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A shiver races through Astrid’s body. She feels the cold air around her and the metal she’s sitting on, even through her clothes. In an instant, she is fully awake and her eyes snap open to be greeted by the silver twilight cast by the almost full moon. The pale light illuminates the machinery of the excavator platform and reflects off the lake's motionless surface. The stars cover the sky in countless white dots. With all this light, Astrid doesn’t even need her thermal vision to see Kilian's massive frame leaning against one of the steel beams supporting the excavator claw above them.
She doesn’t want to disturb him, but now that Astrid is awake, she feels too agitated and too cold to stay still. Without a sound, she rises to her feet.
Astrid passes the time by sneaking around the platform and looking up at the stars, the moon, and the pale light they cast on the dark forest surrounding the lake. Her eyes are locked onto the mesmerizing light the moon casts over the water when something moves in the corner of her eye. Her gaze snaps onto the movement.
The moon is falling as dawn approaches. Still, his light is enough to make out a small figure running along the shore.
Astrid jumps to her feet and pulls out her revolver. She’s not sure what it is, but after a moment she realizes it’s either a kobold, a human child, or something extremely similar. She lowers her weapon and strains her eyes to make out details. It’s too far away for her infravision to work, and while the moonlight provides some illumination, it’s barely enough to make out a dark shape.
Whatever it is, it runs along the shore like it’s chasing something. Or running away from something. She’s not confident that she can hit whatever that thing is, or whatever might be chasing them, at this distance, but if this is a person and there’s something after them, she can’t let it kill them.
Astrid’s mind races. ‘If it can talk, it must be friendly,’ is the only idea that comes to her mind. “Hey, over here. Who are you?” she yells to the figure.
The figure stumbles, looks towards her, and yells, “Heeeelp. It’s chasing me.” It’s Elijah’s voice.
Astrid almost jumps with joy, but that joy disappears as soon as her brain processes what he said. She raises her revolver again and waves for him to come while aiming her weapon at the tree line, but nothing else moves in the darkness. At least nothing she can see.
Her brother runs along the shore as quickly as he can. Behind Astrid, Kilian is torn from his slumber. “What's going on?"
Astrid looks away from the dark trees. If she wants to help her brother, she needs to get closer. As she races past her older brother she yells, “Elijah. He's back, but there might be something after him.” She doesn’t wait for a reply before she jumps onto the conveyor leading to dry land.
“Heeelp!” Astrid hears Elijah scream as soon as she reaches the shore. They meet near the last pile of gravel.
The rising sun casts a single ray of orange light through the dark trees, and as her brother runs through it, his terrified and battered face is revealed to Astrid. His clothes and hair are caked in mud, and fresh scratches cover his arms.
“What’s going on?” Astrid asks him.
He quickly looks her up and down and says, “There’s a flying beast after me. It ate my father and now it wants to eat me.”
“Elijah. It’s me. Astrid. Where is the thing that’s chasing you?”
Almost on cue, a dark shape moves through the air above them. Astrid’s stomach sinks and fear fills her heart as the creature soars over their heads and stops mid-air above the pile of gravel next to them. The black figure has the shape of a dragon with two legs and two wings. Its slender body ends in a long neck with a head that’s obscured by darkness. It lowers itself onto the mound. The beats of its powerful wings shower Astrid and Elijah in dust and almost blow them off their feet. Finally, its wings stop beating, and with the crunch of gravel it drops down on all fours, using the claws in the middle of its wings as feet.
Astrid feels fear and cold focus consume her, forcing her eyes to fix on the monster in front of them.
Unlike the dragons of legends, it does not have scales. In the orange light of the rising sun, Astrid can make out that green fur covers its body, with black circles around its eyes and black accents on its back. The fur on its forehead, as well as around its feet and a line on its back all the way down to its tail, is a dark shade of blue. The green fur on its neck and chest is particularly long and has slightly yellow tips. Its long ears are pressed against its skull, making them look a bit like horns. The dragon is a brilliant combination of colors. Astrid would be stunned by its beauty, were she not terrified to the point of having a heart attack.
The monster slides down the pile of gravel, using the two small claws in the middle of its leathery wings to keep itself stable.
Astrid doesn’t know what to do. Her mind is racing, trying to figure out whether she should stand still or run. It causes her to do nothing but stare at the monster as it slowly moves towards them, with its head almost touching the ground and its body low. If it weren’t the size of a car, it would almost look like it's sneaking.
Elijah clings to Astrid's leg, paralyzed by fear.
The creature comes closer and closer until it is a mere pace away. It levels its head to stare at them.
Astrid takes a step back as the dragon snorts and opens its mouth slightly to make a weird combination of a growl and a snarl.
