All around me everything was in flames and the fire was dancing above the treetops. The towering trees were transformed into a piles of ash in the blink of an eye.Through the crackling and falling I could hear the soul-shattering cackle emerging from within the darkness and chaos.
"You think you can outsmart me," he enthused, "I've already won, you fool! Now we're playing by MY rules."
Trying to swallow my panic, I rushed over and picked up my stack of cards. Soon as I did so the stump turned black and disintegrated instantly.
In my haste, I tried to pick some card that would help me deal with the confusion. But alas, I couldn't read anything. Everything was merging with each other, all of which I couldn't see properly, much less try to decode what it said.
Finally I picked a card at random and threw it against the ground. Instantly there was thunder, and the sky quickly began to turn black. From behind the horizon came a terrifying storm that grew and approached with every second. The wind began to churn, and the trees were bent toward the earth. Flames rose from the earth, creating along with the wind an infernal tornado of doom.
I tried to find a blade of grass to hold on to, but every sprout disintegrated upon contact or was whisked into the swirling blender of madness, along with myself shortly after.
"I suppose it is my turn now" cackled the booming voice, "I cant have you dying so quickly, this is much too amusing".
A blinding flash appeared in the sky. For one moment, it was as if there was perfect silence. Yet suddenly I heard a noise, as if millions of hooves were approaching from afar. Unfortunately it was, and a Stampede of wild steeds neared me at an alarming rate.
The hunkiest Stallion with eyes of lighting stood on his haunches and bellowed his battle cry. Then, he let off steam from his nostrils and lunged straight at me.
I had no time to think, only act. When I was pulled into the sky, all my cards flew out and now swarmed around me like flies. Catching the nearest card I ripped it in two, and immediately a giant stalk began to emerge from under the ground.
I grabbed onto it tightly, watching as a sea of powerful bodies scurried around me. Many times I was almost knocked down, but I somehow managed to hold on.
The hunky bastard of a stallion kept trying to nip at me, but fortunately for me he got sucked into the air current, all being left of him was a surprised neigh.
Just as I regained my breath I heard a rumbling noise rise up from beneath me. The dipshit has made his move, and it was even more alarming then before.
The sprout began to sway violently, as the Stone rapidly devoured its roots. Fossilization was rapidly growing up the stem, and before I knew it, my foot was already beginning to turn into marble. This was the end, there were no cards left around me, and i was destined to be entombed in this madhouse forever.
On the bright side, he couldn't make a rug out of me if I shattered to my certain doom. My scream lodged in my throat as my body slowly turned to stone. This time, I will die. And no one will save me.
Mentally I said my farewell to all the people that I cared about. I said my farewell to Ethel, to my home. With tears in my eyes I thought of all the life I would miss. Every breath was a battle. The air was getting more and more difficult to get to my lungs. My chest was already completely immobilised, the only thing left unscathed was my neck. As soon as I thought of that, the stone quickly ran up to my cheeks as well. In a few seconds, I would turn into a Statue, In a few seconds, I would be gone.
The battle was over. Lifting up in my eyes the heavens I saw the face of the flying grandfather, whose nasty laughter reverberated in my ears.
"I warned you," he howled, "I always win you son of a bitch!"I had no way to respond, I closed my eyes, and exhaled for the last time.....
"what the fuck?!"
My heart pounded in my chest as I tried to take note of my surroundings. I was alive! I was breathing! As I wiggled my fingers, I was pleasantly surprised to see they responded. What happened... How did I-
MIRA
In the sky I saw her mounted on the stallion, fighting the bloodthirsty monsters the villain had set upon her. I ran over to help her, only to hear Roger's familiar howls from the side. Looking back to Mira again, I saw that she was barely hanging on, but I couldn't let my friend down.Without a second thought, I gathered up my pooch, and watched in horror as Mira fell off her horse and sped downwards rapidly.
In those moments my heart sunk. Her bright curls were fluttering in the wind. She looked me straight in the eye and smiled.
Out of nowhere a flash came out and caught her at the last moment. Mira was alive! Riding her moth again, she flew swiftly toward me, me, and grabbed my hand, carrying me and Roger away from this realm of nightmares.
The vivid threats of the crazy grandfather could be heard behind us, but he was behind us. We had won, and it was all thanks to Mira.
I hugged her from behind, and rested my head on her shoulder.
"You know you're an idiot, Hogan?" she asked, smiling triumphantly.
"From the beginning," I answered and closed my eyes. There were too many dangers in this world that I wasn't prepared for, I was very lucky to have a friend like Mira to have my back.