Today’s double theme could have gone somewhere far different than it did. For today’s #1lineWed theme, we have **SOMERSUALT** and last week’s #ThursThreads flashfiction, we add “Something’s wrong.” This is what randomly (sort of randomaly) came out of my fingertips as I tried to add some new words to CROSSFIRE. Warning, this IS one of those random puzzle-piece snippets that will be in the final manuscript but I have no real clue just exactly where. You’ll just have to stick around for the release to find out. 😉
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Loch stopped, holding his hand up in the universal signal for everyone to halt. He searched the surrounding terrain using all his senses.

Duke appeared at his back. In a voice not much more than a whisper, he said, “What’s up?”

“Something’s wrong.” Loch continued his scan, now relying completely on his Wolf senses. His eyes flashed red as his nostrils flared. He tested the air. The woods had gone dead quiet. Not even the kids were making a sound. No birds. No wind rustling the leaves. His inner wolf wanted out to hunt whatever was out there. The man wanted to hunt too.

Duke turned to the next team member in line and in that same murmured voice ordered,. “Dalton, get the kids under cover.”

The older ones had already squatted down along the trail, and the younger ones followed suit. Meg crept up the line from the rear, urging them toward an ancient pine that had fallen against another tree to make a haphazard lean-to. Her heart broke for these children. War had taken a terrible toll on their lives and the idea that even the toddlers had stuffed their hands into their mouths to remain silent? Tears prickled her eyelids and she blinked them away. She would be as brave as they were, and it wasn’t like they didn’t have strong, competent soldiers guarding them.

She’d seen firsthand what they could do. She’d always responded with a bit of snark whenever her father pontificated on the SAS. After watching Kin, who’d been SAS, and the others who served in other special operations groups of their country’s military, she promised she’d apologize to her dad if she got out of this mess alive. Without this men, neither she nor the children would have come so close to safety.

Kin came up behind her and her heart turned a somersault when he squeezed her arm. The heat from his hand radiated all the way through her jacket and she suddenly found it difficult to breathe. Her internal organs needed to stop with the acrobatics.

Taking enough time to ensure that all the kids were tucked up tight in the nest made by the pine, Kin assured each one with a touch, a smile, or a word. Then he bundled Meg into the space. She opened her mouth to protest but he cut her off. “T’keep ya safe, we need t’know where everyone is, which is right here. We can cover you but not if someone decides t’pop their head up t’see what’s goin’ on.” He gave her a fierce glare. “Stay with the kids. We got this, yeah?”

Nodding, she returned his glare with her own glower. On hands and knees, Meg herded her charges deeper into the tree fall. Yeah, they had this. All of them. Whatever was out there, Kin and the others would deal with it. They would survive.
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So, writers, if you have no somersaults or Something’s wrongs to share, go for a little free writing and see if you can do a 250-word scene. Readers, you choice: Did you love to turn somersaults as a kid? and/or What do you think is out there waiting for our intrepid band of rescuers?