“I’m telling ya! There’s something out there!” the old man shouted, waving his arms as if trying to flag someone down. “The beast will kill us all!”

Wayra struggled to keep from rolling his eyes. This was the third time this week the man had visited with the exact same story. And each time, they sent someone to follow up on his story, they came up empty-handed.

“Yes, sir, we’ll look into it right away,” Wayra said in a bored droll. Anything to get this guy out of here, again. “Is it still that clearing to the northwest?”

The old man nodded vigorously, his round glasses bouncing on his crooked nose. “Yep. That be the place. Please, sir, the beast is coming. We hafta stop it before it’s too late!”

“Don’t worry, we’ll get right on that.”

He didn’t mean a word of it, but it seemed to appease the old man, who thanked him vigorously before walking out.

Wayra groaned as he stared at the ceiling. These were the days when he began to regret his career choices.

“Tough day?” Liam asked.

Wayra turned to his fellow city watch warden. “More like a tough week. This old guy keeps going on about some kind of beast stalking the woods. I’ve looked into it several times and always came up empty, but he won’t let it go.”

Liam scratched his chin as he pondered for a moment. “Yeah, it’s a pain in the ass, but you should listen. In my experience, cases like this are the ones that you need to take seriously. If anything, this ‘beast’ is probably a metaphor for something else.”

Wayra sighed heavily. He wished, but after so many dead ends, their superiors were starting to take notice, and they weren’t happy. “I’ll entertain the guy one more time, but if nothing comes up, that’s it. I’m done listening to him.”

“Fair enough,” Liam replied with a shrug.

Wayra was grateful to end the conversation. The last thing he needed was someone giving him obvious, unhelpful advice.

The old man claimed that the “beast” only showed itself at night, specifically under the full moon. There would be a full moon tonight, something the old man failed to communicate before, so that was Wayra’s window to investigate and put this silly thing to rest.

Thankfully, the rest of his day went without incident, so he was allowed to focus on what he would need for the task ahead. The hard part was getting someone to go with him. News of his failed investigations had spread through the station, so the other city watch members didn’t want anything to do with yet another wild goose chase, especially not through the woods in the middle of the night. Eventually, the prefect bullied the new transfer, a poor bastard named Daniyal, to go with him. Wayra was a little disappointed that it was a human instead of a dragon. Having one of those by his side would make him feel better. But the prefect argued that all but the most psychotic beasts avoided dragons in the wild, so sending one would only scare it off.

Wayra didn’t see the problem. Either way, it would have been dealt with. But arguing would have gotten him nowhere, so once the moon was high in the sky, he set out with his involuntary partner.

Whether he was naturally the silent type or just pissed, Daniyal didn’t speak, which suited Wayra just fine. He hated small talk. They also needed to focus on their surroundings. There was only the usual drone of night creatures and insects, but Wayra wanted to leave nothing to chance. Even a few minutes away from the Peridan city limits was enough to put him on edge.

It didn’t help that, despite the full moon, there was little light to see by. Even this close to the city, the trees were too thick and draped the path in shadows. Wayra hated using lanterns to light their way and give away their position, but they had no choice. Wandering in the dark was not an option.

Finally, they reached the clearing the old man spoke of. It was easy to identify because of the very detailed description he gave, down to the exact formation of the mushrooms growing on a fallen log nearby.

“Looks like this is the place,” Daniyal said, his first words of the evening. “We should set up near the edge and see what shows.”

They found another fallen tree near the clearing’s edge and doused their lanterns. The instant the darkness embraced them, a howl cut through the din of forest noises.

A chill shot through Wayra’s body. “What was that?” he asked.

“A wolf?” Daniyal offered, but it was clear from his shaking tone that he didn’t believe it. That was no wolf howl. It sounded much bigger.

Wayra decided to take the risk and relit his lantern. The light brought him little comfort, but whatever was out there could likely see them even without it. At least they would be able to see the creature coming.

"Hey, what’s that?” Daniyal asked, pointing beside them.

