Lucky didn’t know how long this would last. She wanted her dragon. She didn’t feel much, but she did feel that. The dragon-shaped hole at the center of herself seemed to vibrate and hum. She closed her eyes. She tried to focus inward. Where are you? she thought as hard as she could. And then—
Lucky?
Lucky’s eyes snapped open. She scanned the room. No one else had heard it. The voice, for it was a voice, she was sure of it, wasn’t coming through her ears. Rather, it seemed to come from her bones, from the air, from the empty space within her. The voice was her. And she was the voice.
Lucky? There it was again.
She closed her eyes very tightly. She tried to focus her thoughts.
Dragon? she thought.
Where are you? It was the dragon. She was sure of it.
I’m here. With the scientists. I have to tell them something, but I don’t know if they will understand.
There was nothing for a long moment. Lucky felt the dragon-shaped space within her get a little bit bigger. Finally:
I’m lost, Lucky. I don’t know where I am. I can feel you, but I can’t see you. You’re the only one I need. I can’t be me without you.
And the dragon-shaped space grew a little bit bigger.
The scientists gasped. Two ran to Lucky, one taking her hand and the other pressing the back of her hand to Lucky’s forehead. Everyone spoke at once, some in Old Countryish and some in languages that sounded nothing like it, but were for sure not English.
Lucky looked at Mrs. Hollins, who looked different than she had ever seen her. Her eyes glowed red, and her spiky, silver hair had somehow grown taller, and thicker, like actual metal spikes erupting from her skull. She gave a great yell in Old Countryish, that Lucky had no means of understanding, but she was fairly sure, deep in her guts, that the old woman had yelled, Bring me the dragon!
Two scientists scurried away. Very quickly three scientists pulled a low cart that had strapped onto it a large metal box. The box rattled. Lucky felt her heart leap. Mrs. Hollins took Lucky’s hand. Lucky realized that Mrs. Hollins’s fingers had an extra knuckle to them. Had they always been that way? She thought that maybe she should write it down under OBSERVATIONS but it didn’t seem to be the right time. Mrs. Hollins leaned close to Lucky’s ear.
“No matter what happens, darling Lucinda, your soul is indelible, unalterable, and utterly yours. I know what I’m saying doesn’t make a lot of sense right now, but promise me that you’ll remember it anyway, will you?”
Mrs. Hollins was right. It didn’t make any sense. But Lucky promised anyway. The scientists opened the box, and Lucky felt a curious sensation deep in her solar plexus. She heard a deafening roar and she saw a bright light, and then the world went dark.
Lucky?
Lucky?
Lucky didn’t know where she was. All she knew was that it was very dark.
I’m sorry, Lucky. I didn’t know what to do. There were too many people and I was afraid.
Lucky squinted, her eyes adjusting to the low light.
You have been asleep. And you’re . . . oh, Lucky, please don’t be angry with me. I didn’t mean it. I believe this is my fault, but I don’t know why it is my fault. All I know is I need you, Lucky. I need you.
Lucky scanned the room. She looked up and saw a clock on the wall, its glass face reflecting the yellow glow of a far-away streetlight. She was sitting on a hard surface, next to a towering stack of what seemed to be large pieces of fabric. A chalkboard stretched across one wall. A faint light pulsed under a closed door. And next to the window was a row of desks. Lucky frowned.
“Am I in Mr. Shaw’s classroom?”
I don’t know Mr. Shaw. I only know you.
The dragon stood in front of her. Lucky’s dragon. But he was larger now. He took up . . . so much space. Lucky shook her head, trying to clear it. The dragon’s tail curled around his body, and he held on to the tip, pressing it to his cheek, the way a little child holds a blanket. His scales shimmered in the low light. His large green eyes overflowed with tears.
I love you so much, Lucky. I didn’t know what else to do. I am very afraid.
“Why did you bring me here. Of all places?” She noticed the pulsing light in the back room again. She noticed that Mr. Shaw had written the class schedule for the rest of the week on the blackboard, and they were to repeat the same project every single day. He’d written UNTIL THE PROPER RESULTS ARE ACHIEVED! in very large letters. Mr. Shaw never repeated himself. He saw it as a sign of weakness. So why do so now? Mr. Shaw was at her house the other day. Why exactly? Lucky wasn’t sure. She tried to think the way a scientist thinks. Observe the data. Right now, she was in Mr. Shaw’s classroom, but what was she sitting on?
I brought you here because this is where it began. Or maybe this is where I began. Or we began. I came here because it felt right and I couldn’t leave without you.
Lucky remembered learning that salmon always return to the exact place where they spawned so that they might spawn again. She knew that other animals behaved in this way as well—something deep inside compelled them to return to the ground of their making. Is that what her dragon was doing? Was he intending to . . . make more dragons? Since he was created out of nothing, maybe it was possible. She wasn’t sure it was such a good idea if there were more dragons. She loved her dragon. But it was important to think like a scientist.
Lucky stood, shivered, and wrapped her body with her arms, only realizing at this moment that she wasn’t wearing any clothes at all. She shook her finger at the dragon. She realized with a start that she had to crane her neck and look way up in order to see his face. How big even was he now?
“Did you steal my clothes?” she demanded. “It is not okay to steal someone’s clothes.” She knew she was responsible for the dragon’s moral upbringing. It was a very large task, she realized.
The dragon bit its lower lip. Your clothes are right there. They just didn’t fit you anymore. You are . . . well, you got very small, Lucky. And I didn’t know what to do.
Lucky looked back at the towering stack of fabric and realized that it was a pile of her own clothing, extending far over her head. She also realized that she was standing on the surface of the lab table, and it seemed to extend very far in all directions. She frowned.
“How tall am I?” she asked.
I don’t know how tall things are. This tall? The dragon measured with its hands, which did not help. Lucky stood up. She wasn’t embarrassed being naked in front of the dragon, but she knew she needed clothes. She climbed up the tower and found her pants, which she knew had a bandana in the back pocket. It was still too large, but she was able to wrap and twist it and tie the corners to make a serviceable dress. Assuming she didn’t get smaller. Or bigger. She wasn’t sure how any of this worked.
“How long have we been here?” Lucky’s mind raced. What did she know? What could she deduce? She needed Mrs. Hollins. She needed her mother. What if she shrank so much she disappeared? The dragon looked at her blankly, so she tried again. “How much time has passed since we left the scientists?”
I don’t know about time. I only know you.
The dragon was not very helpful. Lucky needed information. She looked back at the pulsing light in the back room.
“Did you bring my backpack?” Lucky asked.