“Yes, there are,” replied Collin, carefully. He suspected that Jennifer wanted to take matters into her own hands. This was something the adults should be concerned about.
“Collin, we can’t wait much longer,” Jennifer spoke with a pleading look in her eyes. “Too many people think the dragons will leave when they have eaten all of our livestock. What if they’re wrong?”
Collin was silent for a moment; he knew that Jennifer was right. “If we could find one of the mines that’s still safe to enter, people could possibly hide there if it becomes necessary,” Collin spoke cautiously.
“We need to find out more about those mines,” Jennifer said determinedly, taking Collin’s hands. Her eyes met his and she continued. “The dragons could start hunting people at any time. We can’t wait too much longer.”
“We would have to be extremely careful if we decide to go there. That area is riddled with underground mine shafts. The mines are so old they may not be safe to enter. That might be why no one has suggested using them as a hiding place from the dragons.”
“Let’s think about it for a few days,” Jennifer persisted. She was not sure herself how safe it would be to go to the old mines. Collin was right. They might just be too dangerous. “We can ask our parents what they know about that area; maybe they will know if it’s safe or not.”
“There are a few old books in the village library that describe the old mines,” Collin added thoughtfully. “I could check them out and see what they say.”
“Sounds like a plan,” replied Jennifer, leaning forward and kissing Collin lightly on his cheek.
-
The next morning, Marten was standing beneath a large tree watching several of the cows they had left behind in the large meadow. The cows seemed to be okay, and he could see several of the sheep grazing on the far side. He was just about to step out into the open when a shadow passed over him. Looking up, he saw the red dragon with talons outstretched, heading toward the cows. The next instant, the dragon struck a black and white faced cow, knocking her to the ground. The cow let out a frightened bellow and then was silent.
Marten stood in shock as he realized the dragon was less than 200 feet away from him. He jumped when he felt a hand grab his shoulder and pull him back under the protective cover of the trees.
“Quiet!” Collin spoke in a strict voice. “The second dragon is coming!”
The brown dragon landed between the trees and the red dragon. It turned and gazed directly at Marten and Collin. Its piercing eyes seemed to look into their very souls.
“Don’t move,” whispered Collin, keeping his eyes focused on the dragon. “Don’t move a muscle.”
The two stood immobilized as the dragon seemed to study them in excruciating detail. They felt almost paralyzed by the intense gaze of the dragon. They were like prey trapped by the hypnotic eyes of a deadly viper.
Collin wondered just what the dragon was going to do. So far, there had been no reports of either of the dragons attacking a human. Collin moved his eyes from side to side, looking for a safe sanctuary if they had to run for it. Other than the trees, there was nowhere else to go.
The brown dragon took a step toward them and let out a sudden angry roar. Unexpectedly, fire leaped forth from the dragon’s mouth striking the ground just a few feet to one side of them. Collin could feel the intense heat and felt as if his skin had been singed.
“Run!” yelled Collin, feeling panic. “Follow me.”
The two turned and ran to the far side of the grove of trees, coming to a stop beneath a towering oak tree. Collin looked back in the direction they had come and saw that the brown dragon was still watching them. Its dark eyes were studying their every move. Collin hoped the interlocking branches above them would give them some protection from the dragon if it decided to attack.
The dragon breathed fire again, setting one of the trees on fire. It instantly blazed up setting several of the smaller trees next to it on fire.
“Did you see that?” Marten spoke excitedly, his eyes focused on the dragon. “The dragons can breathe fire!”
“Yes, I saw it,” replied Collin worriedly, trying to decide what to do now. If more of the trees in the grove caught on fire, they would have to leave their precarious shelter.
He looked frantically around for any type of shelter from the dragons. He had to get Marten to safety. Jennifer would never forgive him if something happened to her little brother. The next grove of trees was a good one hundred yards away. They would have to run across open ground to reach it. The question was would the brown dragon let them? Collin hesitated and then turned around to face the dragons. He wasn’t sure what to do.
The brown dragon was still watching them intently, but didn’t act as if it was going to come after them. They waited for several heart stopping minutes, keeping their eyes glued on the dragons. Collin could feel his pulse racing and knew he was breathing heavily.
The red dragon finished eating the cow and looked at the brown one with its eyes. To Collin it almost seemed as if the two were talking to each other. With a loud roar, the brown dragon took to the air followed by the red one. The two circled the grove of trees once and then flew off toward the south.
“That was close,” Marten said in a quivering voice, watching as the dragons flew away. He was trembling and relieved that they were gone. He looked at Collin, knowing he was in trouble.
“What were you doing out here?” demanded Collin, realizing how close they had both just come to being killed. If that dragon fire had been a little more to the left, it would have incinerated both of them. “Didn’t your father warn you about coming back to this meadow?”
Marten looked down at the ground sheepishly, knowing he had screwed up. “Yeah, he warned me. But I had to know what had happened to our animals. I didn’t want to just leave them here to die.”
“Sometimes we have to make hard choices, Marten,” Collin admonished. “This is one your father has made, and you’re going to have to accept it.”
