Jonah and the Last Great Dragon

by M E. Holley

  Gingerly Jonah moved his shoulder about. ‘It really hurts but I suppose it could be worse.’

  ‘Good,’ said Mike. ‘Let’s get you home and have it attended to.’

  ‘My house is nearest,’ Erin said.

  Mike stooped and helped Jonah to his feet. His legs were trembling and he clutched Erin’s arm for support.

  ‘Here. I’ll carry you,’ Mike said, lifting him up.

  ‘No, it’s all right, really,’ Jonah protested, but his voice sounded weak. ‘I can walk.’

  ‘You’re bleeding a lot. Best keep as still as you can,’ said Mike firmly. ‘Are you all right?’ he asked, turning to Erin.

  ‘Yes, I’m OK. Thank goodness you came!’ Erin whispered.

  ‘Yes, thanks, Mike. I don’t know what —’ Jonah’s voice cracked and he could not go on.

  Mike shook his head wearily. ‘Don’t thank me. That should never have happened,’ he said, ‘I should have trusted my instincts and insisted on walking with you. I ought to have realised the animal you saw would still be roaming around.’

  Erin looked at him in misery and began to sob as she plodded along.

  ‘Don’t cry,’ said Mike. ‘It’s all over now.’

  ‘But it’s all my fault!’ she wailed. ‘You said you wanted to come with us and I was all, like, we’re not silly kids, thank you very much. We don’t need help.’ She kept wiping tears away with the back of her hand. ‘But now look! We did need you. And I was so rude! I’m really sorry, Mike.’

  Mike smiled at her as they turned down the lane towards Gilfach Farm. ‘You weren’t rude. A bit blunt, maybe.’

  Erin was shaking her head. ‘You’re kind but—’

  ‘Erin, it wasn’t at all silly to be cautious. I’m a stranger here. You don’t know the first thing about me. Now stop upsetting yourself. I mean it,’ he said, as she looked up and shook her head miserably. ‘It wasn’t your fault at all. Come on, cheer up.’

  Jonah was thinking Mike must be pretty fit to carry him so far without getting out of breath. He hadn’t seemed to be afraid of the wolves, either. That reminded him.

  ‘What about the farmers?’ he blurted out. ‘They need to know what’s happening. People will have heard the wolves and they’ll be scared stiff.’

  ‘Yes,’ put in Erin. ‘I expect Dad and Bryn and the others are already out with their guns.’

  ‘Do you think they’ve escaped from a zoo?’ Jonah asked, looking into Mike’s grim face, as he strode along.

  Erin shook her head, sniffing back her tears. ‘But how could that happen? I can understand one of them getting out but not a pack of them. It doesn’t make sense.’

  ‘We’re nearly at your house, Erin. I need to talk to your parents and everyone else in the area,’ said Mike. ‘Something has to be done. We have to alert the community round here, or there’s going to be a terrible accident.’

  CHAPTER 8

  CRISIS

  As they hurried up the drive and into the farmyard at Gilfach, the kitchen door was thrown open and Gwen Morgan looked out.

  ‘Oh, my goodness, what’s happened?’ she cried, staring at Erin, and Mike with Jonah in his arms. Her eyes widened as she noticed Mike had no shirt under his blood-stained jacket, and that there was blood oozing from Jonah’s bandages and from the great scratches on Erin’s arms. Erin flew to her.

  ‘It was wolves, Mam! They went for Jonah and me.’ Erin extricated herself from her mother’s arms. ‘This is Mike. He saved our lives. He saved us from the wolves.’ She began to cry again with shock and Jonah, near to tears himself, began to tell her mother what had happened.

  Quietly, Mike intervened. ‘Have you some ointment and bandages, Mrs Morgan?’

  ‘Wolves? I can’t take this in. I heard an awful noise but wolves—are you sure?’ Mrs Morgan looked bewildered for a moment, but her practical streak quickly took over, and she turned to Jonah. ‘Well then, cariad, let’s get you into the house, so that I can see to your shoulder.’ She led the way into the kitchen and took a large first-aid kit out of a cupboard, while Erin ran upstairs to her bedroom to find a clean tee-shirt for herself and one that would fit Jonah.

  ‘And get a shirt of your father’s for Mike, while you’re up there,’ her mother called after her. As she washed and dressed Jonah’s wound, Mike explained what had happened in the lane.

