Dragon Knight By: Brigham Merrell
Chapter 1: The Girl Next Door
My name is Jacob Flintwood, and I was stuck in math…again.
I inhaled deeply as Allison walked past me, lighting up my senses as I was hit w ith the smell of strawberries, and something that could only be described as sun shine. I was sitting silently in my math class, counting down the seconds until class began, taking me that much closer to the end of class. Allison took her us ual seat next to me, and gave me a shy smile full of white teeth. She had dark b rown hair, the kind that is the result of a severe session of having it dyed. He r viridian eyes were the color of rose stems; and when she turned them to you, i t felt like you were the only one in the room. When she smiled, the dimples in h er cheeks looked so cute, a lesser man than I would have reached out and pinched them. Allison was a new student in my class at the time. Of course I didn’t take advantage of her vulnerable situation, and use it to make myself look good. Alth ough others might make it look that way. I didn’t even need to do that. I’m about 6 feet and change, with a medium build. I mean, I’m no ar-nold, but I do alright. I have brown hair that is cut close, but has enough room to adapt to various hairs tyles when I’m in the mood. Allison had started out stealing slight g lances, silently imploring anyone for help with her studies. Not being able to t ake my eyes off this wayward angel, I happily obliged. We had spent some happy a fternoons together. I had a great time answering her questions, and just getting to know each other better. Over time, I had learned that she had moved here, to Chicago, from her home in Milwaukee. Her parents had gotten divorced, and she m oved here with her dad. As Time passed, I came to know that she had a wonderful personality, and knew how to have a good time. I took her on a few dates, but we pretty much just goo fed off. We understood each other, and relied on each other, and it was such a c omfort to know that we could be there for each other.
Back to the present. I tend to babble when I get nervous. The remainder of clas s was split into different sessions, at least for me anyway. Some of it was spen t discussing derivatives. But most of it was spent discussing Allison. I don’t kno w why, but whenever I see her, I have to put forth a more direct effort to pay a ttention to what was at hand. Sometimes I’m not the smartest guy.
Don’t look at me like that.
Anyway, after class I approached Allison in the hallway. “Hey Ali! Need any ‘help’ wit h the assignment tonight? Say, around 8?” I am king when it comes to subtlety. “O oh! That sounds kind of late.” She replied. “Maybe we’ll have to go out, and get some brain food while we’re at it.” She twirled her hair around her finger coyly, and tho se darn dimples were begging for some pinchin’!
“What did you have in mind, Beautiful?” Yes. It’s true. I am also king when it comes t o originality. At this point, Ali and I had escalated slightly beyond the “just fr iends” status that the average onlooker might not have noticed. If anything, our w itty banter and joking attitudes were our ultimate cover.
“I’ll think about it, handsome.” See what I mean? Witty. “Right now, I think pizza sound s good. But who knows what the night will bring?”
“I knows!” I said, plugging my nose with my thumb and index finger. “It’s a date. I’ll pic k you up at 8 o’clock.”
“No.” She said simply, taking me aback. “It’s a study session. But I’ll see you then.” She t urned away from me, taking long swaying steps, full of sweet curves and feminini
ty. I love this woman.
The afternoon went by in a blur. I had finished that day’s assignment in no time, and pent the remaining hours sleeping and getting ready. Naps are good for the s oul, right?
I headed out of my apartment and into the parking garage, towards my car. Keep i n mind that I use the term “car” loosely. What used to be a gleaming black Chevy ch arger now lay in a derelict jumble of metal that barely resembled the brilliant
genius of working parts it had been. I wrestled the driver’s side door open, and t he screaming metal was music to my ears. Hey, it may be a piece of junk, but by thunder it was mine. I eventually convinced “Rusty” to start for me, and headed out towards Ali’s.
Allison lived in a large white house. One of those big fancy ones that make you wonder if the people inside even knew about little places like pizza hut. They p robably liked to eat from places that call themselves “pizza palace”. That is, if th ey don’t live in one already. Thinking more on it, one of Ali’s garden ornaments loo ked a lot like a giant pepperoni slice. Huh. Go figure. My date, the pizza queen .
I rang the doorbell. Surrounding the little glowing button was some ornate patte rn carved into the brass. Or was it actual gold? Freaking rich people. Not that I have anything against them. Far from it. In fact, I am civilized enough to app reciate success when I see it. It just bothers me when they take every opportuni ty possible to point out how little money I make at my job.
Ali’s father opened the door. He was getting along in his years. His full head of hair was beginning to turn gray. His face was full of smile lines that came easi ly. His eyes were like Ali’s, but seemed more…experienced. They glowed like aged, wr inkled dollar bills. He reminded me of someone’s football coach.
“Heya Sport!” He wrapped me into a tight bear hug. For some reason, I thought that m ost dads were afraid of letting their daughters date men, and would interrogate them thoroughly before sending them on their way.
After meeting Mr. Palmer, I don’t know what gave me that idea.
“How are you Mr. Palmer?” I asked, genially. “Oh, and I’m looking for Allison.”
“Of course you are! I’m doing well.” His voice was low, and uncannily smooth. It’s not v ery often that I’ve met a man with both of those qualities. “Allison!” he called in th at unnervingly smooth voice. “There’s a young man down here, waiting for you.” You kno w, given that it took almost 3 minutes before Ali showed up, I was still impress
ed. This house was like having you own personal Labyrinth, and since Ali hadn’t li ved here very long, I considered her learning curve stunningly quick. But, being her math tutor, it was my job to study her learning speed.
“Hey.” She said when she finally got to the bottom of the mammoth staircase. Impress ively, she wasn’t out of breath. But, being her boyfriend, it was my job to notice that too.
“Hey.” I said back. Sherlock Holmes, feel the bite of my rapier wit. “You ready to go?” “Obviously.” She said with a smile, after double-checking herself. I forgot that som etimes I lose my cunning edge.
“Right.” I said, as I scratched the back of my head. * * *
We decided to go to the pizza hut (since there was a shortage of palaces) at the mall. I’d love to tell you that the ride there was full of adventure and frivolit y inside of ol’ “Rusty”, but the most exciting things that happened were that there we re 3 green lights in a row, and Ali slugged me in the arm. I asked for her reaso
n of assault, and her only explanation, or attempt at one, was that she saw a Ut ah license plate. What’s up with that?
The Chicago city mall was pretty much a snapshot copy of the “mall” stereotype: a sh oe store here, a kiosk there, a willing food court, and all of them filled with teenagers and college students like us.
We headed to the accommodating pizza hut. I was in a fancy mood, so I got a supr eme pizza. The peppers and other delicious-looking toppings were steaming as I c arried my small personal dish over to our table. I looked over , and saw that Al i had (I knew it) pepperoni.
“So what are your plans for the weekend?” She asked me through a mouthful of food. A man less generous than me would have condemned her for such an act. But all I n oticed was how the food seemed to emphasize her dimples. How cute.
“Well, I was hoping we could get math out of the way, so we could go see a matinee .” See how original I can be?
“A matinee?” She asked skeptically. “Why not just go at night?”
“Uh…” I said intelligently. “I was just planning on…hanging out. I have other plans.” Smooth move, tough guy.
“Plans?” she echoed, sounding a little bit hurt. “What kind of plans?”
“Oh. Just personal stuff I need to take care of.” I didn’t want to betray her trust. B ut it’s not like I could let every girl I grow attached to, in on my secret. Not o nly would that be irresponsible; it’d be kind of pathetic.
She didn’t look completely reassured, but didn’t push the issue. By this time, it wa s getting close to closing time, and we were the only ones left in the now vacan t food court.
Being the chivalrous guy that I am, I took pride in pulling Ali’s chair out for he r. “Oh my knight in shining armor!” she exclaimed with a hint of sarcasm.
