Young Writers Society

This is a story taking place in a modern city during modern times. However, there is a secret battle being waged in the shadows for the sake of mystical creatures as well as ordinary humans. During such battles there are often times when one accidently stumbles across the line between the normal and abnormal. Then battle waged in the shadows becomes visible before you and it is nearly impossible to escape. Those who do, more often than not, dismiss what they saw as no more than a dream or hallucination. Those who don’t dismiss the change or escape are forever changed… or dead.

Aiden was a young eighteen-year-old boy living in an apartment in a run-down part of New York. He had a pretty normal life as far as human lives go. He had a great family who loved and supported him. A job at the nearby corner store and spent most of his time playing video games, watching movies and reading fantasy books. Life was ok but boring and he didn’t feel motivated enough to change it. His apartment was near the end of a street that had about three blocks of empty warehouses at the end. Apparently, a big company had them built a long time ago, but they were never used and were really run down. The place was restricted but no one actually cared if you walked through it since it was practically abandoned. Whenever Aiden felt he had to get some exercise he often walked through there looking for adventure. Hoping he might find some thief or gang making it their hideout so he could report them or even (in his dreams) defeat them and return what they stole.

Today was dark and cloudy so he had on his black raincoat and had his hood up (because it looked cool). He also took his walking staff. When he was younger and into ninjas and martial arts, he had watched a few classes online about using a bow staff, and when he was older he even did a few months of training before it got tedious, and he quit. He had bought the staff when he started training and took it with him on his walks in case he encountered some evil fiend.

The rain began to pour down just as he reached the second abandoned warehouse. He ducked inside to avoid the worst of it. Once inside he threw back his hood and looked around. The building was about half a football field in width and a full football field in length. It was dark although there were flashes of lightning every now and then. The sound of thunder was slightly muffled and the pattering of the rain on the roof made him feel cozy. Aiden stood in the middle of the warehouse and looked up at the large skylight that ran nearly the whole length of it.

“On a stormy night the dragon riders set out to combat the demons trying to destroy the world.” Aiden muttered.

He had read that line in a story not too long ago. It was kind of cool to imagine what it must have been like flying through a storm like this one. As lightning illuminated the dark clouds above him, he couldn’t help but imagine what it would look like to see a dragon in the sky. He could see it so clearly. The dark shapes flitting to and fro across the sky illuminated by the city lights and occasional flash of lightning. One of them getting bigger and bigger as it fell towards him… wait what? A massive black shape was rapidly growing bigger as it fell towards him. A plane? Some massive object that had fallen off a plane?! To him it looked like a dragon but they only existed in fantasy. So, what could it be? Then he realised that it didn’t matter. What did matter was that it was heading strait for him!

“Aghhhhhh!” Aiden screamed as he ran and dove into the entrance of the warehouse. The roof caved in as something large crashed through and landed on the floor of the warehouse. Aiden picked himself up as rain poured in through the new hole in the roof.

“Hey! Is anyone there? Are you alright?” Aiden asked. Dropping his staff, he ran through the dust to see what had crashed though the celling. As he did Aiden mentally laughed at his own question. If it was a plane that had crashed, the pilot would certainly not be alright. He saw a dark shape through the dust.

“Is anyone there?” He asked again. Lighting flashed and briefly illuminated the thing that had crashed though the roof.

“Puny human. You dare come at me?!” A voice growled as the flash revealed the scaley form of a massive dragon. It was about the size of a truck with wings that could have filled half the width of the warehouse. It had black scales with some dark green spots dotted about. Its slitted eyes were mostly yellow with a hint of red. It had no horns, but it did have two or three round flaps of skin where the horns would normally be. It had four strong, stumpy legs and short sharp claws like an eagles. Needless to say, Aiden was stunned.

“A…a dragon. A real freaking dragon.” He said dumfounded.

“Stupid human. I said leave! Augh.” The dragon growled as it tried to stand but winced and collapsed onto its stomach. Now that the dust had cleared a little more Aiden could see it was bleeding from small cuts and a few deep gashes all over its body.

