As soon as Ray had gotten rid of some distance between him, and the flying creature above him, it seemed to acknowledge his presence. Whatever it was, it was weak and disoriented, weaving side to side about a hundred feet above the straight country road. Suddenly, Ray realized that he'd just passed his house. No matter, he wanted to find out what this thing really was.

With what seemed like a last breath, the creature bore left and collided with some trees, the sound of wood splintering and leaves rustling was barely audible over the roar of Ray's motorcycle. He pulled to a stop, and aimed his headlights into the ravine that the creature crashed into. It had punched a hole in the tree

line, but it had gone back considerably far.

Ray hesitated, afraid of what to do. He didn't have any neighbors for about a mile, no one but him and this... this thing, were here. If something were to happen to Ray, no one would even know.

Yet, curiosity still compelled him. Ray hesitated still, but then formed a plan. He turned around, driving the few hundred yards back to his house. He pulled into the driveway, a motion censored light greeted him.

Ray pushed his garage door opener and parked his motorcycle, sprinting inside. An only child, his father abandoned him when he was young, and his mother was on a business trip to California for the next six weeks. Ray doubted it was business, but he was glad to be rid of her.

He threw open the cabinet at pulled a large, black case off the top shelf. He hurriedly unzipped the case and withdrew a .243 caliber Remington R-25. It's polished black frame smoothly housed the long barrel. Ray loaded it and put a spare magazine in his back pocket. He quickly attached flashlight to the side rail, allowing him to be as hands free as possible.

Anxious of what was to come, Ray dashed back to his bike, which he'd left running. He dropped his helmet on the pavement and raced back to the crash site.

Ray pulled to a stop at the curb, and turned off his motorcycle, pocketing his keys. He stared through the gaping hole in the pitch black woodland. As intimidating as it was, he was armed now. He would investigate this once and for all whether it, or he, killed him.

Ray cleared his throat and unslung the Remington, taking off the safety as he did so. He clicked on the flashlight, shining a beam of light down the endless rows of pine trees. He crunched leaves underneath his shoes, suddenly regretting he'd worn his brand new Nikes during this little adventure.

Suddenly, he was filled with fear. Ray was never afraid of anything, until the last moment. It went for roller coasters, white water rafting, and at the local skate park when he was a child. But Ray repressed the deep pang of fear, and licked his lips. He kept moving forward, his mind racing on what it could be. And then, on the end of a splintered tree, was a splatter of blood. Ray closely examined it with the flashlight. It was definitely blood. That meant it was in fact alive, and he wasn't crazy!

If it could fly, and it was able to snap trees in half with it's impact, it would surely be capable of inflicting some harm. Ray was so far back in the woods now, he could no longer see the road. He began to walk slower, until he spotted something scarcely 30 feet ahead of him. He aimed down the iron sights and inched closer. It was the body of whatever he saw, it gave off the same glow as the moon when he shined light upon it.

Upon closer inspection, it didn't seem to be breathing, and a long line of spines crept down it's back. It's bat-like wings were unfolded, and one of them seemed bent at an unnatural angle. Ray picked out spots of blood on the forest floor. Ray was only a stone's throw away. He sauntered closer, stepping over twigs and anything else that would give him away.

Ray was so close now, he could see it trembling. A silver, scaled dragon with wings, much larger than Ray, was slowly breathing in and out. It was turned on it's side, and it's back was facing Ray. Ray determined which side the head was on and walked around it, so close that he could stroke the scales. He held back, however.

He followed a long neck, and shined the light on the head. It shifted uncomfortably, moving it's head and staring Ray right in the eye. Stepping back, he readied his rifle, shining the light down at the face.

"Are you alright?" Ray stammered.

"You're-You're human, I take it?" The creature panted. "Don't be afraid, I won't hurt you. But please, you've got to help me." Ray felt in shock. Not only was he looking at a dragon, this thing could talk!

