D-Word

D-Word

                The young girl screamed as she ran down the gully. The creature that was after her was too big to swoop in, but if she stopped it would certainly be on her in moments. It was a large, scaled monster with wings – she was pretty sure it was the creature her minders had warned her about. It began with ‘d’. A d-something. D-ga?

                There were more important things to deal with, though. Running away was at the top of her list of priorities. Bolting down the gully, she leapt over small rocks and tree trunks and a few puddles. The puddles were all that remained of the flood that had surged down the gully a few days before. It was probably what had woken the creature up.

                She jumped slightly higher than necessary over a rock when the flying creature roared overhead, its shadow darkening all around her for an instant. The girl squealed and ran even harder, but she was starting to get tired. She had to find shelter soon, or else she’d be eaten!

                That had been the fate of the minder who had taken her and some of the other children out for a walk. The old, decrepit man – too old to fight, so he was a minder – had been snatched away first. Some of the other kids had probably been grabbed as well. The little girl wasn’t sure.

                “Remember, remember, remember!” she mumbled to herself. She knew there was a cave nearby, and definitely through the gully, but where? She couldn’t remember exactly where it was. The D-creature didn’t seem like it was the sort to wait until she figured it out.

                With a loud, terrifying swoosh, the creature flew almost right over her head. She tumbled to the ground as it came and was treated to a close look at the monster’s giant claws. It hadn’t looked like fun when they closed around her minder.

                Against her expectations, the creature didn’t return to the skies after buzzing her – it landed with a cacophonic crash right ahead of her! It was too far away to strike at her, but she couldn’t stay in the gully. She felt panic taking hold of her chest as she got to her feet. Breathe! Breathe! Breathe! she thought.

                One of the thing’s great orbs blinked at her, slowly. The girl knew that sort of look. It was playing with her! She looked to the left and right, and chose the right. A few moments later she heard the sound she was dreading – the creature launching into the air to follow her.

                She made it to the top of the bank and slid down the other side, trees overhead shielding her from seeing how close the creature was. It let her calm down a little as she kept running, hoping that the creature wouldn’t tear through the trees above suddenly, hundreds of branches and even trees snapping beneath its horrifying bulk-

                Then suddenly, out of nowhere, she spotted something. It made her gasp, hope flooding through her. She recognised that big rock! It meant that the cave she was looking for, it had to be right around here!

                Looking about wildly, she spotted another clue and rushed towards it. A trio of trees in a particular formation, and on the other side…

“Yes!” she exclaimed. Just ahead of her was a pile of rocks, a few gaps amongst them. A few of the gaps led into the small cave system, and she knew exactly which one she was running for. The openness of the area didn’t stop her; she barely spared a glance upwards as she rushed across, making for the cave.

And she made it. Overhead she only caught the slightest glimpse of the creature – perhaps it had assumed that she’d continue running straight. It only took her moments to slip through the cracks and into the cave system. It was cool inside, and also pitch-black. The last time she’d been here with the other kids they’d had a few small lights; magical ones that helped illuminate dark places. The cave was pretty flat inside, though, so she figured she’d be okay.

A few minutes of calm went by, the girl’s pulse slowing and eventually getting back to some semblance of normal. Then the ground shook, a massive thud coming from directly above. The girl froze – was the creature above her?
                The scratching sounds, claw on stone, confirmed her fear. The beast was digging through to get her! She scampered forwards, hoping to find the tunnel she knew led a little further underground. But instead she stumbled, tripping over one of the few cracks on the floor.

“Ow!” she yelped, falling on her hands. She rolled over and rubbed her hands together, knocking little stones loose. It didn’t seem like any of them had cut her…

She realised that the scratching noises had stopped. Instead the creature was thumping about noisily. Could it be trying to slam its way through?

Half-way to her feet, she heard the creature scream. It was a loud, pained scream. A few shorter yelps followed it, a big thud, and then silence. The girl wondered what had happened. She brushed herself off, and wondered if she should go outside. Maybe it was a trick? Monsters weren’t always stupid.

“Hello? Are you okay?” came a woman’s voice. It seemed to be coming from the cracks that were letting light into the cave. “I saw you run into the cave when this critter attacked.”

                The girl didn’t know if she should say anything or not. The woman knew she was in there, though, so she may as well. “I’m okay!” she called out. “Did the monster run away?”

                “I killed it,” came the woman’s voice. “You can come out and take a look if you’d like.”

                “Okay!” said the girl. She wasn’t the sort to be afraid of strangers. There wasn’t anyone around except her people, and they could easily tell she was one of their own. After she popped out, she realised there might be more than just her people around, though.

                Standing in front of the rocks was a tall woman – more than twice the girl’s height, at least – cleaning an oversized broadsword. She smiled. “That thing didn’t get you at all, then?” she asked.

                “No,” said the girl, cautiously. She turned around and shrieked – the big scaly thing was dead! It had several huge cuts in its flesh; the woman must have killed it. Now that she could see it closely, the creature wasn’t that big – only twice the size of the other woman.

                “It’s dead, don’t worry,” said the woman. “I haven’t seen many people out here. Do you have a village nearby?”

                “Yes ma’am,” said the girl. “It’s not far. I can take you there if you like. Thank you for killing the D-thingy.”

                The woman raised an eyebrow at the girl’s strange word. “I guess you mean dragon. That barely qualifies, though. It has tentacles instead of legs, for one thing,” said the woman scientifically.

                “Oh! Um. That’s not the word I was thinking of,” said girl. “I thought it was the thing the adults were all worried about.”

                Strangely, the woman’s face lost its smile. “You wouldn’t happen to be thinking of ‘Dytja’, would you?” she asked.

                “That’s it!” said the girl. “You’re clever! What’s your name?”

                “Dytja,” said the woman, getting to her feet. “And if your village is worried… You must be Thrath.”

                “Ahuh,” said the girl, innocently. “Why are they scared of you?”

                “Have you tortured anyone to death?” asked Dytja.

                “No,” said the girl, sadly. “I only get to watch because I’m too young. I’m ten now though! Next time they catch a non-Thrath I get to help!” The girl seemed very happy. “Oh. You’re not Thrath though. You don’t seem like the other ones I’ve met… Um… That means you’re not human!”

                “That’s right,” said Dytja. She sighed. “Well. I do need a test subject.”

                “Um, ma’am?” asked the girl as the woman started walking towards her.

                She didn’t have the opportunity to say anything else.