OOC: Prompted by and for rattle_thecages


Snake sat in the hospital bed staring at the stack of papers he had to personalize and sign. The lump in his stomach was growing. 59 letters needed to be written to 59 families. They were all the men and women he lost in Leningrad and as their commanding officer it was his place to write to them about the news. Plissken chewed nervously on the end of the pen he’d been given. There was a debate in his mind. Tell the family what they wanted to hear or tell them the truth.

The envelopes didn’t seal. Someone would read them. The truth couldn’t be written to these families. Not even the family of his fiancé could get the truth he now knew about Leningrad. That was what killed him inside just a little more than hearing it the first time. He shuffled through the letters until he came to Karsonova. Snake stared at the page for a long time. A flash of her blood soaked hair forced him to press his eye closed against the memories. He felt ill. The last time he’d spoken to Sophia’s mom it was a covert operation to get her ring size. She had been so happy. He should be sending her wedding invitations not a death letter.

Plissken let the stack of letters lay on his lap but his hand hadn’t let go. Wedding invitations is what he should be writing. Now those would never happen. He put the pen down on the paper below where their names were typed as Mr. and Mrs. Karsonova. Snake froze up with the pen pressed to the white paper. His mind wandered briefly before it settled on two images. One was the irate young woman kissing him because she wasn’t angry and the other was the awful slit throat.

Time went slow as he stared blankly into space. He saw those images as if they were murals painted into the wall across from the bed. There he sat until a voice startled him leaving a huge black pen mark across the paper from the huge black dot that had formed. The first thing he noticed was the darkness. He’d been there for hours.

“Mr. Plissken. I can bring these back later.” The nurse spoke quietly but his startle response was strong after all that had happened. “I didn’t mean to startle you.”

Plissken’s heart raced. One glance at the heart monitor confirmed the pounding feeling in his chest. Her words took time to sink into his mind. Snake looked down at the ruined letter before sighing and giving a nod. The letters and pen went away from his sight but the thought was still there.

59 letters he had to write. 59 families he had to destroy. 59 lies he had to write. Plissken didn’t want to write those letters. He would not add to the deception surrounding what happened to the men and women those letters were about.



Words: 493

(This prompt is based on the notion your muse has to fill out a survey, new questions will be offered every prompt set)

- What is your name? Snake Plissken
- Where were you born? Deadwood, SD
- How many languages can you speak? 8
- How many children do you have? 5
- What sort of car do you drive? Humvee or Firebird
- What's your favorite food? Beef
- Would you ever swim with sharks? I have
- If you had to paint your house one colour inside and out, what would it be? Sky Blue
- Do you believe in Feng Shui, why or why not? No. I don't think where most things are placed matters to any mystical energy flow. Sounds like bullshit to me.
- Have you ever had a near death experience? Several.