Prompt 11: Predatory Puddles
Summer rains aren’t uncommon, so finding puddles dotting your path isn’t in itself particularly surprising or abnormal. However, as you walk past them, you feel the sensation of being watched, like eyes are on you. If you look into the puddles, you don’t see your reflection--nor the reflection of anything familiar to you. Instead, you see strange, decayed buildings, and odd, rotting plants. Something is watching you through the puddles, but before you can investigate, between one blink and the next, it’s all gone. When you look back, the puddles are oddly non-reflective, and then in the next blink, they’re all gone. The feeling of being watched doesn’t fade, though.
Vaylin looked at the weather app on her human phone hoping the rain would let up before she had to walk home after her classes for the day were finished. Luckily for her the rain was projected by the human meteorologists to end within the hour. She let out a relieved sigh as she returned her attention to the lecture on natural science. She found human insight into their natural world fascinating, it was not entirely correct as they did not understand the nature of magic or energy that pervaded the whole universe but still it was interesting to hear another understanding of science.
Once her classes finished up she collected her notebook and textbook in her backpack and headed for home. The sun was bright in the sky but the earth was still wet from the previous downpour. She walked by a number of puddle on the damp ground. As she walked by these puddles Vaylin suddenly had a terrible feeling, she felt like she was being watched. As a soldier Vaylin learned to trust her instinct when she like someone was stalking her. Glancing around trying to spot her would be observer she didn't see anyone so she discreetly checked her ComTech but she didn't see the energy signature of anyone nearby.
She was beginning to think she might be losing it when she glanced at one of the puddles. Instead of the expected reflection of herself and the surrounding buildings she saw something very strange, decayed rotting building and plants that Vaylin had never seen were visable on the water's surface. She thought it might be another world, but if that was the case then it was obvious there was something very wrong with this world. It wasn't just a dead world of some parallels dimension no she could feel something watching her from that puddle. It made a shiver run down her spine, this was dangerous, she didn't like an unknown entity in an unknown realm watching this world from the reflections of a puddle of rain water. She moved to investigate it further but within the blink of an eye the visage disappeared. The puddle reflected nothing and within another blink it was all gone, excepted for her feeling of being watch.
Still feeling eyes burning a hole in her she decided she needed to get back to her apartment quickly. She took off running, not bothering to stop to check other puddles she past. She needed to make a report of this to send back to the Commodore, if there was indeed another world watching this one whatever its nature then the Vanguard needed to be aware of it so that they could be prepared. Once she reached her front door she quickly shut it and put the deadbolt on. She kept her sword near her as she began to draft a report of what she had seen today. She was thankful if something was watching her it at least did not make a move to actually attack her. The amount of magical phenomena on this world would never cease to amaze the young Corporal.
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