"Peter."

"Peter."

"PETER!"

"Ahh!" I was roughly shaken awake. I rubbed sleep from my eyes and looked at the dark figure standing by my bed. "Grampa… What is it?"

"I need to show you something." He took my hand, his voice sounding giddy. "SHHHH! Come on!" He whispered loudly.

I rolled my eyes and grinned, he had done this before. Being a lover of nature, he had woken me up several times to see the stars that shone brightly in the dark sky. "Okay, just don't wake Jacob up." I whispered back.

We walked down the stairs, and I welcomed the crisp, fall air that was cooling my skin. He looked so happy, his eyes sparkling and his hands shaking from excitement. I had never seen him this way before.

"Peter, put your hand here." He took my hand and placed it in an empty spot of air.

"Grampa Luke, there's nothing th-"

My hand was suddenly placed on a cold surface, a hard and bumpy place that felt almost like… "scales…" I breathed, "Luke…." I looked at him, my eyes wide and scared. "It's…"

All at once, a dragon appeared. Pale blue scales that, in places, were ripped and torn. Scars littered his face and he looked weak, but when I began to stroke him, he made a sound in the back of his throat, a happy sound that could only mean he was Ben. "Luke!" I was shocked. "they're real! There are dragons!" I couldn't believe my eyes, there was a living creature the size of a school bus standing on four legs right in front of me! "Is he going to kill me? We have to show mom!"

Luke took my hand off from Ben's scales and frowned. "No. Only you may know about this," He looked worried. "Ben came here for a reason." Luke looked at his beast. "Ben believes that Blane will return to Wyspa soon."

"Blane?" I frowned, recalling the evil things I had heard about the man. "But I thought you were only fooling…"

Luke chuckled darkly. "About this?" He raised his arms and pointed at Ben. "Fooling about this?" He shook his head. "No Peter. This is a war machine and yet, my best friend. I wouldn't fool about this." He sighed. "Peter…"

I looked up at the dragon again, still afraid. "Yes…?"

"He came for you."

"Me?" I shivered.

"I could never defeat Blane. My village is living in fear. You have to stop what I couldn't." He hesitated. "And what your father couldn't."

"What?!" I stuttered, unable to find words. "D-Dad?! He knew about this?!"

Luke nodded. "Yes. He and I fought for our village… during the days he would stay here and work for you, and nights…" Luke stopped.

Ben looked at Luke with sad eyes, and Luke stroked his muzzle. "At nighttime in the other realm, time stops in all dimensions except of that."

"What?" I didn't understand.

"On July 12, 2015, your father left to the realm we came from. He returned a year later on July 12, 2015."

I was gobsmacked. "No… But… He didn't age!"

"Not externally."

"How old was he when he died?" I demanded to know.

"87." Luke frowned.

I shook my head. "Then you? How old are you?"

He frowned. "I can't tell you. There are too many things to know right now."

I put a finger up. "Hold on. If I am going to fight this dragon guy, then I deserve to know everything. Right?"

Luke sighed. "Alright."

"When your grandmother was 18," He began, "I became married to her. When she was 19, she gave birth to your father. I was 20 at the time, and I began to wonder about different places, other beings. I explored the woods behind this house and found a hatchling, He pointed at Ben. "A dragon hatchling. He was weak, abandoned… and alone. I took him home to care for him, but Angie said I should kill him." The dragon shuddered. "I did not. We became best friends; he and I. Angie was so… livid. She hated Ben and hated me for finding him. One day I found a note on the counter, she was gone forever." He shook his head. "I took care of your father and Ben until they were both fully grown. Ben was finding out his powers and… One day when your dad was at school, we went out flying. Ben figured out he could open a portal, of sorts. So we went into it, and I found my village. I found my true family, my home. I spent a few hours there a day and found myself growing old too quickly. I confronted the village leader about this, and he told me that I should stay in the village forever, leaving the world altogether. He told me I could take a vow which would allow time to keep spinning, and I would stay in the realm forever. I would not do it. I couldn't. By that time, your father had already found love, Holly. Your father wanted to do both, try to stop Blane and raise his family. He spent too much time in the other realm… and…" He paused.

"And now he's dead." I looked up at Ben. "Because of you and your world."

Luke slowly nodded. "It was his choice."

"If you never found Ben then he wouldn't be gone!" I pointed my finger up at Jake's bedroom window. "And a little boy wouldn't have a frown every night." I shook my head in disbelief. "Jacob wouldn't have a broken heart an-"

"Stop, Peter." Luke looked at me, his eyes cold and still. "I didn't choose for this to happen; I wanted your father to have every choice he deserved. He chose the road he wanted to take."

I shook my head and looked at my grandfather with anger and fear in my eyes. "How did you stay alive." I said through gritted teeth.

"Dragons are immortal." He looked at Ben. "Ben and I are one. He gave me the immortal right of Wyspa, the island of my village. It allowed me to live in both realms."