  ‘The noise you heard really was wolves howling, Gwen,’ Jonah put in, shakily. ‘They came out of the woods and one, a huge one, came over the hill. You know, the one that chased me this morning. It wasn’t a dog.’ It was difficult to talk. There seemed to be a lump in his throat that he couldn’t swallow. ‘They would have killed us, if it hadn’t been for Mike.’

  Mrs Morgan was staring at Mike in horror.

  ‘But how can they be wolves? Have they escaped from a zoo or somewhere? Where have they come from?’ she said, pausing as she secured dressing strips to Jonah’s wound.

  Mike looked at her gravely. ‘I’m sorry but I don’t think I should take time to talk now. I need to get on and alert other people quickly.’

  Mrs Morgan shut the first-aid box and stood up, putting her arms tightly round Jonah and Erin, who had come downstairs with an old blue tee-shirt for him and a check shirt for Mike. She looked at him. ‘I don’t know how to thank you.’ Her eyes were watery.

  Erin stroked her mother’s hand. ‘It’s all right, Mam. We’re safe.’

  Slowly, Mrs Morgan released the children, sniffed back her tears and smiled at Mike. ‘I’m sorry. Oh, dear, I’m being a bit over-emotional.’ She wiped her hand over her eyes and turned briskly to Jonah. ‘Well, now, we must get you to A and E.’

  Jonah groaned. ‘Do I have to, Gwen? Now you’ve dressed it, I’m sure it will be OK. I don’t think the hospital could do much more, could they?’

  ‘Well, maybe not,’ she said, ‘but I think Claire or I should run you into Presteigne, at least, and let our doctor look at it. You might need stitches. I’ll go and phone her now.’

  In a moment or two, she came back into the kitchen, looking annoyed. ‘Would you believe it?’ she said. ‘I can’t get a signal. It was all right at lunchtime. Oh, well, I’ll have to use my mobile.’ She took her smartphone out of a dresser drawer, dialled and put the phone to her ear. She frowned, checked the code and pressed the connect button again. Then she put the phone down. ‘Do you know,’ she said to Mike, ‘that is very odd. This one isn’t working either.’

  ‘Neither is mine,’ Erin put in. ‘I tried to phone when we heard the wolves.’

  Mike looked at her thoughtfully. ‘Do you mind?’ he said to Mrs Morgan, going over to the light switch beside the kitchen door. He flicked the switch and the light came on.

  ‘Well, you have electricity,’ he said. ‘There must be something wrong with the telephone network.’ Jonah noticed that Mike was chewing his lip for a moment, deep in thought.

  ‘Oh, that’s so annoying!’ exclaimed Mrs Morgan. ‘Just when we need to phone. Well, I’d better drive you to the Community Hospital at Kington then, Jonah. We can call in at Bryn’s on the way.’

  Mike stood looking down for a moment. Then he straightened up, as if he had come to a decision.

  ‘I don’t think you should leave the farm just now, Mrs Morgan. I’m not sure it would be safe.’

  Gwen Morgan stared at him. Then her face cleared. ‘Oh, in case these dogs…’

  ‘Mam!’

  ‘All right, Erin. Sorry. In case these wolves attack the cattle?’

  Mike looked uncomfortable. ‘I think there might be a serious situation developing, that needs to be tackled quickly,’ he said. ‘It would be best if we could get everyone who lives in the area together. Then we can tell everybody what’s happened and talk about what we should do. I ought to go.’

  ‘I see,’ Gwen Morgan said slowly and then nodded. ‘But before you start, I think you all need a cup of tea,’ she said. ‘A good hot drink will make Jonah and Erin feel better. You, too,’ she added to Mike, ‘before you r
ush off. You need something to keep you going. Erin, there’s some bara brith in the larder that I made this morning. Bring the butter too, cariad.’

  Just as they settled down with mugs of tea and slices of fruit bread thickly spread with butter, they heard vehicles in the farmyard and Mr Morgan came in with his farmhand, Ted, followed by Bryn and his brother, Rhodri.

  ‘Do you know that none of the phone landlines are working, Gwen, and we can’t use our mobiles either!’ announced Emlyn Morgan. ‘I’ve driven all up the valley and I’ve been right round by Pilleth as far as Bleddfa. Nothing’s working! Bryn was on his way here to see if we knew what was happening. A couple of us will have to go into town to see what we can do.’

  ‘We can’t get a signal anywhere,’ put in Ted.

  Emlyn went across to the radio, and noticed Mike. ‘Oh, hello there,’ he said, nodding to him, as he switched it on. There was a buzz of talking, as Rhodri greeted Jonah, whom he had not seen since Bryn’s wedding, and Mrs Morgan introduced Mike to everyone.

