"What's all that racket out there?" Doc Terminus said. "I can't hear myself think."
Hogey, still clutching his model skeleton, peered out of their tent. They had set up "shop" in the town square, just shy of the fishing wharfs. "Looks like school's out," he said.
"What? That can't be, it's too early, stupid." Terminus ceased stirring a batch of faux potion cooking on his miniature stove. He pulled back the tent curtain to see a number of children running out of the schoolhouse.
"Hey! Hey you, what's happening?" Terminus called to a passing girl.
"It was Pete's dragon! It came through the ceiling! It tried to kill us!" The girl said nothing more and ran away sobbing.
Terminus glanced at Hoagy curiously, and they made their way to the school before the crowds outside began to multiply. Half of the school's wall and ceiling were caved in.
"So do you really think this dragon exists?" Hoagy asked mockingly.
"Of course it doesn't exist! You know there's a logical explanation for what happened in the school. The roof must have been weak—flooded with water no doubt—and collapsed. Happens all the time in old structures like this," the Doc explained.
They stepped over the splintered beams and fanned away plumes of smoke that were emanating from a charred mass on the floor. Terminus examined it more closely and recoiled when he discovered it was a human body.
"Then how would you explain that?" asked Hoagy.
The Doc's brow furrowed. His eyes were fixed on a series of gashes in the wood floor. Claw marks, or so they resembled. He said nothing as he pulled Hoagy by the collar and out of the schoolhouse.
A crowd had formed outside. A frantic man stepped in front of the two. "What happened in there?"
"I-I don't really know," the Doc stammered.
He pulled Hoagy by his shirt collar back to the tent.
"I think we've hit a goldmine!" Terminus said.
"What are you talking about?" asked Hoagy.
The Doc grinned deviously and pulled out a large encyclopedia entitled Mythical Creatures. He leafed through it until he found the "D" section. He pointed to an elaborate drawing of a winged dragon at the center of the page. Hoagy chuckled at the sight of it.
"I see nothing funny about this," Terminus said glaring at Hoagy. "Don't you think that chaos at the school seems like an all-too elaborate plot for these simple-minded folks to pull off?"
Hoagy shrugged impassively, and Terminus shot him a livid glance.
"Ridiculous yes, but think of what this can bring us—with the right amount of persuasion, of course. We need to get everyone invested in our little scheme. The existence of a dragon would have an impact of epic proportions…one could really make a quick buck with it. And Hoagy, since you're so indifferent to this, I'm going to send you on a little assignment. I want you to find out more about this kid Pete. Go on a little undercover mission. Find out how we can get the dragon."
"Well how am I supposed to do that?" he whined.
"I've trained you well. Use your cunning—you're good at it. Remember Pilgrim Heights?" Terminus said.
Hoagy recalled that particular incident, which required him to disguise himself as nun—and he wanted to forget about it.
"That should be reason enough."
"Okay, but no costumes," said Hoagy.
………
Hoagy spent the remainder of the evening in the Passamaquoddy Tavern. He noticed an older fellow who looked like a squatty version of Santa Claus in a blue sweater and on a bender. He sat the bar, a number of empty glasses in front of him. Hoagy caught wind of a few words, slurred as they were, he thought he heard "dragon" and "Pete" mentioned. There were a few sodden souls sitting near him, but the man wasn't talking to anyone in particular. Hoagy decided to take a seat next to him in a shameless attempt to eavesdrop.
After a while, he spoke. "Did I hear you say something about a dragon?" Hoagy asked in a low whisper.
The man's eyes widened when he heard the word, and he leaned in closer to Hoagy. "Yessss! You've seen it too? It attacked the school today!"
"I know," said Hoagy recoiling at the smell of the man's breath, which reminded him of an unsettling mixture of old seafood and bad alcohol.
"Do you know anything about dragons?" the man asked.
"No, but my boss does," Hoagy said and then added, "He sent me to go looking for it."
The man was genuinely aghast. "Now why would you wanna go looking for it?! That's dangerous! What are you? Crazy or something?"
"Maybe, but think of what could happen if we caught the dragon," Hoagy explained. "Think of what could be in it for us—fame, fortune and eternal glory. What would you say to that? We'd go down in history! World's First Dragon Catchers: Hoagy and…what did you say your name was? "
"Lampie," the man said. "Hey, hey…lemme buy you a drink."
Hoagy agreed. The trick was he had to remain sober enough to remember what Lampie was saying…
…………………………….
One drink turned into ten.
