The Andean Dragon

“Oh, the hole opened up again,” my mother moaned. 

“Man, that thing just won’t stay closed,” my dad replied, examining the break in the corner of the ceiling. 

“I don’t understand what’s so bad about it. It relieves the stuffiness in here, and the rain doesn’t come in because of the overhang above us,” I reasoned. 

“But what if a critter comes in? We don’t want the cat-mice stealing our food.” I sighed. For Mom, there was always something to worry about. The pipe was leaky and would cause mold which would stink up the house which would attract bugs which would… you get the point. I shook my head as I walked down the dim stone hall to my bedroom. No matter how much my parents hated it, I was glad whenever that hole opened up. It made me feel as if a little bit of outside was coming in, since I couldn’t go out. I constantly wished to see the sun, to feel the grass, and to see the various creatures that made the surface so dangerous. 

100 years ago, a group of scientists succeeded in creating a hybrid of a komodo dragon and an Andean condor. But, some of them escaped, and their unnatural DNA caused them to mutate, along with the environment around them. Now, things like bears, dogs, and mice are non-existent. There are hybrids and mutants, but the originals are long extinct. Nature turned on humanity, and we went from being at the top of the food chain to near the bottom. Even so, I longed to see what it was like up there. 

“Eryn, dinner!” my mom called. 

“Coming!” I hurried back into our tiny dining room, and we ate our usual rice and turkey-chicken bowls. As we ate, I contemplated asking if I could go outside. I decided it was worth a shot. 

“May I go outside?”

They both gasped. “What? No! You would die up there. We’ve told you this before,” my dad reminded me. 

“Just for a second? Please? I want to see what it’s like up there. I’m sick of this bunker.” 

“No. And that’s final.” They turned back to their dinners, ignoring me for the rest of the evening. This made me angry. I was seventeen! They went outside to get food. Why shouldn’t I be able to? 

“I’m going to my room,” I said, dropping my dish in the sink and stomping down the hall. They didn’t acknowledge me or call after me. I slammed the door and flopped down onto my bed, seething. They have no right to keep me here! It’s like a prison. As I stared at the ceiling, I thought about the hole in the dining room. 

Suddenly, an idea hit me. I sat up and quickly began pacing. I was small, probably small enough to fit through that hole. My parents didn’t let me know where the regular door outside was, so that was my only other way out. Excitement filled me at the thought of running away, but a knot formed in my stomach as well. What if they were right? Would I die up there? Dying is better than staying trapped here forever, a tiny voice in my mind said. 

Later that night, I stood at my door, listening intently. I had to make sure they were asleep before I left, otherwise they would catch me. Slowly, I slid the door open and made my way down the hall. I finally reached the corner. Dad had temporarily covered it with a piece of cloth, but I ripped it down easily. Standing on a chair, I managed to shove my old, worn-out backpack through the hole. Gripping the rocks, I heaved myself up, squeezing through and scraping my hands. Eventually, I sat down beside my pack, panting. I grinned triumphantly. I was outside! 

I looked around as I stood and picked up my bag. It was dark, so all I could see was the silhouette of the trees and the blue-green grass beneath my feet. I stared up at the sky in awe. It was… amazing. The stars covered the sky like a blanket; the moon shone, illuminating the earth with an ethereal glow. I never imagined it would be this beautiful. 

A noise from my left had me snapping to attention. I watched the blackness warily. A piece of the darkness separated from the rest. I squinted, then backed away when I realized it was a person. 

“Who are you?” I asked fearfully, grabbing the kitchen knife I had snatched and holding it in front of me like a shield. 

“The real question is who are you? And what are you doing in our territory?” a male voice asked. 

“Your territory? What are you talking about? I live here.” 

“No, you don’t.” The man began walking closer, and I stepped back, almost tripping in the hole. 

A screeching noise came from behind me, and I whipped around. A pair of glowing yellow eyes appeared, unblinking. They lunged at me, and I screamed. But it never hit me. The man was there, slashing with a blade of some sort. I heard it hit flesh, and the creature shrieked in agony, retreating back into the forest. The man turned around, and I realized he wasn’t much older than me. His eyes were amber, creepily similar to the ones that just almost killed me. His dark hair was shaggy, and hung down into his eyes. 

But my observation was cut short when I heard sounds from my bunker. The light was on, and I heard my name being called. I turned around, away from the boy, and ran into the woods, plowing through the underbrush. 

Later, when I was too exhausted to go any further, I glanced behind me. The boy hadn’t followed me. I sighed in relief, and began to sit. 

