I live alone in the woods. I am not a hermit, not even close. I have all the modern conveniences anyone could hope for. I also own a dog, a beagle I named June. Together we live in a cabin by a lake. We have neighbors who come to visit and town is only a short ride away. It is, or was, a nice rustic life I had built for myself.
There is a dock down by the lake, and June and I like sitting there at sunset. It is a pretty sight, especially in the summer. Anyway, time passed and autumn came. June and I still sat at the dock in the evening hours. Now, usually in November we never got that much sun. It was usually cloudy and all together not so cold. June and I were sitting at the dock at sundown. For some reason June got kind of jumpy. She kept looking up at the clouds to the east. To the west the last remnants of the sun was setting with just a little red glow peeping out of the clouds. June got jumpier and she still looked at the clouds to the east. I turned around to take a look. There was a red glow shimmering through the cloud banks. June started whimpering, and I started getting a little nervous. We left the dock and went inside. I took one last look. The red glow was still there, and it was getting stronger.
I put the television on. There were no news reports. I then called some neighbors. They all noticed the red glow but knew nothing as to what was causing it. I hung up the phone and tried to think. To the east were mountains. They were miles away, but very majestic. They were also the victim of mountain top removal mining. Basically, what that meant was that the tops of the mountains were torn off and pushed down the sides so men could get at the coal. It was not a pretty sight when they were done. Anyway, June and I settled in for the night.
THEY came in the early morning hours. June and I heard them before we saw them. We knew something bad was coming so I packed some food and supplies for me and June. We left the cabin in a hurry and headed for the woods. The noise, like that of gigantic screeching birds, kept getting louder. Then we saw them. Dragons. Many, many dragons flew overhead. Within seconds my cottage went up in flames. The dragons flew on to the west. June and I headed east.
Sometimes things should be left alone. Mountains are one such thing. They were formed eons ago by natural forces. But sometimes they were formed to bury things which were not meant to see the light of day again. Dragons are a good example. Just ask me and June.
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©2011 Henry Peter Gribbin
Tags: Henry Gribbin, Henry Peter Gribbin
October 28th, 2011 at 11:45 am
Very creepy and eerie. I liked how you set up the simple, idyllic life and then burned it to a crisp.