Wayra lifted the lantern higher. Next to them in the dirt was a clawed footprint large enough to fit his head in. It created a trail leading into the clearing. He fought to hold back his shaking muscles. The trail was mere feet away. That they missed it meant they were sloppy. It could have been right next to them, and they wouldn’t have noticed.

“That has to be a dragon footprint, right?” Wayra asked.

“There’s no way,” Daniyal replied. “A dragon would need to be massive to make a print that big.”

“I can’t think of anything bigger than a dragon that hangs around here, can you?”

Neither explanation sounded pleasant. Either there was a massive dragon stalking the forest or an equally large unknown creature.

Wayra tightened his grip on his rifle and followed the trail of footprints into the clearing.

“What are you doing?!” Daniyal whispered harshly. “We should head back and wait until morning!”

There was no point. A single howl wasn’t going to scare him off, and if they waited until morning, they risked losing the trail. Anything could happen in the hours of the night. Other creatures could trample the path, the wind could move the leaves and sticks, covering it, or it could even rain and wash it away. Wayra wasn’t taking that chance. Now that he knew the old man was right and something existed out there, he couldn’t walk away.

The trail led to the center of the clearing where they stopped entirely. Wayra snatched his head up, expecting to see an open maw descending on him. But nothing greeted him except the gently swaying trees in the night breeze. The cool wind did nothing to stop the sweat sprouting on his brow, palms, and armpits. No way the trail just happened to end here.

Daniyal’s hurrying steps approaching from behind reached his ears. “What do you think you’re doing?” Daniyal asked.

Wayra was too lost in thought to answer. If they were dealing with a dragon, its ability to fly made sense as to why the trail abruptly ended. What he didn’t like was that examining the area around him didn’t reveal multiple take-offs and landings. It didn’t frequent this area.

What he didn’t understand was why this area and how the old man knew about it. The old man claimed to have seen it while walking at night. Wayra had always written it off as drunken ramblings. Only now did it occur to him to ask what the old man was doing in this particular spot in the middle of the night outside of city limits.

Another blood-curdling howl cut through the night air. Wayra shivered. This one sounded much closer. Daniyal tapped Wayra’s shoulder frantically.

Finally, Wayra spun on him. “What?!”

His partner said nothing as he pointed at something beyond the trees, eyes bulging. Wayra followed his gaze but saw nothing except shadows. He raised the lantern higher, hoping to get a better view. The light revealed nothing but bushes and tree branches.

“There’s nothing there,” Wayra said. “C’mon, don’t start freaking out on me, now. We need to confirm what’s out here.”

A rustle to their left drew their attention. The instant they looked away, the thundering of rushing footsteps came from the opposite direction.

Wayra spun around, bracing his rifle against his shoulder. It would be an awkward shot, but depending on how close it got, it wouldn’t matter.

But he only had time to give a frightened cry before a hulking shadow descended on them. It slammed into him, knocking the wind out of him as he fell to the ground. The rifle and lantern flew from his hands. Daniyal’s panicked scream of terror rang in his ears.

His body protested, but he got off the ground. The lantern went out when he dropped it, leaving only the moonlight to show that his partner was nowhere to be seen.

Wayra looked around anyway, hoping he was just missing his partner in the dark. But then why was it so quiet? Why didn’t he hear Daniyal’s panicked breathing or worried cries? Daniyal also had a lantern. Why wasn’t it anywhere to be seen?

Wayra didn’t dare risk calling out. Whatever attacked them had just missed him, and it still nearly knocked him out. The lantern wouldn’t come back on, so he left it. His rifle was nowhere to be seen. Cursing under his breath, he crawled around for a bit, hoping to stumble across it, but without any idea where to even begin, he could be at it all night.

And there was still his missing partner. First, he needed to get back to Peridan as best he could in the dark. Without a weapon or a light source, he was helpless against anything that wanted to make him a snack.

