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| Picture Prompt |
#17 "Angel in The Woods"
Stephen
watched his surroundings carefully as he traipsed through the Bell
Mountain wilderness. He held his rifle lightly, the carry strap
pressing on his shoulder as his hand rested over the trigger guard.
Just ahead of him, Justice the chocolate Labrador sniffed and scanned
the trail. The cool autumn breeze bit at Stephen's cheeks, and he
could almost see his breath in the setting sun as day began the
transition into night, but he paid no mind. He had heard there would
be fowl and deer alike in these woods--he just needed to bag
something, and they could call it a day.
Justice
abruptly doubled back and stood in the path, all of his attention
fixed on something beyond Stephen's sight. He let out a small, soft
bark.
"What
is it, boy?" Stephen whispered. Justice had been trained by his
father before Stephen was born, and the quiet bark was meant to alert
the hunter that Justice had scented something, without creating a
sound loud enough to spook whatever animal it was.
Justice
woofed again, and took off in a direction perpendicular to the
established trail. The dog could pick its way easily through the
branches and undergrowth, but for a full-grown human male, it was
slightly more complicated.
"Justy,
hold up!" Stephen muttered, picking his way down the cluttered
slope of the mountainside. The dog cut down through the trees until
he reached a length of clear trail, and Stephen could keep up with
him as he trotted after whatever it might be. Stephen followed, his
grip adjusting on his gun for ease at flicking the safety if the need
arose, but as soon as Justice rounded a bend, Stephen heard him bark
three times, and by the time the young man reached the bend, the dog
ran far ahead of him on the path.
Stephen
shook his head and set off at a light jog. Every so often, he
whistled and called Justice's name, and Justice would bark in
response, guiding Stephen to him.
At
the end of the trail, the young hunter discovered a wide, grassy
clearing in the midst of the forest, with a singularly large tree
growing at the edge of it. Justice clawed at the base of this tree,
barking and digging with his paws as if trying to unbury something
inside the tree.
"Justice,"
Stephen ordered. "Come!"
The
Labrador turned back and whined at his master. Justice barked and
tried again to claw his way into the tree, but Stephen repeated the
command, "Come, Justice!" He took a step forward to grab
his dog by the ruff, if need be.
The
instant his foot landed, Stephen's world exploded. A bright flash of
light blinded him, and a thunderous boom deadened all the sound
entering his ears for a full sixty seconds. The concussive force
seemed to jerk the ground out from underneath him, and Stephen felt
himself flying backward through the air, spinning and flipping as his
boots caught on tufts of grass along the way. He landed in a green
bush full of short, stabbing branches. He winced and yawned as his
sight returned, fighting to end the high-pitched squeal resounding in
his ears. His hearing returned gradually, and Stephen found the will
to stagger to his feet.
His
dog... what had happened to his dog?
As
if in answer to his thoughts, Justice bounded back to his side,
sniffing, licking, and inspecting Stephen's legs and hands. Stephen
rubbed his dog behind the ears to let him know he was okay, and the
pair of them made their way back to the clearing.
The
landscape had changed--but not in the way Stephen expected. Where
there was an explosion of that magnitude, by all rights there should
have been a crater, but instead, Stephen had to shield his eyes
against a large round object, glowing brightly and having the
faintest suggestion of a feather-like texture about it. Justice
stayed glued to his side. The glow faded, but the whiteness remained,
confirming that whatever this creature was, it did indeed possess
large wings, larger than any bird of prey Stephen had ever seen.
The
wings shifted, and moved aside. Stephen gasped and froze in mid-step.
There was a person attached to those wings! A young woman, it seemed.
She had pale skin, and striking red hair--her hands obscured her
face, as if she had flung her arms over her head to protect herself.
Stephen glanced over the strange white dress and the thin-strapped
sandals she wore; where did this winged woman come from?
Her
hands fell to her lap, and she finally looked straight at him as
Stephen stood where he was, dumbfounded. Her eyes seemed to waver
between deep blue and violet. She pulled her feet underneath her,
shifting into a crouching position, as her wings spread wide--and
that's when Stephen noticed that one of them hung slightly
off-kilter. She stood up straight--but winced and stumbled slightly
in the direction of the misaligned wing. Stephen suspected it might
be broken.
Justice
gave a small whimper, and began barking at something--not the winged
lady, though, but something else behind Stephen. The lady noticed,
and her blue-violet eyes widened in terror.
Stephen
smelled a horrible stench like rotten eggs. Something behind him gave
a low, guttural growl. Stephen adjusted the grip on his gun as he
turned to face this new threat--and immediately wished he hadn't.
Their
eyes were no more than shiny black beads in their heads. Wide mouths
full of jagged, stained teeth leered at him, and twisted, bent horns out of his worst nightmares. Three hulking black
bodies sauntered out of the forest, converging toward him.
First
an angel, now demons! Stephen
thought--but his chivalrous instinct kicked in, and he knew exactly
what he ought to do in this situation. He planted his feet, readied
his gun, lined up the shot, and fired directly at the foremost demon.
The
creature's head snapped back with a spray of viscous, black liquid,
and it emitted an ear-shattering shriek--but when it righted itself
to stare at Stephen once more, its face bore not even the slightest
mark.
Justice
flew into a frenzy. He launched himself at another demon, barking and
biting anything he could get his mouth on. Stephen took the
opportunity to turn back to the angel, who had not doubt sensed his
urgency, because she now stood with her wings tucked tightly against
her back.
"Run!"
Stephen screamed, leading her deeper into the forest, away from the
fiendish predators.
>>>>>>>>>>>>
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