The glaring light of the sun shone down like a tyrant, on the body of a multi-colored lizard. The chest of the small-statured creature heaved up and down, albeit slowly. There were several gashes of blood covering its form.The waves of the lake behind the lizard hit at it repeatedly, as if trying to wake it from its slumber. In the surroundings, the trees swayed by the gentle wind.
Slowly, the scaled creature blinked open its eyes, its hazy gaze moving to the sky above it. A hint of confusion was seen in its expression, as the lizard looked around itself.
With clear struggled, the lizard tried to stand up, first resting on one leg, then pushing the final distance. As the creature looked around itself, it showed evident confusion. It could not recognize its surroundings; in fact, it could barely fathom it.
It had never seen wood arranged in such strange, towering fashions, never seen the green vegetation growing from the ground, nor had it ever seen such a vast gathering of water.
The lizard had never left the caves, so it had never seen the wonders of the outside world.
"This is was the outside looks like?" The creature said, as it finally remembered what had happened.
The lizard remembered being chased through the corridors of the caves and caverns, escaping up the narrow tunnel of the underground river, and finally jumping to what it could only a.s.sume would hold its death.
But now, here it was. He had seen the outside for the first time, and it was even more magnificent that it could have ever dreamed.
The lizard turned around, looking back where he had come from. There was a small waterfall coming out of a small opening, just barely big enough to fit the lizard"s body, in the face of the cliff.
"I must get out of here," the lizard thought, afraid that the residents of the caves would chase him this far. With only a small amount of regret, but no hesitation, the lizard turned around and ran into the woods.
As the green and red creature ran through the trees, panic and fear heightened in his heart. He felt like the shadows falling from the trees tried to coil around him and drag him away.
Strange, high pitched sounds startled him, as tiny, winged creatures flew away. The rustling of leaves and bushes, as if a predator lay in wait. There were no small amounts of things to frighten the child-sized being.
However, no matter how long or fast he ran, nothing came for him. There was nothing or no one else around him.
And as he ran, it continued to stay that way. Nothing changed. The lizard could hardly spot a difference in his surroundings, even after hours had pa.s.sed. It was as if he had entered a maze of vegetation.
The caves he had grown up in winding and sprawling corridors, with countless dead ends, but he had lived there his entire life. He was exceedingly familiar with where to go, and where to stay away from.
But this forest was different. It just continued going in all directions. He had no landmarks to navigate by, and the entire structure of the place made him dizzy.
The sun seemed blinding to him. It was even harder to see here than in the dark caves. He couldn"t even know whether he was walking in circles or not.
But eventually, night came. The sun had set down in the horizon, and the beautiful yet strange moon had risen. The lizards darkvision set in, allowing him to see with much more clarity than before.
But that didn"t matter much. He still couldn"t tell where he was, and he could barely even recognize the path he had taken to get there.
Suddenly, the lizard had a thought. Maybe he could use those tall trees to his benefit. Get a higher vantage point. If he could at least spot the lake he"d come from, he would know in which direction he"d been traveling.
The lizard dug his claws into the wood and climbed up. But alas, nothing was recognizable. He couldn"t see the lake, nor the cliff anywhere.
Of course, he couldn"t. He"d been running for hours. Unless he"d been going in complete circles, he"d long have left it far behind him.
The lizard sighed before going back down. All he could do now was keep going in the direction he"d come from, and hope he hadn"t accidentally turned around sometime in the last few hours.
The hours continued to flow by him, as the moon raised higher and higher into the skies. Eventually, it began its descent.
By the time the sun rose once more, the lizard was exhausted. It had been on the run for more than half a day. It needed rest.
But the creature had heard many scary stories of the outside world. Supposedly, there were dangerous creatures here that would tear his throat out without a second thought.
The lizard decided that it would be better to sleep on higher ground. Thus, he climbed up a tree and found a thick and st.u.r.dy branch. It was high up enough that no one would be able to get to him, but low enough that he wouldn"t get too injured if he fell.
Even though the shiny sun shone directly down on the creature, it still managed to doze off, due to sheer exhaustion eventually.
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Author"s Note:
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