Just two more hours of school, I thought to myself. Just two more hours. I shut my locker door with a metallic slam and was surprised to see a cheerful-looking person standing beside me. With a bright smile on her face, the girl looked happy to see me although I couldn’t remember ever seeing her before. “Hello!” she exclaimed as her cheeks glowed red with happiness. “I’m Lindsey! Who’re you?” The girl stood unusually with her back straight up as if she had a board tied to it and her arms lay to the side with no motion. Her head was held high with a smile that overcame her face. I thought of how odd she stood with so much joy that radiated around her. She looked so…happy.
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It was one of those times. Lilly’s parents were caught in another argument that had driven the small child to the comfort of her corner. Her face was wet with tears and her eyes were red from continuous crying. She grasped the fur from Shep’s neck and buried her face in it. Shep did not mind this childish act, as he loved Lilly with all of his heart and he did not like to see her saddened. He was there to bring comfort to her, and to help her through the troublesome times. He felt a strange disturbance within her parents’ fights recently however. They had lasted longer, were much louder, and had sent her father storming out of the house on many occasions. Why was this, Shep thought to himself. Why did humans have to fill others with hatred and anger? He didn’t see the point.
© In the very olden time there lived a semi-barbaric king, whose ideas, though somewhat polished and sharpened by the progressiveness of distant Latin neighbors, were still large, florid, and untrammeled, as became the half of him which was barbaric. He was a man of exuberant fancy, and, withal, of an authority so irresistible that, at his will, he turned his varied fancies into facts. He was greatly given to self-communing, and, when he and himself agreed upon anything, the thing was done. When every member of his domestic and political systems moved smoothly in its appointed course, his nature was bland and genial; but, whenever there was a little hitch, and some of his orbs got out of their orbits, he was blander and more genial still, for nothing pleased him so much as to make the crooked straight and crush down uneven places. Among the borrowed notions by which his barbarism had become semified was that of the public arena, in which, by exhibitions of manly and beastly valor, the minds of his subjects were refined and cultured. But even here the exuberant and barbaric fancy asserted itself. The arena of the king was built, not to give the people an opportunity of hearing the rhapsodies of dying gladiators, nor to enable them to view the inevitable conclusion of a conflict between religious opinions and hungry jaws, but for purposes far better adapted to widen and develop the mental energies of the people. This vast amphitheater, with its encircling galleries, its mysterious vaults, and its unseen passages, was an agent of poetic justice, in which crime was punished, or virtue rewarded, by the decrees of an impartial and incorruptible chance.
© Natalie’s breaths came in gasps as she ran with all her strength, past the first trees of the forest. Ignoring the branches that scratched at her face, she continued with cuts along her cheeks and arms. Blood slowly crept from her small wounds, yet she was determined to find her horse. She had to find Duchess, before the dragons did. Unaware of her surroundings as she ran blinded by shear determination, she found herself falling as her foot was caught on an ugly, moss-covered log. She sprawled over the small log before her, and hit her head on a flat stone. Her world began to spin and fade just before it all went black.
© Natalie grasped her horse’s neck tightly as she took in the horrific scene around her. Duchess became uneasy and broke free of her owner’s embrace to neigh loudly as she rose onto her back legs. She kicked her strong, front legs wildly as Natalie tried to regain control over her horse. Keeping her distance, she felt the fear within the atmosphere and could sense Duchess was troubled. She could see the deep fear within her sparkling, blue eyes. “Duchess, what is it? What is it, girl?” she cried out reaching for the reigns that were whipping around wildly. Duchess quickly turned and bolted down the dirty, cobblestone path out of the destroyed village leaving Natalie to run after the mare. She was unable to keep up with Duchess’s incredible speed as she yelled out in despair with her arms outstretched, “Wait, Duchess! Come back! Where are you going? What’s wrong?”
Her attention was quickly averted when she heard a deafening roar from the skies above her. She glanced to the dark horizon behind her and was suddenly filled with fear as her breathing seemed to stop and her heartbeat skipped a beat. A large swarm of dragons was flying towards the village from the distance. Their silhouettes littered the sky, as their numbers were high. Natalie slowly began to back away, still in awe from the sight of so many ferocious beasts. Dragons were never known to hunt or travel in groups. They were solitary creatures and they preferred to be alone. Why were there so many of them?
