The Dragon Cave Hunter

“Mommy, there's a dragon,” whispers Mia. She stops walking and turns around to face us, pointing around the bend and staring at us with wide eyes.

We round the curve and see a bloody and wounded dragon slumped over, sitting on a tree stump, taking short, smoky breaths, using her swollen and bruised wings to block the sun. She slowly turned to nudge the metal tourniquet on her left wing, and a gush of blood flowed down her wing. The blood collected on the stump, and she returned to her slumped-over posture. Utterly exhausted, she briefly opens her eyes to look at us upon the sound of our footsteps.

Dragons perceive humans as a threat, but she is so injured that she doesn't have the energy or the interest to react. The stump was almost completely covered in blood, and most of it was dried. The dragon must have been there for at least a few hours, or even overnight.

"Thank you, Mia. Stay here with Mommy. I'm going to go take a look," Elliot says as he leans over to kiss Mia on the forehead. He makes his way to the wounded creature and kneels next to her to understand her condition. She continues to remain motionless.

“Mommy, what's wrong with the dragon?” asks Mia.

“She is badly hurt," I respond. Mia's shoulders dropped, and she stared at the dragon with empathy.

"I know, honey, it always makes me sad when dragons are hurt," I continue. "I'm not sure who hurt her, but she needs a lot of help and love right now.” I lift Mia and put her on my hip to offer a comforting hug. This is the first time Mia and I have ever been this close to a dragon.

We prioritize a morning hike as a family once a week, away from screens, surrounded by the sounds of nature. With a toddler in tow, it can be challenging, but we always make it work. Uninterrupted family time is critical for all of our mental health, and with Elliot, an ordinary day often turns into an adventure. I watch him with awe and admiration as he pulls his phone out, circling the dragon to figure out how to help her.

I was drawn to him in such an authentic way, and our connection was strong right from the start, that I knew we would make a great team. We both have so much passion for life and for helping others.

"...with significant blood loss and a torn wing. We're going to need a gurney truck for her," I hear him say as his voice fades in while returning. "Great, see you soon." Elliot hangs up and returns the phone to his pocket.

“Does a tourniquet usually do that much damage?" I asked Elliot.

"It does when it's not a custom fit. Whoever was harvesting her blood tried to reuse an old one," he responded empathetically.

"Is there any way to know where she came from?” I asked inquisitively.

“She probably escaped from the Kurman caves. They're down in the valley. We've been investigating them for months, and there's not quite enough evidence to press charges. A tourniquet could change everything. Cave masters don't typically release dragons without first removing the tourniquet, so she probably escaped. Even if the chip is inactive, it still stores a ton of information about where and when it was last used,” he explained.

Dragon bleeding has remained lucrative for decades, and convictions are almost impossible to overturn. Dragons are raised or caught, then chained up in caves for blood collection. The demand for dragon blood is high, and it is sold on the underground market at very high prices.

“Stan is on his way. We are about a tenth of a mile from the trailhead, so we can get the truck back here if necessary."

A wounded dragon in the wild typically means it either escaped a cave or has been discarded because it no longer produces usable blood. This puts them in such a vulnerable place that even the rangers sometimes need a dragon health expert to assess the next steps.

Mia pointed to the tourniquet on the dragon's wing, "What is that metal thing?" she asked.

“That is called a tourniquet. That is used to get blood from the dragon,” I replied softly. I put Mia down as we began walking, and the three of us returned to the parking lot within minutes.

“Do you want to stick around until we get her on the truck, or would you rather go home with Mia?" I never want to leave him. His kindness and passion for dragon work are a huge turn-on for me.

“If you’re sure you’ve got this, we will go home. There is a little bit I need to catch up on,” I say, looking deep into his eyes.

He takes me into his arms and slips the keys to the truck into my hand while grabbing my butt and kissing me. “I’ll be home soon. It should go smoothly,” he says between kisses.

I run my hand down his tattoo sleeve to silently remind him how sexy he is. “Mmmmm, I want you to take me on the bathroom counter tonight.”

