The Perp Challenge

[Paul Meccano]

Over The Top


‘History! Recorded history God damn it!’ Hector fumed whilst speculating on a way forward. ‘Imagine if we hadn’t recorded it!’ He threw his hand up, aghast. He calmed, took a Breath.

‘Famous you say.’ Dredger turned to face to Hector again. ’Important, you say.’ He walked to the stern, Hector followed. ‘Peculiar.’

‘Perhaps history does tell of this great warrior. It hasn’t recorded everything though.’ Dredger stopped as he thought, his foot tapping, back still turned. Suddenly he spun on his heel, finger held aloft.

‘Actually Hector, we do have an answer; It’s been there all along,’ he held Hectors shoulders, hardly a comfort. ‘lets put some weight behind it. Shall we?’ Dredger started off slowly past the ropes and empty barrels. ’Go get something heavy, meet me starboard.’

Hector arrived, Dredger had tied a knot ready but there was no sign of him near it. He picked up the knot, looked at it quizzically.

‘Don’t meddle Hector.’ Dredger wallowed back.

‘With your permission, as curious as it seems. I’m going to tie this…’ Dredger looked around, he couldn’t see the item Hector had found.

‘It’s me.’ Hector pointed at himself.’ I couldn’t find anything else.’ Dredgers face was a picture.

‘Finally! ha ha ha, we get to do something together’ It was unusual for Hector to do anything requiring effort.

‘I would have preferred not to; my courage is limited' Hector declared.

‘Well my bold friend,’ Dredger had tied them together, they shuffled to the edge ‘lets go submarine!’

 

[ASleepyGiraffe]

An Egg Submerged in Time



‘But we could change our history! Imagine all the things we could alter with what we know!’

Rekk was in one of those moods again. His mind all fevered and practically delirious, high on the possibilities of yet another bonkers idea. His breath came out erratic. Words rattling off his tongue at a record pace.

‘We’ll be famous!’ He near squealed at the saying of it. ‘Important for once! No more, “ooh he’s a bit peculiar. Bit of an odd egg that, Rekk, ain’t he?”

Perhaps they have a point… I thought, not looking up from the mundane comfort of my crossword puzzle.

‘People tend not to say and think things, without the ideas actually having some weight of truth behind them.’

Rekk didn’t seem to hear me. Or simply didn’t care.

‘We could meet our heroes!’

He wasn’t going to let this drop. I could tell. When he was this set on something, I’d never hear the end of it. He was a knot. A stubborn, pain in the arse, perpetually obstinate knot, that couldn’t be untangled until he chose to be.

‘We really shouldn’t meddle in the past Rekk. Certainly not without permission. No matter how curious we are.’

‘Sod curiosity! Just picture it… We could finally make ourselves rich!’

I’d have preferred to ignore him forever, but the prospect of having some money for a change was too enticing.

‘Fine! Okay. We’ll go. But only for one limited adventure…’

Rekk grinned something fierce.

‘Excellent, I’ll fetch the submarine!’

 

[crystal haven]

“What have you found?” Fred shouted. “Have we made history then?”

In truth I wasn’t sure how to answer that, and could well imagine Fred’s face if I said what I thought. I took a breath to steady my nerves. God, how to explain: if this was true and not some hoax, we were going to be famous, the most important discovery beyond anything since, well, I couldn’t think since when. It was damned peculiar though. Perhaps somebody was playing a joke, but the more I thought about it, actually thought it through, I couldn’t see how it might have been done.

“It’s a piece of metal.”

“A coin?” he asked. I could hear the hope: a trove of jewels.

“Err… well, not exactly.” We’ll need a crane to lift this weight.

Fred walked across the field, and I squelched through mud to meet him. A knot had formed in my stomach. This find felt like something we shouldn’t meddle in, like the curse of the pharaohs. We’d have to get permission to go further.

“Okay,” he said, “I’m all ears. As curious as a cat. What’s your metal detector and a shovel found? Have you taken a picture?”

Finally the time had come to tell the world, or at least the farmer who owned the field, though I’d have preferred longer. Words seemed inadequate, my abilities limited. Just spit it out, man. “It’s a bit bigger than a coin, Fred. It’s the missing submarine from fifty years ago.”

 

[TheDustyZebra]

Peril at Sea


History holds mystery;

Imagine, if you can,

Breath of life is gone from three,

Famous to a man.

Important persons every one,

Peculiar, it is true;

Perhaps the beast that stole their sun

Thought naught of me or you.

Actually, we sensed its coming,

Weight of devil on the make;

Meet with virgin for the homing,

Knot the rope and sharpen stake.

Meddle not with ancient evil;

Permission they must always seek.

Curious they are, and civil,

Picture-perfect, pale and bleak.

Finally we delivered judgment,

Preferred the treatment of the damned;

Limited to history’s omens,

Submarine is safe again.