Chapter 6: Epic, Part 1

Sometime during the night, Seth knew he was dreaming, but he could not wake himself.

That's when he saw the large, red eyes up close, burning, surrounded by an ocean of black. The creature's pupils were ablaze, but Seth could see into the creature's soul. His senses alerted him of the danger. Seth seemed to be moving, pulling back. It was as if he was looking through his own eyes, unable to see himself. He knew instinctively that the creature was a Norwegian Humpback Fire Breather - the deadliest of all dragons.

As his vision continued to pull back, Seth could see the hard, spiny tail of the dragon whip from side to side with lust for the kill in his heart, as his eyes bore straight into Seth's. As Seth's vision pulled back farther, he never took his eyes off the fierce dragon before him. They were in a clearing surrounded by woods. He didn't know where, but he could feel the crisp, cool air.

Pulling back farther still, a beautiful girl with sandy-blonde hair falling past her waist rested on a white winged unicorn with terror in her bright green eyes. The dragon was between them, calling to Seth, begging him to strike, seething, his teeth clenched for the kill. Suddenly, the beauty motioned for him to come to her. With horror-filled eyes, she turned and fled from the clearing and was gone.

Wait, Seth tried to yell, running after her, but the dragon blocked his path, stepping in front of him. The vast monster opened his mouth and fire rolled out, lapping the ground as it escaped. His nostrils flared and Seth could see the fire reflecting in his eyes. The dragon stepped closer, then closer, one slow step at a time. Anger swelled within Seth's chest, his hands clenched tightly by his side as the view became dangerously close. Then Seth reached behind his shoulder, ready to pull a sword that he knew hung in a sheath between his shoulder blades, prepared to fight. Quivers seized Seth and his breath came ragged through clenched teeth. He wanted this dragon bad. So badly, in fact, that he could taste the victory. He was sure of it.

But his hands gripped nothing.

Seth turned to run, terror gripping his very core. He was moving in slow motion. He tried to run, but his legs would not progress quickly enough to suit him. Seth could hear the growl of his fierce competitor just over his shoulder and the rumbling and shaking of the ground behind him as the weight of the vast creature thudded hard, rumbling against the ground, following, quickly closing the gap between them.

"No!" Seth yelled in his dream, unable to wake. He felt the dragon's breath hot on his back, and Seth knew that if the dragon breathed out again, he would surely die. "No!" Seth yelled again as he ran through the clearing toward the forest to take refuge.

"Wake up, Seth," the blonde girl shouted to him. "Wake up!"

She came back? Seth thought to himself, still running.

Suddenly, Seth sat straight up in his bed, fully awake, with sweat dewed on his cheeks and forehead and his breathing was labored.

He didn't recognize his surroundings for a moment, then looked around and realized he was in the bedroom of Herman's house. His hand ran gently across the quilt. Seth laughed and shook his head, realizing this was probably the reason why he was suddenly dreaming of dragons, knights, and swords. But the beautiful girl stumped him, though he wasn't complaining.

Seth looked at the clock. It was three o'clock in the morning. Then he rolled over and went back to sleep.

"Get up!" Herman bellowed into Seth's ear.

"What time is it?" Seth asked groggily, trying to orient himself to the bright light his uncle was shining on him. Seth looked around the room and could tell that it was still dark outside. What is he thinking? Normal people don't get up before the chickens anymore. "What in the world is going on?" Seth finally managed to say aloud.

Herman was smiling mischievously. "Forget about sleeping all day, Goldilocks. We have to get an early start on the garden."

"Garden?" Seth questioned then tried to turn over. "I'll get up in a minute."

But a moment later, Seth was on the floor with a plop, mattress and all. Did Uncle Herman pull the mattress off the bed? Seth asked himself. But he hadn't seen his uncle move, or had he? Herman had just raised his hand, and then brought it back down sharply. What's up with Uncle Herman? Seth wondered to himself and was now completely awake.

The quick jolt to the floor did the trick.

"You'll get up now," Herman replied. "Push the mattress back onto the bed and meet me downstairs for breakfast."

"But I didn't put it there."

"I don't care if you put it there or not. Put it back on the bed and I'll see you downstairs for breakfast," Uncle Herman instructed him, and then darted into the hall, shutting the door.

Seth sighed loudly. What time is it, anyway? After a moment, he raised up to check the alarm clock on the nightstand. 4 a.m. What in the world can we do at four in the morning? We'll have to wake up the seeds to plant them. But after another moment, Seth reluctantly got out of bed and took a shower, then slid the mattress back onto the bed and headed downstairs.

"What's for breakfast?" Seth asked his uncle, bounding down the stairs, jumping down the last two.

"I don't know," Herman replied. "What's for breakfast?"

Seth peered at his uncle in astonishment. Was he expected to cook, too? It was too early to argue, so Seth just asked, "What would you like?"

Herman smiled, and then replied, "Here, let's do it together. Go get the eggs from the refrigerator and I'll start frying the bacon."

Seth did as he was asked, and within minutes, Herman showed Seth how to make homemade biscuits and they were in the hot oven.