The Volcano - Visual Inspiration

I created these pictures with Dreame App AI, to create inspirational images, for some of the major scenes in my story. (These are for FATE OF THE GIFTED)

After climbing through the night until passing out from sheer exhaustion, Kai is startled awake late in the day. Something strange is happening.

~*~

In the valley, dark waves surged northward. The reddish smoke rolled down from the mountain at the back of the canyon. As his eyes rested on the strange black mountain, distant thunderous rumbling came from its direction. It towered over the other peaks surrounding the valley. Glowing red veins ran down scarred sides, which bellowed the smoke.

This was no mountain; it was a volcano.

No one had ever mentioned anything about a volcano. At least, not around Kai. People left the sanctuary when the smoke appeared three days ago, declaring it a bad omen.

By the appearance of things, those people were right.

Kai couldn't see into the top from his ledge, but he could see lava. It splashed as it bubbled and boiled. It sloshed its way over the rim, splattering the mountainside and trickling down the scars and veins.

This was new. Kai hadn’t seen glowing last night.

It will destroy the sanctuary and everything else in the valley. All the beautiful towering trees, gone. All the homes, gone.

Half of him wanted to rush down the mountain and warn the guards and others remaining in Windy Tree Hill. The other half of him didn’t want to take the chance. His heart knocked against his chest, louder in his ears than the whistling wind.

“Kree-eee-ar! Kreeee-eeeee-aar!” came a screechy shriek from above.

Kai gasped as his body jerked in surprise. He pressed hard against the rock, hoping whatever it was couldn't see him.

“Kreeee-ee-ear!” The scream was closer this time.

Pounding echoed in his ears so loud, he thought his heart might explode. He tried to calm his racing breath and looked around for an escape. No sooner than he looked left and then right, he saw it. It came down from the right. Less than fifty feet away, gliding towards him, was a white and reddish bird.

~*~

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