“I’ve been known to do crazy things like open doors and use manners too.” I replied. We headed out into the desolate parking lot. I whistled a western tune, and half -expected a tumbleweed to roll by. The parking lot was shaped, for the most part
, like a giant “U”. “Rusty” was parked at the very middle of the big curve, tucked away in a little niche, partly covered in shadows cast from the towering mall. When w
e were within 10 feet of the car, Ali let out a sharp squeal of pain that ended in horrifying silence. I whirled around, easily sliding into my fighting stance. There was Ali, big as life, lying unconscious on the ground with a giant of a ma n looming over her, holding a club in his fists that were the size of holiday ha ms—family size. My eyes widened as I realized what was happening. But it was merel y to get a look around for the others. This guy may be big, but he didn’t exactly ooze “organized crime boss”. If anything, he looked more like “hired goon” to me. Tweedle-dumb and Tweedle-dumber came out from behind the shadows behind me a sec ond later. One of them had a gun pointed at my face. Crap!
“We figured the dame would make some unwanted noise in this predicament.” He spoke w ith an accent that belonged somewhere in “Joisey”.
“Ah. You must be the brains of the outfit.” I said to Tweedle-dumb, who wasn’t holding the gun to my face.
“S’right.” He said, pleased with himself. “And if you don’t want your brains splattered al l over the sidewalk there, you’ll give me your wallet and any valuables on the dam
e.” He made a vague Gesture with his hands that I had to assume encouraged me to g et on with it. But I really had to pay attention, because at first I thought he just wanted to play patty-cake.
“Forgive me for not wanting to accommodate you.” I consider myself a nice guy, becau se I was genuinely sorry for what was about to happen to these misguided bozos. I slowly lifted up my hands, so as not to startle the now nervous-looking gunman . When they were both over my head, I let the bad guys have it. I forced Power d own my arms, and into my palms. There was a sudden, blinding light that was prod uced. As predicted, the gun went off where I was standing. So I made plans to be somewhere else as soon as I released the power. I leaped 20 feet straight into
the air. As I did, I reached deep into my mind, to that one part that isn’t all “me”, and seized the power. I suddenly felt the heat wash over me. It felt like steppi
ng out of the shade, and into the hot summer sun. I felt myself sprout the famil iar horns, claws, and tail. My body “cooled” as my skin was coated in the tell-tale green armor. If you had been there watching, I would have looked like one of tho se national geographic time lapses of a flower blooming, in fast forward. I land ed in the shadows behind the blinded thugs. The whole process had taken 5 second s. Man, I’m good.
Put down the weapon, and I won’t hurt you.” I whispered. My voice was a low, sinist er rumble.
“Not a chance, Freak!” Tweedle-dumber said, his voice an octave too high. He tried t o get a bead on my glowing yellow eyes. I squinted them, and growled.
Now, you might not think that these “hardened criminals” might be intimidated by so und alone. They might, and they might not. Either way, I couldn’t let that gun go off, and hurt anyone. Least of all me. So I took it a step further, and stepped out of the shadows, and let the sight of me soak in. I was a hulking nightmare. My horns were pointed straight up, out of the back of my skull. My eyes were a d emonic yellow, with my vertical pupils cutting right down the middles. My nose m erely consisted of two small slits. My fingers and toes ended in razor-sharp cla ws that could have cut through steel, if I had been so inclined. My powerful leg
s bent backwards, opposite of their usual jointedness, much better for jumping. And finally, my tail slithered out behind me, twitching in anticipation. My unif orm (I hate calling it a costume) was a black design over my chest in the shape of a “D”, with a vertical line down the middle, and some kind of tear-proof material of the same color served as my shorts.
To give the guys credit, they didn’t run immediately. They gave me a double-take f irst. Then Tweedle-dumb took off with Tweedle-dumber right behind him. They were close enough that I could sweep my tail underneath them. I turned fast, and got a little momentum going, before I swept them both off of their feet. They tumbl ed to the pavement in a senseless heap. Tiny the Giant tried booking it too. But I sent a concentrated beam of heat at his left shoe as it hit the ground, melti ng it there. As he tried lifting it again, he let out a startled yelp, in a voic e too high to belong to a man- and entirely too high for a person that big- and landed on the blacktop—hard. I heard his teeth clack together as he settled in for a little nap.
I looked at the four unconscious bodies, and reverted to my normal form before c alling 911, and picked up the one that I cared about.
“Oh yeah,” I said to deaf ears. “I forgot to tell you. I’m half dragon.”
Chapter 2: The Beginning
I know what you’re thinking. There’s no such thing as dragons. It would certainly ma ke my life easier if I could just “not believe” in some of the horrors I’ve seen. I me an sure, it’s cool to become something out of the story books to scare and kick th e bad guys’ butts. But with all the stuff I can do, I feel a self-inflicted weight of responsibility. I know it sounds dumb, but I couldn’t live with myself if I kn ew that someone might have survived if I had done just a little more. And beside s, it’s not like there’s a whole lot of empowered beings patrolling Chicago that cou ld do the job for me.
But I’m getting ahead of myself. I bet you’re curious about my unique…talents. Well, r egardless of what you might think, I didn’t come from a doomed planet. And I’m prett y sure I wasn’t bitten by a radioactive, well, anything. If I was born this way, m y parents might’ve disowned me, or gone through quite a few more houses, due to “mys terious” fires. NO, lucky for them I was born just like everyone else. I grew up l ike everyone else. And I went on adventures with my friends just like everyone e lse.
One of these adventures was with a few of my friends, just after we had graduate d high school. This took place about 5 years ago. We headed out to some sand dun es in New Mexico for some fun.
Statistics show that four-wheelers can be very dangerous. Most accidents are cau sed by accelerating too fast, causing the vehicle to roll over the operator. Whe n we got to the dunes, I noted that the dunes looked shifty, and wouldn’t provide very good traction for turning or accelerating. It was a deathtrap.
That said--ATV’s are fun!
I found that when turning, if I squeezed on the throttle, it would not send me r olling under it’s metal form. It would actually throw my rear wheels out behind me , allowing me to fishtail and make my turns seem elegant and gradual. We went of f little jumps, and just had good times under the sun.
But back to my story. After a while, I wandered away from the rest of the group. As I crested a particular dune, I came across an opening in the ground. It was about five feet across, and opened straight down into the earth. The walls were hired with jagged outcroppings made of rocks. A man less adventurous, and much s marter than me, would have considered the rocks looked a lot like teeth. But at the time, my only thought was something like, “Neat!” Yes, I was keeping up with the lingo. “I wonder where this dark, mysterious cave goes to?” With smarts like these, it’s a wonder I struggle in college at all.
Anyhoo, I started to clamber down the little cave. When I reached about the five -foot mark, my left foot slipped off of the rock it had been resting on. I let o ut a cry, and tumbled tail over teakettle (how does that saying make any sense?)
down the cave. I bonked my head a couple times, and hit my chest and back a who le lot more. I finally reached the bottom, aching and hurting. It felt like I ha d fallen about 40 feet. I tried to look back to the entrance, but only saw darkn ess. I figured the way down must have curved in a different direction, because t here wasn’t any light to be seen. I hastily took out my phone, in an attempt to ma ke some light, but the little device seemed to cough, sputter, and die after a f ew seconds. Fortunately I had brought some chemical lights for some night riding later. I snapped a couple of them, and held them above me, casting an eerie gre en glow ahead of me. The walls were still as unfriendly as ever, although now I had a healthy level of respect for the pain they could cause. But the surface th at I was standing on was made of polished stone. I mean it was nice. There wasn’t even any dust on it. My instincts screamed at me to run, but my usual genius urg ed me on.
