The Dragon of Our Minds

Consciousness slammed into the girl as she became aware of her aching body, her stinging eyes fluttering open as she squinted at the sky above her. Everything slowly blurred into place, and with a dull throb of protest from her body she pushed herself up from the ground to look around. Encircling her were high, thick, concrete walls that stood strong and tall around her. Embedded into the dusty concrete were odd shapes that appeared to be skulls that sent a shiver down the girl’s spine. The only living thing seemed to be the sky as it writhed and darkened, ready for a storm, the pale moon peeking out from behind its menacing clouds. She stood with a wince, pain exploding through her body as her head throbbed harder and threatened to explode. A gentle breeze whipped around her, urging her towards the only path ahead that lead to heart of the menacing unknown. She took a deep breath and cautiously stepped forward, her legs shaky as she walked further and further, the pain easing slowly with each step.

‘Where am I?’ She thought. ‘Why am I here?’

Every corner was the same; empty concrete walls with the crooked smiles of the skulls to comfort her. What disturbed her more than the gaping eyes of the lifeless skulls was the fact that she seemed to know the place well. At every junction or crossroad, she knew which path to take, and every corner felt familiar as though she had been there before. She shook the odd sensation off and continued to walk for what seemed like hours, before turning a corner to find the pathway was different to all the corners before. She faltered, staring at this new place, confusion starting to set in as she gazed at the dead-end before her. The wall was as tall and strong as the concrete walls around her mimicking the rest of the maze, however engraved in the concrete was an image. She shuffled towards ither eyes darting across the walls around her as she crept closer. When she reached the wall, she leaned close and inspected the carving to find that it depicted a large dragon standing on its hind legs and coiling over a small cup that seemed to glow.

A shriek rung out nearby and echoed off the concrete walls as fear exploded through the girl. She turned slowly to face the corridor she had just come from, her heart pounding in her ears as her eyes grew wide with terror. Rain began to sprinkle from the dark clouds above as the wind picked up, whirling around her as her hair whipped around her face. From around the corner emerged a large grey creature that walked on all fours and was the size of a man. Its horrible face turned towards the girl as it raised itself off its forelegs and onto its back legs with a sniff of the air; its hollow black eyes focusing on the girl making her skin crawl. A shudder ran through her as she remembered seeing the creature as a child, perched high above her on a building as it watched the innocent pedestrians wander past.

“Gargoyle.” She hissed to herself.

It turned its head again, this time to face the corridor from which it had come as three more gargoyles emerged; two of which were crawling along the walls. Trailing behind them were more gargoyles who were joined by even more gargoyles, filling up the entire passageway with their large muscular bodies. Their empty eyes peered at the girl as some of them sniffed the air. She stared back, her heart racing and her hands shaking as adrenaline pumped through her, making everything in her body go numb. An ear-splitting shriek erupted from one of the gargoyle’s mouths breaking the silence as the horrible creatures began to charge. Blinding panic flooded through the girl as she haphazardly searched the floor for a weapon, a large rock catching her eye. She grabbed at it, the rock fumbling into her grasp as she ditched it at her attackers. The rock ricocheted off one of the gargoyles heads and cracked off its eye as it left a sizeable dent in its head. The gargoyle faltered, stumbling for a moment before falling to the floor and shattering into rubble.

'They're just stone.' She thought picking up another rock from the ground and gripping it tightly.

With as much accuracy and power as she could muster she started to throw as many stones as she could before the gargoyles could reach her, most of her missiles hitting their marks. Only three of the gargoyles remained when the first gargoyle collided with her. Pain exploded across her back as she collided with the concrete floor, and she yelped loudly as the gargoyle hooked its claws into her arm, pinning her to the ground. The fingers of her free hand scrambled across the floor for a loose stone, quickly gripping a rock and swinging as hard as she could when she found one. Its entire head shattered, showering the girl with dust and rubble, its claws tearing at her skin as it tumbled to the ground. She rolled, grabbing another rock in her other hand as the remaining creatures shrieked and rushed towards the girl. They crashed into her knocking all the wind from her as the rocks slipped from her fingers and clattered to the floor. She gapped for air as one of the gargoyles lifted her by the front of her shirt and flung her at the wall.

