Okay, so I don't know if I like it or not, but here's my story. Or part of it anyways. I personally think parts are pretty dumb, but who knows. It could be okay. Here:A black dragon of smoke- Chasing. Trailing. The boy and the creature locked in a hazy tunnel, seemingly unable to escape. At the end, a rush of light plummeted toward them. Consuming. Then, total darkness.
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Christian scrambled awake. A wild wind, cold and powerful, whipped through his black hair and all about, like the tail of an angry cat. The sky was a dark gray. The air was hot and heavy.
Christian was confused. Panicked. Terrified.
Only moments ago he had been at his house in Colorado. Sound asleep. Warm and happy in his bed.
Could he be dreaming? No, not dreaming. He felt. He heard. He had to be awake.
He tried to focus his eyes; adjust them to the darkness. It didn’t work. The sky had gone from gray to black in moments. Seeing wasn’t an option. He had to feel his way around.
The ground beneath him was hard and jagged. Rock. A mountain, maybe? He wasn’t taking the chance of tumbling down a cliff. He would have to wait for the sunlight.
God, please help me. I’m lost…afraid. Confused. Will you give me some comfort…some knowledge that it’s going to be okay? Christian prayed inwardly.
Almost instantly a verse flew into his mind. He whispered it over and over again. This verse had helped him many times before. But he would need it here, in this strange place, more than he ever had in the past.
“
Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed for I am your God. I will strengthen you. Yes, I will help you; I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.” It played again and again in his mind. It gave him a sense of peace until he drifted back to sleep and awoke again to this new place.
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“He’s here, my Lady. The child has come.” Said the creature as it entered the room. It was small, about a foot and a half feet tall; its skin was green and rough like a desert turtle. It wore a thin, hooded cloak that was torn and frayed. Walking over on two tiny legs, its back hunched over, its hands hanging loosely in front of him; he bowed before a tall woman.
“Scrogg,” She smiled and turned; her chainmail dress clanging as she did. “You’re back!”
“Yes, Majesty.” He replied. His voice was squeaky, but deep and raspy; as if each word were forced from the back of his throat. “The boy. The one you sent for. He has arrived!”
“So soon? Well done, my pet! You saw him yourself?” She was a welcoming site. Her eyes were an aqua blue, sparkling like the sun on a lake. Her hair shone as well, a gorgeous red that came down past her knees. It was braided in the back, dangling down like a whip. The way she carried herself would be confusing to any who were around her. It made one love her, and be terrified of her all at once.
“Yes, my Mistress. I saw him. On the mountain. Easy to retrieve. Scrogg gets him.” He hastily began to exit the huge stone doors when he was halted immediately by a command.
“No.” The voice which would, earlier, lure anyone in was now cruel and demanding. “Don’t fetch him. If I trusted you alone with such an important task, all of Aurrian would perish.” Altering her tone of voice, she spoke as if to a puppy, “And, we couldn’t have that, could we, my pet?”
“No, no, Highness. No,” Mumbled the creature, repeating the no’s multiple times under his breath, looking almost as if he were trying to reassure himself of something but didn’t know what.
“Now follow my orders exactly,” She commanded. “Go to the Ellorian Chamber and set them free. Say that I ordered them to fetch the boy…” She paused and thought for a moment, the creature mumbling nonstop the whole time. “Oh, and Scrogg…be sure they know that I don’t care how they get him as long as he’s alive when he gets here. Understood?”
“Yes, Lady. Yes, Mistress.” He said as he exited the room to carry out his master’s demands.
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The newly awakened sun shone pink across the sky. Christian got an early start at trying to figure out where he was and what had happened. He was, as he had guessed the night before, on a mountain. “Lucky I’m not too far from the bottom.” He thought aloud to himself, peering over the edge at a green valley below. The grass swayed from side to side in a gentle breeze. This certainly didn’t seem like the same frightening place he had been in during the night.
Separating the empty valley from a small town, with, what seemed to be ten or fifteen little farmhouses in it, was a winding river. It stretched across to another beautiful mountain and up. The whole place reminded Christian of one of those paintings he had seen in museums or hanging in one of his sisters’ bedrooms. –Sisters. The twins. By now they would be waking up, Bethany all smiles, Bailey fumbling around the house, still groggy from sleep. Climbing down with the thought of his siblings and parents driving him on, he reached the bottom in no time and began to cross the valley, unsure of where he was going or why.
About an hour of walking later, he stumbled upon a dirt path. Next to it, a sign stood with crude writing on it. At first, Christian had no clue what it said. But after fifteen minutes of struggling and mispronunciation, he finally got it.
It read:
“bOgrIan. sOuth-East. Pursue COURSE If YOu MUST.”
“Bogrian? What’s all this? ‘Pursue course if you must.’ Sounds dangerous to me. I don’t think I want to risk…”
A loud screech cut across the sky interrupting his thoughts. He whirled around, more than startled, and tried to pin the owner of such a strange sound. He soon found it. High above, rushing down toward him with hot, angry eyes was a bird. It looked almost like an eagle with blue feathers that seemed to be covered in silver glitter. Its clawed feet were also silver, as well as its beak and outlining feathers around its eyes. Again it shrieked, louder than the last time, and dove for Christian trying to either claw him or pick him up. He wasn’t sure which.
Christian didn’t have time to think. He immediately turned and darted down the pathway as fast as he could. He glanced back to see if the thing was pursuing. It was, and getting closer by the second. One huge flap of its wings and it was within striking distance. It stretched out its foot and raked across Christian’s back with a quick swipe of its talon. He let out a painful cry and stumbled for a moment. Another slash followed, on his side this time; it knocked him to the ground.
Christian found himself face-to-face with the creature; it screeched and delivered one final blow. Darkness consumed him. He saw nothing. But before he completely lost consciousness he heard a voice yelling and a scraping sound. Then the bird. It howled with anger and pain. Then-nothing.
