Waking Dreams 2014

[laudomia]

Long waves of cobras and whips of adders wrinkled the sand of the tomb floor. Rats ran the gauntlet in a torrent of squealing terror. A brown hood struck, gulped hairy, squirming rodent down its gullet. Another victim went stiff from adder bite. Eyes wide, the doomed one followed its tail below sand.

“Clear them out so we can work,” the one-eared

Comments

[patricia_writes]

You've done an AMAZING job contrasting the ordinary and the fantastic. Wow. Esme seems to be so ordinary, but I think that given the fact that she's hiding her sex, she's quite extra-ordinary herself. She possesses some magical knowledge at least.

And Ptah's slave...I want to know so much more about her!

Great play on the prompts as well as the dream concept!

[laudomia]

Ah, thanks, Trish. Sorry this isn't very dreamlike--though, if it helps, I've thought about this story many times before sleeping. It's an alternative history-Steampunk tale with lots of fantasy. I missed writing fantasy after working on real-world suspense for so long. Glad you liked!

[lewlinx]

The imagery made this feel like a lucid dream of sorts, where Esme can feel and manipulate her surroundings.

Ptah's Slave seems like formidable force; the help Esme needed to escape whatever gruesome fate awaited her at the tomb. I wonder what adventures these two will get into once in Amerika.

[laudomia]

Thanks, LL. It'll be a Steampunk adventure, that much I know. Think it could be fun.

[authoress_susan]

Snakes! Why did it have to be snakes?

What a refreshing vignette, even if it had s-s-snakes. I have a vivid imagine in my mind of the entire scene. I could almost taste the dust and sand. I felt the relief of the rescue too. Or at least I hope that's what it was. Who knows what might lay ahead in Amerika? (Hopefully not snakes!) Well done, as expected from you, L.

[laudomia]

So glad you got a strong sense of place! I wasn't sure I could get that across in just a few words. Thanks so much for the encouragement.