A Dragon Named Splinter (Dragon Adventure Series 1: Book 1)

by Ben L. Hughes

  Chapter 3

  When Kevin woke up, the first thing he did was reach over and patted his coat with his hand to check on the dragon, but it was empty.

  “Emalyn, wake up,” he whispered in an urgent tone.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Did you take the dragon out last night?”

  “No, she never woke me,” Emalyn whispered back.

  “I can’t find her… feel around on your side and see if she moved during the night.”

  “I don’t feel anything,” Emalyn replied after a thorough search. Then, out of the corner of her eye, she saw something moving over on the counter. “Kevin, I think she’s trying to get into the bag of jerky on the counter,” Emalyn whispered. Kevin immediately looked over and saw the bag being tugged on as if a phantom was clawing at it.

  “I’ll see if I can catch her,” Kevin replied as he got out of bed and quietly tiptoed over towards the counter. As he slowly reached out to nab her, the bag suddenly tore open and several pieces of jerky went flying into the air. Kevin instinctively grabbed the ones he could, but one of the pieces flew straight towards his dad’s face, and fell right into his half open mouth, instantly waking him from his slumber.

  “What is going on?” his dad demanded after he pulled the jerky strip out of his mouth.

  “Oops,” Kevin replied innocently. “I thought you were awake, and you looked really hungry!”

  “I was sleeping you joker!”

  “I’m sorry, I’ll go back to bed,” Kevin apologized as he quickly retreated to the other side of the trailer. Brian gave him ‘the look’. It was the one that said, ‘don’t you dare bother me again, or else!’ Every parent had it, and every kid knew exactly what it meant. After Brian closed his eyes and rolled over so he was facing the other way, Kevin slowly knelt down and waved a piece of jerky back and forth hoping to entice the little troublemaker over to him. Within a few seconds, the little green dragon appeared, and he quickly picked her up and put her on his lap.

  “I got her,” he whispered to Emalyn, before motioning that he was going to take her outside. Emalyn nodded and then quietly followed him out after she grabbed the partially clawed bag of jerky off the counter.

  “That was close,” Emalyn exclaimed.

  “I know. I thought my dad was going to kill me when the jerky flew into his mouth and woke him up.”

  “Did you see the look on his face, it was priceless,” Emalyn chuckled.

  “I just hope he was groggy enough to forget it ever happened.”

  “You played it off pretty well,” Emalyn remarked as she tucked the bag of jerky into her pocket.

  “Can I have another piece?” the dragon asked in a soft voice as she eyed the pocket that Emalyn had just put it in.

  “Holy goose-bumps… you can talk!” Emalyn blurted out in disbelief.

  “Of course I can talk,” the dragon replied as if there was nothing unusual about it. Emalyn glanced at Kevin, who was in such a state of shock that he couldn’t even speak.

  “Do you have a name?” Emalyn asked as she pulled out the bag of jerky and handed her a piece.

  “I… I can’t remember it,” the dragon admitted after gulping down the dried meat.

  “Do you remember what happened to you before we found you?” Kevin asked.

  “No, where was I?”

  “You were buried under a pile of splintered wood half-way up Castle Mountain.”

  “I wonder what I was doing up there?”

  “I don’t know, but when I found you, I thought that you were a stuffed animal.”

  “You thought that I was a toy?” the dragon snorted indignantly.

  “Sorry, you’re the first real dragon either of us have ever seen,” Kevin admitted.

  “Really? You’ve never seen another dragon?”

  “Not a real one,” Kevin replied.

  “That’s not good… and why can’t I remember what happened to me?”

  “I think you have amnesia,” Emalyn suggested. “My mom is a nurse, and she told me that when people lose their memory it’s usually because they hit their head, or had an accident that knocked them out.”

  “I won’t ever know what happened to me?” the dragon cried out.

  “No, it’s not permanent. My mom said most people get their memory back after they recover from their injuries, so I bet you will too.”

  “I do feel better today than I did last night, but everything is still really fuzzy.”

  “What’s the last thing that you remember?” Emalyn asked.

  “I remember the names you call each other by… Kevin and Emalyn.”

  “Do you remember anything further back than that?”

  “No,” the dragon replied as she looked around, hoping that something would seem familiar to her.

  “Well, we can’t keep calling you ‘dragon’ all day long, so is there a name that we can use until your memory comes back?”

  “You can pick one for me since you were kind enough to take me in.”

  “Do you like the name Sparkle? It matches your iridescent scales, when you’re not hiding,” Emalyn smiled.

  “It’s cute… do you have a suggestion? She asked as she looked at Kevin.