I followed the path for a time, winding my way left and right until I found myse lf in a large chamber. I couldn’t exactly see the outer walls, but the sound of my footsteps echoed deeply, and the glow of my light was reflected from a thousand different surfaces in the round-looking cavern. All of the mini lights gave me a general idea of how big this room was. It was huge. Imagine one of the super b owl football stadiums. Now, imagine it just a bit bigger, with a roof. That’s what I was standing in. The whole floor was covered in the jagged rocks, while the s mooth path seemed to cut straight through it. I continued to follow the mysterio us walkway, leading me farther from the way I had come in. The more I walked, th e more I was able to see a figure in the distance.
Keep in mind that it wasn’t the figure of a person. In fact, I couldn’t tell what it was at first. But as I approached it (it must have been a mile from the entranc e. Huff puff) I saw that it looked a little bit like a throne. After what seemed like an eternity, I finally got to the throne-like structure. It was shaped lik e a normal, high-backed, chair. It had very complicated designs all over it, tha t looked like fire. The sides of the top of the chair each jutted out in a way t hat would have looked like horns on an animal. The ends of the armrests ended in claws, holding on like someone sitting there might do. So, naturally, I wanted to be that someone. But as I looked closer at the actual seat of the throne, I n
oticed there was an object resting on the “cushion”. If you’ve ever seen a fish scale, then you’ll know what this object looked like. Only this one was as big as your f ace.
In the center of the big “fish scale” was the letter “D”. The “spine” of the “D” was arched rd, towards the middle of the letter. In the center itself, was a single vertica
l line that was thick in the center, and thinned out towards the ends. I remembe r looking on this artifact with an impossible fascination. I literally could not take my eyes off of the terrifyingly beautiful scale. As I looked closer, it se emed like the light jumped from his chemical light, into the letter, causing it to glow a throbbing green. It seemed to be pulsing with an unseen energy that dr ew my hands toward the scale. My mind was screaming at my arms to listen to who was boss. But they were unyielding and were determined to get themselves on the scale. The fingers closed around their new master (pretty fickle, if you ask me) and as they did, the big, glowing “D” seemed to blink, and the line in the middle m oved from side to side, like a big reptilian eye.
“Human!” A massive voice filled my head, shaking me to my bones. After a second, I r ealized that the voice was coming from the scale. I didn’t hear the direction of i t’s origin, I just knew where it was coming from. “My name is Draco. I am Lord of th e dragons of Camelot. Tell me where I am, or I shall feast on thy heart!”
Well whoever this thing was, they didn’t waste time getting to the point. But I te nd to make wisecracks when I get really scared. “You and what teeth, big boy?” “How dare thee?! You will pay for your insolence!” The yelling voice was almost unbe arable at it’s current volume.
“Can’t we just talk?” I asked. “Why are you so angry? What are you anyway?” By this point, I had a bloody nose from the sheer voice of Draco’s voice in my head.
“Very well, morsel. I will spare thee thy life… for now.” The funny part of the “threat” w as that he thought he actually had a choice. “As I told thee, I am Draco, Lord of
st it was, until that infernal Morgan Le Fay came up to my cave, and sealed me i n this accursed prison to be forced to do good for the pitiful human race.”
“Do good, how?” I wasn’t sure if this was like one of the genies from the movies who “he lp” by trying to make the wish go as badly as possible.
“I am to ‘aid the first being to find me, in whatever quests they deem worthy, for a s long as they wish my help.’ And since it seems that thou art the one to have fou nd me, thou art the one to whom I serve.”
This guy really didn’t understand my question. “What can you do to help me?” I could f eel my heart begin beating frantically against my rib cage. I couldn’t believe wha t I was hearing.
“Alas,” Draco said dramatically. “I am bound to dedicate all of my personal magical ta lents toward my …master.” Draco spat out the last word, as though it was something f oul.
“What does all of that entail?” I couldn’t believe it! A freaking dragon was sitting i n my freaking hands (which seemed to be working again), and was offering me frea
king magical powers!
“I will tell thee over time. Right now, the most powerful tool I can give thee, is my knowledge, and sense of self. Simply hold this scale against thy breast.” I was still a little bit nervous about trusting the thing, but I was trapped hun dreds of feet underground, in a desert, all by myself. Magic, being real or not, sounded might handy. I did as Draco instructed, and held the plate against my c hest. I felt the scale actually melt into my skin. It was slightly disturbing, b ut not painful at first. When the scale was all the way gone, I looked through m y tattered shirt, which apparently had gotten in Draco’s way, to see where it had gone. On my bare chest was the same “D” that had been on the scale, but this one was black, and it hurt. After a while, I was dimly aware that someone was screaming . And after another while, I realized that it was me. So I shut my mouth to hold it in.
“I am impressed, human. Most mortals would have quailed at such agony.” Draco was st ill in my head. “Yes I am.” Holy crap! He can read my mind! “I can still hear you huma n. I will be occupying thy mind, until it no longer functions. While I am here,
all of my knowledge will at thy disposal.”
“So you’re telling me that we’re stuck together…FOR LIFE?!” My mom’s gonna kill me. That is, if I ever get out of this cave.” Looking around me, I began to feel hopeless. The
n I realized that the cave was no longer dark. It was bathed in a golden light t hat illuminated every little crevice in the dwarfing room. “Whoa! Who turned on th e lights?”
“Really human,” Draco started in a bored voice. “there isn’t any source of luminescence that has granted thee thy night sight. You now possess the eyes of a dragon.”
“I have a name, you know.” I said indignantly. “It’s Jacob Flintwood. But thanks for the night vision. Do you think you’ll be able to get us out of here?” Things were defin itely easier to think about, when you could actually see where your feet were go ing.
“Jacob Flintwood? I think it a simple manner to get us out. Take to the entrance t o where thou didst fall down.”
“How did you know I fell down? You still thought you were in ancient Britain a few minutes ago.”
“I am aware of, and know, everything thou knowest. Didst thou forget I was in thy very mind?” Draco’s voice was booming again.
“Could you not yell so loudly? Yeah, I’ll get us there.” “Well technically I can’t yell since I don’t-“
“Oh shut up!” I wasn’t in the mood to talk to mister know-it-all dragon anymore. At le ast not for the moment.
What a mess I had gotten myself into. Even if I didn’t make it out of the cave ali ve, I’d be talking to myself constantly, or else being constantly interrupted by a voice so loud, I literally could not hear myself think!
“Not necessarily…Jacob.” Draco’s voice was lacking the same “boom” that it had possessed a m oment ago. “After we escape from our current emergency, I will not be able to cont
act thee, unless thou wisheth it.” Indeed, his voice, though still gruff, sounded less demeaning, and more… helpful? Friendly?
“Well that sounds better.” I grumbled. That, at least, would make life more manageab le for me. As we walked, I asked Draco some questions. “So Draco, what did you do that made Morgan so angry? Wasn’t she, like, King Arthur’s personal assistant?” “In thy terms, yes she was. She consulted with King Arthur in his dealings with th e kingdom of Camelot. However, she was also a worker in the arts of magic. Her s kills were only rivaled and matched by those of Merlin. King Arthur was a good h uman who ruled his subjects justly. I respected him. But Morgan saw me as a thre at. I had to eat, thou must understand. But all of the farmers had claimed owner ship of the beasts. So I had to take them. But every time I consumed one of thei r livestock, they became upset and offended. Many knights came to try their hand at slaying me. Their efforts were amusing, sometimes humorous, and always delic ious.” I sensed Draco smiling at past memories. “After a time, Lady Morgan came to c onfront me herself. We combated our magics against each other. The battle stayed fierce for quite a time, but she used a spell that I did not expect to come fro m someone so small. I was paralyzed, and therefore could not move.”
“She came to my side, and knelt down as she would before worshipping the almighty, and ripped off one of my scales. She murmured her contentious spell that locked me away in my own scale until thou foundest me.”
“Wow.” I mumbled to myself. “I had no idea, Draco. Well, for what it’s worth, I think Mo rgan sucks.”
“Aye.” Draco agreed solemnly. “The maiden doth sucketh”.