“Petra! Papa, Petra is the place that we are to travel to! We must leave now!” I argued. “He came to me once more! The angel, sent by God, appeared in my dream again last night!
“Is this the truth, my Namir?” he asked, not convinced.
© It came to me in a dream as its magnificent glory stunned me. Why had this marvelous being chosen me? I was of no importance. I was just a poor young man of about ten and seven living with my mother and father in the small village of Ibleen. My family had been one of the lucky few that had survived the first few attacks from the invading Qurks. They had come before, stealing people to mine for copper and leaving us to wait for our chosen date in fear. The life had been drained from my village and the small roads lay still and quiet. We sat waiting, unsure of what to do or where to go. There was nowhere for us to go. Ibleen was located near a small oasis out in the Jordan Desert, and there is no civilization or water for miles around. We were trapped there to wait for the end…
© The weather is calm with a bright sun beating down overhead. A slight breeze brushes against your face carrying a soft fragrance in the air as you explore through a garden full of blossoming roses. The crimson color of the gorgeous flowers stands out boldly against the cold, gray stone of the path you walk on. As you search the interesting garden, you walk through bush after bush of pure, red roses. You wonder in your mind why there’s but a single kind of flower in this large garden. Whose garden is this?
Continuing down the path, turning past this bush and that bush, you finally reach the center of the garden. Stepping out onto an open, circular stone path, you discover a large fountain in the center of the road. The fountain is made of the same bricks as underneath your feet, and reaches just up to your waist. A soft trickle of water spews out of the spout growing out of the top of the rounded feature, emitting a soft, soothing sound. You close your eyes and begin to dream until you suddenly get the urge to explore some more.
Quickly, flashing your eyes open, you decide to continue your exploration. Walking past the fountain you’re suddenly caught by surprise when a small creature glides across your feet. The creature passed quickly, and you were unable to see what it was clearly. There was a rustling sound as it dove into the rose bushes lining the side of the path.
Shep watched as the fluffy clouds rolled by in the sky. He was sitting in the back seat of a small car, driving down the large highway, watching the passing scenery. Lilly sat beside him, grasping his collar tightly in her hand as she stared out the other window. Shep thought of what this new life was to be like. He had escaped his prison, but he was not sure of where he was going to next.
He might be heading for a new prison.
© Claire sat on the edge of her bed and looked out her window to the forest that stared back. The tall woods were dark and looked unfriendly as they reached up towards the sky. The sun was just setting casting a watercolor effect on the sky. Pastel colors of red, orange, yellow, pink, and purple mixed and swirled together, fading into the horizon. She brushed her short, blonde hair with her fingers as she thought silently to herself, watching the sunset.
It had been nearly three months now, since the accident.
© I wasn’t always this way. I led a normal life. I was perfectly happy before. I was even married. Yes, believe it or not, I had a wife. Oh, how I miss her dearly. I wish that I could take this curse from my life, but it will not leave. I wish that it had never come, never chosen me, but it’s here and it’s a part of me. I must deal with it as I go about my day and I must learn to pay the consequences.
This curse…the curse of the phoenix.
© With the full moon above them, Natalie and Duchess rode down the long, unpaved path, only taking a short time to reach their destination. Duchess quickly galloped the entire trip under the moonlight without slowing in speed or growing in exhaustion leading Natalie to wonder where she had received this stunning endurance. Duchess’s movement was smooth and balanced, making it easy for her rider to stay on. Natalie grasped onto the reigns of her horse tightly, however, in nervousness as she thought of never returning to her past life.
As they approached the quaint town of Anzama, Natalie slowed her horse and turned her off the dusty road to a small hill that overlooked the town. After dismounting and climbing the grassy mound, she was astonished at what she saw before her. The color drained from her face as raging flames met her dark eyes. The town lay in ruins, burned to the ground. Visions from her frightening past came back to haunt her, as her breathing became heavy. The full moon shed little light on the ground, however the fire lit up the sky as it burned over the wood of houses. Flames licked at the sky, casting smoke to dance above before vanishing.