Young Writers Society

Devlin chanced a glance toward the back of the cave where the townspeople were huddling, shoving and yelling frantically. Some stood moitonless, eyes wide, faces blank of expression, no doubt expecting to die. Children clung to parents legs like leeches, and the older folks who had managed to get away the first time now hung back as the first of group began slipping through a hole in the back wall that Devlin hadn’t noticed previously.

He turned his attention to the cave entrance where the first two Sadorians had come through to meet their unexpected demise. He was sure the rest would follow. And if the black knight arrived-

It’ll all be over.

Devlin gripped the handle of his blade, twirling it once in a slow sweeping motion, a habit he realized as a child he would do when nervous. It used to be his father’s pickaxe heads as he pretend fought invisible enemies. He had never dreamed he would be wielding a blood-stained blade. But here he was.

He wiped the sweat from his brow. No matter how cold it was, it seemed that once he got moving he would begin to sweat. And yet he felt a chill down his spine. The whole day had been a mess. In one day he had gone from a mediator of peace between those of his own army to a desperate soldier killing anything in his path to stay alive.

A clang of metal from the entrance brought back the pit in his stomach. It was a sinking feeling that had never quite left him. The prospect of actually dying wasn’t one he was familiar- or comfortable- with. There was so much left to do. So many things to accomplish. He grit his teeth, inhaling deep and exhaling with a growl. If he was going down, it wasn’t going to be without a fight.

The Sadorian broke into his view, armed with a sword and a shield the size of a wagon wheel. Devlin took a step back, nearly stumbling over a divot in the frozen ground. He let out a slight “ah” as it happened. The Sadorian smiled. Two big rows of yellow teeth, surrounded by an overflowing brown beard. It looked more like a bear than a man.

The Sadorian took no time to consider strategy, but simply rushed Devlin, shield first, ignoring his dead companions. He let out a hoarse cry that exploded in the cave. Devlin nearly was plowed over in the rush, but he side-stepped to the right with a sharp breath. The Sadorian was much quicker than anticipated for his well-over-six foot frame.

Devlin threw a glance at the cave entrance, making sure to keep both it and the Sadorian in his view. He could hear the scramble as the rest of the townspeople wriggled through the hole in the wall. He held his sword with both hands high at his side. He wracked his brain desperately for a way to break down a shielded opponent, but everything fleed his brain.

This is bad.

The Sadorian lunged with the sword straight at Devlin who parried it away. A slight opening cracked for a moment when the Sadorian lunged forward and brought the shield ever so slightly toward his hip, creating a narrow gap between shield and sword near his rib cage. Devlin hopped back on the balls of his feet as the shield came swirling for his head. He was losing ground and there were still townsfolk in the cave.

He tried a feint toward the left, intending to go right, but the Sadorian’s sword swing arced so far from side to side that Devlin was forced to meet it just inches from his face. He grunted as the blades clashed and the strength of the swing reverberated down his arm. The Sadorian slid forward in a heartbeat, forcing the swords hilt-to-hilt. Devlin watched as the shield came from the left like a battering ram.

Devlin had been launched through the air once before when he was a young child. His father had convinced him to mount a stallion, and after much persuading, he had agreed. The result had been less than flattering as Devlin had fallen off and been nearly trampled in the process. That feeling of powerlessness took control of him for the first time since then. The shield caught him across the right shoulder blade and he spiraled through the air, colliding with two more bodies that tumbled under the barrage of an incoming person.

The two persons went down beneath Devlin, severely lessening the ground impact, but his should and back exploded in a white-hot pain that ran up and down his arm like firebolts. Devlin whimpered as he was hauled up by the Sadorian and flung back into the ground nearly a yard away. The entire world spun as Devlin exclaimed in pain. He came to stop on his back. He struggled to open his eyes and immediately regretted doing so. The Sadorian was ripping his word from the back of one of the two bodies that he could only guess he had knocked over. The second body had a sword buried in their back. Devlin swallowed hard as he realized it was own blade.

The two bodies were both old. Elders of Potter’s Creek, butchered by that maniac. Devlin tried to sit up, but as he attempted to put weight on his right arm it collapsed in an explosion of pain and he crumpled on his side.

Not like this.

