Dragon

Chapter 1

     I trudged through the empty hallway of the hospital. My black leather boots clicking against creaking wood. I exited the building and stepped out into the town called Guthrum. Guthrum was far from modern society, with its rickety carriages and town markets. Much of Guthrum has been untouched by man and for a good reason. It was said that a beast lived on those lands. A couple from another country doubted this and built their home there. That night, when the sky darkened to a midnight purple, people swore they saw a shadow in the night come to snatch them away. For this very reason, people hired me and others to hunt this beast. I had just come from hospital and witnessed the damage that this beast did to this town.

     A few months ago, I had just gotten home from my first assignment, only to find out I had received hundreds letters asking to come to their town and defeat a mysterious monster. Many that I read were describing monsters that weren't real. It had become a habit to only scan, until one particular monster was described in many letters. One read:

 Dear Vanessa Hunter,

It has come to my attention that the people of my village are being attacked by some creature in the forest. It snatches it's victims in the middle of the night and never comes out during the day. Furthermore, it seems only protective of a section of land. Mostly, the part that has no buildings on it. I will be awaiting your response.

Sincerely,

Arik, Mayor of Guthrum

There were several others with this description also. But, after tiresome nights of not seeing or hearing a creature, I started asking myself the same question again. Had I been foolish enough to fall for such a make-believe creature? Of course, there has been the Loch Ness Monster. It had only guarded that lake. But, that was because it had nowhere else to go. I flip through my journal to the page with sketches. There were a variety of them but all were large, had scales, crept out only at night, and lived on the inhabited parts of towns. This created a problem for me since I had discovered my fear of the dark. I gotten it while searching for the Wailing Monster of the West. Tonight I had decided to go out into the night and brave the darkness.

I packed my messenger bag with my flashlight and journal. The grass was tall and outside was dark-my flashlight didn't do much-so my vision was unreliable. But, for some strange reason I had this feeling that I was going to find something. I stumbled and felt myself hit a tree. I figured I had just passed the edge of town and was in the forest. I heard a low rumble come from in front of me. There before me sat the great, giant, terrifying, DRAGON. I expected it to maul me at first but realized it hadn't made any move towards me.

I walked backward to see the height of the dragon. It was near the size of a griffon. I silently cursed myself for forgetting my weapons.

"Umm, hey there dragon."I said nervously as it stalked toward me. As it came closer, I saw that the dragon towered over me.

"You know you're on my grounds, right?" He said so close that I could feel the heat of his breath. His voice was rough and intimidating but soft and comforting.

"Yeah. But, I have a very good reason for it." Usually, I was strong and prepared, but then again, the monsters I fought usually didn't talk back.

"Is that so? Well, enlighten then tell me." He puffed out a ball of fire and threw it at a tree. The light from the tree allowed me to properly see the dragon. To my surprise, his entire wings were covered in scratches and burns. His skin was a deep evergreen and he had spikes down his back.

I watched as his claws dug out the earth and his tail swung ferociously.

"It isn't polite to stare. Surely you know that, Vanessa Hunter." He smirked.

"How do you know what my name is? What's your name?" I demanded

"Well, you are a pretty popular monster hunter." He started to circle me, avoiding the second question. I tried to calculate the time it would take for me to run back to the town.

"Don't worry about running back. Nothing will harm you here."

"Really, you should say that to the people you snatched away." I said, confidence rising.

"Oh, those." His cool smirk dropped to a grimace. I heard bells in the distance. They must have noticed the fire.

The dragon said, "We'll continue this sometime later, huh. Until then, Van Hunter." His tail swept out the fire and in its place was a word. Tyrath.