I nodded slowly. "So how old are you?"

My grandfather chuckled a little. "I've lost count. Maybe over three centuries." His face became serious and he took my hand. "Peter, you have to do this. For me, for Jacob." He shook his head. "If you don't, Wyspa could be at risk… Blane will dominate and destroy it."

I couldn't understand why this man wanted me to risk my life for a world I had never been to, a place I didn't understand and that I was afraid of. I looked back at the house I had grown up in. I thought about how terrible it would be if a dragon came to destroy it. "Jake…" I murmured under my breath. "Can Jake come see?"

Luke shook his head. "Heavens no! He wouldn't understand and he would tell Holly."

"And get us in trouble." I added. "You. Can you come with me?"

He shook his head. "I cannot. Only you can do this Peter, they would kill me if I came with you. Ben will help you along your way. He has taken a vow of honor and loyalty."

I looked up at the dragon. "He's like a human, then?"

Luke smiled. "He is a human. He can't shift here, but in the realm, you will see him change."

I shook my head and looked at my grandfather. "This is very strange, Luke." I glared at him. "I don't know if I like it."

"How about a trial period. Ben will bring you to Drachen for a few days, and if you still have a bad feeling about it, he will bring you back. Right, Ben?"

The creature nodded his head vigorously and gurgled.

"There. You will leave tonight!" Luke grinned. He gave me the pack that was thrown over his shoulder. "This has some food, clothes, and survival weapons to last you until you get to the village. DON'T LOSE BEN. If you lose him, you're dead."

I frowned. "I… Okay? You promise me?" I held out my pinkie. "Swear?" I was petrified. "If I don't want to do this, he will bring me home."

He shook my pinkie with his. "I swear that if you want to come back, Ben will bring you." He looked up at the dragon. "Even if he doesn't believe it is moral."

Ben shook his head and grinned menacingly.

"Okay then." I trembled and released my grandfathers' hand. "It's a deal. I will go for a few days."

Ben nodded his head again and leaned forward to put his snout near my hands. "Woah." I wasn't familiar with him, the monster that had traveled here. I was still panicked, and allowed the blue tattered scales move under my hand. It felt like I had imagined: a giant snake.

Luke inhaled deeply. "Ben, from now on, Peter is your obligation. You will defend and aid him regardless of what happens until further notice. You will take orders from him and abide them. He is part of you now, block our past out. You belong to Peter now, and he belongs to you."

Ben's scales started to glow under my hand, one by one they started to restore, leaving the old scales and constructing new ones. One new scale fell into my hand.

plink!

"That's for you, Peter." Luke nodded towards it. "It ties you each together. You must hold it against your chest and keep it there."

"But how-" I started.

"No questions. Just do it."

I shook as I picked up the scale. Bright, blue lights illuminated from it and the item passed through my shirt and into my chest. The lights bonded the scale to my flesh, and it stuck there. "Woah." I peered under the collar of my shirt an marveled at this magic.

I looked up. Ben smiled, displaying his teeth and turned around, showing me his back and the saddle on it.

"It is time." Luke smirked. "You must go now."

I took a deep breath. "I'm worried, Grampa."

Luke nodded. "Be courageous, my grandson." He hugged me.

I squeezed him back, hiding my face into his overcoat, the one that always smelled of tobacco, as I looked up at the saddle.

Should I go? What do I have to lose…? I turned my head to my little brother's window one last time. I have to help Jake… Maybe there's a way that I can bring my father home…

I swallowed my fear and scrambled up onto the saddle that would carry me. Settling into it, I looked down at Luke. "If anything goes wrong, I'm holding you responsible." I glared at him through cold, fearful eyes.

The ghost of a smile passed over Luke's face. "Alright. I'll see you right back here when you get home."

I clenched the leather reigns; Ben twisted his dog-like face to look me straight in the eyes, boring a hole into my soul. A feeling of fear rose up inside me for a moment before I remembered he wasn't going to grab my throat and strangle me. "Okay, Ben. I'm ready when you are."

He looked towards Luke and put his muzzle into my grandfather's hands. My grandfather smiled. "I will see you again someday Ben, someday." His voice quieted. "We have yet to eat that fish feast I've promised you." He winked at the creature.

Ben wriggled his face out of the hands of the ancient man, and rocked his head a bit, readying himself for flight. He abruptly turned around and almost knocked me from the saddle. "Woah. Calm down, Ben… I don't really know how to do this y-"

Suddenly, Ben bolted down the old dirt road that I learned to ride my bike on. "Woah!" I shrieked. "Slow down!" He leapt up and started a vertical flight towards the clouds. "Ben!" My legs were ripped from their place on the saddle and I was left hanging by the saddle's horn and a tuft of fur I managed to catch. I closed my eyes tightly, clinging to the saddle and the hair.

I'm going to die. I'm going to fall and die. I'll never get the chance to see Jacob or my mother or my grandfather ever again. I'll never see Jacob smile again.

Ever.