Shuddering from pain she desperately searched the ground for a loose rock, her bloodied fingers fumbling against the concrete as she gripped her weapon. The gargoyles grabbed her again, lifting her into the air before she pulled her hand down upon one of their heads as fast and hard as she could. She felt its head crumble around her hand as the rock collided with it. She tumbled sideways as its lifeless body fell to the ground, pulling the girl and the other gargoyle with it. A shriek of rage erupted from the other gargoyle as it scrambled to its feet and lifted the girl up once more. It hurtled her towards the ground and her shoulder cracked in a painful way before she flung the rock at its head.

It crashed to the ground with a heavy thud spraying debris everywhere as the girl heaved. She looked at the rock in her hand and immediately dropped it as the inky blackness of one of the gargoyles eyes stared up at her lifelessly. She shivered and rose from the ground, gripping her wounded arm to stem the bleeding as it hung limply against her side. Rubble surrounded her, littering the corridor like a messy graveyard made of stone. She looked around at the battlefield before her when a grating sound came from behind her. She whipped around ready to strike and found that the wall behind her was sinking into the ground as the dead-end opened up to reveal a path ahead.

She stepped forward gazing into the hexagonally shaped corridor as her eyes shifted around the space for any sign of more gargoyles. With a soft sigh she focused her attention on the glass cup perched in the centre of the corridor that glowed blue in the darkness. It cast an eerie glow over the concrete walls, illuminating the empty sockets of the skulls embedded in the walls. The girl slowly walked up to it, her adrenaline still pulsing through her as she stepped over the lowered wall and towards the cup. As she stepped over the wall it rose behind her, closing her in.

With a shudder she slowly approached the cup, gingerly placing a hand on the cool glass as she wrapped her fingers around it. The cup lowered making the girl yelp with surprise as she jumped backwards, the glass disappearing into its pedestal. Around her the walls rumbled as they began to lower revealing a woman and a man in separate openings. Scars tore themselves across the bodies of the two newcomers, all in different and peculiar places, and dirt stained their clothing. They too searched the room with unease before a smile erupted over their faces as they saw one another. They raced towards the girl as tears sprung from their eyes and wrapped their arms around her.

“Mum!” The girl’s voice came from within the squishy hug. “Dad!”

Before her parents could respond the sound of wingbeats thundered above them as the clouds began to swirl chaotically, the rain beginning to drop heavier onto the family. The girl gripped tight to her parents as a shadow lowered itself from the cloud cover and landed before them with a heavy thud. Lightning shot across the sky illuminating the huge black dragon that stood before them, its yellow eyes blazing through the darkness as it watched them.

“Do not be afraid.” It rumbled, shaking the ground below them. “You have fought valiantly. It is now time to return to your own world.”

He lowered one of his midnight black wings. The girl’s mother nodded before clambering up his wing to sit at the back of his huge body, followed closely by the girl’s father. They squirmed nervously as the girl hesitated, looking into the dragon’s eye as it gazed back at her.

“H-how do we know that we can trust you?” The girl murmured.

“You don't.” He answered with a rumble.

The girl looked at her mother and father before taking a deep breath and clambered up his wing, onto his back, and sat at the base of his neck. The dragon shook itself slightly before powerfully lifting into the air and diving into the storm with a single wingbeat. The rain thickened as the wind whipped it into the girl’s face, stinging her cheeks as she held tightly to the dragon’s neck with her knees.

“Who are you?” She shouted over the rain as she tucked her limp arm into her lap.

“I am the dragon.” He replied as he rose higher and higher into the storm. A realization hit the girl like a bolt of lightning. The maze, the storm, her family and the dragon.

“I remember now!” She announced to the dragon. “I was here before, with the same people, same test, but a different fear.”

The dragon chuckled, his laughter rumbling through him and vibrating up into the girl’s body as they ascended through the storm. She could feel the power of his wingbeats rippling across his back as they flew through the turbulent wind. The fire within him kept her from shivering as they were battered by the icy rain.

“What is it?” The girl asked, her voice barely audible above the wind.

“A test.” The dragon answered with a slight chuckle. “A test for your mind.”

Lightning ripped through the sky splitting it in half as the storm thickened forcing the girl to squeeze her eyes shut. She awoke with a jolt, her eyes flashing open as she blinked in the darkness. Her body was covered in sweat and her skin stuck to her bed sheets, her dream crystal clear in her mind and still horrifyingly real. She sat up on her mattress looking around at the bland pale walls, her wooden dresser, and tall silver mirror opposite her bed. She sighed with relief as she flopped back into her pillow, the dream already fading quickly into the corner of her mind. Her eyes fluttered closed as sleep overtook her and she dropped into the weightless expanse of nothingness.

“You fought valiantly.” A voice whispered.