Prophesy

Trembling hands gripped the rock until a straining face peeked over. He managed to slowly heft his heavy body over the ledge and, with a grunt and a sigh, rolled to safety. Sweat dripped off his wrinkled face as he forced himself to his knees. Thrusting out a hand he grasped a forearm and yanked a man over the precipice. The two fell, sprawling awkwardly atop each other.

“Told ya we could do it,” Donny beamed, untangling his legs from Brandon’s.

“C’mon, man! I got only two words for this malarky—”

Donny rolled his eyes and sighed. “Don’t start with that again,” he interrupted.

“Asufutimaehaefuftbw!”

“That’s one word. And I really don’t know what you said. I don’t think you know what you’ve said. Look, we’re going to get you fixed up and then we can both make the world great again, okay?” Donny took Brandon’s hand and helped him to his feet. He frowned, realizing the slow shuffle of his friend was going to make the trip take three times longer than planned. He found his frustration growing as Brandon tried to tug away, distracted by a butterfly.

“Hey, it’s flying by. It’s...it’s a black, you know, the thing!”

Donny tightened his grip and gave a little tug. Thankfully, Brandon easily forgot the insect and followed along like a little puppy until they reached the end of the meandering mountain path. Donny had lost count of how many times Brandon’s zombie shuffle had resulted in random falls and scraped knees. They had also lost the sun, hours before, which resulted in more stumbles than Donny wanted to admit. At the end of the trail a natural ledge created a rocky seat that he was able to push Brandon into.

“Stay here and rest.”

“Nobody tells me what to do, you dog-faced pony soldier!” Brandon snapped.

Donny had been prepared for the outburst and pulled a long, brown braid of hair from his suit pocket. He placed it in Brandon’s lap, waited for the man to pick it up and start sniffing it, and calculated he had roughly five minutes before the man got bored. He hurried to the edge of the path and looked down to the bottom of the cliff. The light from the shimmering moon glinted off a still, deep lake far below. He pulled a well worn map from yet another pocket and followed the path with a dirty finger until it touched the lake. They were close. The cave would be—

“Is that where the ice cream is?”

Donny flinched, startled, as Brandon appeared at his elbow to stare intently at the map.

“Sure,” he lied.

“Well what are we waiting for then?” Brandon snapped. He lurched toward the edge and slipped over the cliff before Donny could grab him. Silvery light from the moon gleamed off Brandon’s head of white hair as his body bounced off the rocks like a rag doll and skid to a stop at the bottom. Donny squinted at the limp form until the body twitched and Brandon sat up, his usual blank expression plastered to his face.

“I can’t believe I’m stuck with this idiot!” Donny grumbled, carefully picking his way down the side of the mountain. Rocks twisted under his feet, threatening to send him crashing to his rear and mussing up his suit.

He reached the bottom, panting, hands scraped and emotions raw. Ignoring his rage, he pressed down his yellow hair and adjusted his tie. The cave was behind them, next to the lake, as foretold. He yanked Brandon up by his armpit, his patience wearing thin, and confidently marched him into the cave.

In the middle of the cave lay two dragon eggs, resting in a nest of gold coins that spread from one end of the cave to the other.

“Don’t slip,” Donny whispered, awe hushing his voice. Brandon promptly took a step forward and skid across the coins before falling to his knees and cracking his head on a bare patch of stony ground. Blood dribbled from his forehead.

“Just stay where you are,” Donny hissed, biting back an expletive. He was surprised when Brandon merely groaned and turned to lay on his back to make a gold angel in the coins. Donny’s shrugged, grateful Brandon was out of his way, and began to maneuver forward. He noted an occasional diamond or ruby glinting in his path but left the precious stones in their place, his eyes set on the eggs.

The two eggs had emerald shells. Their color seemed to shift and transform from one shade of magnificent green to another before his very eyes. Without another thought, he grabbed one, leaving the other for future needs. The egg was heavier than he expected and he struggled not to drop it.

Within moments he was standing in front of Brandon, who was curled up asleep on the gold. He nudged him with his shoe until Brandon opened his eyes.

“I’ve got it, Brandon.”

“Chocolate chip ice cream cones?” Brandon croaked, licking his lips. Donny carefully placed the egg in Brandon’s outstretched hands, causing his arms to immediately droop.

“Remember, we talked about this,” Donny sighed. “All you have to do is—”

“Crack the egg!” Brandon shouted with glee, smashing the egg to the floor. Iridescent shells flew into the air and light flooded from the egg, showering Brandon with a glittering glow. Donny grinned as Brandon’s dull eyes ignited like embers burning in a blazing fire.

“Well, now. This certainly is a miracle,” Brandon’s voice was firm and steady, the mumbling and stuttering had gone. He stood to his feet without help and strode forward to shake Donny’s hand. The shuffle had disappeared, along with the bloody gash on his head.

“Your wound has been healed, Brandon,” Donny said with a smile. “This is yuge. The whole world will wonder and fall at your feet.”

A sinister smile stretched across Brandon’s face. “As prophesied,” he laughed. And Donny laughed with him.





Notes ▼

999 words
Written for: The Writer's Cramp
Prompt: Use and bold the phrases: dragon eggs, silvery light, embers burning, shimmering moon