  ‘Oh, I’ve forgotten your surname,’ she exclaimed.

  Mike smiled. ‘Don’t worry, Mrs Morgan. Just “Mike” will do.’

  Emlyn was switching from channel to channel on the radio. ‘Nothing,’ he exclaimed. ‘I can’t get a signal.’ He looked at the electric kettle, which Mrs Morgan had filled again. ‘Well, the kettle’s boiling. So it’s not the whole electricity supply. That’s a bit odd.’

  ‘And did you hear some terrible howling noises?’ put in Bryn. ‘A few minutes ago? Like a pack of dogs or something?’

  Gwen Morgan stood up. ‘I’ll get some more bara brith,’ she began to say, but then her voice faltered and she had to turn away.

  ‘Gwen!’ Emlyn Morgan stared at his wife in consternation. ‘What ever is the matter, love?’

  ‘I’ve something to tell you,’ she said in a wobbly voice. ‘That howling, Bryn. Erin and Jonah were nearly killed this afternoon. We have Mike to thank for saving them.’

  The new arrivals stared.

  ‘What happened?’ asked Rhodri. Then he noticed the plasters showing at the neck of Jonah’s tee-shirt. ‘What’s the matter with

  your shoulder?’

  Quietly, Mike answered for him. ‘Jonah was bitten but don’t worry. It’s just a flesh wound and bad bruising, thankfully.’ He stopped and looked round the table, as if wondering how best to explain. ‘Just now, as they were coming home from the church, the children were attacked by...’ He paused and looked uncomfortably at the wondering faces. ‘By some wolves,’ he finished.

  The adults gaped at him.

  Bryn turned to Jonah. ‘Wolves! That’s impossible! There are no wolves in Wales!’ Distractedly he ran his hand through his black hair. ‘I can’t believe you said that.’

  Emlyn Morgan leaned against the fridge with his arms folded, eyes narrowed cynically, as he surveyed Mike Golding. ‘By here,’ he said slowly, ‘we don’t believe in fairy stories. The last wolf in Wales was shot more than a hundred years ago, just up the road in Bleddfa.’ He straightened up and locked eyes with the young man. ‘I don’t appreciate you filling these kids’ heads with nonsense, see? Bad enough that they were set on by a pack of dogs, without you making them too scared to leave the house.’

  ‘Mr Morgan, I...’ Mike started to say but Erin butted in.

  ‘They were wolves, Dad. They were!’

  Emlyn ruffled her dark brown curls.

  ‘I know you thought they were, cariad, but let’s just be rational, eh? It would have been on the news, stands to reason, if a whole pack of wolves had escaped from somewhere.’

  Erin twisted away, her face reddening and angry tears filling her eyes.

  ‘Dad, you weren’t there. We’re not silly kids. They were wolves! Take a look at Jonah’s bite, why don’t you? And, anyway, the radio’s not working, so you couldn’t have heard about it!’ She slammed out of the kitchen and they could hear her furious sobs, as she thumped up the stairs. Mrs Morgan shook her head at her husband.

  ‘Oh, Emlyn! Did you have to? You can see how upset she is.’ She turned apologetically to Mike. ‘It’s just that it is so difficult to believe that there could be wolves on the loose in Wales.’

  Emlyn sniffed but said no more. There was an awkward pause and then Bryn said quietly, ‘Are you sure it wasn’t a pack of dogs, Jonah?’

  Jonah nodded vigorously. ‘Yes, they definitely weren’t German Shepherds or anything, and they were much too big to be huskies. I’ve seen one of them before! It was the thing that chased me this morning. But I knew nobody would believe me if I said it was a wolf.’ He shivered as he remembered the animal’s evil yellow eyes.

  ‘But a wolf bite!’ Rhodri Morgan said. ‘Surely, if the animal had been a wolf, Jonah would have far worse injuries. A wolf’s jaws are much more powerful than a dog’s. If it had been a wolf, it could well have bitten through the boy’s shoulder-bone!’

  Mike nodded. ‘You’re right. But, you see, it didn’t get a chance to shake Jonah about too much. Before it could close its teeth fast and really bite down, I shoved a burning branch in its face.’

  Rhodri nodded but Jonah thought he still seemed rather sceptical. ‘Lucky you had time to find something big enough to light,’ he said.

  Mike looked around at the doubting faces. ‘I heard the wolves well before they attacked,’ he said calmly.