“Mhmm. I'm getting hard just thinking about it. You're wearing my favorite red thong today,” he agrees as he adjusts his pants. I feel his beard on my neck as he gives me a playful nibble.

I cup him with my hand and feel his dick growing. "I want to suck on it," I whisper in his ear.

"Stan just pulled in. I will be home as soon as I can," he said, looking over my shoulder.

We release our grip on each other and turn to face Stan, approaching in the leading gurney truck. He is already off-site and, luckily, on the east side of the valley, so his drive to the Canary trailhead takes him only a few minutes.

"Hi, Stan! Nice to see you. How's your new grandson doing?" I ask as he joins us.

"Hey, Hazel! He's doing great. The delivery went well, and Iris is recovering wonderfully. Ella loves her new big sister role. Hey, I hear Mia is learning the alphabet." Stan kneels on the ground and offers his fist to Mia. "Nice work! Can I get a fist bump?" asks Stan. Mia reaches out her tiny fist, lets out a giggle, and makes contact with Stan's fist. Stan mimics a miniature explosion by opening his hand, and Mia smiles with delight.

"We're going to head back home. You got this!" I say to them as I get Mia in her car seat.

I got Mia into the truck, pulled out of the spot, and waited for traffic to clear on the main road. I watched them walk into forest from the rear view, and they disappeared into the canopy just as I pulled onto route 33.

“How far in is she?” asked Stan.

“About a tenth of a mile, and get this, she is still wearing the tourniquet," Elliot says excitedly.

"We are so close to shutting this thing down. The tourniquet may be just the evidence we need,” reacts Stan.

"Hey, did I hear you handled the Hummingbird rescue? Any updates on that?" Elliot inquires.

"She's still in recovery and will be for at least a month. Still no way to know if she is from Kurman," Stan informs.

Pushing the truck into the forest is not ideal, and it is best to avoid it. Getting the dragon out of the forest using the fabric gurney is best for everyone, and standards like this keep the trails as well-kept as they are.

Tourniquet chips hold massive amounts of information and can be tracked with surprising accuracy. Every tourniquet has a chip in it, and it must be active for blood collection. Tourniguettes have complex functionality, and are only used for one thing, so cave masters must make them on-site, typically using an unregistered machine. Since the dragon is still wearing it, it may still be active. Even if it isn't, the data can be accessed easily.

As they approach the tree stump in the trail, Elliot sees a puddle of blood remaining where she had been sitting, and a trail of blood follows her as she struggles with pain. She is moaning loudly and seems to be unwilling to settle down.

Elliot and Stan run to her assistance and reach out to support her. She turned to look Elliot in the eyes and let out a fiery groan, charring the tree she fell in front of out of exhaustion. She falls and lands on the tourniquet, and it tears through her delicate wing. Blood begins spurting out as she surrenders to the pain.

“Go get the struck," Stan says handing Elliot the keys. "I am going to stay here and do my best to stop the bleeding.”

Elliot runs back to the trailhead lot and hops in the truck. He is relieved when he sees that Stan has one unopened emergency kit remaining. Stan is the Captain of Fettesh River Rescue and has the best truck on the road.

He hears the moans from quite a distance, and get louder as her approaches. There is a massive amount of blood and a small fire on the branch directly above the dragon. Next to the outstretched dragon’s tail sit two dragon eggs. Stan cradles another on its way out.

“Call Naomi. This is going to be a big delivery. We need to get these into the lab ASAP,” orders Stan.

Elliot sets the kit next to Stan and quickly retrieves his phone. “Oh wow, I didn’t realize she was pregnant," Elliot says as Naomi picks up. "Hey there, are you available to come to Canary? We have a dragon in labor, currently delivering its third egg, and she’s severely wounded. Thank you, We'll see you soon," he says before he hangs up the phone.

Stan was able to stop the bleeding on the wing during the delivery, and after the sixth and final egg is delivered, the bleeding started up again. Now that he has the kit, it's easy to control the bleeding. Just as he is finishing up, Naomi arrives with a small crew carrying gurneys.

“What happened to our girl here?” asks Naomi as she lifts the blanket to look at the eggs.

