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_This is a story that I started back in 1999, I intended to shoot for a published novel but somewhere along the way the story dried up on me. _

I would like to share some of it here and see where it leads.

Worlds Apart

He awoke to the alarm, per usual, at 6:45 am. He despised mornings as a general rule, but since he had quit his previous job, he didn't have much choice. Besides, his day was to be a full one, he had almost eight acres worth of barbed wire that needed to be strung, and it had to be done by this evening. On top of that, he still hadn't done his shopping for the week, and he was out of almost everything. After a nice hot shower, his morning coffee and a smoke, he felt almost human again. "Damn, I need to quit drinking, especially when I have to get up in the morning." His life over these past few years had been a quiet one, spent mostly alone, a self-imposed exile of sorts. He had friends, but they reminded him too much of what he had lost, so he kept them at arms length, at least the ones that he hadn't driven away altogether. It wasn't that didn't care about them anymore, he just refused to allow himself to get close to anyone anymore. In his mind, it was safer that way. Upon finishing his breakfast, he loaded his things into his truck, and went to work. Today, he had to drive a good thirty miles back towards town, but for what he was being paid, he considered it worth the long drive. Driving along on these old back roads was one of the few things he seemed to enjoy these days, and he took his time getting to where he was going. He didn't have a radio in the truck; he had given them up, along with TV, finding that there was nothing of interest for him there anymore. Instead he would pop in a cassette, and turn it up just enough to hear it over the hum of the tires upon the road, and think of what could've been. To his friends, he seemed to be at a standstill in life, but to him, this was as good as he deserved, besides, he preferred it this way. Upon reaching his destination, he parked the truck out by the barn, and walked back up to the main house. The house was owned by an old friend of his who had served with him on the force, he was retired now, and had put all his money into a cattle ranch, now he was expanding, buying up the surrounding acreage a little at a time. Ringing the bell, he stepped back down to the grass, and stood there watching the clouds roll by, wondering to himself, how a world so beautiful, could be so cruel. His friend answered a few moments later, interrupting his revere with his warm greeting, he had been trying to coax him into being his partner for the past two years, and things hadn't changed. "Damn, its good to see you." He said as he offered his hand, "You really need to come down off of that mountain more often ... hell, a guy could die up there, and no one would ever know he was gone." Smiling slightly, he took the man's outstretched hand and shook it awkwardly, "Heya Jim, it has been awhile hasn't it?" It had been over a year since he had visited, and guilt was trying to pry its way in. Still holding his hand, Jim shook his head, squeezed just little harder, and pulled him into a massive bearhug. "Dirk, I don't know whether to hug you, or slug you," he said with a smile, "But I'm damn glad to see you again." Releasing him from his powerful grip, Jim stepped back. "Lets have a look at you," chuckling, the huge man punched him in the arm, "Yep, you still look like shit." With that, he threw his arm around Dirk's shoulders and headed toward the barn. Dirk knew that Jim didn't need his help in stringing the wire, he just wanted to get him down here for awhile, in hopes of convincing him that he was still a part of the human race. They loaded the wire into the truck in silence, neither being quite sure what to say. Dirk could tell that his long time friend had something he longed to say, but he knew he wouldn't say it, unless given an opening. Knowing that something was eating at him, he decided to get it out in the open, otherwise this day would drag by. "Now Jim, I find it hard to believe that you couldn't do this yourself, so what's on your mind?" Jim stopped what he was doing and stared for a moment, "I'm that transparent, eh?" he chuckled. Nodding, Dirk said nothing, and waited. Getting serious, Jim put his hand on his shoulder and shook his head. "Dirk, listen to me, you've been torturing yourself for the past three years, when are you going to realize that what happened wasn't your fault?" Leaning back against the truck, Dirk felt the emotions rising within him, "You weren't there Jim, you didn't see how hurt she was, you didn't hear the pain in her voice, I was and I did, yet I was too stupid to understand." Jim turned around and leaned back next to him and nodded, "So, you made a mistake, why cant you just try to go on living, instead of hiding out from the rest of the world?" The anger came from out of nowhere, welling up until it couldn't be pushed back. Turning on his friend he shouted, "And she died because of it, because of ME, why can't you understand? Why can't anyone understand?" Calming down a little, he added softly, "I might as well have killed her myself, for all the good I did." Jim had expected that this question would be met with this sort of anger, and was prepared for it. "You were a damn good cop, and the best partner that I ever had. I always knew that I could trust your instincts, and you never once let me or anyone else down. But, I'm telling you right here and now, that when you gave up on yourself, you let everyone down, including