The Sickening

(12th January, Story #12/366.)

By L.C. SchäferPublished 3 years ago • 3 min read

When Dad saw the dragonling on the kitchen table, he did a double-take. I didn't think people did those in real life. Took his glasses off, cleaned them, put them back on. The whole bit. Got close, drinking in every scale. His eyes, already huge behind his glasses, looked even bigger.

He paced and muttered, eyes shining. I didn't realise at first, what he planned to do.

"You're going to have to find somewhere to put it," he said. "It mustn't escape. I'll take it in to work. Tonight! The guys in Zoology need to see this. This is huge."

"He," I bristled. "Not it."

I put a heat pad in the hamster cage for him. You need a name. Then he can't call you It.

The sky outside my bedroom window darkened, and wild drops spat against the glass. Under a distant rumbling, I could hear dad's restless footsteps and one half of his muffled conversation. Someone from the university where he worked, probably. They're going to take you away from me. What are they going to do to you? What have I done?

But the unexpected storm rolled all around us with no sign of stopping. Mum put her foot down.

"It's not safe!"

"It-um- He can't stay in a hamster cage," Dad said. "He's a reptile. The zoology department will have the right equipment to keep him alive. Better than what we've got, anyway."

Panic blossomed in my chest. What if Lex died!

Dad offered him steak, which he didn't eat.

I kept up a relay of hotwater bottles until late into the night, but Lex's skin was cooling, his movements weaker. I unbound my hand, poked the bite until it bled, and offered it to him.

I dozed on my back, Lex hot on my chest and slurping at my bloodied hand. The storm crashed through my dreams, howling with rage and threatening fire.

That's how I knew before I woke that she was coming. She'd tear the sky in two to get to him if she had to.

And that's why, when a storm rattles the windows, you should check if anyone has a baby dragon hidden in their house.

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Word count: 365

Submitted on 12th January at 00:09 AM

* * * Author's Note * * *

As always, thank you for reading! Please leave a comment to make it easy for me to reciprocate.

The story behind the story: I'm writing a story every day this year. This one makes a 12 day streak. I'll link to the others below.

The Prompt: This one continues from "The Baby".

Disclaimer: This one might not be a microfiction in the true sense, now that I've made it a segment of a larger story. There are a couple like this that I enjoyed so much I want to revisit and spin out, so I'm allowing it.