Battle Thunder (standard:romance, 974 words)
Author: Ira L. White	Added: Nov 18 2002	Views/Reads: 3900/2311	Story vote: 0.00 (0 votes)
Had war been declared between these two? Or was this conflict heading in another direction?

Battle Thunder By Ira L. White 

In the beginning it was war. The bloodied casualties fell on both sides
littering the field of battle. Luckily, the Angel of Death was not 
needed for though words may cut to the heart they are seldom fatal. 
Nevertheless, the war continued. She slashed with her rapier wit and he 
parried with snappy comebacks. 

The conflict intensified when she rearranged his desk while he visited
the men's room, compliments of the laxative baked into a brownie left 
in a carefully folded napkin by his phone. She should not have 
snickered. Her email suddenly became fair game for a not so mysterious 
hacker who knew all too well how to embarrass her. 

The annual office picnic was three months after they had first met. All
were invited to a park out in the country. The office bookie took bets 
on whether or not they both would appear and if so, how long before one 
went home. 

They both showed up causing inaudible groans among those who had bet
that one or the other wouldn't attend. Their groans turned to 
satisfaction for the small admission price they paid to the theatrical 
performance that followed. 

It all began when she opened her car door and her escort, a royal
attendant who was part dachshund, spitz and Australian shepherd, leaped 
out. The man's laughter at her beloved dog was more than she could 
take. She confronted him with a cold beer handed to her by one who had 
bet on a short stay. In the ensuing battle of words, her hand grasped 
him by the belt and she poured the beer down his trousers. 

He swore he would not let it bother him. He borrowed bright red swim
trunks three sizes too big from a gentleman who had bet on a longer 
stay. No retreat! No quarter given! Charge into the cannon's volleys 
young man! Soon the tide of battle and the fortunes of war shall turn. 

Rebuffed, the lady and her attendant hopped a fence on the rural park's
border and retired into the field to regroup. In the distance was a 
scattering of black and white Holstein heifers. She only noticed them 
in passing. They noticed her intensely. One by one the cud chewers 
slowly moved in until the woman and the dog were surrounded. 

Prince noticed them first. Never having seen a giant cow before, he was
alarmed. It seemed to him that they had traded a war on one front for a 
war on all fronts. Prince's upper lip quivered and he snapped nervously 
at the air in front of him. It was then that she noticed the cows. 
Having been raised in LA, she was suddenly alarmed by the size and 
proximity of these milk factories. The cud chewers held their ground. 
Indeed, they drooled on it. 

The man who was the enemy saw it all. Knowing about heifers, he laughed
at the tableau. 

Prince was the first to break. Seeing the giant savage cud chewers
closing in and not knowing what else to do, he attacked the nearest 
heifer. This barbaric, drooling beast broke ranks and ran. She bumped 
into a comrade in arms. 

"Run! Run! Vicious monster!" the young cow hollered. Soon there were two
deserters, then four and finally the whole herd ran before one little 
barking dog whose bravery and size seemed to be growing by the moment. 

"Prince! Come back!" she pleaded. 

Feeling in complete control, Prince did not stop. But then the
thundering herd entered a stand of tall brush. Bravely, Prince pursued. 
The woman stared at the scene as clouds of dust and broken limbs flew 
into the air above the fray. 

"They're killing my dog!" she screamed infusing the air with her grief. 

Prince emerged from the brush with his ears laid flat and running faster
than he had ever ran in his life. He ran straight towards her voice. 
The herd thundered out of the brush on Prince's heels. 



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