Ella Spitler
WoB Short Story Contest 10/23/24
The Key
“Huff, huff, huff.” I breathe heavily as I whip past endless amounts of green trees.
“GET HER!” a low scratchy male voice yells. Thousands of troops' footsteps pound through the woods like a stampede of buffalo. My throat burns and my muscles ache but I can’t stop moving or it’s the end of the line.
“SHE HAS THE KEY!” Another voice yells, closer this time. They are gaining on me.
“Darn it.“ I mutter breathlessly. Sweat rolls down my face and down my neck, giving me no comfort My long black hair gets caught on twisted branches only making things more difficult
Why am I being chased you ask? Apparently, being 5’4, having big brown eyes, and a very tattered beige dress makes me a key The key to the Time Box The big, pudgy blue guards think I stole the key That it's an object they can hold and possess They are wrong of course I am the key A living one Me And only me I’ve known since just two minutes ago as I was being arrested for being “dangerous to society” I was told by a backstabbing traitor of a brother who turned me in for a ransom Ha! Him and all his big talk about family
I jump over a mossy log and there it is The Time Box Roots climb and intertwine with each other forming a door Moss clung to any spot of moisture it could find, overruling many of the plants. Stairs of old stone lead up to the Box. It feels ancient…..powerful. I feel as if it is calling me somehow. No person has activated it in many, many years. There are only myths, but myths are always based on something real. It is said that a new key is born every millennium and is bound to protect the world beyond the Time Box. I waste no time dashing for the door.
Blue soldiers burst from the hedge and try to grab me, but it’s too late I close my eyes as I dash into the unknown
Warmth surrounds me as if I’m in some sort of- “She’s awake!” a high voice says, curiosity forcing me to open my eyes I’m in a very small room filled with swords and axes Fur matts of dead animals and scaly armor hangs on the red painted walls A single lantern illuminates the room sending rushes of unease throughout my body Wow, really welcoming “What- what happened?” I ask, my voice sounding groggy “ It’s about time you woke up ” A small child replies as they sit beside the ground where I lay She has curly blonde hair, round blue eyes, and bright pink cheeks My mind screams danger I have to get out of here! I immediately spring up and burst out the door I’m not sticking around in a house filled with things that can kill me. Is this the world beyond the Time Box? Who is she?
My jaw drops as I take in my surroundings. Floating islands of blooming flowers scatter across the baby blue sky. Towers of crystal crawl through what looks like a kingdom. Some are small and some are large enough to meet the islands! Purple trees sway in the wind with the laughing children. Dragons of all colors, shapes, and sizes cover both ground and sky. Some people are even riding them! Large leaves are used as parachutes or sleds. The children laugh as they make it to the end of the hill. They pick up their leaves and start again. “Beautiful isn’t it?” The little blonde haired girl says, standing right next to me I didn’t even notice she was there Her eyes darkened far too much for any young girl should “But it’s all an illusion ” she says, dragging the words out as if it hurt her to say “Illusion?” I ask, confused “ This was our kingdom before the Klandrill invasion ” Suddenly everything froze The dragons, the trees, the wind, the children Everything “This is what it is now” The vibrant colors of the fairytale world faded and what remained struck me like a blow to the gut The sky was no longer blue, just a depressing gray Floating rocks crumbled bit by bit and no tree was left unscorched The laughing faces, gone Just a barren wasteland of absolute decay “We’ve been waiting for you I’ve been waiting for you For this very moment when our key will return to us and save our
people ” I couldn't believe what I was hearing Her people are dying Her planet is dying and she wants me? She wants me to save them? I was not aware that being the key would come with such a burden “You seem to be very wise considering your age ” I say trying to avoid the doom cloud that hangs over us She gave me an annoyed look “I’m 7,845 years old ” “Excuse me?” I say shocked not fully believing my ears But she only smirked “The name is Virah ”
“ I’m-“ I stopped I don’t have a name Being an orphan really doesn’t give you the gift of one “ Call me Key” I finished Virah just looked out into her home land now taken by the hands of the- wait what did she call them- “ Who are the Kilandrill?“ I ask She sighed “They are not from our world and we have little to none information about them All we know is that they came to gain land and never look them in the eyes.”
