Draconic Tales - Prologue

"Kate… Freno… is that really you?"

"Real as we'll ever get dude," Freno said slightly proud.

…

Before I go any further, let me back up.

My name is Jake. I live in a small town in California called Moorpark just north of Los Angeles. I'm your average third grader with light brown hair and stunning neon blue eyes. Anyone who knows me can tell I am a dragon fanatic. I read and read about dragons and at one point, was inclined to learn to speak draconic. That didn't actually turn out very well, but that's another story.

Kate and Freno are my two best friends. We met each other in kindergarten and stayed together since. We did everything together, we even liked the same thing as each other. Top of that list was dragons, for all of us. We were completely inseparable. But, things were about to change.

…

About an hour ago, our parents decided to hike through the forest that our backyard and we soon found a small meadow to rest at. My parents were setting up the traditional American, red and white checkered cloth on a flat piece of ground. I've never been to an actual picnic before. Maybe the occasional cook out, but other than that I don't eat outside much. This was a very surprise event, normally, mom and dad would have told us about it weeks ago. I got a bad vibe when they looked at me. My parents were acting just fine about thirty minutes ago when I had instinctively called my friend to see if they wanted to come. It hadn't been much of a question because I already knew the answer. My parents stare started to really bug me so I went off to the woods next to our little clearing.

Freno ran up behind me and grabbed my shoulder."You look down dude, what's up?"

Freno was a slightly overconfident and cocky kid at times and got into trouble more frequently than myself. He managed to keep himself in check most of the time. He had wild blonde hair, a slight build and as a result of his ADHD, he could eat anything and never gain a pound.

I just continued down the trail with the maple leaves showering my head. Right now my head was a mix of emotions and I don't quite know why. I feel happy for the picnic but I feel sad now for some reason or another.

"I don't know," I sighed and found a log on the side of the trail to sit on.

Freno sat beside me and nudged me with his elbow. By now we were a good ten minutes walk from the clearing. We used to always come here but now, mom got a job so we don't have the time anymore. This was a very special spot to me. I remember that just a year ago, Kate, Freno, and I all got saved right here. We just opened up and let the lord God into our hearts. What an absolutely amazing feeling!

"Come on, what's really bothering you?" Freno pressed.

I sighed heavily, "Somethin's up with my parents. They were staring at me kind of weird."

When he didn't answer I got a little worried."Like that thing?" he whispered when he finally said something.

"What thing… oh," I saw a pair of freakish yellow eyes quickly disappear into the undergrowth. We kept our eyes locked where it was out of fear that it might come back. We must have stared for too long and soon my eyes started to sting and tear up.

"There you are. What are you looking at?" Kate said behind us and I nearly leaped out of my skin. "Jeez what's got you so jumpy today?" That's Kate for you.

"Y-you didn't see it?" I said with noticeable fear in my voice.

"See what? Oh, never mind, your mom wants you Jake," Kate told me then left.

I looked back at Freno and he just nodded. Kate was about the same height as the both of us and had curly brown hair. I never understood the curls because she definitely looked better with her hair straight. She only had the slightest tan and deep green eyes that could bore into your very soul.

I saw something catch the scarce amount of light making its way through the trees. "Go on ahead, I'll catch up in a sec," I told Freno flatly.

"O…kay… I guess we'll meet you back over at your parents, right?"

"Sure thing," and I watched him leave, and when he turned the bend in the trail, I looked for the thing I saw. I told Freno to go ahead because I was almost sure he would want it. First I've got to figure out what 'it' is. I saw the glint again, it was under some leaves. I dug up the little object and quickly identified it.

"Is this a…," I thought to myself. "No, it couldn't be. They couldn't be real, right?" now I started to doubt my beliefs. Maybe it's just a bear claw or something. Either way I'm going to have my dad make it into a necklace. It was an eight inch, razor sharp claw or something. All I could be sure of with this thing was that it was pure white in color. I didn't run back because of how sharp the 'claw' was and I was told not to run with sharp things. The trek back to my parents was slow and uneventful.

