Dance with the Dragon

Chapter 3

"DRAGON!"

The word tore itself from John's mouth in a scream, and, scrambling backward over the mossy ground, he heaved himself upright on frozen legs that nearly knocked him back down again. The dragon's eyes flashed at him from above, widening in panic, and it reared on its hind legs, opening its mouth as if to speak or breathe fire.

John didn't stay to find out which. 

By some miracle he was able to keep himself upright, and he ran, tearing through the fog that seemed to be as thick as his hand that tried to cut through it. His breath came in ragged gasps as the trunks of the trees blurred around him, and faintly he could see lights of cars on the highway next to the hotel. All he had to do was make it across. He could signal for help, get to safety, get help, for God's sake -- maybe the touring was taking its toll on him, maybe he was still in some strange stage of mourning since 1959, but this wasn't happening right now. This had to be some strange nightmare of his, back in the hotel room. He would wake up with Paul at his side, and he could tell him that he was right all along, that his theories were unfounded, and this wasn't real...

Three claw-like shapes, blurred by the tears in his eyes, shot out in front of him just as his feet touched asphalt, and began to drag him backwards.

"NO!" he shrieked as the forest began to close in on him again, the lights once again growing smaller and smaller, and he began to struggle with every bit of strength he could, twisting from side to side. Through the fog emerged the hulking mass of what had captured him, eyes glowing and tail thrashing from side to side in a gesture almost nervous. Its mouth opened slightly as it prepared to speak again, revealing rows of teeth, and this only sent John into more of a frenzy, screaming, "HELP! HELP, PLEASE, SOMEBODY, I'M GOING TO DIE, I'M GOING TO--"

"Calm down!" yelled a voice undeniably human, and with a jolt John realized that the dr-- thing that held him sounded exactly like Buddy. 

"NO!" he roared in protest, beating its large claws with both fists, and though the action had little effect, the dragon quickly shifted from foot to foot, visibly anxious.

"Calm down, please, you're going to get both of us caught, and that'll mean trouble, and--"

"TROUBLE?! YOU'RE THE ONE THAT'S GOING TO EAT ME!"

"E-eat you?!" it exclaimed, nearly dropping him in alarm. "Why on Earth would I-- and shh!--"

"LET ME GO!" he yelped as its grip loosened, "I WON'T LET YOU KILL ME!"

"John, please!" begged the dragon, and cloudy white drops of liquid that he could almost believe were tears began to well in its eyes. "I'm not goin' to kill you!"

"HOW--" he responded, through short puffs of air as the struggling was beginning to tire him, "DO-- I-- KNOW-- THAT--"

In one fluid motion the paw that was holding him disappeared from under him, and he was left dangling by a single claw, staring directly at its face.

"Because," the dragon spoke quietly, the glow of its eyes magnified by a pair familiar-looking glasses, "I ain't a cannibal, and I certainly won't kill the closest thing to a friend I've had in years."

John stared at it for a second or two, gaze focused on its glasses, before it finally clicked. The dragon's expression brightened, thinking his point had finally sunk in, but its smile quickly disappeared when John let out a drawn-out gasp, clasping both hands over his mouth.

"OH MY GOD, THAT THING IS-- THAT THING IS ACTUALLY YOU--"

"Dragon, as you stated before," replied Buddy, nearly offended, "and yes--"

"SO THAT'S HOW YOU WERE ABLE TO HEAR ME FROM ALL THE WAY BACK HERE?!"

"Yeah--"

"AND HOW YOU WERE ABLE TO ESCAPE THE CRASH UNHARMED?"

"Yeah, but--"

"AND WHY ALL THE NEWS REPORTS SAID THERE WAS THAT STRANGE ANIMAL IN THE FOREST--"

"JOHN!"

There was a freezing burst of air -- a rush of wind -- and slowly John realized that the clouds of fog surrounding them had disappeared, just as quickly as they'd came.

"I'd be happy to explain everything to you," whispered Buddy, voice cracking with fear and shushing John with the tip of his tail, "but you have to stop makin' all this noise, or else people will find us, and they'll  take you straight to a mental hospital, and me God knows where. I'm trusting you with this. Do you promise, now, that you won't scream?"

Still halfway afraid for his life, John silently nodded, and gently he was dropped back onto the ground. The dragon reached for the bracelet again, which was no more than a ring on its large finger, and with a smaller puff of white Buddy was standing in front of him again, breathing heavily and extending both arms in front of him as if to shield himself.

"My God. Don't you ever give me a fright like that again."

He was pale as a ghost, and John felt a twinge of guilt for startling him so. God knows how long he had been without human contact -- since the crash, most likely -- and the first opportunity he had to trust someone, he had nearly been revealed to the rest of the world...

...but the fact that he could have been exposed in the first place mystified him. Seeing Buddy standing in front of him, scared, and small, left John doubting even what he'd just seen mere seconds ago. 

Opening his mouth to utter some sort of apology, the only words that came out were, "You... uh... dragon?"

Luckily, though, Buddy seemed to understand, and, laughing with relief, he replied, "Yes. I guess that's the best way to put it. I, uh, dragon."

Coherent thoughts seemed to come to John more easily, now, and he took a few steps closer, hand reaching for the bracelet. Buddy yanked his arm back in alarm, and John retreated backwards, clearing his throat awkwardly. "Um. I'm sorry, that was rude. But can I at least know how that works? And why?"

"Yeah, sure..." He took a step forward, then stopped and sat back down, letting out a groan of frustration. "I'd say we'd walk while I explain this -- this story runs long, and there's a place I want to take you to -- but I can't leave this damn forest. Someone will recognize me."

Regardless of where he was being taken to, John would have very much liked to have gone on an adventure with Buddy Holly, and shoved his hands into the pockets of his jacket, letting out a disappointed puff of air.

His hand touched an object that made him brighten immediately, and, drawing out a pair of glasses almost identical to Buddy's and a spare container of hair gel, he waved them in one hand while taking his contacts off with the other.

"Even if you weren't wearing your glasses? And your hair was greased back some?"

Buddy let out a small gasp and grinned, hopping to his feet and clapping John on the shoulder. "John Winston Lennon, I knew I liked you!"

John could have responded that there were days that he had stood in front of the mirror with his glasses and pretended that sentence was just spoken to him -- but Buddy was too busy tearing off his glasses and gelling back his hair with childlike excitement, and besides, he didn't have to know that.