“Your hurt!” Aiden exclaimed taking a step forward. This elicited a growl from the dragon.

“Urgh! Get away from me or I’ll bite your head off.” When Aiden ignored him and continued walking until he was able to gently inspect the dragon’s wounds. “I said…” The dragon began but winced in pain.

“How did you get so hurt? Don’t you need to hide?” Aiden asked.

The dragon sighed. “Yes. The ones who did this to me will soon follow to finish the job.”

Then he turned to Aiden.

“As I said, I have no time for humans so leave!” He growled. Aiden completely ignored him and instead walked past him to one of the warehouse bay doors. After a few seconds finding the chain that operated the doors, he heaved it open just high enough for the dragon. Then he ran across to the warehouse next to it and opened a similar door for transporting goods between them. As he walked back, he glanced at the sky. The dark shapes still seemed to be in a frenzy, so he probably had at least a few minutes before whoever did this came after the dragon.

“Come on! We need to get you out of sight before the guys who hurt you show up.” He said. The dragon looked at him in confusion.

“Why are you doing this? I told you to leave me.” He said. Aiden just beckoned him more urgently.

“Questions can be answered later. For now less talk and more moving, or is that to hard for a big tough dragon like you?” Aiden said with his hands on his hips. He didn’t in fact know why he was doing this, but the sight of a wounded dragon had made him feel like he was in a fantasy novel where the hero saves the wounded dragon. Who then to repay the hero invites him on a grand adventure. The kind of thing all boys dream of.

The dragon growled at the insult and Aiden watched as he was galvanised into action. Aiden quickly sprinted to the open doorway. Once he was sure the dragon was following him, he quickly crossed the alley and stood in the opposite doorway. The dragon was breathing hard now and as he crossed the ally Aiden could see the rain turning dark with his blood.

“Just a little farther and you’ll be safe.” Aiden said as he led the dragon into the second warehouse. Luckily this one contained many shelves and lots of empty crates. He quickly led the dragon behind a large pile of them. The dragon collapsed, too exhausted to even insult him back. Aiden quickly closed the bay doors and took one final glace up at the sky. Whatever battle was going on up there seemed to be reaching its end and only a few shapes flitted about. Aiden checked on the dragon, but he seemed to be sleeping or unconscious. His wounds must have exhausted him. Aiden could only hope they hadn’t overcome him.

After arranging the boxes so nobody could tell the dragon was there, Aiden used his shirt to mop up the blood the dragon had spilled on the floor and went to toss it back in the first warehouse but just as he dropped it close to the inside of the bay door there was a sharp impact in the crater the dragon had made. Looking around quickly Aiden spotted a stack of crates and dove behind them. Aiden peeked between the crates to see what had landed. It looked like a woman at first, but she had batlike wings, goat legs and her fingernails looked more like claws. She hissed and bared her fangs as her bright red eyes searched around. When she didn’t see anyone, she relaxed and sighed a very bored, very human, sounding sigh. Then there were two more sharp impacts and one much larger impact. When the dust cleared Aiden saw the two smaller impacts were just like the first girl but had different colored scales and slightly darker fur on their goat legs. The larger one was a dragon. This one however gave Aiden chills. He hadn’t really thought to be afraid of the first dragon. He had been too distracted by how cool it was to find a real live dragon, and then distracted by its wounds. Though, now that he thought about it, the first dragon had felt more like a wounded person or dog he found on the side of the road. Of course, his first thought was to help them instead of seeing if they were good or evil.

This dragon though. It felt evil, and the way it looked around the building made Aiden think this dragon was disgusted to be in a building made by humans even if it was abandoned.

“Where is that pesky dragon? He must be nearby. Find him!” The dragon boomed. It was hard to see what he looked like through the boxes, but he seemed much bigger than the first dragon. His scales were obsidian black and looked a lot tougher too. His eyes were dark crimson, and he had two large, strait horns growing out of the back of his head with smaller horns trailing from them to the back of his jaw. The three girls followed what was left of the path of blood and knocked out the door. Thankfully the rain had washed away all the blood outside and the girls split up to track him down. The dragon however stepped under the roof and shook himself.

