The Serpent of Cinders

Prologue

     The boy lived in Texas, many miles away from any large cities. The boy in question was skinny with some hidden muscle and was sweating slightly from the broiling heat of the summer. His name was Michael, and he was moving his cows. He lives on a large ranch with multitudes of livestock. At the moment, Michael almost had the last cow in the new enclosure. His young border collie, Arnold, likes to follow him around the ranch. Arnold had shed a lot of fur for the summer, but he still had a glossy coat of black, white, and brown fur. The dog was extremely energetic and jumped constantly. 

     After the last cow got in the pen, Arnold began to bark and growl very loudly, like a small avalanche. Then, a shadow streaked across the ground. Michael immediately looked up, but whatever had caused the shadow had disappeared from sight, almost magically. Then, unexpectedly, the lead bull got frightened by the mysterious thing that had gone past. Whatever it was scared the bull, and the bull's primal instinct of fear kicked in. It charged the fence with surprising speed for something that big; what appeared to be fat was actually muscle. The bull stormed through the fence as though it wasn't even there.  Michael, the rancher, jumped out just in time. The rest of the herd stampeded after their leader. The cows ran in total fear towards the road with no plans of stopping until they were safe.

     Suddenly, a hissing noise filled the air, and a large red blur zipped past. It landed in front of the stampeding cows with fluid grace. Michael forgot everything and just stared at the monstrosity. The crimson beast was almost ten times the size of the lead bull. It was easily as tall as a house when on four feet. Razor-sharp, gleaming claws and teeth showed from underneath the scarlet scales. The behemoth even had feathers on the tips of its enormous wings, folded for the moment. The wings, hard and bony on the outside, had a soft silver membrane within the wings. The plumage was just like the wing membrane, silver, and shimmering. Behind this gargantuan beast lay a long spiked tail, not unlike a stegosaurus's. It waved the tail in the air menacingly, as if to threaten Michael, the teeth also flashed for a moment.

     The herd of cows stopped immediately, impeded by the being they had attempted to escape from. The cows tried to run away, and the beast let them. The lead bull attempted to follow the herd to safety, but he was stopped by a gigantic claw. The bull ran in circles, always almost to safety, yet continually turned away by the claw. It began to fear for its life. Then, the cow simply collapsed and lay still.

     Arnold, who had run to the shelter of the barn, was watching with fear in case he had to save his master. Michael knew what was going to happen a moment before it did. The great red creature opened its maw and a gush of white fire spewed out. The bull writhed on the ground as the flames washed over it. The big cow now lay a well-done meal for the winged predator. In one swallow the bull started its way through the digestive system of the enormous lizard.
Then, the lizard looked toward Michael and roared. The sound was so loud that all the birds in a ten-mile radius took to the air. When the roar stopped, the creature lifted its head towards the heavens and unfurled its vast wings.

     Michael, regaining his thoughts, cautiously took out his cellphone and took a picture. The beast then launched itself into the sky and flew away, quickly becoming a speck on the horizon. Michael then posted the picture on all of his social medias, and the picture began its' journey to people all over the world.

     Suddenly, after Michael had regained full awareness, he realized what the beast was. He could not, would not, believe it, even though the evidence was all there. The facts all told him that he was not insane. So, he now knew, with a bit of doubt, that there were at least one of the species that most thought a fairy tale, a legend, and a myth. Michael now knew that the Earth was home to a dragon.