The Last Dragon

Chapter 1

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After nearly two hours of zooming across the choppy ocean surface in an entirely too small fishing boat, an island appeared through the haze.  Sophia Parker knew just by looking that this was the one.  If all went well, this would be the island where she would meet the last dragon left in the world.

The fishermen she had hired, who had been fairly quiet for the past half an hour, began a wild chatter in Korean.  Sophia had studied up on the basics of the language before coming, but she couldn't understand a single word of the slurred and hurried speech the men shared.  This was nothing like the smooth, slow voice she had listened to on CD.  Still, she didn't pay much mind to it.  She didn't care if they were talking about her, calling her dumb or crazy.  At least they were transporting her to this place in the middle of nowhere.  She had paid them enough to do so, anyway.  However, she couldn't let her mind dwell on the money right now.  She couldn't go down that road of crushing anxiety when she was about to finally track down the dragon that had eluded her for years.

Sophia, desperate for anything to distract from the sour feeling that had filled her stomach since they hit the first big wave, turned to the young interpreter that had come along.  Really, he was just one of the fisherman's college-aged sons who had answered her online ad, and despite the seven years of alleged English education, much of their previous conversations had been lost in translation.

Is that it? she asked, pointing to the island in the distance.

The young man turned to the others and started a conversation.  Based on the yelling and wild gesticulating, it sounded heated, but Sophia couldn't be sure.  She waited for it to play out with a patient smile on her face.  She contemplated just getting off at that island anyway, if she could get away from the sickening boat swaying back and forth, up and down over the waves.  Perhaps she could swim back to the mainland if necessary.

Yes, that's it.  Where evil lives.  Jihoon spoke with a kind smile, and Sophia wasn't sure if he was being genuine or playing some kind of joke on her.  Still, she gave him a smile and a nod.

And there's been sightings of a dragon? she asked.

Dragon? he repeated, as if that was all he understood of her words.  She nodded, feeling even sicker now.  If she had come out all this way for nothing, she wasn't sure what she would do.  She would need to take up a new identity and leave her old life behind, for sure.  Once again, Jihoon broke into conversation with the others.  The eldest man, who was also the loudest, looked directly at Sophia to go on a diatribe.  The fear in his eyes almost made her consider turning back.  Yes.  Fishing men don't go.

Why don't they go?

This time, Jihoon didn't need to consult the others.  Hundreds of years, they don't go.  Evil lives there. 

Though his English may not have been clear, the message was.  This time, she knew he was serious.  They considered whatever lived on that island to be evil, something to be avoided on the sea.  She wasn't going to underestimate it.

When was the last time he was seen? Sophia asked.  The dragon.  She repeated her question a few times until the boy’s confused expression cleared.

Ten years? Jihoon answered after another wandering conversation with the other men.  As soon as the answer was out, the leader went on to describe the encounter.  Sophia couldn't understand the words, but the man was so expressive that she didn't need to.  He explained the secondhand tale with such passion that Sophia could imagine herself as the fisherman seeing the great beast dancing in the sky.  Jihoon filled in the details, explaining that they saw a black dragon overhead, so big that it created a shadow over the whole boat, and that it swooped down and nearly snatched his father's friend of a friend off the deck.  Sophia was certain that the story had been molded and changed by a hundred different retellings, and that the original source was probably some stranger who had half forgotten it by the time it had gotten around to Jihoon's father.  However, it was all she had to go on, and she was gambling everything on finding that kernel of truth that started it all.

The small bit of conversation was a much needed distraction that helped to pass the time.  When Sophia looked back to the horizon, the island was clearer and bigger.  They were getting closer.  It would only be a few more minutes before she was able to stand on solid land once again, and she couldn't wait for that sweet moment.

The engine of the boat cut off a good fifty feet from the edge of the island.  Sophia looked back at the five fishermen, who were all looking on with curiosity and fear.  It had seemed that most of them hadn't believed the tale of the dragon and had been quite reluctant to come out this far, but now that they were here, they could sense the same strange sensation that Sophia felt now.  There was a deep recognition that something beyond their imagining, beyond a simple human, was somewhere on the land in front of them.

They say they don't go any further, Jihoon said.  Sophia had guessed as much.