“My how the mighty have fallen.” The dark dragon chuckled.

“The great dragon Quintus saved by a human.” The dragon smiled cruelly looking in the direction of Aiden’s hiding place. It seemed the dragon could smell him or something. Aiden sighed. He came out of his hiding place and bowed to the dragon.

“It seems I can’t hide from you great dragon.” Aiden said with reverence in his voice. He seemed calm on the outside but inside he wanted to fall to his knees and beg for the dragon to let him live. However, if any of the movies or books he had read were any indication, you survived longer if you remained composed and spoke respectfully. As long as he pretended, he was a strong character from one of those stories he could keep his composure. Still, he wasn’t sure if this was the kind of dragon who enjoyed flattery. It couldn’t hurt either way. Besides, most dark dragons he had read about loved power and riches, so flattery was an effective way to survive a little longer at least.

“I am impressed human. Most of your kind would flee at the mere sight of me, or at the very least, would be shocked by my appearance. Yet you seem familiar with my kind and hide your fear well.” The dragon said with an arrogant smirk.

“You are correct in thinking I am familiar with your kind, although I have never met one of you till today. If I may be so bold. May I aske your name great dragon? Mine is Aiden.” Aiden said bowing again. The dark dragon raised an eyebrow.

“Well aren’t you bold. Conversing with me is something few have had the honor of doing.” The dragon whispered. Leaning down to peer into Aiden’s face.

Aiden looked up. “Rest assured, I am very honored powerful one.” He said reverently.

“You have… nice manners. For a human anyway. Very well, I’ll tell you my name. Be sure to remember it human and tremble when it is spoken. For I am Cusoass, general of the dark lord of this nation and one of the ten strongest dragons in the world.” He said proudly.

Then he looked down his snout at Aiden with a serious look on his face.

“Now. Where is Quintus. Reveal where you have hidden him before my subordinates find him and I may yet spare your life. For now, at least. You entertain me, so I might keep you around. But fail to do as I ask, and I will eat you.” Cusoass said licking his lips and preparing to lunge. It was always in stressful situations like this that Aiden’s mind came up with the strangest thoughts.

“Wouldn’t that be just awful for you though?” He asked genuinely concerned. Cusoass was taken aback.

“What?” He asked, confused.

“Well, I mean. I’ve got this rubber raincoat on, and I honestly wouldn’t be very filling. The raincoat would be awfully chewy and if I remember correctly from the stories I’ve read, aren’t there more weak spots in a dragon’s mouth?” Aiden continued. Cusoass was getting more confused by the second.

“Why would that even matter to you?” He asked.

“Well, I guess I’m trying to understand what the benefit to eating me would be. If you were trying to kill me there would be many more efficient ways that wouldn’t cause you potential indigestion. And if you were trying to scare me wouldn’t it be better to threaten me with something like torture or dragon fire?” Aiden asked.

“Well um…” Cusoass stuttered. Then he shook himself. “That doesn’t matter. No more stalling. Where is Quintus?!” He growled. Aiden was starting to get into his character by this point and waved his finger at the dragon.

“I’ll tell you…but in return you must…” He let his request hang for a moment. “Make me a dragon as strong as you!” Aiden announced. The request was so ridiculous that, for a moment, Cusoass was taken aback again. Then he sighed and shook his head.

“Why did I even entertain your prattle. You puny and greedy humans are less than ants to us anyways. It was foolish of me to think you could help that fool Quintus. He simply must not have been as injured as I thought and slunk back to his allies by now.” Cuasoass casually walked past Aiden as if he truly was nothing. His back hand was so casually brutal Aiden never saw it coming. He flew back and crashed into a pile of boxes. His arms and face scratched by the dragon’s rough scales.

