CounterPart

25 | Uncle Skwid

Now was not the time for self reflection, Squid! He had to get OUT of the Hive, RIGHT NOW, or there would never be any self reflection for him again.

He regretted turning down Sunny.

Squid yelped and slid under a falling panel, thrusting his eye through one of the lengthly cracks. Three layers to go. By the Moons, why were these Hives built like prisons?

Of course he did. He didn't even mean to. Why did he have to falter? Why couldn't his flapping mouth produce some words rather than let the silence hurt her?

A chunk of treestuff bouldered down by his side and tore a gash in the floor. Squid sucked in a breath and pushed himself away from the area as quick as possible; all the while sawdust ashes were swarming his scales and stinging his eyes. The Hive gave a great rumbling groan and the whole level seemed to shudder.

The stairs! There!

He couldn't even say 'Yes Sunny'. He couldn't say any of the things he wanted to say: 'I appreciate you', 'You are half my life'

Not even 'I love you too'

Squid skidded around the bend at the top of the stairs and fell down the rest, coming dangerously close to a dust storm of boulders attacking the ground, and cutting off the stairs. The noise on this ground was deafening.

Screaming; frenzied screaming, and the desperate calls for family; thrust in a barrel and shaken with perpetual fear... Every corner, every turn, some dragons were trampled, some were suffocated by the crowd, others just laid down and gave up, nothing left to try.

All the while the ceiling fell apart like a broken heart.

I wish I could give it another chance. I just didn't understand. I still don't understand.

Why would she love me of all dragons?

I'm a useless whiny pain. That's what everyone else thinks. And have I ever heard Sunny say anything different?

The walls were impenetrable! This treestuff was like METAL! WHY couldn't they break it!

The stairs were no option, he was going to die here, surely. He was going to suffocate. On all sides, the frenzied crowd roughing up his scales, barging into each other. Wings breaking everywhere.

And the screaming... More screaming...

Sunny, Squid thought desperately, wishing against everything he could at least have told her before now.

His plea was interrupted as a huge shop came plummeting down from the level above, and the fleeing dragons gave a collective shriek. Squid rammed his eyes shut, and a second later, the debris hit with a resounding crack and thud and crash. He didn't want to look again, but he did.

Tears, blood, dust, clammy scales and sweating bodies.

The NOISE was unbearable!

He felt tears of desperation - or maybe dust irritation - start to slide down his snout, as he screwed his eyes shut again and bashed against the walls. He would be screaming, 'LET US OUT!', but his throat was parched dry and painful.

"Dragons!" There came a cry. From where, who knows. "All together now! Talons up!"

Squid shakily did as he was told, and lifted his trembling talons to the treestuff. On a faint count of three, all of the HiveWings, SilkWings and other tribes began to push and claw at the treestuff at once.

And then with an almighty crash, it finally gave way.

Air. Light and clear air flooded Squid's senses. The stampede of dragons shot out of the cracks like freed bees, shoving him behind in their wake. The dust was still lingering, though, still loitering.