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The Lost City of Alcavez
by Donna L Martin
One...two...three...the steps seemed to go on and on, running into each other until he couldn't see them any more. Where did they lead? As Sean shifted the backpack higher on his shoulder he felt a sharp stabbing pain shoot through his leg. Looking down, he saw blood seeping again through the bandage on his upper thigh. At this pace, he would lose too much blood before he reached the summit. Pausing to catch his breath, Sean closed his eyes and slid to the ground.
When he woke this morning, he was confident the unmarked trail he stumbled upon yesterday lead to the lost city of Alcavez. He barely contained his excitement when he found a dusty map wedged in the corner of that old desk. Could that ancient map lead to the lost city of wonder he had heard so much about? Careful to make sure no one was following him, Sean set out with just a small pack and a two liter bottle of water. To take more would have drawn suspicion.
Too late he realized someone had followed him, stayed just outside his range and now the bullet in his leg slowed him down. What Sean left on the trail behind him only gave him an hour, maybe two, to find what lay hidden at the top of those steps. Leaning on a makeshift staff, Sean forced himself to his feet and stared at the steps ahead of him. One...two...three...he just put one foot in front of the other and kept climbing...
***Now it's your turn. What happens next? Does Sean make it to the summit? Does he find the lost city of Alcavez? Are there others tracking him? Join in the fun with a sentence or a paragraph. You don't have to run with my flash fiction...if someone else comments and you want to add to their story, then go for it. Let's see where this picture prompt takes us!***
An eternity, that's what it felt like. How long had he been dragging himself up these steps, what time was it? He had fallen twice again, and the blood from his wound was now running down his leg. He had lost all thought of time. He knew it must be late morning as the sun seemed higher in the thinning branches above, the heat from the climb causing sweat beads to run from his lips and forehead. The pounding from his head and the pain from the wound was making it unbearable. As he dragged himself around the next bend a wall of solid overgrowth stood before him. Squinting and moving closer for a better look he noticed wooden panels deep within the tangled vines. Is this it? Is this the entrance to Alcavez?
ReplyDelete"What have we here?" came a voice from behind him.
Good job, Diane! I wonder who is behind him? Did he find the lost city? ;~)
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by and come back any time!
Hi Donna .. love Diane's addition to your story ... I hope others will add to your storyline .. my imagination is phut for now! ...
ReplyDeleteCheers Hilary
Hi Hilary! It's okay if you don't add to the story...you can always just sit back and enjoy it...;-)
DeleteThanks for stopping by and come back any time!
Why did he have to shoot him? Alcavez was famous for wizards, warlocks, witches, and old people. Sean wanted to be a wizard. What did the guy want?
ReplyDeleteSean thought that the Magi could also give him back blood, so he kept going... halfway up, he noticed a cane, with a narrow, pointed bottom. Was it a wand? 3 steps up, he came upon a door leading into the cliff - the secret entrance that only Magi can get into! He remembered the map, held the stick on the star of the door, and said the (literally) magic words "unlockorum dooro for friendus". The door clicked, and slid into the rock. He walked in and said, tapping the floor with the wand (for it was one), "Closea et lockorum" and the door slid shut, locking.
Inside was a huge village! No, a city! Sean saw a group of Magi (the term for all magic users) with what looked like electricity shooting from their hands. Warlocks, all Magi (male and female) able to do magic without a wand. A group of wizards and witches were sword-fighting with their wands, but it was for real, not practice. They were actually fighting, yelling at each other, hitting scratching...
Sean felt a tap on his shoulder. A witch and wizard were standing behind him. The witch smiled, pointed to Sean's thigh with her wand, and said "thigho healorum" and the pain went away. The wizard said in a foreign accent,
"Hello there! Welcome to Alcavez! Whad'ya want here? Us dead? Captured? Ridiculed again? Huh? Tell me."
Sean was taken aback. "I, uhhh, w-want to join you?..." Sean said, unsure of himself.
"I see ya got y'self a wand, so I'm guessin' ya wanna be a wizard, ay? Well, come along!"
Hi Erik...great job! I'm loving those "magic" words. And here I was beginning to wonder if Sean was ever going to find that lost city...;~)
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by and come back any time!