3. Restless

Have you ever thought about your nightmares? The screaming horrors of the night that leaves a person standing up, stiffly straight with beads of sweat framing their face. The grotesque creatures that haunt our dreams; the vivid imagery that then prevents us from sleeping, making us jump out at every shadow that moves.

Elsie's head nodded off, before she jerked up again, sliding her back against rough texture of the tree to rest her head tiredly upon her knees. Raising her head after a few minutes, she peeked around to look at the large creature that resembled a tattered dragon grazing on her mother's petunias. Shit. Her mother was not going to be particularly pleased. Although Elsie had often fought bravely against these creatures in her dreams, she realised that it must honestly be harder to so in reality.

The look in his eyes were hard, as if he'd seen so much that he wouldn't even hesitate to dismember her if she did as much as disturbed him.

She had been woken up by an irritating growl at one in the morning and in annoyance, she swatted her arms in the general direction of the source, hitting something scaly. Her senses grew alert as she heard a warning snarl before the creature swung its tail at her at a ferocious speed. Following her instincts, she rolled off the bed landing awkwardly on the floor and moaning in pain. She'd landed on her elbow, causing the pain to stretch through her body to the very top of her spine. The dragon, satisfied that the creature that attacked him had disappeared from view, ducked out of her room, smashing its head multiple times against the low windows.

And she'd followed it which had been a bad mistake but swearing that she'd seen it before in her dreams, she went after it, hiding behind a tree to observe the creature lazing around in her backyard.

Taking a deep breath, she crept up behind him armed with an array of objects; pencils, books and a spade. As soon as she stepped forward however, a leaf crackled alerting the mythological being to her presence. He turned, glaring at her and identifying her as his assailant who had tried to kill him as soon as he had escaped her mind.

She held her hands up, her weapons clattering to the harmlessly. Extending a leg hesitantly, she swept them away behind her, hearing the clattering of the pencil as they continued rolling. The spade took a bit more effort but the dragon stood there, unblinking and patient - eyes softening to show the span of his life.

"I'm Elsie." she spoke slowly and clearly. "I - er - you woke me up. I am sorry for apologising to you but may I ask you a question?"

He looked back at her, regarding her unflinchingly.
"I dream of you." She blurted out, feeling foolish. "I fight you in my dreams and I vanquish you. All the time."

'That's because you're in a dream, you human. If we were to battle now, I'd win with my wings tied and my eyes closed. And a meal in the end, too.'

She paled, the blood rushing out of her face as she scanned the creature. "Did you just talk to me?"

'Telepathic abilities.' The dragon snorted, a warm gust of air shuddering through the vegetation. 'Stop being a fool, girl.'

She attempted to stammer out a reply, but she then closed her mouth audibly. "How did you come from my mind?"

'I escaped. You've imprisoned me for far too long and I sensed that something was wrong with your world. I'm here to resolve this issue. If you attempt to stop me, I will have no choice but to kill you.'

"Escaped from my mind?" She asked unbelievingly.
He nodded, rolling his eyes and turning away, obviously dismissing her shivering figure.

"And what's wrong with my world?"

'What do you think?' He asked sarcastically. 'Just look at it. You can't see the stars glistening anymore, not as bright as they used to be. The moon's almost fading away as well. Soon enough you idiotic beings will be able to block out the sun, killing yourselves and the millions of species that depend on you for their survival.'
She raised an eyebrow. "Are you always this rude?"

'I tell you about the impending doom of this world and you only bother to correct my mannerism. How typically...human.'

"I am human, I hope you realise."

'Exactly. And there isn't any capacity within those puny brains of yours to understand what is going on. You've been seeing more of us these past few days, Elsie but you've dismissed them as shadows. How boring it must be to be human. How dull. How do you survive not being fantastic?'

"You - er - the dr- dragons?! Wait a second, so you're saying that you've purposely come out in front of me. That's what I'm inferring about your speech at least." Elsie huffed indignantly, refusing to answer his insult with another in kind.

'We need you, unfortunately. You and a select few others. You'll be riding these creatures into the atmosphere in an attempt to rid this world of the pollution that you idiots have caused.' The dragon scowled impertinently, looking up into the sky. 'Here they come now. Make your decision, human. If you're with us - you'll always be safe but if you're not, there is a big chance that you may die. Like a human does.'

"How old are you?" she interjected anxiously, indeed discovering the flying creatures in the night air.

'None of your business. Are you in?'

She looked at her house helplessly, thinking about her warm bed that beckoned to her with tendrils of urge and desire. Scrunching her nose, she made a choice that would change her life forever.

"I refuse to come."

The dragon bowed his head regally, making sure of eye contact. 'Your wishes, as per usual. Selfish as usual.'

"Shut up." She shook her head at the dragon. "You don't know anything; just be quiet."

'Only for her majesty,' were the last few words she picked up before the dragon was gone with a whoosh of his wings. The air battled her hair around, refusing her the right to see in what direction she was headed in. By the time, she was able to see properly again, the dragon was no longer there.

Her stupid nightmares were the cause of all this. Damn it all.

Hope it's all right. Thanks for reading.
Allons-y!