When last we met: The deer disappeared into the woods. Dejah and I dashed across the yard and up onto the deck, I yanked the patio door open and we dove into the house. Grenn waved his hand as the green creature aimed at the eagles, and some sort of magic shield deflected a shot that would have blasted the eagle leader. Dejah and I stood by the window and watched in horror as the green guy leveled his weapon directly at the house. “FOOOOOM!”
A few minutes earlier …
Summer opened her eyes and saw that she was on a sandy beach next to a great expanse of water. The sand had washed away some, and there were deposits of thousands and thousands of tiny mussel shells. It had to be a large lake or perhaps a bay, because she could see the other side, miles away.
On the beach next to her, Seth the Dragon looked down with concern.
“You’re awake,” said the giant scaled creature. “I think you fainted or something.”
The 3-year-old golden retriever looked into the dragon’s eyes and then across the water.
“Is this heaven?” she asked.
“Nah,” Seth said. “It’s called Red River Park, on the shore of Green Bay. It’s a couple miles from where you live.”
“I don’t understand,” said Summer. “How did we get here? And how did we survive that big bright light?”
“It wasn’t a weapon, at least not a weapon that kills people,” the dragon said. “It just moves you. It’s a teleporter.”
“I see why he would want to get rid of you,” said the little golden retriever. “But why did he teleprompt me?”
“Teleport. Evil doesn’t work very well in the face of sweetness or cuteness,” Seth said. “And you’re one of the sweetest, cutest things I ever did see.”
“Oh, stop.”
“It’s true!”
Summer walked to the edge of the beach and stared at the other side of the bay. “I’ve never seen so much water. It’s amazing.”
“Your daddy never brought you down here?”
“No,” Summer said. “I remember Mom used to say, ‘We should take the dogs to the water,’ but I didn’t realize she was talking about THIS. It’s wonderful.”
The big puppy stepped into the water and began to prance.
“Wheeeee!” she said, because it was the Time of Magic when dogs could talk. Most days, she probably would be barking and yipping with delight.
“Why wouldn’t he ever take you to such a nice place?” Seth asked.
And as if in response —
“HEY!” a sudden voice barked. “Whose DOG is this?”
The dragon stepped back, and Summer looked up as a big, beefy man strode across the beach in her direction.
“No pets in the park!! It’s on the entrance sign. Can’t somebody read? I’m gonna ask again: WHOSE —”
At that point the big man’s eyes came to rest on the dragon.
“The dog’s with me,” Seth said in his voice that would sound menacing if he said “Peace be with you.” To add to the effect, he blew a little smoke out of his nostrils. “You wanna make something of it, Bubba?”
The big, beefy man screamed at several octaves higher than his normal voice and sprinted away.
Suddenly there came the sound of energy bolts crackling from some distance away. The dragon and the dog both looked in that direction.
“That’s coming from your house,” Seth said. “Come on!”
The dragon picked Summer up by the collar and leaped into the sky. At once they could see the bright light from the green creature’s giant gun up the road.
As you’ve probably seen from the CGI recreations made for various movies and TV shows, dragons look like big, lumbering creatures but they are swift as lightning. They covered the short miles from the park to the house in a matter of seconds.
Seth landed behind the green alien and set Summer gently on the ground.
The evil thing leveled his enormous gun directly at the house. Seth the Dragon reared back and belched a mighty blast of flame directly at the green assailant.
“FOOOOOM!”
And just like that, there was a black smoldering hole where the green guy had been. The giant gun clattered to the ground, sputtered a few sputters, and went silent.
