Here, There Be Dragons

by LeRoy Clary

  Later, Tyler felt the warmth of the sun, but instead of it waking him, it soothed his cold, tired body, and he drifted into a deeper sleep that lasted most of the morning. When he woke, Bender was sitting up, watching the river. He handed Tyler another hard bread roll and pointed to the venison and cheese.

  “Not talking?” Tyler asked.

  “Thinking.”

  “About?”

  Bender said, “That boat isn’t going anywhere until we can repair it. Is it worth it?”

  “Easier than walking, even when I’m bailing.”

  “Okay, then our plan is to go inland and either find some nails and tools quickly, or buy another boat. That’s step two.”

  “Two?” Tyler asked. “Is there a step one?”

  “Yes, look at my egg.”

  Tyler's eyes followed to where Bender looked. He’d removed his egg from his backpack. It sat in the warm sun, a thin slit clearly visible in the soft shell. A trickle of clear fluid leaked out and oozed down the side.

  Bender said, “Better check yours, too.”

  Reluctantly, Tyler opened the flap on his backpack, prepared for a fully developed tiny dragon to leap out and attack. But the egg was still cradled within his spare uniform, which reminded him they needed a change of clothing and become farmer-travelers instead of soldier-deserters this morning. He lifted the egg with both hands, and even as he cradled it, the intense movement inside was unmistakable.

  “Mine is tapping from the inside,” Tyler said, placing it on the ground.

  Bender said, “Here’s what I think. You take your egg over there somewhere and wait for it to hatch. Don’t let the damn dog get close. The dragon is going to think the first thing it sees is its mother-for-life. That must be you, not the dog.”

  “I can do that.”

  Bender said, “I’ll do the same. What else do you know about dragons?”

  “They’re big. They fight Queensland and terrify me.” Tyler shrugged, indicating he’d run out of accurate information. Being in the infantry didn’t give many opportunities to work around dragons. The only times he saw them, were when they flew overhead, searching for the Queensland army to rip and tear apart. The rest was speculation, and rumor picked up from soldiers less knowledgeable than him, and less trustworthy. Most were liars and told tall tales—but he’d heard it was that way in all armies.

  “What else? Because, as I think about it, I don’t know much,”

  Tyler moved his egg and tied the dog to the boat because of its sudden intense interest in the eggs. He said, “I know they eat whole farm animals when they get big; sheep, goats and even cows. Dragon Masters train them, but I’ve never trained an animal, not even a dog. You?”

  Bender just gave him a look that said, “You’ve known me my whole life. Why ask a stupid question like that?”

  Tyler continued, “I’ve seen dragons fly over, and that one time we watched one land in the middle of that Queensland camp, and it ripped into the soldiers, but most of them ran away too fast. You were there.”

  “You know what? I never blamed them, or thought they were cowards for running.”

  “No, they were the smart ones,” Tyler agreed. “The ones that got away.”

  Bender said, “So, I’m thinking. What else can a man do with a dragon besides join an army and fight?”

  Tyler said, “Join a navy and use it to fight and sink enemy ships?”

  “That’s the same as being in an army but worse. Sailors put out to sea where there are no women, and don’t even take wine or ale along. For days at a time. At least, that’s what I’ve heard. A terrible way to live, if you ask me.”

  “Hey, my egg is splitting open, too,” Tyler said, interrupting anything else Bender was going to say. “There’s a little crack starting down the whole side.”

  “Don’t talk to me right now; my dragon’s hatching. Here it comes,” Bender countered breathlessly, his full attention on the egg now held in his lap.

  Tyler spun to look. It was true. The eggshell had open more, and a small, black head slowly emerged, turned to look around in wonder, and faced Bender. The dragon’s head was no larger than that of a small hawk. The rest of the body remained inside the shell.

  A meow of protest sounded from the dragon, followed by a high-pitched screech as it threw its head back and screamed in what sounded like defiance at being forced to leave the egg, or perhaps at getting a good, close look at its mother-for-life, Bender. Tyler chuckled and put that idea where he could repeat it when the time was right.