But what about my stuff? she asked in a panic.  I have cameras and important documents.  They can't get wet!

Jihoon gave her an apologetic smile before once again consulting with the older men.  This conversation went on the longest out of any of them.  Apparently, this was the final straw to make the lead fisherman annoyed beyond repair at Sophia.  All she could do was sit and wait while the men fought, pretending she hadn't just caused the massive blowout.  She sighed and looked out to the island.  So close, and yet way too far.

Sophia? Jihoon said, but was drawn into a bit more fighting.  From somewhere among the fishing supplies on the deck, his father pulled out a large plastic bag.  You can use this.

Before she could even react to the offer, Jihoon was sliding her pack into the stiff plastic.  He twisted the opened end around in his hand a few times until it bunched closed, and then he offered his creation to Sophia with a smile.  She took it from him and looked it over in disbelief for a few moments before accepting her lot.  This was the best she was going to get.  If she pushed the men any further, she wasn't sure they would return to this island in three days to pick her up.

Thank you, she said in her terrible Korean to all the men.  They stood on the edge of the boat and helped her over into the water.  Then, Jihoon handed down the bag for her to hold.  She did her best to keep it all above water, resting on her shoulder, just in case it wasn't as water-tight as they were hoping.  However, the weight and unbalance made swimming almost impossible.

With the sound of snickering behind her, she did her best to swim against the waves to get to the beach.  It was much further than it looked once she was down in the water, but she fought with one arm and furiously kicking feet until she got close enough to stand on the sand.  As soon as she felt ground beneath her feet again, she took in a deep, gasping breath.  Her shoulders and her lungs ached, but she had made it.  She waded through the water until she was safely on dry land, and there, she collapsed into the pristine white sand to look out at the ocean.  Jihoon and the fishermen were already turned around to make the journey back home, though they did wave at her from the boat.  She waved back and said a silent prayer that she saw them again in a few days.  It would be just her luck to be stranded on this island, and there was no telling if the dragon was even here.  She was betting on a ten year old tale that had spread throughout the country - often told with a grin and an implicit knowledge that the fisherman in the story had been drunk or crazy.  However, it was all she had to go on, and she would cling onto it to the end.  She was like a homeless person spending their last five bucks on a lottery ticket, and soon enough, that analogy may have been truer than she would have liked to admit.

After a few minutes of rest, Sophia stood and hefted the backpack onto both shoulders.  It was full of heavy cameras, a few notebooks and pens, and enough food and water to last her for three days, as long as she was careful.  The four heavy quarts of water were what weighed her down so much, but she was doing her best to survive three days on a possibly deserted island.  Of course, if Professor Waltermire had known the ridiculous lengths she was putting herself through, he would have kicked her out of the program himself.  Sophia just prayed that the results were worth it - and that she didn't die on this island with nothing to show for it.

Sophia's first order of business was to set up a camp somewhere safe, dry and hopefully devoid of bugs.  Much to the amusement of her fellow grad students, Sophia possessed a legendary fear of bugs.  She had hoped that years of field work would have eased the fear at least a little, but still the sight of a spider was enough to send her into a cold and queasy sweat.  And god forbid one ever touch her - that would send her into a screaming fit.  She had had one of those an embarrassing number of times while out in the field.

Sophia found the perfect place at the edge of the beach to get to work.  She'd had to pack light for this journey, and so she hadn't been able to fit in a tent into her pack.  She would have to create a shelter, but luckily she had some experience in it.  She hung her backpack up on a nearby tree branch and began to unpack it, making quick work of unloading the few items she had brought along for this journey.  She made sure to keep her water up in the tree inside the pack - she didn't want some animal biting through the plastic container and depleting what little water she had.  She got to work collecting big palm leaves and branches easy enough to break off.  An hour or so passed as she created a shelter that would keep her dry and protected from the elements, at the very least.  Then, she moved onto her main focus.  It was time to search the island.  She grabbed what she needed - a jug of water, a few energy bars, and her notebook, sketchpad, and pen, and then she mentally broke the island up into quadrants to be searched one at a time.  She had a top-down picture of the island from satellite imaging, and it was roughly the shape of a bean.  Easy enough to break up into four sections to be searched.