  ‘Look, they were wolves,’ Jonah insisted. He was beginning to feel annoyed now. ‘We had quite enough time to look at them. And we saw other things, too.’ He laughed hollowly. ‘Now this will really make you think Erin and I are off our rockers.’

  CHAPTER 9

  AN UNBELIEVABLE STORY

  Jonah told them everything. He described how they had found the great, smoking fissure in the ground and how he had felt himself slipping towards the crevice. Turning to see how Mike would react, he told them about the strange, disgusting little animals on top of the church. Mike’s lips tightened as Jonah described what he and Erin had seen, but he said nothing. Suddenly, Jonah broke off as a thought occurred to him.

  ‘What is it?’ asked Claire.

  ‘When my foot got caught,’ he said slowly, ‘Erin swore she saw a bony hand round my ankle. And I didn’t feel as if I was just slipping, either,’ he added. ‘It felt as if something was pulling me! It could have been one of those awful things on the church. They had nasty skinny hands. It could have been one of them!’

  When he finished talking there was silence for a moment. The adults seemed lost for words. Then, abruptly, Emlyn turned to Mike. ‘I have to see for myself. I can’t take it on board, otherwise. If you can show me just one of the things Jonah has been talking about, I’ll be able to believe everything else.’ He turned to the other men. ‘I need to go up to the church. Do you want to come?’

  Mike placed his hands on the table. ‘I told your wife that I have to call a meeting to alert as many people as possible. Look, we need to take action fast, if we are to prevent a disaster. People could get hurt. If we go to the church now, quickly, and if I can convince you that we have a serious problem here, will you help me get word around the community?’

  The men nodded. ‘Come on, then,’ said Emlyn. ‘I’ll get my guns.’

  As Emlyn spoke, Jonah noticed a strange expression flicker across Mike’s face. Then he nodded.

  ‘Right,’ he said.

  Emlyn came back into the room with a couple of shotguns. ‘Right, then, lads. Are you going back to Maesglas to fetch guns for yourself and Rhodri?’ he asked Bryn.

  ‘Yes, and I’ll bring Claire here, if it’s OK. I don’t like the idea of her being at the farm alone, if there are really wolves around.’

  Bryn left the farmhouse and was soon back with Claire, and two shotguns.

  Emlyn turned to Gwen. ‘Now you lock yourselves in. Don’t go outside until we’re back. We won’t be long.’

  ‘I don’t like this,’ said Gwen. ‘You’re putting yourselves in danger, for no good reason. Why can’t you just take Mike’
s word?’

  Rhodri patted her shoulder. ‘It’s OK, Gwen, really. Even if we did meet wolves, they’d be unlikely to attack five grown men. Especially when they hear the guns. Don’t you worry.’

  The men went out into the farmyard. At the kitchen door, Emlyn turned round. ‘Tell Erin where I’ve gone,’ he said to Gwen. ‘And tell her I’m sorry. I could have handled that better.’ He shut the door behind him, and Gwen and Claire looked at each other nervously.

  ‘I don’t know about you,’ Gwen said, ‘but I could do with another cuppa. While I make it, would you go up and tell Erin to come down now? I’d be happier if we were all in the same room, until the men get back.’

  Gwen made more tea and the four of them gathered round the kitchen table. They all sat rigidly, straining to listen for any noise outside. Erin’s eyes were still red from crying but she managed a watery smile, when her mother hugged her.

  ‘They’ll soon be back, Mam,’ she began, ‘and then—’

  She was cut off by a terrible howl from the direction of the church. Her hand flew to her mouth. They all jumped to their feet and then they heard a commotion of shouts and snarling. Claire turned to Gwen.

  ‘Get me a shotgun, Gwen,’ she said. ‘I’m going outside. Don’t worry,’ she added, as the other woman faltered. ‘I’m a good shot.’

  But before Gwen had time to fetch one from the gun-rack in the study, the men came running back down the farm drive and spilled into the kitchen.

  ‘Erin, I owe you an apology, my love,’ said her father sombrely. ‘And Mike and Jonah. You were right all along.’

  Just as the men were coming back from the church, where they had a glimpse of the nasty little creatures the children had seen on the roof, the wolves had come down from the woods. They had sprung into the lane again, but the five men had been able to hold them off for long enough to sprint back to the farmhouse.

  ‘But it was weird. None of us got a decent shot at them,’ Rhodri said.

  Ted turned to Emlyn. ‘Don’t you think we ought to get your animals inside, Boss?’