Zook Focker – Prelude 1

Zook peeked through the keyhole, into his parents’ workshop. It was not rare for them to work late into the evening. Most nights, Mother Focker would sing Zook to sleep and then return to her husband to continue working. Zook was used to late night bangs and pops from the workshop and usually would not awaken…but tonight, something was different. It was quiet. 

The inside of the workshop was abnormally bright. His parents conversed in hushed tones. They answered questions that weren’t asked. As if there was someone else in the room, another person in the conversation that Zook could not see or hear.

The light in the room changed. Flashes of blue lightning crept along the walls. Silently, a flat plane of red light grew into existence in the middle of the room. Zooks Father walked into view, holding an odd looking, spherical device that he kept making adjustments to. The red light formed into a tunnel. The light coalesced into shapes and images. Another place.

Through the tunnel was a barren and broken desert. The horizon burned in the far distance. In the sky, burning mountains slowly fell but never seemed to hit the ground. The images changed and there was a beautiful green field. Long legged creatures roamed a beautiful garden. The images shifted again, so subtly, Zook was not sure if the previous visions were true. Now a vast frozen mountain towered high into the sky. The portal blinked out and all was dark.

Zook ran to his room and jumped into bed. It took hours to fall asleep that night, then he dreamed of the portal. He dreamt of the burning desert. He dreamt of great machines that hunted the flaming fields. A metal coach, powered by torment and screams. A gnomish invention maybe, but nothing like his parents would build. It had teeth and claws. It was meant for destruction and murder…it was oddly beautiful.