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The sound of feeble thunder crashed around. Everywhere the noise flowed like a thousand beads falling in waves... waves... waves...
A cool sensation, massaging in its touch, ever rising then falling merely to rise once more caressed my sides.
Waves... waves.... waves...
It was light, a dull warmth in the air beyond my closed eyelids. Like light furthest from the evening, defiant against the void stepping in and taking its place, sending forth a thousand specks of sand dotted the sky, dwarfed by the soft glow of the moon.
Waves... waves... waves...
...Voices. No, one voice but distant. Warm, deep, melodic yet distant. A different touch met my skin. Ascension stole my head from the soothing masseuse and with resentful eyes, I saw my company.
Waves...waves...waves...
A zebra, with gold furnishing her head and neck. Eyes that showed untold wisdom and flecks of concern. No, not concern... something... stronger.
‘Do not put yourself under stress
For you are looking quite a mess’
And she talks! Sparks flew through my mind. Sparks for a memory. A memory of a memory. Yet try as it might, no kindling ignited.
Waves...waves...waves...
Who are you? I tried to ask. My words failed me but she somehow still knew.
‘I must remove you from this water
Or else our talk will be much shorter’
But why? I couldn’t move, try as I might. Through all the effort I put in, my limbs remained unresponsive. With hooves curled under my arms, the zebra woman strained under my weight. She was only half my size and more importantly, the sand and water sucked me under, reluctant to let me go.
‘The sand is causing much resistance
Hang I’ll go and get assistance’
And like that she was gone. The flicker of memory still trying to gain footing. Who was she? I strained my ears in wait.
Waves...waves...waves...
Moments later, feeling like hours, and still no return of the familiar stranger. The hands of the sea still lapped at my sides. The tingling of my skin let me know that the sun was running higher in the sky. The brightness beyond my eyelids solidifying that fact.
And then, shadows passed over my eyes. A light breeze licked my face and passed over my chest, bringing to my attention the damp clothing I was wearing now clinging to my skin.
Waves...waves...waves...
I cracked an eye open again and saw before me another creature. This one was different. It was wrong, it’s towering form driving fear into me yet my numb body remained ignorant of my need to escape.
It was tall. It had the torso of a woman covered in scales; its arms were pale green with darker green on the back of the arms giving the illusion of a tan. Her arms ended in slender hands, each bladed with razor sharp claws. Her fingers wore small sections of bamboo. Not unlike rings, I thought. Sprouting from her back protruded two large, ragged, black vulture wings visible beneath a leather cloak draped over her head and shoulders. The cloak looked tattered and faded with age. Its ends frayed. Her lower half resembled a rattle snake, making her every move sound like rain passing over fields. Her long hair, whilst mostly hidden under her hood, was shaggy and tangled with hollow reeds which only seemed to mimic the sounds drifting from her tail. Lying curtained behind her hair, hid her face. Reptilian, but with an essence of something human in it.
Maybe it was the look of sadness in her eyes.
But why sadness?
Waves...waves...waves...
With a hand outstretched, she leaned down toward me. I flinched causing her to retract slightly, but then resumed her advanced. She placed her hand on my head. Gently, she petted my fringe.
“Poor thing” she breathed. “You traveled so far like many before you. From a land lost to us” she continued.
“You tried so desperately to get here.” A flash of green light emerged in my mind. Images flowed down into my thoughts as if through her comforting touch. My eyes closed. “And whilst many have managed to find lives here...” The images flowed faster, my entire life flashing before me. Something niggled at the back of my mind.
“...not everyone can be so lucky” The hairs on the back of my neck stood instantly. The images stopped, my eyes shot open. I expected her to be poised to strike, to finish me off. Talon-ed fingers and pointed teeth would have made it very easy. But she didn’t. Only a solemn face stared back at me.
She moved back, eyes still on me as voices came into earshot. It was the zebra again, and she had company. A horse. No, two horses. But they were too small to be horses. The first was green too? I would have been more surprised but this wasn’t exactly shocking. The other was a deep blue with a silver mane which was almost entirely blocked by what looked like a nurse’s hat, a medical kit held in her mouth.
The spark in my mind caught my mind alight. I knew where I was! I knew why I tried to get here. News of individuals disappearing without any trace of where they disappeared too resulted in my investigation into the possibility of other worlds. I guess it paid off.
“Without treatment, these wounds that are quite mucky,
Will show not all can be so lucky”
“Not all can be so lucky” The snake woman echoed. Hand placed over the other, gracefully, like a bride would at a wedding.
Lucky? Why am I not Lu-
A sharp pain in my stomach hit me like a truck. I winced, raising my head in the process to bring my eyes into full view of why my ‘luck’ was not good enough.
Blood leaked from my torso, staining the water around me a translucent red and the sand a muddy brown. I can’t imagine what would be worse. Waking up on an unknown seashore with no memory of what happened, or remembering every excruciating detail.
“Puncture wounds, Melody use this” said the blue horse, setting the med kit down, flipping it open and tearing bandages and syringes out passing them to the green one. She jabbed me. The pain floated away and my mind slowly started to follow it.
“Not all can be so lucky” the snake woman echoed again. The ‘not quite’ horses worked quickly but didn’t even acknowledge her. Oblivious. Completely oblivious.
“Pulse is fading” Melody said applying pressure to my wrist. The zebra held my other hand. Wafting various potions she sung in deep melodic tones.
“B...But...” I stammered. The first word I spoke and all four of the creatures stopped, falling quiet.
“I only just got here... Zecora” The zebra eyes widened, locked onto mine. The colour drained, now greying with everything else.
“We have not met before today,
So how did my name come your way?”
Her voice trailed and blurred towards the end. All I could hear now was the sea.
I felt a tear fall from the corner of my eye.
“I guess I wasn’t so lucky”
“...not all can be so lucky” Invisible to the others, the snake woman glided forward. Passing through the mares before me, she sat down next to me.
“...not all can be so lucky”
Grey faded to black.
Waves...waves...waves...silence
Author's Note
The spacing is a bit much I think but... yeah. Let me know what you think but be gentle.
If you read to the end, I thank you very much and I hope you enjoyed.
Let me know of any mistakes and how I could improve my writing ability
Thanks again