  Tyler placed his hand on the shell beside him and felt the regular tapping continue. The split looked no wider, until suddenly, another series of cracks appeared, all of them connected and forming a crude circle in the shell. The circle broke free on one side and peeled back as if it was hinged on the other.

  The head of the dragon that emerged was tiny, black, angry, and above all, it stunk. The tiny eyes seized on Tyler as he scooted away to breathe air that didn’t gag him. A similar scream sounded, as if in answer to the first dragon.

  Neither scream was louder than a small cat wailing, although the chicks tried. Tyler watched his dragon wiggle free of the shell and try to stand on shaky legs. It fell over to one side, and unthinking, Tyler reached out and helped it stand upright. The skin was covered in slime, and Tyler’s hand wiped part of it away on his uniform pants, pants he never intended to wear again.

  The dragon chick wobbled, peered at the world, and made a soft rumbling sound from deep inside its chest. Its eyelids blinked repeatedly, but the eyes stayed fixed on Tyler as if memorizing him. The nose twitched.

  Tyler said, “Maybe this wasn’t a good idea.”

  Bender said, “They really stink, don’t they? I’m about to puke.”

  “I have slime on my hand that smells worse than cat shit, and it won’t rub off. Watch this thing until I wash it off.” He stood and went to the edge of the river and knelt.

  “Tyler, get back up here,” Bender called.

  Tyler ran. Bender was on his hands and knees trying to separate the two dragons, each of which attempted to reach the other, spitting and howling. Tyler grabbed his dragon, which was the one not partially inside an eggshell, and he carried it back across the clearing. The dragon, smaller than a little chicken, twisted and fought to see the other, or to escape his grip by violent moves. It spat, squirmed and snarled.

  He struggled to hold on as he carried it away. The tiny dragon attacked his hand, taking a bite near his thumb. Tyler threw the dragon aside and stomped his foot to drive it away. Finally, the dragon settled down and watched Tyler.

  “They hate each other,” Bender shouted across the clearing as if he’d discovered something amazing.

  Tyler said, “You can say thank-you to me for separating them. I didn’t want my dragon hurting yours, but he bit me.”

  “Are you kidding? Have you seen the jaws on this one? I think mine is the champion.”

  “Come on, that one can’t even break out of its shell,” Tyler laughed as he examined the bleeding near his thumb. He pulled off his uniform and tossed it in a heap. The new clothes had pants legs that were too long, the legs hung over his shoes and dragged the ground, but the waist was only a little too big. His old uniform belt cured that, and he rolled the cuffs. The shirt sleeves hung to his fingers. That was fine, he liked them long, for cold mornings to act as gloves. Sleeves rolled easily on warm days. It was like the uniform was made for him.

  He transferred both purses from the waistband of his old pants, then checked to make sure he hadn’t missed anything. Keeping the old uniform tempted him, for old times’ sake, but if they were stopped and searched, he couldn’t deny being a deserter from the army if it was there.

  He tossed the uniform out in the water and watched it slowly drift away on the current, knowing that something profound should be said, something he’d remember as an old man and tell his grandchildren about, but nothing came to mind. When he turned to Bender, he still wore his uniform, as he had
for more than five years. When he did change, Tyler would probably look at him with the same odd expression Bender wore while looking back.

  The dog had chewed the rope in half and raced to examine Tyler’s dragon, barking and wagging its tail. It sniffed and then quickly backed off. Another sniff and the hair on its back raised while it backed further away, its eyes locked on the smelly dragon. The dragon lunged and snapped at its nose. The dog spun with a yelp and ran to the shelter of a small tree and cowed, scared and submissive.

  The other dragon had managed to free itself from the eggshell and was crawling over Bender's legs looking like a black rat, sniffing and exploring. It climbed to his chest, looked at Bender’s face and bared its teeth. Bender heaved it off to land on the grass before it could bite his nose. That caused Tyler to grin as he checked on his throbbing thumb. The bleeding had stopped, but not the pain. His eye caught sight of movement near his foot, and he found the other dragon at his heel.

