The Dragons of Verde Valley

There weren’t always dragons in the Valley. That all changed in 2052. I was just finishing up my junior year at Mingus Union High School in Cottonwood, Arizona in the heart of the Verde Valley. I was going nowhere. I suppose it was partially due to my dad leaving when I was 10. I had a long record of getting into trouble.

I had one really tough math teacher, Mr. Barnes, who was always getting on my case. He was always calling me by my full name. “Mr. John Pillard, show your work here. Mr. John Pillard, the answer is not 0. Try again.”

I went overboard with the revenge when I sprayed his car with shaving cream. How was I supposed to know that the heat would interact with the paint and burn the word “buzzkill” on his hood – or that they had cameras running? Not only would the incident be on my record, but I had to pay for the damage, and I was forced to clean the roadside by Highway 260 for two hours every Saturday for a month after school let out, along with three other troublemakers.

David Harrison was a nice enough kid. I met him back in fifth grade when he first moved to Cottonwood. He was a klepto, and got caught trying to swipe some old artifact from the Civil War off the history teacher’s desk. His dark hair fell over his eyes. I got the impression he was trying to hide from the world with a goth appearance, even though I knew him to be studious.

Ronnie Macky freaked me out. He had just graduated, and I had never once seen him without a scowl. He threatened to cut something off the football coach’s anatomy for benching him. I’ll just say it wasn’t a finger.

I was dismayed when a girl showed up, but I soon learned that Becky Sorenson could take care of herself. When Ronnie put his hand on her shoulder, she had him to his knees in three seconds flat. She was some kind of a blackbelt. She wouldn’t say how she got in trouble.

The first two Saturdays were hot and boring. A young man who introduced himself as Bob supervised us, following in a white Toyota Camry with his lights flashing. The third Saturday, Bob kept playing on his phone and falling behind. He was half a mile back when something huge exploded onto the ground just across a sage field. The ground shook and we were all knocked off our feet.

Ronnie was the first back on his feet. “What the…?”

Mesquite trees were burning along the path the item had followed after it bounced out of the initial crater it produced on impact. My first thought was that it was a terrorist bomb. We all stood flabbergasted. I looked back at the Toyota. “Gamer Bob” was still focused on his phone. I started across the field.

Becky hollered, “Wait for us!” The others ran to catch up.

David yelled, “We better not stay long, or we’ll get into more trouble.”

“Relax,” Ronnie shot back, “Bob is playing level five of Star Power. That’s a tough one.” He ran ahead.

As we approached, it was clear that we had witnessed the crash of a spaceship. It was about the size of a commuter plane, but wider, like a dark blue potato. It was smoldering. Ronnie kicked at a panel on the side and the door hissed upward.

Becky’s mouth dropped open. “How’d you know that would happen?”

Ronnie murmured, “Lucky guess.” He peered in and then jumped aboard. “The pilots are toast,” he yelled out, “and they weren’t human.”

“H-holy sh-sh-sh…” David stammered.

I smirked and replied, “My sentiment exactly.”

Ronnie shouted, “Come on, you guys! You gotta see these things.”

One by one, we jumped the short distance into the craft, not touching the hot hull. To the left, two creatures were frozen in rigor mortis, their mouths a-gape, yellow eyes open. They had orange tongues, green teeth, two claws for arms, and several tentacles on their lower extremities.

“Over here!” Ronnie called with urgency.

To the rear of the craft were two giant eggs. They would barely have fit in a standard trash bin. One was pale yellow; the other was brown and a bit bigger. They were suspended in some kind of clear gelatinous substance.

Becky asked, “You think these are alien eggs?”

I said, “I don’t know, but I think we should try to roll them out of here if we can. You know what’s going to happen to them if scientists get ahold of them.”

David nodded, “Yeah, wicked experiments.”

Ronnie took charge. “David, you’re with me. Becky and John, you get the yellow one.” Ronnie pushed a bunch of buttons near the base of the holding container, until he found one that lowered the front panel. Aloe vera-like clear goo drained out the bottom, and a ramp formed in front of the egg.

I pushed the corresponding button in front of the yellow egg to identical results.

It wasn’t easy getting the eggs rolling, but once we got momentum on our sides, we got them out the door. The drop didn’t seem to affect them, so we jumped down and kept them moving. For a while, we followed the path behind the spaceship to hopefully cover our tracks, and then we rolled them toward the highway.

I was panting and heard Becky breathing rapidly as well. We found a group of mesquite trees and hid them as best we could.

David said, “We’d better get back. It’s almost the end of our shift.”

Ronnie added, “Let’s meet at Quick’s Country Store at noon. We’ll get the eggs with my truck and then decide what to do next.“ He gave a particularly threatening scowl. “...and no squealing to anyone about this.”

We all nodded.

Gamer Bob was just pulling forward when we got back to the highway. He asked, “Where were you guys?”

Thinking fast, David held up a big piece of fabric he had discovered earlier and said, “We found a bunch of trash left by squatters. We got it all cleaned up.”

Bob nodded. Just like that, we were heading back to town. When we got dropped off by the court building, we all glanced knowingly at each other.

