The Other-worldly Protector

Chapter 4: Discovery

Kiara clasped both hands around the glowing crystal. She lifted it off the pillar. As she did so, an electric spark travelled from the tip of the pillar and into the crystal. "Huh?" she said. Suddenly, the crystal shone as bright as the sun making Kiara squeeze her eyes shut and stagger backwards. When she opened her eyes again, she was standing on top of a pink and black ripple. A portal. In that moment, she felt weightless, as if she was levitating.

Then she fell through.

As she emerged from the other side of the portal, Kiara's breath caught in her throat. She was literally in the middle of nowhere and falling steadily. Her scream was lost in the wind. Panic, confusion and fear were eating away at her as she fell. Sky, sea and sunrise spun around her as she tumbled uncontrollably through the air. The wind rushed past her face and through her hair, making her eyes water. Kiara tried to steady herself and to think straight. From what she could see, she could tell that she was heading towards the ocean, and falling from a tremendous height. There was almost no chance of surviving this. The best she could do was hold her breath, prepare her mind for the impact of cold seawater, and hope that she floats back to the surface instead of drowning in the depths of God knows where! 

Just then, through her distorted vision, Kiara saw a small green shape, and it was growing bigger. "No!" Kiara gasped. She wasn't going to fall into the ocean; she was heading straight for an island! "NOOOOOOOO!" Kiara's cry was whipped away by the wind, along with any hope she had left. With no chance of surviving, Kiara watched the island grow larger and larger, preparing to engulf her. "I should've never left camp," she thought.  

Suddenly, she felt something grab onto each of her arms and she was yanked from her fall. She glided over the trees of the island and onto a grassy area where she was dropped gently inches from the ground. She landed on her feet and whatever was carrying her landed in front of her. With shaking legs and unfocused dizzy vision, she tried to stay standing. She heaved large gulps of air: in, out, in, out. Her brain felt like butter as her body tried to process the shock. Through her distorted vision, she saw a blurred purple shape. The shape moved closer and two large reptilian blue eyes swam into focus. The eyes displayed a mixture of concern and curiosity. They looked like the eyes of a friendly and thoughtful being. Somehow, Kiara felt right at home staring into those beautiful eyes —the eyes of her saviour. Then her legs gave way. She staggered forwards and collapsed onto the ground. The purple creature quickly retreated and swooped away, out of sight.

Kiara's senses cleared but her vision stayed fixed on the spot she saw the blue-eyed creature. Her eyes widened as everything that just happened rushed back to her and she slowly rose to her feet. Disjointed thoughts scrambled into her mind. "What just... I'm alive? Was that a —no way! What on earth rescued...?" Kiara froze as something else popped into her head —a question that changed everything. "Where the hell am I?"

Kiara tore her vision away from the spot her saviour had left to look around. She was standing on a grassy clifftop where a gentle breeze stroked her windblown hair. She watched the beautiful sunrise as it made the ocean shimmer shades of orange and blue. Then she turned to view the large island that was soaked in the sun's warm glow. There were a bunch of green mountains on the far end of the island, a few with white snowy tips. The rest of the island was mostly covered with trees. Some rivers wound their way to the coast in various parts of the island. Then Kiara spotted three shapes in the sky, too large to be birds. They were flapping, swooping and then gliding in unison. Kiara watched them in amazement.

"DRAGONS," she breathed.