Despite the absurdity of my dire situation, I started laughing. It was a good la ugh. The kind that you feel all over. Then I heard a rockslide. When my night vi
sion didn’t show me one, I realized that Draco was laughing too. And when he “saw” my reaction, he laughed even harder, and I joined in too.
I reached the point where I had landed, and looked above me. Sure enough, the “tun nel” curved so that the light from the top didn’t reach me. “Alright Einstein, What do we do now?”
“I’ll have thee knoweth that I am not a German scientist. Very well. Simply put thy hands on the wall, and pull thyself up, and thou wilt reach the entrance of this accursed pit in little time.”
“You mean like Spider-man?” I asked dubiously.
“Not so. From what I see in thy memories, the fictional character uses adhesive di gits to cling to the walls. Thy fingers will be secreting a chemical compound th at will create a fierce static charge between thyself and the surface. And if th e surface cannot conduct a charge, then instead of adhering to thy fingers, the “o oze” will adhere to the surface.”
“So I just slap my palms on the surface of this here wall, and up I go?” I threw in a hillbilly accent just to annoy him and his pristine British charisma.
“You put it succinctly.” He replied. I had the feeling he would be rubbing his templ es if he had temples to rub- or fingers for that matter.
I tentatively raised my hand to the wall, and as it touched, I felt a moist feel ing that was the same temperature as my body, so as to not be uncomfortable. My fingers held, just as Draco said they would. I put my other hand higher than the
first, and it stuck as well. “Haha!” I shouted exultantly. “So I just think something , and you change my body, to accommodate it?”
“No Jacob. Thy body was changed when thou didst accept the scale into thy body. No w thou must simply choose to employ all that I gavest thee.”
The climb up wasn’t really that difficult because of all the handholds the rocks p rovided. But as I was climbing, a thought occurred to me. “Hey Draco.” I said. “So thi s ooze let’s me stick to stuff, right? Even if I had the best grips possible, this should still be really slow going. Shouldn’t I be breaking a sweat, or breathing really hard?”
“Thou speakest lowly of dragon might. It is the makings of legend.” He finished smug ly.
“Wow.” I said again, soberly. This power was almost overwhelming. I mean super-stren gth alone is something to consider “How strong, exactly, is dragon might?” I was a l ittle nervous to find out.
“A dragon would barely struggle to lift one of thy cars.” My heart skipped a beat. “Bu t I, Draco, would not struggle to throw one of thy buses over the great lakes.” He
finished smugly. I would have lost my grip, if it hadn’t been held in place by th e gunky stuff. This was a dangerous situation I had gotten myself into. But I d idn’t question it. Instead, I kept on climbing toward the entrance to keep myself thinking. What kind of situations would I need things like dragon might?
After a while, I clambered out of the little cave, to find my friends gathered a round me, staring wide-eyed. It was nighttime now, and it appeared that my frien d, Thomas, was getting ready to go down to investigate the cave. Man, I had good friends.
“Hey guys,” I said blearily. “don’t worry, I’m fine.” I dug out my jacket from the backpack on my ATV, and zipped it over the hole in my shirt, so no one would see the sign
of Draco. “What happened to you man?” Dan asked anxiously.
“I fell down the hole, and got banged up pretty badly.” I said, thinking fast.
“Well let’s check you out, and see if you’re alright.” My girlfriend, Anna, said moving towards my jacket. She’s sweet that way.
“NO!” I yelled, taking them all by surprise. “NO, I’m fine. I just need some sleep.” We al l piled into the suburban, and loaded the ATV’s into the trailer behind it. Then w
e all headed back to our motel. My head lay in Anna’s lap, and as she stroked my d irty hair, the world faded into blackness.
* * *
I woke up to Draco’s increasingly Annoying voice in my head. It was a week later, and I was back in Chicago, in my home. “Jacob, you need to disappear for a while. Get a better control of your body, and learn the skills that will be needed.” “Needed for what?”
“Skills needed for the situations that will come in times ahead.” Draco rumbled enig matically. “From what I have learned about thee over the past week, it seems that thou wouldst be willing to go to any lengths to protect others from those that w ould wish harm upon others.”
“Yeah. For reasons unknown, it really irks me when somebody beats up somebody else . It’s this quirk that I’ve always had. But even if I did want to use these powers t o protect others, how am I supposed to gain these skills you were talking about?” “I will teach thee, of course. I have studied the ways of mortal combat, and the b est methods available. It would be simple to instruct thee in what I’ve discovered in that regard. However, the reason thou needest to leave, is to learn the reso urces that I have given thee, unavailable to other mortals.”
“How long do you think it’ll take you to train me?”
“I suppose that I could teach thee the basics of thy abilities in…about 1 year in th y time.”
“
“A year?!” I blurted out loud. I was currently at a gas station, and when I started yelling at the innocent-looking gas pump, I got some weird looks. “What on Earth c ould I possibly tell my folks, to convince them to let me leave for so long?” “According to what I know of thy parents, it would be a simple matter to tell them thou art moving out to study abroad they do not believe thee to be a particular strength in the scholastic world.”
Which was partly true. But not completely. I had the smarts that the education s ystem required, and then some. I was just never motivated to put what I learned to use. I could answer every question on the test correctly, but the questions w ere so mundane, that after years of struggling to keep myself awake through the horrible assignments, I got tired of it, and gave in. But Draco had a point that my parents would encourage me to further my academic skills. “Yeah well,” I said la mely. “I wasn’t exactly motivated in school. That might work.”
So I hustled home from the gas store where I had been shouting at myself, to tel l my mom and dad that I would be going away from them for awhile. That was fun.
“You’re doing WHAT?!” My mom was barely holding herself together, when I told her over my packed suitcase. “How on earth, are you going to afford that?”
Which was a point that I hadn’t considered. But Draco quickly gave me an answer. “I’ve been budgeting my paychecks over the past 3 years, and I’ve been saving up for a big trip. I’ve recently decided that I need to take an active step toward my caree
r, by furthering my academic progress.” Repeating what Draco said was tricky. I ha d to catch myself several times so I didn’t say any medieval terms.
My mom’s mouth was flopping openly, like a fish’s at the articulate sentence I had b een able to formulate. Apparently using big words distracted her from paying att ention to the actual excuse I had given her, but the fancy words had done the ta lking for me, convincing her that I was serious. “Well honey, how long are you pla nning on doing this for?”
“I think that I’ll be doing for about a year.” I said calmly. Then I added, “I’ll come bac k soon, though.”
“A YEAR?!” She shouted, much like I had not so long ago. Then she visibly restrained herself. “I guess it could be worse. I hope you remember to brush your teeth ever y night, before bedtime.” She finished lamely.
“I’ll be fine mom. You don’t need to worry about me, I promise.” I gave her a hug, and p icked up my suitcase from beside the front door, before throwing it into ol’ Rusty
. Now the hard part. I knocked on Anna’s door, dreading the coming minutes. Anna answered her own door, with a smile on her face, when she saw me. But it qu
ickly disappeared when she saw the look in my eye. “What’s up Jake?” She asked nervous ly.
“I’m going away for a year, Anna. I’m going to be taking some classes abroad.” I said it evenly, not letting my voice shake like it wanted to. I couldn’t show any weaknes
s now. “I won’t be gone very long, and I won’t be upset if you don’t want to see me agai n.” Which was a flat-out lie. But I knew that Draco and I needed to do this.
“You’re going away for a whole year? For school?” she sounded as dubious as my mother. Sheesh. Did I come off as that big of an idiot? I didn’t even need Draco for my n ext fancy sentence.
“Yes. I recently realized that my sense of purpose is non-existent, and I need to get away to discover myself and who I want to be. I need to become a better me f or myself…as well as for you.”
“I can respect that. But it’s still such a long time. I’m going to miss you so much. W hen are you leaving?” Tears were welling up in her eyes.
