The Story of William: Part 2

CHAPTER 2

            All around William were the carcasses of the ugly creatures.  He looked closer at them and saw their rat-like heads with their enormous bat-like wings.  William shuddered.  The creatures were about the size of him.  He could not bear the sight of them any longer; he had to turn away.

            William felt blood trickle down the back of his head.  He touched it, and felt around, and found a big gash.  “If only this mist would clear up,” William thought.  “I could find the spring the messenger told me about.”  The mist did clear up, and soon William could see the spring.  He bent down, and bathed his wound with the icy-cold water.  The water felt good.

            William took a little food out of his bag and started to eat it.  The path started to become steeper and steeper.  He was now at the edge of the canyon.  He looked around at his surroundings and soaked in the beautiful view.  The kingdom of Anthropoly was far bigger than he had ever imagined it to be. 

            In the middle of the city there was a huge fortress, with houses and marketplaces surrounding it.  There was a wall surrounding the city, with a double moat that seemed to be at least an eighth of a mile wide.  In front of the kingdom, there was a lush, dark forest.  There were a few paths leading to the Kingdom, and William saw that one of them led to the dark, looming fortress of the Malice.

            He saw a path that seemed less traveled on.  “If this city doesn’t like the One True King,” he thought “I need to be as cautious as possible.”  William decided as he made a mental note to avoid the busy main road.  He lay down in the shelter of a scrubby tree and slept.

            The next morning, William followed the path that had seemed to go straight to the kingdom of Anthropoly.  He had been on it for a few hours, when the underbrush around him seemed to be getting thicker.  A few hundred yards later, he could not even see the path. 

            William looked around him.  All the trees looked the same.  They looked angry, and threatening.  Their branches, black on one side, and yellow on the other, seemed to reach out toward him.  William shivered as he realized that he was lost.