The creature’s attack disoriented him, so he had no idea where to go. What even attacked them still eluded him. It was large and fast, but that was all that could be discerned before it vanished without a trace.

And taking his partner with it.

Wayra shivered. He needed to get back, fast.

Before he reached the edge of the clearing, the howl sounded again. The trees trembled at the sound. The rest of the forest became silent. Before, the nocturnal creatures could be heard going about their lives, but now only the rustling of leaves broke the silence.

Wayra froze as if struck stiff. Was the howl a signal for when the creature would attack again? It sounded silly to give away its position, but how was he going to stop it?

A sharp crack behind him broke his paralysis. Slowly, he turned around.

Entering the clearing was the largest dragon he had ever seen. Its silver scales gleamed in the moonlight. Fangs protruded from its closed mouth. Pointed spikes covered its shoulders and ran along its back to its tail that was thicker than the trees around it. Spikes longer than his arms protruded from the large appendage that it dragged along the ground. The dragon lifted its head. Even with the gap between them, Wayra could tell this beast stood at least twice his height.

Wayra had never seen a Horntail that looked like that or a dragon that big. Was it some kind of mutant strain? A new breed? Either way, he needed to get back to town.

He turned and ran. The trees were pretty thick; it should slow down a large creature. That thought kept him going as the heavy bounding of steps resounded behind him. But the noises were barely audible over the snapping of trees behind him.

The sounds got closer, so on instinct, he hit a sharp left. A sharp pain radiated across his shoulder. He ignored it and kept going. Even in the dark, he avoided the largest branches and roots with expert precision. One trip, one stumble would all it would take.

His heart pounded in time with his rushing steps. The rustling leaves sounded like laughter as he passed. The branches clawed at his exposed face and arms. All the while, the thundering beats of the pursuing dragon’s steps never ceased or receded. He didn’t dare look back, knowing the beast was moments from catching him.

Suddenly, the trees parted, and he saw the city walls. Never did Wayra feel happier seeing it.

His lungs felt close to bursting, but he still managed to shout, “Open the gates!”

There was no reply. His heart sank. Someone had to be on gate duty. Someone was always on gate duty. They never left it abandoned.

“Heeeey! Open the damn gate!”

He was 40 feet away, and the gate showed no signs of opening. He saw no one on top of the wall. Still, he urged more speed out of his legs. Without the trees to slow it down, the dragon would easily close the gap between them. His only hope was to make it inside the city walls, where his fellow city watch wardens could help fend off the beast.

30 feet to go. He no longer had the strength to call out anymore. It was clear no one was coming. But he couldn’t stop now. He would open the gate himself if he had to.

20 feet to go. The heavy thumps stopped. Had the creature stopped chasing him? It didn’t matter. He wasn’t going to look back, and he certainly wasn’t going to stop until he was safely behind the gates.

Something slammed into him from the side. The world spun. He felt a sharp pain in the side of his head, and everything went dark.

****

“I’m telling ya! There’s something out there!” the old man shouted, slamming a wrinkled fist on the desk. “If ya don’t do something, it’ll kill us all!”

Liam raised a brow. He could have sworn Wayra mentioned something about a similar situation just before he went missing. Unfortunately, no one had seen him since his last shift a week ago. Daniyal, was with him that night, and no one had seen him either. Some of the other wardens claimed it was all a set up to spook them. Liam wasn’t so sure. This had gone on far too long to be a simple prank.

Not that anyone seemed to care. The search for their bodies turned up nothing, no trail, no blood, or anything other than the gate guard to confirm that they had been anywhere near the forest. Without any leads to go on, they covered up the whole thing and pretended it never happened.

Liam scratched his cheek with his pen. He didn’t like it.

“Please, young man, ya gotta do something!” the old man cried.

“Don’t worry, I’ll look into it. You said it’s a clearing to the northwest?”

The old man nodded vigorously, his square-rimmed glasses bouncing on his crooked nose. “Yes, lad, that be the place. Please, ya gotta stop that monster before it’s too late!”