The Dragon Tree

by Kavich, AC

  Humphries latched onto Aidan’s shoulder and squeezed it. He squeezed so hard that Aidan winced from the pain. “There were marks on the ship. Marks that could not have been made by waves or rocks. Marks that could only be made by claws, Aidan. Marks that could only be made by teeth.”

  “No one saw it but you, Dad.”

  Humphries released Aidan’s shoulder and sneered. “If my own son won’t believe me, I’ll just have to find proof.”

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  In the week after the storm, a rising number of citizens claimed to have seen the tornado that never actually existed. Crews cleared the streets of the debris produced by heavy winds and lashing rain and life in the neighboring towns of Alpine and Hudson returned to normal.

  No reports surfaced of a dragon sighting.

  Hiroki ground up the black leaves from the dragon tree the morning after the storm. He filled several mason jars with the ashy granules and labeled each one with masking tape: a blue mark for Billy’s jar, a yellow mark for Eva’s jar and a green mark for his.

  He risked one last trip to Billy’s trailer that afternoon to drop off the jar then said his goodbyes. Billy assured him they would all see each other soon, after things calmed down and they were certain they hadn’t been seen in their dragon forms. Hiroki wasn’t so sure, but he shook Billy’s hand anyway and said he hoped it was true.

  He found it difficult to return to school. Listening to his teachers drone on about subjects that had no relevance to his recent experiences was painfully boring. His mind drifted into memory of his one glorious night in the clouds. He relived every twist and turn, every dive and roll. He transported himself back to the open sea and the violent storm and relived the rescue of the fishing trawler. They now knew that the only person on board the ship during the rescue was Douglas Humphries, but he had been unconscious during the entire rescue. It seemed that Hiroki and Billy had been incredibly lucky. No one had seen them.

  Then why are we being so cautious? Why are we eating the leaves every day?

  Hiroki wandered the halls of his high school like a ghost, haunted by his memories of the sky and unable to focus on anything else.

  Most of the photos Hiroki developed in the darkroom that week were hastily taken – random shots of random objects. His photography teacher expressed some concern that Hiroki had lost interest. He asked Hiroki if something was distracting him, if something was wrong. Hiroki could barely muster the energy to insist he was fine. As he hunched over the chemical baths or hung up his uninspired prints on the drying lines, his mind drifted to the photos of the dragon tree that his grandfather had destroyed.

  I’ve still got the digital photos, grandfather. You can’t burn those.

  Every thought led back to the dragon tree.

  ***

  Billy spent the rest of his school suspension working at the timber site with William. The foreman had been quick to anger when Billy made his costly mistake on his first day of work, but he had been quick to forget the mistake when Billy proved to be highly capable and hardworking. He was impressed with the speed at which Billy worked, and with Billy’s strength. Despite being only fifteen-years-old, Billy was able to haul as much weight as any of the grown men on the site.

  He ate Hiroki’s black powder every day and tried to hide his unnatural strength and speed and endurance – all the product of the dragon blood in his veins – but despite his best efforts he was still sticking out like a sore thumb.

  Just a few more days and you’ll be off the site. Slow down and play it cool.

  Billy’s father was every bit as impressed with Billy’s work. They ate lunch together every day, and although William never came right out and complimented his son, he demonstrated his approval by speaking to him the same way he spoke to Al: like an equal. The trio muscled down hoagies and chatted about the future. They quietly debated the prospect of starting their own submerged log salvage business. With the expertise of the older men and with Billy’s newfound work ethic, they thought they had a capable enough team to do big things.

  Every time William slapped him on the back and playfully teased him about embarrassing the rest of the men, Billy was secretly thrilled. But he was also distracted by other thoughts.

  It was only a matter of time before that coward Aidan and his rich father sent the men in blue to arrest him for turning Aidan’s face into a modern art masterpiece. He waited anxiously for a police car to roll out onto the hill, bubble lights flashing blue and red. But after a few days it became clear that Aidan wasn’t talking.