“What would happen if I looked them in the eyes?” The solemn look of disdain was my only answer. “You need to be trained. And to stay hidden. The Kilandrill have soldiers positioned everywhere. You are The Key we cannot lose you. Losing you would mean the loss of our entire world.“ She didn't have to say it like that!
It honestly scares me. As soon as I stepped foot into this world, I had the weight of the Time Box’s people’ life on my shoulders. I’m only 18. What do they expect from me? What can I do? “ Come ” Virah commanded as she led me back into the hut hidden well by sticks and mud, not to mention it’s half underground I guess I was too distracted to even notice Once inside she handed me a long gold sheath with the sword handle sticking out from its top It was the shape of a key Silver crystal formed roses and vines that trailed the edges of the sheath It’s fit for a king, not a just- turning-into-an -adult-nieve-kid I carefully held it in my arms and I noticed an engravement on its side “ The Key “ Guess it’s the real deal then Looks like I'm going to have to fight This is all so crazy It’s as if I’m in a dream I can't get out of Let’s hope it doesn’t turn into a nightmare
“Virah, I don’t know how to wield a sword, muchless fight with one “ I’ve never picked up any weapon in my life “Come ” Virah commanded again I followed her to the very back of her hut She grabbed an axe twice the size of her body but held it with terrifying ease “Ack! Please don’t hurt me!” I cried jumping away from the deadly child “Calm down princess, I’m not going to hurt you ” She said as she swung the axe into her wall What is she doing? Why is she cutting down her own home? Pieces of wood flung in all directions making me have to dodge and duck
To my surprise there was a passageway Ominous stairs lead down into a dark abyss A gust of cool air jumped out at me from the darkness Wind from a basement?
I reluctantly followed Virah down the mysterious stairs The light from the hut slowly faded and only black remained I could feel my body shake as I had second guesses about my choices. It didn’t take long before light started flowing back into the stairway. I gasped.
At the end of the stairs was a whole new world. There is a sky underground! Huge plants sprouted out from all over. There were people who had small huts seated in a circle around the fire. They looked just like me but their eyes were shaded in a way that made me shiver. They had seen much more than I ever had. Every person carried the weight of a loved one's death. I could tell, it wafted in the air.
A middle aged woman with a pointed nose and long brown hair walked up to me and spoke in a language I couldn’t understand Virah translated “She welcomes you and is excited to train you ” She’s my trainer? She’s taller than me but is quite thin It doesn’t look like she has an ounce of muscle on her I gripped the sword which somehow made it to my side down the stairwell “Go with Melkani, Key She’s much stronger than she looks ”
I nodded and followed in Melkani’s pursuit She led me past oversized flowers and caterpillars And finally we made it to a clearing Well, to be a bit more specific, a cliff If I fell I fear I would have fallen forever because I couldn't see the bottom Without warning she lunged at me Sword and all, with surprising speed I involuntarily unsheathed my sword and lifted it to my defense She smirked and attempted another blow to the right I blocked again It feels like
my body knows how to fight but my mind doesn’t I’m relying only on reflexes How long will that last me? I tried to analyze her moves but she was too fast Just as she was about to pierce my leg Melkani suddenly stopped and I soon understood why My sword, The Key’s sword, glowed And so did I The hairs on my arms rose with electricity My heart hammered in my chest My sword moved on its own pointing to the sky Clouds rumbled in response rolling and twisting to form, what looked like, a key Golden light shot out from my body going in many directions at once The ground beneath me cracked and struggled to keep itself together My mouth moved on its own, slowly, but just as powerful “I am The Key ” Does Key learn to fight? Does she take down the Kilandrill and save Virah’s world? Or does she let them all down and be the cause of the Time Box’s destruction? I took you this far, but the rest is up to you.