Dragon Boy

2: Hatchling

It was another dreary day. Kyle looked around the classroom. About a quarter of the class had lost their eggs. The project was due the next day. The two weeks prior had been nothing but worrying and isolation to make sure the egg was always safe. It had been so long since he took the bus that he had forgotten which number the bus was. Kyle was even more protective of the precious egg than he was the first day. Bad things always happened last minute.

The teacher appeared before him. "Well Kyle, I can see you still have your egg. I'm impressed."

He grew a little red and looked around the room to see if anyone else had heard that.

"So how's the worksheet coming along?"

His eyes widened as he realized he had done none of it. "Almost done," he said.

She nodded slowly. "Sure, it is." Then she turned and started walking to the next group, one of the eggless groups. At least he was doing better than they were.

In between taking notes, Kyle answered a few of the questions on his worksheet. When he could not finish it in home economics, he took it to history. When he could not finish it in history, he tucked it into his backpack and said he would finish it after art class. Eventually the school day ended and he realized the worksheet was not done. Most of it was completed, but there were a few unanswered questions. He just had to finish those, and then there would be one less thing to worry about.

Kyle jogged briskly across the field to the forest. It was a bit cooler than the day of the assignment, so he really wanted to get home as quickly as he could. He was wearing a thick jacket that had large pockets on the inside. As he got closer to the line of trees, he slipped the egg into one of those pockets and zipped the jacket up. He hoped it would be a safe place.

The wind started to blow and a light mist began to fill the air. He shivered and looked around. The swaying branches, though they had no leaves, filled the atmosphere with an eerie noise. He expected someone or something to leap out from behind a tree and attack him.

And even so, when it happened, it scared him to death.

"Dragon boy!" an old man hissed coldly as he reached for Kyle's arm. He was wearing a flannel shirt and a pair of jeans.

Kyle's blood ran cold and he was instantly paralyzed. "Wh-Who! What!"

"Dragon boy!" the old man hissed again, reaching behind himself and patting at his belt.

Kyle quickly jerked his arm away and jumped back. "You're insane!"

The old man began to hobble back towards him. He was fast, but it was clear he was having difficulty. "Give it here! Give it to me!"

"I don't know what you're talking about!" Kyle took long strides back and clutched the egg through the thick fabric of his jacket.

"Dragon boy...!" he hissed again.

Kyle came to his senses and turned, then broke into a sprint so fast he surprised himself. He leapt over roots and trampled the remains of thorn bushes. At some point a clump of thorns caught the cuff of his jeans and brought him down. As he fell, he turned not only to spare the egg, but to look back and see if the insane elderly man was still behind him. He saw nothing. He took a few deep breaths and started kicking his foot to loosen the thorns' grip. It took a few seconds, but he managed to kick loose the thorns. He rolled onto his stomach and pushed himself up, dashed a foot and a half and ran straight into the old man. He felt the old man's big, cold, strong hands wrap around his collar and hoist him up.

"Give it! Give it to me!"

Kyle began to kick his feet and squirm, hoping the geezer would drop him. "I don't know what it is!" he cried. "Let me go, you psycho!"