“I know,” replied Marten, looking up at Collin. “I’m just glad you were here.”
“Your sister thought you might try something like this. I knew that the dragons would probably be out hunting today, so I came out this way to check. I’m glad I got here when I did.”
“The brown one actually breathed fire!” Marten spoke excitedly. His fear was rapidly vanishing. “He set one of the trees on fire.”
“We both could have been killed,” replied Collin not happy with this new development. “This fire thing is bad news.”
“They have never breathed fire before,” Marten continued in an animated voice, looking toward the trees that were still burning and giving off smoke. “Why did the brown one do it now?”
“I don’t know,” confessed Collin, feeling worried about this new development.
If the dragons could breathe fire, that made them even more dangerous. This was something he would have to report to Marten’s father as well as his own.
“Come on, Marten; I’ll walk you home.”
“You’re going to tell my father about this, aren’t you?”
“Yes,” replied Collin, putting his hand out and squeezing Marten’s shoulder. “What you did today was very dangerous, and your dad needs to know about the dragon fire. Everyone does.”
-
The brown and red dragons were returning to their lairs. The brown one had almost attacked the small human this morning. In years past, directly after the dragons had escaped captivity, they had fed on humans for a short time. What had happened in the great mountain had, for a time, driven the dragons insane. Now a semblance of reason had returned, but it had taken many long years. The dragons dimly understood the passage of time.
They reached their lairs and parted ways as each entered its own cave. In the back of each of their minds, they knew that very shortly they might be forced to feed on humans once again. This greatly bothered both of them. After all, there were so few humans left.
Ch
apter Three
Jennifer was accompanying her father to the village. They were riding in a small wagon with their two sturdy plow horses harnessed to the front. The hooves of the horses stirred up puffs of dust with every step. It had been extremely dry for the last few weeks. It always seemed to be dry nowadays. Jennifer took a deep breath, wishing it would rain more often. They only received rain in the early spring or the late fall; the rest of the time it was dry.
If not for the deepwater wells which furnished their drinking water, Jennifer didn’t know what they would do. There was one small stream, which meandered through the valley. It appeared out of the ground in the northern end, close to the high hills, and disappeared again near the southern ones. Her father had said it was an ancient underground river, which came briefly to the surface in their valley.
It was early afternoon, and Jennifer had a list of items her mother had given her to pick up at the general store. It was a cloudless day with the sun shining brightly. As they neared the village, Jennifer was surprised to see so few people about. Even on the few farms they had passed, she hadn’t noticed anyone working out in the fields.
“Where is everyone?” Jennifer asked as they passed several small houses on the outskirts of the village. “Everything’s so quiet.”
Her father took a deep breath before replying. “It’s been getting worse every day. The people have been getting more and more worried about the dragons and are staying indoors, afraid to come out.”
“But no one’s been hurt by either of them, yet,” Jennifer replied, her blue eyes gazing at her father.
It had been nearly three weeks since the incident with Marten and the brown dragon. When Anson had heard about what happened he grounded Marten for two weeks. He had been allowed to do his chores, but that was about it.
Anson had gone to the village the next day and spread the word that the dragons could breathe fire, upsetting many of the villagers. Some didn’t want to believe what Anson was telling them. If not for the fact that Collin had been there also, Anson might have had a hard time convincing any of the villagers about this new danger from the dragons.
“Not yet,” her father replied with a growing frown. “More and more of the farmers are putting some of their stock in the barns and letting them out when the dragons are finished feeding. Soon, the only stock left will be what we’re keeping hidden. Everyone wonders what the dragons will do then.”
“I don’t think the barns will keep the dragons out if they want to get in,” commented Jennifer, thinking about how big the dragons were.
She could see the blacksmith shop up ahead. She hoped that Collin was there; she hadn’t seen him in nearly a week.
“I don’t either,” her father sighed in agreement. “We need some place safer to keep the animals, but I don’t know what we can do.”
Jennifer didn’t reply. Collin and she had discussed during his last visit about going to the northern hills to search the old mines. Perhaps they could find one large enough to hold both people and animals.
As they pulled up to the blacksmith shop, Jennifer saw Collins’s father step out to greet them. Andrew Adams was a powerfully built man with large, muscled arms. He had long dark hair that almost touched his shoulders. There was no doubt in Jennifer’s mind as to where Collin had gotten his hair color.
“Anson, Jennifer; it’s good to see you,” Andrew spoke as he watched the two step down from the wagon.
Anson stepped forward, shaking Andrew’s hand. “Village sure looks quiet today,” he commented, looking around.
He could only see a couple of people in front of the stores. Usually there were more people moving about this time of day, even with the threat of the dragons.
“You haven’t heard, have you?” Andrew said with cocked eyebrows and sadness in his eyes. “Mathew Brisco’s son didn’t return from the meadows this morning. A search party went out to find him, but they found nothing. He is afraid that Brendon may have been killed by one of the dragons.”
“Brendon!” gasped Jennifer her eyes wide. All the young people in the village knew one another. They attended school together each winter. “I can’t believe it!”