“Don’t sit there!” I jumped up, looking around frantically. “That’s a bee-ant hive,” said a familiar voice. I turned around to find the amber-eyed boy watching me curiously. I observed the place where I had been about to sit, and there was indeed an interesting structure built into the tree, with a few insects hovering around it. 

“Thanks. You saved me again,” I said to him. 

“No worries. But you still haven’t answered my question.” 

“And you haven’t answered mine.” I felt more comfortable speaking to him now that he had saved me twice. He raised an eyebrow, but obliged my request. 

“I’m Jett.” 

“I’m Eryn. Do you… live up here?” 

“You mean on the surface?” 

“Yeah.” 

“Yes, I live in a village not far from here. What village are you from?”

“I’m not from a village. I live with my parents in a bunker.” 

His eyes widened. “You’re a Hider.” 

“Excuse me?” 

“A Hider. Someone who hides from the surface.” I was confused. He thought I was weird? He lived on the surface! 

“Well of course! Living on the surface is a death wish,” I cried. He chuckled, shaking his head. 

“Okay, you need to see how to really live life. Follow me.” I stared at his retreating figure, shocked. What on earth? But I followed him anyway. I’d rather have him around if I got attacked again. 

“You live here?” I stared in awe at the tall stone walls, and then the stone buildings inside them. People cast curious glances at me, and I returned them, marveling at their strange, armored clothing. 

“Yep. Doesn’t this seem better than your tiny bunker?” 

“Well, yes, but what about the mutants? Don’t they try to kill you?” 

“Yes, but everyone here is trained to defend themselves.” Jett gestured to some young children fighting with wooden swords and throwing knives. 

“Awesome.” He turned and grinned at me, and I smiled back.

We eventually made it to a central building, huge and made of dark stone. There were guards positioned outside, encased in shiny armor. I inched closer to Jett as we passed between them. I gasped when we reached the inside - it was tall and domed, with intricate paintings gracing every surface. My eyes wandered over the depictions of large, amazing creatures - mutants, I assumed, but beautiful mutants - from winged beasts soaring through the air to four legged ones with riders on their backs. My gaze settled onto the decorated person sitting on a throne-like seat in the center of the room. 

“Who’s that?” I whispered to Jett. 

“That’s our chieftain, Ayat. Every new person has to be presented to him before being welcomed in.” I gulped. I was going to be presented to him? What if he didn’t like me? Then I would have to go back to the bunker. The tiny, cramped, dark bunker… No. I told myself. He will accept me. There’s no reason for him not to. 

“I can’t believe he kicked me out,” I seethed as me and Jett walked towards the gates. 

“Well, you did say you were from a bunker…” 

“How was I supposed to know I wasn’t supposed to say that? You didn’t tell me!”

“Hey, calm down,” he admonished, raising his hands in defense. “I assumed that you would know that - and I was wrong,” he added after noticing my glare. 

“There has to be something I can do to prove myself to him. I don’t want to go back to that hole in the ground. I want to live here, where I can be free and learn to fight the mutants.” When Jett didn’t reply, I glanced over at him. He had a strange expression on his face. I gasped. “You know how I can prove myself! Tell me now,” I demanded, grabbing his shoulders. He looked at me with a nervous smile. 

“I don’t know if that’s a good idea. It’s really dangerous, and nobody has ever accomplished it, much less lived to tell the story…” 

“Jett, I’d rather die living free than survive holed up in the ground.” 

He hesitated, but finally sighed and said, “Okay, fine.” I cheered and listened as he told me the tale of the first mutant. 

“100 years ago, two Andean Dragons escaped from captivity, and flew West towards the Andes Mountains. Eventually, they grew tired, and settled on the tallest peak, Aconcagua, where they made their home. They had offspring, and gradually, the Andean Dragon population grew. They were strange creatures: long and snake-like, with scaly bodies and feathery wings sprouting from their backs. They grew to be big enough to carry a full-grown elephant with their enormous claws, and they had long snouts with jagged teeth. 20 years later, before nature was completely poisoned by the hybrid’s existence, the humans took their weapons and did their best to kill off the population. They succeeded - almost. There was one left, a youngling that hid away when the humans attacked. It survived, and lives to this day. The quest that would prove yourself to the chieftain is to go to its cave and kill it.” 

As much as I resisted, Jett ended up coming with me. He said it was foolish to go alone, especially since I had no idea what I was doing or where I was going. We managed to procure a few weapons, which Jett taught me how to use along the way. We traveled through many different areas - deadly swamps, with acid water and carnivorous trees; dark forests, home to hungry creatures lurking in the shadows; rivers of giant toothy fish, etc. 

I was exhausted when, days later, we reached the foot of the mountains. 

“How much longer do we have to go?” 

