The Fifth Dragon
Prologue
It had been raining cats and dogs for several days. Every family in the small town of Blackspring was staying indoors and going outside as little as possible. It was late at night during the storm when a shrouded figure wearing a large hooded cloak could barely be seen on the sidewalk, trudging through the rain. By the look of the figures attire, it was clear that he or she had been walking for some time. Suddenly the wind picked up and forced the hood off of the strangers head. Had anyone been watching, they would have seen the face of a middle aged bald man with a black mustache, and a goatee. He quickly pulled the hood back up and continued walking.
"Why didn't the other monks warn me about this vile weather." the man muttered to himself.
"Maybe their vision was a bit cloudy?" said a voice from inside the man's cloak.
"Dojo, this is no time for jokes. We must hurry and find the fifth dragon before it is too late." replied the man.
Out of the cloak popped out the head of a tiny green dragon.
"Sorry Master Fung. Just thought I would lighten the mood a bit." chuckled Dojo before he dove back into the cloak.
Master Fung sighed and continued walking. They had been searching for days now to find the five warriors who would become the dragons. So far they already had one staying with them at the temple, a young orphan that they named Omi. They had also heard rumors about the other four, one in Brazil, Texas, Tokyo, and here in Blackspring.
"So which dragon is it we're looking for again?" asked Dojo from inside the cloak.
"The dragon of life, the one dragon that only appears every 900 years." said Master Fung.
"And we have to find him... or her, before something bad happens right?" asked Dojo.
"Correct Dojo, even though the dragon does not know it, forces of evil will be coming to capture it, which is why we must hurry. Who knows what evil spirits lurk around the corner." said Master Fung.
"Man, you should work in a fortune cookie factory. They would make a killing with you there." said Dojo.
Once again, Master Fung sighed at the dragon. Finally after what seemed an eternity, the two arrived at a small brick house just on the edge of the town. The house almost looked like a cottage out of a fairy tale. Surrounded by a wooden fence, a small, thriving, garden in the front yard, a chimney with smoke flowing out, a forest in the back, and ivy covering the frame of the front door. Master Fung opened the gate and walked up to the door. Just as he was about to ring the doorbell, a huge boom echoed on the air, and a fiery blast came bursting out of the side of the house.
"You will give me the child woman, or there will be dire consequences." echoed a voice of a young man from the hole left in the wall.
"Leave us alone! You won't lay a finger on my baby girl!" shouted a voice of the woman. Out of the gaping hole dashed the woman, who looked like she was in her twenties, making a beeline for the front yard. She stopped dead when she spotted the old monk. Clutched in her arms was a wiggling two year old girl still in green footie pajamas. The child looked remarkably like the woman, same brown hair, same bright green eyes, and a light frame.
"Quick, come with us. We must get you to safety." said Master Fung.
"Do you really think that you can escape me? There is nowhere that you can hide." came the voice of the man again as he walked out of the hole. He had long back thick hair, wore armor that gave the impression of a giant lizard, and a cold, cruel stare in his eyes.
"Chase Young," said Master Fung bitterly, "Cease now and leave this family be."
"I don't think so old man. That child is the key to free me from my, millstone. Dragons won't be around forever you know." said Chase.
"Dojo, get the young woman to safety, I'll handle Chase." said Master Fung as he dug his feet into the ground and got ready to fight
"You got it Fung." said the dragon as he slithered out of the cloak and grew into his full size. The young woman gasped in fear after seeing this and was frozen to the spot still clutching to the child. Quickly she glanced at each of her options, and decided that the monk would be the safe bet and dashed over onto the dragon. Dojo took off leaving the monk with chase. For a moment the two warriors just looked at each other. Suddenly they both jumped at each other and began fighting. Each move preformed with precision and fierce speed. Each fist was met with the others fist, kick was met with kick, and every attack was countered. This continued for a few minutes until both warriors suddenly stopped and were silent once again. By now Master Fung knew that Dojo had put a good distance between them.
"Don't think that this is over monk, I am a very patient man. You may have protected them for now, but I will have the dragon of life someday." said Chase. Then, he turned, and walked away.
Master Fung simply watched him as the rain continued to fall. Then, he too started to walk in a deferent direction, toward the forest. He continued to walk until he reached an old campsite that looked as if it hadn't been used in a very long time. He sat down and waited patiently. After about half an hour, Dojo came slithering up to Master Fung with a troubled look on his face. Master Fung only needed to take one glace at him to know something was wrong.
"Dojo, where is the young woman and the child?" he asked.
"Well... you see... I... we were... they're gone," stammered Dojo, "She jumped off my back as soon as we were over the forest. I tried to fly down and find her, but it was like the forest came to life and kept trying to slow me down."
Master Fung jumped up, scooped up the dragon and started running further into the forest.
"We must find them, who knows who else is searching for them." said Master Fung.
They searched the forest until the sun started to rise and the rain finally came to an end. When they were sure that they had searched the forest from top to bottom, they continued beyond the forest and town. However, no matter how hard and long they searched, they could not find the woman and her child. They continued for days, but eventually they had to give up. The woman and child seemed to have disappeared off of the earth. Defeated, the monk and dragon started to head back to the temple.
"What do we do now Master Fung?" asked Dojo.
"We can only wait for dragon to reveal herself now. Hopefully in time, we will find her again and that she will be safe in the meantime." replied Master Fung.
"And, what about Chase?" asked Dojo again.
"We prepare and train even harder. We must not let him gain possession of the dragon." said Master Fung with a grim look in his eyes.