Young Writers Society

A blood curdling roar ripped through the still night air, jerking Zoltar from his sleep. He sprang to his paws, his tail poised to attack. He sensed Felistia and Shriken on either side of him, their muscles tense as rocks. The three dragons’ eye beams ran over the plains, lighting up the dark prairie, but they could see nothing.

“What do you think it was?” Felistia whispered hoarsely, her claws digging into the dirt.

“I don’t know,” Zoltar whispered back as he strained to hear anything out in the savanna. A slight wind had picked up, causing the long blades of grass to rustle and murmur eerily in the darkness. The moons’ silver light had been blotted out by the storm clouds rolling across the sky and in the far distance, thunder rumbled. He could hear Shriken’s heavy breaths next to him as the ice talon's wings shook gently in the breeze. 

“Do you think we imagined it?” Shriken asked hopefully.

“Maybe,” Zoltar answered unsure. He didn’t want to alarm the others because it would be even more dangerous if they panicked, but he knew exactly what made those sounds. Those were Fangtars; a breed of snake-like dragons that were more ruthless than even the howler dragons. They could not go back to sleep. If the Fangtars found them asleep, they’d be ripped to shreds. If they were awake and ready for them, they’d stand a chance against the Fangtars sleep gas. They had to stay awake at all costs.

“Maybe it was nothing?” Felistia suggested yawning, “We should go back to sleep.”

“No!” Zoltar hissed a bit too quickly and Shriken and Felistia gave him a bunch of skewed looks. “I mean,” Zoltar started slowly, “We can’t go back to sleep. What if it really was something?” Felistia and Shriken exchanged looks of suspicion, but ended up agreeing that it was a better idea to stay awake.

The two ice talons sat on opposite sides of him, each facing a different direction. He could feel their tense muscles slowly relax as a silence stretch over the prairie.

Zoltar sat there in the pitch black with only his keen hearing and limited night vision to tell him where his enemies where. Poor Shriken and Felistia didn’t even have night vision; it was pure blackness to them. Zoltar knew that the Fangtars were out there somewhere, hunting them. It could take hours before they attacked. They’d wait until they succum to the sleep gas and then they’d leap out of the grasses on top of them and it would be all over. They had to stay alert until the light of morning came. The snakes would slink back to their holes then.

“Listen,” Zoltar whispered shakily to the others, “You mustn’t panic okay, but I think we’re being hunted by Fangtars.” He felt the two ice talons wings tense and Shriken whimpered slightly. “If we stay put and hold our ground we’ll be okay. Just don’t fall asleep or fly. That’s what they want you to do. Whatever you do, don’t panic. Just stay put.” Zoltar urged, trying to make his voice as calm as possible.

Suddenly there was a rustle just on his left. He whipped his head around, baring his teeth to show them that he was not going down without a fight. He felt Shriken’s wings flick open, but the ice talon controlled his fear and didn’t take off. Nothing happened. Whatever had been there had crept back into the grasses. They were toying with them. Seeing how long they’d hold out.

Zoltar knew they couldn’t bolt into the sky. That was what the Fangtar wanted. They’d be as easy to pick off up there as wounded pigeons are to a fox. They’d have to wait until the inevitable attack came.

For hours, they stayed alert, waiting for that attack, but nothing came. There were a few mock charges, but the Fangtar always stopped just on the edge of the small circle of clear ground the three dragons where standing. They never came further than that ring of grass. They’d pace around and around that circle, snarling quietly to each other as their red eyes gleamed out from between the blades of grass. They were waiting, waiting for them to drop their concentration for just a few seconds. Waiting for them to weaken as they seeped their sleep gas into the small circle. Waiting for them to panic and take to the sky.

Zoltar could feel his eyes growing heavy with exhaustion. He could feel the lack of sleep wearing on his body. He’d have to sleep sometime and that’s what the Fangtar were waiting for. Felistia’s wings next to him were sagging and Shriken’s head would drop down every now and then before he’d jerk back into awareness. They couldn’t last much longer. If morning didn’t come soon, they’d be in dire trouble.

This is for those of you that would like to see what the Fangtar look like. I don't own any of these images. I got them off the internet. The first if the Fangtar and the second is a size chart.

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