  “Be careful, or you’ll step on them,” Tyler said, taking his first critical look at the small beast. It stood a little more than ankle high, solid black, and resembled an awkward featherless chicken. Its nose had yet to stop twitching, and the soft meows were constant.

  Bender said, “I think they’re hungry.”

  Tyler dug into the bag of food the farmers provided and used his knife to slice a few small pieces from the slab of meat. He knelt, holding out a small chunk between his forefinger and thumb. His dragon hesitated, then moved closer, sniffing, but remained a wary step away. Tyler tossed the meat. The dragon sniffed again and ventured closer to the morsel. It nosed the meat, then tore off a small bite and chewed. After swallowing, it gobbled the rest in a single mouthful.

  “You liked that, huh?” Tyler laughed, holding out another piece. The dragon darted to his hand and eagerly sniffed, eyes alive, searching for more food. Then it moved so fast Tyler couldn’t follow it or react. The dragon grabbed the outheld snack, catching Tyler’s thumb in the process. When it didn’t get the bite of food free, the dragon twisted and tore as if demented, finally freeing the meat. . . and taking another small piece of Tyler’s thumb.

  “You damn freak!” he shouted, “You bit off half my thumb that time.”

  Bender was laughing.

  “It’s not funny. Look at the blood!”

  “I guess you were right; you’re the lucky one that got the fighter.”

  Tyler scowled as he sucked on his thumb, ready to see how far the little dragon would fly if he kicked it across the clearing. The other dragon raced to stand at the side of the first, sniffing and peering up at Tyler.

  Bender called between fits of laughter, trying to make his voice sound innocent, “Do you mind feeding my dragon while you’re at it?”

  Tyler did mind. Still, he held out another tidbit and tossed it from a safe distance. The first dragon, the one he considered his, and the one that enjoyed eating his thumb, reached it first and inhaled the morsel with a single bite. Tyler tossed another bite well to one side for the other dragon. The same dragon darted to it and ate it first.

  Bender called, as he changed clothes, “No, I asked you to feed mine,” then fell into another fit of laughter at Tyler’s dilemma.

  Tyler tore off two pieces and tossed one farther off to the side. When the same dragon darted after it, he tossed the other piece, so it landed in front of Bender’s dragon. Both pieces disappeared, one into each creature.

  Bender muttered, “That dragon of yours is a lot like you. Greedy and one-way.”

  “Is not.”

  “Saying ‘is not’ doesn’t end an argument or make things less true,” Bender said as he pulled on a shirt that fit him as if it had been custom made.

  The fit of the shirt irritated Tyler. “That’s the first time I’ve ever said that. It’s you who is the one that tries to end arguments by saying that expression.”

  Bender’s eyes twinkled as he looked innocently at Tyler. “So how come you’re giving all the food to your dragon and none to mine?”

  “Because it was hatched first. It’s been out if its shell longer and is hungrier.”

  Even Bender had to laugh at that sorry excuse, but Tyler felt determined to remind him that Tyler’s dragon was the older one, and therefore dominant, and perhaps he could use that fact to win future arguments. Bender pulled on the trousers, which also fit him perfectly, and since Tyler was no longer feeding the dragon, it ran back to stand beside Bender and rubbed its flank against his leg.

  Bender said, “We may be able to carry these things in our backpacks to keep them out of sight, at least for a while.”

  “Sure, if we take out the food, first. How fast do they grow?”

  “I don’t know. But full-grown they’re what? As tall as three men? Four? So, they must grow pretty fast.” Bender was watching his dragon as if considering. “If so, there are two things that come to mind. First, they need a lot of food to grow that big. Lots of it. Second, we won’t be carrying them in backpacks very long.”

  Tyler added, “We won’t be able to feed them either. We’ll be dead broke in a few days from buying that much food, and there’s no way we can hunt for enough.”