me." The sadness in his eyes was genuine, and Dirk knew in his heart he was right, but the memory of that day just wouldn't allow him to admit it. They stood there in silence for several minutes, each trying to think of what to say. It was Jim who spoke first, deciding to change the subject, "Well, it's already after nine, so I guess we had best get a move on if we want to get this done before dark." Looking him in the eye, he touched his arm, "I'm sorry, it's just that I care, you know that, just think about it that's all I ask." Nodding, Dirk tried his best to smile for his old friend, "I will, and thanks for caring." They finished their work by about seven, and after a few beers and some reminiscing, he bid his friend farewell. As he drove back home, he thought hard about what Jim had said to him, his feelings mixed and confused. Looking down at the clock, he noticed that it was almost 9:45, way too late to do any shopping tonight, yet way too early for bed. He reached his home at almost ten, just enough time to feed and water the horses, before getting himself some dinner. As he walked to the barn, his thoughts were spinning, his life was a mess, that much he knew, but how to fix it, that was the question. After all the horses were fed, he set about cleaning up the place, he had been neglectful in his duties of late, and had quite a mess on his hands. He loved this barn - the smells, everything about it - and yet, he never seemed to spend much time in here, there was something about it that always seemed odd to him. Even now, as he worked his way toward the far end, he couldn't help but feel a sense of urgency about what he was doing. The barn had only one door, which he found unusual. He had always thought that it was way too long for just one door, but he figured that the previous owners wanted it that way for some reason. When he reached the far end of the barn, the hairs on the back of his neck started to rise, and that eerie feeling came back to him again. He had never really been back here, never felt the need, until now, and although every fiber of his being told him to forget cleaning and go back to the house, he couldn't seem to leave. The lights in the barn shed some light back here, but not much, and he had to strain his eyes to see, but there, in the farthest corner, appeared to be a door. Taking out his lighter, he rolled up a piece of one of the feedbags, and lit the end. Using his makeshift torch for light, he cleared away the cobwebs with the broom, removed some old newspaper wall coverings and sure enough, there it was. The door was old, the hinges rusty, looking as if it hadn't been opened in years. Excited and intrigued by his fine, he ran back to the truck to get his worklight. Plugging it into the outlet by the door, he ran the extension cord out as far as it would reach, then set to work on prying it open. It wasn't an easy task, but with some effort he managed to open it far enough to slip inside. The door still blocked most of the light, so he put his back against it and pushed with all he had. Though he wasn't a big man, Dirk's 165 pounds was all muscle, and after a few good shoves, the door opened wide, allowing the light to shine in. At first he was slightly disappointed by his find. It appeared to be an old tack room; the floor was covered with dust, and littered with junk. Leaning down, he picked up what looked to him to be an old gunbelt, its leather worn and cracked with age. "Well, what the hell," he thought, "maybe I can sell some of this junk to the antique store." He stacked up the items out in one of the empty stalls, and set about trying to sweep the dust off of the floor. After several attempts, he decided to get the shovel down, and clean it that way, as the broom was almost useless against the pile of dust and dirt on the floor. He had just about finished his work, when the sound of metal striking metal, got his attention. Leaning down, he brushed away the remaining dirt with his hands, and was surprised by what he found. It appeared to be a metal plate, about 3 ft in length, by about 2 ft wide with a small metal ring in the center. It was attached to the floor by some odd looking screws. Resting his hand on it, he found it to be warm to the touch. For the second time tonight, the hair on the back of his neck stood up. Thoughts raced through his head as to what it might be, and why it would be warm, it was, after all, metal and therefore should've been cool. Thinking that there might be some kind of underground hot spring, or the like, he went back to the house to get his tools. It took only a few moments to remove the screws, and just a few minutes for him to make up his mind to open it. As he lifted the plate, an immensely bright light shone from underneath, causing him to avert his gaze for a moment. This wasn't from any wattage bulb that he had ever seen. As he peered into the hole and became adjusted to the light, he realized that it wasn't from any bulb at all ... but sunlight. Stepping back he stared for what seemed to be hours, "How could this be? It was nighttime, almost 11 PM, it made no sense at all. Upon further examination he noticed something even stranger, instead of going downward as he had expected, it seemed to open up at ground level in what appeared to be the mouth of a cave, beyond which he could see rolling fields of the greenest grass he had ever seen. He quickly made his decision and ran back to the house to get what he might need, along with a new pack of smokes he grabbed his canteen and a few other essentials, as well as the one thing he had promised himself he would never again touch, his gun.

