Jesse James and the Dragon's Egg

Decisions Made

"You have to go." Kate sat. She was cross-legged and lounging in the shade of the old pear tree in Jesse's backyard. She leaned back on her hands and studied the boy.

"What? You mean to the barn?" Jesse had just finished telling her about the dream. Well, most of it anyway. It had been a week since he had last seen Kate. He had thought about her a lot, had thought about calling her a lot. He never did, though. This morning she had just shown up.

He fidgeted, seeking comfort in the dry grass. The first sweat of the day beaded its way out of his upper lip.

"Yes, to the barn."

"You're crazy. I just about got arrested last time. I am not going back again. Ever."

"Going where?" Brad's voice, which was easily twice his size, preceded him through the tall wooden gate into the backyard. Brad himself came sprinting in behind it like he was trying to catch the thing. He came to a comically abrupt stop just as he crossed the threshold; locking eyes with Kate and very nearly falling on his face in the process. "Oh, shorts!"

"Nice." Kate fought hard to stuff back a laugh.

"Uh, yeah. Thanks." Brad stared down at his shoelaces, trying to regain some form of composure, as John and Lamar walked in behind him.

"Hey, what's up, man?" Lamar grinned at Jesse.

"Nothing. What's going on?"

"Nothing. Who's the girl?"

Introductions were done all around as the friends came to sit together. Lamar walked behind Jesse and roughed up his hair with his big right hand. "You alright?"

"Yeah. I'm fine ." Jesse swatted at Lamar's hand.

"So, where are you two going?" Brad asked, giving Kate an unfriendly look.

"We are not going anywhere. She thinks I should go back to old man King's place."

"Well, that's dumb." Brad swung another look at the girl.

"No, it's not. Jesse had a dream last night," and she was immediately drowned out by a choir of questions from the three boys.

"I dreamed about Bear, alright? It's no big deal."

"It is a big deal. Bear told him to go back to the barn. He said, 'Come back here and save him, Jesse.'"

"Uh, for real, Jesse?" John asked.

"Yeah, but it was just a dream, man."

"Yeah," Brad piped in. "I have dreams all the time and you don't see me going around eating everybody's left sock, do you?"

They all stared at the boy in silence. "What?" He asked, looking genuinely confused.

"Anyway," Kate said, still peering sideways at Brad, "Jesse, you have to go. He asked you to."

"Look, it was a dream alright? Just a stupid dream. God. Why don't you just get over it!"

Jesse already regretted saying that. Kate stared at him for a moment, her face a freckled, unreadable mask. Then, without a word, she very carefully and very gracefully got to her feet. She walked across the grass and, without looking back, walked through the gate and out of the yard.

"Wow, she was just trying to help," John said, glaring at his friend.

"Whatever." Brad threw his own reproachful glance at his cousin. "Jesse, don't worry about it." He turned back to Jesse. "She's a pest, and she's putting her pesty little nose where it doesn't belong."

"Man, shut up." Lamar had reached into the tree and pulled from it an overripe pear. He laid back in the crisp grass and took a big, juicy bite. "God, you're an idiot sometimes."

"Whatever. Besides, dude, your dog just died."

Lamar was incredulous. "Brad, what is your dysfunction?"

"Jesse, what about the dream, man?" John asked.

"I don't know. I..."

Brad launched his slim right fist at Jesse. It caught his unsuspecting friend hard in the shoulder.

"Jesus, Brad!" Jesse called out, clutching at his shoulder. "What was that for?"

"Cootie shot." The boy said, evaluating and adjusting his untied sneakers.

~

He just knew.

Jesse woke, staring at the clock. It is was one AM, and he just knew. He had to go. He had to go to the barn, and it had to be now.

He dressed. The sound of his own clothes sliding across his skin was deafening. He puts his hand to the door, grabbed the handle, turned and pushed. The razor-thin scream of door hinge filled the entire house. It froze him where he stood.

He held his breath. His heart thundered in the back of his head. A moment went by. Then two. Then two more.

No other sounds. Luck, it seemed, might be with him.

Breathing again, he moved from his room and down the stairs, being careful to avoid the two steps that squeaked. In the garage, he pulled his bike up the steps into the house and into the living room and then out the front door.

It was a clear, crisp night. The air was warm and muggy; the moon was bright. He biked hard down his street and up to the main road, head high and face in the wind. Motion sensing flood lights kicked on at random as he rode.

So involved in the ride was he that he did not notice the shadowy figures. They huddled together, waiting in the dark at the entrance to his neighborhood. When he noticed them, it was too late. Fear electrified him, but nothing could be done. He was on top of them. As he raced past the last house on his street, its motion activated flood kicked on. The group was illuminated.

Brad was hanging upside down by his knees from a street sign that read "Deerlake W." John and Lamar were under the sign, resting against their bikes.

"Took you long enough." Brad's hair was standing on end and his eyes were strangely puffy from hanging upside down.

"Yeah, another three minutes of listening to Brad fart and I was coming to get you," Lamar said, and the whole group laughed.

Jesse, still giggling, grinned at his friends. "How did you guys know?"

The three boys looked at one another. John spoke. "I don't know. A dream. I guess. I just woke up and looked at the clock and said 'it's time.' I just knew I was supposed to meet you here. We all did. Weird, right?"

The boys all murmured their agreement.

"Besides," Kate pulled her bike from behind a large brick sign that read 'The Glen.' "You didn't really think we were going to let you go alone, did you?"

With a couple of small LED flashlights lighting their way, the five laugh and joke and pedal off into the night, excitedly postulating about what they may find in the barn and how long it would take Brad to break it.

Out in the moonlit night, a heavy fog began to roll in, laying an ominous gray shroud over their destination.