He could hear the padded steps as the Sadorian lumbered over in no significant hurry. Devlin tried rolling on his left and managed, with another yelp of pain, to raise himself to his knees. He turned to the Sadorian and received a boot to the face sending him reeling back into the wall. His head hit something hard and cold and everything was black. 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

Carris pushed herself to the front of the townspeople who pressed through the passageway. She stumbled to the front where Gwyn was guiding her mother by the arm. She turned to Carris, eyes wide.

“What do we do?”

“We keep going. There was a big cavern up ahead.” Carris put her hands to her head. Where do we go after that?

Gwyn’s voice shook. “There are monsters in here Carris, I can feel it.”

Carris whipped towards Gwyn. “We don’t have a choice! I don’t know what else to do.”

Gwyn recoiled toward her mother at those words.

Carris sighed, her entire chest heaving. “I’m sorry Gwyn, I just-”

A scream from the back of the group caused them to spin.

“Run! Sadorians!”

The group surged forward instantly, and Carris did all she could to not be trampled in the instantaneous stampede. She was pushed more than freely walked into the large cavern they had seen previously. With the lone torch from Gwyn Carris’s eyes began to adjust to the new space. Despite the mob of footsteps, there was the distinct plink of water dripping to the cave floor. A low gurgle off to the left reminded Carris of the rush of water just before the waterfall.

It’s too cold for water to flow down here...

Carris shook her head. Focus!

She grabbed the torch from Gwyn’s hand, staying just ahead of the group as they stumbled in the near dark. The cavern was large enough that the walls disappeared in a shroud of darkness. The townspeople hurried forward, driven more by fear than common sense. One stumbled, catching the older man in front of them. Within seconds a half dozen people were strewn on the cold ground, grunting and struggling to get up, frantic for survival.

A loud yell from behind Carris caused her to turn. The silhouette of someone large lined the entrance to the cavern. The flickering lights in the backs danced with the shadows of least another three or four Sadorians. Carris turned to Gwyn.

“Run!”

Gwyn froze. “W-w-where?” she stumbled over the words, tears springing to her eyes.

Carris tossed the torch to her. “I don’t know. Just run! Follow the crowd.

Now nearly invisible in the blackness, eyes adjusting to no torch, Carris turned to the left, moving at what felt like a slow crawl, hands out feeling for any unseen obstruction. She felt the gritty wall prick her hands and began to use it as a guide away from the cavern entrance where the Sadorians were rushing through. Their torches lit up the cave, revealing the party of townspeople moving as one off to the right.

Now, with five more torches in the cavern, Carris began to put the layout together. It was at least a hundred feet wide to the left, right and center of where she stood, mostly clear of debris. There was an ever-so-dim light coming from above and to the left, the same direction as the dripping sound. Carris followed the imaginary line from the roof cave to the floor, where she now saw the shiny glimmer of ice and the reflections of water.

That should be frozen.

Carris felt the panic rise in her throat. Perhaps Gwyn was right. Perhaps there was a monster. She’d heard stories of underground monsters, hideous, scaly, ferocious ones. Carris stumbled over something that clattered on the ground. It sounded like pottery. Like shells on a chain that you could rattle. Or perhaps not shells. Perhaps...

Bones.

A scream echoed all about the cave, bouncing off every wall. Carris felt a chill run down her spine. That was no human scream. Carris froze, pressed against the wall. She noticed that even the Sadorians hesitated. The torches flickered back and forth. There was a low snarl that wrapped around the cavern. It came from everywhere and yet nowhere.

Then there was a crunch above Carris. She felt a small rock bounce off her shoulder and nearly bolted from her spot, but her legs would not move. Another crunch and more debris pelted her hair. She held her breath as she a felt a presence above her. A wave of warm breath rolled over her like a gentle breeze.

Carris’s legs were shaking and her palms were covered in sweat despite the frigid temperature. She stared straight at the Sadorians who were flailing their torches back and forth, searching for the unseen threat. A shadows fell across Carris from above. Something sharp dug itself into the wall just an inch from her left arm and she pulled it across her chest instinctively. The monster stopped, scaly belly draped over Carris’s head. Something wet dripped onto her cheek and slid off.

