Dragon Dreams

Chapter 10: Night Flight (2/2)

Gliding down was easy; hardly any flapping was needed as I coasted down from my cruising height. I aimed for the dark slopes far away from the highway. My night vision started to fill in some details below, and I picked out a small clearing. Circling a few hundred feet above, I looked hard for any signs of people. Seeing nothing but swaying evergreens all around, I touched down in the clearing, flattening the grass with the stiff wind off my wings. Back on solid ground once more, I stood up on my hind legs and walked to a nearby tree, my bags swinging comically from my neck. I placed them at the base of a thick, sweet-smelling tree and lay down on my stomach. I spread my limbs and wings out wide on the cool pine needles, which sent waves of pleasure through my sore muscles. For a while, I lay still, breathing the delicious air and recovering my strength.

I must have been quite a sight: a shorts-clad dragon lying spread-eagled on the forest floor. I dug my claws into the earth, grasping dirt and pine needles, savoring the contact. The heavy sounds of night surrounded me as I tuned out my thoughts and just listened. Whirring insects, lilting birdsong, it all wrapped around me like a nocturnal blanket—nature's lullaby. Drowsiness crept quietly into my mind, stretching and blurring time as I drifted off on my cool pillow of soil.

I woke with a start, muscles tensed. "Damn, I didn't mean to fall asleep," I thought, "I wonder how long I was out?" A loud bark nearby gave me a clue as to why I woke. Panic set me still as a statue, blood pounding an anxious beat in my ears. A dog must have found its way over from a nearby house. "Time to go," was my immediate assessment.

"What're you after, Rex?" A man's rough voice cut through the darkness along with his flashlight beam. Ahead of me, he stood, facing another direction about fifty feet away and mercifully still unaware of my presence. The dog sniffled, and I could hear its breathy excitement as it zigzagged toward me, pausing to bark every few paces. I also spied the rifle slung over the man's shoulder. "Really time to go," I mentally yelled as I tried to inch over to my bags unnoticed.

Suddenly, my vision exploded into a searing white haze. The flashlight must have hit me right in the eyes. Things happened quickly after that. I heard the thump as the flashlight hit the ground, but didn't see anything since I was still blinking away stars. Scrambling blindly, I groped for my bags.

"What the fuck..." The man forgot all about his dog when he saw me crouched by the clearing.

My vision cleared just enough to see the rifle barrel pointed straight at me. I tried to say "No" but my instincts had taken control in an instant. A roar emerged from my mouth instead. In a split second, I saw the man brace to fire. There was nothing I could do but try to shield my head behind my forelegs. Crack. I felt suddenly dizzy. But, strangely, no pain. I hadn't been hit. Then I registered the hazy, glowing pane of air in front of me that was unmistakably magical. "A shield made of magic? I can do that?" I guessed my instincts had stepped in to save me. The flattened bullet had simply fallen to the dirt after hitting the shield. But I wasn't done.

Fiery wrath sprang to life behind my eyes; in an instant, all I could think of was to kill or be killed. On all fours for speed, I charged forward with a growl that sent the poor dog sprinting away with a yelp. The man stood, dumbfounded, and fumbled with his gun in panic. Before I could stop myself, I was in the act of conjuring fire to throw at my attacker. But this time, I fought hard against the wild aggression, thinking of Ares and how he manipulated me. "I'm still human in here," I thought. "I will not submit to this dark side again."

The man was starting to think better of facing me and had turned his back to run. But my eyes were still fixed on him—the target for my deadly fire-breath. At the last moment, I managed to regain enough control to turn my head away. The flaming missile struck a nearby tree and burst in a shower of sparks. The man and his dog were long gone, leaving the flashlight to cast its lonely beam into the forest. I let my head droop as shame chased my anger away. Bitter thoughts surfaced in the aftermath. "How could I have let this happen? Not only was I seen by somebody, but I almost killed him!" It was so stupid. The only silver lining was I found a way to take back control, to keep that fire from reaching its target.

I turned and walked back to the clearing, adopting the two-legged posture once more. The flashlight projected my silhouette, broken into sinister shapes and odd angles, onto the trees. Every one a sentinel—they had me feeling watched and unwelcome. I quickly gathered my bags and took off again. Leaving the forest to fall away below me, I surged upward and took my place in the veiled and impenetrable expanse of night.

I felt tired sooner than I hoped. Maybe the new shielding magic had sapped some of my strength. I figured the energy had to come from somewhere. For the next few hours, I vaguely tracked the interstate as it flowed north like some ancient channel etched by time and ice. I had a new game where I tried to keep my mind as blank as possible. The world would just pass by, not caring for me, and I would not care in return. Passive and distant—I watched the passing scenes like I would a TV show. The drama unfolding on-screen was merely for entertainment. However, my thoughts grew weary, unable to sustain the illusion.

Vancouver came and went. Jewels glittered from the stitched fabric of the quilted city. Patchwork of parks, water, boats, squares, and skyscrapers. I left it behind as another melancholy memory. Years ago, my parents took us to Vancouver for vacation. I remembered happy times with Alex, chasing her through the park and flying kites. Back then, I wished I could join the kites in the sky, but now I could only think of walking on a sidewalk again: the mundane normality that I missed already.

I realigned my flight path with the ragged coast. Thinking I could stand a little more flying, I kept going into the darkened expanse of British Columbia. "This is more like it," I thought. "Whole swaths of land with no lights, no people at all." The journey was almost over. My wings started to really burn with the effort, and I responded with more and more gliding. My descent was gradual, which gave me time to pick out my landing spot. The coast was more or less beneath me, but I saw some high ridges rising steeply from the earth. It was inhospitable terrain, but I had learned my lesson and circled my chosen cliff in the unlikely event there were signs of humans. Once again, I was struck by the acuity of my night vision. The scant moonlight still allowed me to see every branch and bough of the trees below and through to the scrubby ground.

Fatigue led to a somewhat awkward landing as I basically dropped in a heap on the mossy forest floor. My wings were stiff and half-dragged behind me as I stood up and explored the area. Mostly old evergreen trees and a carpet of ground vegetation lined the ridge top. Satisfied that I was indeed alone, I found a secluded rock formation and, nestling my bags in a crevice, I curled up on the cool, soft bed of plants.

"I guess this is home," I thought, "at least for now." My eyes were already drooping as I lay my head down, resting comfortably against the curved underside of my tail. The faintest tinge of sunrise was starting to creep up into the sky. It was the last thing I saw before wakefulness dissolved into overdue rest.

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