Chapter 3 – the chase

Ibrahim noticed a pair of shadows lurking in the distance. They were trying to break in. Ibrahim woke the dragon. She lay in the blackness, staring at him annoyingly with her sleepy, scared eyes. He raised his finger to his mouth and shushed her. Deep voices cried commands; the dragon roared; Ibrahim sighed.

Squirming across the seats, Ibrahim signed to the dragon. Quietly, she crawled towards him. Climbing a ladder, they hid in a cupboard. Carefully, Ibrahim grabbed lots of chairs to barricade them in and threw a fire blanket over them, so no-one would find them.

At that second, a person walked into the airport. There was silence, a feeling of somebody hearing. Lampposts drained out all the darkness ; breathes screamed loudly; the people started the search. Compromising a glimpse, skinny shadows searched. A cold wintry blow of air whooshed through the door. Shivering, Ibrahim cuddled close to the dragon for warmth. They had to wait for the guards to go, then they could move on.

It seemed like days but probably had been an hour by the time the people went. It was sun-set now and in the twilight, the dragon talked to Ibrahim… without actually talking. Their minds seemed to merge as she told Ibrahim that she needed to get to the portal. A portal to take her back to her world, where she would not be killed or hunted.

Ibrahim had a suggestion that maybe the portal was part of the city walls where there was a hole that had been filled with concrete. Trembling, he searched her wound. It bled faster than a lake; she was falling weak. The city walls would be a long jog… and risky. He thought would they make it?

Ibrahim knew his family would be concerned, but there was nothing he could do. He had to find the portal before he could go home. So it was only the moon and the stars that watched two shadows, a boy and dragon, sneakily go through an alleyway into the city. They built their way, alleyway to alleyway, dodging checkpoints, playing in a deadly game of cat and dog.