“I’m actually heading out right now.” I nodded my head toward my car. I took a few ste ps closer to Anna, and held her in my arms. She looked up to me, and kissed me o
n the mouth. It was a wet kiss, but that only filled it with more emotion, and w e kissed each more urgently. Anna was my anchor to sanity, and I held onto her a s I would a life-line. We broke the kiss together. A silent agreement that we bo th understood what was about to happen, but not knowing what would happen after. I turned away from her, got in my car, and chased down the Chicago pavement, hea ding North.
* * *
I drove up to the top of the state, and headed for the Lake Michigan National Pa rk. I figured that since I wasn’t going to need my car for a while, and I couldn’t j ust leave it in a parking lot for a year, and expect it not to get towed, I took it off the road, and left it in some forestry that looked secluded. Draco led m e to a secluded region by Lake Michigan itself that was far away from any trails where hikers might find me. I had brought some camping supplies, so I made camp . A thought suddenly struck me. I stuck my head out of my tent, and from a kneel ing position asked, “Hey Draco, What am I going to eat for a year?”
Abruptly there was an old man in front of me. I hastily crab-walked away from hi
m. “Why thou wilt hunt, of course.” Draco said in his new form. “Know that this is not a physical body as thou perceiveth it. It is merely an illusion that I set up i
n thy mind, to help thee with the mortal aspect of training.” “You mean karate, right?” I asked, a little disappointed.
“No.” was all Draco had to say. Then, without warning, my mind was flooded with imag es. But they were more than just pictures. They were more like memories. They sh owed my hands in front of me, performing all sorts of martial artistic moves tha t flowed in and out of an enemy’s defenses, and crippling their offenses. Thousand s of strategies and fighting styles were etched into my mind and muscles. Then h e showed me his memories. Pages in books, memories of Draco watching peasants fi ghting hand to hand, and to my surprise, flashes of fight scenes that he had pul
led from my memories that belonged to action movies I had seen. “Since these movem ents and counter-movements have been observed by me, and because I reside in thy mind, I need only implant the techniques and memories in thy muscles, and they will become thine.”
“So what you’re saying-“ I shut my mouth as the Draco figure lunged at my throat. A su rge of adrenaline slowed the world down as it hit my bloodstream. My senses expl
oded with a vivid awareness. The blades of grass under my bare feet each became an individual entity that I could sense. The silence of the woods roared in my e ars as Draco-man was still taking his first step. The air was moving in slow mot ion too, just like everything else, sending slight vibrations at my skin at an a lmost imperceptible level, alerting me that the danger was not in front of me, b ut behind me. Instinctively, I dropped to the ground with my left knee bent, kee ping my right leg extended and spinning in a clockwise direction. It swept the r eal Draco-man to the ground, just as his foot touched the ground. As he was fall ing, I stood up, and grabbed his right arm with mine at the wrist. He smacked hi s head on the ground, and the rest of him came flopping after. I knelt on his ch est, and maneuvered his captured arm so that it was at a right angle. My left ar m, seemingly of it’s own accord, snaked it’s way under his bicep, and grabbed my wri st, which was parallel to his upper arm, and cranked. He let out a strangled sou nd of pain, so I let him up.
He punched me in the jaw.
“Fool!” He cried, booming again. “Never show weakness!” “So you would rather I broke your arm off?” I fumed at him.
“It is not me!” He said. Crazy old dragon. “It is just a physical construct in thy min d. I would cause me no pain. But,” He acknowledged, “Thou didst sense the danger, an d defeated it appropriately. Well done.” He finished smiling up at me.
The following year was one I shall never forget. Draco and I became fast friends as he trained, and worked with me. Martial arts were only dealt with on that fi rst day, since it was only a matter of Draco “downloading” the moves to my muscles a nd nervous system. The next 9 months were spent learning how to meditate and foc us. The thing is, in order to access the powers Draco gave me, I had to learn to concentrate while being assaulted by distractions. If you’ve ever sung in a duet, you know what I’m talking about. Trying to sing your harmony, while someone else is belting out their pretty little melody. Needless to say, it takes practice. D raco helped a lot though. He had infinite patience, and labored diligently to he lp me understand the basics. Imagine your favorite memory, in devery detail. Now imagine a fist coming at your face, and your only chance of not getting clobber ed, is focusing on that memory. It takes a lot of time to get used to imminent t hreats to your health.
After I was desensitized to the pain, he let me know all of my abilities, and to ld me how to use them. They were all “automatic” like my sticky fingers, as long as I held my focus (remember the happy memory?) in place. I won’t go into the specif ics right now, but I will tell you the most important of them all.
“ I can turn into a dragon?!” I exclaimed.
“Don’t kid thyself.” In the past months, Draco had caught onto most of modern-speaking terms, but he couldn’t quite drop the “thee’s and thou’s”. It sounded pretty ridiculous a t times. “Thou could never pass off as a dragon. The being that thou wilt become i
s known as a Dragon Knight.”
I stilled my racing thoughts, and reached for the power. Instead of claiming a s pecific aspect of trait, I went for the whole enchilada.
“Don’t do that!” Draco stopped me. “Thy body is not meant to handle all of my power.” “I thought that’s what you told me to do.” I replied.
“I must not have explained correctly,” he said in his infinitely patient voice. “Inste ad of taking all of the power, simply make a contact with all aspects of it. Thi
nk of the power as a sphere, and all thou needest do, is wrap it in the folds of thy consciousness.”
“Oh.” I said, chagrined. I tried again, and felt the change start immediately. It us ed to take me 15 minutes to reach the focus, but now I could do it in less than a second. The heat washed over my body and I got the tinglies all over.
I crossed the now-familiar clearing, noting the plentiful scorch marks along the way. Yup. Learning fire-breathing had been fun. Beyond a pair of notably large oaks, the ground descended to the riverbed.
The water was pure. The only kind that exists away from civilization. I stared i nto it’s depths, and just stared. My body had really changed! I no longer had hair on my head. Instead, it had a pattern of scales covering it. Two mall horns jut ted out of the back of my head, protruding about an inch-and-a-half skyward. My eyes were snake-like, and yellow. My mouth had suddenly filled with fangs. Yikes ! My body was green, and gave off the impression that nothing could bend it to i t’s will.
I reached for my chest, but stopped myself. Seeing how sharp my fingers had beco
me. I don’t care how hard my skin looked. My “claws” looked lethal. I hadn’t noticed bef ore, but I was walking with a different gait. My freaking legs were backwards! A
s I realized this, I toppled over. It’s an odd feeling with your legs bending the wrong way. After a few attempts, I clumsily made my way to my feet. I really was a Dragon Knight.
Draco trained me in my new body for the last three months. It turned out that I also had some hidden wings. They could disappear at will, just like every aspect of the Dragon Knight. Draco taught me the physics of flying, using the air to m y advantage, using my dragon eyes to see where the updrafts were, caused by hot air. It took some getting used to, but eventually I became an aerial ace.
Oh yes. Throughout the year, Draco ran me through a brutal physical workout each day. And by “workout each day”, I mean a different workout each day. It was a grues ome process, but it definitely paid off. I came to the wilderness as an inexperi enced camper, who was wimpy at first glance. Now I was a determined woodsman who knew how to hunt I had sun-bronzed skin from hours in the daylight. And I had d eveloped calluses from hard work. In late June, I packed up my camp, and headed back to rusty. I was ready to make my contribution to society.
Chapter 3: A Day in the Life
Present day…
On the way back to Ali’s house, I swung by the police station, and dropped off the thug’s gun, filed a report, and told them where to find the creeps. Then I starte d trying to formulate an excuse for Ali’s current condition to tell her father.
“Why don’t you simply tell Mr. Palmer the truth?” Draco asked. He’d gone three years wit hout speaking like a fossil. Snaps for Mr. Modern. “It doesn’t seem that out of the ordinary.”