It took all of her will to not scream, but she couldn’t contain the rest of her body and piss ran down her pant leg. She put her left hand to her mouth, chest heaving. The monster still did not move. She could hear its heavy breathing, could hear the snout sniffing the air. There was an amber glow coming from its belly that rocked back and forth just inches from Carris’s face.

Why won’t it move?

The dark coils of it slithered past at last, but Carris waited for it to turn back on her, devouring her in a swarm of sharp teeth and talons. It landed with a light touch, barely making a sound on the frozen ground. It was beautiful. Dreadful. But beautiful.

The dragon hunched itself low to the ground, inching toward the pack of townspeople and Sadorians like a cat about to pounce, but with all the guile of a serpent. The Sadorians had turned their attention back to their task of hunting down the survivors, and by this time were on the other side of the cave. They hadn’t caught up with their prey yet. And they might not.

The dragon spread its wings out inch by inch as it crept forward. Carris pressed harder against the wall, wishing that could simply turn into of the shadows in the vast cavern. Her chest heaved back and forth, and all she could think was that the dragon would turn and incinerate her. Dragons were notorious for their ferocity and lack of compassion for their prey.

But this dragon was different. It seemed to feel its way along the cave floor, brushing against rocks and dips in the ground with its wings, as if unsure of its surroundings.

As if its blind.

Dragons had incredible eyesight. Their other senses were sharp as well, but nothing like the eyes that could pick out moving targets from several hundred feet in the air, moving at high speeds. It puts hawks and eagles to shame. But this dragon had none of that. Carris wasn’t sure if a wounded dragon was a good thing. A hurt beast is a volatile beast.

The dragon let out another low growl. It was sounded more like a gurgle. Like a bubble underneath the ice finally escaping. But as low in pitch as it was, the growl seemed to resonate through the cave and into Carris’s very frame. She whimpered. The dragon turned, pointed ears pricked high on its obtuse head. It’s mouth slowly opened. a light within the dragon glowed, revealing a row of razor-sharp teeth and a long forked tongue. The head of the dragon back, poised to strike like a snake. Carris gulped.

What have I done?

The glow rose from the belly, up the throat, revealing a dark emerald color-scale pattern. This was no mountain dragon.

“It’s a fire-breathing Windtopper,” Carris whispered to herself. “I’m no piece of firewood.”

Her heart pounded again, the first time she noticed it, and she glanced to the left where the half-frozen pool of water lapped against the rocky ground just twenty feet away. The dragon let out a screech to wake the dead. Carris screamed and shoved off the wall. She felt the heat rather than saw it, and bolted for the pool, flinging herself into it with a prayer that it was more than just a few inches deep.

The water smacked her like a hammer and she inhaled a sharp breath, choking on the water, fighting the urge to lose control of her functions. She shut her eyes as she continued to cough in her soon-to-be watery grave. She concentrated on the movement of pushing herself to the surface. A warm wave of water rolled over her as she breached the surface. She was wiping the hair and water from her eyes as pushed herself up, gulping in air, only to cough as the cold air flooded her lungs.

The dragon towered over the pool, head coiled back, the glowing spiraling up its throat again. Carris’s eyes went wide. She took a deep breath and was diving again, kicking with all her might.

Thank Vorga that Malcolm taught me to swim.

A warm current traveled past Carris’s body as she dove until her hands struck something sharp unexpectedly. She let out a yelp and immediately choked, fire burning her lungs. She felt around, slower until she felt the rock she must have struck. She grabbed it with both hands, anchoring herself to the ground. She waited for what seemed like an eternity, despite counting just fifteen.

She pushed off, the water flooding her lungs. She had waited too long. She fought back the tingle of panic rising up her chest and kept flailing. Everything began to go black. A peace came over Carris as she reached for the unseen surface. Nothing but water. Then she felt it, the slight breeze over her soaked hand. Her head broke the surface and she inhaled deeper than ever before, coughing up water that sent a pain like that of a branding iron through her throat. She tried to think straight, flicking her head side to side. The dragon was nowhere to be seen a shout from the Sadorians told Carris all she needed to know.

Gwyn!

She hauled herself out of the water, every muscle aching, body shaking from the cold. Carris grit her teeth. If she made it out of this night alive she was never living anywhere cold again. Ever.