The Sleeping Dragon

Based on the writing prompt “Write a story in which the same line recurs three times” from Reedsy.com

“You’ve awoken the sleeping dragon.” The young man stared up at the rock face that had frustrated his climb for the last half hour. He reached into his bag and dusted his hands with rosin, then smiled, his perfect teeth shining in the moonlight.

There were two things about the young man known as Drake McAdams that you learned about quickly when you got to know him. The first that his temper was best described as mercurial. He was not one to take a slight lying down.

The second was that he never backed down from a challenge. No matter how foolish, no matter how impossible, he would continue attacking it until either the obstacle broke or his body did. And while that was somewhat admirable when considering the normal, generally safe challenges most people faced in life, it was less of a great idea when it came to solo climbing a rock face late at night, no one knowing where he was at the time.

But his courage had been challenged. One of his classmates had been telling a story of a monster that lived within the local mountains. Of course, he’d mocked that tale, so the storyteller had dared him to go up there alone at night and take pictures of the cave near the peak to prove him incorrect.

“Or is our all-state track and field star scared to go look?” the boy had challenged.

Drake’s jaw had clenched, and he didn’t need to look to know that his knuckles were white. “Careful,” another boy said mockingly. “You’ll wake up dragon boy or whatever he says.”

They’d all laughed. But Drake would show them. He leapt straight up to the handhold that had been out of reach. It would only require him to make it up a little over six feet, and his best ever was a bit over seven, not too far from the national record. He could do this, uneven footing or no.

He tensed his muscles like a spring and unleashed all his strength in an explosive, powerful vault upward. As he shot off the ground, he reached up and… “Got you!” he roared in triumph as he grabbed the handhold. He then swung his other arm, gripping a second one, and from there, used his considerable upper body strength to pull himself to a point where his feet could make contact with some outward sloping rock that was a middling foothold at best.

But it was good enough. He’d studied the path for a while, and knew that all he had to do was get to this position to make it the rest of the way.

Of course, it wasn’t an easy task. But he wasn’t an all-state level athlete for nothing. Less than an hour later, he’d scaled the obstacle and was able to take a break. His arms were burning, but that was nothing that some beef jerky and a Surge couldn’t help.

Yeah, it wasn’t healthy, but it was on sale at Blockbuster, so, that’s what he got. That and a disposable camera to document everything. Which was what he did next, taking a few pictures of the view of the city from his vantage point.

He then looked around and found an opening in the rock face. “Well, he was right about that, at least. But I’m sure there’s no monster here.” Still, he pulled out his knife, the one his uncle had gotten him after they’d gone to see that commando movie together. The one his mother had thrown a fit at, but had relented when Drake had begged, promising he’d be careful.

The caves were pretty dark, but he had a good flashlight. One of those big ones that would also serve as an emergency bludgeon should a mountain lion or something come at him. In hindsight, this might not have been the best idea, now that Drake was considering it.

And why was it getting so hot?

He kept walking through the cave as it opened up into a much larger chamber. He was doing pretty well, up until he tripped over a root or something and landed on his hands and knees, the light clattering to the floor.

“At least it’s sturdy,” he said, grabbing the flashlight and turning it towards what he’d tripped over. “Huh?” It wasn’t there. But it had to be. There wasn’t even a rock that he could have tripped on.

Waving the light around, he gasped in shock as something reflected the light. Something big, maybe the size of a dinner plate. It almost reminded him of an eye, like a cat’s, or maybe a lizard’s eye? But that was impossible.

“Yeah…it just blinked,” he said in a monotone, having reached a state so far beyond fear as to transcend human existence.

His instinctive dodge saved his life as the giant creature swung a claw at him, but it also sent him flying as he tripped in the dark. There were flashes of things as he tumbled. Massive claws, sharper than swords. Scales the size of his hand, either grey or green, he couldn’t tell in the dark. Huge teeth with saliva dripping down them. Horns that could easily gore a rhino. And…wings. Big wings.

There was no doubt about it. He’d awoken a sleeping dragon, and he was about to die. All he could hope for was to put up a good enough showing that at least the dragon would remember him. So he came up from the roll, swinging his knife wildly.

This gave the dragon slight pause, but then it renewed its attack, whipping its tail at him. The strike seemed almost faster than the eye, but by sheer luck, he managed to stab the massive appendage. Only…he forgot to let go of the knife that was now buried deep in the dragon’s flesh.

The dragon was more than strong enough to swing him around as it roared at the pain from the knife. And eventually his weight caused the knife to shake loose, causing him to go flying before landing in a pile of bones.

He wasn’t certain, but he thought they looked like sheep bones. There were a number of ranches nearby that raised the things, but still, it was surprising that no one had heard of that many attacks on sheep. Or maybe he hadn’t been paying attention?

His hands were covered in dragon’s blood and he was beyond angry. “You’ve awoken the sleeping dragon.” As he spoke, he wiped his blood hands on his shirt and felt a stinging sensation akin to iodine being put on a skinned knee. He must have had some kind of cut or abrasion in that area, or at least, that was a safe supposition.

As the blood entered his system, it did something strange. Suddenly, he found he no longer needed the flashlight to see. In fact, the cave was as bright as any generic office building, without the hum of the fluorescent lights.

Using his newfound sight, he scanned the room for a better weapon. He needed something with reach. Then he spotted it. It was a fairly long bone, maybe two or three feet, he wasn’t sure. If he had to guess, maybe the dragon had also been snacking on moose or elk. And even better, the tip had been hardened and sharpened, almost as if it had been some kind of toothpick for the beast.