“Except, “ I stated as if the problem was apparent. “that when people get mugged, both members of the couple become victims. I don’t want him to think I beat up on his daughter, because that’s what it’s starting to look like to my inner skeptic. And th en there’s the little matter where normal people don’t turn into super powered creat ures of the night.”
“Suit yourself.” Draco replied.
I carried Ali up the front steps to her house. I rang the doorbell, and waited p atiently for Mr. Palmer to answer the door. I could afford to wait because Ali, this angel from above, weighed nothing to my enhanced muscles.
Mr. Palmer opened the door, and blanched when he saw Ali, unconscious, in my arm s. My face probably looked really guilty in that moment. His didn’t hold the expec ted anger, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t upset with me.
“May I come in Mr. Palmer? My arms are getting tired.” I lied.
“Yes. And then you can explain what happened to my daughter.” He said sternly. We wandered through the catacombs of the upper floor, until we reached Ali’s room. It was probably the size of my whole apartment! The walls were a bubblegum pink , with wallpaper in the design of a rose garden. To the left of the entrance, wa s her closet that I conspicuously avoided looking into. Beyond that, was a large mirror attached to a vanity desk. Covering the desk was an assortment of make-u p supplies. On the wall opposite the entrance, was a large window looking over t he front lawn, which, from this view looked like a big slice of pizza. To the ri
ght of us, and our destination, was Ali’s appropriately named queen-sized bed. I l aid her down on it, after Mr. Palmer had pulled down the blankets. He tucked her in, as I tried my best to be invisible, which I could have, if I wanted to. He turned his stony gaze to me, and indicated that I follow him, down to the front room.
We made our way back to the ground floor, and he turned to me, a silent plea for an explanation in his eyes. “Before I jump to conclusions, I want to hear what ha ppened, from you. Why is my daughter unconscious?”
“We were leaving the mall, to come back here, when some muggers came and attacked us. Ali was behind me, and they hit her when I couldn’t see them coming. They aske d for my money, and any expensive things Ali was carrying. I emptied my wallet t o them, and convinced them to leave Ali alone. After they left, I brought Ali he re.” I hoped that he would buy it. I didn’t feel like telling him I had a 2,000-year old dragon in my head, that gave me magical powers. That kind of thing just doe sn’t hold water.
“’Convinced them’ huh? How’d ya swing that?” He still looked skeptical. Super.
“Well…” I said, stalling. “I took the guy’s gun, ‘cause he was standing so close to me, and held it at him. I took self-defense classes a little while ago” Draco smiled at th
at. “and learned how disarm an opponent. After they saw they had lost their weapon , they turned tail and ran.” I hoped that was a more believable story.
“I believe you.” He said quietly. His smooth voice sent goose bumps down my spine. “I’m sorry I doubted you. Please accept this as a personal thank you, and to repay wh
atever you lost.” He pulled out his checkbook.
I started blushing profoundly. “No thank you, Mr. Palmer.” This was not at all what
I had expected. Mr. Palmer really fell far from the “Date’s Father” tree. “It wasn’t that much money, and I’m just as glad as you are, that Ali’s safe.” I didn’t want to get pai d for the lies I had told him. Even though it was a good cover-story.
“If you insist.” He put the checkbook away, and gave me a hug like the one he had gi ven me a few hours before. Thank goodness you were there to help my princess.” Coi ncidental nickname? I think not, pizza-boy. I’m on to you.
“Don’t mention it, Mr. Palmer. Seriously. I don’t want Ali getting any ideas of false heroism.” I smirked at my cleverness, but Mr. Palmer didn’t catch it.
His piercing green eyes shone, as he said, “God bless you, son. Thank you again fo r saving Allison.” He patted me on the back, as I headed out the door.
Dan was already at the hideout when I showed up. Dan and Thomas were two of my b
est friends. I’m pretty sure that we were “cut from the same cloth”—so to speak. We all met in our elementary school class, and spent all of our time together. Although
lately, Thomas had been spending more time away from Dan and myself.
Dan had rich, dark skin that looked like milk chocolate. His tight ebony curls c overed his head in a solid layer. Dan had stuck with me through so much, always supporting me with whatever help he could offer me.
Thomas had been there for me too. Thomas was almost the opposite of Dan in every way. He had platinum-blonde hair that was wavy in every sense of the word. His startling blue eyes seemed to pierce me whenever we met each others’ gaze. His fai r skin could have passed him off as an elf from middle earth. But when it came t o problems, Thomas tended to tackle them, instead of solving it He had a strong passion for winning that came in handy over the years. But when it came to secre ts, and help, Dan was the one I knew would help me.
Dan was the first person, besides my family, that I saw after my “study abroad” sess ion up north. After being in semi-solitude for so long (I was never completely a lone anymore), Dan’s friendship was a forgotten luxury. I missed having someone to talk to, about anything and everything going on in my life. After Dan stopped f reaking out, he thought it was kind of cool. He started calling me up, and paint ed an image of grandeur. He wanted me to be a super hero, and do daring do’s. I ha ve to admit that the thought had crossed my mind, As Draco had obviously seen on our first encounter. The more I believed the dream that Dan gave me, the more I thought it would be a good idea. But first we needed a base of operations to wo rk from.
We spent a few fruitless weeks looking for a place we could work from. It wasn’t l ike we could just plug stuff into a rented cubicle, and pay rent. So we went hun
ting for an abandoned warehouse, or something. We got close. After two weeks, we finally came across a boarded-up gas station. We asked around, and discovered t hat they had closed it 10 years earlier. Dan and I cleaned the place up, and bro
ught some emergency supplies for the “what would happen if…” situations. Next, we pool ed our money together, and got some has generators, so we could bring in some ac
cessories. We also got a nice couch that was to die for.
The first problem we ran into: police scanners. Apparently the police don’t take k indly to snot-nosed teenagers asking for police radios. So I had to be all sneak y-like. Draco had taught me how to use a camouflage-like power. It wasn’t complete invisibility, but all Dan could see of me was a slight distortion in the air as I crept toward a parked police cruiser. The cop was parked outside of some stor e. We got the police scanner with no problem, and it was gleaming in the boarded up window as I walked into the “hideout” in the present.
Dan was wearing his usual gray hoodie that he wore so no one would recognize him , as he entered. I thought it was a hassle he didn’t have to bother with, since he made sure no one was looking before even going near the place.
He rushed over to me, a worried expression on his face, mixed with excitement. T he small TV that was on the opposite wall was on the news. “…the two suspects are fl eeing down 3rd street, and are heavily armed…”
“Jake! It’s all over the news, and the scanners. The Chicago savings and bank were r obbed about 10 minutes ago, man. You gotta get over there, and do something!” He s tarted flipping through his handy dandy notebook, looking up details I presumed. “They have to m40 shotguns. From the footage they showed on the news, it looked l ike they shaved the barrels down way below the legal limit. This is some dangero us stuff. These guys mean business. But I know that won’t stop you. Let mu just se e where they are now.” He turned his back to me, so he could focus on the radio sc anners. I had been listening to the scanner the whole time. I knew where they ha d gone to. By the time Dan turned around to inform me of his findings, I was lon g gone.
* * *
The last time I had checked, the bad guys had reached 7th St. So I headed that w ay. I had stepped out of “Sector 8” (so named because it was more secretive than sec tor 7), and immediately launched myself into the air, transforming and summoning my wings as I went.
The best thing about Chicago is also the worst thing about Chicago-the wind. I m ean this town is seriously windy. You know those movies that show the leaf falli ng slowly to the ground, being carried by the gentle breeze. It’s almost hypnotic to watch the little leaf get tossed this way and that. When I go flying, on patr ol through the skyscraper canyons, I become that leaf on the wind.
Let me tell ya—it ain’t fun.
I jumped into the night sky, and was immediately buffeted by a strong gale. I wa s just glad that it wasn’t raining. Three guesses what happened next.
