Penny and the Dragons #2

Episode two: Sheeking.

The night air was freezing cold, and Toddy could see his breath in front of his face. He had not seen Penny on the docks, and he was convinced that she wasn’t going to make it in time before they set off.

“Toddy, stop… whatever it is that you are doing,” said Hugo, as he watched Toddy pace nervously up and down the length of the boat.

As with all things dragon protection related, this boat was disguised to look like something other than what it was. ‘Westvale Shrimp Association,’ was written in bold red letters down the length of the hull… though the only thing that boat had ever caught was the breeze.

“All set,” said one of the crew, as the last of the supplies were loaded on, all in boxes that were labeled as fishing supplies… though to be fair, some of it actually was frozen fish as the boxes suggested.

“Hey Shrimpy,” yelled Hugo to the captain, “We are almost set to go.”

Toddy didn’t have to ask if there was a connection in the nickname… but because he didn’t ask, we couldn’t be sure if the boat was named after the man, or if it was the other way around.

‘Come on Penny,’ thought Toddy as he looked out to the poorly lit shipyard, feeling defeated. He really had hoped that he could share the experience with her, but he knew that it was near on impossible.

The engines began to grunt as the boat started up.

“Toddy, what’s up?” asked Hugo, noticing that Toddy looked disappointed.

“Oh, um, I’m just going to miss Penny, is all.”

“I can remember my first trip. I was missing someone as well. My brother asked her out while I was away… and ended up marrying her…” he said.

“I need to get off the boat,” said Toddy as he didn’t want to miss out as Hugo had.

Hugo grabbed Toddy’s arm, “There’s more to the story… you see, I realised that we weren’t right for each other after all… my point is, if she is the one for you, she’ll wait.”

Toddy sighed, for he didn’t think she’d wait for him when they had never shared a hint of romance together in the past.

“Anyway Toddy, look at what you achieved, this trip is entirely funded by your group. You should be proud of yourself. I know Penny would be proud of you if she knew that you were protecting dragons.”

The crew untied the ropes and the boat rocked as the engine revved. As the boat moved away from the dock, Toddy felt sad that Penny wouldn’t be joining them. ‘I bet she’ll pick Zac,’ he thought to himself as he looked back towards his home.

“Well, there’s work to be done,” said Hugo, disturbing Toddy’s sulking.

“What… Now? It must be almost 9pm.”

“Yeah, but it’s good to keep busy as the trip is otherwise notoriously boring… though we are expecting a storm, which should be fun.”

“Sorry… what?” asked Toddy as he again questioned his decision to come.

Toddy sat on the floor of the cabin where his bunk was, and he wondered what the hell he was doing. His stomach didn’t know which way up was, and his bunk seemed too far off the ground to be safe in such rough weather. If the three hours of paperwork were not enough, then there was of course the relentless stories from the crew, and almost none of them seemed likely.

His cabin had several other bunks that were filled by his team members, and as he sat there with only the emergency exit sign to guide him, he knew he wasn’t going to be able to sleep, despite the fact that it was 2am and he was exhausted. He crept out of the cabin, and climbed the stairs up to the deck. The freezing night air rushed straight through him, which somehow was appreciated as it briefly took his mind off wanting to throw up.

“Achoo.” Toddy heard someone sneeze.

“Hello?” asked Toddy as he walked around the deck, “Can’t sleep either?” He couldn’t see anyone.

“T…Toddy,” asked a voice.

“I know that voice… Penny? Where are you?”

“Over here…” she said from a large crate labeled ‘ropes.’

“Thankfully you didn’t get in with the bait,” laughed Toddy as he untied ropes that were keeping several crates from sliding around the deck, but also preventing her from getting out.

“I couldn’t move the boxes,” said Penny as she pushed open the side of the crate as Toddy made it possible. She was freezing cold, rather blue, and as she once again said Toddy’s name, she all but collapsed, passed out into Toddy’s arms.

“Help…” screamed Toddy. Clearly, he wasn’t going to be able to keep Penny stowing away on the boat a secret. ‘What have I done?’ thought Toddy.

“What’s all this?” asked one of the crew, followed by a few others.

Eventually, Hugo made his way to the deck, and as he saw Penny laying in Toddy’s arms, he swore under his breath, “Well Toddy, you get the girl in your story,” he said.

Toddy didn’t know how to give a person medical attention, and sadly the most qualified person on board, wasn’t very knowledgeable, but they did their best to treat her for suspected hypothermia, and as the sun was rising, she lay sleeping.

