Blue by Austin Douglas Ford It came crawling, cool and swift and fast. I did not seen it until it was right in front of me. I dropped in time to miss its reach but it was not going to give up so easily. As I ran through the grass, I felt the dew upon each blade as it ran down my lower calf, easing into the tops of my heavy wool socks. I felt its presence as it gained on me, so I juked to the left, spun up like a dust devil in the wind and broke into a separate direction. I spotted shelter, so I ran to it. Faster and faster, I ran as hard as I ever had and still it was right on my tail. I heard the growl of the beast as I rolled to the side; it on its large and rather uncoordinated feet could not correct itself in time and tumbled to a messy halt. I got up and ran again, this time taking cover behind the large familiar oak, I listened as it dug its nose into the cool fall air and pick up my scent. It barked and I ran again, inching closer and closer to the fortification I had found moments before, only now I spotted something far worse than the beast I was engaged with. The Queen. A formidable opponent, she stood towering above me, hair like fire and eyes like emeralds, she was fierce, but yet she seemed so… inviting. Resisting her calls and attempts to pull me into her fortress, I turned around, the beast now much closer than it had been before in our encounter. I dove out of the way, only for the beast and the Queen to collide. The Queen relinquished her shield of silver plating as I drew it to chest level and again darted in the opposite direction. With this stumble, it would not be long before the King arrived to restore what was wronged. I made it, barely, to my hidden home among the trees before either the beast or the Queen could catch me. I hid there for a moment, listening gently to the air as the sounds of their footsteps quietly dissipated. Content with the absence of any noise, I climbed out of my keep, but was met with great opposition. The King, a massive man with hair like coal and eyes like the sky, wrapped his massive sausage like fingers around my ankle and pulled me from the tree and tackled me to the ground and belted, “Now! It’s time you get what was coming to you!” He lifted my shirt as what I was sure was going to be the death of me. “Tickle tickle tickle tickle!” I gasped for air as my dad performed the most painful of all rituals, yet also the most relieving. “Dad no! Stop it!” I yelled in futile bursts to no avail. My mother jumped in, “Okay you two, it’s time for dinner! Stop rolling around in the dirt. Jake, where’s my silver platter?” I went over my tree house and picked it up, handing it to her gently. “Thank you.” As we walked into the house, I remembered the beast, “Come on, Blue, it’s time to go inside!” And our little blue healer pup scampered into the house, tripping over his big paws as he hit the tile floor. Some formidable foe he turned out to be. Ian Grant Kerns
Posted on: Sat, 20 Sep 2014 04:02:56 +0000
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