The Dragons of Death Valley

There weren’t always dragons in the Valley. Sure, we’ve always had lizards of some kind – but that’s expected for a desert like Death Valley. But actual, fantastical dragons? Never. Before, I was even certain there hadn’t been dragons anywhere at any time. And yet Death Valley National Park was infested with them, like cockroaches in a dirty kitchen.

I first saw them while driving through the Valley on a trip to visit my uncle in Bakersfield, California. My mother and I live near the Valley in a small Nevada town called Pahrump, which is a nice, dry, barren wasteland of a town. Besides a few TV shows having been filmed there, not much really happens in Pahrump, which is why it was good of me to get out for a bit. I could have driven there going around Death Valley, but the I-15 was undergoing construction at the time, so I had to choose between Death Valley and construction, and, well, I hate construction. Knowing now what rested in the Valley – I would have picked construction five times over.

I had gotten up early the day of, hoping I would somehow wake up faster than the heat. But it was the beginning of summer, and I live in Nevada, so the sun scorched over me like a blowtorch held by God. I was blasting the air conditioning in my beat-up old ford, just barely fighting against the heat. When I arrived at the Valley, it felt like the drive might last forever. And then, in the far distance, I saw something massive flying. Its silhouette glided across the sun’s beams with a certain ferocity, as if it challenged other flyers to fly as strongly as it did. I squinted my eyes as I drove to try and get a better look against the sun. When you’re in the desert it’s easy to suspend belief about what you see – people see mirages all the time. It wasn’t hard to convince myself that I had just seen one of the grandest birds in my life. I let myself accelerate and opened my windows, allowing the wind to roar in my ear. I felt lucky to have seen something so beautiful in nature. But about ten minutes after the initial sighting, I noticed something round ahead on the road. It was hard to tell at a distance, but it seemed to be a large gathering of animals. I continued driving, becoming closer by the second.

Whatever it was, it certainly had to be animals of some sort. They were moving quite a lot in place.

Closer.

The movement seemed… individual. If that makes sense. Maybe it wasn’t a group of animals.

Closer.

No, it was a group. A small group of large animals.

Closer.

I began driving slower than before. These ‘animals’ were larger than any I had seen before.

Closer.

I stopped my car, just far enough away to look at them. My eyes widened as my jaw dropped in disbelief. There were three of them. Their scales were rough and thick. Their sheen seemed to both absorb sunlight and reflect it off them. Each had a set of appendages that acted as both arms and wings. The wings looked like they could have been fashioned from skinned leather, and at the end of the arm were curved dagger-like claws. Their back legs were large as they held a tail the size of an alligator. Together, the three of them gnawed viciously on an animal’s carcass, utilizing large serpentine heads with horns. I couldn’t tell what animal they were feasting on. The two in front I could see the more I watched while the third was obstructed by them. Both had a dark moss green color which combated the color of the orange hue of the desert around them. What am I doing? I thought to myself. I need to leave. What if they see me? My hand rested on my car’s gear stick, and yet, it wouldn’t move.

And then, I saw the third one. It raised its head above the other two, gazing directly at me as if it meant to paralyze me. Its skin was darker and its head harbored larger horns that curled like a ram’s with the end of it pointing forward, like the end of a spear. The beast raised its wings as it maintained its stare and leapt forward into the air like a missile flying towards me. I couldn’t believe it. I tried not to believe it. Perhaps this was the greatest mirage any person had ever witnessed. But if it was a mirage, it was a swift and terrifying one, and as it grew closer I then noticed I underestimated its size. I let my body slide down the seat to hide, my heart pounding as the wind began to roar. Then suddenly, it flew just a couple feet over me, shaking my car like a small earthquak. I peered from my car floor, watching it circle around and fly back over to the other two, as if to command them to follow. They obliged and blasted off the ground, leaving a few broken bones in the sand. I sat back in my car seat with only the sound of my breathing accompanying me. I pulled my gear into reverse, turned around, and sped home.

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“Ryan?” My mother said from the living room. I had just shut the front door and put the full weight of my back against it, beathing heavily. She moved into the hall. She’s a shorter woman, with dark hair lined with greys. “Ryan, what’re you doing back already? Is everything alright?”

“Mom,” I started, balancing words with breaths, “I just saw…” But I couldn’t bring myself to say it.

“Saw what honey?”

I couldn’t tell her. She wouldn’t believe me. Dragons. Actual dragons. She’d think her son had the most bizarre mirage spell – or maybe her son had finally lost it. What would that do to her? I couldn’t risk it.

