distinguished character portrayals, but I would think that for plot convenience you would have Dayton and Ralys at the center spotlight of further excerpts/chapters because Dayton doesn’t like Ralys and vise-versa (I would assume (if they’ve even met face to face yet)).

Charlotte seems like a good plot development character, as she seems to have the authority to order people around. She’s kind of is like a Lestrade to your Sherlock, if you will. Leax seems a bit smug yet intelligent, making good choices and progressing with the questioning, while I can assume that Dayton took an opposite approach (if he questioned Ralys), one that might have involved a bit of shouting. I can imagine that Dayton and Leax are good friends, though they kind of have different attitudes and ways to handle events. They do seem to counteract each other well.

The dialogue in the beginning seems genuine, as if it could all be from a couple of interrogators watching and discussing a suspect from behind a one-way mirror. I definitely think that I got the vibe that you were going for. As of the fact that this takes place in an apocalyptic scenario, I can assume that Dayton has seen his fare share of Savages and what they can do. Leax, on the other hand, seem more laidback and younger, as if he has been living behind the walls of wherever this takes place for most of his life.

As for the setting, which has definitely changed from Exit 11 in “Scavenger”, I can assume that they are either in some sort of military installation or cityish place of some sort. Charlotte is probably a top dog in this place (or the toppiest dog in this place), and based on her authoritative composition, I can assume that she either is or was military.

It’s hard to go off of what’s provided, but based off of Ralys determination in the last book to find Harrington, I can assume that he didn’t divert course, and instead, perhaps, just got lost because he couldn’t safely go back to the highway. He probably was lost for a week or so, explaining his lack of food supplies. He has cuts and blood all over him, so I’m guessing that he encountered some more unfriendly people along his way through the forest, eventually ending up being chased to or near wherever he is now. You do a good job of setting up a puzzle that us as the readers can finish. What I mean by that is that that you provide the right amount of details and hints for us to use to find out what exactly is happening.

Just like last time, nice sent nice structure, not many (if any) mistakes, and good story development. The dialogue seems legitimate and normal, like people talking in real life. Overall, this part is an excellent compliment and sequel to your previous story. It’s so well done, I honestly don’t have any problems to comment on. Spectacular job, Pomeroy! Keep up the good work!

Quod Bona,
Constantine




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117 Reviews


Points: 481
Reviews: 117

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Wed Jun 21, 2017 2:03 am
Featherstone wrote a review...



Hello, Fea here!

I really liked this story, and it definitely got me hooked! If you ever end up publishing this here, please tag me. I enjoyed the characters and the interactions between them especially.

My critiques:

Paragraph 3 uses the word 'savage' a few too many times, I think. It gets repetitive. Perhaps using words like 'barbarian' or utilizing a thesaurus would be advantageous.

The characters do indeed seem consistent. I get a feel, though not a particularly distinct feel. I see that 'the savage' is definitely confident in himself (or at least good at casting that illusion) and seems intelligent; he's the only one I got a really distinct feel for. Leax seems more socially skilled and appears to use finesse over force.

The dialogue doesn't seem stiff or out of place.

Other than that, nice job!

~ Fea




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Points: 4
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Sun Jun 18, 2017 10:39 pm
Happy23 says...



The plot of the story seems interesting. I would be interested to read more. However, it would definitely help to have some context because when reading this excerpt, I have close to no idea how each character got to the point they are and I cannot tell what their relationship is with one another. Leax also just seems to pop up in the middle of the excerpt with no introduction.
I am unsure about the role of Leax and Charlotte as I am kind of getting the two confused. At first, I thought Charlotte was the leader of the group as she showed her authority at this point of the story: ' “Leax, I want you to talk to him again,” Charlotte said, ignoring Dayton's remark. “Have someone fetch me when you get him talking.” ' However, later, it is Leax who interacts with the savage and has the most success doing so. Leax seems like the experienced one, not Charlotte, even though Charlotte gives the orders.
Your dialogue is good. It is flowing and natural. If you do post another excerpt, I would be happy to read more of the story.




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Sat Jun 17, 2017 2:46 pm
RavenBlack wrote a review...



Hey Raven Black here!

I'll review this as I go along :-D

- 'He envied her ability to always look so well put together.' so do i T_T

- I'm very confused to who the savage is...

- Who's Leax??

- Are they in a prison? Because if they're it's not quite clear...

- Leax interests me, he has this authority and command over people. And he carries himself with confidence. Plus that 'eerie stare' frightens me. But he's respectful of others, asking for the savages name is one example. This guy is well written.

Overall the story doesn't intrigue me much but the characters do, though I could barely visualize what they looked like. or where they were, I think that needs to be clearer. Plus I think the savages needs to be explained, like who are they, why are they mistreated.

Other than that great. keep writing :-D





Resistance is futile.
— The Borg