Joshua broke into a sprint as he heard a crash. A few seconds after he started running, he heard a loud roar from over the hillside. It almost sounded like a lion. Was it injured? He ran faster, hoping whatever it was, was okay.
As he passed the top of the hill and started going downwards, it wasn’t hard to miss the black pool of nothingness. Joshua ran and ran, having no idea what this mysterious creature was. He decided to call his friend Stace. She would know what to do.
“Hey, Josh. What’s up?”
He explained the black figure, and she told him to check it out, but to be careful. As he got closer, he slowed to a walk. It would look like nothing was there if it had absorbed any more sunlight. There were acute ridges along its back, presumably bones, and skin that had been carefully draped by whatever had created the thing. There was almost no telling what it was, until Joshua saw just the right curve, the right flaw, the right thing, for him to know what it was.
Joshua’s vision went dark, and all he remembered was a hard thunk as he hit his head.
He woke up about an hour later, according to the clock on his phone. He tried to remember what had happened, and scrambled away as soon as he heard a loud sigh. “This isn’t happening. It can’t be happening.”
The dragon shifted, making Joshua use everything he had not to yell. It slowly woke, and Joshua realized he had a choice to make: he could stay and die, or he could run and leave this thing behind. Warn the village. But he couldn’t tear his eyes away. The creature was so magnificent, so black. It was gorgeous.
Soon enough, the dragon was staring him right in the face. His nose was twitching.
Is he sniffing me? As strange as it was, Joshua couldn’t leave. Not yet. He had to see. Dragons had been extinct for centuries. No, longer than that. Millennia. There was no way this dragon could be alive right now. Yet there it was, laying in front of him with such certainty that Joshua wondered if he was just crazy. He took a deep breath, and mustered out a tiny little “Hello?”
“Hello!”
Joshua almost screamed again, but contained himself. “What are you? Are you a dragon?” The dragon nodded. “You’re extinct.”
“Well then, human, how am I here? Are you insane? Because if so, I worry for my own mental stability.”
Joshua couldn’t believe his eyes. This dragon spoke English? The dragon was a dragon? None of it made sense. He wanted to call Stace, let her know he was okay, but he couldn’t. What would he say? Yeah Stace it was a dragon. I’m okay, though. He couldn’t. He would make something up later. It was just a dog. Yeah, that worked.
“Human, what is your name?”
“I’m Joshua. And you?”
“Raphael.”
Oh, great. A dragon with the name of a devil. That was just what he needed.
“I know what you’re thinking. But no, Raphael is not from the devil. It’s Hebrew. It means the healer of god. So, are you God?”
Joshua fainted again.
Next time he woke up, Stace was kissing his forehead. She placed the ice pack back where it was and saw him awake. She smiled and helped him stand, making sure he was okay.
“You never called me back, so I got worried. It’s been hours since you called.”
Raphael looked on, but Josh wasn’t paying attention to his line of sight. Instead, there was a spot of blood being slightly covered by the wing.
“Raphael, are you alright?”
“Oh, just slightly injured. Fell a long way.”
“Joshua, we should call Brother Jack. He can help!”
Brother Jack arrived and immediately started yelling about the devil. “Curse, it’s a curse! We’re all doomed! Dragon, mighty being, I sentence you to vanish from this world! Go!”
The dragon ignored Brother Jack, wisely. “Joshua, I need a doctor. My wing is badly torn. To be perfectly honest, I’m a little helpless. Without my wing, I won’t be able to go anywhere. I may die if I stay here.”
Joshua and Stace helped to hold Raphael’s wing up while they walked back to town. Brother Joshua had run back ahead of them, no doubt to yell about the “mighty being” that was heading to their homes. As they approached, the interrogation started. Towards all three of them, there were cries of wonder and fear. The dragon’s wing was bleeding profusely at this point, having been disturbed, so they had to time to answer. They rushed to flat ground next to the doctor’s office and got supplies; rubbing alcohol; bandages (and a lot of them); tweezers and rags; anesthesia (they decided not to use it in case he was allergic); and got to work. The doctor, of course, was out of town, so they had to do their best. The dragon cried out several times, a loud roar that shook the trees and the hearts of the people watching. As terrified as they were, they wanted to see what happened.
Soon enough, the procedure was over. The dragon had to heal before he could fly, and it would possibly take several days. So they took an old building, cleaned it out, and gave the dragon ample room to do whatever he needed. They checked on him as often as they could, which wasn’t entirely hard.
Joshua was voted mayor that year, and Stace had essentially become his secretary. She helped him keep up with what was going on with the town. It was mostly easy, since nothing had really gone terrible wrong. It was, of course, the year where everything was going to go wrong. The dragon wasn’t healing at all. It had been months. He wasn’t getting sick, but his wound wasn’t healing like it should. It wasn’t healing at all. In fact, it was exactly the same as when Joshua and Stace had stitched it up and bandaged it. The doctor had fallen ill, as well as the priest. And the head farmer had come to his door early one morning and said to him the most horrible truth.
“All of my animals are dead. Every single one, save one lonely chicken.”
People started to blame the dragon. People became so sick that they just killed themselves to get the pain over with. It was a devastating year for the town. The crops weren’t planting, the animals were all dead, and even the people were all dying.
Joshua went to check on the dragon one day and was shocked to find that the old building was empty. All that was left were some medical supplies. He wasn’t there. Joshua informed the town. They were relieved to have the demon gone. The crops returned, traders brought animals and baby animals, people healed and got better. The town was convinced that the dragon was the one causing all of the death and pain. It was a long, grueling process, but the town was finally back to normal after months of suffering.
A year later, Joshua was still the mayor. People thanked him for getting rid of the dragon. For banishing him from the town. Little did they know that the doctor had come to him with a shocking discovery: that dragon was the only thing keeping this town alive. And since he was dying, the town was going with him. The dragon had finally started to heal, thanks to some advanced techniques from the doctor, and by some strange magick, the town was healing as well.
Joshua was happy that the town was thriving, but he missed the dragon. He went on a walk to the place where he was found almost every day, hoping he would show again. He had been standing there this day for at least an hour when a series of shadows passed over him. He looked up to see Raphael circling him. Raphael landed and they conversed. “I didn’t think I would see you again. It isn’t safe.”
“It isn’t safe for you, either.”
Raphael and Joshua looked each other in the eyes. “I guess this is the end?” Joshua, as much as he knew it was dangerous for both of them for the creature to be here, had made a friend in that rough time. Being together through the healing process can bring two souls to be incredibly close.
“Yes, I will no longer be here. It is far too dangerous; however, Joshua, I will still see your small village. Travel often, and look for signs of my presence. I will leave them for you and Stace. But for now, Mr. Mayor, I take my leave. Goodbye.”