_ It happened on a night very much like this one, the moon was full, and outside in the corral the horses were getting spooked. Thinking it might be a stray dog bothering the horses, he grabbed his flashlight and headed outside. There in the light of the full moon, he saw what it was ... a cougar, and he was after the horses. He quickly grabbed the gun and ran to the fence firing into the ground to scare it off, only it didn't scare, it charged. He fired as it closed the gap between them, hitting it just as it slammed into him, as he fell the gun went off again, hitting one of the horses. She was bleeding badly, from a hole in her neck. Although he tried to stop the bleeding, in his heart he knew she wouldn't make it. Promising her that she would be alright, she died in his arms. He had killed her. He swore then and there that he would never use a gun again. Another promise broken. _

As he climbed into the hole, he thought about that terrible day, and how he had changed, or thought he had. Yet here he was, holding a gun, and seemingly looking for trouble. Thrusting the thought from his mind he kept going. "Strange," he thought, "The air here seemed to be too clean, no pollution, and no smog." As he reached the entrance to the cave he saw nothing, for miles in all directions, nothing. Then he saw it, a sure sign of civilization, about a mile off , a plane, and it was landing in the grass. It took about 20 min to reach the spot where the plane had landed, or where he thought it had landed. Looking around, he discovered that there was no airstrip, nothing but some torn up grass and some tracks heading toward a small lake. "Must have been the sunlight in my eyes." He thought. Looking at his watch, he noticed that it was still half past 11, which was impossible considering that's when he left the barn. Figuring that the battery was dead, he decided to refill his canteen while he had the chance, after all the water seemed drinkable. Leaning down at the water's edge he noticed that the lake was full of strange looking fish, the likes of which he had never seen. Then from the center of the lake came a stream of bubbles. Stepping back from the edge he waited, but there was nothing there. "God you're being paranoid." He told himself, and maybe he was, but something wasn't right here. Granted, he lived a good ways from the nearest town, but not too far away from him, it was damn close to being overpopulated, yet here he was in the middle of nowhere, less than 2 miles from his house, something was definitely wrong with this picture. So he did the only thing he could think of, he sat down and waited for some sign that he wasn't insane. After about 15 minutes of watching the bubbles started again, this time closer to shore, standing, he stood and watched them as they seemed to be moving toward him, which to Dirk, was slightly unnerving, to say the least. He thought about drawing the gun, but he couldn't do it, so he just stood there dumbfounded, and waited. His wait was a short one, about 10 yards from shore the bubbles stopped, and then there was nothing. He stared at the spot for a few moments, then he decided that it was time to leave, "After all," he thought, "I can always come back." As he turned and started walking back the way he had come, there was a loud splash from the lake, followed by a ground shaking "thud". He stood there for a moment, afraid to turn, that's when he felt it, a hot breath on his shoulder. Diving to his left he came up to one knee with the gun in his hand, and froze. Standing there on the beach, less than 10 feet away from him, was, what could only be described as a Dragon. That's about when he passed out.

