Happy Holidays! I know it’s been a while since my last post still working hard and plugging away. At this point chapter 1 and 2 have been fully edited and are book ready (Yeah right who am i kidding? I will probably tweak them again at the end) Below is my entry into the Bridport prize from this year. I did not place but to be honest I didn’t think I would since I found out about the contest just days before the entry deadline (Doesnt really leave a lot of time to edit and proofread!) oh well here it is my short story as submitted with no changes. Enjoy and see you all next year!
Samuel Sandstone World Breaker
The desert sun shone high in the sky, a searing reminder that his time was running short. Samuel slowly continued on his path through the burning wasteland of sand known as the Dead Sea, the irony of the name was not lost on Samuel, what he wouldn’t give to feel the cool salty spray of an actual sea on his face again but he would not fool himself, this journey had only one direction and he had almost reached its end. His armor grew heavier with each step through the wasteland, he passed his tongue over his cracked lips silently praying for even a small hint of relief from the burning dryness, alas his prayers continued to be unanswered. He could no longer feel where he ended and his armor began, the unrelenting heat from the sun had married his armor to his skin. At first there was a blinding pain as Samuel could feel the hot steel pressed against his skin but he dare not try to remove it lest he fall prey to the razor winds. There were many reasons why no man dared enter the Dead Sea, the razor winds chief among them. Samuel’s armor protected him from any mortal wounds the razor winds could cause but even the most masterfully crafted armor could not protect him completely from damage they caused. He pressed on one step after another, muscles screaming, the smell of copper filled his nostrils, the blood from his cuts his only relief from the dry desert air.
Samuel’s hand fell to the pouch on his belt, the familiar weight of the key within gave him relief and spurred him onward. He would not give up, he could not, one by one, left, right, left, his feet continued to carry him forward. Seconds began to feel like minutes and minutes like hours but still he continued on. Samuel tried to take his mind off his task he focused on his memories of lying in the field behind his home, Fiona was there then, happier times. Why did he ever leave? He could have stayed on his farm and worked the fields, Fiona would have liked that, she never wanted anything but Samuel. What a fool he had been in his youth, he could still remember the day he left like it was yesterday, Fiona had begged him to stay but he wouldn’t stay, no he was young and the call of adventure was too tempting to pass up. Samuel would have given anything to take that decision back, had he not left then Fiona would never had come after him, she would have never been captured by the slave traders, she would not have…. A tear slid down his cheek, in contrast to the heat around him it felt like a stream of ice, cool and refreshing if only for a moment.
Samuel continued to progress slowly but steadily through the wasteland, he focused harder on his memories, the mental escape made it possible for him to escape the torture of his current task. He recalled the moment he reunited with Fiona; he had found her in a cage… broken. The light had gone from her eyes, what remained there in the cage was but an empty shell, a husk that once contained the free-spirited woman he loved. Rage overtook Samuel, he slaughtered her captors where they stood it took but a moment, his blade danced between the men like a quiet breeze, blood painted the floor, red brushstrokes against the dark brown earth. When Samuel came to, he was already running far from that place, Fiona in hand. Fiona did not resist him she simply followed, lifeless, Samuel could feel her cold dead stare on his back, still he ran. They ran for what seemed like forever until they reached a small town in the middle of nowhere. It was there he would settle for the years to come, day after day trying to remedy the malady that had befallen the woman he loved. Everyday for years Samuel would care for her trying everything he could to bring her back but nothing ever worked. Samuel would recant tales of his adventures and of the times they spent together in their youth but he was not even sure she could hear him. It killed Samuel to see her like that, not a day passed that he did not regret leaving her, still he would not give up hope, day after day he continued to care for her.
