Liam arrived at Oliver’s school and saw him waiting with all the other students who were being picked up by family members. When Oliver looked up from the conversation he was having with one of his friends he saw Liam and took off at an excited sprint toward him, and not even Liam could stop the smile that was spreading across his exhausted and sullen face. The brothers embraced in a hug and Oliver took off ahead of Liam in the direction of the park that they always frequent. “Do you think we’ll see a dragon at the park?” Oliver asked, skipping ahead. “I bet they could live in the trees!”
Liam gave a half-hearted laugh. “Yeah, maybe.”
“I’d give anything to be able to meet a dragon, then I could ride it to school every day and show all of my friends.”
“I’m sure they would love it, then you could roast your science teacher if they give you too much homework.”
“He wouldn’t do that, Liam! Dragons are nice,”
“Not the ones I’ve seen”
“You’ve seen a dragon,” exclaimed Oliver
“Well…no, but in the books and movies, they’re not exactly friendly neighbors.”
“I think that they would be, you just don’t understand them,” Oliver huffed as he sprinted further ahead to put some distance between himself and Liam. He felt bad for upsetting Oliver, but everything seemed to be just collapsing in on him today. Oliver was running ahead, occasionally stopping and looking at various sticks or any squirrels or rabbits that they passed, talking to himself. As they walked, Liam couldn’t shake the feeling that they were being watched. The trees seemed too still, the silence too complete. Even Oliver’s voice seemed muted, swallowed by the heavy air. He could hear the cars driving by on the road still, but the sound seemed as if it was traveling through water; all weird and distorted. A deep, guttural growl rolled out from the woods, freezing Liam in place. His heart slammed against his ribs, each beat echoing in his ears. His legs felt weak like they might give out at any moment. Every instinct screamed at him to run, but his feet were rooted to the spot, the terror gripping him too tightly. His eyes quickly darted up to where Oliver where skipped ahead, stopping to inspect a fallen branch as if nothing was wrong. “Look, Liam! This one’s perfect for a sword!” His voice was bright, carefree, completely unaware of the suffocating tension closing in on his older brother. Then, as suddenly as it had come, everything went back to normal and Liam was left standing there stunned, staring into the woods where the growl had come from. The trees ahead seemed darker than usual, their branches bending unnaturally in the wind. Liam blinked, his heart hammering in his chest. Was the wind really blowing, or were the branches moving on their own? He glanced around, trying to shake off the feeling, but the world felt wrong—like it was slipping away, just out of reach. Tears welled in Liam’s eyes, and he quickly wiped them away, hoping Oliver wouldn’t notice. He had to tell his parents. He didn’t care if they thought he was losing his mind. At this point, he almost wished he was—anything would be better than this creeping madness. For the first time in a long while, he just wanted to feel like a kid again, to have someone tell him everything was going to be okay.
Oliver turned and noticed Liam standing unmoving, staring into the woods, “Liam! Come on, let’s go,” Oliver’s voice rang out, and for a moment, the weight on Liam’s chest lifted.
He forced a smile. “Alright, alright, I’m coming.” As scared as he was feeling, he had to be there for his little brother, that’s what he’s here for.
When they arrived at the park, Oliver instantly took off toward the jungle gym and began deftly climbing anything he could reach. Liam sat down on one of the benches set up for onlookers and took a deep breath, he closed his eyes and could almost convince himself that everything was normal and okay. He enjoyed the lack of stimuli for a few moments before focusing his attention back on the playground, where he instantly noticed a stark lack of Oliver. He immediately jumped up his heart beating out of his chest, how could he do this? How could he be so stupid as to take his eyes off his brother? Liam ran onto the playground searching for every piece of equipment, but he couldn’t find any sign as to where his brother had gone. Liam’s breath came quicker now and he began to feel very lightheaded, Liam took a moment and steadied himself. As he took a few deep breaths, he felt the air fill his lungs, invigorating him, and then he felt it, almost like a string pulling him towards the woods, he didn’t know how he knew, but he was certain that if he followed it, he would find Oliver. He, slowly at first, began to head toward the woods that encompass the park, after a few minutes of walking he entered a clearing, where Oliver sat on the ground, a bird in his hands, and sat studying it intently.
