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We burst in through the door. It was great to be having so much fun, and make jokes. School was over! How ever did I manage to stand it all year long? Oh well, it didn't really matter. We were free. Lakesha had made food for us. I was glad and ate happily. Who cared if we were dusty from when Pyrene tripped? Who cared if the entire village was gloomy? We were free! Lakesha said she had something to tell us that night. We asked her to tell us now but she said to wait. We still had energy and so we went for a walk. Stella and I had first to convince Pyrene, but then we said good bye to Lakesha and decided to go towards the mountains, through the forest. We knew every path fairly well, sense that was all we had to do in this tiny village. Pyrene fell again, tripping over her dress. We were dirty already so it didn't really matter. It did however, sober us up and that's when we felt it. Something was pulling us toward the mountains. We glanced at each other and I knew that we had all felt it. So we turned silently toward the other path. We walked up hill, through the bushes, and tried not to stumble. Eventually, when the sun was about to set, we came to a cave. "Well, are we going to go inside?" Stella asked. We looked at each other and then at the darkened cave. "I think we should." I said. "It seems as if we're suppose to. Do you both want to go in?" They agreed, so we timidly climbed over the protruding boulder and into the shadows. We couldn't see very well so it was a little more than surprising when we heard a loud "HELLO?" Pyrene and I jumped in unison. "Stella!" Pyrene shrilled, "Do you have to yell like that?" I laughed, if somewhat nervously. We walked a little further and just when I was about to suggest turning around, we heard a strange noise. A whooshing sound, which grew steadily, then the wind grew to match its' intensity. It all poured in, going further up the cave. Then we heard a different noise. This one came from the side and was louder and more real. Stella and I turned around and I couldn't believe my eyes. A dragon! I had heard about them but didn't believe the myths that they lived so close to the village. Pyrene turned around and looked at it in awe. It was huge, and covered with green scales. Yuck! It looked at us and shot a small flame of fire out of its mouth. This was enough for me. The dragon was in a side cavern and I wasn't in a hurry to walk by it to get out of the cave. Stella, Pyrene, and I gathered closer together and I whispered frantically, "what should we do?" The noise and the wind got increasingly louder and it was hard to resist it. "Let's go farther into the cave." Stella said. Her opinion was further accompanied when the dragon got up and slowly began to fly toward us. It shot out about ten feet of fire and I fleetingly noticed that this cave was huge. We turned quickly and truly ran with the wind. Dragon! my mind screamed it, but my heart sang. Huge... he
filled the sky behind him as though it were a frame for the greatest
art earth ever beheld- glowing emerald dagger-scales with the
heart of the sun glowing in their dark depths, leathery wing
beats powerful enough to crack the air, pushing "Right here, Pyrene." I felt forward cautiously, insides clenching in anticipation of falling at ever step, until my fingers touched something- "Stella?" "Right." We resumed jogging, Stella much more surely than my stumbling steps, Kay beside us, from the sound of her ragged breathing. My brain reeled from the absolute black- in desperation I squeezed my eyes shut, which helped some, and stumbled on. Suddenly, we stopped- stepped again- I could see light! Carefully I opened my eyes and looked at my two friends- both seemed all right, although Kay's palms looked as though she had been dragging them against the rocks, gray and dusty. Nervously, I glanced back and moved away from the cavern's black maw, fearing that our pursuer might come through. Finally safe, with warm stone at my back, I dared to speak. "You guys all right?" I asked, my voice harsh from the residual tension- more from our run in the dark than the appearance of the dragon. "Yeah- I'm ok." "Me too." Kay wiped her hands off on her blue skirt, leaving small smears of blood. Not caring to try speaking again, I looked from the smears to her, questioningly raising my eyebrows. "Oh, I... it's nothing." Kay raised her palms to show me. I nodded, and walked up to join the both of them. Stella hadn't
spoken, she was busy staring at the view dropping away from the
stone ledge we stood on- golden sand, shimmering away as far
as the eye could see over a deep blue, cloudless sky. The emptiness
was so devastating to my crowded forest mind that I almost missed
the strangest feature of the area- a line of doors, forms shimmering
in the heat, stretching as far as the eye could see in either
direction. Kay's Story |
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