“A few more days, at least. Probably longer because of the snow up higher.” We camped out there before beginning the climb. I fell and tripped repeatedly, gaining many bruises and scratches. We had to fight off bat-eagles, and sometimes we had to travel through the night as well as the day because there was no place to stop. 

Five days later, we reached the stormy, icy summit of Aconcagua. I flopped down in the snow, not caring that my clothes were getting soaked. 

“Eryn, get up. If you get wet, you’ll freeze.” A baggy-eyed Jett pulled me up, and we made our way over to a cave on the side of the rock. We sat against the wall, and I fell asleep instantly, my head resting on Jett’s shoulder. 

I woke up to a warm, salty breeze in my face. I yawned, stretched, and then opened my eyes. 

“Ahhh!” I screamed at the top of my lungs until Jett slapped his hand over my mouth. 

“Don’t. Move,” he hissed. We both stared wide eyed at the beast in front of us. Its snout was gigantic, wider than my head, and the amber eyes observing us were each a little bigger than a baseball. It puffed a breath through its nostrils into our faces, blowing our hair back. Then, just as I mentally screamed, get it over with! It turned and walked away. As soon as it disappeared around the corner, I let out the breath I had been holding, dissolving into hysterical tears. Jett awkwardly rubbed my back until I stopped shaking. 

“I have to kill that thing? It’s huge,” I said despairingly. How was I supposed to kill something that was a hundred times bigger than me? I couldn’t believe I was still alive. I had been sure it was about to eat us. 

“Yeah, you do if you want to live in the village. We can always go back -” 

“No! We’ve already come this far, we can’t quit now.” 

Later that night, we crept further into the cave. As we went, the sound of deep, heavy breathing got louder. Eventually, we reached a wall. 

“What?” I whispered. The mutant had never come back out, and if there was a wall here, where did it go? I found out when I reached out and touched it. That wasn’t a wall. It was warm, smooth, and alive. I backed away quickly, pulling Jett with me. It stirred, and its face came into view. It was still asleep, the room rumbling with every exhale. I pulled out my borrowed sword, cringing as it scraped against the sheath. But the creature didn’t awaken. I raised it above my head, ready to bring it down onto where I assumed its heart was. But, just as I was about to do it, I stopped. 

“What are you waiting for? Do it!” Jett hissed at me. Then, its eyes opened. The amber gaze landed on me and my raised sword. I gasped in fear, freezing in place. It just watched me calmly, as if saying, go ahead. Kill me. Rid the world of the thing that ruined it. Its eyes closed, and it laid its head down with a tired groan. 

Suddenly, I knew exactly what he was feeling. He was tired, tired of being hunted. I could see scars covering his body, and could feel his pain. He never did anything to hurt us. He was just trying to make his way in the world like everyone else. 

I dropped the sword with a clatter. As the creature’s eyes opened, I laid a trembling hand on his neck. 

“I’m sorry for your pain. I understand now. You don’t deserve to die.” With a sigh, I turned to leave. I stopped when I heard the creature getting up, and I turned to look at him. He gazed back at me, and I could somehow sense that he was thankful. Then, I followed his gaze to the wall beside me. I took the lamp from Jett, who was watching me like I was crazy, and raised it to the rocky surface. A word was written into it - a name. 

“Merdys. Is that your name?” Merdys rumbled approvingly. “You know,” I said to him, scratching his nose, “you really are a sweetheart. I don’t know where all the bad stories came from.” 

“What… just happened?” Jett watched us with a horrified expression. 

“We connected.” 

“You - what - I -” I laughed at him. 

“Hey, Merdys, do you think you could give us a ride back?”

“But my village will kill him!” 

“No, they won’t. We’re going to prove to them that he’s our friend, not our enemy.” 

We reached the village in less than a day, which was a relief after the long, tiring journey before. As Jett expected, we were greeted with raised weapons, but they didn’t fire. 

“What have you done, bringing this beast to our village?” Chieftain Ayat shouted. 

“He’s not a beast! I went to kill him, but Merdys -” I gestured to the Andean Dragon - “isn’t violent at all. He just wants to be accepted like the rest of us.” 

“Prove it then!” Someone shouted. So we did. A recent attack from a different mutant had left a hole in their wall, and Merdys helped fix it. He also helped with hunting, clearing more land to expand the village, and much more. Slowly, he and I were accepted into the community. The children would play with him, climbing all over him while he slept. He may have been huge, but he was the most gentle animal I had ever seen. 

And I got what I wanted. My parents came and tried to steal me back, but I was here to stay. I never regretted running away and meeting Jett and Merdys. They were my best friends. And, finally, I was free.