The Dragon and Me

When I was younger, I was told that once I reached the age of seventeen,  I would save the world. Of course, when I was little, I was ecstatic, always playing games where I was the hero who conquered all evil and rose above their flaws. However, my confidence slowly fizzled into doubt as I grew into my teenage years: how could a kid possibly save the world? And of all the kids in the world, why me? 

Once seventeen finally rolled around, I was beginning to wonder if this prophecy was even real or not. I mean, seriously, who believes old guys who tell you your future these days. I had been seventeen for nine months now, only leaving three months for this “saving the world” thing to kick in, and nothing strange or peculiar had happened. The world hadn’t erupted into chaos or burst out into flames on my birthday, and I had continued my life as though nothing had happened. Because nothing had happened. I still went to school the next day, goofed off in Spanish Club, and went home and made myself a PBJ, which was delicious, by the way. My life was the same as it always was, and I was glad...well, mostly glad. I had hoped there would’ve been something eventful, and was disappointed to carry on with my dull, regular schedule, even if I didn’t truly believe in this future that had been revealed to me.

I returned home from another long and depressing day of school, and drove to my neighborhood park to get some reading accomplished in the quiet space of nature. I unloaded my backpack out of my car and pulled on the sleeve of my father’s old flannel. It was slightly chilly outside, but there was no wind or clouds to make it worse. Slipping my phone out of my pocket, I made sure to text my mom that I wouldn’t be home for a few more hours. She was pretty lenient with my independence, calling or texting every so often, but overall, she was letting me act like an adult. I opened my book, ran my fingers across the pages, until I returned to where I had left off. 

I read for an hour or so when I started hearing strange noises coming from the trees near the picnic tables where I was seated. It sounded like...almost like...a moan? Or maybe a groan? It sounded human, but much deeper, like a retired WWE wrestler. I tried to ignore it for a while, finishing the chapter I was on, until my curiosity got the best of me and I stood, peering in the direction of the trees. I figured it was safe to venture inside, considering I always carried a small pocket knife and it was still very sunny that afternoon. I wandered inside the canopy of leaves, and it didn’t take long for me to discover the source of the groaning; it was obvious, it was huge, and it was a dragon.

I couldn’t believe my eyes. There was a dragon. A dragon. A dragon! I had no idea they existed outside of Dungeons and Dragons or Harry Potter. I stood there, completely shocked, frozen in fear and maybe amazement. Suddenly, I realized it had seen me, so my fight or flight instincts kicked in and I ran behind a tree. Looking back, that is a really feeble hiding spot with a beast that could breathe fire. I tried to quiet my breathing, hoping it didn’t really see me, when it spoke.

“Help...help me.” it groaned again. Confused, I peeked out from my ingenious hiding spot. They can talk too? Glancing at the magnificent beast, I realized it was hurt; it seemed to be clutching it’s wing. I cautiously approached the beast, going against every cell in my body telling me to turn and run for my life. I reached out and offered my hand; the beast lowered it’s claw away from it’s wing and I could see what was causing it pain. Several bullet holes lined it’s wing and I could tell it needed help fast. I knew I had a first aid kit in my car for emergencies but I was inexperienced in bullet wounds. 

“I’ll be back,” I told the dragon, and I ran in the direction of my car, quickly grabbed my med kit and hurried back into the forest. I tried to remember the first aid lesson they taught us before becoming a lifeguard, but they had failed to mention bullet wounds, which should come as no shock to anyone. The dragon was still in the same spot as it was when I had left, and it turned its head nervously as I approached.

“I heal very fast, if you could just get the pieces of metal out, they’re preventing me from healing.” the dragon whispered, his voice coming out coarse and harsh. I nodded and he lowered his wing so I could reach. I was not a guy very into gore, so I tried to get the bullets out as quickly as possible, dabbing them with a wet rag to stop the bleeding. Eventually, all of the bullets were removed and I began wiping the blood off my hand when I realized that the first hole that I had cleaned had healed completely. 

“Impressive.” I said, raising my eyebrows. Suddenly, I realized I was speaking to a real dragon, and thought I should take some precautions. “You’re not going to kill or eat me or anything right?” I asked.

“Of course not. I may be a beast, but I have a code of morals just as you. Although, clearly, your race has some things to learn.” He said, indicating his wings, which were now almost back to normal.

“What happened?” I wondered aloud. How on earth was there a wounded dragon in my neighborhood park? Like, seriously?”

“Well, I’m not exactly sure myself. It’s been a long time since the 5th century. There are some gaps in my memory.” 

“Wait, the 5th century? So you were actually around with knights and princesses?”

“Obviously, you don’t really think your species was smart enough to imagine the idea of dragons, do you? We were real and we lived in peace for a long time. That is, until knights got the clever idea of hunting animals thrice their size, and so we were forced to go into hiding. I traveled north into the cold to escape death when it finally caught up to me. There was a blizzard and I was forced to find land, and that’s when I lost my vision and fell into the freezing ocean. And from there, all I can remember is waking up surrounded by men wearing black so I flew away with strangely loud sounds firing after me into the night.”

“So you were frozen in ice for centuries?” I asked him, trying to piece together his story.

“Yes I believe so,” the dragon replied. “And now, I would like to take my revenge upon the savages who decided to shoot me with their strange weapons.”

“What? Are you crazy?” I shouted, shocked. Now this animal, that I didn’t even know existed not two hours ago, wants to destroy my own people. 