“I have never met a creature that entertained me so well. As a reward I’ll let you live human. See to it you stay out of my way.” Cusoass said over his shoulder as he jumped out through the hole in the celling. Aiden heard him roar. Presumably calling his subordinates. Aiden sighed and lay there for a moment. Then he felt a new and giddy excitement welling up inside him. He had met two dragons and lived to tell about it! Cusoass’s blow had knocked the wind out of him and maybe broken a rib or two, but it hadn’t done any life threatening damage. Slowly Aiden got up and returned to the first dragon. Quintus. He was sleeping soundly but Aiden suspected he would be famished when he woke so he decided to go get some meat from the local store. Maybe some fruit and vegies too. Who knew if dragons ate meat like in the stories? Still, from the way Cusoass talked about eating him, he was pretty sure they ate meat.

Quintus woke to pain. His entire body was sore and although the cuts had stopped bleeding they still stung. He went to move his head, but his nose bumped into a crate. Slowly Quintus arched his neck to look at himself. It seemed to be early morning and it was light out. So, the storm was gone. He looked over his wounds expecting to see a bloody mess. To his surprise his wounds looked like they had been cleaned. The flesh was still raw, but the blood had been wiped away and any dirt cleaned out. He also noticed a delicious smell. There was a small plate with some meat lying near his tail. Gingerly moving it he was able to lift the plate to his mouth. The meat seemed to have been there a while and had a fly or two, but Quintus didn’t mind. He was famished from all the fighting and flying and…realisation dawned on him as he remembered the human that had helped him the previous night. He sniffed the air and sure enough there was the scent of a human along with the meat. Quintus worried the meat might be poisoned, but he was just too hungry to pass it up. Besides, the human wouldn’t have saved him if he wanted him dead. The meat was delicious. It wasn’t cooked but a few blasts of fire breath solved that.

Still, it was humiliating to have to rely on a human. There were a few human mages that he knew of, but they could barely use magic at all. Most humans who had joined the war were either killed or joined the other side to gain power. As far as he knew all humans feared dragons and saw them as monsters. Even if they were on the same side. Quintus had always been fine with that though. He was a lot stronger than a human so why shouldn’t they fear and respect him? That human didn’t seem to fear him in the slightest though. It was a little strange. Since he was one of the few dragons in the allied army, he didn’t have many friends. He had comrades, but after the battle was over they never invited him to hang out or even just talk. Most of them probably thought dragons were just to far above it all to want to be included. Not that he would ever admit it, but he secretly wished he could just hang out with them like a normal mythical creature sometimes.

He didn’t regret being a dragon. He loved being able to fly, his tough scales and his strength but there were times he got lonely. He just hadn’t really thought about it before. Quintus sighed. His whole body ached. Not much he could do about that though. He licked his lips. The taste of the meat still lingered in his mouth, and he wished he could’ve had a bit more before he set off on his journey home.

“Hi Quintus! I see you’re doing quite a bit better than last night.” A voice called out. It sounded like the human from last night, but how did it know his name?! Quintus tried to spin around to face the direction of the voice scattering crates everywhere.

“Awww, come on. And I had you so well hidden too. You don’t have to worry it’s just me.” The voice said.

Quintus spotted the human just as he finished his sentence. The young boy seemed to be reaching into his bag for something. Quintus tensed in case he was drawing a weapon. Instead, he took another bag of meat out and set it on a plate.

“Looks like you enjoyed the little present I left out for you. I know it probably isn’t much for someone of your size, so I went and bought a bit more.” The human said. Quintus cautiously took the meat. The boy chuckled a bit.

“Like I said. I won’t hurt you, and I doubt I could even if I wanted to. Oh, my name is Aiden by the way.”

Quintus sniffed the meat. It smelled even better than the first piece. He quickly cooked it and popped the meat into his mouth. It tasted great too. Quintus looked at Aiden suspiciously but relaxed a bit.

“Why are you doing this human?” Quintus asked. Aiden shrugged.

“Well, I guess it’s just the right thing to do. I can’t just let you die. Plus, you’re a dragon so it feels pretty cool to talk to you. I mean. My life isn’t exactly exciting right now, so I was hoping for a bit of adventure.” Aiden said looking down. Quintus couldn’t believe it. He and his fellow warriors dreamed of the kind of peace this boy had, and yet he was endangering his life…just because he was bored?! Aiden noticed his incredulous look.