When I got back I saw something I did not quite expect. "Hey! Why did ya start without me?!" I yelled offended.

Everyone just smiled at that and dad noticed my 'claw,' "What's that son?"

"Uh… a bear claw," I said nervously hoping they would buy it.

I heard Freno say something to Kate but I couldn't make it out.

"Did you polish it on your way here?" my mom spoke up.

Mentally scolding myself for not hiding the item I answered, "No, I found it like this." 'Ahhh dang it, what were you thinking idiot' I thought.

"Wow, what an interesting find! I could help you put it in a case or on a plaque if you'd like," dad offered.

"No thanks, I'd like to make it into a necklace. But, I'd like to make it very special to me."

"How will you do that?" both my parents asked at the same time.

"Can I get a silver plated chain, mom?" In the silence that ensued, I could only hope that I didn't make them angry. That's not what I need right now, pissed parents. Everyone was looking at me like I had two heads and that sure wasn't a good sign. Honestly, even I don't know why I asked that question. I could have easily gone with just a simple string but that just didn't say 'one of a kind' to me.

"I'll think about it sport. But for now, let's eat." Mom said and ruffled my hair.

"Hey, stop it! You know I don't like you doing that!" I protested.

My mom just smiled while my friends were rolling around in laughter, "I'm your mother, I can do whatever I want."

I just walked over to the ground cloth and sat down pouting. I soon got over it and grabbed a sandwich from the little whicker basket. Mmm, peanut butter and jelly, my favorite.

Soon we finished our lunch which consisted of water, sandwiches, potato chips, and beef jerky, and we started to clean up. I glanced over to my parents and got that sense of foreboding again which sent a chill down my spine.

My parents just stopped what they were doing and looked at each other and dad nodded seeming to say that it was finally time to tell us something. "Everybody, we have some news," Freno, Kate, and I tensed at this. I could tell that they knew it was going to be bad news. "Your father and I were laid off work months ago and we needed to find a job. But the thing is…," my mom sighed, "we could only find one in Virginia."

Now it was my father's turn to speak, "So that means we have to move to Virginia so we don't starve."

I may be in the third grade but I knew where Virginia was, and I don't want to move across the country! Tears welled up in my eyes when I realized that I may never see Kate and Freno ever again. What a perfect way to end a perfect picnic. I broke down and just cried right there.

My parents approached me as I curled in a ball, tears still making their way down my face. "If it still means anything to you, I'll get you that silver chain for your claw," I calmed down a little when she said this.

"Thanks mom," I said and got up because the leaves tasted foul. I looked over at Kate and saw her crying too so at least I knew that they will miss me as well. I looked at my dad and asked, "When do we have to leave?"

"In two weeks, so we can get there before school starts."

Two weeks passed way too quickly for my liking. Kate and Freno came to see me whenever they were allowed to by their parents. I had also gotten my dad to drill a hole in the 'claw' in order to fit a silver chain through. By the end of the second week, most of my stuff was on a truck heading towards our new home. Saying good bye to my friends was too tearful to write. I'm having trouble writing this.

We loaded up in our car with our trailer hooked up on the back.Everything we needed for the next week was packed in the trailer and the trunk of our car. We usually use the trailer for camping trips so we are going to have a camping trip across the country and see the national parks along the way.

…

Well here I am now, a freshman in high school. I haven't seen or heard from Kate and Freno for five years. Now I have some new friends but I've never quite felt the same without Freno. I didn't look much different except I got taller. I now stood a whole two feet taller at 6'5".

I got home one day after having a terrible time in Mrs. Martinez's Spanish Two class. I haven't been doing well and my grades were bad in her class. I just threw my backpack on the floor and flopped onto my bed and groaned. I had to get up and answer the door when I heard the door bell. I wondered who it could be as I glanced at the clock. It said 3:30 pm and my mom wasn't going to be home for another hour. I went over to the door, opened it, and promptly fell over from shock.