Chapter 5: Oh, where is the hatchling?

Scott ignored his ringing phone, his gaze fixed on the empty space where the egg had been. Three unanswered calls from Mel's mom. He took a deep breath, the cool air doing little to calm the rising panic. Not a dragon, of course. That stupid website was absurd. But the discarded shell...it was massive, far too large for an ostrich egg. Dinosaur-sized, even. A ludicrous thought, yet the image of dinosaur bones in China, revered as dragons, flickered in his mind. Extinct, yes, but what if...what if some biotech company had engineered dinosaur eggs? Expensive, secretive, and planted in unsuspecting backyards? He’d been staring out the window for what felt like hours, the unanswered calls and the silence amplifying his fear. He had to do something.

But what? Go outside? What if the creature was dangerous? Not a dragon, perhaps, but something large, predatory? He shifted closer to the window, the few extra inches offering no additional clarity. He had to look, but the thought of encountering something unknown, something potentially harmful, filled him with dread. His neighbors, their dogs, their children… Tober. A wave of guilt washed over him.

He finally picked up his phone, seeing Mel's mother's calls and a text message. She was on her way. He had to search for... whatever it was. He had to find it.

Scott gripped his aluminum softball bat, its familiar weight a small comfort. He circled his backyard, his gaze sweeping the perimeter. Nothing under the oak tree, just Tober's Big Wheels. The holly bush yielded nothing. All house windows were intact. He approached the hole, the remnants of the egg's shell scattered in the disturbed soil. Wet, multicolored fluids stained the earth. His phone buzzed; Mel's mom would be here any minute, with Tober. He hadn't heard any attempts to enter the house. It must have left.

He was about to head inside when he noticed markings in the dirt – a smooth, wide trail, like a large snake had slithered through. He circled it, ensuring he hadn't missed anything. But as he examined the trail more closely, he saw something else: four-toed prints, angled, three in one direction, one in another. Large bird? Claw marks. The faint prints seemed to circled the hole, moving towards the grass, then abruptly stopping at the edge of the lawn. The grass itself was slightly flattened for a foot, with similar markings beneath, but then, nothing. Had it gone back? He circled the dirt patch again, but the markings only led away from the hole. It had to have gone somewhere.

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A slithering snake, a walking lizard ...a bird?

"Honk, honk!"

A car horn. Mel's mother. But the trail...the creature...was gone. He looked to the sky, then slowly scanned the yard. The drone he'd seen earlier was nowhere in sight. A snake-bird? He shook his head. Something, yes, but not a dragon...he couldn't believe that.

Scott’s heart hammered. “Tober!” he yelled, frantically scanning the backyard. “Where’d the… the… thing go?” He raced toward the house, relief flooding him as he saw Mel's mother emerge from the car. He had to keep Tober safe.

“Tracy,” he said, catching his breath, “how about dinner? My treat.”

She smiled. “That’s sweet, dear, but I’ve already cooked for the week. Plenty of casseroles…”

“No, Tracy, please. You drive; Tober’s already in the car. I’ll follow.”

Tober, in his booster seat, was struggling with his seatbelt, his pleas for the egg escalating.

“He’s been on about that egg all day,” she said, oblivious. “Are you hatching chicks? I’ve been thinking of trying urban poultry…”

Scott cut her off. “We’ll talk about eggs later. Cheesy Pizza Plaza? I just checked; the egg’s not hatching.”

Cheesy Pizza Plaza wasn’t great, but the ball pit and cheap arcade games worked their magic on Tober, winding him up into a manic frenzy until exhaustion claimed him. Scott’s plan was working. Tober would sleep through the car ride home.

After his mother left, Scott kept Tober occupied with arcade tokens until the boy was completely spent. Driving home, he took a circuitous route, ensuring Tober fell into a deep, drooling sleep. He circled the neighborhood twice, checking rooftops and lawns for any sign of… the thing. Nothing.

He parked, carefully extracting Tober from the car, carrying him silently into the house. He tucked Tober into bed, his own heart still pounding. He was just pulling the covers up when a hiss sliced through the silence.

He turned slowly, his breath catching in his throat. There it was – a six-foot-long, sleek black dragon, perched on the bookshelf, its tail trailing to the floor. Its scales shimmered in the dim light, and two luminous blue eyes fixed on him.

“Fuck,” Scott whispered, covering his mouth.