“Collin went out with the search party. He said there was no sign of Brendon. One of the cows was missing, and they found a spot in the meadow where a dragon had fed. They spent nearly three hours searching the surrounding area, but didn’t find anything. They just got back about an hour ago.”
Anson and Jennifer were both silent. Jennifer felt like crying. She had known Brendon for years. They hadn’t been close friends, but they had talked upon occasion.
“Several of the men, including Mathew Brisco, are over at the village tavern,” continued Andrew, gesturing toward the inn at the far end of the street. “They don’t know what to do. If the dragon did kill Brendon, what does that mean for the rest of us?”
“Maybe we should go over to the tavern and see what they think,” Anson suggested. He knew that if one of the dragons had actually killed Brendon, then everyone might be in danger. “We need to do something soon or the dragons may take all of us.”
“Sounds like a good idea, even though I don’t know what we can do about the dragons,” Andrew responded and then turned toward Jennifer. “Collin’s inside; tell him we have gone to the tavern and to watch the shop until we get back.”
-
Jennifer watched the two men leave and walk up the street toward the tavern. She turned and walked through the shop to the small, immaculate white house just behind it. Knocking on the door, she heard Collin’s younger brother holler that he would get it.
The door swung open, and a big grin spread across Jason’s face when he saw who was standing at the door. “Collin; your woman’s here!” he yelled loudly. The thirteen year old held the door open for Jennifer, gesturing for her to come in.
Jennifer felt a hot blush flash across her face. Jason loved to tease her. She stepped inside, seeing Collin and his mother coming from the kitchen.
“Hello, Jennifer,” spoke Collin’s mother warmly. “How are you today?”
“Fine, Clara,” Jennifer replied. “Andrew was just telling my father and me about Brendon. It’s terrible.”
Clara’s eyes clouded over, “Yes, it is,” she responded, shaking her head sadly. “It’s a horrible thing that has happened today. Everyone in the village is frightened. No one knows what to expect next.”
“It’s just so hard to believe that Brendon’s gone,” Jennifer said in a quiet voice. “Brendon was always so carefree and full of laughter. This shouldn’t have happened to him!”
“I feared it was bound to happen sooner or later,” Collin spoke with a heavy sigh. “When I saw the brown dragon breathe fire, I was afraid something like this was going to happen.”
He had gone with some of the other men to search the meadows earlier. There had been no sign of Brendon. Collin still hoped that Brendon had just wandered farther from the village than normal. In his heart, Collin knew that wasn’t the case. Even if Brendon had wandered farther, he should have been back by now.
Focusing on Collin, Jennifer continued. “Our fathers have gone to the tavern to talk to the other men about what can be done. He said for you to watch the blacksmith shop while he’s gone.”
“I don’t know what they can do about the dragons,” Collin said with a worried frown. “We have no way to kill one, and we don’t even know if they can be killed.”
“Why don’t you have a seat and I’ll fix us some tea?” Clara suggested. “The blacksmith shop can wait a few minutes.”
Clara liked Jennifer and hoped that someday she would become her daughter-in-law. She suspected the two had already been discussing a life together. Also, by staying busy, it kept her mind off what had happened with the dragons.
-
Over at the tavern, Anson and Andrew had just sat down at a long table with four other men, including Mathew Brisco. Mathew had several empty glasses in front of him, and it was obvious he had been drinking
heavily.
“Those damn dragons!” he said loudly, motioning for the barmaid to bring him another drink. “We need to kill them before they kill all of us!”
“I agree they need to be destroyed,” another man said, frowning heavily. “But how? Those dragons are nearly as big as a house!”
“We set a trap,” said Mathew, picking up the glass the barmaid had just set down and draining half of it. “We set a trap, and when one of the dragons enters it, we kill it!”
“I don’t think a trap will work,” commented Anson, wishing that Mathew wouldn't drink so much. “The dragons are just too big.”
“We make a net out of ropes,” Mathew said, his eyes growing angry. “When one of the dragons passes under it, we drop it, pile wood on the dragon, and burn it. That should kill it!”
“I don’t see how we can place a net high enough,” spoke Shawn Winston, shaking his head in doubt. “As strong as the dragons are and now that we know they can breathe fire, I don’t see how any net can possibly hold one.”
“Then we dig a pit in the ground with stakes at the bottom. We cover it and use a cow or a sheep as bait. When the dragon steps on it the monster will fall through, impaling itself on the stakes.”
“It will just use its wings to take to the air if it feels itself falling,” said Andrew, reaching over and taking the half-full glass of whiskey away from Mathew. “I think you have had enough to drink for now, my friend.”
Mathew was quiet for a moment staring down at the table. He still couldn’t believe that Brendon was gone. He still held out a slim hope that the boy had just wandered too far away from the village and just hadn’t made it home yet.
“But Mathew does bring up a good point,” said Shawn, setting down his own glass. He didn’t think it was a good idea for him to drink if Mathew couldn’t. “We have to do something about the dragons. I didn’t use to believe they would turn on us. I always thought that once the animals were gone, they would leave.”
Dragon Wars Page 3