The rain did not fall gently. Somebody up there dumped a big ol’ bucket of the wet stuff on me. Suddenly, it was all I could do to stay airborne. So instead of ju st riding the currents the way a lazy Dragon Knight might do, I pumped my avail muscles, and used my powerful tail as a rudder to guide me to my destination. I focused on the street signs as I was flying by. 5th Ave., 1st Ave., Main St., 3r d St., 6th St. As I press on, I heard the familiar, faint *pop* of distant gunsh ots. I flew higher on a nearby updraft, and rode it until I could land on the Wi lkinson Building, overlooking Pioneer Court. I folded my wings around me in a ma keshift cloak, sheltering me from the elements as I looked down on the scene bel ow.
The robbers, whoever they were, definitely had their shotguns cut down to size. Most people grasp the concept that shotguns are cool because their bullets sprea d out over a distance. What they don’t understand, is how much it spreads. At abou t 100 yards, the most they’ll spread out is about as big as my spread hand. That’s w here the shortened barrel gets it’s illegality from. The shorter the barrel is, th e more spreading the bullets are able to do. It’s not very effective when taking o n enemies from far away, but it doesn’t take more than one bullet to puncture the skin, or cause internal bleeding from armor impact.
I didn’t waste time. Every second I stood watching was another chance someone coul d get hurt, or taken hostage. I leapt off the building, and started my freefall. When I was about 20 feet off the ground, I snapped my wings open, catching a po cket of air that slowed my decent comfortably. It also made a muffled “boom” sound, announcing my arrival. After all, you only get one first impression. The cops pe eked over their cruisers to see what was going on, and the guys with the illegal boom-boom sticks were just as curious.
When I go into a fight, I have to be careful. Because most of the bad guys I fac e—alright, all of them—are mere mortals.
So, to start things out, I threw them a fireball.
The giant plume of flame was one of my favorite ways to start a battle. The effe ct was massive, but not very intense, because it covered a wide berth with not a lot of juice behind it. The guys instinctively raised their arms in front of th em. I jumped after my fireball, while the bad guys weren’t looking. I did a front flip as my wings dissolved into my back, then tumbled through the air, to land b ehind them. I picked the first goon up bodily, and jumped away with him, and spl ashed into a puddle—30 feet away. I tapped him on the jaw just hard enough to put him out. I set him aside, face-up so he wouldn’t drown, as goon #2 came wading tow ard us, through the gathering precipitation. Just for jollies, and because I lik e to be intimidating, I summoned my wings and blew a gust of wind that carried s ome water into good #2’s face. Something must have been in the stuff, ‘cause he star ted screaming as it entered his eyes. I chuckled to myself as he kept whining. I poked his right shoulder, and he looked up at me through bloodshot eyes. “You kno w,” I began in a dangerously low voice. “they give you a free toaster when you open up a new account at the bank.” I continued with a hissing drawl. “Let that be a less on to you: take the toaster, or be toast.” On the last word, I filled my mouth and eyes with flame. The guy must have wet his pants, but I couldn’t tell. He rolled his eyes back in his head, and he toppled backwards.
I picked up the M40’s, and took them over to the cowering cops, wrapped in my wing s again. The officers looked new. I don’t think they’d met me yet. I try and make my self known, but nobody’s perfect. I handed them the guns, while they tried their b est not to touch my claws…or look scared spitless.
“What are you?” The younger-looking cop asked.
“I am the Dragon Knight. And don’t worry, I’m on your side.” I always made sure to make the right kind of first impression with the right kind of people. After all, my
parents didn’t raise me to be some kind of Neanderthal.
Before they could say anything else, I fled to the skies, heading back to Sector 8. I landed in the alley out to the back of the old station. I shrank back to n ormal size, and started to turn around, when I heard the hammer of a gun being c ocked, and a calm dangerous voice said, “Don’t move, or I’ll kill you.”
Boy, I would have done anything to be at a late-night movie right about then.
Chapter 4: Back Home
Four years ago…
I stepped inside the door to my home, having barely remembered how to navigate t he street signs in this no-foreign jungle. My mom was home, and she rushed to ta ckle me in an air-stealing hug. She did it so fast that, due to my recent traini ng, I almost attacked her back. But I let her assault me anyway. It was a relief to make physical contact with someone in a non-violent way. She gently brought herself away from me, with tears in her eyes. I had been gone for only a year, b ut the emotions her hug brought with it were surprisingly powerful. But I did as Draco had taught me, and shut my emotions away for later.
I told my mom about my year abroad. Or at least something a normal person would have done: that I visited some schools, and took some classes. I told her that I had learned a lot, which was true. Draco had taught me a great deal more than c
ombat. He taught me about nature. He explained philosophies that had been consid ered by the great minds. Is it necessary to listen to every word in a sentence? Should we only help people with big problems, or go out of our way to let others know that they are not alone? What does it mean to be a person? How do you cope with failure, when you were too late to do the right thing? Draco would ask one question after another, testing my knowledge, as well as my moral decision-maki ng skills. At first, I had made stupid mistakes, or I would give simple answers. But as time progressed, so did I. instead of answering right away, I would cons ider the consequences of my decision, and answer accordingly. Or other times, I would meet Draco’s question with one of my own.
“If power is too much for thee to handle, and it corrupts thee, how dost thou give it up?” was an example of Draco’s philosophical questions. I would smile knowingly, recognizing that he could be referring to removing the power or the corruption. So I asked him in kind, “What qualities have I lost, that will make me whole?” Indeed, I had grown, and matured greatly since I had met Draco. He was my teache r, my companion, and above all, my friend. We hadn’t taken on any of the low-lifes yet, but it felt like we had been through a lot together. And it seemed that I had rubbed off on him, as he had on me. He started using modern-day terms instea d of medieval ones. But he still clung to those annoying “these & thous” that pretty much drove me crazy.
After my brief recollection my mom about the past year, I headed up to my room, to go to bed.
Inside my room, I noted that on the green LED display on my clock, the time was 11:30 PM. My father must be asleep already. I flipped on the light switch, and s aw that my nostalgia-inducing room was clean. I had never kept it organized in a ny way. My mom must have had withdrawals at some point during my absence. She pr obably had taken it harder than I originally thought. My window was opposite the doorway, framed by discreet brown curtains. As you walk in my room, everything, except my closet, is on the left. My walls are tan, with a tasteful black trim lining the ceiling. My bedspread was a blue, plaid design that complimented the wall color very well. My dark oak bedside table held my generic lamp, lighting m y room with a warm glow.
Once upon a time, I would have relaxed, and flopped down on my bed, letting the world’s weight pass on by. But as I looked on the familiar scene, I felt only empt iness. This room could not bring me the reassuring place that I needed. Only mov ing forward could bring me that. Only pushing myself to the limit could let me r est easy. But I knew, deep down, that I would never rest easily again. I couldn’t let myself afford a moment’s easiness, knowing that there were people that needed my help, and I had the power they needed. I had to do whatever it took, wherever I was needed, whenever I was called.
“Jake!” My mom yelled from the kitchen downstairs. “Dan’s been calling for you for the p ast week. He wants to know when you get home.” Well, I’ll be a monkey’s uncle. People were already calling for me. I had to open up my little book of my friends’ number s, and look up “Dan Charleston”. I dialed his number, and waited.
“Hello?” Came Dan’s unfamiliar voice from the other end of the line. He sounded tired.
“Hey Dan, it’s me. It’s Jacob.” I said nervously. I didn’t know how he’d react from hearing from me, after I bailed on him for a year.
“Jake?! What the heck? Where have you been, man? When did you get back?”
“I just got back, and my mom told me you’d been calling.” I didn’t know whether to tell Dan the truth or not. I wasn’t exactly close with my parents like Dan was with his
. I was definitely closer to Dan tan I was to my folks. But I still didn’t know if I wanted to tell him about Draco. What I did know was that we needed to talk. I missed my best friend. “Dan, can you meet me at the ‘Shake Shop’?”
