Pssh. Obviously.

Shutting my eyes tightly and screwing up my fists and my courage, I reached both hands through the mirror-lake and dived forward. 

Walking would have made more sense, but my brain still read the portal as 'floaty air lake' and didn't think.

 I fell forward, rolling rather more like an armadillo than a fedora-wearing adventurer.  I managed one somersault, then landed with my stomach on a rock. I groaned and pushed my tired body up, tossing my red mane back out of my eyes. As usual, a single curl defied me and hung right in the middle of my forehead. 

Steadying myself against a nearby tree trunk, I stood and dusted the pine stickies off my jeans. 

Well, tried to. Sap is evil. 

Now attempting to scrape the sinister concoction back onto my pants, I looked up and around this strange portal-world. I was hoping for something dramatic, like an evil lair or a looming castle.

It was rather disappointing when everything looked basically the same. Pine trees, a clearing, and puppy prints leading away into the trees. 

Boring. 

I turned around and spotted the trees that I had come through. I leaned closer and was able to pick out the woods that I had just been in. Nothing had caused the portal to close or not work from this side, so I wasn't in too much danger. If anything went wrong or I needed to return, I could simply go back through. Perfect.

Not that I was in a hurry to go back to Vermont. I had just stepped into what -hopefully- was a different dimension. I could just be making all of this up and still be in regular old USA, but I figured that I might as well enjoy my free time anyway. I was feeling much better than I had when I woke up, and I was ready for a little exploring.

Taking a moment to observe my surroundings, I noticed that the trees here seemed to be taller. It was nearing dusk, and the sun that had shone so fiercely into my eyes only a few minutes before was now sinking behind the mountains. Sunset fire shone across the sky, and the dark shapes of peaks stood out starkly against it. In the middle of the mountain range, right against the setting sun, a single crest raised its proud head. 

That was the only distinguishing feature of the scenery that I could see. Everywhere else seemed to be the same. Trees, trees, more trees, and rocks.

I walked over to the paw prints in the dust. They were hard to see, what with the deepening twilight and hard ground, but I was able to make out the general direction that they followed. There was drops of something mixed into the dirt that I couldn't quite make out. It was dark and wet, and with a shock I realized it was blood. The animal was still hurt.

I had to do something.

Following the tracks as quickly as I could, I made my way out of the clearing and into the brush. It was hard going, and it seemed that every second a thick veil was growing in front of my eyes. Soon it would be pitch black. 

As that thought hit me, I stood. What was I doing? I was out here in the middle of who-knows-where, tracking down a dog in the dark. I had no shelter, no way to keep warm, and even worse... I was lost. 

I turned around, desperately hoping to be able to see the clearing, but it was too dark. I was adrift and alone in the blackness.

I remembered my dream- or rather, the fear that had penetrated me in that dream. I collapsed, huddling into a ball and desperately trying to focus on breathing. 

This was not good. 

This was really not good.

Everything was cold.

Tearing my eyes open, I gasped. I had to get up. 

Suddenly I realized that I could see something. Up ahead, a warm orange glow was filtering though the tree trunks and landing on my face. I squinted and stood up, holding tentatively onto a branch above my head. 

Focused now on this light, I was able to shove down my panic. I moved toward the glow, not thinking about anything else. It drew me in, like a moth to a candle. 

I reached the final tree that stood between me and it. My hand pushed down the thin, soft needles, and I peeked through, wondering what I would see.

A small fire blazed in the center of a tiny grove, crackling and sending small sparks shooting into the air. There was a pile of something in between me and it, but no one in sight. I moved quickly towards it, relief lighting up inside me. I hoped the dog had found somewhere to sleep. I could continue the search in the morning.

I walked around the pile, sitting down in front of the flame and warming my hands at it. Some of the sparks floated around me, and I grinned. I was surprised to find that I was tired. I had only woken up a few hours ago, but my eyelids were once again growing heavy. I put it down to adrenaline wearing off, and took a deep breath. Finally, I thought, I could relax.

Man, was I wrong.

I heard movement behind me, and figured it must be the owner of the fire. I turned to see who my unknowing host was, feeling a little ashamed that I hadn't asked before coming to their fire. I intended to remedy that mistake now. 

But the sight that met my eyes wasn't a person, or even the puppy that I had followed. 

The pile behind me was moving.

Only, it wasn't a pile. It had never been. Firelight glinted off plates of armor as big as my fist, dancing over spikes and claws and lighting up eyes. 

It moved, standing above me and looking down with dark indigo eyes, narrowed into slits. Wings spread behind it, and an unearthly sound rumbled out of its mouth. 

A dragon.

A freaking dragon.

I stepped back, frantic, trying to get as far away from the danger as I could, but I was panicked. My boot met a lump, and I slipped. I was twisting, falling, terrified- into the flames.

Heat billowed over my face and arms, and I screamed. There was a sharp crack, and a sudden pain flooded my skull as fire closed over my head, bringing darkness with it.

____________________________________________________________________

A/N

Hey! I apologize immensely for taking so long to update. The last two Thursdays have been family birthdays, and yesterday my laptop crashed before I could post. Luckily, I was able to boot it back up, and Wattpad had saved my work. 

I probably won't post again until the Thursday after Christmas, so enjoy! 

--Litore Grace