going to tire me out?” I looked at my hands and was surprised to see that they weren't shaking. I realized that I wasn’t scared; just incredibly tired.
I clutched the side of my pant leg and began to breathe very deeply. “Maybe I’ll just keep running for a while longer,” I said, chuckling to myself quietly. “Keep running even though I know how the race is going to end.” I looked around and sighed. It could have all stopped then and there but for some odd reason I could see a bright future somewhere off in the distance. I figured if I was going to die, then I would die knowing what was in the bottle.
A small pop floated through the air as the stopper was quietly torn from the vial. A fantastic wash of aroma flooded over me as the liquid was exposed to the air. It smelled like like flowers, smoky wood fires and leather all in one. My innards painfully demanded more and pounded desperately on my sides as I brought the vial closer to my nose. I lifted it further and watched in unperturbed silence as my resistance crumbled away.
While gradually adjusting the angle of the trembling container, I was surprised by how quickly the liquid flowed from the glass. Without a second thought, I brought my lips to the edge, and drank. I gagged and fell to the ground, crippled by the liquid’s unexpected sourness. A soundless cough flew out of my windpipe, firing a fleet of minuscule pins into my throat. I brought myself back up to my feet and continued to lumber forward, but I could tell that something was wrong. It was as if I was seeing the world through shattered glass. Even despite this I continued to stumble on while unable to see for what felt like hours. I had to go on.
I tripped over my own two feet and fell to the ground quivering. Terrible flashes of chaotic images were swept into me, creating hallucinations that loudly interrupted reality. I was carried out of the lifeless field and thrown into what seemed like a large cave slapped together with jagged rocks.
“I must be dreaming again.” I thought to myself, now trying to get a sense of my surroundings. There were two almond shaped windows just to my right. I tried desperately to look through each of them, but the drizzle of the rain outside made it difficult to see anything. I sighed and wiped my forehead. Why was it so hot? I continued to stare and stare until finally the itchy humidity caused me to look back at the source.
Resting in the room with me was almost literally half a creature. It was humanoid but wrapped in thick gray scales. A tar like substance covered the figure’s left hand side and a large portion of the floor. The creature shuddered and coiled itself tight the moment I began to observe it. His desperate breathing was forced and ragged, with each outtake of air raising the temperature of the room even further. Above a muzzle of twisted teeth, protruded two deep yellow slits for eyes, which stared at me as if I was the one making the room so hot. I asked for its name, however it didn’t seem to notice. I asked again and the creature shook its head in apparent discomfort.
“Just a name,” I insisted. “Please tell me your name.”
The reptilian figure rattled its head in violent protest, throwing aside thin drips of the dark ink flowing from his skin.
“You don’t know who you are... do you?” I asked while relaxing my stance slightly. After a great many pauses, the creature tutted its head forward in reluctant agreement. “Do you know of what you are?” Another lengthy pause followed before a wheezy voice replied.
“Dead.” I shuddered at the intensity of this one word; full of terrible amounts of sadness and hate but with a certain breath of relief as well. If what this creature said was true, then he certainly would have been a dragon. A cool breeze flew from an unknown source, and I stood
I clutched the side of my pant leg and began to breathe very deeply. “Maybe I’ll just keep running for a while longer,” I said, chuckling to myself quietly. “Keep running even though I know how the race is going to end.” I looked around and sighed. It could have all stopped then and there but for some odd reason I could see a bright future somewhere off in the distance. I figured if I was going to die, then I would die knowing what was in the bottle.
A small pop floated through the air as the stopper was quietly torn from the vial. A fantastic wash of aroma flooded over me as the liquid was exposed to the air. It smelled like like flowers, smoky wood fires and leather all in one. My innards painfully demanded more and pounded desperately on my sides as I brought the vial closer to my nose. I lifted it further and watched in unperturbed silence as my resistance crumbled away.
While gradually adjusting the angle of the trembling container, I was surprised by how quickly the liquid flowed from the glass. Without a second thought, I brought my lips to the edge, and drank. I gagged and fell to the ground, crippled by the liquid’s unexpected sourness. A soundless cough flew out of my windpipe, firing a fleet of minuscule pins into my throat. I brought myself back up to my feet and continued to lumber forward, but I could tell that something was wrong. It was as if I was seeing the world through shattered glass. Even despite this I continued to stumble on while unable to see for what felt like hours. I had to go on.
I tripped over my own two feet and fell to the ground quivering. Terrible flashes of chaotic images were swept into me, creating hallucinations that loudly interrupted reality. I was carried out of the lifeless field and thrown into what seemed like a large cave slapped together with jagged rocks.
“I must be dreaming again.” I thought to myself, now trying to get a sense of my surroundings. There were two almond shaped windows just to my right. I tried desperately to look through each of them, but the drizzle of the rain outside made it difficult to see anything. I sighed and wiped my forehead. Why was it so hot? I continued to stare and stare until finally the itchy humidity caused me to look back at the source.
Resting in the room with me was almost literally half a creature. It was humanoid but wrapped in thick gray scales. A tar like substance covered the figure’s left hand side and a large portion of the floor. The creature shuddered and coiled itself tight the moment I began to observe it. His desperate breathing was forced and ragged, with each outtake of air raising the temperature of the room even further. Above a muzzle of twisted teeth, protruded two deep yellow slits for eyes, which stared at me as if I was the one making the room so hot. I asked for its name, however it didn’t seem to notice. I asked again and the creature shook its head in apparent discomfort.
“Just a name,” I insisted. “Please tell me your name.”
The reptilian figure rattled its head in violent protest, throwing aside thin drips of the dark ink flowing from his skin.
“You don’t know who you are... do you?” I asked while relaxing my stance slightly. After a great many pauses, the creature tutted its head forward in reluctant agreement. “Do you know of what you are?” Another lengthy pause followed before a wheezy voice replied.
“Dead.” I shuddered at the intensity of this one word; full of terrible amounts of sadness and hate but with a certain breath of relief as well. If what this creature said was true, then he certainly would have been a dragon. A cool breeze flew from an unknown source, and I stood
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