Welcome back for Fiction Friday! Today I’m sharing the first part to a short story I wrote. Leave a comment with your predictions of what will happen next, and come back next week for part two!
“Mom? Dad? Karyn? The dragon has returned! We need to get out of here!” Samuel crashed through the front door of his family’s house. His eyes adjusted to the dim torchlight inside. The house was empty. The table and chairs turned over as if someone left in a hurry. A terrifying roar outside sent him to a window as a spout of flame devoured a group of villagers at the well. Something behind him moved and he spun around to find his six year old sister peeking from the inside of a barrel.
“Karyn!” Samuel ran over and helped her out of her hiding spot. “Where’s Mom and Dad? And why on the gods’ charred backside are you hiding in a barrel while a dragon burns down our village?” He set Karyn on a chair and wiped a tear from her soot covered face.
Karyn stiffened her lip and leapt to her feet. “Mom went to the well to get water, and you know she don’t it like when you curse like that. Daddy left with the town watch. Sammy, is it really the dragon? Maybe the old wizard will save us!”
Samuel glanced back at the blackened patch that had been the town well. “Ryn, I don’t think Mom’s coming back.” We’re on our own, he added to himself.
“Dad says the old wizard hasn’t been seen for years. And I’m almost twelve years old, Ryn! I can swear however I mud puddlin’ please! Come on, we’re getting out of the village.” He grabbed her hand and they rushed out the door.
The skies outside were as bright as noon-time, regardless of the midnight hour. Fires burned on every roof. Samuel fearfully searched the sky for the leathery beast as it wings made thunderous passes overhead.
Shouts and cries called out as the dragon poured flames around the village. Samuel and Karyn ran hand-in-hand through the burning chaos. Almost there, thought Samuel.
With an earth shaking crash, the dragon landed on the path ahead of them. It raised its golden head to the night sky and fire burst from its mouth. It stood on all four legs, roaring into the night. Its neck stretched above the tallest village chimney, its outstretched wings crashed through the nearby houses.
Karyn screamed and fell to the dirt pulling Samuel with her. Samuel’s heart raced faster than the time he’d seen the badger at Mushroom Hill. He held his sister tight as he waited for their fiery end. The dragon stomped to all fours, and loosed a torrent of flame toward the children. The roar of the fire was deafening. The heat was intense. But the flames didn’t touch his skin. He was still alive.
*To Be Continued
Come back next Fiction Friday to catch part two!
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