Chapter 2

She had never seen this sort of creature before, creatures similar, yes, but not quite the same, and the way he just dropped to the ground and stopped moving was even stranger still. She approached him carefully; not knowing what to expect, after all...it could be a ruse to lure her close enough to attack. Everything about this made her want to flee, but there was something tugging at her mind that made her curious. "Why didn't he attack, or flee for that matter?" She thought "and what was that covering he had over his skin?" Though, she was young, and hadn't even come close to seeing all that her world held, she was certain that she hadn't seen the likes of this before. She, as did all her kind, had some telepathic abilities, and though it took longer than her 1400 cycles to master them, she was fairly adept at it. Reaching out with her mind, she gently probed him, "Amazing", she thought, "He was afraid, of ME!" this wasn't what she had expected at all. Probing deeper into his mind, she searched for some clue as to what he was, and when she found it, SHE was the one who was afraid. Startled by what she found, she lost the connection, but it was enough to tell her that he was NOT from this world. His was a warlike race, with a single form, though he seemed ashamed of this. She turned to flee, and stopped again, in his hand was a weapon, she knew this from his memories. "Why didn't he use it?" This one thought made her stay. Backing away from this creature, she stood and thought for a moment. Somewhere in her memories something had begun to return to her, something she had heard in stories told by the elders. It told of a stranger who would appear from another place and time, who would bring with him the means for survival. Now being too young to remember the details of the story, she considered going for help, but what if he was gone when she got back? It was a risk she couldn't take. Scooping up his limp form she took flight and headed to her home. He dreamed of flying and being free from the troubles of the world, but there was someone there with him in his flight, only he couldn't see them, just feel their presence. In the dream he had seen a Dragon, of all things, and it didn't attack, as he would have Expected. It had just stood there looking at him. Then he dreamed of creatures from someone else's nightmare, things evil and twisted, things that couldn't possibly be. As she flew towards her home, her captive, no that wasn't the right word for it, guest was more fitting, seemed to stir in his slumber. Afraid he might awaken, she flew as fast as she could. As she came within a few miles of the mountains that she called home, she could sense others of her kind, "home" she thought to herself. Swinging in low over the cliff face she angled toward a large clearing surrounded by trees. Setting down in the grass, she gently lowered her passenger and made her way into the treeline. When he awoke in the grass, his first thought was "I must have been dreaming, cause I'm not dead." Chuckling to himself he sat up in the tall grass and looked around. "It seems a bit cooler than before, must be getting close to dark" Standing up above the grass he noticed the trees, "Ok...what the hell is going on here? There were no trees anywhere near that lake." Convinced that he is going crazy, he headed toward the treeline, looking for anything that might tell him where he is, and how he got here. She soon found her family, resting in the late afternoon sun. Looking up her sire rose to his haunches and greeted her warmly "And how was your swim?" he asked, "Do you feel better now?" That's when he noticed the worried look on her face, "Are you alright? Is something wrong?" She wasn't sure where to begin, "Sire, I found something, something very strange, he was at the lake, and I didn't know what to do, so I brought him here." With that said, she waited for what she knew was to come. The old dragon cocked his head to one side and just looked at her, waiting for an explanation. Walking deeper into the forest, he noticed that there wasn't any of the usual forest sounds to be heard, yet in the distance there was a rumbling sound, like a cross between a waterfall and a growling dog. Crouching low to the ground he headed toward the direction that the sound was coming from. "I'm being paranoid again," he thought, "maybe I'm still dreaming. But if that was the case, why would I be able to think that it was a dream?" Making no sense of it all he shook his head in frustration. "To hell with this, Hello? is someone there?" he shouted, "Come on, I know you can hear me, show yourselves." Swinging his massive head in the direction of the noise, The old Dragon Bellowed a challenge to the intruder, and rushed off toward the forest to confront this unwanted creature. "Sire STOP!" she cried out in desperation, "He's the one I was trying to tell you about, I left him at the clearing, he was asleep." The old one stopped and turned to her, his anger at the breaking of the rules evident in his eyes, "You brought him HERE? You know that is forbidden! No one, save our own kind is allowed here!" Frightened now, more so than in a long time, she made a decision that she wasn't sure she was ready to make, she stood her ground. "Sire, don't you know what's happening out there?" Daring his stern look, she continued, "No, you don't, because you never leave this place, well its changing, there is an evil upon this land, and it won't go away just because we pretend its not there." Steeling herself against the look in her sire's eyes, she continued, "This creature is unlike any that I have ever seen! Yet his mind was pure." "Father", she had not called him that name in a long time, and it had the desired effect, his eyes softened a bit, "I searched his mind, he is not from this place, but he isn't a threat to us, I feel it, please, help him." The sound made him stop and think twice about what he was doing, "That wasn't any waterfall" pausing a moment he considered turning back and running like hell, but then he still wouldn't know what's going on, and not knowing was almost as scary as the sound he just heard. Creeping quietly forward he reached the edge of another clearing, only this one wasn't empty, Dragons, at least 6 of them, of all sizes and colors, and they seemed to be watching the two in the center of the field. One of which was the dragon that he saw earlier by the lake. For the first time, Dirk was able to take a good look at this marvelous creature, at a length of about 35 feet, it had scales of a beautiful bluish gold hue with incredibly blue eyes. Then, suddenly the large dragon turned to look in his direction , his ebony scales reflecting in the sunlight. "Shit" he thought, "He sees me for sure". He tried to become one with the ground, quite unsuccessfully at that. "Come out of there, or I'll come in after you" roared the massive beast; "You will not be harmed, if you come out NOW." He could see the Dragon's mouth moving, and could hear the sound of its deep voice, but the dialect was one that he had never heard before. "He's trying to talk to me," he thought, "not sure if that's a good thing or not, but what the hell." Standing on legs that seemed a lot weaker that he remembered he walked into the clearing. "Hi there, how you doing? I don't suppose anyone here speaks English?" Judging by the complete lack of response he added to himself, "Of course not, after all, I'm in OZ, now all I need is a little dog, some chick named Dorothy and a few dozen midgets running around singing, "We are the lollipop Guild." A look of surprise seemed to come over the larger Dragons all at once, they looked at him, then at each other, all the while talking in that strange tongue of theirs. "He speaks the old tongue! But how can that be?" the old one was, for the first time in a thousand years, confused. Turning toward him, the dragon spoke "Forgive me, I know not to put this correctly, for too many cycles have passed since I have spoke the old tongue." His mouth went suddenly dry, "You, you just spoke English, but how? Who are you? And for that matter, where an I?" The dragon smiled, showing rows of sharp teeth, "You are not accustomed to talking to others who are not of your own kind?" Now for those of you who have never heard a dragon laugh well its something you would never forget, kinda like distant thunder rolling across the sky. He couldn't help but smile, the thought of a dragon laughing, well it just didn't fit in with what he would have Expected. "Well to be honest, I usually do all the talking, they answer, but not with words. So, just who are you, what's your name?" Still smiling the creature lay down in the grass and tilted his head to one side. "Aaah, a name, hmmm, again you'll have to forgive me, its been too long since I have had anyone ask me that, you may call me Brakus, as that was what the others of your kind called me so long ago." ** Chapter 3**