  Billy finally relaxed and focused on his work.

  The site foreman asked William how he felt about Billy staying with the lumber crew instead of returning to school. William was so impressed with his son’s transformation that he seriously considered the offer, but he ultimately decided that Billy needed to return to class if he was to have a real future. He asked the foreman not to extend the offer to Billy, and Billy soon left the site behind.

  ***

  Eva’s parents kept her home for a full week to recover from her ordeal during the tornado. Rosa was deeply concerned that the doctors had missed an internal injury or a brain injury that Eva suffered that fateful night, and refused to let her leave the house. Eva pleaded with Salvadore to overrule her mother, but he was equally unshakable. With both parents watching her so closely, Eva was worried they would catch her eating a tablespoon of black ash every day. The task of sneaking that necessary spoonful was the only thing that saved her from utter boredom.

  The top half of the house was still in ruins after Eva’s destructive change. Until the carpenters Salvadore hired could finish their restorative work, all five members of the Diaz family were forced to bunk together on the ground floor. The twins shared a yellow tent that matched the color of Eva’s dragon flesh. Salvadore and Rosa each claimed a living room couch. Eva was the only one who had a proper place to sleep. Her mother had ordered Salvadore to buy her a brand new queen size bed. He dragged the frame and mattress into the dining room, pushed their table out of the way, and turned the room into Eva’s temporary bedroom. Eva tried to protest the special treatment and insisted that her parents use the bed instead, but Salvadore wouldn’t listen.

  “Your mother is right, Eva. You need a comfortable place to rest.”

  Rosa showed up every afternoon with new clothes to replace Eva’s lost wardrobe. The daily deliveries brought her a small amount of relief from her boredom. But lying in bed day after day felt like serving a prison sentence.

  At last, after a miserable week, Eva’s parents conferred and agreed that if there were still no signs of a hidden injury she was probably fully recovered. They informed Eva that she could go back to school the following day.

  “What about track?” Eva asked, dreading the answer. “I have to start running again if I’m going to get ready for the Invitational.”

  Rosa was ready to blurt out her disapproval, but Salvadore reached for his wife’s hand and gave it a squeeze. “If you feel up for it, we trust you. But please, Eva, take it slow.”

  ***

  Taking it slow had never been more difficult.

  Eva had been crawling up the walls while she was stuck in the house for a week.

  Now that she had her running shoes on and felt the cold air ruffling her track uniform, all her pent up energy bubbled to the surface. As she ran through the forest course at Alpine High School, she pumped her arms and legs like she was pumping her wings again. Without even realizing how fast she was going, she pulled well ahead of her cross-country teammates.

  As she rounded the final turn and bolted toward the finish line where she first saw Billy getting his face punched in, she finally noticed that she was running alone. Her coach was standing at the finish line, his stopwatch dangling from his wrist. He wasn’t expecting any of his runners to emerge from the woods so soon and was focused instead on his clipboard.

  Eva forced herself to slow down, almost stumbling as she halved her speed. She looked ba
ck over her shoulder and saw her teammates approaching.

  Come on, hurry up! I can only go so slow!

  When the other girls finally caught up with Eva, she picked up her pace just enough to make it look like she was trying. Her coach finally looked up from his clipboard and raised his stopwatch as the other girls passed Eva by.

  Eva walked the last fifty yards, clutching her side as if she was struggling with a cramp. Her teammates were all watching her, obviously suspicious of her incredible speed for most of the race and her inexplicable meltdown near the end. They whispered among themselves. Eva was in no hurry to join them and answer their inevitable questions.

  Eva’s coach joined her at the finish line. “Don’t worry too much about today’s result. It takes time to come back from a layoff.”

  Eva caught sight of an Alpine letterman jacket out of the corner of her eye. It was Aidan, leaning against the fence beyond the finish line and staring at her. One side of his face was still slightly bruised from his fight with Billy. He raised a hand to wave at Eva, a melancholy smile on his face.

