The Dragon Tree

by Kavich, AC

  “Does every jerk in Alpine know every other jerk, or is this just a coincidence?” asked Billy without looking up.

  Eva cleared her throat. “First, let me apologize again about what happened yesterday. My boyfriend Aidan had no right—”

  “Your boyfriend Aidan has crabs, probably,” Billy interrupted. “More than most since his dad is the seafood king.”

  “Huh?” asked Hiroki. “What does that mean?”

  Billy rested the head of the axe on his shoulder and turned to Hiroki. “Crabs live in the ocean and people eat them sometimes. Crabs are also these little bugs that live in your—”

  “Okay!” Eva interrupted. “We get it!”

  “I’m sure you do, sweet-lips,” Billy smirked.

  “Do not call her that,” said Hiroki, a harder edge to his voice. He turned to Eva. “I forgot to tell you. He’s a prick.”

  Billy started laughing. “If you don’t want to talk about her boyfriend’s crabs, we could talk about your hot mother some more. Whatever you prefer, my man.”

  Hiroki shook his head and reached for Eva’s elbow as if to drag her away. But Eva slipped away from him and took a step toward Billy. She waited patiently for him to stop chopping the stump and look up at her.

  “We’re going out to the cliffs,” said Eva.

  “What for?” Billy asked.

  “So Hiro can take some photos. Come with us.”

  Billy turned to Hiroki. “Is your creepy grandpa coming along?”

  “He’s not creepy,” Hiroki answered, annoyed. “And no.”

  “Okay then.” Billy tossed his axe across the yard. “Let’s hit it.”

  ***

  The town of Alpine was built at the easternmost edge of Grays Harbor, where the bay narrowed and became the Cordalia River. The harbor was once a major commercial hub for the region, but was set aside decades earlier as a nature preserve.

  Hiroki piloted his Buick beyond the preserve grounds and up into the cliffs, where the bay opened wide and joined the vast Pacific Ocean. The roads leading up to the cliffs were brutal on his suspension, every rut and divot rocking the car’s frame like an earthquake. Both sides of the road were heavily wooded, masking the view of the ocean until they cleared the forest and left the road behind altogether.

  Ten minutes more of very bumpy driving and Hiroki at last parked his car on the uneven rocky plateau. The three teens stepped out of the car and tested the slick rock beneath their feet. After the previous night’s rain, staying upright was no easy feat.

  Hiroki had a camera around his neck, as always. He took a few cautious steps closer to the edge of the cliff and raised the camera to start snapping shots.

  “You know you’re a walking cliché, right?” asked Billy with a laugh. “Japanese people and cameras.”

  “That’s almost racist,” answered Hiroki. “You’re a walking cliché, too, anyway. Redneck trailer trash asshole.”

  Billy laughed and held up his hands in a falsely apologetic gesture.

  Eva lingered longest at the side of Hiroki’s car. She kept one hand on the hood in case she suddenly started sliding uncontrollably toward the edge of the continent. “It’s beautiful here.”

  Hiroki’s gaze drifted from the stunning ocean vista to Eva’s face. He lifted his camera and backed away from her a step to find a better angle. “Don’t freak out or you’ll fall over.”

  “Hiro—”

  “Just a couple, I promise.” Hiroki squatted so he could photograph Eva from a low angle. In his viewfinder, her raven hair and her olive skin gave her the appearance of a young Greek goddess looking over her oceanic dominion.

  She’s regal.

  Billy wandered around the plateau on his own, determined not to take much notice of Hiroki and Eva. But the sight of Hiroki lining up a shot was too intriguing to resist, and he meandered that direction.

  “Let me take a photo,” said Billy.

  “Absolutely not,” said Hiroki with a hint of anger. “This isn’t the cheap digital I used at the track meet. I’m using film.”

  “Oh, how impressive. You’re using film.” Billy edged closer, one arm extended to receive the camera from Hiroki. “Anybody can take a dumb photo, man. Watch, I’ll show you.”

  Eva had been staring out at the ocean and lost in her thoughts, but she sensed Hiroki’s agitation and turned to intervene. Both boys had one hand on the camera, and both were on slippery soles.