“Oliver!” Liam shouted in a mixture of relief and anger.
Oliver jumped, startled by the intrusion, and then ran towards his brother, “Liam! You won’t believe it, I was playing on the playground and then looked over into the woods and I sa-”
“Enough! You do not do that! Ever! Do you understand me? Do you know how scared I was?!”
Tears appeared at the edge of Oliver’s eyes and for a moment Liam’s anger waned and he began to feel bad for upsetting his brother and stepped forward to comfort him. Oliver froze mid-step, his eyes widening. “Liam… did you see that?” He pointed to the treeline, where the shadows shifted, something large moving just out of sight. Liam’s heart pounded in his chest. “Come here,” he muttered, his voice tight, his arms outstretched for his little brother.
“Probably just a deer,” Oliver sniffled, wiping his eyes. But Liam’s gut twisted. Something wasn’t right. He grabbed Oliver’s hand, his grip tighter than usual.
“We should go,” Liam said, his voice unsteady. The ground seemed to rumble beneath their feet. Without warning, a massive figure broke through the treeline, the creature’s massive body was covered in forest green scales, each one rough and uneven, as if carved from stone. Its yellow eyes glowed with an unnatural intensity, locking onto them with a hunger that made Liam’s stomach churn. Hot breath hissed from its open mouth, curling in the air like steam. Liam’s blood turned to ice. “Run!” he shouted, pulling Oliver behind him. The boys took off at a sprint back towards the park, Liam all but lifting and carrying Oliver as he ran.
The creature leaped into the air, Liam could hear the air being displaced behind them as it jumped into the trees and began to leap from tree to tree quickly, its large talons digging into the flesh of the trees, the ground shook as the creature crashed through the trees, each leap sending tremors through the earth. Branches snapped and fell around them, the air filled with the deafening sound of splintering wood. Liam could hear the pounding of the creature’s claws against the treetops, closer with every step before quickly overtaking the boys and dropping onto the ground in front of them its elongated snout facing them, its mouth open, large yellowed fangs bared in their direction. Liam’s mind went blank with fear, but his body moved on instinct. He shoved Oliver behind him, grabbing the first stick he could find.
“Stay behind me,” he growled, his heart racing as the creature slowly advanced. Liam’s mind raced, every muscle in his body screaming for him to run, to grab Oliver and bolt. But his legs wouldn’t move. His hands trembled, gripping the stick with a desperate force. “This can’t be real,” he whispered, his breath catching in his throat. But the creature was real—and it was coming toward them. As the creature’s glowing eyes locked onto Liam, he felt a strange pull, like a current of energy running between them. It wasn’t just a mindless beast—it was hunting him. Or maybe… it was hunting something in him.
“Liam!” Oliver cried, his voice trembling. He pressed himself against Liam’s back, his small hands gripping the fabric of his brother’s shirt. “What do we do?!”
The creature roared, claws extended. Liam felt his heart stop as he shoved Oliver backward, bracing for the impact. There was no time to think, only time to act. Without knowing how Liam dropped the stick and threw up his hands—and something exploded from his palms. A shimmering barrier of light burst into existence, crackling with raw energy. The creature slammed into the barrier with a deafening crash, but it held firm. Liam stared at the glowing wall, his chest heaving, his mind spinning. What… what had he just done? Thankfully he didn’t have time to stop and process what was going on, because if he did he might have just decided this was all a dream and tried to wake himself up. Seeing the creature briefly stunned by the appearance of this barrier Liam yells, “We have to go!” Liam grabbed Oliver’s hand and sprinted toward the trees.
