Dragon Ride

 

            Zane leaned back in his chair with a contented sigh. Finally, after 17 years of painstaking work, he had finished his project. He looked down at his desk where the unassuming watch lay. This was the magnificent product of all his hard work. Who would ever believe that it could send you through time?

            Zane glanced at the clock on the wall. He was surprised to find out it was past 1 AM. His wife and kids were all asleep upstairs. He shouldn’t wake them, but he felt like he needed to share his good news with someone.

            No one believed Zane when he told them that he could make a time machine. How many times had he been laughed at when he’d try to explain it to people? His family were the only ones who had supported his ideas, but even they didn’t really expect him to make it.

            Now, here was Zane’s chance to prove to everyone that he had been right. Maybe he should test the watch, just to make absolutely certain that it did indeed work.

            Making up his mind, Zane grabbed the watch off the table and strapped it on to his wrist. Where should he go? The future, or the past? After a few minutes, he decided on the future. Not only would he be able to show everyone his watch, he could tell them what the future was like.

            Zane fiddled with the dials on the watch and set the arrival time for the year 3025. 1,000 years should be enough to see some truly amazing things. His heart rate started to speed up as he thought about the future possibilities. He took a deep breath, and then pushed the green button.

            Zane felt like he was spinning at 100 miles an hour, but only for a second. The spinning stopped and he fell over. Taking a few minutes to reorient himself, Zane stood back up.

            The basement office where Zane did all of his lab work was gone. He found himself standing in a bare, metallic-looking room. Everything was so shiny. He opened a door that led upstairs. He realized that the layout of this building was the same as his house, but everything had that shiny, metallic look. He got to the front door and stepped outside.

            The bright sunlight blinded him for a moment. Blinking, he looked around him. This was definitely not the same as his house. Instead of a quiet street lined with houses and neat yards of grass, Zane had stepped out into what looked like a massive vegetable garden. Neat rows of corn, lettuce, and peppers were all around. There were also several plants that he didn’t recognize. The houses were still in the same places that they had been in 1,000 years ago, but now there were no sidewalks and no roads.

            Zane walked down a row of the garden to what used to be the street. He jumped when he heard a set of metallic clicks and looked wildly around to see what had made them. Across from what used to be his house, the garage of another house was opening. As Zane watched, a neighbor came out of the garage riding what appeared to be a dragon. The dragon flew up into the air and roared away.

            Scared now, Zane ducked into some tall corn stalks. Other garages were opening, and out of each one came something different. Some of them actually looked like flying cars, but others appeared to be animals or mythical creatures. All of them had people either riding inside or on top of them.

            Zane heard the clicking sound come from his own house now. Wanting to get a closer look, he walked along the corn until he was right next to the garage. A woman flew out on the back of a Pegasus. Zane darted inside, just as the garage door started to close again.

            The garage had the same metallic look as the rest of the house. Along the walls were shelves full of hundreds of miniature figures. A lot of them were things that looked like vehicles, but a good many of them were animals. They were all labeled with nameplates underneath.

            Zane saw an empty spot that was marked “Pegasus.” He continued looking along the shelf and saw a collection of dragon figurines. He picked up an orange and yellow dragon marked “Firetail.” Zane was astounded at the amount of detail on the small figure. He just had time to admire the paper-thin wings when a voice said, “Would you like to ride the Firetail?”

            Looking wildly around, Zane saw no one else in the garage, but then he noticed a holographic screen with the words “Would you like to ride the Firetail?” printed on it. Zane cleared his throat and said, “Yes, please.”

            The holographic voice answered back saying, “Please set the figure down in the middle of the garage.”

            Doing as he was told, Zane carefully set down the small dragon. Immediately, it started to grow until it filled the entire garage. Amazed, Zane ran his hand along the dragon’s sleek back. There was a clever recess behind the dragon’s neck that was obviously meant for a seat. Looking carefully around, Zane hoisted himself up into it. He immediately felt the dragon start to hum beneath him.

            The garage door opened, and a voice that seemed to come from the dragon said, “Please state your destination.”

            Zane’s mind raced as he thought of somewhere he could go. Not knowing if anything around would be the same as it was 1,000 years ago, Zane said, “Please just take me for a short five-mile ride out and then come back here.”

            Silence, and then, “Here is a map of your route 8.04 kilometers one way and 8.04 kilometers back.” A holographic screen popped up in front of Zane with a map of where he would be going.

            “Okay,” Zane said uncertainly. “Let’s go, then.” The dragon underneath him roared to life, and they shot out of the garage and into the air. Zane looked around in amazement. The dragon felt like it was made out of some kind of metal or plastic, but it moved as if it were alive. There were no hinges or bolts that would mark it as a machine. “This is amazing,” he breathed out softly.

            Looking down to the ground, Zane could see that they were flying incredibly fast. There were no roads anywhere, just buildings and gardens in between them.

            In what felt like no time at all, the dragon turned around smoothly in the air, and the voice said, “You will reach your destination in two minutes.” Before he knew it, Zane was back in the garage. He scrambled off of the dragon, and it started to shrink. Soon, it was just a tiny figurine again. Carefully, Zane placed it back on the shelf.

            Thinking about getting back to his own time now, Zane set the dials on his watch, then pressed the green button. Spinning very fast again, he was barely able to keep himself upright. When the spinning had stopped inside his head, he opened his eyes to find himself in his own garage, standing next to his Honda Pilot. He quietly went back inside the house, and down the basement stairs to his office. He opened the safe and carefully set the watch inside it. Locking everything up, he went upstairs to go to bed.

            Zane fell asleep thinking and wondering how people would react when he told them about the things he had seen. He smiled as he thought about telling them that he had ridden on the back of a dragon. No one would believe him. Oh well, he was used to that. But this time, he would be able to show them the truth.