The Nightmare of Silver Rock (Short Story)

The Nightmare of Silver Rock

   "The city of Silver Rock is one of many in our empire. Silver Rock was a prosperous town where people from all over the empire would come to visit us, until the High King passed away. Three years ago was when the new High king took the throne, and not once has anyone ever seen his face. The high king has never made a public appearance or attended public meetings. Legends say he's so ugly that he dare not show his face!" Kimi exclaims.

   "No way," Kimi's little sister yells. "you made that last part up!"

   "It's true I'm telling yo-" Kimi tries to explain.

   "Kimi!" Kimi's father shouts, "Come help me with this!"

   Kimi gets up, dusts herself off and heads out of her house to her dad's workshop across the street. Kimi lives in the city inside the walls that surround the castle where the High King lives. As Kimi enters her father's workshop, she sees him struggling to put a string on a bow.

   "Let me help with that," Kimi suggested, taking the bow.

   Kimi puts the string properly on the bow and hands it back to her father.

   "Thank you." He says, "You don't need to give it back to me, for I made this bow especially for you. Seeing how good you are with one, I thought you deserved your very own."

   Kimi can't believe what she hears, the bow is made of bocote wood and lined with silver. She wonders, "Why did he give something so expensive and well made to me?"

   Tears began to well up in Kimi's emerald eyes, "Thank you so much father!"

   "No need to thank me, you deserve it." He explains, "May I have a hug?"

   Kimi runs and hugs her father with tears in her eyes. When they release each other Kimi goes over to the corner of the shop and grabs a quiver full of arrows and ties back her long black hair.

   "Dad, I'll be back." Kimi says, "I'm going outside the walls to test out my new bow!"

   "Alright, but don't stay out too late!" Kimi's father yells as she leaves the workshop.

   Kimi runs through the snow filled streets as fast as her legs will take her. As she approaches the gates to leave the inner city she sees her life long friend Cole carrying a bag of flour to the gates, she can always tell by his silver shoulder length hair that it's him.

   "Cole!" Kimi shouts hugging him from behind, "Guess what!"

   "Hmm." Cole thinks, "Let me guess, you got a new bow?"

   "Yup!" she says letting go and taking the bow off her back, "Father made it just for me out of nowhere, and he made it out of such beautiful material."

   "Did you forget today's your birthday?" Cole asks.

   "No." Kimi lies.

   Cole bursts into laughter, "How can someone forget their own birthday?"

   Kimi turns red with embarrassment and turns aways, "I've been busy."

   "I think I understand why you're near the gates now." Cole says, "Come with me to the bakery so I can drop off the flour then let's go out together to test your new bow."

   Kimi and Cole begin to head towards Cole's family bakery that's outside the gates. Cole drops off the flour inside and comes out with a basket of pasties and his hunting bow for their trip. Kimi and Cole head north to find wild game to bring back to their families, they hunt all afternoon. They catch a few squirrels and rabbits and start to head back home. When they start to approach the outskirts of the gates they knew something was off, smoke filled the sky. As they got close to Coles family bakery they knew where the smoke was coming from.