Here There Be Dragons
By Storm
The young blond haired man
dropped his backpack and surfboard beside the wave polished gray driftwood log
and stretched. Rotating his shoulders to relieve the stiffness caused by
several hours of carrying his gear, he surveyed his surroundings with an expression
that could only be described as satisfied. The curve of the shoreline before
him formed a small cove that combined with the wind and currents to funnel in
respectable waves even when everything else for miles up and down the coast was
dismal from a surfer’s viewpoint. Today, with a big offshore storm that was
working it’s way slowly east pushing the waves out ahead of it, some of the
combers were already big enough to be impressive. By the time the storm
actually got within a day or so of landfall, they would have grown large enough
to be dangerous; he’d have to keep a close eye on the weather and clear out if
the storm speeded up.
He frowned slightly as he
watched a particularly heavy wave crash onto the beach, creating a brief
foaming soup of water and sand. Conditions were just on the edge of being
extreme enough that he really should have a buddy for safety. Unfortunately,
none of the other guys on the sub were into surfing the way he was. He’d
offered to let a couple of his shipmates come with him to this secret spot, but
the idea of lugging a backpack and surfboard over the rough terrain between
here and the nearest road had persuaded all of them to pass on the invitation
He hadn’t even deigned to make the offer to any of the surf regulars at most of
the beaches he frequented. They couldn’t understand why a surfer dude like
himself would associate with the military types at the Nelson Institute and
never bothered to listen to his explanation that Seaview wasn’t just
another Navy submarine.
Shrugging, he turned back to
his gear and set about making a small camp. He hadn’t brought a tent. Seaview’s
captain had shown him and a couple of the other guys how to build a debris
shelter one time when they’d been stuck ashore on some godforsaken island on what
was supposed to be a simple rescue mission. Given the proper materials, which
happened to be abundant here, he could in a very short time build himself a dry
place to sleep that was far warmer than any tent and just as waterproof. It
would have the added advantage in that it blended in with the surroundings, so
no one would be able to tell there was anyone camping there. Except perhaps the
Captain or his friend Patterson, he grinned to himself. He hadn’t been totally
foolish in coming down here alone; he’d told two of his shipmates, Patterson
and Kowalski, exactly where he was going. If they had to come looking for him,
he’d get found.
The sun was starting to
rapidly sink by the time he was done. He took the time to perch on a boulder
and watch the display. High wispy clouds caught the changing light, shifting
from gold to orange to purple. The colors of the sky reflected in the ocean,
dying the curling wave tops with the same brilliant palette of colors that the
sky held. He breathed in deeply, taking in the magnificent view. As much as he
loved being on Seaview, days like this were what he truly lived for.
He started to turn back to
his camp when he caught a flash out of the corner of his eye of something in
the crest of one of the waves. He blinked and turned back to stare; he could
have sworn he’d seen some sort of animal riding the wave. Not a dolphin; the
impression that stuck in his mind was the both the wrong color - many shades of
blue and green rather than grey - and too sinuous. The fading light revealed
nothing out of the ordinary however and after a moment he shrugged and put it
out of his mind. Supper was calling and it wouldn’t cook itself.
His small campfire crackled
merrily as he fixed himself a small pot of stew from a packet of freeze-dried
ingredients. It had been the Skipper who’d introduced him to the weight saving
method of food preservation; that was pretty much all he used now when camping.
Not only did it save weight, the trash was a lot lighter to pack out as well.
In addition, it gave him room to pack other things - like his guitar.
By the time he’d cooked and
eaten his meal, which he ate out of the pot - after all, there was no one there
but himself, so why waste a plate - and cleaned up what little had been
dirtied, night had fully fallen. A waxing crescent moon rode the western
horizon. It would shortly set, leaving only the splendor of the night sky,
because this far from LA the stars shone brilliantly. Perhaps not with the
dazzling intensity they would have at a higher altitude or in the clear of a
desert night, but bright enough that he could easily pick out the
constellations. Leo was setting on the horizon along with the moon, while
Corona Borealis and Hercules rode high overhead. To the north he could make out
the Big and Little Dipper thorough the treetops. Rather, Ursa Major and Minor,
he reminded himself with a grin. Then there was Draco…
He paused thoughtfully.
