Dragon Zoo fan story by Caleb Miller

Thanks very much to Caleb Miller who wrote this amazing story on Dragon Zoo, it's such a well written piece and helps add to the Dragon Zoo universe that we are crafting and expanding upon daily.

Some of you might know what it’s like to have to move once every few months. Not me though. At first, I thought it was pretty cool that my dad got elected as an international ambassador for the United States. Then my family and I had to move to Britain in the very first month he got the job. We’d be there for at least two months, so we had to make ourselves comfortable. There was some international issue or something that I’m sure was very complicated and very controversial, but I never really paid that much attention to politics. I wasn’t too happy about the sudden change, but I decided to make the most of it while I was here. Besides, it was fun to hear the accents, even though since I was in someone else’s country, I guess I was the one with the accent.

               The scenery of course was beautiful, with the flowing hills and amazing sunrises. The cabin we were staying at had a lot of land behind it that wasn’t owned, as far as I knew or cared. It was a vast wooded area that even had a few small caves embedded in the ground, though none of them I’d found so far yielded anything of interest. I spent the majority of my free time just roaming around here looking for something to do, since my phone didn’t get any reception at the cabin for some stupid reason. My sister pretty much stayed indoors with my mom while my dad was off working the majority of the day, leaving me to my own devices, “just so long as you take a compass,” my mom had said. One day though, I encountered something quite… unexpected.

               I finished eating breakfast, and as usual, headed out behind the cabin for maybe a quick morning jog to wake me up a little, making sure to have my phone and compass with me. I knew a path that was pretty smooth, but I decided instead to take one I didn’t know as well, just to shake things up a bit. I took things slow at first so I could get my footing and keep from losing my sense of direction, although I still had a compass if I did get lost. This trail was a bit rougher, so I had to watch where I ran much more carefully. I stepped over a particularly large dip in the trail and suddenly, *WHACK*!  A low-hanging tree branch nailed me right in the forehead. I cried out involuntarily and tripped, landing unceremoniously on top of some small bushes.

               I groaned, clutching my forehead with one hand while with the other, I tried to claw my way out of the clawing branches of the bushes tearing at my clothing. I’d always had a knack for hitting my head on things, so it wasn’t something I was unused to, but that didn’t make it hurt any less. I finally got myself untangled and sat down on a nearby stump, still grimacing. After a few minutes, the pain faded enough for me to stand up. I was about to start moving forward again, although at a much slower and careful pace, when my foot snagged on something. I didn’t trip again, thankfully. I looked down to see what I had snagged myself on, and spotted a rather large, dark rock.

               I wanted to ignore the stone and go around it, but something was weird about it. Its exterior was extremely smooth, and its shape slightly resembled… No, it couldn’t be an egg, could it? It was too big. It came nearly up to my waste standing up. Nothing laid eggs that large! All the same, my curiosity was ensnared. I crouched down next to the rock cautiously and put my ear up to its side. I knocked lightly with my fist, and was surprised when the sound resonated as if it were hollow. It was warm as well! I knocked again, not believing my ears, but this time the sound was clearly echoed. I blinked in confusion and listened hard. It was unmistakable; there was a knocking sound coming from the egg, repeating over and over, getting louder each time. I backed up against a tree, not sure what to do as the egg started rocking back and forth. There was an ear-splitting *CRACK* and suddenly all went silent, even the birds not daring to make a sound.

               The egg leaned away from me slightly, and then suddenly fell over sideways, rolling to reveal a gaping hole in one side, but only emptiness within. I knew what that meant. Whatever had come out of that egg was here, and I didn’t know where it was. I crept forward slowly, wishing that I had brought my pocket knife along. I heard an odd sound, somewhere between a squeak and a growl. It was coming from the bushes I had fallen into earlier. I crept slowly towards them, not really sure what I would do when I got there. Suddenly, a small body exploded out from the bushes. I leapt back and cried out in surprise, but berated myself a moment later when I realized it was only a little white rabbit stopping to nibble at some grass. But if that was a rabbit, what had made that sound, and what had come from the egg? My question was answered only seconds later.

               A much larger, black body was suddenly standing where the rabbit had been only a moment before. I blinked and shook my head, not believing what I was seeing. Although I had never actually seen one before, what stood before me was beyond all doubt a dragon hatchling! It turned its head towards me and regarded me curiously while it made a strange motion with its neck. I didn’t realize what it was doing until I saw a twitching bulge moving down its throat: the rabbit. I was too caught up in the dragon itself to give more than a passive thought towards the rabbit though. I mean, it was a real, live, dragon!

               Black scales covered the dragon from head to tail, except for its underbelly, which was a dark, clear blue. I hadn’t anticipated that a hatchling would have been so large. This one I estimated to be at least two and a half feet long, counting the tail. Judging by the sleek, slender style of the body, I guessed that the dragon was female. She was indeed sleek, but powerful-looking as well. I could see muscles rippling under her scales with every smooth, fluid movement she made. She had several short, yet razor-sharp horns in a crest on the back of her head that, were a startling pure white in contrast with the rest of her body, discounting her claws, which were also white. I couldn’t see much of her folded wings, but I hoped I would get to soon. As I looked her over, the dragon just stared right back at me, her yellow, slitted eyes portraying a mix of curiosity and playfulness.

               I stood there, paralyzed in shock as the dragon took a few cautious steps towards me, smelling at me almost like a dog. I tentatively reached out a hand to her. She looked at my hand as if deciding whether or not it was food, sniffed it up, then decided that it posed no threat and suddenly moved straight towards me and bumped by face with her muzzle. I stumbled back, caught off guard, and the dragon bumped me again. What was she doing? But when I met her gaze, her expression was purely playful, her tail twitching excitedly as she nosed at me. I thought to myself, I think I just made a new friend.

               I ran my hand along the top of the dragon’s head, feeling how smooth her scales were, yet even at only a few minutes old, they were extremely tough. As I pulled my hand away, she snapped at my hand playfully, just barely catching my finger with her teeth. I yelped in surprise and jerked my hand back. She had barely caught my finger, but her razor-sharp teeth had sliced my finger cleanly open, blood starting to run down my hand in a slow trickle. It was a small reminder that although she may be cute, a dragon was still dangerous, just like a baby bear or tiger.

The dragon still looked playful, unaware of her own capabilities. Well, first thing first. I’d have to get her something more to eat before she got my other hand, then I would have to think of a name and… The endless list of to-dos that suddenly filled my mind was overwhelming. It was then that I vaguely remembered something I had read not too long ago. There was a place for young dragons now: Dragon Zoo. Before, I hadn’t really taken the small facebook group seriously, but now things were different. I would have to take this hatchling there; I certainly couldn’t keep her here. Heck, if I was lucky, I might even be able to get a job there to see her more. Despite these thoughts running through my mind, it still seemed surreal, that a live dragon was standing right in front of me. If it was a dream, I didn’t want to wake up. If it wasn’t, I’d know by tomorrow.

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