The Tracks by Chipka
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Description
“Tick-tick-tock…tick-tick-tock….” Olin jabbered, thrown into sniffer’s trance by the promise of blood, crime, and the mystery of who and why. It was his job and the broad-spectrum autistic-triggers necessary for his work kept him sharp. He balanced on the knife’s edge, staring into the depths of madness. There were sniffers who went too far into their work and never came out; Cherrik worried that Olin’s edge might be too sharp, but he left Olin to his purpose. The City cared for broken sniffers with tax-payer money in the stygian wards deep beneath the sewers and the roots of monster towers; partners to any fallen sniffer were allowed retirement, or work in the wards to care for those to whom they’d been pair-bonded. Now, Olin maintained his balance, and so Cherrik pushed his misgivings aside.
“Tick-tick-tock…tick-tick-tock; the fox runs, the hounds pursue. A corpse in troubled repose lies in brambles and bird-pecking beaks.”
It was cold on the day Control coded punch cards and slotted them into the vast engines that summoned teams from off-shift slumber. It was cold and all Cherrik could imagine was warmth beneath faux-goose down as Olin slept beside him, ticking in his dreams…shuffling the numbers of probability as any sniffer might when there was no crime to hunt, no quarry to corner in some strange stretch of Zombie Town or The Bones, Crayfisher’s Neck, or the ghettoes of Rivermouth.
“Tick-tick-tock…tick-tick—the wave function verges collapse, probability shrinks to the single point of now.” To hear Olin’s recitations was to forever learn the process of his rambling speech. Only his vocalized repetition of a clock’s wordless sound remained constant.
The focus of Olin's olive-colored gaze went hazy and then sharp. He crouched, froglike, then pointed west, rocking on his heels. There were trees at the end of his gesture—the curve of railroad tracks, and beyond them, the tower of a bridge.
Olin smiled—and for a moment his squared, boyish features lit with strange and alien glee. His hair was a dark tangle of rampant cowlicks tousled by the breeze. He leaned forward, pecked Cherrik’s lips with a kiss, then flashed his teeth in a feral hunter’s grin. “Tick-tick-tock…follow my unraveling in the labyrinth of Mynos where the man-bull awaits in his stink and his lice. He does not breathe. His slayer has run but his resolve is shaken.”
There was a body. Close by. But there were always bodies in this stretch of Brambles’ Bore.
“Whisper,” Olin said between rapid clock-work sounds. “Follow my skein to the lair of the dead and the tracks of the slayer.” And he was off in a low, military scamper.
Cherrik kept pace with him. There were small things in the brush, vermin-mammals. Whoever had committed a crime here was gone, but as Olin broke away from zipper-seam of tracks and dense wooden ties, Cherrik spotted the point of Olin’s focus. Some hind-brain instinct impelled him to draw his gun.
They reached a crumpled shape. A man. Birds pecked at his sightless eyes and gouged red marks in his skin. He’d been dead for a long while, only half-concealed by weed growth and scraggly sapling trees. His attacker was gone. A day departed at least, but it didn’t matter to Olin. He moved forward, tick-tick-tocking to himself as he slipped into mnemonic trance and recorded the scene with his eyes and ears. Sniffing clues and lapping at the air, dog-like, for telltale olfactory tags.
Cherrik allowed him to work, keeping cover with his gun, watching for movement in the direction of the river and in the growth obscuring the corpse. After a hand’s span of minutes (or maybe more) Olin slipped out of trance and shook his head as if to clear errant thoughts. “Sniffer-sniffed…tick-tick-tock…the fox has run and the hounds pursue…a call to Central will summon my poetry and tomorrow’s weather is partly sunny with a chance of criminal apprehension.”
***
Comments (37)
alessimarco
Amazing atmospheric render and great story!
Rainastorm
Your image is awesome, I love it...it is presented perfectly and has an excellent story to accompany it.
jascorpio
mysterious scene that goes with the story!!!
blinkings
Great work my friend.
flavia49
fantastic work!!! amazing colors and superb text!!
