For Halfwayvamped's dream challenge, "Dream Free".
This story is based on a reoccurring dream I had as a child. Of course, it's been years so I've made up some details but the basic story is largely the same.
Sorry, it's been a while since I've written anything T_T I hope this doesn't suck too badly!
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Title//Awkward Turtle
Characters//A girl and her kitten companion
Warnings//Monsters?
Word Count//879
Summary//In a strange world of grass and stone, a young girl tries to save herself.
The sky was deceptively cheerful. Bright blue as far as the eye could see, huge fluffy clouds like bits of cotton. Hiding beneath the huge stone ark, the little girl almost felt safe. Almost. There was a shadow somewhere in the back of her mind and a rumbling off in the distance that told her she should feel otherwise. Her companion, a small white kitten, trembled at her feet. She smiled down at him, “It'll be okay.” She wasn't sure she believed it really would be, but she had to be brave. The little kitten looked up at her and seemed to be making a face as if he really didn't believe her. She smiled and started to say something reassuring, but the rumbling grew stronger.
It was like an earthquake. At first it was just a little shaking, but then it grew and grew until the girl could barely remain standing as she clung to the ark. She had to stay hidden, she knew, as a shadow passed over her. She couldn't help but look up. Above her she could see the belly of a huge turtle, pale and yellow. The creature was gigantic, bigger even than the huge stone arch she hid beneath, big enough to block out the sky as far as she could see. There was a great, low sound as it passed, not really a growl or a moan. The sound seemed to shake everything around it just as much as the creature's movement. The girl swallowed, afraid to move, afraid to breath, clutching her kitten friend entirely too tightly but he was too afraid to complain.
After what seemed like forever, but was really only a few moments, the great beast had moved passed. Its back was to her now. The girl knew that this was her chance and she had to hurry. She squeezed the kitten, like a scared child would squeeze a stuffed toy. He didn't dare make a sound, like he knew. Of course he knew. “Are you ready?” She asked, voice barely a whisper. The rumbling of the giant turtle was softer now.
The girl set the kitten down, patted his soft little head. She whispered the words, “Wait here. I'll be back” She smiled her best smile. She wasn't afraid. She couldn't be afraid. It was up to her to save them both.
She ran as fast as she could. Everything around her was a streak of green and gray that she barely registered. She ran up a stone pathway, up to wear someone had carefully piled several large, flat stones to form a sort of pedestal. Atop this pedestal was a gold key. It glowed in the light, shining brightly. The closer she got, the brighter it glowed. It was if it knew she was there, as if it wanted to be saved too and with its glow it was shouting for her to reach it and pull it free.
The closer the girl got to the key, the bigger the key seemed to get. By the time she reached it, the key seemed to be as big as she was. She panicked. She knew the key went to a door, a door that was on the opposite side of the field of arches and grass guarded by the giant turtle, but she had never actually seen the door. A door that took a key like this had to be impossibly huge. There was no way she could ever reach it, even if she did manage to get the key back safely.
She swallowed. It didn't matter. The kitten was relying on her too. She couldn't just give up. She had to try.
The golden key was huge, but warm and light to the touch. It didn't take much effort to pull it off the stone and hoist it up to her shoulder. Hope replaced her fear then. She could make it after all. The key was awkward, but light, she could still run. She could make it.
She turned quickly, both hands on the key, to run back down the stone pathway. She wasn't thinking, wasn't paying attention, and nearly ran into a great stone wall. She squeaked faintly, nearly stumbled and dropped the key, but she caught her balance quickly. She turned to run around the wall, but she couldn't see the end, just an oddly patterned gray wall that seemed to go on and on forever. She swallowed. Eyes following the wall from off in the distance to back in front of her. The wall shifted and blinked at her. The girl took one, shaky step backwards.
It was the guardian turtle. She didn't know how she hadn't heard it. Maybe there had been more than one turtle all along and she just hadn't seen. Maybe it was so big all it had to do was turn and there it was again, right in front of her. It opened its great mouth and she could feel its breath against her face and suddenly the world around her was growing dark. Even the key seemed to be growing cold in her hands, the glow dying and fading away.
The great beast lunged forward, it's gaping mouth shutting around her, and she screamed.
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