“Sure thing, dude. What’s up?”
“I just need to talk to you.” The more I thought about it, the more I thought it wou ld be a good idea to trust Dan. But I’d have to get some one-on-one time to make s ure. I was sure it would do more harm than good, if people were aware of my…situat ion. Even if it was my best friend. People change over time. I was living proof of that. So the only way I could make sure of Dan, was to see him in person.
“Alright Jake. I’m here for you.” His voice was tired, but determined. I believed him. “Just let me get some clothes on.” I chuckled at that. His friendship was always a foundation in my life, and it was a comfort to be able to know he was there for me. I shrugged into my coat, moseyed (yes, I actually moseyed) down the stairs, and out the door.
The “Shake Shop” looks like something out of the “swinging 50’s”. It had the red and white -striped carousel shape. If you were a first-time customer, you wouldn’t be sure w
here the front door was. Having come here for years, I located the double front doors, and entered the little creamery. Technically it wasn’t just a creamery anym ore. After the owner, Sam, had gone through a particularly good streak of busine ss, he had invested in a stove, a rotisserie grill, and took time to get some se rious cooking skills. Now, in addition to shakes, Sam sold hamburgers and hot do gs. His food was far from ordinary. It was considered by many, myself included, to be from heaven itself. Just walking in there, as I was now, set my drool fact or on maximum output.
The interior of the “Shake Shop” carried the theme from the outside. There were boot hs lining the circular walls, full of red benches and cozy tables. Between the b enches and the middle of the room, were some free-standing tables surrounded by cushioned stools. In the middle of the round shop, was where same “lived”. He had an elegant bar counter that separated the customers from Sam’s workspace. From the c ounter, you could see everything he was doing. It was just something that furthe r convinced me that Sam was an all-around good guy.
I walked in, and saw Dan sitting at the counter. I walked up and tapped him on t he shoulder. He turned around, and grinned up at me from his seated position. “Hey man, you look…older.”
“Thanks Dan. My confidence is now overflowing because of your sensitive remark.” I s aid easily.
“Sorry Jake. I didn’t mean it like that.” It didn’t look like he was very sorry to me. “Wh at did you want to talk about?”
“Something important but not here.” I didn’t want to sound too crazy, so I added, “I jus t need to stretch my legs.”
“You got it.” I knew he didn’t believe me, but he went along with me anyway. We walked around the city. I kept asking Dan about what had been going on. He ha d attended a few semesters and the University of Chicago. He had a job as a mana ger at a local bookstore, to boot. It sounded like things had been going well fo r him.
Our stroll took us all over the city. At one point, I realized that we had gotte n to the middle of a deserted park. By this point, I honestly believed that I co uld tell Dan about Draco.
So after he told me about what was going on in his life, I told him what had bee n going on in mine. I told him everything. Everything that happened to me. And D raco helped me out with the details of what happened to him.
“So you expect me to believe that you have a ‘dragon’ in your head that you found in t hat cave we found you in, and that he gave you super powers? ARE YOU KIDDING ME?
!”
“I’m telling you the truth, Dan. You’re my Bro. and I just need you here, man.”
“I get you. But I just don’t think I know how to believe that. It hasn’t ever happened before, outside of comic books. Can you, ya know, show me?” He sounded honestly c urious, and it did sound like he wanted to believe me. So I showed him the sign of Draco.
“That’s your proof? That looks like some two-bit tattoo job. If you just wanted to s how me your tattoo, man, you could have just told me. Heck! I probably would hav e showed you mine!”
I was slightly alarmed that Dan had a tattoo. But that didn’t ebb my gathering rag e. “Look Dan, I need you to believe me. I don’t care that you have a tattoo. This is not a tattoo.” I pointed at my pecs. “This is burned flesh from when I took the sca le through my skin. It hurt like crazy, and it endowed me with the power of magi c, and you’re laughing at ME?!”
Dan looked ashamed. “I’m sorry man. You really got burned there?”
m’s triple-patty cheeseburger supreme. That was a serious statement indeed. But I realized that looking at a Dragon Knight could be a little unsettling. Just a bi t. So instead of “shifting” all the way, I simply reached into my power, as I had so many times before, and forced it into the form of a fireball, inches above my b are palm, casting a gentle orange glow on both of us.
Let me just say that it was a good thing I didn’t turn into a big green monster. Dan nearly tripped over his own teeth in his haste to get away from me. He let o ut a yelp, and tried to crab-walk in the opposite direction. “Holy crap!” He squeale d in a manner similar to how I would have, were I in his situation. “What are you?” “I am a Dragon Knight.” I said, my voice full of power. “But I am still you friend, Ja cob Cornelius Flintwood. You can trust me.” I really wanted to press that point. “Your eyes are glowing, and you have a fireball in your hand. How does that make y ou a dragon-whatever?”
“I’d show you, but I think it best if we burn that bridge another day.” I didn’t know my eyes lit up when I used my power. Oh well, all the better for me.
“Cool, cool. I believe you. Could you put that thing…away?” I did as he asked and he s tood up again. I gave him a clap on the back, grinning. “So what do we do now?” he a sked his eyes widened. “You could totally fight crime as a superhero!” His excitemen t was gathering. “First, we need to get you some transportation. Then,-“
“I think we’re good on that front.” I said, cutting him off. “I have wings.”
His eyes all but bugged out of his skull. “You can fly too?!” I half-expected him to start foaming at the mouth. “That is so unfair! But just think about being able t o save people with your powers. All the good you could do!”
“I’ve thought about it, believe me.” He nodded frantically at that. “I just wanted you t o be there with me, and, ya know, help me out.”
“You’ve got my support, man. The only thing I think you’re missing now is a secret bas e.”
He had a point, of course. But I had no idea what I was supposed to do about it. “I don’t know any places we could use. Do you?”
“Not off the top of my head. But I’ll look around.”
“Alright, let me know.” We left the park, and bounced some more ideas off of each ot her, before we separated back to our homes.
* * *
I came in through the door of my home at about one in the morning, only to be ca ught up in a hug full of perfume that brought with it a fistful of memories that
piled rived their way through my thick skull. “Hello Anna.” I managed. I couldn’t rea lly think of anything to say to my girlfriend that I’d left behind. Had she missed me? Had she fallen in love with someone else? And more importantly, had she for given me? Judging by the lack of oxygen in my lungs, it was a resounding yes. I held her gently, and we didn’t say anything for a while. We had been apart for a y ear now, and we had no idea what had happened to the other. All we knew was that we had this moment together. I liked it a lot.
I held her to me or a few more minutes, then reluctantly let go. I noticed there were a few lamps on in the sitting room, and I walked Anna over so we could sit down on the white, floral-pattern couch. “It’s really good to see you Anna. How hav e you been?” It was so relaxing to be here with her. I could do it all night. Anna leaned toward me slowly, lips parted willingly, and…
Slapped me in the face. I was so taken aback, that I yelped out loud and threw m yself away from her. It was more from shock, than actual pain. The most unsettli ng thing was that my training was absolutely useless in that situation. I didn’t e ven see it coming. Draco was choclaksjdldjfskdjfa;skdjf
chortling somewhere in the back of my mind. “Shut up.” I thought to him.
“That’s for leaving.” She slapped me again. “That’s for not ever writing to me, or talking to me in any way.” She was fuming now. I could see a tear about to fall from her
left eye. “And this,” She said menacingly leaning in again. When she didn’t hit me, I relaxed. She tilted her head up, with her eyes half closed. After a moment to ge
t off the emotional roller coaster, I realized what she was doing. I leaned down and kissed her softly. She kissed me again and again, softly, but with growing intensity. My hand held the small of her back, as she ran her fingers through my hair. All the while, our lips joined and parted in a slow, passionate, rhythm.