“You underestimate my abilities. I tried to live in peace with your kind for centuries, but you have made it impossible. Threatening my life and the lives of my friends was the last straw.”

“I understand that you’re angry, but killing us, or eating us, or burning down our homes is not the way to resolve this. The people here have never seen a dragon before, don’t let a few people’s fear of you determine who you have to be. If you attempt to end our race, you will only be proving that you are the savage beast.” I tried to reason with him.

“Then what do you suggest I do? It’s not as though I can fly freely, I will always be hunted. And now that they know I exist, my brothers who live high in the mountains or deep under the sea will be in danger of extinction.” 

“I don’t know, but I don’t think it’s fair to kill an entire race just because a few hunters tried to kill you. We’re not all bad you know.”

“You’re right, I’d only have to kill those hunters for my secret to be safe… and you,” the dragon replied, raising a claw towards me.

“Kill me? I just saved your life! Plus, you can’t kill me, I have a destiny.” I cried in outrage.

“A destiny? What do you mean?”

“When I was younger, I was obsessed with fortune tellers and magic, so for my 5th birthday my mom took me to see one. There, some old guy told me I was going to save the world, although now that I look back, I’m not sure it’s even true.”

“Wait, an old guy who told you your future? Did he look similar to this?” the dragon said. I was rather confused, but suddenly he started changing. He shrunk and grew hair and his scales changed to skin. He looked exactly like the old man I had seen when I was younger.

“You can shape shift? Then why are you even worried about people finding you? Just be a person!”

“Because if you’re injured, you can’t shape shift, even if it’s something as small as a hang-claw. And, I can only stay in human form for a couple of days at a time. Anyways, was this what he looked like.”

“Yes, exactly. Why?”

“Then you have met the eldest dragon, the only one capable of magic and future prediction. He enjoys playing with humans, so he must have settled nearby with possibly another group of dragons. It would be against my code of honor to kill you. I guess that just leaves those pesky hunters.”

“Ok you can’t just go around killing people, even if they hurt you. And, they’re a group of random guys in the Arctic, no one would ever believe they actually found a real dragon in the ice. Your secret is safe, even if they tell.”

“I suppose I could save the bloodshed. Anyways, do you happen to know the whereabouts of this old man?”

“I’m not sure. I can take you to where he used to work, he may still be there.”

“Great, how shall we get there?”

“I can drive.”

“Drive? What on earth is that?”

“Oh right, in the ice for thousands of years,” I muttered. “Follow me.” The dragon, now man, and I began walking out of the woods and towards my car. I quickly ran ahead and grabbed my study materials and shoved them into the back seat. I opened the door for my newfound friend and I hopped in. 

“What is this contraption?”

“It’s a car. Watch this,” I replied. I turned the key and the car rumbled to life. 

“Woahhhh, that’s quite strange,” the man said. 

“Hey, I never caught your name?” I asked him. I couldn’t refer to him as “dragon man” forever, could I?

“Sir Bartholomew Garrett Kingsley the third.” He replied, nodding his head at me.

“Oh, cool. I’m Quinn.” I said, turning out of the park’s parking lot. “You may want to prepare yourself. You’ve missed a lot since the fifth century. Actually, if you want to do some research, my backpack is back there, you can read some of my textbooks.”

“Thank you, Sir Quinn.” Bartholomew said, reaching towards the back and grabbing my bag. He first pulled out the history book, which was probably the smartest choice. “What is an America?” 

“That’s the country you’re in. It’s across the sea from where you’re probably from.”

“Ah, okay.” He quieted down and began  skimming the book, asking a question every now and then like, “How many wars has the world been in?” or “What’s a nuclear bomb?” He eventually closed the book, but before moving on to my math textbook he asked, “Why are you worried about stopping me from scorching the earth, when you have already done it yourselves? Your people will be the death of your people.” 

I sat there in silence letting his words sink in. He was very wise for someone who was presumed mythological for centuries. Eventually, we turned into the lot of the psychic’s building that I had had my future foretold in so many years before. Bartholomew could barely withhold his excitement from seeing a friend after being, well basically, dead. He ran inside and hugged the old man behind the counter.

“Ah Bartholomew! I thought you were dead!”

“Oh how I’ve missed you, Peter. I haven’t seen anyone in so long.”

“Everyone back home will be so excited to see you!” 

They quickly started catching up, as old friends do, before noticing me shuffling in the corner. 

“I remember you, young man. Quinn, yes?”

“Yes that’s me. You told me I was going to save the world, but I never did.”

“Ah but you have. You’ve calmed a beast of his anger and prevented the destruction of your known world with pure kindness.” Peter replied, smiling warmly. I pondered his statement for a while, before supposing that all the lessons they taught you in english were true. Even the smallest person can make a difference with just a bit of kindness.

“Anyways, I can take Bartholomew home to see some old friends of his. We have an encampment up north. You, my friend, are welcome to visit us here in the shop whenever you need a friend. I am very grateful for your service.” Peter said. I smiled.

“It was no problem. In fact, it was quite fun. I’m going to miss you Bartholomew,” I said, turning towards him. He grabbed me and hugged me and thanked me for my help. 

“Do you need your magic knowledge books back?” He asked, holding out my backpack.

“No, you keep them. I think you need them more than me.” I turned to leave, before turning around and asking, “Can I come back tomorrow? There’s so many things I want to learn.”

Both of the dragon men nodded, waving me goodbye. I swung my car keys around my finger and decided to head home, and that’s when I realized my mom would kill me for giving away my textbooks. It wouldn’t be the first, nor the last time I lost those.