Then one day a strange man came to the small village, a man claiming he could fix Fiona and return her to her former self. Samuel wanted so badly to believe this man but something about him was odd. The man was very well dressed; as well as any lord Samuel had ever seen but he felt a strange presence emanating from this man, an evil presence. The man offered him no name only a task to be completed and in-return Fiona would be cured. Samuel wanted nothing more than to refuse this man, to turn him away and never see him again but it was then the man lay one finger on Fiona’s head and immediately the light returned to her eyes. She turned her head to look at Samuel. As soon as their eyes met, he saw the recognition in her eyes, those perfect green eyes pierced his very soul and a flood of emotion overtook him, they embraced each other, it was only a moment but it felt like a lifetime. When Samuel released her, the light was already gone, Fiona’s cold dead stare had returned. Samuel’s heart sank like a stone. He broke down and pleaded with the man to fix her again. The man simply held out his hand, in it an ancient looking key. The man told Samuel all he had to do was to walk straight into the Dead Sea at the heart of it there would be a broken-down ruin with a lone pedestal in the center. All Samuel had to do was reach that pedestal and insert the key once the task was completed Fiona would be cured. Samuel was hesitant he knew this man had ill intentions but he did not care he would do anything for Fiona…anything. He asked the Man how he would know the task was completed, the man simply flashed him a sinister smile and told him he would know.
Samuel fell to one knee. It seemed impossible but the air was getting hotter, red vapor blurred his vision, his blood had begun to evaporate from his wounds. In the distance he could make out a faint outline of what seemed to be a building. Almost there! He thought to himself as he struggled to his feet. The sun was low in the sky now he had to hurry or he would not make it. Samuel had researched all he could about the Dead Sea before he started his journey and if the stories were to be believed Death himself wandered this wasteland at night, Samuel was unsure what that meant but he was not eager to find out. He tried to continue but his strength escaped him and he fell to one knee again. His body burned, his muscles screamed, every breath was labored and hot it felt like swallowing fire, Samuel wanted to give up. He could just give in and lay there; his death would come quickly he could feel it. Fiona flickered into his mind. Her beautiful green eyes, the sweet aroma of her auburn hair, the warmth of her loving embrace. He had to bring her back no matter what, Samuel felt a wave of energy course through his body and in one swift motion he brought himself to his feet. He made a mad dash toward the ruins, he was coming up on them quickly, within moments he stood at the edge of the building, if it could even be called that any more. Most of the walls had collapsed and there was nothing but a lone pedestal standing in the center just as the man had said there would be.
Samuel’s steps became heavy again, his body quaked under his weight. His conscience cautioned him against what he was about to do. The closer he came to the pillar the louder it protested. He continued onward despite himself until he was standing in front of the pedestal. There was no writing, no symbols, nothing. Just a key hole. Samuel reached into the pouch on his belt and withdrew the key. He paused as he held it up in front of him, the key seemed to be calling to the keyhole, almost as if it was urging him to insert it. His conscience was screaming now but his love for Fiona drowned it out as he gave into the urge and inserted the key, there was a sudden jolt of electricity that surged through Samuel causing his hand to recoil in pain. Samuel let out a cry of anguish as the key began to turn on its own. Suddenly the sky blackened, bolts of lightning streaked through the sky, the ground began to shift under Samuels feet. He could no longer see the sun, in the distance stalagmites of earth began to shoot in to the sky, heavy winds lifted the sand around him into the sky, a dark presence overwhelmed Samuel, his body began to turn to stone. It started at his feet and slowly crept up his body. What have I done?! Samuel thought as he frantically reached for the key but it was out of his reach. A maniacal laugh echoed in his head, Samuel was unsure if he was actually hearing it or imagining it. He could no longer feel his legs; the petrification had reached his abdomen. Samuel began to sob hysterically screaming to the heavens for forgiveness, begging for Fiona to forgive him until the sound seized in his throat, the petrification had reached his lungs, he could no longer breathe. Darkness slowly overtook Samuel as the world broke around him, as the light left him his last thought was of Fiona, their last embrace. The world continued to break around Samuel and somewhere far far away in a small village on the other side of the world Fiona would awake with a start, restored to her former self. A blanket of deep sorrow would fall upon her, unsure why she would weep wildly. New mountains rose across the land, oceans divided, villages were swallowed, the world had changed. The dawn of a new age had come. Fiona set out on a search for Samuel unaware of the time they had together, of what Samuel had done for her. Everywhere she traveled she would hear tales of Samuel Sandstone World Breaker.