The Lizard King

Part 4: Gone

The market busies around in the morning sun as everyone tries to auction off their goods. Everything seemed pretty normal. The fruit stands were busy plenty, the animals were a little riled from all the commotion, the gold was flowing here and there. Everything was good.

"Get outta my way ya lil bastards!!"

Well, almost everything. Marlana tore through the crowd with her cane like a rabid animal. Anyone who was lucky enough to see her coming wasted no time in getting out of her way. Nobody knew what had her so rattled this time but they did well not to interfere as she whacked and beat her way to the front of the line.

"Listen snowflake I need a good nad and fast!" she said to the seller.

"Marlana," he said, "we talked about this, you have to wait like everyone else."

He was struck hard on the head instantly.

"Then again," he said straining through the pain, "a fast mare might be just what you need."

"Good, now don't keep me waiting like yer regular clientele or imma hit ya where the sun ain't shining!"

That clerk came back with the fastest mare in the fastest time ever and Marlana made sure to pay and get out of there with it just as fast. Marlana hopped onto that mare best she could and took off out of the town.

Marlana wasn't just going into the wilderness for no reason. She really did think Kayla was pulling her leg the other day. But that scale-that one damned scale meant she had to rethink everything she ever knew.

She was only half a mile from Kayla's house when she saw something that made her stop the mare dead in its tracks. There, at the tree line, was a huge exit hole. It looked as if the forest undergrowth had exploded onto the wide dirt path. The size instantly raised concern. What followed it was just as worrying.

The large, three-toed footprints were wide-set and huge. Marlana could also make out something else. It looked like human footprints. But one of the feet looked like it had been shuffling a little bit. Marlana instantly recognized it as Kayla's and raced along the tracks. She could see that both were in a dead sprint up until the very last moment. It's when she got to the house that she was truly terrified.

Marlana rounded the corner and there, right in front of her, was a very destroyed house. The front wall was almost completely knocked down and the roof had caved without the extra support. The door was shattered to splinters. The most horrifying thing of all, right when the tracks got to the house, Kayla's prints had disappeared. It didn't look like there was a struggle, just a little bit of blood staining the ground.

She looked away. That's when Marlana saw the rest of the giant footsteps leading into the woods. She didn't bother following them. She already knew the poor girl's fate. She sighed and turned around, her eyes getting moist. "Good luck girlie."

-------

Throbbing. That's the first thing Kayla felt waking up. Her head screamed in pain as she began to stir. Slowly she opened her eyes.

At least she thought she did. Everything was dark. Pitch black actually. Kayla instantly panicked and fled to her feet. What happened last night? Did she get hit so hard she'd gone blind?

"You're not blind." A voice said from behind her.

Kayla spun around. She still couldn't see. There was no light anywhere. "What? What's happening?"

"Your eyes haven't adjusted. Give it a moment." The voice sounded...almost sick. The slow rasping and sometimes low hissing from between the words made it hard for Kayla to understand. Whoever this was, it didn't sound like they've spoken for a long time.

Kayla's eyes were beginning to adjust some. She was just now able to discern between a few objects. She was on a big slab like thing-a rock by the feel of it. She could also make out something like a small table in the corner of what she guessed was the room she's in.

"Can you see better now?" The voice asked. Kayla turned her head to the direction the voice was coming from. Their shadow was big. And very strange. It looked like their legs were that of a big bird's and their arms were long and muscular. The hands were interesting too. The fingers curved very smoothly and each ended in a point. Strangest of all was the head. She couldn't yet make out any facial features but it looked like a blob on top of the torso. Two straight, thick points jutted out from the top-possibly horns-and the rest was arrayed with what looked like spikes.

"Wh-what are you?" Kayla stammered. Her lip trembled with fear as she looked on at the unholy shadow. She didn't know what it was and she didn't know why it was talking. But she could feel deep down that something wasn't right with the situation. Whatever this being was, it wasn't human.

"I cannot answer." The voice proclaimed.

"Why? I-I'm not afraid." Kayla lied. She could feel herself quivering.

"I don't think so. You can't disguise what you feel." Kayla was terrified. The only thing that terrified her more than the creature in front of her was the fact that it could see straight through her.

"T-truly you are m-mistaken good sir," she said, "I just am taken aback by your presence."

There was a slight pause. Kayla could hear a deep inhale come from the direction of the shadow. "For such a terrible liar," the voice said, "you at least have nice manners. Are you certain you wish to know what I am?"

Kayla paused for a moment. She honestly didn't know if she wanted the answer. She couldn't help but ask what could happen if she didn't like the answer. Would she be killed? If not, would she be allowed to leave? What if she never sees her town again? Her friends? Her mother? Still, something deep down in her heart compelled her. Was it courage? A last glimmer of curiosity? Whatever it was, it was strong enough to erase her fear long enough for her to say "Show me."

The shadow swayed a moment and made it's way over to the table. The table was only three feet or so tall but the thing next to it was immense. The shadow stood at least three times taller than the table. Just that sight alone made Kayla have doubts about whether or not she decided on the right thing.

The shadow picked up a large stick from the table. Kayla watched as something truly spectacular occurred. A small flame came shooting out from the shadow and the stick caught fire.

At first, the light was blinding. She had been in the dark so long that any light was too bright. Once her eyes had readjusted though, she was amazed at what she saw around her. She was in an enormous cave surrounded by bizarre rock formations. Great spikes of rock shot down from the roof of the cave and from the floor around her. Some met in between and formed huge columns of solid stone. The light from the torch bounced off all the rocks and cast shadows that seemed to dance on the cave walls.

Finally, when she looked back at the torch and at the being who held it, she froze. She didn't know who it was. To be fair, she wasn't sure she knew what it was.