It’s going to be the death of me, I know it.

There weren’t always dragons in the Valley, however every couple of years there would be a winter that would bring out the frost from your breath, and everyone would know to be on their guard as the dragons would surely come. The city I’m in is small enough that everyone knows most people but not small enough that I can walk from the town centre to the suburbs without having to account for a hour and a half walk. Located in the North of America is a town surrounded by trees and mountains. This town is called Spokane. It’s been about two hundred years since there were any dragons to have existed actually and it was way before my time to know what it was like without them. From what I have read and watched from the classic Hollywood era of films before the world was introduced with dragons, night crawlers and the death pox; people considered most of the things we deal with now as dark myths told in folklore to symbolise something else. Now I live in an age where most people fear other aren’t people, that there are monsters disguised in the flesh of humans being able to copy the behaviour enough that it may fool you to your death. And yes death pox is a thing and it’s still not the worst thing out there.

The day is especially fresh with a chill as a snow storm hit the night before leaving the front gardens mounds of bright white powder all around. As I make my way outside to my car, going to my second way of income at the infamous Terrys Tavern, I notice a mark on my garage door. It’s a love heart with and X over it, carved with a knife most likely.

‘Please don’t let this be some fucked up gang symbol and just bored teenagers’, honestly I do not have time to deal with gangs or any psychos. The dragons are danger to pack for plenty. As I peer at it closely I mutter again, ‘pleeeeease be teenagers.’

As I was driving I had the radio on in the background just as a way to keep my thoughts from becoming overwhelmed. It’s my version of a white noise and sometimes it will spark to entertain me as my brain will randomly pay attention to the afternoon radio hosts doing their take to keep this city engaged.

At this moment it’s the month of December where the festive season is a week away and the news/radio reports are noting the missing people of a certain kind, young petite women or young girls-all with short brown hair. Every year at least a dozen girls go missing with this description and they never find them again…alive. They note that the abductions all happen in their homes while they have been supposedly sleeping. Even tho they do not call them out by name on the radio for fear of the backlash we all know who they are referring to when they note: “-last noted a unknown person spotted looking into the victims house by on lookers of the neighbourhood watch by the description of tall being with eyes that appeared to be glowing..”

That’s the only tell sign we have for the dragons when they are in human form, the glowing eyes. We all know it’s a dragon. Over time some political interferences have happened that have made the dragons a race that are both hunted and feared by humans, while also being blended in well enough with the population that they have established some roots and connections. Not a hundred percent sure of the truth of this but I do remember seeing a number of sites noting that the president of France was under suspicion of being a dragon.

As I rolled into the Taverns staff parking area with the car turned off the radio stays on for just a moment longer when I hear something peak my interest from the news segment.

‘Police are saying they have noted a new marking upon the houses of the missing persons..’

‘Oh god please don’t tell me its the marking on my house.’ I note to myself.

‘The mark appears to be a heart with a ..’

My body froze completely as if all the blood had drained from my body.

All I could think about was the mark on the garage door. The mark that could turn me into a victim of a dragons prey that will most likely mean my death. Fantastic, death at 28 without ever knowing if 30 is the new 20.

‘-a heart with a eye in the middle. If you have any information of your residence or someone you know being marked..’

‘Oh ok and thank fuck I guess’ was all I could think out aloud. Maybe there was a person trying to scare the people with a similar marking just for some fucked up fun. My bets were on some angsty teen.

I told myself I shouldn’t be too worried about even being on the list for possible missing persons as I didn’t fit the profile. I’m a Asian male actually and although I have been noted as ‘petite’ and well possible have been mistaken for a very feminine looking guy every now and then I still am a man!

As I got into the Tavern I get a nice hard smack on the back from my not so favourite coworker but not my least favourite friend Jack. Jack was of a sturdy build, very manly man when you look at him on the first glance. He had a thick dark beard with a nice mixture of both mussel and fat around his middle. He calls it ‘the dad bod perfection’. Honestly he wasn’t wrong in my opinion.

“Dan you look like you got the wind knocked out of you, please tell me you didn’t actually just come from a car crash or something worse.” said Jack with some actual slight concern coming from him.

‘I’m fine, had a slight near death experience I think but I’m fine.’

‘A slight near death experience?’ Jack is looking a me like what the hell does that mean.

‘You know the missing girls from that going off this year? Well turns out there’s a symbol that’s on their houses that’s like mine…but not like mine.’

Jack gave me a look that was one eyebrow up almost tempted to ask for more detail. I didn’t really ant to get into the details so I finished up my conclusion of my thoughts so far.

‘Any way I should be in the clear as it seems petite young female is the type for our glowing eyed friends this year.’

Jack just had a laugh right to my face noting, ‘Dan when I first met you I thought you were a petite female, just not that young.’

It was a bit annoying that I wasn’t born with more rough rugged looks about me, for once I would like someone not to have to give me a second glance before they check to see if I’m a man or woman. At 28 years of age I have grown into my own skin enough that it doesn’t bother me enough on the inside to give a response on the outside.

As I’m setting up the main bar towards the main entrance I hear the the doors open. I turn around to see who’s just come in as no one is due to start for another 20 minutes but no one is there. The doors are still swinging from the force of what would seem someone coming through the entrance however it was just a Erie quiet chill that hung in the air.

Following every line you hear in every thriller movie before the side character gets attacked I said, ‘Is anyone there?’ No response from the empty room.

‘Well alright good to know I’ll live for another dayyEEE!’

My heart had just skipped a beat and kept from my chest in the same motion. There was a strange man behind me who I knew did not work here.

As I turned behind me a person I’ve never seen before was standing very close to me, leaning on the bar. Looking right at me smiling with a smirk that says ‘gotcha’ was a very tall, lean, dark eyed man. You couldn’t deny that he was traditionally handsome; dark brown hair styled for a model with a suit that smells of money. The man goes to straighten his suit up as he moves every so closer to me not wavering his gaze.

All in a moment my mind goes blank as he opens his mouth to speak.

In that moment I couldn’t hear what he just said as all I could see was his eyes glowing green in front of me.

‘Dra-dragon’ I mumbled.

‘Oh I do like the way you are saying that Dan’ said the man with the glowing eyes and the curved smile.