Tinder
The world was never quite right. Things never worked out for the ones who needed them. Ellee was one of those for whom nothing worked out.
How else does a young woman find herself standing guard outside at night, with nothing but a stick to guard herself. The stick was sharp, but that was about all it had going for it. It wasn’t even that long.
Something heavy walked through the night. The something heavy. No one in the village knew what it was. It took each sacrifice silently, beyond the sight of people.
Ellee wasn’t angry that it was her turn to be sacrificed. She couldn’t be. She had been more than happy to stand on the side and watch the others go, glad that she hadn’t been picked. There was no use in pointing out the moral failings of the sacrifices.
The village got to sleep safe for a year. That’s all they cared about. Hard to blame them, on the other side of the wall.
Ellee shivered as the night grew dark around her. No one had ever survived the night they were sacrificed on. She knew that she wasn’t about to be the first. If she could score a wound on the thing, that would be victory.
The heavy thing grew closer. She tightened her grip on the spear. Then a light appeared in the distance, near where the trees stopped.
Ellee snorted. This beast was going to have to do more than turn on a light to get her to leave the safety of the walls.
The light came closer, not bobbing as it was but approaching straight. Ellee held fast.
A voice called out to her, loud enough that she could here, but not carry over the walls. “Are you the sacrifice?”
Ellee looked over the walls. How could they not know who this was? There was only one answer. They didn’t want to know. Every other sacrifice, Ellee had been fast asleep before dusk, trying not to think about it.
“Yeah,” she said as confidently as she could.
The light paused, shifting back and forth. “Okay. I accept. I think they did well this year.”
“Who?” Ellee asked.
The light advanced again. “I don’t know, whoever does the picking. I like short girls with fire in them. You fit the bill. I hope I’m what you were looking for.”
Ellee growled and threw her spear.
“Woah,” the voice said. “That was so cool. Like a real Amazon.”
“Who are you?”
The figure paused. She could just make out his figure. “I’m the dragon from the distant hills.” He pointed off to the east. “All my friends swear by this dating service. They all met their spouses here, and well, there I am, like a doofus at their parties, watching them all with their wives and I’m still single so I said ‘hey, what the heck, might as well give it a go.’ You know? So I fill out a questionnaire and showed up when they told me to. I realize this must look a little weird.” The figure laughed weakly. “This is dumb. I’m sorry, you’re probably into vampires or something.”