  “Since I think we’ve escaped the clutches of the army, we still need to head downriver fast. We must find a place to live, jobs that will provide incomes, and by the way, what the hell are we going to do with two dragons? Have you considered that?”

  “We’re not going to do whatever it is without attracting attention, something we decided on avoiding a long time ago. But blending into the landscape isn’t an option if we have these two with us. Most people have never even seen a dragon, only a few up close.”

  Bender said, “If we kill them now, we could avoid that unwanted attention.”

  Tyler glanced at the dragon racing around his feet, the tiny wings flapping like a chicken on fire. He glanced at the wary yellow dog. Two dragons, a wounded stray dog, and the two men made five. There had always been only Bender and himself, and now there were five.

  Worse, the dragons had imprinted on them, making them mothers, and would forever try to remain in contact. The dragons also considered them providers and screeched as a pair, demanding more to eat.

  Tyler glanced at Bender. “Maybe killing them isn’t such a bad idea, after all.”

  CHAPTER TEN

  Bender said, “I never even liked dragons, to begin with.”

  “Especially these two,” Tyler agreed, speaking louder to be heard over the screeching of the dragons as they competed to make the loudest scream so they’d be fed first. “This was not our best idea. I just wanted to be assigned to the rear companies and avoid fighting, not be around these ugly beasts all day.”

  “And night,” Bender said, smirking.

  “That too. Maybe mine will escape into the darkness, and I won’t have to worry about it.”

  Bender threw his uniform into the river to join Tyler’s and shrugged. “The end of our old life and the beginning of a new one.”

  A profound statement, something Tyler had tried and failed to think of. “We have problems to solve like getting these ugly beasts to ride in our backpacks. We need to find food to buy, and we need to continue downriver. I think, at least, another day of travel to be safe, maybe more.”

  “I hear you. Can you imagine the new rope they’d hang us with if Captain Torrie or the lieutenant found us a year from now with two dragons?”

  “I doubt they’d even show us the courtesy of hanging us with a new rope,” Tyler said.

  “Nope. You ready to move?”

  Tyler placed his open backpack on the ground to attract the dragon since it now held nothing but the claw. He had thrown away his spare uniform, the broken eggshell laid on the ground where the chick hatched, and the top flap was folded back, leaving an opening for the dragon to enter. He now knew better than to lure it inside while holding the treat, so he tossed it inside.

  The dragon sprinted to the backpack, gave a careful look around, and dived inside, nose
first. Tyler expected to have to tie the straps to keep it inside, but instead, the dragon ate the meat, and when Tyler peered at it, the thing had curled up and was asleep.

  “Hey, it likes it in there,” Tyler said.

  “Probably reminds it of being inside the egg,” Bender said as he lured his dragon to climb inside the other backpack. “I think we should head away from the river for a while. There’s probably a road, but if not, we can turn south and follow the river where the ground is firmer.”

  Tyler silently agreed as he pulled the straps of the backpack on while remembering his daymare about the dragon climbing out and eating his neck. They headed off, the yellow dog leading the way. They traveled away from the river, as well as south, seeing no sign of civilization.

  Bender said, “Odd. This is good ground, rich soil and a river nearby, but no people.”

  Tyler had been wondering the same thing. Boats did travel up and down the river; he’d seen many in his five years of living along it. The Middling River carried people and freight, as well as military. Some would see the abundant growth on the banks and return to make their homes. An uneasy feeling swept over him, but he kept quiet.

  Bender didn’t. He said, “Something is wrong about this. I say we get our nails, or another boat, and get back out on the water as fast as we can.”

  They reached a wide path where two people could walk side by side comfortably. Human feet had packed the ground hard, with so many footprints remaining little could be told about who had traveled on it. Tyler looked for military-style boot-prints and saw none, but all wore footwear. They traveled in both directions.

  Bender said, “It’s easy to travel on this, but it makes me uneasy.”

  “The undergrowth is too thick to travel,” Tyler said.

  Bender pulled to a stop. “You know what? I think we should find ourselves a place off this path where we can watch and find out who’s around here. Who’s leaving all these footprints.”