The Clearing
Written: May 21, 2002
The Clearing is another Jenny inspired story. It is short and simple and she said one of the few stories that pushed her buttons so strongly. If you've ever read any of Jenny's stories you will be familiar with a few catch-phrases that she likes. "Just a product to be dealt with" and "supreme sacrifice". I used both whenever I wrote a story for her - buttons are powerful things and there are fewer that can get an immediate reaction when properly pushed.
This one kind of bothered me because there is so little disregard for the permanence of the heroine's situation. End Of The Dream tickled my conscience a little for the same reason as did Bunny Cage. When I was a kid there was this sensationalized story of the rich businessman who was abducted and buried alive. I can't remember the particulars and in this day and age it probably happens with a regularity that didn't exist back then. The ransom was paid and the crooks were caught and when the rescue came, the victim was dead.
I think they made a movie out of it and swapped genders (or maybe it really did happen twice - don't know and don't care). But the idea of being buried alive with only an air tube is, to me, very claustrophobic. Somewhere along the line I would find myself thinking about all the dirt above me.
Anyway, this one was for Jenny, she liked it, and that did it for me.
Toran