The Dragon
By the time Peter Zaslav became the mayor of Grontsel, the town had been in decline for many years. The factory employing half of the workforce had moved to another state, and the service sector took a hit next. Aside from a pretty lake and a luscious forest, the area held no attractions.

Nobody remembered who first dredged up the dragon legend, but the idea to use it to attract tourists definitely belonged to Mayor Zaslav.

According to legend, a dragon who lived in the Grontsel forest five hundred years ago terrorized the town by taking a young virgin every month in exchange for peace. The girls disappeared without a trace, but the rest of the population lived without fear. Then, one day, the town ran out of young virgins and the king had to sacrifice his own daughter to the fire-breathing beast.

Fortunately for the princess, she was about to marry a knight from a neighboring kingdom. The brave knight refused to accept his bride's sad fate and started gearing up for the battle. He fought with the dragon and won, freeing the princess and ridding Grontsel of the monster.

Mayor Zaslav managed to extract so much profit from this trite medieval fable, that Grontsel rose like a Phoenix from the ashes, turning from an all-but-forgotten rural swamp into a vibrant tourist town, a regional gem. For several years, the town figured prominently on every tourist guide of note as one of the top places to visit.

Every summer, The Princess and the Dragon festival drew large crowds. A brave knight fought a fire-breathing dragon and pretty girls dressed in medieval costumes told of their tragic fate. The "Fearless Knight" pub sponsored sword-fighting tournaments on the central square of the town. The princess-led tours of the local museum were a big hit and inevitably ended inside the gift shop that offered everything from swords to knight armor to toy dragons and dolls dressed as princesses.

The mayor secured the rights to the Grontsel's version of events making sure nobody pirated the story and stole his thunder. He then sold these rights to Disney. The town spent the windfall on building a toy and souvenir factory as well as its own publishing house that printed tour guides and books about princesses and dragons.

The middle school students staged the famous fairy tale almost annually, wisely omitting the part about the virginity requirement. Every year, the town's schools held a writing contest for the best interpretation of the old story. The winning paper, always titled "The Princess and the Dragon", was prominently displayed at the museum.

The town lived and breathed its legend while the mayor won re-election after re-election by landslides. During the last election he finally met his match. Greg Opposs ran on the economy diversification platform, suggesting investing the resources into various industries rather than focusing the entire economy on one tired and overused legend. It made a lot of sense, but, as charming and business-friendly as he was, Opposs was still a gamble. The incumbent won, but by a much smaller margin than he was accustomed to.

***

Annie Zaslav disappeared on the second day of the annual festival. She wasn't the first girl who'd gone missing - Ellen Koch and Nancy Magruders vanished before her. Nobody worried about Ellen; she had always been nothing but trouble and must have run away. Even her parents assumed she'd be back as soon as she ran out of money and didn't attempt to search for the young woman. In Nancy's case, nobody doubted for a minute that her perpetually drunk, rabble-rousing stepfather killed the poor girl in a fit of rage. In fact, the neighbors had heard him yelling at her the night before and barraged the police with phone calls demanding they jail the old son of a bitch immediately.

However, nobody knew what to make of Annie's disappearance. She wasn't pretty or popular and spent most of her time buried in books. She had never gotten into trouble nor had she ever run away from home. She did not do or say anything unusual in the preceding months. To make matters worse, she was the mayor's daughter and lived in a well-secured mansion. Her younger brother, Peter, known to everyone as PJ, told the investigators that "a Batman" took his sister. Apparently some commotion outside woke PJ up; he got up, ran to the window, and saw a figure of a man with wings disappearing into the night sky.

PJ had an overactive imagination and was only six years old, so at first nobody took his story seriously. It took on a new meaning when a neighbor of Koch's told the police that he also saw a big human-like bird the night Ellen disappeared. He was smoking on the porch at the time. He thought himself hallucinating after having one beer too many the previous evening, and promptly forgot about the strange vision the next day. PJ's story brought the memory back.

Grontsel's Chief of Police, Mr. John Reiches, gave the mayor daily updates on the investigation progress. Three days after Annie's disappearance, he drove to his old friend's office and asked to talk to him one-on-one. Peter Zaslav looked ashen - he had not slept or eaten for over seventy-two hours. Still, he tried to keep his composure in front of John. He showed the Chief to his office and offered him a seat.

"Well? Do we have anything?"

"I am not sure how to bring this up, Peter..."

"Cut it out," interrupted the mayor. "Just say it. I've no time for courtesies."

"Okay. We talked to just about every kid in our high school as well as with the girls' personal physicians. It looks like all three were virgins. According to their classmates, the most optimistic scenario would suggest having one virgin per six to eight female high school students. You know how the young people are today."

"What are you saying, John?"

