My
walk home was nothing to speak off. Triff kept wandering ahead –
he'd come bounding back if I called, wagging his tail and snuffling
around me before catching whiff of something else and again going out
of sight. It was a peaceful walk on the well-worn forest path. Trinn
stayed near me the whole way, keeping pace in her steady, calm way.
We ate a couple rabbits Triff and I caught and slept together in a
pile under the stars. That was the last peaceful night I'd have for a
long time.
I
came home to find my village deserted. Empty. Belongings strewn
through the streets, and doors left ajar. Several stray chickens were
wandering loose, with their little ones bobbing around their feet.
The
air was heavy with smoke, but nothing was burning. In the middle of
the village square was a small dead animal, slit from tail to throat,
with a few spears in its side. The blood around it was dark and
dried – a red-black stain in the dirt. Both dogs whined and sniffed
the air but wouldn't move closer.
I
stood there in shock as persistent flies buzzed around the corpse...
The unmistakeable form of a dragon, even as small and bloodied as
this one was.
Do
you know that sinking feeling that starts in your stomach and then
travels to your head? Where for a moment, you stop breathing, and you
can't think? Where the enormity and terror of the situation surrounds
your senses?
And
then.
Everything
rushes back in.
I
ran. I ran almost the whole way to the caves, with both dogs bounding
by my side. I had enough sense to slow my pace and creep in the last
half mile. Agonizingly slow, with my breaths coming in shallow gasps
as I tried to be quiet... Praying, hoping, that everything would be
fine. But there was so much smoke, and the forest was silent. I think
I knew, even as I stumbled and prayed my way to the mountain, that my
hope was dead with that dragon cub, rotting in the sun.
It's soooooooo good!! Keep going!
ReplyDeleteI have about 500 words of the next section written up. :) I'll get it posted sometime this week - I'm still sorting out a few details and such in it.
DeleteAll of this is kinda like a prologue/backstory of my characters. :) I'm trying to both be informative, without info dumping too much.
Delete