Follow the Dragon Scales

Before Night Falls

Shae slammed the car door behind her, following both Andy and Harmony around the front of the car. The car had died suddenly on the road, and they had just passed the magic border between the Northern region and the Southern provinces. An important fact to point out because--

"Crap! It's so cold out here!" Shae exclaimed as she leaned over the hood of the car, staring at the confusing mix of parts. Andy nodded in agreement, rubbing his arms to keep warm.

"Of course we break down after we get into the coldest part of the world," Harmony muttered to herself in exasperation. "I have no idea what's wrong, and I haven't got a cellphone to call anyone with. Do either of you have a phone with you?"

"No. I'm not allowed a phone," Shae said. "Which I think is ridiculous, but whatchya gonna do?" Andy, also, did not have a phone.

"My parents like to keep electronics locked in their closet at night," he said. "There was no way I was risking it to grab my phone from the closet in their room." Harmony nodded, though she was disappointed.

"We'll have to hike it up the rest of the way to the nearest place." Harmony moved around to the boot of the car as she spoke. "I know that the dragon reservation is relatively close to the border, so we could start heading there. I've got a map." 

"Uh. What about this weather?" Shae asked. "Like, I know I should have thought about the border when I was crawling out my window last night, but I didn't, so the closest thing I've got to warm clothes is a very thin sweater, so..." 

"Oh, that's no problem at all!" Harmony replied. "I've got all kinds of junk in the trunk of my car. Just grab a jacket. I'm sure you'll find a good one back there. Do you need one as well, Andy?" 

"No. I grabbed a jacket before I left because I actually took into account that we'd be crossing into the North. Unlike some people..." He eyed Shae as he spoke.

She then punched him in the side.

"I get it," she said, irritated. "It was a bit dumb to forget that. We should get moving. I want to get there before it gets dark."

Harmony slammed the trunk and handed Shae a worn winter coat. The reflective surface of the snow shined in her eye as she turned toward the road, trying to figure out where exactly they were on the map. 

"You two should grab your bags unless you want to leave them with my car until we get someone to come pick it up," she said as she studied the map further. "We've got around seven hours until six, which is when I expect it to start getting dark, so we should have plenty of time to get there before night falls."

"Sounds good," Shae said, slamming the door to the car. 

"Yeah." Andy nodded as well. "Let's just get this over with."