March 7: Mandatory Overtime by Dreamflower

[dreamflower]

(I will not be posting the scavenger hunt quote results with my entries; since I participated in creating the prompts it would not be fair.)

B2MeM Challenge: March 7, Ents
Format: Double drabble
Genre: Black humor
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: Character death
Character(s): OC Orc, Beechbone
Summary: Working for Isenguard, an Orc can't win for losing.
Quote:
“Now let thy children beware! For there shall walk a power in the forests whose wrath they will arouse at their peril.”

Mandatory Overtime

Grekh looked uneasily at the trees looming over him, and glanced out onto the plain, where he saw his companions dragging away the night's harvest. Uglúk had been angry with him because he had not felled his quota of wood to stoke the fires of Isengard; he'd been ordered to stay behind until he had felled at least three more trees--they would return to drag them back on the morrow.

Somehow those trees seemed much larger than they had when the others had been by him. And three trees would take nearly all the rest of the night to finish cutting. It would be daylight before he was done; he was no Uruk-hai and he did not like the idea of going back to Isengard under the Sun. But of course it would have been foolish indeed to dispute Uglúk's orders. Uglúk had a quick temper and a sword. Might as well get on with it.

Grekh raised his ax. It vanished from his hands. He looked up and screamed at the tree monster, a scream cut off as the woody foot descended.

Beechbone looked with disgust at the bottom of his foot. "Hoom-hah! Orcs! Brm, hoom! Foul burárum!

Comments

[huinare.livejournal.com]

Ah poor Grekh. I really like this, it's short yet it says a great deal about the Uruk-hai and the Orcs of Isengard.

And the title. =D

[dreamflower]

I kind of figured that Uglúk would be a "pointy-haired boss" type, LOL!

[huinare.livejournal.com]

This has elicited the funniest mental image.

[dreamflower]

*snicker*

[mews1945.livejournal.com]

Take that, you dirty rat! Poor old Grekh, couldn't win no matter what he did.

[dreamflower]

Yep. For Orcish underlings, I think life might have been a "can't win for losing" situation.

[lindahoyland.livejournal.com]

I almost felt sorry for the Orc though I love trees!This was great.

[dreamflower]

Yes, Grekh is pretty pathetic, isn't he?

[hhimring]

Oh dear.
Clearly a case of bad career planning!

[dreamflower]

Unfortunately for Orcs, the options are rather limited. I'm sure so far as Grekh is concerned anything else would be a step up!

[grey-wonderer.livejournal.com]

lol. Now and again, some of my bosses have seemed very Orc-like. I enjoyed these. Go Ents!

[dreamflower]

I think just about everyone has known those bosses. Thank goodness most of them don't have swords.

[rlaadmin.livejournal.com]

Maybe I shouldn't have laughed so much (poor Orc!) but I did! :-)

[dreamflower]

Well, I did label it "black humor", so I kind of expected people to laugh. *grin*

Poor Grekh. There just are not many career options open to Orcs.

[rlaadmin.livejournal.com]

No, not many, lol. Kind of makes you wonder what they'd do if they were around today...

[dreamflower]

Somehow I don't think they'd qualify for most careers with the public. It would be a little scary and off-putting having an Orc offer you a menu...

[rlaadmin.livejournal.com]

But I hear they are starting a chain just for Orcs called 'Meat's Back on the Menu'. *g*