  “Let go, asshole!” screamed Hiroki.

  “I’ll give it back, dude!”

  “Billy—” Eva said, knowing it was already too late. Her voice trailed off even as his name left her mouth.

  The camera slipped from both their hands in the same instant. Hiroki reached for it, desperate to snatch it out of thin air before it hit the ground and broke. He bobbled the camera, slipping to his knees and lunging forward as it bounced from one hand to the other. It landed on the slick rock relatively softly… but it slid.

  And it plunged over the precipice.

  “No!” Hiroki screamed. “My camera!”

  Hiroki glared hatefully at Billy, then turned to Eva with tears in his eyes. Billy was standing a few feet behind Hiroki and wearing an expression she had not yet seen from him – genuine distress. He was staring at his hands as if they had betrayed him.

  “I’m… I’m sorry,” said Billy, his voice wavering. “I didn’t mean to—”

  “You’re awful,” said Eva. “You’re just awful.”

  Billy inhaled a deep, painful breath. Then he lowered himself to the wet rocks and crawled toward the edge of the cliff. He pulled himself forward on his chest and leaned out over the edge. “Hey! I can see it! It’s hanging on a branch!”

  Hiroki’s eyes went wide with fresh hope, but Eva placed a hand on his shoulder. “No, Hiro. There’s no way. It’s impossible.”

  “It’s not impossible,” said Billy with raw determination. “I can see a way down. I can get it back!

  Before either Hiroki or Eva could summon the words to stop him, Billy had spun around on the wet rock and disappeared.

  ***

  “If this is supposed to impress me, I want you both to know I am not impressed!” Eva was too frightened by the prospect of Billy falling to his death to watch his descent. She locked herself in Hiroki’s car to protest the male idiocy on display.

  Hiroki remained on his stomach at the cliff edge, mouth agape.

  Billy had underestimated how much the water on the rocks would interfere with his grip. The cliff face wasn’t sheer – there were plenty of places for foot and handholds – but the dampness made every surface feel like a bar of soap in the shower. More than once, he thought he had a secure grip only to feel his fingers or shoes slip.

  He didn’t dare look down more often than he needed to. When he did look, he was surprised to realize that he couldn’t see the camera or the branch on which it was hanging.

  Did I imagine it? Am I climbing down to get something that’s not even there?

  There was no turning back now. Whether the camera had slipped off the branch or was never there to begin with, he needed to find a place to rest and let the blood flow back into his hands or he stood no chance of making the climb back up. As soon as he slipped over the cliff edge, he spotted what looked like a ledge just above the phantom tree branch. It looked like it might be flat and large enough for him to lie down.

  And then he felt it. Solid ground beneath his feet. He risked a look down and saw that sure enough, he had reached the ledge! It was much larger than he thought when he saw it from above. It must have been ten feet wide and twenty feet long. With great relief, he relinquished his handhold and shook his pained arms.

  “You okay down there?” Hiroki yelled.

  “Yeah, I’m good! Can’t see your camera yet, though!”

  Billy crept out toward the edge of the shelf, concerned it might be as slick as the plateau up above. But there was a rocky curtain directly in front of the shelf that shielded it from the ocean – a wall
that hid this shelf from the water. Somehow this was enough to keep the shelf relatively dry.

  Billy’s toe caught on something and he lurched forward. He waved his arms frantically to regain his balance. He drew a deep breath and squatted to see what he’d kicked and discovered strange black objects jutting through the rock. He was sure they weren’t rocks, but he couldn’t tell what they were if not rocks. They were shaped like inverted ice cream cones and hard to the touch. But textured. Such a strange texture. Were these the branches he saw from the cliff?

  And then he saw it. Just beyond the edge of the shelf. More of the strange black protrusions but much longer and thinner. From a few feet away, they did look like branches. He crept toward them, now watching his step as he advanced. And when he reached the edge he peered over and saw… the camera!

  It was hanging on one of the black protrusions, its strap dangerously close to slipping over the tip and sending the camera down to the churning harbor.

  “I see it! I see the camera!” yelled Billy. “Gotta climb down farther to get it though.”

