The Ladies of Horror
Picture-Prompt Writing Challenge!

Gold
by Kathleen McCluskey

James could hear the wind howling as his tent rattled violently from the gusts. He sat back and listened intently, he tried to block out the sounds of the night and focus on a different vibration coming from the desolate, frozen wasteland. His captors, long gone, thought that the cold would be the beginning of his demise. Little did they know that his kind could survive in the most extreme climate, including here in this icy realm.

He twisted his wrists, trying in vain to remove the golden cuffs. His captors were smarter than he had anticipated and captured him with the only metal on the planet that could contain him: gold. His capture was quite pedestrian and he was disappointed in himself that he was so easily incarcerated. The moment that he knew that they were planning an arctic expulsion for him, he smiled inwardly. His kind would find him.

James closed his eyes and began to hum, a song that would only be heard by his kind. His purring became louder and louder until cutting through the howling wind a response was heard. James popped open his eyes and began to howl. A reassuring howl responded. His family was close, he threw his head back and inhaled deeply though his nose. He could smell his kind. He searched frantically for something, anything to release himself from the golden constraints.

James could hear soft sniffing as a large, white nose pushed through the door of the tent. It pushed a key, the key to his freedom, into the tent. Unlocking the handcuffs and exiting the tent James began to transform. He was elated to finally be free of this human form. His body convulsed as his true being began to emerge. Large talons emerged and long white fur replaced his vulnerable human skin. He was once again part of the abominable snowman tribe. Howling the song of the Yeti, he embraced his female and the troop fled back into their frozen domain.

Fiction © Copyright Kathleen McCluskey
Image courtesy of Pixabay.com

More from Kathleen McCluskey:

The Long Fall: Book 1: The Inception of Horror

Lucifer always cunning and intelligent challenges father to a battle of wits. Being the angel of light he casts a judgemental eye upon mankind. He begins a war with his fellow archangels and God. Michael, along with his siblings defend their home and mankind from their deranged brother. Broad swords and hand to hand combat drench heaven in blood. The four apocalyptic steeds are released, each having their own destructive power. Betrayal and lust are at biblical levels. Understand the very creation of evil and the consequenses that transpire in the first of THE LONG FALL series.

Available on Amazon!