A canine outrider stopped on his usual patrol route through the forest and, upon reaching the inner edge of the tree line, settled in to rest upon an area of sunken bedrock. Leaning against the white and gray layered backdrop, the ragged dog panted with swollen tongue. He set his backpack down and pulled out a small leather bag. Holding the weightless container, he frowned and shook the useless reservoir close to his ear. Turning the bag on end, the last of the outrider's water splashed all over his face.
Cough, cough! The outrider choked and gasped before finding his breath. He stared at the empty bag in hand, then heaved it to the floor. With water dripping from his snout and face, he broke out into a dizzying display of shake and spray. Excess water flew. He sniffled and wiped his nose, then ran his claws through the unkempt fur on his face and neck. Over his head and once again. The repeated action soon triggered an unintended itch. Mindless. An obsessive ear-scratching shortly ensued.
Suddenly, the outrider froze. He raised his head and pointed his ears. Off in the distance, he spotted some movement. It was a pair of lizards and a skinny little human, facing-off against one another.
The outrider smacked his lips as he watched the scene with primal interest. He imagined a gladiator's strategy, triangulating the tricky landscape. The end-result was already a given, he surmised. The reptiles had the extra number and a speed advantage. They needed only to cut the human's escape route off, and corner her or run her down.
The canine's eyebrow lifted.
The lizards charged.
The human shot back.
Everything was going as the outrider had expected.
That is, until the tiny girl leapt over one of the charging reptiles in a very inhuman way.
The canine double-blinked and stretched his neck to get a better view. He stepped out from underneath the forest's coverage to watch the action further.
What just happened?
He leaned forward, watching more closely now.
But the action was already over, faster than he could comprehend. The dinky girl was hurrying away from the scene, and neither of the lizards had been killed.
What just happened? the outrider asked himself again. He looked back and forth, then tilted his head. Was there something here to report? To the King?
Momentarily, the scout glanced up at the high sky and the hot sun. He took an extended, deep breath. He was tired, and still thirsty. A little bit dizzy. Sometimes dehydration could make you see things. That was it, he told himself.
He turned his attention back to his patrol route through the forest. The river was on the far side of the timberline, and a cool drink of water sounded really nice right about now.
The short-sighted canine set off upon a different priority instead.
YOU ARE READING
Creatures of God
Fantasy(COMPLETED/Re-EDITING) For Elliot, life after graduation meant a doomed existence -- surviving a post-apocalyptic world besieged with mutant animals -- until he awakens Alessandro, a supernatural youth, from a centuries-long sleep. Together, the two...