“I, uh, saw that the gas was running low. I must’ve forgotten to refuel before I left.”

“Ryan, we talked about this!”

“I know, it completely slipped my mind. Um, have you heard anything on the news? Like, about Death Valley?”

“No? Why? Did something happen?” She began to look at me a certain way – the kind of look a mother gives when they start to see right through you.

“No, nothing. Just… curious, is all. I’m, uh, going to… go to my room. I need to rest a little bit – it’s really hot today.”

“But your uncle is expecting –”

“I’ll let him know I can’t make it today.” I nearly stumbled on words as they came out of my mouth quickly. “Sorry, the whole gas thing really got to me.”

“Ok. Go ahead and rest then.”

I thanked her for understanding, then speedily entered my room. I locked my door after closing it and sat at my computer. I thought that someone had to have seen these dragons, so I began searching all over the web, searching things like ‘Death Valley dragons,’ ‘real life dragon sightings,’ ‘Dragons of Death Valley,’ but nothing close to what I had experienced showed. I laid back in my chair with hands rubbing down against my face. I must have imagined them, I thought to myself. As I continued to ponder, I couldn’t help but reimagine my car shaking violently as the dragon flew over me. I was a distinct vibration I would never forget. My head grew tense, developing a headache as marbles bounced around in my brain. I let my finger scroll on my mouse, tapping the next search page mindlessly, hoping that something would pop up. And then it happened. My eye caught a news article from over twenty years ago concerning a woman causing a rise within Pahrump about dragons. I began to read.

Sally Booker, age 51, was apprehended today by Nye County Police Department after causing an uproar in the city of Pahrump last Thursday. She reportedly started the public disturbance at the Pahrump Valley Museum, where she claimed to both Museum staff and customers that she had seen real dragons, and that they were going to ‘rule over us.’ Michael Horn, said to be a close friend of Ms. Booker and a resident employee of the Museum, said “I have never seen her act like this before. She’s always been a calm and collected person. A role model for her daughter. I don’t understand what’s going through her head.” Ms. Booker is reported to have one daughter, Angie, who was not present for the event. Officer McDowell has assured us that Ms. Booker will be taken care of and will likely be released in the near future.

My eyes glazed over the article again and again. I kept thinking about how it matched up. The description of the dragons was not too much to rely on, and yet it seemed like the perfect match. Besides, not much happens in Pahrump – coincidences like this are rare. I looked back at the name of Booker’s friend. Michael Horn. It was a long shot, but I had to hope he still worked at the museum.

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I parked in the lot next to the museum. I had a sense of urgency and wanted to move as fast as possible, but I couldn’t help but sit for a second, staring blankly in front of me as I began to think. I looked at my phone, looking back at my reflection in the dark screen. My short black hair was disorganized, and I tried to comb it with my hand as I continued to look at phone. Then the reflection was disrupted by a message notification from my uncle. My mom had already told Uncle Duke I wasn’t coming. I realized I must have worried him too. I responded to him, reassuring him that I hoped to visit him soon. I wasn’t so sure though as I pictured the carcass the dragons devoured in the Valley and shivered. I stepped out of my car and headed inside.

“Dr. Horn?” The lady behind the desk said. “Well, we don’t usually get requests, but I can see if he’s available.” She picked the phone next to her. I watched as she stopped talking and instead listened as the person on the other side rambled. She put her hand on the end of the phone and asked for my name. “His name is Ryan. Uh huh. OK,” she hung up and told me he was available to meet in a nearby exhibit. I arrived before him and waited a minute or two, browsing the history the museum displayed of Pahrump. Over the years we’ve been known for miners, pioneers, and cowboys. The animal wildlife had rattlesnakes, big horn sheep, coyotes – but nothing about dragons. A part of me had hoped they would be there and that I just missed it before. After a while an elderly, skinny man with a balding head and beard approached me.

“Are you Ryan?” Dr. Horn asked.

“Yes – it’s nice to meet you sir.” I quickly shook his hand.

“I’m sorry, but it’s not often someone asks for me by name. Is there something I can help you with?”

“Well,” I was unsure how to approach him on the subject. I couldn’t start with dragons – that’s too forward and sounds insane. “Do you remember a Sally Booker?”

“Oh dear,” he said with a faint feeling of worry in his voice. “I haven’t heard that name unless poor news came along. What do you want with Ms. Booker?”

“Oh, nothing bad. I was just… wondering if you had her number. I wanted to ask her about something.”

“And what is it you wanted to ask?” he responded, now raising an eyebrow as if he was telling me in protest to stop where I was.