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The creature snarled behind them, shaking off the blow like it was nothing. Every muscle in Liam’s body screamed with exhaustion, but the adrenaline pushed him forward. He couldn’t stop now—not with that thing still after them. Liam could hear the creature tearing through the trees behind them, its claws ripping into the earth with each step. It was faster than before, its growls echoing through the forest like thunder. “Keep running, Oliver!” Liam shouted, though his legs were burning from the effort. Liam’s legs burned as they sprinted through the forest, each step heavier than the last. His breath came in sharp gasps, the sound drowned out by the creature’s thundering pursuit. The branches whipped against his skin, but he barely felt it—all he could focus on was the pounding of his heart and the weight of Oliver’s hand in his.
As fast as they ran, it felt like nothing could be done to outrun this beast, and quickly they could hear it on their heels, Liam risked a glance backward and saw the creature, only a few feet behind them, brace its legs and leap into the air to pounce on them. Just as the creature leaped toward them, a bolt of blinding light shot through the trees, striking the beast square in the chest. It roared in pain, its massive legs folding in as it crashed to the ground. Liam spun around, his heart pounding, and saw a figure stepping out of the shadows, their hands glowing with the same strange light that had felled the creature. Liam tried to speak, to ask who this person was, but his voice wouldn’t come. Relief flooded through him, followed quickly by exhaustion. His knees buckled, and the world went dark. Liam rolled over in bed, pushing his face into his pillow, “Sure, Mom.” As if what he needed was a break, this time was his break from everything else. As his mom was about to shut the door to his room, the one redeeming point of Liam’s life came sprinting into his room; Oliver. Oliver was Liam’s 12-year-old little brother and the only person Liam went out of his way to spend time with. Oliver excitedly ran into the room and jumped onto Liam’s bed, “Guess what I had a dream about last night!”
“You ran for President,” Liam guessed.
“NO! I dreamt about a dragon,” Oliver pointed at the dragon poster on the wall. ‘A huge green one, with spines all down its back!”
“And were you a chivalrous knight sent to slay it and save the princess,” asked Liam, the most energetic he had been all day. “No, it was gentle and nice. I wouldn’t want to hurt him, he was just scared.”
“Sure, I bet the dragon was scared of little ole you,” Liam responded rolling his eyes.
“Not of me, but he was definitely scared of something. I don’t know what, though. I woke up before I found out.” Oliver paused for a moment and then said, “Oh, and Dad said you have to take me to the park to Murrow.”
“That I can do, brother, I’ll get you at school and we can walk over together. Goodnight, Ollie”
Oliver’s happy voice flitted back as he ran out of the room, “Goodnight, Liam!”
Liam got up and went over to his desk, which was against a window that overlooked their large backyard. He envied Oliver, of course, he would dream about dragons, and his mind was constantly swirling with adventure and wonder. He smiled to himself and then frowned, in the absence of his brother’s glowing personality, the world felt just a little darker. Liam pulled out some homework for his English class, he was supposed to write a reflection on a book he read over the summer, he looked back at the stack of finished novels beside his bed and then back at the paper, the ideas on what to write about for each book easily floated to the forefront of his mind and the paper was all but written in his head, but he never picked up a pencil. He shoved the rubric back into his backpack and got up to move back to his bed for the night, but something caught his eye in the corner of his vision, a flicker of movement through his window where the yard met the treeline. He went up to the window and peered out into the darkness, he scanned the woods but saw nothing, the night was still. Liam shook his head, fat, lazy, and now seeing things. Great. He was definitely losing it. Then he crawled into bed, and eventually, sleep found him.