He couldn't believe it, he was talking to a Dragon!

"Uh, well my names Dirk, Dirk Summers." Looking toward the smaller dragon, the one he had seen earlier, he smiled "I don't suppose you can speak English too?" Brakus answered "She is yet young, and not well versed in the old ways." Smiling toward her he added, "but she will soon learn, after all, she tried to keep you from harm, thus, you are hers to protect." Protect? now he was even more confused, "In the short time that I have been here, you are the only sign of life that I have seen, from what do I need protecting?" Though she was young, she had been to the caves, and had listened to the elders when they told stories of legends, while she couldn't make out everything that was being said, she could understand enough of what they talked about to know that this creature wasn't ordinary in any way shape or form. She found herself fascinated by this creature that she had found, there was a strength about him, a confidence that she wouldn't expect from such a small creature. Noticing his daughter's fascination with this man Brakus chuckled, "Arial, why don't you go find something suitable for our guest to eat, I am sure he is hungry after the day he has had." As she left the clearing and took flight, he turned to Dirk, and continued, "Her name is Arial, and she is my daughter. I sent her for some food for you, in case you might be hungry. I had another reason for sending her away as well, something I do not believe her ready for as of yet." With that said he suddenly stood and shimmered, and there where a 40 Ft long dragon had stood only seconds before, stood a man. Rubbing his eyes in disbelief, Dirk stared for a moment, then abruptly sat down in the grass, "Ok, that's all I can take, I need a smoke." Brakus, watched as Dirk pulled out a pack of Winstons and lit up, inhaling deeply, he relaxed a bit, "Aaaah, that's better...and to think I almost quit last week," chuckling to himself he looked at the man before him, "I don't guess you smoke?" Brakus did not understand this at all, Dirk was breathing the smoke...and seemed Happy to be doing it, he asked "Why do you do that?" Still chuckling, Dirk replied, "what, Smoke? Hmmm, well I guess because my parents did, or was it cause I thought it was cool?" Brakus just looked at him like he was crazy "Actually, it relaxes me, however its addicting, so I don't recommend it." smiling he stood up and walked to where Brakus stood and extended his hand.

As he held out his hand to the Man/Dragon/whatever he was, he couldn't help but think of the young Dragon who had brought him here. Brakus said it was his daughter, and that she was now his protector, he no longer feared her, yet he couldn't keep her from his thoughts. Pushing the thoughts aside for a moment he asked, "You said that Ariel was now my protector, but you never answered my question, from what do I need protecting? Am I in danger?" Brakus took the extended hand and remembering times long since past, shook it. "There is a legend, it tells of one who will come to our land when the time of evil is upon us, as my daughter pointed out to me, its been far too long since I have left these mountains, thinking that it could never happen in my lifetime." "As the story goes, There will come a time when all things will be put to the test, and the world will change, as it has in the past. From this change a great evil will come, bringing with it the return of the darkness. From another place and time one will appear, this one will fight the darkness and be the champion of the light, he will speak the Old Tongue, and be versed in the ways of war. Though he be mortal, his spirit is that of the ones long departed, he is to be taken to the tomes of knowledge and there he will find himself, and the key to the survival of this land." As Brakus spoke the words, he could see images in his mind. The creatures he saw in his dream, they were real, he saw a time when man and dragon lived as allies against the darkness, and war. A war between light and dark, in which humans were thrust from this land to live in the world he just left. Wiping the tears that came unbidden to his eyes, he looked at this creature and felt a deep kinship, a bond tracing back thousands of years. Brakus saw the tears in the eyes of this man and knew... ** he was the one, it had already started.**