“Our best guess is she escaped from the valley. This may be enough evidence to press charges. We'll see what the chief says,” Stan replies.

Naomi cleans and inspects the eggs, and the crew carefully places each in a rigid box. When the crew gets the eggs boxed up, they are placed on the gurneys and returned to the van.

She walks over to the dragon and starts taking vitals. “This tear is rough; this is going to be permanent damage. We have a room open in the south building. I can’t get the tourniquet open. She is ready to be put on the truck gurney. You boys got this?”

“Yes, ma’am, we sure do,” assures Stan. “Thank you darlin'!”

They turn to each other, nod, and start sliding the rails of the mobile gurney that holds the fabric sling out of the pickup bed and lower it to the ground. They carefully get the dragon on the truck using two extra-wide, thick woven straps to lift her. One strap is placed behind her wings, and the other is next to her tail. Once she is on the gurney, the straps are fastened around her and strung through special ratchet points in the truck bed.

“I can’t remember which call it was, but a rescue on Dove was pregnant, too. What’s happening to these dragons is awful. There is a concentration of caves in the valley below Owl. There are a couple of new ones this month alone,” says Stan.

“How long have they been operating? Any way to know?” Elliot asks.

“I would say at least three generations, if not more. We will take it day by day, you know?” replies Stan.

“That’s the best we can do,” Elliot empathizes.

They get in the truck, and Stan begins the trek to the south building, planning to drop Elliot off at home on the way there.

“Have I ever told you about my first delivery?” asks Stan.

“I don't think so,” replies Elliot.

“Back in Ohio, I was a rookie in my first month on the job, just out of college, and one night a bad storm came through. It started raining so heavy that I had to close the overhead to stop the 4-wheeler from getting soaked. I got bored and was messing around in the garage, gassing up the four-wheelers, checking tire pressure, you know, trying to act like I knew what I was doing. A call came in for a rescue on the smallest mountain, and the Captain asked if I was comfortable taking a call for a night rescue, and naively, I said yes, hoping to impress him. The four-wheelers were great in the plains around the mountains, and they could handle the terrain on a few of the smaller mountains. I grew up using a four wheeler, so I thought, 'How different could it be?'

Stan looked over at Elliot who was listening intently and rolled his eyes in embarrasment.

"I hopped on a four-wheeler with a trailer gurney and screamed out of the building at Mach 10. I was staring at my GPS when I realized I was headed right for the electric fence. I tried to stop, but my brakes locked, and I took out the fence while rounding 180 in a skid. As I crashed through the fence, it caught my shoulders and pulled me off the four-wheeler."

"Whaaaaaa?" Elliot said, barely able to breathe from laughing.

"I climbed back on and continued to the rescue. She couldn’t walk, so I got her on the trailer gurney and started back to the station. I didn't know she was pregnant until she went into labor. When I turned around to see what the noise was, I went into another skid. She tumbled off the gurney just as she delivered the first egg. She wound up delivering another egg and I was using my phone light to see. I rode back to the main building with the two eggs in my lap."

Stan turns to look at Elliot again. "That was my first delivery,” he says in a ridiculous mocking tone.

Taking a breath from laughing, Elliot said, smiling, “You have the stories of someone who has lived 100 lives. I really love this job.”

“We’re glad. The whole gang thinks you are an amazing addition to the crew,” compliments Stan.

Stan pulls up to the house, and Elliot gets out of the truck. “Hey man, thanks for the ride. I’ll catch you later.” Elliot says, still chuckling a little, and goes inside to shower and clean up.

On the day we met years ago, upon returning to the trailhead parking, I was greeted with a flat tire. I was putting the spare on as he pulled into the lot and was too focused on getting the wheel onto the hub to notice that he had come up behind me. When he asked if I needed help, I politely thanked him without looking at him and confirmed I had everything under control.

Little did I know he had already been watching me struggle with the spare. Our eyes met when he offered to put the flat in my trunk, and I accepted his help, if for nothing else than to create an opportunity to flirt. Our connection was instant and mutual.

"I haven't seen you around before. Are you visiting?" He asked me.

"I just moved into Cedar Hill," I responded.