Liam stood in an ancient place—he didn’t know how he knew, but he could feel it. The ground beneath his feet was cracked and broken, and the air hummed with a kind of energy he’d never felt before. Above him, the sky twisted in unnatural patterns, dark clouds swirling like ink in water. He looked around, trying to get his bearings, this place was so foreign, yet a small hum of familiarity coursed through him. A large cracking sound rang out from behind him and he turned quickly, stumbling over some debris that was at his feet, he fell to the ground, his hands stinging where he caught himself and the sharp rock drew blood. In the distance, a figure stood cloaked in shadow, its eyes glowing faintly with an unnatural light. Though it didn’t move, Liam felt its gaze pierce through him. He tried to stand up, but his body wouldn’t obey. The creature just stared at him, as if summing him up, then there was another crack, and suddenly all around him, faint echoes of a battle played out—spectral figures casting spells, their hands alight with power as they fought something he couldn’t see. In the center of it all, a barrier flickered, its edges crumbling like sand in the wind. Three figures were standing before the barrier, all seemingly lost in their muttering, staring at the barrier. As he looked closer, Liam saw that the shadowy figure was trapped inside, blasts of what seemed to be pure energy shooting out from it, fighting against the bubble it was being trapped inside. Suddenly all three of the muttering figures collapsed and a glowing symbol appeared above the crumbling barrier, pulsing with a soft blue light, and with every pulse the barrier seemed to grow stronger and stronger, and the shadowy figure inside became obscured from view. Liam stared at it, something deep inside him stirring at the sight of it. Before he could understand why, a voice—soft, almost a whisper—called his name. ‘Liam… protect the ward… protect them all.’ The voice faded, but the sense of urgency stayed with him.
Liam woke with a start, his heart racing. The room was dark, but something felt wrong like the shadows clung to the corners a little too closely. Liam rubbed his eyes, but the dream clung to him, pressing on his chest like a weight. He shook it off, but a faint tremor in his hands made him wonder if he was still caught in that strange place.” He stood up from his bed and paced his room, trying to shake off the dream, but the image of the crumbling barrier and the figure watching him lingered in his mind. It was just a dream, he told himself, but even as he lay back down, the feeling wouldn’t leave.
Liam blinked awake, as the sun spilled in through his bedroom window, a dull ache behind his eyes. The dream clung to him like a fog, the shadowy figure, the crumbling ward… It was all so vivid. He shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts. Just a dream. He got out of bed and glanced in the mirror. The dark circles under his eyes made him look even more exhausted than usual. “Just great, another reason not to talk to people today.” Liam got ready for the day and made his way downstairs where his family was eating breakfast. His father was dressed in a suit and tie for his job at the local bank and his mother looked like she just got back from her morning run. “Good morning, Liam,” said his father.
“Morning, Dad”
“Did you sleep alright, honey? I heard you tossing and turning,” his mom asked.
“I slept fine,” said Liam matter-of-factly and set his attention to the bowl of cereal he just poured. As Liam stared out the kitchen window while eating his slightly soggy cornflakes, the shadows in the backyard seemed to stretch unnaturally, like the night hadn’t fully let go. He blinked, and the shadows returned to normal. It’s just stress, he thought to himself. Or maybe one of those weird dreams you get after reading too much. But the feeling wouldn’t leave—it gnawed at him, like something important was slipping through his fingers.
On the walk to school that morning Oliver chattered away about dragons, apparently, he had another dream about them the night before again, his voice full of excitement. But Liam’s mind was elsewhere. The air felt thick like the weight of the dream was still pressing on him. A gust of wind suddenly rustled the trees, making the hairs on his arms stand up. After dropping Oliver off at the middle school, Liam continued on to the high school where his long, boring day would take place. Liam was able to push the dream from his mind for the most part and focus on his classes, he loved learning new things, so the lecture part of his classes always kept his interest. On the walk to math class, Liam looked up and realized he was alone in the hallway, which was strange, because more often than not you are having to shove your way past people to get through, but Liam carried on to class anyway. Liam glanced at the row of lockers as he walked down the hall. One of the locker doors creaked open, then slowly swung wider, like it was being pulled by something unseen. Liam froze, watching the door for another moment. There was no one there. He shook his head, “I’m losing it,” he muttered. But kept walking, trying to shake the uneasy feeling that he actually was going insane, he knew that he had read about people just having mental breaks randomly and wondered if this was what was happening to him. As the final bell rang, Liam packed up his things, his fingers brushing against his books without really noticing. The day had dragged on, every minute stretching longer than it should have. Something was coming—he could feel it, though he didn’t know what.