Dragon's Gate

Chapter 6: The Gate

"Gotta go before I'm late!" Devon called back into the house by the door.

"Okay, okay! Are you sure you don't want us to drive you?" his mom asked.

"It's okay! I can walk, no biggie, I'll be back this afternoon! Bye, mom! Bye, Dad!"

"Bye Devon! Have fun!" his parents said in unison.

"Be back before dark!" his dad called to him.

"I will! Love you guys!" Devon said.

He shut the door and started running, his excitement sending adrenaline rushing through his body. A feeling inside himself was pulling him out there, he couldn't wait to get back to that isolated place he'd found.

Past the stores, down the road to the end, he had practically run the whole way to the road. Stopping at the last street in front of the striped, dead-end board, he only stopped to catch his breath. Looking back at the houses, he noticed the same old guy from the day before, sitting on his porch just watching. Devon waved but the man held his gaze, piercing Devon with a look of judgment and disappointment. Devon continued, paying no attention to him afterward, and leaped over the board, jogging down the path once more.

He retraced his steps from the day before, slowing down when he needed to. He found the path before the Y, then the clearing, and followed his steps beyond the tree line, and into the woods among the towering trees around him.

The freshness of the air and the rays of light piercing through the branches were so magical and inspiring to Devon. He felt like he could venture out here and have fun in hundreds of ways, and never get tired of it. As the terrain got rockier, he began to scan looking for his rock. Passing two, then four, then a total of 7 rocks.

He was looking for the one with the cracks on the surface, and his pen. He looked around, and not being too familiar with the surroundings, was sure he had overlooked it. Turning around, he saw it a few rocks back with all of its familiar cracks. Upon approaching, he didn't see his pen. He began looking for it on the nearby ground, no wonder he didn't recognize the rock, he didn't see his pen anywhere.

It was nowhere. Not nearby, not where he left it, his pen was straight up gone. Devon brushed it off, not being too worried about it, but sat down, and took a moment to look around and breathe in the air.

This was going to be his spot now. He felt so warm and at home, something felt special about the area. Devon still had yet to find out about the Gate that the boy had mentioned. He saw nothing that could resemble or represent a gate of any kind, so Devon left it up to his imagination for the time being. Devon had a feeling the surrounding nature would allow him to be more at peace with himself and be able to find a way to enjoy his new home more. Lying against the rock, he began with his writing assignment, using a few hours of his time to knock it out of the way.

After that, he ventured around a little, taking a walk and bathroom break, as he was certain the only creatures watching were wildlife. Devon had grabbed a stick that was the perfect size to be a walking stick. The bark was already stripped off and the surface underneath was as smooth as any polished floor. Taking it back to his little spot, he laid the stick down beside him and finished off his homework not taking too much longer to do so.

A nap felt like it was in order, Devon started to feel sleepy and drowsy. Sure of it being how peaceful it was out in the woods, he almost gave in. Nearby birds chirping, the extremely faint whisper of a breeze, he instead pulled the book he had been reading out of his bag, picking up where he'd left off at home

He was at the part in the story where the enemy was attacking the kingdom, and even with a dragon helping, they were down many men. It seemed like their chance for victory would be dependent on the General, if the Kingdom was to stand. Devon read through the scene which only took him a few minutes, but the images came into his mind with such clarity, that a wave of joyful vigor crept into his body.

Putting the book down after a few moments, he grabbed the stick he found earlier, using his imagination to turn it into a makeshift sword.

"There's too many of them!" Devon imagined the Dragon telling him, picturing the entirety of the beast by his side.

"The Kingdom's fate lies in our hands!" Devon said, "We must fight until our last breath! I'll take on every last man myself if I have to."

Enemies were breaching the walls and fortification, the both of them dealing blows as they talked.

Devon could practically hear the dragon's next words, "You're a brave human General Thorst, your spirit and soul truly have the strength of a dragon. Should we make it through this alive, I will be sure your story is told for generations to come."

"I am grateful for that and for your presence in this battle. I think our only chance to be victorious, is if we fight, as one," Devon said placing his hand on a trunk, pretending it was the dragon's leg.

The beast let out a fierce roar and together, they began to take down attacker by attacker. Devon slashed and parried, stabbed and struck, certain they'd win. The dragon gave him aid, and in turn, acting as the general, Devon was sure to cover the Dragon's back as well. One by one, the kingdom's army was able to make a comeback and defeat the onslaught. There was a victorious cry from the General and his men, and the dragon they called an ally.

Reenacting the scene, Devon felt chills all over his body. It felt like a part of him was connecting to something deeper. It only took a few seconds after disconnecting from the fictitious world of his mind to notice a faint glow on the trees around him. Every trunk was covered in a slight hue of blue, realizing it was coming from a source behind him.

He spun around, seeing every crack on the nearby rock illuminated in a deep blue. A light tone seemed to emanate from it as well, high-pitched and pure, like a constant ringing bell.

Once Devon was able to unfreeze himself from where he stood, taking in what he was seeing; he approached slowly, unsure of what was happening. Reaching for his bag, he was able to put his things back in and zip it shut before it started to levitate towards the rock. He grabbed his bag by the strap and tried to pull it back towards him but it didn't budge. It was like an invisible hand had a hold of it.

The blue light got brighter and the tone got louder, and his bag started to pull him in before he let go. He watched as it flew towards the rock, the second it hit the surface, it disappeared entirely with no sound of contact; like it went through a portal.

The blue light got more intense, as did the sound before the unseen force started to pull him toward the rock. His feet left the ground against his will, and he too began floating towards the rock like his bag just had. He kicked and threw his arms around, hoping to grab onto something, all he could do was let out a cry of fear before he quickly got pulled to the rock's surface.

The last thought Devon had before he hit the rock's warm surface was, This is the Gate.