"Welcome to Celewood. How do you like this trail?"

"I like it. It's a great distance for a loop and has great ground cover. How long have you been working as a Ranger?"

"I just started my tenth year," as the flat thudded down in my trunk.

"Thank you for getting that in the trunk. I have time to do one more loop. Would you like to walk and tell me about the area?" I asked.

"I would love to," he agreed, "I rarely get invites from such beautiful women."

"Thank you," I said, blushing and scanning his tattoos. "I'd love to hear about your tattoos, too."

We walked and talked for hours uninterrupted. I learned his passion for dragon welfare. He has been a ranger since his teenage years and transferred to Celewood a few years after college. It’s emotionally and physically exhausting work, and he appreciates it for what it is.

The connection was flawless; we both knew it was meant to be. We exchanged numbers, and things moved quickly.

Soon after we met, he took down a small cave he was investigating. Then he was able to prosecute another. When he was able to close investigations on three separate caves within a year, the department noticed. He was promoted to Sergeant, and the local newspaper ran an article on him, which went national. This resulted in recruitment calls, but Elliot wasn’t interested; he cared for Celewood too much.

We were married about six months after he was promoted to Sergeant, and we became pregnant a few years later. We loved living in Celewood and decided it was time to consider moving into a house. The market was hot, and we even made a few cash offers well over the asking price, which quickly turned into bidding wars, complicating the search for the perfect house.

When the head of the Fettesh River department called, he knew this position was a whole new level of responsibility. He wasn’t even sure what to think of it, but we discussed it and knew it was something we couldn't pass up. We jumped at the opportunity because it was a promotion, and we were willing to relocate.

The city of Fettesh River is well-known for its beautiful scenery and challenging mountain trails, so it became serendipitous when we realized that Fettesh River's housing market was much more what we had in mind. We found exactly what we were looking for, and almost overnight. Everything was falling into place.

Fettesh River is also the host of one of the world’s largest collections of caves, the Kurman caves. The investigation has been open for years, and Elliot’s knowledge of the criminal process was extensive, having fought for the safety and protection of dragons for so long. This made him a desirable candidate for the position they were looking to fill. Even with almost ten years of experience in Fettesh River, encountering a dragon in the wild is still considered rare, and a wounded dragon is nearly unheard of.

Since relocating to this area, we have recognized and appreciated all the positive shifts and changes in our marriage, especially once Mia was born. He is a fantastic father and man; I cannot imagine my life without him.

“Wow it smells good in here! What can I do to help?” He nuzzled his face in my hair, cupping my breasts from behind. He started searching for my nipples as he lay his head sideways, inhaling deeply to take me in. I feel him getting swollen through his pants again.

I spin around inside his embrace to discover he is shirtless, and I begin finger-combing the hair on his chest, gracing his nipples. I reach down slowly and unbutton his pants as we start kissing. He pulls my tank top off my shoulder, teasing my nipple with his tongue. He lifts me onto the kitchen counter and sucks on them, going back and forth a few times. He grabs both of my breasts and buries his face between them. I am wet with anticipation and let out a moan of pleasure.

Our whole relationship has been like this. There has never been a desire for anyone else. “More tonight, on the bathroom counter, per request,” he whispers to me as he plays with my now wet and hard nipples with his fingers. He licks between my breasts up to my collarbone.

“Mmmmm,” I respond. I pull him close and trap him between my legs and bury my nose in his chest to inhale him. We stand silent and motionless for a few moments to enjoy one another.

I release my grip, he returns the straps of my tank top, and assists me off the counter. I begin admiring his broad shoulders, and he embraces my face in his hands to give me one final passionate kiss.

As we go upstairs to get Mia up from her nap, His phone suddenly lights up. "Oh, It's Stan. Maybe he has an update."

"Hey Stan, how is she doing?" Elliot answers.

"We got the tourniquet off, and the chip is still active, and we should have data in the morning. I think this is putting us in a great position. We may be able to move forward with it."

"Awesome, glad to hear it! See you tomorrow," enthusiastically responds Elliot. He hangs up and joins Mia and me in her room to share the news.