  “Eva, are you listening to me?” asked her coach.

  “I am listening, sorry.”

  “The Invitational is in a week. Not much time to get you back up to speed, but we’ll do what we can.”

  “Thanks coach,” said Eva.

  Eva looked again at the fence where Aidan had been standing. But Aidan was gone.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  Eva made the decision that enough time had passed. She called Hiroki and Billy and invited them both to meet her on the cliffs to discuss… everything. Billy was still worried about the chance of exposure and suggested they meet at Hiroki’s house instead. Hiroki’s mother would be at work all evening.

  The three teens gathered at Hiroki’s house after school on Monday afternoon. Reiko had not gone to work just yet. She had to run out the door in thirty minutes, but she spent what time she had preparing snacks for the trio. Hiroki had had such a powerful appetite the past week her grocery bill had doubled. If his friends were anything like her son, she felt she better feed them!

  After Reiko left, Hiroki led his two guests through the kitchen and into the backyard. They sat at a picnic table on the concrete patio and stared at each other for a few minutes before Eva finally broke the silence.

  “I want to fly,” she said with a mischievous grin.

  Hiroki laughed out loud. “I’m so glad you said that! It’s all I can think about. I’m going crazy thinking about it.”

  “I’m supposed to be the reckless one,” said Billy with a small grin. “You two get one taste of the sky and everything changes.”

  “Exactly,” said Hiroki. “One taste. You’ve had three.”

  Billy nodded. “The pain from the transformation gets better every time, but the addiction… the need to get up there? You think it’s bad now, but that just gets worse.”

  “There’s been nothing on the news or in the paper about any strange… sightings,” said Eva. “After a whole week, if it looks like we’re in the clear—”

  “Then we are in the clear,” Hiroki interjected.

  Billy drummed the top of the picnic table with his palms. “Okay, so when are we going to do this? Did you guys already take your black powder today?”

  Hiroki shook his head. “I was about to, but then Eva called. I had a feeling tonight was the night.”

  “Same here,” said Eva. “What about you, Billy?”

  “I already took the powder, this afternoon. Unless one of you wants to slap me around enough to make me angry, I guess I’ll be staying on the ground tonight.” He sighed, obviously sad but not quite despondent. “Like you said, I got a head start on you two. It’s only fair that you two get in a flight without me.”

  “What will you do while we’re up there?” Eva asked, sympathetic.

  Billy shrugged. “Watch baseball with my pops, I guess. Should be just as exciting.”

  Hiroki and Eva both burst out laughing at Billy’s deadpan line. Billy cracked a smile and joined them.

  “You all stupid foolish children.”

  Hiroki looked up and saw his grandfather standing at the kitchen door. Hideo clasped one hand in the other, squeezing hard. His lips quivered as he passed his bloodshot eyes over the faces of the three teens.

  “Grandfather—”

  “You know your grandfather speak truth. You know when I speak caution, you must caution.”

  Hiroki rose to his feet. “We have been very cautious, grandfather. We haven’t allowed ourselves to change for more than—”

  “Cautious! Rescue ship from ocean?! Destroy neighborhood?!”

  Billy and Eva exchanged a sheepish glance.

  “You fool, grandson.”

  Hiroki lowered his eyes, unable to look at his grandfather’s face.

  “You take me tree. Take me tree right now, grandson.”

  Hiroki looked up at last and saw his grandfather shaking with anger… or fear. He turned to look back at Eva and Billy. They were both too shaken by Hideo’s sudden appearance to speak.

  “Grandfather, the tree is hard to reach.”

  “I no care,” said Hideo, his voice dropping into a lower register. “Take me tree. Together, we destroy.”

  “What happens when the tree is destroyed?” asked Billy.

  “Anyone who eat from tree, make sure no more change.” Hideo turned back to his grandson, and a single tear formed on his eyelash. “Make sure no tragedy.”