Draco. Dragon. That was the impression he’d gotten earlier. Something
long and sinuous, not exactly like a snake, but a Chinese dragon. A few years
ago the idea would have made him laugh, but those intervening years had been
spent serving on the Seaview. He’d seen more weirdness in those few
years than most people ever saw in a lifetime. It was almost like there was a
clause in the User’s Handbook of the Universe that stated somewhere in the
small print “in order to take over the planet earth, you must first go through
the submarine Seaview and her crew…”
He wryly shook his head. It
was more like likely to have only been some sort of odd fish caught momentarily
at the surface than a dragon. He’d seen plenty of those as well during his
tenure on Seaview. The oceans - particularly the abyssal depths - were
inhabited by some really bizarre looking life-forms. Besides, didn’t dragons
fly?
A yawn caught him. It had
been a very long day. Turning in early seemed like a good idea - that way he
could get an early start in the morning. Carefully banking his fire so it
wouldn’t spread, he crawled into his shelter and was soon snoring peacefully
away.
In the darkness beyond the
circle of firelight, something stirred. Two blazing sea-green orbs peered out
of the boulders, surveying the camp with a keen intelligence; the faint scratch
of something that sounded like toenails - or claws - scrabbled on the rocks. As
the fire burned down and the shadows deepened, a long lean shape coiled out and
came to a stop in front of the surfboard resting beside the shelter. The
brilliant jewel toned eyes examined the brightly colored surfboard with
fascination for several minutes before the long shape finally turned with an
almost reluctant slowness and vanished back into the darkness of the night.
***************
Morning found the young man
polishing off a hasty breakfast, then carefully setting out his gear and
examining it. Out here by himself, he’d be in big trouble if something failed
because he’d been careless. First he went over his board, checking to see that
the surface was unblemished. After a final coat of wax, he set the board aside
to begin a thorough inspection of his green and orange wetsuit. As cold as the
water was, any rips or tears would hasten hypothermia. Finally satisfied that
all was in order, he began suiting up, keeping a watchful eye on the breaking
surf as he did so. While somewhat bigger than the evening before, the waves had
not yet reached heights that he considered particularly dangerous - though any
wave could be a killer if you were unskilled or just plain unlucky enough.
Now it was time to hit the
surf.
The young blond waded out
into the water and easing on to his board, began the task of paddling out to
meet the waves beyond where they broke. It took him some time to get positioned
to his satisfaction; watching over his shoulder for just the right wave, when
he spotted one that met his requirements he began paddling furiously to catch
the crest as it passed under him.
Success!
He rose to his feet, feeling
the thrill of riding one of the most powerful forces on the planet. A broad
grin spread across his face as the wave began to crest; he angled his board to
slide down and across the rising wall of blue-green water. A curl of white foam
built at the top and began to arc over, a nascent tube in the making.
A dark shadow in the wave
beside him caught his eye, startling him. It was the long sinuous shape he’d
seen the day before, body surfing in the mountainous moving wall of water - and
it was looking out with large luminous eyes that shone with curiosity and intelligence. He forgot to
breathe, forgot to shift his balance with the board…
Wipeout.
Tons of blue water crashed
around him as he went down. Caught totally off guard, he found himself without
a lungful of air - and the surface too far away. He looked up in despair as the
turbulent water rolled him in an inexorable grip. He was in deep trouble and
there was no one there to come to his aid.
Teeth closed on his arm. He
whirled in alarm; his first thought was that the dragon - or whatever it was -
was attacking, but he rapidly realized that the teeth hadn’t sunk into his
flesh. Not only that, the creature was dragging him towards the surface.
Rational thought overcame the primal impulse to struggle and he relaxed. As his
head broke surface he gulped in a lungful of air and wiped the water from his
eyes. The teeth let go and he turned to find himself gazing into the luminous
eyes that had so startled him; eyes that were filled with what could only be
chagrin.