  “Forget the camera! It’s not worth it!” yelled Hiroki from above.

  There were more handholds on the inside of the rocky curtain that shielded the view of the cliff. And unlike the cliff face, this surface was dry. Billy ignored Hiroki’s warning and leaned over open space to reach the rocky wall. He found a good grip then began the next stage of his descent.

  ***

  On the plateau, Eva couldn’t take the tension any longer. She threw open the door of the Buick and stomped her way toward the cliff edge. Hiroki was still leaning over the edge and peering down. When she touched his foot, he was so frightened he nearly vaulted off the cliff.

  “Don’t do that!”

  “You do that to me every time you come to my window!” she yelled indignantly. “Where is he?”

  “I don’t know. Can’t see him. He was on this… this shelf thing, and then he just disappeared.” Hiroki sat up and brushed grime from the front of his shirt. “Do you think he…”

  “No! Don’t even say it. He’s fine.” Eva was trying to convince herself more than Hiroki. “He’s probably just resting.”

  Hiroki forced himself to nod agreement, but it was clear to both of them that he didn’t mean the nod. He was afraid they would have to drive back into town and explain to the police that no one pushed Billy off the cliff. No one murdered him in a fit of teenage rage. He climbed down the slick cliff because… because he wanted to!

  They would go to jail for a long time. He was sure of it.

  Eva started to shake. The sun was up now and it wasn’t cold, but she was shivering where she stood. “Billy! Answer if you can hear me! BILLY!”

  “Okay, all right! Stop yelling at me,” hollered Billy as he climbed back over the edge of the cliff. “The two of you are like a couple of fire alarms when you start yelling. Anybody ever tell you that?”

  Hiroki helped to pull Billy over the edge and back onto the safety of the plateau. In return, Billy handed him the camera that was dangling against his back, its strap digging into his neck.

  “I can’t believe you got it back! Doesn’t even look broken!” Hiroki was ecstatic.

  Billy kneaded his sore hands and shrugged. “Told you I’d get it. But forget your stupid camera… Check these out.” Billy had tucked in his t-shirt. There were several lumps down by his belt. He carefully extracted the objects causing the lumps. “It’s fruit. I think it is, anyway.”

  Eva crept closer. “That doesn’t look like fruit to me.”

  The objects in Billy’s hand were each about the size of a tennis ball. They were ovular and covered with coarse black fiber that looked almost like hair. At one end, the objects had a twisted spike that glistened like it was oiled.

  “That’s how it was attached to the branches. That spiky thing. It’s like a stem,” He handed one of the objects to each of them. “The tree they were on… Like nothing I ever saw before. The whole thing is as black as the fruit. It’s got no trunk, just a bunch of branches all twisted together like a braid. The branches are twisted all over each other too. And rock hard. I mean, you couldn’t snap one of those branches if you tried. The leaves were big and black, like giant moths or something. They look thin and light, but they don’t blow in the breeze. I mean, not at all. Super weird.”

  Hiroki studied the object in his hand with one eyebrow raised suspiciously. “There’s no way this thing is a piece of fruit, and there’s no way there’s a tree growing out of bare rock.”

  “You calling me a liar?” asked Billy. “I just risked my neck to save your stupid toy and you’re calling me a liar?”

  Eva stepped between them. “No fighting. I’m serious.” She took the object from Hiroki and compared it to her own. “Maybe it’s a nut. Hard to crack open.”

  “They’re not hard to crack open,” said Billy. “A few of them were lying on the rocks, busted open. I think you just peel all this hairy crap off of it.” He narrated as he stripped the object of its rough exterior, exposing the black flesh underneath. His fingernails easily dug into the skin of the fruit and red juice streamed out over his fingers. “I’m eating it.”

  “You can’t eat that! It might be poison!” Eva yelled.

  “Get serious. I’m eating it,” said Billy. And with no hesitation, he dug his teeth into the black flesh and tore off a chunk. It erupted in his teeth, more of the red liquid squirting out and running all over his hand and his chin.

  “Oh my god. That looks like blood,” said Hiroki, his stomach gone suddenly queasy. “How does it taste?”