Although the sun was high in the sky, it wasn't hot, despite being late summer.  Sophia had lucked upon a cool day to arrive, and the clouds in the sky gave the occasional reprieve from sunlight.  With her hat on shielding her eyes, she barely even noticed the brightness and heat.  Then, when she entered quadrant one, the shade of the trees kept her cool.

Armed with only a compass to keep her going in the right direction, Sophia tread carefully through the wet forest that filled the island with greenery.  Luckily, she was armed with a great sense of direction and a memory that could store small details without really trying.  It was one of the reasons her fellow students tended to like her going along for field work in strange, remote locations, and why they could overlook her propensity for drama anytime a bug was around.

Sophia made her way slowly through the first quadrant.  The edge of the forest started as undisturbed nature, flourishing on a lonely island in the middle of the ocean.  However, as she continued south, things began to feel not quite right.  She stumbled across a great circle in the woods where charred stumps had been overtaken by moss and vines.  She crouched down beside one to examine it, hoping it would reveal its secrets.  Had this been done by a dragon spitting angry fire at the last person to tread upon his island?

It could have just been lightning setting the forest on fire, she said aloud to herself, and her own voice startled her.  She looked around the area, almost searching for a pile of human bones, but she found nothing.  Something about the area made her feel uneasy, so she continued south through the tight, choking vegetation until she reached the opposite side of the island.

The ocean stretched on forever into the distance, and for the first time, the fact that Sophia was alone hit her.  She took a few deep breaths and tried not to panic.  The fishermen would be back in three days.  She could make it that long.  She had spent at least a week of her life locked up in her apartment without any human contact before, and it had never been a problem then.  Of course, her apartment had a kitchen and beautiful indoor plumbing.  She took a bite of her dry energy bar that had half the amount of flavor that it boasted and then continued in her search.  The island wasn't very large, and she was certain she could traverse most of it before sundown.

Sophia walked along the beach until she reached what she thought was the middle point of the island, and then she cut back down through the forest.  She was only a few feet into the thick of the trees before her legs stopped moving forward and a feeling of dread crept out from her stomach to all her extremities.  It was something like she had never felt before - some base and ancient instinct from deep within that warned her to run.  She had to override the impulse with her logical mind, though it was difficult to shake the sense that she was being watched by a predator.  She finally gave a good look at her surroundings, realizing what had triggered the sudden dread.  Nothing around her was right.  Nearly every tree bore deep gashes, like an axe had hacked away at their bark.  Some were old wounds, though others seemed fresh with splinters oozing sap like it was the tree’s blood.  Just to the right, she finally spotted her pile of bones.  As a student of anthropology, she had seen plenty of bones before, but never quite like this.  She had to force herself to look at them to make sure they weren’t human.  She couldn’t be quite sure just by looking from a few feet away, though.  Her logical mind had lost its edge, and instinct took over.  Sophia took long, careful steps forward, eager to get back to the north side of her beach and her shelter.

With her mind so startled, Sophia nearly missed the fact that she was walking through a clearing without any trees to interrupt her path.  Just before she reentered the jungle-like woods, she stopped and turned around.  Her frightened mind only grew more startled by the sight of a home.  In the middle of this clearing, there was a permanent shelter, built exactly like a real house, though much smaller in scale.  It looked similar to the Tudor style house she had grown up in, and she almost thought that she was hallucinating.  She stood frozen for a long few minutes, wondering what she should do.  She listened, assessed the surroundings, and then stepped forward.  This was the dragon’s home.  She had waited so long for this moment, and she wasn't going to let social graces get in the way of finally meeting her dragon.

She crept across the yard and put her hand on the doorknob.  It was warm from the sunlight.  She twisted it and pushed the door open on the tiny house.  Inside, laying with no clothes sprawled across a military-green cot, was a man with hair the color of quicksilver.  Based on his body, he looked to be only in his late twenties, but Sophia knew he was hundreds of years old. This was her dragon, and he was just as impressive as she had hoped.  She looked up at his face and nearly screamed when the sight of two dark eyes, narrowed with anger, were looking back at her.

Chapter 2

Hello.

The man didn't seem impressed by Sophia's greeting.  It was clear from his face that she had woken him from his nap, and that he didn't appreciate it. He gave her the same tired glare until she squirmed and continued speaking.

"My name is Sophia