Short Story

I woke up to the sound of explosions and blood-curdling screams. I sprung up out of bed, pieced together an outfit as quickly as possible, grabbed my lantern and knife and ran outside.                                       “My god” I shuddered under my breath.                                                                                          The entire town was set ablaze, blood soaked bodies riddled the ground all around me, the sky was blackened with a thick smoke                                                                                                                                                 “What in the hell is happening?!”                                                                                                       A frightened boar squeals as he passes by my feet, I jump at the sudden sound. I catch my breath and make my way around the village; searching for any sign of life. As I search through the piled up bodies I notice that a fair number of them have scorched clothing and their skin has peeled away dramatically.                                                                                                                                                                              “Poor bastards, couldn’t escape the blaze”                                                                                    As I enter town square, the sheer heat of the flames starts to burn my skin and suck the moisture out of my eyes; sweat stains soak through my tattered shirt.                                                                    Suddenly, a choppy, bellowing shriek fills the air. I quickly turn to face the sound head-on. I see a large shadow faze through the thick smog about a mile away from me.                                                                       “What the hell is that?” I blurt out.                                                                                                  The figure shrieks out menacingly again, the sound closes in. I can feel my palms clamming up, sweating profusely; my skin is covered in goose bumps, my breaths becomes rapid and my heart feels like it’s about to implode on itself. Anxiety and fear overtake every cell of my body, impeding every constructive thought my brain is trying to present me with. My grip tightens around my knife.                   Out of nowhere, the figure explodes through the blanket of smoke, flying with power and superiority. I can feel a heaviness drape over my quivering body; I’m paralyzed with fear. I try to run to safety, but my legs seem to be encased in the concrete of my own emotion. This is it, I’m dead.                                                                                                                                                                     The winged beast closes in, his eyes burn a deep red; his scales glisten in the orange glare of the burning houses below him. This hellish beast opens its mouth, showing off his razor-sharp teeth; suddenly, a ball of white-hot fire spews from his throat, aimed in my direction. I hesitate, and then slip in a pile of blood. I smash, head-first into the cobblestone; I feel my nose crunch and the blood start to flow out of my nose and down my chin.                                                                                                            I should be dead.                                                                                                                                          I bring my hand up to my nose and clamp down on it, temporarily halting the blood flow. I lift my aching head up, and see a short figure shielding me from the blaze with nothing more than a strange looking shield.                                                                                                                                                                            Is he brave, or a fool?                                                                                                                           His posture emitted confidence and I could gather that this wasn’t the first time he had done something so deranged.                                                                                                                                   The ground rumbles as the menacing beast grounds himself, he lets loose an ear-piercing screech. The man answers back with a bellowing roar of his own, stabbing the air with his mighty sword.           He turns to me and yells:                                                                                                                                                    “What are you still doing on the ground, get out of the street, Now!”                                                                                                                                                                                                                        Hastily, I stumble onto my feet and hobble into the ol’ tavern; luckily it has yet to be set ablaze. I nervously peak through the dusty, cracked window that overlooks the street. I see the man in a defensive stance; facing this sinister fire-breathing monster.                                                                                                              Now, how the hell does he expect to take that…thing down?                          Slowly, the man reaches his left arm into a small pouch hanging from his worn leather overcoat; pulling out a small, glowing canvas bag full of powder. He unties the string, and digs his fingers into the burgundy substance. While pinching the powder between his fingers, a faint mumbling emits from the tiny man’s mouth. At first, the sound barely touches my ears but slowly, his mumbling grows into a mighty roar. I can’t make out what he was saying, it sounds like no other language I’ve ever heard before, but it is beautiful nonetheless.                                                                                  Swiftly the mysterious man flings his arm into the air and releases the powder from his grasp. The strange substance rains down upon the scaly beast, an eerie bright glow emits from the grains of powder that cover its body. I can feel this strange comfort surrounding me, like a world of fear had just been heaved off of my shoulders. This feeling of pure euphoria has something to do with the powder, I can feel it.                                                                                                                                          The magnificent beam of light dims down, and with it, the sounds of a dragon. I fix my gaze upon the street once again; rubbing my eyes to gain my focus back.                                                                                                            “My god, is that…is that a woman?                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     I ran down to the street confused, with an arsenal of questions perched in my mind. The strange man was kneeling over the woman, placing his robe over her shivering, naked body. He motioned over to me, probably sensing my ignorance. I approached cautiously.                                                                         “Alright, before you go blasting me with a barrage of questions I’m just going to let you know what I want you to know, and that’s not much.” He said with a strict tone.                                               “Umm, okay where do I even start?! Who are you?! What was that powder stuff?! How was she a dragon?!”                                                                                                                                                                      “ I am the guy who just saved your life and what’s left of this town; obviously it is a substance that reverses magic spells and… she was cursed.                                                                                 All I could do was let out a muffled “Oh”.                                                                                                                       “I must take her back to safety now, but because you now know too much about what has happened her, the way I see it you have two choices.”                                                                                                      “Alright, what do you propose?” I mumble.                                                                                         The man draws his sword from its sheath and points the blade out at me.                                                                 “I either kill you right now, or if you comply, I could always use some help in my uhhh…operation. Your choice.”                                                                                                                                                           “Well you don’t leave much room for bargaining do you? I guess I have no other choice but to join whatever cause you’re fighting for.”                                                                                                                          “Good choice.” The man utters with a smirk on his scarred face.                                                  He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a pristine piece of square paper and hands it too me.                                                                                                                                                                                               “Come to this place in three days’ time, and under no circumstance will you show, or tell anyone about this…understood?!                                                                                                                                            “Ahh, yes, yeah…of course!                                                                                                    Suddenly the man and the strange woman get on a horse, and gallop away into the darkness of dawn. I sit down upon the charred cobblestone, staring at the paper.                                                                          “What have a gotten myself into?”