Not owning a car, I rode my bike home. I greeted my mom and made us some ham sandwiches with sliced apples on the side.

Mom smiled, “This is lovely. Thanks, John.”

I didn’t want to ride my bike three miles in the heat, so I asked, “Mom, will you drive me out to Western Drive? I’m meeting friends. I think I can get a ride home.”

Her eyes widened. “Since when are you meeting people in the flesh? Mind you, I’m not complaining. I’m just surprised.”

“I… uh, I’m taking a break from the virtual world for a while.”

“I’ll be happy to take you. When do you need to be there?’

“Noon. I’ll take care of the dishes and I’ll be ready.”

She ruffled my hair. “Who are you, and what have you done with me son?”

I laughed it off, but it was good to see her with a genuine smile. That had been rare since my dad left.

I was the last to arrive. David and Becky were sitting on Ronnie’s tailgate, and he stood nearby. “Let’s book,” he called. “It ain’t gonna get any cooler.”

We crammed into the front. David mumbled something about seatbelts but said no more after being ignored.

We talked on the way about what to do with the eggs. David said, “My place is up against a Bureau of Land Management plot. We have a big yard with a fence on each side. My dad is at a conference this week until Wednesday. It’s just him and me, so I suppose I can take responsibility, at least to start.”

We exchanged cell numbers. Ronnie took the roundabout back toward town and soon had us bouncing off-road like we were riding bucking broncos. Ronnie drove as close as he could. He came prepared with a board to function as a ramp and a large tarp. I should have thought of wearing long sleeves. The mesquite thorns tore me up badly.

Becky and I got the yellow egg out and rolled it toward the truck. We waited for Ronnie and David, who rolled up behind us.

Ronnie took a deep breath and puffed it out. “We’ll get the yellow one up first. John and I will be in the middle. David and Becky, push as long as you can from the sides of the ramp.”

The yellow egg went up smoothly but barely fit. We all looked at the brown egg.

Becky put a palm on her cheek. “It’s not going to fit, is it?”

Ronnie furrowed his brow. “We’ll make it work. Maybe we can get it to go kitty-corner at the top of the ramp.”

I was doubtful, but game to try. We got it rolling as fast as we could. I was pushing with all my might, but it came to standstill at the top. We were straining against gravity. With a surge of adrenalin, Ronnie moved his hands lower and heaved his end into place while I pushed on the other end. He jumped up and leaned against the egg, yelling, “Get down and shut the tailgate.”

I complied. David moved the board, and we both slammed the tailgate.

Becky said, “Guys! We’ve got company. Let’s cover these up.”

I saw some white, official-looking cars pulling off the highway. Ronnie started positioning the tarp. We each took a corner and tied it snuggly.

“Quick,” David called, “act casually.”

Becky sat on the bumper. I leaned on the tailgate. David and Ronnie started talking about the latest virtual technology.

The first car stopped, and a man who looked like he hadn’t had a bowel movement in a week stepped out.

“Hello, Mister,” Becky said with a convincing smile. “Are you guys lost?”

The man stared her down. “What are you kids doing here?”

David spoke up, “We’re looking for a place to camp. We’ve got a bunch of friends joining us.”

He pointed at the tarp. “Take your camping gear and find another spot. We’re cordoning off this area.”

“Why?” I asked.

“Meteor strike. We’ve come to take samples.”

Ronnie said, “Let’s go, guys. It’ll be cooler up on Mingus Mountain anyway.”

Becky waved, “Goodbye, Sir.”

We got in and Ronnie drove off. When he got onto the highway after passing three more cars, we all busted out laughing in relief.

When we quieted down, Becky asked, “What happens if these hatchlings are dangerous?”

I said, “I think we’d better take shifts watching until they hatch – that is IF they hatch. They may have suffered too much damage.”

Ronnie replied, “I’m a bit of a night owl, so I’ll come and stay until 1:00. I can sneak my dad’s shotgun out of the house, just in case. David, I’ll wake you up and you can watch through the morning.”

Becky chimed in, “I’ll come as early as I can tomorrow morning.”

I added, “I’ll take the noon shift. If anything happens, we group text, right?” Everyone agreed.

David’s green house was on a quiet street and had a couple of beautiful, big trees in the front yard. He instructed Ronnie to back up onto the driveway on the left. He jumped out and opened a fence to the back yard.

I looked at neighbors’ homes to be sure no one was watching and then helped Becky and Ronnie remove the tarp.

With the ramp in place, Ronnie hoisted the end of the brown egg and we guided it into the back yard. The yellow one was much easier to manage. We nudged it up against the brown one. I thought I heard a muffled sound from inside it.

I asked, “Did anyone else hear that?”

David shook his head. Ronnie shrugged. Becky nodded and said, “Yeah, it sounded like muffled humming.” She put her hand on the yellow egg. “Whoa! I can feel movement!”

We all rushed to touch it. Sure enough, it felt like when my pregnant aunt let me touch her stomach and my cousin kicked.

Ronnie asked, “David, does your dad have any weapons?”

David shook his head. “No, he doesn’t believe in violence. I’ll grab some kitchen knives and whatever else I can find.” He turned and said, “John, check that shed for sharp tools.”

