I took the long way home from school, wanting to get the mess of churning thoughts and emotions out of my head. Sharing with Lucy had been a relief, but the future was still uncertain, and Theo? Regardless of the fact that he was mixed up in everything, somehow, I still couldn't deny that I did feel something for him.

It wasn't quite the same as friendship.

It wasn't more than that, either.

What does this all mean?

I had admitted to myself that it was ... possible ... that I could be attracted to another boy, but was that what I was feeling? Was it attraction? Curiosity? I tried to imagine what it would be like to be physically affectionate with him. To hug him.

To kiss him.

The idea didn't disgust me. It felt a bit weird to think about, but ... it wasn't bad.

Approaching home from the direction that Lucy normally did, I barely noticed the car pulling away from the curb next to our house. Probably one of mom's work friends. Passing the boundary wall between the other neighbour and our property, I glanced through the gap between it and the garage, the space large enough to give a brief view of the shed, and a segment of the yard and back fence.

It was that glimpse, I saw it.

The shed door, forcibly detached on the ground. Behind, a scaled and winged red shape climbing over the rear gate.

Oh fuck.

It didn't matter how tired I was, I dashed down the side of the house, dropping my bag on the ground as I went. In seconds I was at the fence, but it was much too late. The dragon was already halfway across the public land, airborne and moving fast. A couple of moments later, it was gone, skimming between the trees and away into the forest.

No ... no no no no no!

Without thinking, I exited through the rear gate, and began to run across the field in the same direction. Adrenaline was pumping and my heart was pounding, head throbbing from the day's exertion. Without stopping, I jumped over the stream and was into the trees myself.

I didn't slow down at all until I had reached the cave.

It was empty.

"Fuck!" I shouted it, as loud as I could. "Fuck!"

Where did it go? Why did it leave?

What if it hurts someone?

What if someone hurts it?!?

The thoughts angered me, and were also distressing. I knew how dangerous it could be and I was hopeful it wasn't going to do anything provocative to any people it came across, but all I could think was: what would happen if the military or police were called in to deal with it? The idea of a flying pyromaniac murder-lizard being actually injured was upsetting in a way I hadn't predicted.

I wasn't going to give up that easily, though.

Leaving the cave, I continued up the hillside, making my way through the trees for another few minutes. The forest on the upper slopes and top of Mirrorvale's range of hills was mostly larger trees, and I found one easy to climb on the ridge line of the range's crest. Ascending onto an exposed branch, I reached far enough out that I could see over most of the forest canopy.

Beyond, east, the sprawl of Mirrorvale.

Lowrise and a handful of highrise dotted the town's central district, the residential zones radiating outward around it. The closest included our home and the other neighbourhoods that pressed against the hills. Opposite, the more distant and expansive suburbia continued to stretch out of the valley's crook and away into the open flat land.

Then, west.

More forest and hills for miles, until the next town, Brookstone.

Both directions, the sky was clear.

Nothing to see, either way.

It was gone.