“I… wanted to ask about…” Make something up! “The dragons.” I winced. It was hard for me to circle around the subject.

Dr. Horn straightened his composure and gave me a stern look. “I see,” he said with a sense of authority now. “I will not humor this. Good day to you.” He turned to walk away, but I ran in front of him to halt his movement.

“Look, I know it sounds crazy, but I believe her!”

“Please leave or I will have you escorted out.”

“I need to talk to her!

“I will not ask again.”

“I saw them! Real dragons! Just like she did! I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t, I swear!” He examined me as I spoke. I had my head down after I exclaimed, realizing that I had raised my voice, no doubt attracting the attention of nearby visitors. I looked back at him and felt a tear in my eye. It had only been a short amount of time since I had seen the dragons, but once I finally told someone I could feel the weight being lifted. Dr. Horn looked back at me.

“You really believe that – don’t you?” he said, putting his hand on my shoulder. “What Ms. Booker saw back then was not real. Her mind played tricks on her, just like yours is playing with you.” His stare was now gentle, concerned. He had seen someone already go through this. Perhaps he understood.

“Can I talk to her then? Maybe I can learn from her – has she recovered?”

“Well, yes. She has kept in touch with me and has long since recovered.” He put his hand on his chin to ponder for a moment. “Yes, I suppose she wouldn’t mind helping a young man such as yourself, she has always been kind like that. I don’t know what it is myself – I suppose something about Pahrump has an effect on people.” He took out a stack of sticky notes and a pen, wrote down her phone number, and handed it to me. “Now, please don’t rush into it. She might have to be eased into this conversation. I believe this trauma has affected her greatly. And please talk to your family, I’m sure they are worried about you.”

I thanked him and speedily walked out of the Museum. When I returned to my car, I dialed the number immediately. I sat and waited in my car with my finger tapping against the steering wheel, the dial tone ringing for what felt like a long while. It went to voicemail. I called again. Voicemail. I called again, this time receiving an answer.

“Hello?” Said a woman, somewhat annoyed.

“Hi, uh, I was wondering is a Sally Booker is there?”

“Yeah, one second.” I could hear the phone being shuffled to someone else.

“Hello?” responded a voice that belonged to an elderly woman. “This is Sally Booker.”

“Hi Ms. Booker, I was wondering –”

“Speak up!”

“OK, Sorry, I was wondering if I could ask you something.”

“Well go ahead!”

Dr. Horn’s warning echoed in my memory. I tried to think of a reasonable, calm way to approach this topic. But how does one go about bringing up dragons in a casual conversation?

“Yes, um, I was wondering… could you tell me about – well, I’ve been seeing some crazy things – and Dr. Horn said you wouldn’t mind –”

“Oh, you know Michael? How is he doing these days?”

“Good. I think. That’s not why I called – I called because I saw – I mean, I think I saw –”

“Would you spit it out already? I don’t have many years left.”

“Dragons!” I yelped. “I think I saw dragons, and I know you have before –”

“Have you called to make fun of me? An old woman?”

“No, no I swear I saw dragons in Death Valley. I was driving through the Valley, and there were three of them, they were dark green, horns – one had curved horns and they were eating something – one flew over my car and –”

“Not on the phone.” She replied strongly.

“What?”

“Not over the phone. Where are you?”

“In Pahrump. At the museum.”

“Good. Come to my home. It’s near Las Vegas, so it shouldn’t be a bad drive. Do you drive?”

“Yes.”

“Good. I’ll give you my address. What’s your name?”

“Ryan. Ryan Meyers.”

“Ryan. Come over when you can. We’ll talk more.”

Before I could expand on what we might talk about, she hung up. I got a text not long after with an address from an unlisted number. It led to a building in a neighborhood just outside of Las Vegas. I felt a little confused, but determined. I thought perhaps Sally would be the answer to all my problems.

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My mother called my phone, causing the passenger seat to vibrate next to me. It hadn’t occurred to me to notify her of what was happening. I let it ring, promising myself I would text her when I got to Sally’s house. I parked out on the street when I arrived. It was a rather petite home. Old, but not in any sort of poor condition. It reminded me of a simple doll house made from wood. I walked up to the door and rang the doorbell. A middle-aged woman opened the door. She looked as if she was the doll that came with the dollhouse – her hair was thick, light brown, and in a ponytail. She was tall, looming over me as she stood in the doorway.

“Are you Ryan?” she said.

“Y-yes.” I muttered.

“Please, come in.” She gestured for me to follow. We walked into a room lit by only one lamp, with an old unlit fireplace on the wall, some cobwebs on the ceiling’s corners, and an elderly woman sitting in a gown on a lounge chair.