  Hiroki returned to the picnic table and sat down, his back to his grandfather so he wouldn’t have to look him in the eye. “I understand your concern, grandfather. I respect your opinion. But the tree is ours. We won’t take you to the tree. We won’t let you destroy it.”

  Hideo placed a shaky hand on his heart. The tear caught in his eyelash slid free and followed a wrinkle down his cheek. When he spoke, his voice was a ghostly whisper. “I mourn for you now, grandson. For you, for your friends… I begin mourn now.”

  As Hideo shuffled back inside the house, Hiroki wiped a tear from his own eyes and shook his head angrily. “He’s an old man. A frightened old man.”

  “Hiroki—” said Eva.

  “Let’s go flying,” Hiroki insisted.

  ***

  The threesome agreed that the cliff was too exposed to prying eyes. They needed a different launch site if they wanted to be sure no one would see them, so they piled into Hiroki’s Buick and drove east.

  Hiroki was silent behind the wheel as they left Alpine behind. The dirt roads were passable after a week with no rain, but they were still rarely used and very bumpy. The Buick bounced along at ten miles per hour as they reached an abandoned campsite deep in the mountains. What had once been a parking area was almost completely overgrown.

  As they climbed out of the car, Eva turned to Hiroki. “I told my parents I would be studying late at your house,” Eva said to Hiroki, “but I still need to get home no later than eleven.”

  Hiroki nodded. “As long as you come back to the car and eat the leaves, shouldn’t be a problem. Billy will stay with the car and drive you home.”

  “I still can’t believe you’re letting me drive the Buick, man,” said Billy with a faint smile. “You finally trust me.”

  “No I don’t. I just don’t want to cut my flight short if I don’t have to.”

  “Aww, that’s sweet of you,” Billy joked. “Anyway, I’ll hang out here until nine or so, drive Eva home, then head out to the cliffs to wait for you, Hiro.”

  Eva stepped behind the Buick and wrapped a sheet around her body. She undressed inside the sheet then carefully folded her clothes and set them in the Buick’s passenger seat. “If it’s too dangerous to take off from the cliffs, it’s too dangerous to pick Hiroki up there, too.”

  Billy shook his head. “There’s no way I’ll ever find this spot in the woods again. Not without Hiroki. Unless you’ve got another easy-to-find place in mind, it’s gotta be the cliffs.”

  “The cliffs are fine
,” said Hiroki. “It’ll be the middle of the night. No one will see me.”

  Hiroki followed Eva’s lead and wrapped a sheet around himself. He undressed quickly, his eyes on the western horizon. The sun was dropping quickly, its bottom edge already obscured by treetops. It would be night soon.

  “Remember,” said Billy, “the change gets less painful. No reason to be nervous.”

  “I’m not nervous,” said Hiroki indignantly. “I’m anxious.”

  “There’s a difference?”

  Hiroki leaned against the Buick’s hood and tossed Billy the keys. “If you crash my car, I’ll fly you out to sea and let go.”

  Billy snatched the keys out of midair, grinning. “You only get to make threats tonight, my man. Tomorrow, I’ll be the biggest dragon on the block again.”

  Eva and Hiroki were standing side-by-side, looking like a couple of giant caterpillars in their sheets. They were both shivering in bare feet, mud pushing between their toes.

  “You should probably stand apart. Like, far apart,” Billy suggested.

  They headed opposite directions, twenty feet between them. Billy moved to the far side of the Buick, just in case they started swishing their tails. He’d almost been decapitated last time he watched Hiroki change and wasn’t taking any chances this time.

  “Happy flying,” said Billy as the sun touched the horizon.

  ***

  Billy was right.

  Eva’s second change was by no means painless, but her bones and muscles seemed to remember the dramatic transformation they had undergone a week earlier. The rapid expansion of her frame was still frightening, but it was over quickly and she felt almost at home in her yellow flesh.

  She looked at Hiroki. His mottled green dragon body blended in with the trees that arched over the mountain road. That natural camouflage would serve him well out here in the forest, just as Billy’s blue body helped him go unnoticed at sea.