Hoagy couldn't remember how he got to the beach—or why for that matter. It was dark out and that was his excuse. He blinked his eyes repeatedly, trying to adjust to the blackness. Lampie had an arm slung over Hoagy's shoulder, unsuccessfully trying to keep his balance.
"We-w-we don't want Nora to hear us!" Lampie said loudly, his arm flailing towards the lighthouse perched on the cliff above.
Hoagy didn't know who Nora was, but he slapped a hand over Lampie's mouth. Everything in front of him was spinning. "Shut up!" he managed to hiss.
Although Hoagy's vision was impaired, his hearing was rather acute. He could hear the roar of ocean waves ahead. Lampie said and ripped Hoagy's flask from his hand. "Gimmie some of that."
Lampie downed the liquor and tossed the flask into the sand. "We gotta be careful," he mumbled.
"Why?" Hoagy still didn't know what he was talking about.
"There are caves ahead," Lampie whispered.
Suddenly, through his drunken stupor, Hoagy remembered what he should've been doing. "Do you think the dragon is in there?" he asked.
"Dragon?! Where?!" Lampie nearly shouted as he moved closer to Hoagy.
"We're looking for it," Hoagy reminded him as they entered the blackness of the cave.
"Oh, right. Hey, I can't see a thing."
"Here, I have a light," Hoagy said producing a lighter from his pocket. The flame cast a flickering glow about the damp black walls of the cave.
"Stay close."
"Do you smell that?" asked Lampie.
Hoagy sniffed the air. "Dead fish?"
"Ex-act-ly! And what do you think a dragon would eat? Fish!" Lampie slurred.
Hoagy suddenly felt apprehensive. He was still skeptical about the existence of the dragon, but part of him wanted to believe it. He also wasn't sure why the spineless Lampie from the tavern was having a sudden burst of bravery.
They walked further into the cave. The ground beneath their feet was soft and sandy. Each time Hoagy stepped forward, he heard a number of loud cracks. He looked down and could barely make out a series of white objects embedded in the sand. He brought the lighter closer and gasped at what he saw.
"L-l-look!" He stammered to Lampie.
"What is it?"
Hoagy pointed to the white objects.
"Bones!" Lampie cried. "Well…it could be an animal carcass."
"I don't think so," Hoagy managed to squeak out as he caught sight of a pile of clothes and a number of human skulls, muddied and cracked in a corner of the cave. A large broken wooden box lay nearby. Hoagy tried to make out the writing on its sides, but part of it had been stripped away. The flame from his lighter became reduced to a low flicker.
"I don't like the looks of this," Lampie said, trembling.
"Well, no dragon here," said Hoagy. "Let's get outta here!"
They stumbled around, trying to get out the way they came in.
"Ow! I think I bumped into the wall," Hoagy said. He moved his hand around, trying to find an open space. "Something's blocking our way."
Whatever it was, it felt soft…and scaly. A low growl arose. It had to be the dragon!
For a moment, Hoagy couldn't speak. He drew his hand back and clutched Lampie's sweater.
"There's something in front of us," he whispered. "Don't move."
They pressed themselves silently against the wall of the cave and felt the smoky breath of the creature wash over them.
The cave opening was near, and light from the moon was enough to reveal the silhouette of the creature. The two men tried to refrain themselves from trebling violently.
The dragon stepped back, clicking its tongue and growling. Hoagy suddenly noticed an opening where they could easily make an escape, unnoticed by the dragon. He pulled Lampie by the arm and crouched to the ground.
They began to crawl on their hands and knees to the cave exit when a growl began to escalate behind them. Hoagy looked back and saw flames from the dragon's mouth spewing forth. Lampie caught sight of it and let out a terrified scream. The two scrambled out of the cave. Hoagy slipped on the wet sand and hit his jaw against a rock.
"Help me!" Lampie cried.
Hoagy looked back and saw that Lampie's foot was stuck in a crevice.
The dragon advanced on them, its yellow teeth bared. Hoagy picked himself up off the ground and rushed toward Lampie. Flames burst from the dragon's mouth and caught on Lampie's sweater. Hoagy wrenched Lampie's foot from the gap and ran out of the cave.
With all his might, Hoagy tossed the old man into the ocean to douse the flames. He glanced back at the cave. There was no sign of the dragon. He pulled Lampie out of the water and got him to his feet.
"Are you alright?" Hoagy asked.
"Yeah. The burn isn't that bad," he answered.
"C'mon, let's get out of here."
They ran as fast as they could along the beach and back into town.
