Short Action Story

Peter Ma

Short Story

            Dust blew out under his feet as he scrambled towards the exit. The deafening roar behind him shook the whole cave, bringing debris and loose stalactites from the ceiling. The dreadful bass rumble reverberated throughout the boy’s ears, making him stumble in pain. He regained his footing, taking longer strides in his run.

            Finally reaching the cave entrance, the boy rested his hands upon his knees, inhaling the sharp cold air as snow drifted slowly upon him. He wiped his nose and stood up acutely, aware that all he could hear was the whistling wind. He turned around, furrowing his brows in confusion.

Why is it so quiet? Has it given up in chasing me? He peered into the dark eerie cave, unable to see anything in the blackness.

What is that? A little tint of orange began way off in the darkness. The boy craned his neck in desperation to see what it was. The hue of orange quickly illuminated the shadows, orange becoming a dim red. A gust of unexpected heat blew in the boy’s face, the red eating away at the blackness till it engulfed the cave in a feverish light, and then the boy realized what it was.

In the nick of time the boy quickly sidestepped away from the entrance, pressing his back against the frosted mountain wall as a surging tidal wave of flames blew beside him. The boy edged away from the burning cave entrance, fiery tendrils tearing apart a cloud in the sky. Gasping in relief, the boy began to climb down the icy cliffs. Seeing that the beast believed that it killed him with the fire, the boy slowly descended with comfort. Before going any further, he made sure the straps of his bag were tightly pressed against his shoulders. The boy did not come this far to lose the precious treasure. Resuming the journey down, he felt like his weary limbs were about to give out, but the tempest of water down below did not look inviting.

He was about thirty seconds into scaling down the perilous mountainside when his hand lost hold, causing his body slip down the shifty slopes. He slid down the ice in terror for a good twenty yards before his gloved hands found a jutting rock, yanking his body into safety. Wincing at the sudden strain upon his arms, he blew out a loud curse.

Biting back his tongue, the boy knew it was too late. The walls of the mountains began to rattle with intense shudders, making loose rocks and ethereal snow come down in fervor. The boy tried to move as quickly as he could without losing his grip again, billowy bursts of vapor blowing out with each pant.

The sky suddenly darkened as the shadow of a huge figure blocked out the remnants of the sun. The boy peered up in fear as the wings buffeted him with gusts of piercing wind. The creature gave a horrible unearthly noise as it locked eyes upon its intruder. The boy grit his teeth as he stared into the monster’s topaz pupils.

Dragon.