Blergh sneezed as the blowing sand hit him in the face – again. Sentry duty was tough on the sinuses out here. Sandstorms, molting trees, dusty crypts – if it could make him sneeze, it did. His snout dripped all the time now, rather disgusting when it hit his tusks. The other guard, Morp, didn’t seem bothered by any of it, but he was new.
“What am I supposed to be doing?” Morp said.
“Standing guard.” Blergh sneezed again.
“I’m making sure that nobody gets by me?”
“Something like that.” Blergh decided that Morp was a little slow. It was just as well; otherwise, he’d be terrified later on.
The night was uneventful until midnight – always midnight, Blergh thought with a sigh and a sneeze. A crashing noise came from inside the crypt.
“Go see what that noise was,” Blergh said.
Morp started up the hill towards the crypt. Blergh didn’t know what was in there, but no one ever came back out once he went in to check on the noise. Astonishment made Blergh sneeze double when Morp walked out five minutes later.
“I fixed the problem.” Morp stood placidly, without a care in the world.
Blergh strode up the hill, determined to see what Morp had done. When he entered the crypt, the door slammed closed behind him. A black shadow coalesced in front of him, its form plunging the temperature in the room to near freezing. Blergh’s heart stuttered in fright, his sneezing ran in marathon time. The black shadow sighed.
“Do you realize that your partner was the first one to ask me if he could help? Your nightly sneezing has disturbed my rest for weeks now, but you always send someone else up here. Finally, the cause of my agitation makes a personal appearance.”
One mighty sneeze sounded from the crypt before all fell silent once again. Morp smiled. He knew that Blergh would be too nosy for his own good.
Guard duty suited Morp. It was a nice, quiet job.
©2009 Laura Eno