He dove for his new weapon, snatching it up and continuing to move. As he did so, the heat of the dragon’s fiery breath scorched his back. Had he been any slower, he’d have been cooked.

And he wasn’t sure, but he thought he was moving faster than before. What he was sure of was that when the dragon bit at him and he leapt away, he definitely beat his old jump record. By several feet.

He leapt again, kicking off the ceiling, which was nearly twelve feet up, and dove at the dragon. The creature whirled, raising its wings, but the bone pierced the leathery membrane and plunged even through the scales. The dragon roared in pain and slammed him with its claw. The sharp part didn’t connect, and he only took the blunt force of the blow, which threw him into a wall.

He should have been dead. That much was certain. But somehow, he was still breathing, though doing that hurt a little. Still, better alive and in pain than dead.

He dodged another gout of flame, leaping into the air. He kicked off the ceiling once more, but this time towards a wall. He slashed the wing with his knife as he flew past, then kicked off the wall again. He was getting faster as he fought, that much he was certain of. Meanwhile, the dragon was slowing from its injuries.

He kept up that pattern, dodging and striking with minor blows until he spotted his opportunity and dove at the sharpened bone lodged in the dragon with all his speed.

A single kick sent the bone deep into the dragon’s heart, felling it.

Once he was done, he took a few photos with the camera that had somehow surprisingly survived the fight by virtue of being in his backpack that he’d dropped near the beginning. Then he looked around.

The dragon was a mother, and she was guarding a small clutch of eggs. “Well, now I feel like an asshole,” Drake said with a sigh. “And the eggs are cracked. I hope we didn’t damage them in the fighting.”

But as he watched, the cracks grew, and out popped a trio of tiny baby dragons. Their heads were comically large, and they were mewling. Like cats.

“Okay, so obviously it’s now my responsibility to take care of them,” he said. “But what do baby dragons eat?” He wasn’t sure, but he had jerky. Hopefully that would suffice for now.” The dragons seemed to like it.

“You shouldn’t feed those abominations,” a voice said behind him. He spun around and there was a being there. It had four wings, and four faces. The one facing the front was that of a man, but it also had the faces of a lion, an ox and an eagle.

“What in the…?”

“I am an angel of God the Almighty. You have done well to slay one of The Adversary’s creatures. Now, slay its offspring and end its line for good.”

“I’m not killing babies.”

The being’s four faces scowled in anger as it drew its sword. “You will do as you are commanded!”

“I will not!” Drake shouted back, leaping towards the angel and driving his knife forward.

The angel was not expecting that. It was even more surprised when the blade pierced its throat. “How?” it gurgled, collapsing to its knees.

“You’ve awoken the sleeping dragon.” Then Drake picked up its sword, delivering the killing blow.

He sighed as he surveyed the scene. The baby dragons were hiding behind their shells, but when they realized he was the one still alive, they came out and made more cat noises at him. He couldn’t help but laugh at the absurdity of it all.

“Well, I killed an angel for you all,” he said. “Guess I’m committed. I bet if I’m careful, we can get you three in my backpack, then we’ll go find something better for you to eat.”

So that’s what he did. He carefully put them in the bag, then headed back down the mountain. With his newfound strength and agility, the descent was much faster than the ascent had been. Then they got to his car. He made a nest for the dragons in his backseat and then started his car.

Okay, so where to go? His mom had specifically said that she’d kill him if he brought home any more lizards, so that was out. And he needed meat. That meant there was only one option in his small town this late at night. So off to the diner where he worked on the weekend he went.

“You look like hell, my boy,” Jerry the shift manager said as he walked in the door to the nearly empty diner. “Rough night?”

“You have no idea. Hey, Jerry, can I get a couple raw steaks? And can you maybe take them out of my next check?”

“No can do, my boy. At least not taking it out of your check. But you’re a good kid, so I’ll spot you personally, but only if you tell me what you need them for.”

He thought about it. “Okay, why don’t I just show you?”

Jerry raised an eyebrow. “Connie, keep an eye on the diner, I’m gonna be in the parking lot for a few.”

“Sure thing,” the waitress in her mid-forties said.

Jerry let out a low whistle when he looked into the back seat. “Well, now there’s something I haven’t seen in…well, it’s been a while. Baby dragons. So, have you named them yet?”

Drake was surprised. “You don’t seem all that shocked.”

“Well, it makes sense now, my boy. Your wounds, the state of your clothes, and your need for raw meat. Good instincts, though they don’t mind it cooked. In fact, the mom would have cooked their meals until they were about two years old. Why don’t you bring them in the back, to the employee break room, and I’ll have Pedro sear them up something nice?”

Drake considered it. “Yeah, alright.”

“And once they’re taken care of, I want to hear all about your fight with the dragon. Guessing you got some of her blood on one of your wounds?”

“How did you know…?”

“My boy, I was there when the first dragon was born. I know quite a bit about them.”

“What do you know about angels?”

Jerry blinked. “Well, now it’s really important you get these three inside. And then we may need to make the lot of you disappear. If you’re asking that, I have a feeling that more angels will eventually come after you. Did you kill it?”

He nodded. “It wanted me to kill the babies, and I couldn’t do that.”

“That’s because you’re a good kid. Perhaps a bit stupid, my boy, but a good kid nonetheless. Now come on and help me get them inside.”