Astrid feels her heart pound in her chest. She wants nothing more than to grab the revolver on her hip and unload it into the monster's face, but she's afraid that any sudden movement will cause the dragon to attack. The creature’s eyes stare at Elijah before they switch to Astrid. She feels the dragon scan her. She stares back, but the dragon doesn’t look her in the eyes. Its gaze stops at her hip, almost like it knows what the metal object at her side is.
Suddenly Kilian yells, “Astrid!”
The dragon's head snaps sideways to the new sound, only for a large rock to hit it in the neck. Astrid uses the small window of opportunity to pull her revolver out of its holster. The dragon sees the movement and looks back at Astrid. Too late. She pulls the trigger before it has a chance to attack.
An earsplitting bang pierces their ears and sends a bullet straight into the dragon's skull. The creature stumbles forward, throwing Astrid and Elijah off their feet and knocking the gun out of Astrid's hand. Then it rears up, unleashing a high-pitched roar of pain. It stumbles sideways and smashes against a silo. The weak bullet has drilled itself into its skull, but has not penetrated deeply enough to kill it.
Astrid pulls herself and her younger brother back on their feet. She frantically looks around for the revolver and finds it lying on the ground a few paces behind her. Before she can grab it, her attention is pulled back to the dragon. The uncontrolled roaring has stopped and its gaze has turned back to them. A gush of blood flows from where the bullet struck its skull.
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Before it can lunge, Fynn knocks open the door to the small shack he was sleeping in. One hand still on the doorknob and the other holding his rifle, he finds himself almost face to face with the dragon. This time, the monster doesn’t wait to deploy its most dangerous weapon. Its mouth opens to reveal a slimy, faintly opal-colored organ underneath its tongue. Golden veins and mist fill its mouth.
Fynn has less than a second to decide what to do. Instead of raising his gun, he slams the door back shut – and not a moment too soon. With a roar-like shriek, the dragon unleashes a torrent of yellow energy. It looks almost like a jet of transparent, glowing sand that bathes everything in a golden glow and washes over the shack. As the dragon closes its mouth, the area around the shack is filled with a crackling noise. Millions of tiny golden lightning bolts cover everything and spark through the air. Wherever the yellow energy touches metal, thin flames move over the material. It looks a bit like the orange lines that move over paper after it has burned out. It causes the paint to peel off and the steel below to first become rusty, then to turn into a fine red dust. The grass around the shack turns black and seems to melt like wax as the same orange lines move over it. The metal building groans as the magical mist erodes it like acid. Pieces fall off, only to turn into dust before they touch the ground. While the fog destroys everything it touches, it fills the air with a sweet, chlorinous smell.
With Fynn trapped inside the crumbling building, the dragon’s head snaps back to Astrid and Elijah.
“Run!” Astrid screams. She grabs Elijah with one hand, her gun with the other and runs, as the dragon lunges forward with a furious roar. The two barely manage to take a step before the creature soars over their heads. With a fast swing of its tail, it strikes Astrid from behind. Pain explodes over her back as she is flung forward and her hands instinctively tense. Bang. The revolver fires straight into the ground, tossing a tiny cloud of dust into the air. Her arms barely manage to stop her face from smacking into the gravel, and the small stones scratch open her skin as the forward momentum from the fall drags her over the ground. Ignoring the pain, she turns to face the horror behind her.
A powerful wingbeat brings the dragon to a stop mid-air, before his feet grab Elijah. The boy screams in terror as the claws close around his waist. He beats the dragon’s leg with his fists, but his struggling leaves the huge creature unimpressed. The dragon beats its wings again, lifting him off the ground.
Astrid knows that if she doesn’t act now, the dragon will fly away and her brother will be doomed. In a last-ditch attempt to save him, she raises her gun, takes aim at its left leg as quickly as she can and pulls the trigger. Once more the creature lets out a roar of pain as a bang fills the air. Its claws open, dropping Elijah face-first on the ground before tilting sideways midair. Its wing gets caught on a pile of gravel, and in a large explosion of dust, it crashes to the ground. The dragon writhes in pain as it tries to take its own weight off its wounded leg.
Seeing the monster in agony fills Astrid with confidence and evaporates the fear that was almost paralyzing her mind.
“So you’re not bulletproof after all. Let’s see if your heart is as tough as your skull!” she yells as she aims the revolver at what looks like the dragon’s chest.
The creature fixes its eyes on her. It’s almost as though the monster can understand her. Still, it doesn’t open its mouth to blast Astrid with its magical attack.
Her lips forming a smile, she pulls the trigger. She expects another earsplitting bang to split the air and put the already too familiar ringing in her ear, but all she gets is a quiet click.
The dragon flinches, but as the piercing pain doesn’t come, it opens its eyes again and glares at Astrid.
The confidence in Astrid’s heart disappears as quickly as it came. Her limbs feel numb as she tries to pull the trigger again, only to be rewarded with another quiet click. The cylinder is empty.
