Most Painful Crumple Creative Writing

CHAPTER TEN

Bonus Points for the Most Painful Crumple

Shadow Mountain was shaped kind of like a cone that spiraled upward to form a sharp snow capped peak. There were lush green meadows on either side and a river of fire spanned by a rope bridge. It rolled to the edge of a gaping pit, and dropped off in a glowing red cascade, splashing hot sparks into the air. Colorful Firebirds fluttered in enormous twisted oaks while hundreds of stinky skunk apes foraged for plum-colored worms in a grassy field rippling with pink and white wildflowers. They were tall—at least ten feet—but crooked, with bowed legs, gorilla arms that shot off in angles, and curly matted orange fur, glinting gold in the midday light. Some were dressed for the hunt wearing taupe,

When I finally regained enough strength to stand, Mason wrapped my arm around his neck and helped me stumble across the yard. Then he made a hasty retreat into the twilight.

My mom was sitting in the front room knitting with her huge orange tabby cat curled up on her lap when I burst through the front door. She instantly overreacted, dropping her needles into a basket. The cat hissed and jumped to the floor.

“What’s going on, Aiden?” she asked. “Are you all right? Where have you been? And what happened to your head?”

“I’ve checked for signs of a concussion and I’m not feeling foggy, or confused. I’m fine Mom, really,” I lied. “I just fell off the swing,” I doubled lied and glanced at the ground.

“Of course, honey,” she heaved a dramatic sigh. “But you’ll need a Band-Aid.”

I followed her down the hall and into the kitchen and sat at the table that was next to a pair of large French doors. Moonlight filtered through the leaves outside as if through lace, speckling the floor in shadows.

She pulled out her medical supplies and began cocooning me in a white tornado until I was wrapped tight as a mummy, with nothing showing but my eyes. Then just to be sure, Mom placed a bunny Band-Aid in the middle of my forehead. I staggered arms outstretched, stiffly kicking one leg in front of the other up to my