Hugo had a personal cabin so he gave up his bed for Penny’s recovery. Hugo sighed before he took a swig from his flask, “How did this happen Toddy?”

Toddy pulled an expression that showed he felt guilty, “Will she be okay?”

“She should be. I checked with Shrimpy, he said we can’t turn around. With the storm, the low fuel, and the fact that half of the food will go off if we delay, we have to keep going, but don’t worry, there’s a hospital out there, and in my opinion, it’s better than the one on the mainland. Once she’s recovered, she’ll come back on the returning trip that will bring the previous team home.”

The light from the wall shone on Hugo’s arm, illuminating a giant scar he had, and in that moment, Toddy wondered if his injuries really were caused by household items. “Hugo?” he asked, “Did a letterbox really attack you?”

Hugo laughed, before saying, “Baby dragons are often more dangerous than the big ones. Don’t get me wrong, the dragons love us… in their own way, but sometimes… well, it’s like being safe around a pride of lions… it’s possible, but sometimes they get a little… you know. Anyway, with my arm, I was working in the nursery and a baby dragon was figuring out how to use his tail hook… and…”

“Tail hook?” asked Toddy, again questioning his career choice.

“Ehh, almost nobody gets hurt by the tail hooks, this was a freak accident.”

“The broken leg?” asked Toddy.

“boisterous feeding session with one of the big boys.”

“The potential decapitations?” asked Toddy, unsure of the answer he’d get.

“Oh… now that’s a dragon named Fungus. Don’t worry, you won’t be asked to help out with him any time soon. He’s our most playful adult dragon, but he can get a bit carried away sometimes.”

“So what happened… did he pick you up by the head?”

Hugo nodded, “Yep, twice.”

“Okay, and your most recent injury… your arm?”

Hugo laughed, “You know Toddy, the story about the little old lady, was actually true. It’s funny, you don’t see much danger in helping an old person crossing the road when you are used to working with dragons, but…”

“Dragons?” asked Penny in a groggy voice.

“You’re supposed to be asleep, Penny,” said Hugo.

Penny tried to sit up, clearly she hadn’t yet made a full recovery, but it did bring Toddy a lot of hope to see her improving. “I want to hear the dragon stories as well,” she said.

“Um… they are just stories, Penny,” said Hugo.

“Where are we going?” she asked.

Toddy and Hugo just looked at each other, unsure how to proceed.

As the island came into view, Toddy felt certain that everything was going to be okay. Penny seemed to be doing much better, so Toddy was hopeful that he’d at least be able to reveal enough to her in order for the ministry to take a fresh look at allowing women into the ministry.

The island looked picturesque, untouched by modern life, no ugly power lines, and most of the buildings were very old.

“Is that a castle?” asked Toddy.

“That’s the hospital,” Hugo replied.

“Oh… why is it so large?”

“Because they also treat dragons and hatch eggs there.”

Toddy was awestruck by the beauty of the island, and that was before he even stepped foot on the soil.

“Come on Toddy, you’ve gotta help out,” said Hugo as one of the crew handed Toddy a crate that was rather heavy for one person. Hugo continued, “We’ll build some muscles in you yet.”

“Oh,” laughed Toddy as he tried to not drop the package, “No easing into this then huh?”

“What do you think the year of office work was?”

“Right, right… where’s Penny?”

“It’s been decided that because she’s mostly recovered, she’ll just stay on the boat. Thankfully, the men won’t have to wait for her to get well before returning to the mainland.”

“No, no, no,” said Toddy, never before wishing that someone was still sick. “Come on, at least have her checked at the hospital.”

Hugo thought for a moment, “I’ll try,” he said.

“She looks fine to me,” said the doctor that had come on board the boat. He was an eccentric looking, thin man, with all the telltale signs of insanity.

“Are you sure we can trust this guy?” Toddy whispered to Hugo.

“Oh, Stellium has saved me many times, haven’t you buddy?” said Hugo, as he placed his hand on Stellium’s shoulder.

“Yeah, look, you got lucky this time. If Mars was still in retrograde, this could have been much worse.”

“What… Mars… what?” asked Toddy.

“Relax,” said Hugo, “Stellium is never wrong.”

“Take one, once a day,” said Stellium as he handed a little handmade bag to Penny.

“What are they?” she asked.

“Flameberries, they only grow on the island. The dragons love them, but they are high in just about all the vitamins a person needs when they are recovering from a chill.”

