Night Dragons

I climb the last few feet toward the top of this peak and stand gaping downward at the world that unfolds before me. I never knew the meaning of the word breathtaking until this very moment. I am gazing out at a green paradise straight some fairy tale that I have tried to forget in my attempts to be older than my years.

Green trees cover every hill and valley as far as my eyes can see. Their rough, brown trunks are easily masked by the canopy of leaves that they throw out over the landscape. Different trees make different striations of green where they are clustered together. One slender thread of glittering water curves across the landscape. From up here the water that looked so clear when I was fishing in it this morning appears more of a bluish green. Sunlight glitters off of it, making it appear to have scales. I am entranced by the peace and serenity that surrounds me, wooed by the sweet singing of the birds, and caressed by the warm breeze that whistles past me.

Yet somehow the serenity of the landscape is marred. I feel it coming before I hear the leathery screech of its wings flapping against the sky. The warm air around me wafts over me, stirring my hair. My heart freezes inside me, missing a beat so noticeably that I am sure this is my last moment before death. Then I look up to see the dragon that is flying towards me. It is about twice my size with skin like an oil slick and crooked horns above its large inflamed eyes.

I try to scream, but my voice has deserted me to my fate. Without consciously willing them to move, however, my legs propel me back down the path toward the camp. The dragon squeals over my head. I can hear its claws ripping the leaves from the branches just above me as it reaches for me. I can see the scarred leaves falling out of my line of vision as I run. I do not look up to see the horror of its slick, dark body, but its shadow bears down upon me.

I run, feeling every rock under my foot. The wind rushes past my cheeks, almost cooling them as the sweat pours down my forehead. At last I reach the clearing where William has been packing things into the truck so meticulously that he didn't notice me slip off into the woods. He notices me now, looking up with an amused smile on his face. The smile quickly fades into anger or fear as he reaches under one of the boxes in the back of the truck.

"Bella, dive," he says forcefully.

I feel myself hurtling toward the ground as if the very words pushed me downward even before I see the shotgun he has produced as if by magic. I have only a second to ponder the fact that I clambered across that the night before because he has it pointed and the roar of a gunshot splits open the air above my head. I have no doubt he has hit the beast as it roars with pain and tumbles from the sky. My voice finally finds itself as I scream in pain as its claws tear into my back. Even in its death throes, it tries to complete its mission to destroy me.

I fear I have overestimated the power of William's rifle as the beast continues to tear at me with its claws. Its mouth comes at me, breathing acrid fumes into my face as its mouth tries to close about my throat. Then the barrel of the gun is in my face as William points it at the creature once more. Steeling myself for another eruption of noise, I am surprised as William uses the gun as a lever to pry the dragon off of me. It clutches at me with its claws, and the gun becomes a club in William's desperation to set me free.

I scream again as the gun barrel makes contact with my back as well as the creature who snarls his protest, but I feel the claws pulling loose, tearing part of my flesh away as well. I can feel my blood flowing to meet the oily black blood that has dripped from the creature and pooled in the small of my back. The mixing of the two makes my flesh burn as if it is on fire. I weep despite myself, as William continues his manic fight with the beast. I can hear the roaring of the beast over my own sobbing.

I am losing consciousness by the time he has defeated it or at least convinced it to retreat. I can not move, just moan softly as the blood flows from my back and catches fire on contact with the evil emissions of the dragon. Then he is there, looking down at me with rich brown eyes, filled with the same love I have seen in my own father's. His empathy makes me want to weep more. I do not want to appear weak, however, so I try to hold in my tears.

His eyes rest upon my tattered flesh with a look of concern. He removes a handkerchief from his pocket and gently swabs at the blood on my back, trying to assess the damage that has been caused. My tears flow again as the pain rips through me, pulling me back into consciousness. As if brought to life by my renewed pain, another roar crashes across the sky and another answers it.

William picks me up hurriedly now and slings me over his shoulder in an attempt to minimize the pain moving me will cause. The pain still courses through my body light heat lighting on a summer plain. My whole body is awash with pain again. I scream and scream again, each cry answered by a horrible screech from the sky. Even in his haste, William sets me down gently in the passenger seat before sliding under the wheel. He already has the truck started before he swings the door closed. In fact, it is only the forward motion of the truck that causes the door to close.

As it slams closed, I look up into a pair of fiery red eyes. Another scream erupts from my throat as I throw myself backwards across William's lap. The dragon slams its face into the glass smearing a layer of black ooze along its surface before pulling back in pain. My own pain is forgotten as my fear reaches a crescendo. I snuggle closer to William, who is concentrating on his driving as he weaves along the curvy road.

Somewhere behind us the two dragons screech to each other, ruining the beauty of a spring day with the darkness that seeps from their very pores. Taking his hand off the wheel for a moment, William rests a hand reassuringly on my forehead. He glances down at me with those same concerned eyes.

"Don't worry, Bellabooo, I'll get us out of this."

I nod for my throat hurts too much from screaming to make a vocal reply. It doesn't even occur to me that he can not see the gesture. The tension inside me continues to build, but my consciousness wavers again and I find myself drifting into another dark dream. Will the darkness ever stop pursuing me or must I let it overtake me to truly be free?

"Bella, try to stay with me. I'll get you to a hospital as soon as I can. Just stay with me..."