I ran and yanked the door open. I grabbed a pickaxe, a metal rake, and a pair of loppers which were all hanging on the wall. When I returned, everyone was holding a knife, so I kept the pickaxe and dropped the other tools where no one would step on them. The humming was louder and accompanied by cracking noises. The yellow egg was visibly quaking.

David wiped his brow. “Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea. They might be hungry, and here we are, offering ourselves as a human smorgasbord.”

“Speak for yourself,” Becky quipped, adopting a fighting stance, “I’m not going down easily.”

We were all focused on the yellow egg, when the top of the brown egg broke off with a crack. The creature inside screamed like a red-tailed hawk, but lower in pitch. It didn’t look anything like the aliens from the spaceship. It looked more like a giant, wet bird.

The yellow egg broke open next. That creature was smaller, and pale yellow like the egg.

“Oh my God,” David hollered, backing up, “They’re dragons!”

“No way!” Becky moved closer. “Are you sure?”

The brown one looked at each of us and made a sound like a combination of a coo and a purr. It spread its wings out – at least six feet across – and opened its mouth.

Ronnie said, “I think it’s hungry. David, do you have any ground meat?”

David started for the back door, “I’ll check.”

The yellow dragon also stretched its wings. Its call was squeaky. They both surveyed us with intelligent eyes.

David returned with hamburger. “Who wants to feed them?”

Becky yelled, “Me! I want to!” She took the package, ripped it open, and tore off a meatball-sized chunk, and threw it into the brown dragon’s receptive mouth with the precision of an MLB pitcher. The dragon gulped it down. It appeared to be smiling and opened its mouth again. Becky shifted to feed some to the yellow one. She laughed and said, “This is the coolest thing I’ve ever done!” She alternated until she ran out of meat.

The dragons seemed to understand that feeding time was over. They both started flapping their wings. We backed off to give them room. The brown one managed to hop out of the egg. We discovered at that point that he was male. He shuffled to the other dragon and nudged it. That one tried to hop out, but it tripped over the egg and fell on her face. The female wasn’t very graceful yet.

David bit his lip and asked, “Do you think you guys can pitch in for some more hamburger? My account is low, and I’m guessing these dragons are going to eat a lot.”

I said, “I have an idea. It’s not exactly on the up and up.” Everyone shrugged, so I continued, “We could do a drive and collect money and food. We wouldn’t say who it’s for.”

“Brilliant!” Becky said. “We can go to all the grocery stores. I’ll bet they wouldn’t kick us out if we tell them we’re going to spend the money at their store.”

“Thanks, guys,” David breathed a sigh. “I don’t want my dad to get angry when…”

The brown dragon made a hiccup/burp sound.

Becky waved her hand in front of her face and said, “Eew, gross.”

A small amount of fire came from the dragon’s mouth. A tiny bush was singed. It didn’t catch fire, and luckily, David’s backyard was mostly rock landscaping.

My phone went off, followed immediately by Becky’s.

“It’s my mom.”

Becky nodded, “Mine too.”

We walked in opposite directions. I answered, “Hi, Mom. What’s up?”

I heard, “Thank God. I’ve been worried about you.”

“Why? I told you, I’m with friends.”

“Haven’t you been watching the news? It’s all over every channel. There are dragons in the Verde Valley!”

“Wait! How do they… Uh, I’m going to check it out. I’m fine, Mom. Thanks for the call.”

Becky hung up and told David, “We need to check out the news. Where’s your TV?”

We all entered David’s back door. Leaving the dragons unattended, we hoped they wouldn’t start a fire in our absence. The place was modest but tidy. David said, “TV, play channel three.”

On the screen, a reporter was interviewing the man from the white car who had questioned us. He said, “Three eggs were attached to the hull. Everyone else was outside checking them out when they hatched.” He gulped. “I was in the spaceship, taking samples from the aliens. That’s why I’m the only survivor.”

The station went to the news desk. The reporter said, “If you’re just joining us, a spaceship crashed in the Verde Valley, near Cottonwood. The alien species flying the craft did not survive the landing, but some dragon eggs did, and the hatchlings which have emerged are dangerous. If you live anywhere in Northern Arizona, we urge you to stay indoors if you can. Help is on the way.”

David again stammered, “H-holy sh-sh-sh...”

As we walked back outside, Becky asked, “Why are those dragons mean when ours seem nice?”

I surmised, “Perhaps it has to do with their exposure to the coldness of space during their travels here. Maybe they’re a different species. Or maybe it’s because those men were threatening them. We may never know.”

Ronnie added, “I vote we keep working with these dragons. If we keep them fed, I think we’ll be safe. Maybe they can help fight the mean ones.”

Everyone nodded.

Becky said, “Let’s name them. How about Shura for the female? I had a dragon avatar by that name in a game once.”

I said, “That’s a great name, Becky. Shura it is. What about the male?

David said, “In Hebrew, Nuri means ‘My fire.’ It seems appropriate for a fire-breather.”

Ronnie said, “Good. Now let’s see what Shura and Nuri can learn before those other dragons kill any other people.”

With a thumbs up, I added, “May our dragons rule the Valley peacefully.”