"What can I do?" Ray asked. "You're bleeding out!"

The dragon made eye contact with Ray for a few moments.

"Sorrel!" It called. "Come back, it's alright!"

Puzzled, Ray took a knee at sat at the dragon's eye level. "Sorrel?" He gaped.

"She ran off after she saw a light coming down here. We've had some experiences with humans before."

"I catch your drift," Ray nodded. "Tell me how I can help you."

"Just wait, for my friend to come back," The dragon replied. Obediently, Ray sat with the dragon, keeping him conscious. This was a beautiful discovery, there was nothing more intriguing than this dragon! Ray had never seen anything like it.

Ray began to hear footsteps crunching the leaves.

"I thought dragons were only in fairy tales?" Ray replied, stroking the dragon's neck.

"Well," it laughed. "Life's one big fairy tale then." Ray felt a furry hand on his shoulder and spun around, staring up at a cat like creature standing upright. It had a sulfur and brown spotted coat, and it was carrying a brown leather bag.

"Move out of the way," Sorrel growled. Ray stood up, standing a good two feet taller than the brownie girl. He moved aside, and let the brownie tend to the dragon. Ray checked the brownie up and down, but primarily kept his eyes on the dragon. It was an awesome sight, he felt like he was going to burst with excitement. The brownie girl opened a bag and dumped a few mushroom heads into her palm. Ray moved forward and shined the light on her palm, and she retreated a few paces.

"Just thought you might need some light," he said innocently.

"I can see fine, thank you very much," Sorrel gave Ray a dirty look.

"Sorrel, enough! He's here to help, the least you could do is be thankful."

"Oh, alright!" Sorrel stomped her furry foot. "Eat these, it should numb the pain."

The dragon turned to Ray. "Thank you for coming all the way out here, what's your name?" Still in shock, Ray stuttered, and then cleared his throat. "I-I'm Ray."

"Well, Ray," The dragon sniffed Ray all over. "As you've probably guessed, this is Sorrel." The dragon affectionately nuzzled the brownie girl. "And I'm Firedrake."

Ray grinned. "Wow!" He exclaimed. "What are you both?"

"I'm a silver dragon," Firedrake grunted. "And Sorrel is a brownie." Sorrel crossed her arms. "Nice to meet you, Sorrel!" Ray said a bit too enthusiastically for her. Ray stuck out his hand, but she ignored it. Feeling offended, he put his hands in his pockets.

"Right, so it looks like you might have a broken wing," Ray said. "I know some first aid, let me take a look at it."

"Thank you, go right ahead!" Firedrake responded. Ray slung his rifle and unscrewed the flashlight off the tactical rail. "Can you stand up, firedrake?"

"Maybe now that half my body's numb, I'll try."

Shaken, the silver dragon uneasily pushed himself to his feet with a loud grunt.

Sorrel watched Ray carefully, and it didn't go unnoticed. Ray studied the wing, shining the flash light and observing the silhouette of the bone against the thin skin of the wing.

"You don't trust me, do you Sorrel?" Ray exhaled.

"What are you talking about?" Sorrel rolled her eyes. "I didn't say anything."

Ray turned his flashlight to the forest floor and made eye contact with Firedrake.

"That's definitely broken. Do you think you can walk, though?"

Firedrake took a few steps, grunting in pain. "I'm alright to walk."

"Good, good," Ray patted Firedrake's mantle. "Listen, I don't live too far away from here. If you want somewhere dry to stay, and away from other humans, I'd be happy to let you stay with me. I've got a lot of land, no close neighbors, and my mom won't be home for a while."

Firedrake and Sorrel looked at each other.

"It's no secret you two are trying to stay hidden."

Firedrake nodded, and Sorrel whispered something to Firedrake.

"That's extremely kind of you. Please, lead the way!" said Firedrake.

"Ha ha, Alright!" Ray cried out. "It's this way, towards the road. Just watch your wing."