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Dragon Watch

A Fantasy Prologue

By Julie LacksonenPublished 2 years ago Updated 2 years ago 9 min read
17
Drawing by author

There weren't always dragons in the valley. It's my fault that they're here.

I, Hubert Oscar Roland III, age 12, am responsible for an invasive species which may wipe out...

our small mammal population. You expected me to say humanity? These dragons do not eat humans. More on that later.

It all started when my only friend - well, more like an acquaintance - asked me to go on his birthday camping trip on Raven Mountain. Mark Leroy was my neighbor. I didn't really like the idea of camping, but my mom insisted I go. I wasn't often invited to such events. You see, I'm a nerd, a geek, a dork. I'd rather do an entire booklet worth of math problems or spend a day doing science experiments than suffering the indignity of a 40-minute physical education class. I have hardly ever left Raven Valley.

My parents were so excited that they bought me a new pup tent, a compass, and a bunch of gadgets I was unlikely to utilize. My mom gave me a half hour lecture on everything from bears to using my epi pen. I was sprayed down with insect repellant and sunscreen, making me thoroughly chemically covered. Finally, that afternoon, Mark's dad drove us up to the campsite.

Mark's friends, Reggie and Tom, were the others participating. I was pretty sure Mark’s mom had forced him to invite me. His parents were going to camp about a mile away to give us some freedom, but close at hand if needed. We set up our tents around the fire ring, and then said goodbye to Mark's parents.

Mark wanted to climb pine trees first. I didn't go very high, but I was determined to try to fit in as much as possible by attempting everything the others did. Mark was way up in his tree, which was swaying with the breeze. I was impressed.

The next activity was Capture the Flag. I was paired with Reggie, who was the tallest, having already hit a growth spurt. Tom and Mark were more athletic. I was good at strategy. We all established boundaries. The rules were simple. The first team to get the others' flag on their side won. Flags could not be hidden. If someone got tagged, they had to count aloud 10 full seconds before they could move.

My plan was to have Reggie guard our flag while I snuck around the outside border to snag theirs from behind. I was almost in position when I heard Mark counting. I hoped Reggie was repositioning our flag as planned. I saw Tom near their yellow flag. I ran up behind him and tagged him. He yelled, "Shit!" and then started counting as I grabbed their flag and ran. I heard Mark yell, "Gotcha!" and Reggie started counting as well. I heard running to the right and saw the flash of our red flag, but I kept moving.

Mark and I yelled, "Flag captured," simultaneously. Exhausted, we gathered by the tents. Mark shook my hand and said, "Good game, Hubert."

I said, "Hey, I'll give you the win. It's your birthday."

With a grin, he said, "Naw, a tie makes it fun. I'll get you next time." He pointed to the firepit. "Let's make dinner."

I found myself genuinely smiling, having more fun than I knew was possible.

We started a fire and roasted hot dogs, piling on the fixings. Then, it was time for s'mores. I fastidiously turned my stick to get a golden-brown marshmallow, while Tom dunked his right into the fire to char it. We gave him shit, but the advantage was that his method was fast. He grabbed a third marshmallow while I was still working on my first.

By then, it was dark, and we told scary stories until late. I didn't know any, but I made up something about screaming ghosts, and the others seemed to enjoy it.

We doused the fire and stirred it as Mark's dad had instructed. We were all tired. We got into our tents and turned off the flashlights.

Within five minutes, I heard snoring. Mark yelled, "Reggie, go turn Tom on his side, will you?"

I heard grumbling and zippers. The snoring subsided. I heard a zipper close, and then, "What the hell? Who's there? Not funny, you guys. Who hit my cheek? That hurt!" I heard Reggie get into his tent and close his zipper. Then, we heard shrieking noises. Reggie yelled, "Come on, Hubert, enough with your screaming ghosts. We're trying to sleep."

I spoke up, "It wasn't..." My sentence was interrupted by more shrieks.

Reggie called, "Mark, is that you?"

I heard, "No, I'm still in my..." Yet more shrieks. Mark explained, "It's just some animal. Maybe we'll see tracks in the morning. Let's just try to get some sleep."

After a fitful night, we woke up early. We saw no animal tracks. Reggie had a scratch on his face where he got struck.

Tom asked, "Should we leave?"

Mark's shoulders slumped. He replied, "I'll call my parents."

After a quick conversation, he reported, "They were about to eat breakfast and then break camp. They'll be here in an hour. Let's have a breakfast bar and then shoot my slingshot while we're waiting."

"Sounds fun," Reggie smiled. "Especially the eating part. I'm starving."

We finished off a box of cereal bars, along with the s'mores ingredients, and an apple each.

Mark's slingshot had a hard plastic handle, a soft armrest, and three powerful bands. It packed quite a punch. When it was my turn, I aimed for a tree and hit it dead center. My second pebble hit off to the right. A branch cracked and something blue fell out of the tree.

"Whoa, Hubert," Mark exclaimed, "You hit something. Stand down so we can check it out."

