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 |  My collected entries for the 2024 edition of Wonderland. |
| PROMPT ▼ "Excuse me," I called to the nearest villager. "Excuse me!" The villager stop just briefly enough to register my presence, but then scampered off. As I approached the center of town, people were running around frantically, trying to shutter windows and board up doorways. I stood in the middle of the main street and took in the chaos; something really had them spooked. "Does anyone here speak English?" I inquired. Someone gibbered at me in a language that sounded completely unintelligible to my ear. I guess that answers that question, I thought as I tried to get my bearings. Now where did she go? By "she," I of course meant my pet and trusted companion, Pearl. She had been with me through lands near and far (although this entire realm was farther than either of us had ever traveled before), although she scampered off the minute we came through the portal - as usual - in search of whatever entertainment and excitement this new land offered her. I was about to inquire of another villager if they had seen Pearl, but the person quickly ducked back into his shop and barred the door. Man, something really had these folks spooked. I suddenly found myself worried that Pearl might be in danger too. She was normally able to fend for herself, but when it came to new worlds, who knew what horrors the local flora and fauna contained? It wouldn't be the first time that we'd been forced to flee from a place because there was something bigger and badder than us lurking out there somewhere. "Pearl!" I shouted as villagers continued to scramble for safety. "Come on Pearl, don't wander too far until we're sure what's out there!" A few of the villagers stared at me, standing in the road like an idiot while others all around were running for their lives. They yelled something at me in their odd foreign language, but I couldn't make heads or tails of it. Then, while we were standing there, the sound of leathery wings flapping sent them scurrying. I looked up to the sky and saw the shadow of a winged beast dart by overhead. Noticing me standing there in the middle of the street, it abruptly changed direction and executed a perfect dive, landing just mere feet from me. Townspeople dove for cover. "There you are, Pearl!" I said to the shimmery iridescent dragon in front of me. "Are you having fun meeting the locals?" Pearl nodded her head enthusiastically. "We should probably get going." My dragon gave me her sad eyes. "Okay, fine." I relented. "You can raze one more village. Then we really have to be on our way." Pearl wagged her tail eagerly and launched herself back into the sky, looking left and right for the nearest sign of civilization while the villagers here peeked their head out and regarded me with awe. "Don't worry," I explained, having figured out full well at this point that they would have no idea what I was saying. "We always leave at least one village standing so they can tell the tale of what happened. Congratulations! That's you guys!" I looked back to the sky as Pearl set her sights on the next nearest settlement and took off, smoke already beginning to trail from her jaws as she readied the flame breath that would incinerate this town's nearest neighbors. ______________________________ (566 words) |
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