  “Worst thing I ever tasted in my life! A cross between a rotten egg and an old penny.” Billy coughed and tossed the piece of fruit over the edge of the cliff. He furiously wiped the juice off of his chin, but it left a light red stain on his skin. With a big grin he turned to Hiroki. “I’d rather lick your toes than eat another bite.”

  Eva couldn’t help but laugh. Hiroki looked up at her, horrified, and she apologized with a glance. “Can we get out of here now? Please?”

  Hiroki nodded. “Let’s go.”

  As they walked toward Hiroki’s car, Billy was still wiping his chin. “The tree… it was upside-down. Growing right out of the bottom of that big rock shelf.”

  “What kind of tree grows upside-down?” asked Eva, a bit awed.

  “No kind,” spat Hiroki. “He’s making it all up.”

  “Yeah? I brought back the fruit to prove I saw what I saw, but you still think I’m making it up?” Billy slid into the back seat of the Buick with a self-satisfied smile. “Well check your precious camera, smart guy. I took pictures.”

  CHAPTER FOUR

  Billy’s stomach was gurgling something fierce. While his father watched the football game in the next room, he raided the fridge.

  There was half a roast chicken left over from a few days ago. He thought about nuking it but couldn’t wait that long. Before he realized it, he had already downed every last bite, licked the grease off the bones and stuck his head back in the fridge. There was nothing left but a loaf of store-bought white bread. It had gone stale from neglect, but Billy was so ravenous he tore open the bag and attacked the loaf like it was hot from the oven. He was halfway through the loaf when he remembered all the condiments in the fridge door. The bread tasted amazing to Billy even without the added flavor, but dumping ketchup and mustard on slice after slice helped fill him up faster.

  Except it didn’t fill him up. Not by a long shot. He raided the cabinets next.

  There were two half-full boxes of cereal but no milk. He scarfed down the dry cereal and started opening tin cans. He started with chili, but spooned out every bite so fast he was onto beans in a matter of minutes. From beans he moved on to vegetables – never a favorite – and didn’t bother with a spoon. He upended a can of green beans, two cans of peas and a can of cooked spinach like he was guzzling a can of his father’s beer.

  Vegetables never tasted so good.

  “What are you
doing in there?” hollered William from the front room.

  Billy finally stopped eating long enough to look at the mess he’d made. The kitchen’s small counters were littered with torn plastic packaging, cardboard boxes and empty tins. Had he really eaten all of it? He had, and he wasn’t done yet.

  “Nothing, pops. What do you need?”

  “I need you to stop stomping around the kitchen like an elephant,” William hollered with beer-fueled volume. “I need you to go to bed.”

  Billy rolled his eyes then returned to the cabinets. He hauled out a few tins of tuna fish and a box of stale crackers. Nothing else left. He spun around to the fridge and raided the door’s condiments once again. His arms loaded with salad dressing and other items, Billy headed back to his room.

  He had run out of food an hour ago. Amazingly, he was still hungry. He spent almost three hours just pacing from one end of the room to the other.

  It’s almost morning, you savage. You can eat in the morning.

  He caught sight of his hands. His skin had… changed. The color of his skin hadn’t changed at all, but the faint lines on his palm had turned much heavier. And there were more lines than he’d ever noticed before. Some were like deep grooves. Others were more superficial. But all of the lines were in a pattern he’d never seen on human skin. They crisscrossed, making his flesh look bumpy. Almost like the skin of an orange. No, that wasn’t quite right.

  Like lizard skin.

  The pattern extended to the back of his hands and up past his wrist. He pushed up his sleeves and saw the scaly flesh extending nearly to his elbow. And moving higher. Moving up his arm. New scales were appearing adjacent to the old scales, like a rash spreading across every inch of his body. He pulled up his pant leg and saw the same pattern there as well!

  What is happening to me?

  His bumpy skin was itchy. He scratched the scales with his fingernails, but his skin was hard to the touch now and his nails didn’t even leave a mark. His nails had changed as well. They looked thicker than they should have been. And where they should have been rounded, each nail came to very subtle point.