“Ah, Ryan! Please have a seat.” She pointed to a rocking chair next to her. I complied.

“So,” said the middle-aged woman, “can I get you two anything to drink?”

“I’m fine Angie,” replied the elderly woman. “Would you like something Ryan?”

“Oh, uh, water’s fine, thanks.” I sheepishly replied.

Angie left the room. I could hear the cadence of her footsteps become louder as she hit the hard floor of the kitchen. I looked at the elderly woman, who was no longer looking my way but instead at the fireplace.

“Ms. Booker?” I silently said. “Ms. Booker?”

“I love the way they dance. Don’t you?” she said without moving her head.

Angie came back with a glass of water and handed it to me.

“So, Ryan, my mom says you work with Dr. Horn. How is he doing?”

I looked back at Sally. Her gaze was still fixed on the fireplace, transfixed like someone watching TV.

“Oh, he’s good.” I hoped she wouldn’t inquire further than that.

“Well, that’s good to hear. Does he still –”

“Oh, Angie sweetie,” interjected Sally as she turned away from the fireplace. “Could you get my prescription at the pharmacy? I seemed to have forgotten about it.”

“Mom…” Angie said. She seemed ready to start a conversation about it, but glanced at me, perhaps realizing it wasn’t worth the energy or effort to have any sort of argument now. “OK. I’ll leave you two alone. Be right back.”

“Thank you, sweetie.” Sally turned her head back to the fireplace as Angie stomped out the room, picked up her keys in the kitchen, and left the house. I sat for a second, listening to the uneasy silence. Sally smiled as she continued to stare into the fireplace. I stopped looking at her and turned to observe the fireplace. The wood inside looked old. I assumed it had been unused for years. Hard to imagine needing a fireplace in Nevada sometimes. It really had not appeared to me as special in any sort of way. Just an old fireplace in an old house. I realized we weren’t going to get anywhere if we continued sitting in silence, and as I readied myself to speak, Sally began talking. “They do this every day, you know. They dance on the wood for me, sometimes with new ones, sometimes with old ones. It never gets old.” She let her eyes relax, seeming as if she was about to fall asleep.

“Ms. Booker, about the dragons…”

“Shh,” she put a finger up to her mouth. “They’re almost done.” And she watched the fireplace for a little longer, then gave a soft clap one would give at an opera hall. “They put so much effort into their dance, I can’t help but watch as much as I can.”

“Who are you talking about?”

“The fairies. Can’t you see them?”

I looked back at the fireplace, then back at her. “Fairies?”

“I guess not,” she said, sounding disappointed. She readjusted her posture to turn her body towards me. “So,” she spoke in a darker tone, “you’ve seen dragons. Tell me everything.” I then recalled and shared all the events with her. The drive to the Valley, the sighting, how I found her, and other details. She sat still, looked focused and attentive. I felt like a lunatic speaking a made-up language, but her presence somehow made me feel sane. When I was done, she released a soft exhale underneath a disdainful frown, and turned one more time to look at the fireplace.

“Ms. Booker?” I unintentionally whispered.

“Well,” she began, “None of this is good news. They weren’t able to eat anything in our world before.”

I suddenly sat up in shock. She must believe me, I thought. And not only did she believe me, she responded with ease and a scorn for them. In that very moment, I had no doubt about it – she really did have experience with the dragons.

“What do you mean?” I replied, hoping to crack open more information.

“I mean that all those years ago, people who told me the dragons weren’t there in the desert were partially right. They aren’t completely there.” I must have presented a rather confused expression, as she glanced over to me and swiftly decided to elaborate. “They’re not apart of our world. Not entirely. The dragons live in their own world, or plane. Only some of us can see them.”

“So, you were the only one who could see them back then?”

“Well, yes – but it’s not like anyone was willing to try and see them anyway. There are many different planes that cross over into ours, with so much life. You’d be surprised how much passes by you on an average walk.”

I looked back at the fireplace. “Like the fairies?”

She nodded. “Precisely. I’ve been able to see them ever since I was a child. My parents told me I had a strong imagination, but imagination fades away after a while. The fairies never did. As I grew, I noticed other ‘beings’ such as gnomes, goblins, trees that walk, mountains who talk, and many other creatures you might see in a fairytale. Many of them are rather wild, but altogether harmless to our reality. But the dragons? The dragons are dangerous. They are nothing to take lightly.”

"But, if they're apart of a different world, can they hurt anybody?"

“I used to think not. But now, you tell me you saw them eating one of our animals. They were never able to do that. They must have finally figured out how to shift themselves across planes.”