“I guess it would be hard for you to understand what life is like for someone like me. I am starved for adventure, and you are probably the greatest adventure I could have asked for.” Aiden said with a big smile. Quintus shook his head.

“I am no adventure human. What you are doing could cost you your life.” Then a thought occurred to him. “How do you know my name?” Quintus asked. He expected Aiden to say he had muttered it in his sleep.

“Oh, right. I heard Cuasoass say it when he and the three demon girls were looking for you.” Aiden said. Quintus’s eyes bulged when he heard the name of the evil general.

“I hid from them until the demons left but that big evil dragon noticed me, so I had a little chat with him.” Aiden continued nonchalantly. By now Quintus could hardly believe what he was hearing.

“You what?” He asked weakly.

“I just had a little chat with him. He was pretty scary though. He even threatened to kill me.”

Quintus nodded. Obviously. The one thing he couldn’t understand was how he had gotten out alive.

“Don’t get me wrong, you both sounded threatening, but I think he actually meant it.” Aiden continued.

“Luckily, I apparently amused him, and he dismissed me because I was weak. In the end all he did was knock me into some crates.” Aiden finished.

That made sense. Cuasoass might not have bothered to kill him since he was a normal human. Even more so if Aiden had amused him. Still, something Aiden had said still irked him.

“What do you mean by he ‘actually’ meant to kill you? Are you saying you didn’t think I would?” Quintus asked. Aiden nodded.

“I happen to have many siblings and one of them used to threaten me all the time. Even going so far as to draw a knife on me. There were times when he would take action on his threats but most of the time, he just wanted to get me to do something. I learned quickly how to tell when his desire was actually to cause me harm or just to persuade me to do what he wanted.”

Quintus was still finding it a bit hard to believe.

“But I’m a dragon. Aren’t you scared of me? Don’t all humans think we’re monsters?” He asked. He had always been taught that most humans feared and hunted any dragons they found with metal sticks and plates. He knew the few humans in their army were just as scared of him as the enemy.

Aiden laughed. “Yep! Most people would be terrified to find a dragon. Especially it if almost crushed them by accident. I guess I’m just weird. Not that there aren’t a lot of people just as weird as I am. I guess I’ve just always been in a fantasy world so when it came to life I just went with it. Out of all the stories and mythical creatures out there I’ve always loved dragons the best.” Aiden said. Then he looked down embarrassed.

“It’s actually been a dream of mine to meet a dragon. Even if they eat me. Though of course I don’t want to be eaten.” He quickly corrected. “More than anything else in the world I want to be friends with a dragon and go on an adventure with them. Would…Would you be my friend Quintus?” Aiden asked nervously.

If Quintus had been standing, he would have sat down stunned in that moment. He couldn’t believe a human like this existed. He also felt some part of him longing to agree, but he still had his pride as a dragon. He wanted a friend, but this human had to show some respect and deference before… or maybe not? That was what all his comrades did, and he felt left out by them. So maybe…

“Um, Quintus?” Aiden asked.

“Oh right, right.” Quintus said shaking his head to clear it.

“I guess I’ll allow it since you helped me, but you have to be aware that if you want the adventure, you’re asking for it will mean leaving everything you love behind. All your comforts. All your friends and family.” He said. Aiden nodded. He had a great life, but he was more than willing to give it up for this opportunity.

“Thank you, thank you. Oh, this will be so great! When do we leave?” Aiden asked excitedly. Quintus huffed. This human has some enthusiasm, but he wasn’t going anywhere till he had healed and regained his strength.

“When I feel like it. Just let me rest for now.” Quintus said as he laid down. “

Sure! Hmm, hmm!” Aiden said laying against the dragon’s side. Quintus raised an arm to stop him but slowly lowered it back down. He could barely feel the human’s soft, warm back against his scales, and he looked so happy Quintus didn’t want to disturb him.

“Hmmm. I guess I’m stuck with you then.” Quintus muttered as he closed his eyes.

“You sure are.” Aiden sighed back.