Bridges of Sand

“DEAR GOD, SUNI NO”, cried the man in the wheelchair, forgetting his own peril! Luc was horrified! The small girl had jumped off the island in the massive kitchen and was running with her little white dog to bar the giant lizard’s escape route that Luc had just left! She pulled the dagger out of her pocket again and was standing squarely in front of the hissing, lead reptile! Running, a lizard leaped onto a chair and from there, flew at the girl, fanged jaws agape! She deftly moved aside and gave a two-handed slash at the creature. It fell, throat slit, flopping on the floor. The rest of the reptiles encircled the girl and were darting at her from different sides. She moved her body each time, a hairs breadth away from jaws, or tail spikes, as she glided and twirled over the floor! Unbelievably, the girl was holding her own against the attacking lizards! Her movements were a kind of mesmerizing dance, and Luc was entranced by it! She moved with her attackers as if they were her dance partners. Occasionally she slashed one as they spun by each other, as if this was part of the choreography, and that the lizards, knowing their parts, were dutifully acting them out. Even the death scenes. The white dog was playing it’s part as well, harassing and blocking lizard attempts to get behind the girl. How long could this tiny pair do this he frantically wondered? Then, deep baying drowned out the kitchen cacophony! Two new shaggy combatants came sliding around the corner into the kitchen, and these dogs were huge! People were flying in also, and the first one Luc saw was Ava! She grabbed down a long-handled skillet from an overhead rack and sent a creature flying! Another ran, spiked tail lashing, up behind her and she had to leap over it, her long blonde hair flying! It spun and was coming at her again when Luc’s thrown spear caught it in the throat! Yanking the spear out, she tossed it back to him! Two people, a tall man with no sleeves on his blood-spattered shirt, and a red-haired woman, ran in as well, brandishing long swords. ‘Now those are proper weapons’, Luc thought! “LUC, HAVE YOU SEEN THE GIRLS?” yelled Ava, flattening an advancing lizard, the pan making a ka-WANG-ing sound! “NOT YET AVA!” Luc speared a reptile about to leap on the girl! The man in the wheelchair was wielding his kitana maniacally and with deadly results, heedless of his own peril! There were more reptiles coming out of the tall, stone walls, but it was more as if they were fleeing something! One nearly made it out of the high window only to be yanked back in by its tail! There were loud hissing sounds of a ferocious battle going on behind the wall up there! The man and woman joined the fight, shielding the little girl, and her dwindling attackers succumbed to swords, or the giant dogs’ jaws. The remaining ones, scattered around the kitchen, stopped attacking. They even stopped defending themselves, and merely were killed where they stood, hissing, and glaring at their killers! Soon everything took on a weird silence! “SUNI”, cried the man in the wheelchair, when he was finally able to reach her! He held her face in his hands, as if to make sure she was real and intact! “WOOEEI, DADI”, she shouted! “WE TAUGHT ‘EM SOMETHIN’! RIGHT?” The child was excitedly grinning at her father, and Luc recognized the thrill of battle on her small, shining face! “Oh, WHY would you RISK yourself like that Suni,” cried the wheelchair man!” “Those lizards couldn’t get me Dadi, ya know, ‘cuz, ‘cuz, they told me what they were gonna do, an’ then, an’ then, I went ta places where they couldn’t get me!” Suni sounded so sure of herself, Luc thought, like his two-year-old Tina. Meanwhile, Ava was standing in shock, looking around! “LUC, where are our DAUGHTERS? Where ARE we?” Dropping her skillet, Ava was in his arms, relieved, but bewildered! Surveying the gory battleground, Ava shouted, “AND WHAT HAVE YOU ALL DONE TO MY KITCHEN!” The older man and woman approached them with cool appraisal, Luc thought. “You both fought well, THANK YOU”, said the wavy-haired man! “I am Michael Andros.” He was tall, with blue eyes that matched Luc’s, and had a refined handsomeness, plus a feeling of calm mastery, as did the armed woman by his side. “Thyla Andros” said the red-haired woman, calmly evaluating them. She was a beautiful lady, and even though she had just been swinging a two-handed battle sword and had been running fast through the long Great Hall with heavy weapons, her breath was slow and even, and her flowing red hair was not even damp. “Wait! You are the red-haired horsewoman!” exclaimed Luc. “Where are the others? Did they survive the river?” Thyla tilted her head a little, and asked, “You saw the rescue at the river?” She had radiantly green eyes. Ava broke in, “You know, we are Glad for you and your Family! We certainly wish you all the best, but we MUST find our little girls! And, if you haven’t seen them, we will be on our way.” She grasped Luc firmly by his unbloodied, good hand and was headed for the kitchen doors. The deafening sound from the collision rocked the room, and all eyes went to the glass double doors! A giant black beast had charged itself into them! The shock had knocked items off the walls and shelves! Stunned, the beast regained its feet, its forward-facing horns shattered at the tips. Painfully gathering itself, it stumbled back up the stone stairs leading to the West Bridge. “An AUROCH attacking the DOORS?” cried Luc! “They are so GENTLE! What is HAPPENING? Why are we UNDER ATTACK? Where are our GIRLS? WHO ARE YOU PEOPLE, and why does ANDROS sound like I should KNOW it?”