Huge grey, foaming waves crashed with great impact onto the ship walls, which groaned in protest and threatened to give way. The rain was pelting, hard as ever, onto the decks with which hundreds of frantic sailors ran, freezing, terrified and soaked through, straining to stop the ship from sinking. There were huge gashes in the ship, and no matter how hard the crew tried to block its path, cold, salty water kept forcing its way on deck, and The Dream, its name a cold irony, was sinking.
The monster itself was lurking somewhere beneath the sea, not far from the surface. Green faced sailors took quick glimpses over the edge before returning to their duties, regretting their taking part in the voyage.
A menacing lightning bolt zapped its way from the grey clouded sky, and singed yet another hole in the ship. A wave, larger and darker than the others, crashed against the boat, and the force sent two unfortunate men flying into the water.
The less unlucky sailors, despite themselves, peered over the edge only to turn their heads away in horror as the serpent’s head resurfaced, maggot like skin covered in thick scabs, thousand pupil less eyes glowing uncannily. Its filthy body rose out of the water, and sailors, in their frantic hurry to the opposite side of the ship, were tripping over each other.
And then, to everyone’s utter surprise and momentary relief, it dove back under the waves, where it sent pools of crimson from it’s victims to the surface as a warning.
Sudden gushes of wind collided with the sailors and they got back to work, assuming the storm had worsened. But they were proven incorrect when a great flash of emerald light streaked out of nowhere and stopped, hovering just above the water, bat-like wings flapping easily, golden eyes glinting alongside green scales.
“DRAGON!” Yelled the captain from a hiding place, his voice hoarse, “Archers, ready yourselves!”
A few bedraggled men held up their bows clumsily, tired from the storm, and each knocked an arrow.
A voice rang out, droning all other sound, like a gigantic bell. No. I am here to help you.
The dragon had not parted its mouth, but it had spoken the words directly into the men’s minds.
This had a sudden soothing effect on the sailors. Their green faces gained a bit more of their regular tint, and they strengthened quickly. The dragon had given each some of her own strength.
Sound of the crashing waves, the thunder, the screams of men; smell of the salty water, the foul sea monster; and sight of the ship; the senses all returned.
And the sea-serpent rose again, and with a sudden war cry, and new-found strength, the sailors flung whatever was in reach at the monster—boots, arrows, buckets, bait, life-vests, and arrows…
The great emerald dragon had flown upwards, out of reach of the serpent, and now she took a deep breath, flared her nostrils and breathed out a tongue of flame, that lit the arrows flying through the howling wind and embedded themselves in the serpents’ body. The flames from the arrows lit up the beast in a way that everyone could see what happened.
It screamed with pain, a high pitched, deafening screech that lasted for ever, seemingly, until the sea-monster finally fell, limp and dead, back where it belonged, under the sea.
The crew cheered, as the dragon had released magic to cease the flow of water entering the ship, and, even more amazingly still, stopped the raging storm. Clouds cleared to be replaced by sunshine. Solemn faces changed to grinning ones. All was well again.
The movie ended and the cinema lights shone brighter. Lacy leaned back in her red-velvet seat and stretched, annoyed. Why was her life so boring? Why was all the adventure in the world contained in movie screens? It wasn’t fair.
She glared with envy as the names of the characters made their way onto the screen, oblivious to the number of people filtering out of the cinema. Why couldn’t she be like them, the movie characters? Adventurous, courageous…all her life she’d been stuck in a tidy apartment with a goody-two-shoes brother and posh parents. It shouldn’t have to be like that.
She wanted an adventure.
Subject: Random story 
Wed Apr 13, 2011 4:51 am
