The Silver Dragon (Unpublished, unedited version)

Chapter 9: Found

A brown haired man let loose a tired sigh as he once again sat back on his desk. The computer screen in front of him flickered to life, sending its dull light into the man's glasses. He brushed back his ruffled brown hair as he set himself to once again continue with his job. He didn't know what was the point. A year had passed and still they hadn't found the target. He suspected she was dead.

He looked out over his desk to the other people who had been stuck in the same boring job as him. There were hundreds upon hundreds of rows of them scouring the Internet, wireless phones, satellite images, anything that was connected to the World Wide Web. Hundreds of dragons had been found all throughout the world from America to Russia and down into Africa, but the dragon they were supposed to find had all but disappeared.

Grumbling to himself the man opened his 'bookmarks' on his computer and opened his Facebook. There was nothing better to do. He made sure no one would rat him out before that however, though the man next to him was playing some old computer game and on the other side the woman was too focused on her task to notice. Smiling to himself he began to scroll down his newsfeed, looking for anything whatsoever to bring entertainment from the mundane life of a computer hacker. He also hadn't been on his Facebook for a while.

He continued to scroll when something caught his eye. At first he scrolled past it, but stopped, and scrolled back up. He was nearly at shock at what he saw. It took a moment for him to comprehend it, but when he did an excited yell sounded from his throat. He stood up from his chair with a quick movement, startling the few people around him.

"Sir! Sir!" he cried out to the man who was overseeing the operation, "I found her!"

A dark haired, heavily toned, intimidating man slowly walked over to where the excited man had been working. His eyes gazed at the screen with narrowed eyes, studying the image before him.

"Well done," said the man, straightening, "I will notify our employer immediately. You are dismissed. Have the rest of the day off."

The hacker couldn't believe his luck. He stood up, did an awkward salute, and hurried out of the room before the man could change his mind.

The rough leader ignored him, studying the open screen.

'Rare metallic dragon spotted on the South West Coast of Australia.' Accompanying the words was a far of shot of the silver dragoness, flying over a field of crops. A smile spread across his face. They finally had her.

* * *

Silver landed next to the house with a small thump, stretching her wings and yawning. It had been a rough day for her, harder then usual. A group of cattle had gone wild and escaped their pen, being spooked by something or another. She had spent the rest of the day finding the right ones and bringing them back to the paddock they had been in, and fixing the fence. Occasionally she had been forced to carry a few over, which had been hard work. Cattle weren't light.

With a sigh she walked over to her metal nest and curled up in it, the cool metal surface soothing on her warn body. The bowel shaped nest rocked slightly, making her drowsy. She knew there was still a couple of hours of sunlight left but she couldn't be bothered to hunt when she was so tired, though she knew she would be hungry in the morning.

"Silver! Silver!" a boy's cries echoed over her, causing her to moan in annoyance.

She lifted a drowsy head and looked at the now thirteen-year-old boy. He seemed excited about something. She resisted the urge to growl at him. She was in no mood for an excited human at the moment.

"Wake up!" the boy cried again, though she was obviously awake, "I saw another dragon! I saw another dragon!"

The words got her attention and she tilted her head slightly in confusion. Greg ran up to her and bent down on his knees, puffing in exhaustion. Silver waited impatiently for him to regain his breath, and when he straightened up she asked her question.