I lowered the weapon and we all walked to the tree. At the base, a blue egg with yellow dots had landed on a bed of leaves. It wasn't much bigger than a golf ball. I looked in the tree, then picked up the egg. I shrugged, "I must have bumped the branch rather that hitting the egg. Birds are likely to abandon it, but I have a heat lamp for my snake, Fred. I think I can incubate it."

Mark shrugged and smirked, "Okay, Mama Bird, go for it."

I set the egg aside while I took down my tent. I told Mark, "I'll let you know if the egg starts hatching."

"Sure," he said, working on his own tent.

*

When we got to Mark's house, I started jogging home, yelling over my shoulder, "I'll come get my stuff after I secure the egg."

My parents were with friends, not expecting me so soon.

In my bedroom, I carefully set a towel in Fred's feeding container, put the egg on it, and clamped on the heating lamp. "I hope you're okay, little bird," I spoke soothingly. It started wobbling, and I heard tiny cracking noises. "Whoa! Already?"

I ran back to Mark's and told him the egg was hatching. He said, "I'll help you carry your stuff, and we can both watch. I've never seen a bird egg like that, so I want to see what kind it is."

We dropped my stuff in the garage and I showed him to my room. Mark looked around at my outer space decor, my periodic chart on the wall, and the science books on my shelves and chuckled, "You really are a nerd, aren't you?"

I laughed it off, "Yeah." I pointed, "Here's the egg." It was really shaking by then. We watched intently, and then the top broke off. The bird shook its head.

When it stretched its wings, we gasped. They looked more like the leathery wings of a bat. The creature shrieked.

Mark's eyes went wide. "Holy shit. That's what we heard on the mountain. What is this thing?"

I raised my shoulders. "I've never seen a bird like it. I know bats are mammals. They don't lay eggs, so it can't be that."

Mark watched it flap, noting its yellow, cat-like eyes and its brown, scaly skin. "Oh my God, Hubert, I think it's some kind of dragon!"

I crinkled my nose and eyebrows, "I thought dragons were supposed to be huge. Wouldn't we have seen giant dragons on the mountain?"

The baby dragon shrieked even louder and more incessantly while flapping its wings. I said, "I think it's hungry. I'll see if it'll eat one of Fred's mice."

I warmed a small frozen mouse by running it under water. When I held it with tongs in front of the dragon, it snatched it up and gulped it down. It flapped more, lifting itself inches off the towel before falling on its backside. We chuckled.

I said, "As much as I'd like to keep this thing, we'd better take it to my backyard. I unclamped the lamp and put the lid gently on Fred's container so the dragon couldn't escape inside the house.

Mark carried it for me, and I opened the doors. When I took the lid off, the dragon flew up and smacked into my face. I yelled, "Ouch!" and slapped at it. Undeterred, it flew up and landed on a branch of our ash tree.

I sighed, checking my face for blood. It wasn't too bad. "Well, Maybe Pebbles will find his way home."

Mark smiled, "Nice name, but shouldn't we call someone? I mean, this is possibly an undiscovered species, right? We could be famous!"

"I'll see if he's still here in the morning and then we'll go from there."

"Hey, Hubert. I had fun at the campout." He slugged my arm. "I'm glad you came."

"Me too. If you want, we can see if you can spend the night. We have a guestroom."

"Sure. Then we can be on 'Dragon Watch' together."

That night, we heard the ghostly screaming noises again. Mark slept on the floor in my room. In the morning, perched on the ash tree, were hundreds of little dragons, none bigger than a raven. A stray cat was going crazy trying to chase them.

These little guys may not be big enough to eat humans, but Dragon Watch just got interesting.

Drawing by author

Fantasy
17

About the Creator

Julie Lacksonen

Julie has been a music teacher at a public school in Arizona since 1987. She enjoys writing, reading, walking, swimming, and spending time with family.

Reader insights

Outstanding

Excellent work. Looking forward to reading more!

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  1. Heartfelt and relatable

    The story invoked strong personal emotions

  2. Excellent storytelling

    Original narrative & well developed characters

  3. Easy to read and follow

    Well-structured & engaging content

  1. On-point and relevant

    Writing reflected the title & theme

  2. Eye opening

    Niche topic & fresh perspectives

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    Arguments were carefully researched and presented

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    Creative use of language & vocab

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Comments (6)

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  • Antoinette L Brey2 years ago

    I thought the whole story was interesting. It made me want to read more

  • This was such a fantastic story and I absolutely enjoyed it!

  • Isla Griswald2 years ago

    What a fun twist, having the non-human main character be responsible for the dragon's presence. I'd love to see some more character development if you continue the story!

  • Great work , really loved this

  • Babs Iverson2 years ago

    Really enjoyed you story!! 😊💖💕

  • Ford Kidd2 years ago

    What a wonderful story, and the dragon is just a cutie :) I can imagine how cats catch little dragons on tree branches😆

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