Dragon's Key

Chapter 1: A New World

There Gwen crouched, her back plastered against the solid rock wall behind her, as if the very act of pressing against it would let her sink into the stone as though it were molasses. She was petrified at the horrid creature inching forward through the cave towards her. She wanted to scream in terror, but her body would not allow even the tiniest whimper to escape her mouth. Every instinct told her to sit still and hope that the creature did not notice her. With every slow step, the monster drew slightly closer to Gwen's hiding place. It was now close enough for Gwen to clearly make out the form of the abomination.

It resembled the Komodo dragons Gwen had seen during a trip to the zoo, only this one was more than twice the size of those. The creature's body was held about four feet off the ground by its four powerful legs which ended in five toes each sporting a six-inch curved claw. Unlike the Komodo dragons from the zoo, however, this creature was covered in thick black scales and had two onyx horns jutting from the back of its head. Its mouth was also unlike those of the zoo lizards as this monster had sharp, triangular teeth jutting from the side of its mouth somewhat reminiscent of a crocodile. This creature was nothing like anything Gwen had ever seen; if anything, it looked most possibly like a dragon from legends, but more primeval.

That's it! Gwen thought, This is all just a dream. There is no way that I could really be here. That thing can't possibly exist. If I close my eyes, when I open them, I will wake up.

Gwen clenched her eyes shut and imagined herself in her room, lying in the safety of her bed. She kept her eyes firmly closed for ten agonizingly long seconds. It was not until she heard a rush of air waft against her. The acrid smell of rotting flesh and things long dead forced Gwen's eyes open once again as tears welled in her eyes. Gwen discovered to her horror that the smell was, in fact, the creature's rancid breath. It was by far the worst thing Gwen had ever smelled, the stench made her head spin and all she could think of was retching right there.

Gwen's singular wish was to escape the stench, but her fear froze her firmly in her place. Gwen realized that this was no dream, this nightmare she was experiencing was real, as was the monster that was drawing ever nearer to her.

About a meter away from Gwen's position the scaled beast paused in its tracks for a moment. To her terror, the creature's foot-long, forked tongue shot out of its mouth and tasted the air. The creature then continued forward sensing the air with its tongue moving its head side to side as it went along. It's following my scent! It's going to find me! The thoughts raced through Gwen's head blocking out all else, while her terror grew with her every breath.

Just as the creature was about to shove its muzzle into Gwen's hiding place a shout from the cave entrance caused the creature to whip around. It turned at lightning speed, the tip of its tail whipping by and just barely missing Gwen's face and raced toward the cave mouth. After the creature had advanced far enough, Gwen stuck her head tentatively out of her hiding spot. The scene appearing before her eyes was quite surprising. There, standing in the cave entrance was the silhouette of a man with a shield and drawn sword. The scaled beast was advancing on the figure who retreated from the cave entrance into the center of the clearing just outside the cave mouth.

The scaled beast, hissing angrily, burst forth from the cave and lunged at the man, its mouth wide, prepared to bite him in half with its massive jaws and dagger-like teeth. The man, whom Gwen realized was actually wearing a full suit of plate armour like the knights of medieval Europe, deftly dodged the creature's attack, rolling out of the way, and immediately returned to his feet, turning once again to face the creature head-on. Realizing the failure of its first strike, the creature raised its left front limb and slashed its claws at its combatant letting out a deep, crocodilian, rumbling growl. This assault, however, the knight did not dodge, instead he raised his shield at an angle and deflected the creature's powerful strike, using his shield to redirect the momentum of the powerful strike rather than absorb it. Raising his sword, the knight swung down at the limb he had just deflected with his shield. This blow, however, merely scraped across the creature's hard scales.