short story, story promptLyria wakes to find herself trapped in a metal room. Where is she and why is she there? How will she manage to escape? What do the terrifying giants want with her?


 

“What are we going to do with it?” one of the gruff voices asked.

“Black Market, of course,” another male voice said. “Something like this will sell for billions. Who wouldn’t want to get their hands on one of these? They shouldn’t even exist!”

Lyria shook her head to clear it of the fuzziness that clouded her mind. She vaguely recognised those voices, but the sound of them sent a chill through her. She glanced at her surroundings, trying to figure out where she was. How had she gotten here? Her memories were blurry and jumbled.

With a quick flutter of her wings, she pushed herself to her feet. She was in a small room that had a solid metal floor and ceiling. The walls seemed to be made out of finely woven metal strands. The gaps in the strands were just big enough for her to stick her hand out. She peered through one of the gaps, still puzzled as to where she was.

Whatever was beyond her room, it was dark, but the voices were still there, murmuring to each other. She glanced around for a door, thinking she must have missed it on her first perusal, but she still couldn’t see one. How had she gotten in here?

“Grab the package,” one of the voices said. “I’ll get the van ready. We’ll need to show ‘er to the Broker.”

The sound of something massive moving around and coming towards her tiny room had her scrambling to the opposite side. She gasped in shock and collapsed to the metal floor as the whole room was jerked upwards. The room tilted on an angle, causing her slide along the floor until she slammed into the wall. She winced as the room continued to judder. Where in the Realm of Fairyland was she?

Something outside her room creaked loudly, then slammed, like a door opening and closing – only it must have been a truly massive door to make such a racket. Bright light streamed through all the tiny gaps in her room, creating a patchwork pattern on the floor. Pressing her face against the wall, she squinted to get a glimpse of what lay beyond her prison.

Giants.

She was surrounded by giants!

She bit her lip to stop from shrieking out loud. Heart pounding, she took a deep breath. I need to focus! I have to get myself out of this mess! She still wasn’t entirely sure how she’d managed to get herself into this predicament. Her mind remained fuzzy on that memory.

She gazed out of her prison, which she now realised was a cage. They were heading towards a large blue metal contraption which grumbled constantly. Her captor opened a door in the metal thing and dropped her cage on a seat inside. She winced as the jolt went through her.

“D’you think it’s still alive?” one of the voices asked.

“Dunno. Don’t think it really matters to the Black Market buyers. They’d take one if it was dead or alive.”

“Should I check on it?”

Lyria tensed. If they opened the cage, she’d be able to fly out and escape.

“Don’t be stupid,” the other giant said. “It’ll fly away if you let it out. We can’t risk losing it. This is our big payday!”

Her heart sank. So much for that plan. She’d have to find her own way out.


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