Crimson & Pewter

There weren't always dragons in the Valley. It remains unclear how they arose there and why. I first became aware of them when one of the village girls came running up to me, her clothes disheveled and braids mangled. I jumped out of my chair, spilling the coffee all over myself; "what happened to you, Alori?!" I screamed. "Sit down, darling. Relax and don't move!" I said as I started opening the cabinets furiously, looking for the first aid kit I bought by whim at the market. I conjectured she must have been caught by the train as she revealed her bloody arm - almost detached from her body; she had tied it with her own auburn braid, a bloody knot around the elbow. As the sweat poured from my forehead as I applied the bandages as gingerly as I could, she whispered, "a baby dragon wounded me."

"Nonsense," I said rather automatically in a low tone, as I struggled with the bandaging and trying to apply pressure to the wound as much as I could. Dr. Marton noticed my efforts, someone in the area must have called him, and he came and whisked the child from here. "I'll take it from here, Ramonne." And just like that, the child was lifted away from me, as I stared in disbelief at the blood on my hands, and the auburn rope braids on the floor. Seeing her tiny tear-filled pewter eyes close, filled me with an indescribable terror and fear, as if a despairing guilt would swallow me whole if she does not open them again.

"You don't love me anymore", my husband said to me one night. I winced in pain at those words. "It's not that, Yalosh, it's-" "What is it then?" He interrupted, "you don't even talk to me or look at me anymore." He cut the air with a sharp sign. I could not help but break down under that harsh sound - "I'm broken," I whispered. "I wish I could have done more to save Alori. Her eyes - I can't get it out of my head." I started to cry profusely, I had been holding it in for so long. Yalosh mustered some sympathy "Oh come on, Ramonne. You saw the gaping wound in her arm. Those dragons are vicious! There was no way to save her. You have to get that through your head!" "I know, I know!" I cried even harder, huddled on the tattered bed corner, looking at the table surface under the lamp where Dr. Marton's report notes settled. The letter arrived a few days ago and I still could not process what he wrote -

"Alori sustained fatal injuries and could not be saved by emergency surgery. Please give your regards to her parents, they need as much support as possible at this time. I myself will be organizing a fundraising gala down at the square, and I hope to see you there, Ramonne. Yours truly, Dr. Marton."

When I first opened it and read those ghastly words, my hands shook and I collapsed on the kitchen floor at Yalosh's surprise. He placed the knife and vegetables aside, saying "what is wrong with you?" "She is dead!" "Who?" He motioned for me to hand him the letter, and as he read it, his eyes filled with concern and he hugged me tighter than he had in a long time.

"These d*mn dragons, I wish they would exterminate them already. It is not your fault, Ramonne. You did everything you could to save her." He came into the room with a soothing cup of tea, placing it on top of the letter on the nightstand, and sitting beside me, running his fingers gently through my hair. A calming relief did rush over me, like being bathed after a long time. "When you left the room, I thought that you abandoned me," I admitted in a quiet voice with a nervous laugh at having said such a thing. "Well, sometimes I abandon you, sometimes I don't. Sometimes I know the right things to say, and sometimes... I'm a fool." He smiled, evoking some small laughter in us both. "Now, Ramonne, you should go to sleep - you have important work to do tomorrow."

The office phone buzzed as howling rain hit against the office's grey foggy windows. I answered in an exhausted voice, after what felt like the longest shift I had endured, "Elder City News, Ramonne Casper at your service?" "Are you the woman writing about the dragon outbreak in the valley?" "Yes, I am. Who is inquiring?" "I am a laboratory worker with perhaps some answers for the right price." Stunned, I pulled a notepad and pen off my desk quickly. "From which laboratory are you?" I inquired, puzzled at what they were suggesting. "That I will tell you once I get my due..." They hissed. I looked at the phone number digits on the screen to see if that could reveal any clues, it was labeled "unknown", and the rain pounded all the harder against the pavement outside. "Do you have a number I can call you back at?" I asked. "No, not without payment." I decided to frustratingly hang up the phone, must be spam or a crook.

"And so, some creepy woman called me today at work, claiming to work for a laboratory." I recounted to Yalosh, as I sipped another life-saving tea. "Really? Did she say which laboratory?" He asked in curiosity, looking up from his book on the other side of the couch. "No! That was the most uncanny part! She said that she would reveal it for 'the right price', can you believe it?" I laughed. He raised his eyebrow, "Well, have you talked to any laboratories so far?" I shrugged in a disheartened fashion, "There were the two in the nether-regions, recommended by Dr. Marton. Not much came from that." "And there are no other leads?" He followed. "No." I sighed, sipping the last of tea from the cup. "Okay, good night then, love."

The nightmares and hauntings continued. There would be no refreshing sleep for a while; and the storm raged on outside; and there were no leads for months besides that cryptic phone call with no return number, most likely a crook... Sometimes life feels impenetrable as a rock, murky and dense. These dragons.. there stood the risk that they could ravage us all. Already, sixteen villagers had fallen prey to them in the year. The dragons often disguised themselves, people reported. Some interviewees claimed that the dragons could shape-shift. Who is to separate rumor from truth?

-End of Chapter 1-