“Wait,” I said, now uneasy. “They’re… ‘finally’ coming into our world? How?”

She let her eyes relax, closing them for a moment and then dropping back to the fireplace. “That article you read about me – it wasn’t the first time I had seen dragons. Like you, I was making a trip through Death Valley one day. I noticed them fly overhead and instantly became fascinated with them. I headed out to the Valley regularly to see if I could catch even the faintest glimpses of them. They really are beautiful creatures when they aren’t vicious predators. Then one day, as I set up camp there, one dragon noticed me. A lot of beings in other planes can see us humans, but they are never familiar with the idea of being seen themselves. I became startled, which grabbed its attention as it dropped next to me. Even though it couldn’t touch me, I still backed up against a rock as its head grew closer and closer trying to examine me. And you know what it did?” She stared at me, expecting an answer, but I did not reply. “It spoke to me,” she continued. “If you could call it speaking. It had a deep, rumbling kind of sound come out, and it spoke in words. It asked if I could see it. I said yes. It asked if I could understand it. I said yes. It told me wait there. I did. It then flew away and brought back friends - six, maybe seven others. A new one approached me – one that looked like the darker green one you described earlier – and it spoke in a deeper voice than the one before. It told me to come with them. I refused, and without another word, it leapt at me with its fangs and tried to grab me. It phased right through me, as most planar creatures do, but I couldn’t begin to describe how petrified I became. It told me I would one day come to regret not joining them, as they would find a way to shift through the planes and rule over our world. And then they left. I went home, terrified and panicking, looking for any help. That’s when I went to Michael and was eventually arrested.”

She softly exhaled again. My mind was racing.

“How come I can only see the dragons and not the other planes?” I asked.

“Well,” she muttered while turning towards me, “I don’t know. I only know about the different worlds, not how they work.”

“OK,” I paused. I had already gotten used to having everything explained, it felt weird not receiving more info. “Should we do something?”

“You, Ryan Meyers, should go.”

“What? Just like that? What about –”

“No, not just like that. I will call you in the morning. It’s getting late, and there’s not much you can do at this very moment. Besides, your family must be worried.”

I had completely forgot. I hastily grabbed my phone and turned it on. I missed twenty-five calls from my mom. I could not fathom how scared she must have been.

“Right,” I said, “Well, really nice to meet you Ms. Booker – I’ll see you in the morning!" and I rushed out of the door before she could say anything.

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I had gotten back on the road as fast as I possibly could. I called her. It hardly rang for a second before she answered.

“Ryan?! Where have you been!”

“I know, I know, I’m sorry mom – I swear I will explain everything when I get home.”

“You will explain right now, Ryan Martin Meyers!”

The trees began to blur in the corner of my eyes.

“OK, you know that lady a long time ago who talked about dragons?”

“What?”

My foot pressed harder and harder on the gas pedal.

“Well they thought she was crazy – but she’s not – I saw dragons in the Valley –”

“What?!”

Faster.

“They were real –”

Faster.

“ – and massive –”

Faster.

“And they could potentially – OH S***!”

A coyote suddenly scrambled across the road. I slammed on the brakes, causing my body to whip forward and hit my head against the steering wheel. I was just conscious enough to feel how much it hurt.

“Ryan?! Ryan?! Are you alright?”

“Yeah… yeah I’m fine, just a coyote –”

And then, like a massive shockwave, something slammed into my car, knocking it and causing it to roll like a boulder down a hill until it ended on the driver’s side of the vehicle. I must have fallen unconscious for a moment, as I remember waking to a ringing in my ears, accompanied by my mother screaming my name on my phone. I looked around. The windows were shattered, the hood was bent, and I could see one of the headlights flicker. I unbuckled my seatbelt, letting my body drop onto the car door. I could hear my phone, but I was only focused on escaping. I climbed up to the passenger door and swung it open. If there was any adrenaline, it must have been wearing off, as I started to feel something ache in my leg as I tried to use it to push out of the car. I tripped and fell to the pavement, aching.

I painfully positioned myself to lay against my car’s bottom and heard something behind the ringing in my ears. Something cracking. Something squishing. Something crying. I looked in front of me and saw a dragon feast on the coyote. It was only a couple feet away from me. It’s jaw stretched as it crunched the stomach of its prey. I cried out in horror. The dragon stopped eating and turned to face me. I had given myself away. It knew I was there, and there was no turning back. I was finished. It glared me down with course serpent eyes, let out a large breath, and spoke.

“Doth thou perceive me, vagrant?”