The sun beats down on the back of my neck. It is a stark contrast to the rest of my surroundings. The air is thin and cold, and I'm more concerned with finding the next handhold. I lean back as far as possible, bracing myself against the icy cliff, and turn my gaze upward.
I'm almost to the summit. I can see exactly where I need to go, but my fingers are so cold...
Abruptly, my lightweight pack strapped snuggly to my back jolts, and I almost lose my grip in shock. There's a sharp trill from inside the backpack, and that's when I look down.
A snow-covered cliff falls away into clouds. The wind whistles and I suddenly realize how alone I am. Other remote mountain peaks-far, far below me-poke above the cloud covering. The world spins. My foot slips, and my stomach drops.
I fall.
There's a moment of pure terror, and then my anchor catches. The rope snaps taught.
"Can you not move for, like, twenty more minutes?"
My voice is breathless as I hang on the edge for some godforsaken mountainside. There's a mournful warble-it reminds me of a morning dove-and I sigh.
"Please?"
The dragon settles and doesn't make another sound, and I begin the ascent once more.
It's not a dragon. Yes, it has wings and breathes fire, but it's not a real dragon. It was a government experiment that got loose-and then stayed loose with my help. Something had clicked when I found the poor thing hiding in my backyard and then not ten minutes later, scary men in suits showed up.
It was scared, and those guys were bad news.
After that, it's been one crazy adventure after another. I've traveled the world to keep this critter safe; I'm not going to stop now.
I reach for the next handhold and pull myself up. My plan is like climbing this mountain: illegal and very simple.
Don't trust anyone but yourself, and keep moving forward.