Fantasy Destiny Re-Scaled: Chapter 8

 "So, what did you bring?" I asked as we took it slow up the hill to conserve our energy. "Oh this and that. I remembered the flashlights this time and extra batteries." He replied proudly. "Nice job.. I brought some crackers, a toothbrush, and my VHS set of "Dragons: Real or Fake." I answered back. He looked at me with a confused look. "Why your VHS set?" He asked, puzzled. I sighed. "Well, that arsonist might come back, so I grabbed the most dear things to me. That VHS set was one of them." I explained. "Ohh." He replied.
We kept walking up the hill, about half-way to the top.
"Say Travis, what would you ever do if you met a real live dragon?" Austin asked. I scratched my head and thought for a few moments. "Good question.. I'd probably try to see if it was friendly, and if it was, learn from it." I replied. Austin paused for a second, thinking. "I'd probably just beg for my life." He admitted. I rolled my eyes. "Dragons aren't all mean.. There are good and bad in every race, and if you start thinking all of one race is bad, war erupts." I explained. "Plus, they never get a chance to redeem themselves."Austin paused, surprised. "Wow, I never expected you to say something like that." He laughed.

"Well, we made it." I replied. We looked up and beheld the massive cave entrance, a familiar sight indeed by now. "Uh, Travis..." Austin said with a fearful tone. He reached down and held up a club with dried blood on it. "Crap..." I moaned. "I hope that wasn't Billy's blood." Austin put the club away and we entered the cave. It pitched black and we couldn't see a thing, but that zoo-like scent had all but vanished. It actually smelt... Quite nice in here. For some reason, the sunlight from the crack on the ceiling was gone too... "BILLY?!" I yelled. "Hey Austin, get those flashlights."
Austin reached down into his bag, and suddenly I heard a "CLUNK!" and slapped my head. "Shoot! I dropped it! Let's see, where are they..." He said to himself, and I could hear him rustling in a pile of gold coins. "Oh hear! Let me try!" I said, feeling around for the bag. I laid my hand on something rough, like a tree trunk. "Huh?" I thought. I slid my hand across it and felt several breaks in the roughness, like it was chained or scaled or something... Not to mention it was warm, while the cave was chilly and damp. "Austin, is that you, I'm feeling?" I asked. "No..." He answered back.

My heart sank.