  “How about the name Splinter, since we found you under a pile of splintered wood?”

  “I like that, what do you think Emalyn?”

  “I like Sparkle a little more, but it’s up to you to choose a name that fits you best.”

  “I think cutesy names are fine for stuffed dragons, but we’re tough, and our name should reflect that… so I think I’ll go with Splinter.”

  “Hey, you just said dragons are tough,” Kevin remarked. “That’s a memory from your past. Do you remember anything else about dragons?”

  “I do… I know that there are three types of dragons; Water Dragons, Fire Dragons, and Pigmy Dragons, and I know I’m a Pigmy Dragon!” Splinter announced with pride.

  “See, your memory is coming back. What else do you remember about the different types of dragons?” Kevin asked, not only to help her to remember more about her past, but so he and Emalyn could find out more about dragons in the process.

  “I know that Water Dragons are very elusive and they only come ashore to lay their eggs and care for their young. I remember being told that Fire Dragons went extinct in medieval times… but I don’t remember why.”

  “Do you have any memories that might explain what happened to you?” Kevin asked.

  “No… I think I have a brother, but it gets fuzzy when I try to remember anything else about him,” Splinter sighed.

  “I’m sure it will all come back to you,” Kevin said in an encouraging tone as he gently patted her on the head.

  “I hope so,” Splinter remarked as she took another piece of jerky out of Emalyn’s hand.

  “Kids?” Josephine called out. “It’s time to pack-up. We have to head back home soon.”

  “Okay mom,” Kevin yelled back as he glanced down at Splinter for a moment. “Emalyn and I have to leave… but you are welcome to come with us if you want to?”

  “How far away do you live?”

  “We both live in the same small town just north of Denver, which is a little over an hour’s drive from here.”

  “That doesn’t seem too far away,” Splinter remarked as she looked at Emalyn for a moment.

  “If you come with us, Kevin and I can take care of you until your memory comes back. Then you can decide what you want to do after that,” Emalyn suggested.

  “Okay, I’ll come with you,” Splinter agreed.

  “There is one thing… you need to keep out of sight because most people think that dragons are mythical creatures, and those that don’t, think they went extinct just like the dinosaurs. So you can’t let anyone see you including my parents, at least until I have a chance to tell them about you, and the same goes for Emalyn’s family,” Kevin warned.

  “Okay, I’ll be careful and stay hidden when there are any other humans around,” Splinte
r promised.

  “Kids, let’s get going,” Josephine called out again. Splinter changed color so she wasn’t visible, and Kevin wrapped her in his jacket before headed back over to the campsite.

  Once everything was loaded back into the truck, Kevin put his jacket on the back seat, and he and Emalyn hopped in.

  “Did you have a fun trip?” Josephine asked as they pulled out of the campsite.

  “It was really fun, and I don’t think Emalyn and I will ever forget it.”

  “That’s for sure,” Emalyn remarked under her breath.

  “I’m glad you both enjoyed it,” Josephine smiled.

  “Thanks for inviting me, I had a really great time.”

  “You’re welcome, and if you want to come with us the next time we go camping, we would love to have you,” Josephine added before turning back around in her seat.

  “That was nice of your mom,” Emalyn whispered.

  “Yeah, she’s pretty cool,” Kevin admitted as he looked out the window as they passed by the lake.

  Once they got back out on the highway, Kevin played games on his phone, while Emalyn drew pictures of dragons in her notebook to pass the time.

  When they arrived back at Kevin’s house, Emalyn helped Kevin take his things up to his room and then said good-bye to Splinter.

  “Don’t worry, I’ll bring her by tomorrow,” Kevin promised. “And once she knows where you live, she can fly back and forth as long as she remembers to stays hidden,” Kevin added as he looked down at her for a moment.

  “I know, I can’t be seen by anyone other than you two,” Splinter remarked.

  “I just want you to be careful now that you’re staying in a city.”

  “I will be, don’t worry.”

  After Emalyn had left, Kevin cleared a spot on the top bunk of his bed so Splinter would have a place to sleep.

  “You sure do have a lot of stuffed animals,” Splinter remarked.

  “Yeah, I collected them when I was younger, and now I’m reluctant to get rid of them because they have sentimental value.”

  “What is that?” Splinter asked since she had never heard that word before.

  “It’s something that’s special because of the memories that are tied to it.”

  “Oh…” Splinter sighed as she looked away for a moment.

  “Don’t worry, you will get your memories back, and even if you don’t, you’ll make new ones,” Kevin promised as he gently patted her on the side.