Foto-Arte
Awesome work!!!
MrsRatbag
Compelling and frightening at the same time; what a wordsmith you are!
dadon72
As soon as I saw the thumbnail, I knew this was one of yours... Definitely has your style. I love the dark, ominous mood. I imediately get the feeling that something bad or wrong has happened... or maybe about to... that's before I read your story... ...I love how you're instantly drawn into the story. By the end of the first paragraph, I already care about the characters and want to know just what the hell a sniffer is. This story is the begining, in my opinion, of a very intriguing duo on a very warped journey. Top notch work as usual Chip. Excellent.
Osper
Excellent job!
Sea_Dog
Man, Chip, this is a masterpiece. An amazing atmosphere - moody, mysterious, a little threatening. Superb work.
watapki66
Surreal! Wonderful work!
auntietk
Oooooooohh! This has such a "Perdido Street" feel to it, and the place names reinforce it. Fantastic writing which absolutely stands on its own, but also a REALLY well done tribute. You are astonishing!! Even though I know what you can do, and how well you can do it, I am continually enthralled.
Thalyra
What image fantastic, I love the effect of white stones between the rails forming curves that attract the eye, and the trees look like they are on fire and the flames spread to the stormy sky of flames ... Very good scene!
WDCscg
As always .. very wonderful ... hope you are well.
beachzz
Whew, I don't even know what to say this time. You have rendered me speechless---or wordless!! Well, not quite, because this is absolutely fantastic!!
nowadayhero
Looks very industrial! Great atmosphere!
whaleman
Man, you took me right there as few can anymore...
helanker
WOW ! What a dramatic image that is. It looks marvellous. And the story. You have an amazing imagination. Thats for sure. :-)
kgb224
Outstanding Post work and story line my friend.
zulaan
Simply GREAT !!!
Eresther
Excellent postwork and ambiance in this scene!
durleybeachbum
This gripping tale had me reading with a spoonful of cereal and pumpkin seeds hovering over the keyboard halfway to my mouth. I should love to know if the picture I have in my mind of a sniffer is what you see in your mind. On the other hand this though is one of the most debated questions about art, and the answer often is 'Does it matter?'! Brilliant image of impending doom!
Kaartijer
Great capture, well seen! You also did a great job on postwork!
ladyraven23452
If its there you will capture it and your storys are the best.
mbz2662
All I can say is... "Wow!" ...
sandra46
SUPERB IMAGE!!! TERRIFIC MOOD!!!!!GREAT STORY!!!
blondeblurr
The composition is just breath-taking, everything about is so surreal... Top-dog Cherrick and sidekick Olin haven't got quite their act together, finding only dead bodies, instead of ? missing their target again! oh well, it's only tax payers money. Spooky Sci-Fi Sniffer. BB
bmac62
Chip...I wasn't going to comment on this piece...hate to admit it but it sailed over my head until I found out about the book, "Perdido Street Station". The second published novel by China Miéville, and the first in a series that is set in the fictional world of Bas-Lag (can you tell I've been reading reviews on Amazon.com? lol). Epic fantasy, huh...now I am venturing into an unknown area for me...and that's growth. And growth is good too!
myrrhluz
I just came from a hidden room in the bowels of a slaughter house, to this. Most Wonderful! This relationship between the trained, autistically attuned tracker and his partner is fascinating. Even in this beginning, there is so much fodder for a long compelling story. There are background stories hinted at, a unique relationship to explore, the promise of unusual and exciting adventures and the threat of madness overtaking Olin. Amazing, and told with your impeccable skill. The image...Wow! It has both the familiarity that brings to mind images of lonely tracks, rusting towers and concrete highways, and the alienness that takes me to the world of your story. I love the puddle, which ties in the reddish brown of the clouds and concrete, giving a murky grittiness to the surroundings. It also has a resemblance to the outlines of a body. The darker brown of the tracks and silhouetted trees and tower are very menacing. Finally, I love the dark humor of the last line.
popeslattz
Cool photo and manip. Excellent story to match. Would like to read more of these characters...