“A chill?” barked Toddy, “she could have died.”

“Oh, it would take much more than that to take out Marvin’s daughter.”

“You knew my father?” asked Penny.

“Yes… very well,” he said with a sad expression, “If I had of been on the island when… you know… maybe I could have…” he pushed away emotions before continuing, “Anyway, now I live on the island full time. Gotta keep your uncle safe.”

“Hang on… Dragons… are you talking actual, full size… prehistoric scaly things?”

“Sure, but then of course, I’m insane,” said Stellium as he closed his bag with a snap as he realised he had said more than he should have.

“But you two were speaking about dragons as well…”

“Um… what we meant was… there’s like lizard things on the island…” said Hugo.

“Yes… like the Galapagos islands,” continued Stellium.

“And, just how big are these lizards?” asked Toddy.

“Oi, Toddy, who’s team are you on?”

“Team? Let me see the lizards, please Uncle Hugo,” asked Penny.

“They are a bit feisty this time of year… breeding season and all,” said Stellium as he took his leave and snuck out of the room.

“Perhaps another time… get some rest,” said Hugo as he also left the room.

“Toddy, please at least get a photo for me or something.”

Toddy sighed as he sat down on a chair next to her, “I haven’t seen them yet either. I think the reason they are being so strange about this is because they are a protected species that not many people know about.”

“You haven’t seen them? Why are you really here Toddy?”

“I’m going to help with the… lizards.”

Hugo listened from just outside of the room, so it was just as well that Toddy didn’t overshare.

“We’re all set,” said Shrimpy to Hugo as he made the last few adjustments before setting off.

“Great, I’ll just say goodbye to my niece,” he said as he walked back towards the cabin on the boat.

The deck of the boat was almost empty, as all the supplies were now on the mainland, so there was much less that needed to be done, other than a head count of all the returning men… and for once, a lady.

“Penny?” asked Hugo as he opened the door. Hugo sighed, “Crap,” he said, as he saw the empty room.

Penny wasn’t about to miss out on seeing endangered lizards, but other than that, she had no plan at all. As she hid inside of a hay barn a few meters from the path she had ran along to escape an overprotective group of males, she wondered if the guilt trip that she’d be given would really be worth what she would see.

“What the heck am I doing?” she asked herself.

There was a ‘tick, tick, tick,’ sound near her feet. She looked down to see some kind of light grey, furry mouse creature, but with large pointy ears, “What the heck are you?” she asked as she picked it up, “I guess the lizards aren’t the only strange thing on the island.”

She could hear voices outside of the barn, so without thinking, she shoved her new pet inside the front pocket of her hoody.

As she peeked out of the barn, she could see that the men were not alone, they had another creature with them, and once again, it was unlike anything Penny had ever seen. The creature was about three feet tall and covered in bright blue scales. ‘Is that one of the lizards?’ she thought to herself. It was a rather bizarre lizard, for it was standing on two feet not four, and was following the men around, much like a dog would.

Penny thought it would be better to hide until they left.

There was someone yelling in the distance, “SHEEKING LOOSE, SHEEKING LOOSE!” is what she was sure was being yelled.

“Oh no…” said one of the men with the odd lizard, “Sheekings are always a bit hectic this time of year.”

“Yeah, I’d prefer to work with the Heekings any day of the week,” said the other man.

“They aren’t much easier though, I mean, take Fungus for example.”

“Grawhhhrlll,” was heard off in the distance, then large crashing sounds and thud after thud. “We can’t stop her, she’s on a rampage…” yelled someone that seemed to be running around trying to warn everyone.

“What the heck?” said Penny as she stood in the barn, with no clue what to do.

Everything went silent for a minute or two.

Suddenly, the door to the barn flung off. Penny ran and jumped into a pile of hay, with no better plan than to scream as if she was being murdered.

A large figure came into view, brilliant white with speckles of silver running through the tips of the scales on the monster.

Penny felt frozen by fear as the giant creature made its way over to her.

It barely fit inside the barn and had to duck to do so. with its tail stretched out, still outside of the barn, and its wings crumpled beyond recognition, it moved its large face towards Penny, and sniffed her. It blinked its large blue eyes, but though several of its teeth sat visible, even with it’s mouth closed, Penny strangely didn’t feel like she was about to be eaten. “Female?” asked the dragon softly.

“What?” asked Penny, completely confused by what she was seeing, “Are you a… a… dragon?”

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