He tentatively grinned a
crooked smile. The green eyes brightened and he smiled more broadly. The
creature responded with a toothy grin of it’s own. The mouth full of teeth
would have ordinarily given him pause, but he’d already come to the conclusion
that if the creature had intended him harm, it wouldn’t have rescued him.
Besides, it apparently liked
to surf. And in Stu Riley’s book, any being that liked surfing couldn’t
possibly be all bad.
“Let’s try that again,” he
said to the dragon. The creature cocked it’s head in question. He pointed to
his board and then back out to sea. He could tell from it’s enthusiastic quiver
that his newfound friend instantly understood what he wanted to do.
And so they did.
It didn’t take them long to
figure out that with Dragon towing him out to meet the waves, they could go
further out and catch the big rollers that started breaking beyond the cusp of
the small bay. Now those were waves!
He’d have never dared to try
surfing them with a merely human companion.
Though he didn’t speak dragon
and Dragon didn’t speak English, they had the common body language of the
surfer. It seemed to be enough for the moment.
By the time the sun was at it’s
apex in the sky, was becoming obvious that the offshore storm was on the move.
Wispy tendrils of mare’s tails were beginning to give the light a faintly milky
cast and the wind was definitely picking up. The waves were beginning to reach
heights that made Stu nervous; even Dragon seemed to be casting a wary eye out
to sea. He pointed towards shore and his companion gave a reluctant nod. They
rode the last wave all the way in, grounding on the sandy beach by his camp.
Stu hoisted his board and
headed up towards his shelter. His scaly companion romped ahead, giving him the
opportunity for a really good look. The creature couldn’t really be described
as anything other than a dragon, even though it had no wings. From the tip of
its snout to the end of the pointed tail was probably about eight feet; the
color could only be described as every shade of blue and green he’d ever seen
in all the seas of the world. He couldn’t help the shake of his head; the OOM
would paint himself blue and sing on the White House lawn for the opportunity
to study such an unusual life form. Especially one that was so clearly a
rational being. It had to be at least as smart as a dolphin, if not more
so. On the other hand, since Dragon was clearly intelligent, he felt he ought
not to betray the confidence the creature had shown in him. Perhaps he should
discuss this with Patterson - he knew how to keep secrets.
While his mind mulled the
question over whether or not to reveal Dragon’s existence, his hands busied
themselves with fixing a quick lunch and then packing up his gear. As he sat to
eat, Dragon watched with rapt fascination; he offered a bit of the dried fruit.
Dragon carefully sniffed the offering before flicking out the long tongue to
taste. The eyes blinked and Dragon winkled his/her nose in obvious distaste.
“Guess you’re not a
vegetarian, huh?” Well, that made sense. Dragon just looked like a predator;
those teeth couldn’t possibly belong to a herbivore, not unless the plants were
hostile and capable of fighting back. That thought brought a wry grin. They’d
seen some of those aboard Seaview a time or two.
Dragon looked at him
questioningly and he felt compelled to explain his thoughts even though he was
pretty sure the creature couldn’t understand him. Except… when he said the name
Seaview, Dragon’s ears had perked up. Maybe his companion did understand
part of what he was saying.
Finally the camp was cleared.
He’d disassembled his shelter and cleaned up all traces of his presence. Dragon
gave him what seemed to be an approving look; he answered with a grin. Unsure of
how to say goodbye, he held out his hand. Dragon hesitated a moment before
offering one of it’s own front paws. As his fingers closed gently, he realized
with a start that the paws were in fact shaped more like hands, with opposable
thumbs. More proof, he thought to himself, that Dragon was intelligent.
He shouldered his pack and
picked up his surfboard. Nodding to Dragon he headed up the trail, halfway
afraid the creature would follow him out of curiosity.
It didn’t. As he crested the
first switchback in the trail, he looked back down to see Dragon had returned
to the water and was making for the open sea. He nodded to himself. That was
where Dragon belonged.
Maybe he wouldn’t mention
this encounter to anybody after all. It would be their secret.