Dragon Dreams

Chapter 11: Runaway (1/3)

Dreams have an ebb and flow, like waves. Fading in and out, over and over, each night. Swells of swirling images and pulsating, half-remembered thoughts, often blending together into a pattern of sameness. I longed for the pattern, the monotony. But, I had no more say in the matter of my dreams than I did over the ocean tides. Unbending reality is indifferent to such wishes—gravity and all the laws still apply. So, the stone fell into the placid pool of my mind and stirred up the harmonic, rippling dreams that nature decreed.

Sounds, birds, hum of insects, much like the place my sleeping body had left behind. The dream-forest, familiar to me from my previous dreams, sprouted up around me. I heard another tune, the soft lapping of water upon the shore. Treading on the cool blanket of moss and leaves, I padded through the forest. The bluish scent of fresh water drew me to the lake shore, where I looked out over the shifting, gray mass. The sky caught my attention; it was clouded and dimmed the landscape more than my previous visits.

Chill winds picked up wet spray from the water as I stood on the stony beach. I shivered. The dream had not yet revealed any visitors, friendly or otherwise. However, the loneliness and dim atmosphere sent their own signals. The clouds pressed down in a gathering mist.

Across the lake, a figure slipped in and out of sight behind a cloak of fog. A dragon, blue-gray and steely. Rofar stared without expression. His body looked smaller than usual, the gleam of his scales dulled in the half-light. Our eyes met briefly before his face took on a sorrowful look of regret and he hung his head. That was the last I saw before he turned away and disappeared into the shifting gray mass.

A deep sound started to creep up on me from a distance. Rolling, rumbling. A voluminous sound. I froze. "No. Not again. Not him." Echoing laughter rattled the air around me, getting closer and louder, coming from all directions. My eyes darting, looking for an escape, I whirled in panic and took off running. Back into the forest I plunged, four legs pumping, bounding over logs as I tried to outrun the sickening sound. It was an all-out sprint, and my lungs burned as my panting gasps tried to sustain the exertion. I could almost hear the pounding of his predatory steps following me, almost see the black shadow-hide weaving through the trees beside me. No escape.

I closed my eyes, and the gold runes that adorned Ares' body gleamed like tongues of fire in the darkness. When I opened them, I was all alone.

A blue sky appeared above me, held aloft by the towering trunks that rose from the soil below. Back in waking reality, my muscles were still tense as my heart pounded. Looking down at my forepaws, I saw that they were clenched with claws buried deep in the soft ground. I pulled them free and let out a slow breath. I wondered whether this was another dream with magical visitors, or just a scene conjured from within. It didn't matter.

I uncoiled myself and stretched, this time, unlike at home, letting my wings unfurl to their full extent with no fear of damaged drywall. My bags were still wedged into the rock formation, but I carefully extracted them and dug out my phone. I didn't even want to see what my family might have said, but the least I could do was tell them I was okay. Turning it on was a bit of a struggle since my fingertips now sported long claws unsuitable for pushing buttons. I awkwardly pressed down with the knuckle of my thumb until the phone came to life. Luckily, the battery was still almost full. I checked to make sure the GPS was off. It was. Then I waited to see if it had a signal.

One bar, then two. It was enough for the messages to start coming in. A string of texts from my mom. A voicemail. There would be time to look at those later, when I was ready. I quickly used my stylus to tap out a message to Alex—it seemed right for me to let her know first. Two words.

I'm safe.

I paused and quickly shot off another brief message.

Much love.

Sooner or later I would have to get used to this sort of communication. The physical separation and the artificial closeness of technology. It was better than no contact as all. I powered the device off and tucked my bags away again. The sun was high in the sky, and my appetite was gnawing at my insides. "Better find something to eat," I thought.

This was my first test. It was time to see how a dragon could carve out a life in this forest. If I followed my instincts, I was confident that I could live off the land. Hunt. That word resounded in my head. The thought of killing another creature was distasteful on the surface. But deeper down, there was a drive, an urge within me. The hunger was bringing out my unmistakable predatory side. My forked tongue was already flicking out to sense any nearby prey.

I took a deep breath and refocused my mind. "I need to eat," I said to myself, "so I must hunt while I'm out here. It's nothing more than that. Just satisfying my basic needs. It's not like I'll turn into a bloodthirsty monster just by feeding myself." First thing, though, I had to do something about my claws. They were still blunt from when I filed them at home and mostly useless as hunting tools. Glancing at the rocks nearby, I thought I found an easy remedy. A few minutes of sharpening them on the hard granite brought back the deadly points. I regarded them with some satisfaction. The feeling of the claws themselves had become almost natural, like they truly belonged to me. And I was about to use them for their intended purpose.

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