The dragon uses its wings and good leg to pull itself back to its full size. It opens its mouth barely a crack in what could almost be described as a grin. Then it starts snapping its jaws and makes a noise like it’s choking on something. Golden veins crisscross its wounded leg as it glows with golden energy. Within moments, the bleeding stops. The dragon still doesn’t put any weight on its freshly healed leg, but extends its neck to stare down at Astrid. Its jaws once again crack open in a grin-like expression.
The gun slides from Astrid’s fingers and falls to the gravel ground with a quiet thud. Her heart feels like it’s about to fall out of her chest.
With a scream, she grabs her brother like a princess and sprints away.
The dragon lets out a triumphant roar, and with a powerful beat of its wings, it catapults itself into the air in pursuit.
Astrid runs towards the forest as quickly as she can. Every step is more like a leap. A jump that sends her flying over the ground like a deer. Still, the dragon is faster. With a few swings of its wings, it’s back in the air and unleashes a bolt of pure golden energy. The projectile leaves a trail of yellow mist as it soars through the air and past them. With a high-pitched, electric crack, it hits the ground in front of them and explodes in a cloud of sparkling golden energy. The plants on the ground turn black and fall apart as the air hums with magical power.
Astrid barely manages to avoid running straight into the cloud. The magically charged air isn’t hot. Still, she can almost feel its power as she passes it. Without slowing, she dodges it and continues running towards the safety of the tree line. Right before they enter the canopy, the dragon makes another attempt to grab them. Like a massive bird, it swoops down, its legs extended and talons wide open. Astrid sees the incoming shadow at the last possible moment. With incredible reflexes, she hugs her screaming brother to her chest and turns while throwing herself forward so she lands on her back. Claws split the air they’d just been in.
Astrid slams onto her back. The impact and the weight of her brother on her chest knock the wind out of her. Panting, she and Elijah pick themselves up as quickly as they can, while the dragon comes out of its dive. Before it can come around for another one, the two siblings run between the trees.
The dragon circles above them. The canopy isn’t thick enough to hide them from its hawkish eyes, but is enough to keep the dragon from diving them. Still, the monster is not ready to give up. It circles around and lands right outside the tree line.
Astrid looks back to see the beast unleash its magical breath attack into the trees. The corrosive energy washes over the plants, causing their leaves to turn black and melt. Young trees bend sideways as they wither and crumble under the arcane assault. The dry leaves on the forest floor disintegrate into ash, while bushes blacken and collapse in on themselves. The bark on the larger trees falls apart, but the massive trunks don’t burn as quickly as the smaller plants. The dragon tries to follow deeper, but these larger trees are not damaged enough to give way. He tries to wiggle through them and snaps his jaws in frustration, but the trees are too close together and his wings too large.
“What’s wrong with that stupid thing? Why won't it leave us alone?” Astrid yells as she runs past small trees and bushes, jumping over fallen trunks like a scared deer. Twigs whip her in her face as she passes. Small thorns pierce her clothing as she rips through the numerous vines growing on the forest floor. It’s painful, but she’s too terrified to stop or care. It’s only when they hear a distant, frustrated roar coming from behind them that Astrid finally stops. She listens for anything that might tell them that the dragon is still following, but all she can hear is the wind quietly rustling the leaves above them and birds chirping all around.
“I think we lost it,” she whispers.
“What does it want from us?” her brother, asks way too loudly for Astrid's taste.
“Elijah, shhh. We’ll talk later. We have to get back to the others. Before something else finds us.”
Her brother clenches his teeth, as though he's afraid to utter another word, but still whispers, “What about Kilian?”
“I… I don’t know.” Astrid’s head is swimming with questions, but as the adrenaline subsides, one in particular forces its way into the forefront of her brain: “You said the dragon ate Dad…”
“I didn’t see it, but that thing's been chasing us ever since we woke up. It must’ve eaten him and gotten a taste for human blood.”
‘So, just speculation,’ Astrid thinks. ‘That won’t convince or distract me.’
She looks around. Blindly running through the forest lost the dragon, but now she has no idea where they are. No matter which direction she looks, the trees look exactly the same. There is no trail or any other sign of civilization in sight.
“What do we do now?” her brother asks, his voice barely a whisper.
Astrid doesn’t want to say that she doesn’t know. Especially because there is only one thing to do. “Fynn will take the others back to the farm.” To herself, she adds, ‘At least I hope so.’ “That means we need to find our way back there too. First, we have to find something that tells us where we are. So we’re going to start walking. In a straight line. In that direction.” She points in a random direction.
Just as quietly as before, her brother asks, “Are you sure that's where we came from?”
“Not really, but if we just keep walking, we’re bound to reach a road. Or something.”