Page 65 of Escaping my Dragon

“After I’ve announced I’ve found proof of dragons, we’ll pan to you.”

Joslyn interrupted to give instruction. “You’ll want to give us your most regal look meaning no looking dopey or cross-eyed.”

“And try to keep your voice at its current decibel so we don’t blow the mic,” Vernon added.

Nice to see we all managed to treat this just like any other job. Did any other show ever have my knees shaking, though? Maybe that time I wore hip waders to wander the bog at night to dispel the stories of a boggart haunting a town. It turned out to be a serial killer who went after me for being a meddlesome bitch. His words.

This bitch had taken jiu-jitsu, though. I put him in a hold that had him crying for his mama and brought Vernon and a camera-wielding Joslyn to the rescue with some cops.

The images from that turned into some pretty wild memes. Woman named Velma with glasses unmasks a serial killer? To be expected.

“Ready when you are,” Joslyn announced, aiming her lens at me.

Vernon gave me a thumbs up despite fiddling with his equipment.

A death grip around the microphone, plus a few deep and steadying breaths, flipped the switch in me from normal freaked out person, to cool under fire reporter.

“Hello and welcome to another episode of Debunking the Myth. I’m your host, and lead investigator, Velma Jenkins. Today, I’ve got a special for those watching. As you can see, I’m standing somewhere cold. Antarctica, to be precise.” I paused as Joslyn panned away from me to the stretch of land and ice and snow untouched by the volcano and away from Leviathan. Didn’t want to ruin the surprise.

As the lens returned to me, I remained serious in tone. “I came here to unravel the truth of the many conspiracies centered in this one place. Only, I ended up discovering something wholly unexpected. Which brings me to today’s topic. Dragons. I’m sure I don’t need to tell most of you how widespread stories about them are. It seems like just about every culture, even those going back thousands of years, had some version of them. Winged reptiles that could fly. Well, today, I’m here to prove once and for all that…” I paused dramatically because the moment called for it. “Dragons are real.”

With that decree, Joslyn shifted the view from me to the giant head she’d been avoiding thus far. While we might be standing on a roof top with a chilly whistling wind, in my mind I could hear the gasp of millions as they beheld Leviathan for the first time.

And then even as Joslyn kept filming the massive beast, I began speaking the first thoughts that would burst into their minds.

“This isn’t CGI nor AI. This isn’t part of a movie set. I am actually here and that is a dragon, one dating back to the Ice Age.” Another short interval where I said nothing, as I let the audience digest. Years of doing this had let me know when and how to make statements more dramatic.

“You’re probably thinking, I’m full of you-know-what,” Don’t laugh, I tried to avoid swearing on my show. “I swear, it’s true. Leviathan has been around since the dinosaurs, and the reason we weren’t aware of him is because he’s been napping in Antarctica for thousands of years. He slept for so long, he was forgotten, which seems kind of impossible given his size.”

“Not unprecedented, though,” he interrupted. “When I last woke, humanity managed to forget about me and built atop my scales a mighty city. The most brilliant minds and innovations existed within, or so I was told. Pity they weren’t smart enough to construct their Atlantis on solid ground.”

I blinked. “Did you just confirm Atlantis really existed?”

“For someone who only knows the English language, I have to wonder at your comprehension.”

“For those watching, that very deep voice you’re hearing? That’s Leviathan, the name he indicated we should use since the one in his language isn’t pronounceable by us. Can you tell us why you chose Leviathan?”

“Actually, it was suggested by the American military. I chose it instead of Cthulhu because it’s easier for humans to pronounce.”

“You wanted a monster name?”

“It seemed most fitting, given I am a destroyer.”

Guess I wouldn’t have to coax his plans from him. “A destroyer of what, to be specific?”

“Everything.”

He said it so matter of fact and that annoyed. “And what gives you that right? What makes you think you can just wake up and be like, I’m going to wreck the world today?”

“Because I can. As the mightiest on this planet, a veritable god, everything belongs to me and I can do with it as I wish.”

“I for one have a problem with that statement. You don’t get to unilaterally decide you own everything.”

“And everyone,” he pointedly added.

“You don’t own me.”

“But I do. Just like I own Joslyn and Vernon and Noah. Everyone. You are welcome to argue. The feisty ones are always the most savory to eat.”