"I am saying that the chance of three young virgins disappearing in three months is slim to none. I mean, randomly disappearing. I mean, it's not random. Well, you know what I mean." The chief pulled out a large handkerchief and wiped sweat off his forehead.

"No, I have no idea what you mean, Chief. Are we dealing with some sexual pervert who likes virgins?" The mayor could not understand why John was sweating while he himself was chilled to the bone.

"No, Peter, that's not what I meant. You, of all people .... Don't you see? A virgin a month. Ellen disappeared on May 1st, Nancy - on June 1st, and Annie -- on July 1st. Add to it these weird batman sightings, and if I didn't at least entertain the idea of somebody trying to revive the whole dragon legend, I'd be a very bad cop."

"So, what is our next step?"

"For starters, we have to figure out who could profit from this dragon business."

***

"If you don't stop screaming, I'll leave you here all alone. You are a smart girl, aren't you? Come on, I am not going to hurt you. We can get along - the cave is big enough." He gave Annie a look that made her shudder. To her surprise, it also calmed her down.

"Who are you?" she asked.

"Does it matter? You can call me Dragon."

"If you are a dragon, then I'm a fairy princess."

"Have you seen a live dragon? Have you seen a photograph of one?"

"Dragons are part of our mythology. You know that as well as I do. Anyway, if you like walking around in that idiotic getup, go ahead."

"It's not a getup, Annie. This is how I look. Mythology doesn't come out of nowhere - we appear every five hundred years. We are not responsible for the way we are pictured though. Would you rather I looked like that silly fire-breathing crocodile with wings you saw in your fairy tale books?" He smiled. His teeth were not sharp - just yellow.

"Go tell your tall tales to somebody else." Annie turned away from Dragon and folded her arms, but then reconsidered. "How long are you going to hold me here? I am sure you know that my father is the mayor of Grontsel. In fact, I suspect that's the reason I am here. How much do you want? Do you really think you can pull this off? I bet the police force is already looking for me. They'll comb the forest and find us, sooner or later. You are looking at fifteen to life. That is, if they don't kill you when you try to escape."

"They won't find us, trust me. We are invisible to them. And I can only be killed by those who love you - nobody else can see me. But they have to come to the forest by themselves and fight me. You can say they have to slay their inner dragon, he-he."

When Annie didn't respond, Dragon asked, "Do you have a ... what do they call them these days ... a boyfriend? Because I don't think your parents will go into the forest any time soon - they trust the police."

"No. I don't." Annie wanted to sit down, but there was no chair. This strange tall creature looked a bit like Batman, but the wings looked too real for comfort and the greenish-brown mask that covered his face had a skin-like texture. Suddenly, she saw the chair - it was right there, beside her. Why didn't she see it before?

"I didn't think so. These days, if a girl is still a virgin at eighteen, she is most likely single. It's a serious problem, by the way, although it's not my problem."

"What does virginity have to do with it? Are you going ...."

Annie screamed again.

"Shut up. SHUT UP!"

Something flashed in Dragon's eyes and Annie found herself unable to make a sound.

"Now, that's better." Dragon sat down, too. This time Annie was sure she hadn't seen the chair before. "Don't get hysterical on me. I am not going to do anything to you. We'll live here. You can cook for us, if you can -- I hate cooking. You can read, too, and even watch TV. If you behave yourself, you'll find me very easy to get along with."

"How long do I have to stay here?"

"You have a whole month. That's a long time. Let's hope somebody who loves you shows up here before it's over."

"What if he doesn't?"

"We'll talk about it in a month. It won't hurt, I promise."

"Wait, did Ellen and Nancy..." Annie covered her mouth with her hand.

"Yes, they were here before you. That's all I am going to say about it."

"Oh my God... Nobody was looking for them here..."

"Why, quite a few people came looking for Nancy. Actually, they were looking for her corpse. But only the police officers. Nobody who loved her came."

"Yeah, we modern virgins are a problem." Annie wanted to cry but the tears didn't come.

"Ha! You think it was better five hundred years ago? Ignorance ruled. People were afraid of me. They drew pictures of all those scary fire-breathing beasts with three heads to justify their fear. Nobody would go into the forest. Almost all of these girls had parents, brothers, even men they planned to marry, but only the fourteenth one made it out of here."

"The princess?"

"She wasn't a princess; that's your mythology, as you call it. Her parents owned some land. They weren't poor, but certainly not bluebloods. But the girl did have a knight who loved her. He didn't allow the fear to stop him - wouldn't listen to anyone. He ran into the forest with his sword drawn, and he won."

"I don't get it. You sound almost happy about it."

"Not almost - I am happy about it. You'll never understand. It's a curse. I am not enjoying it, but there is nothing I can do. I am happier in that other life, in my other form. But I can't get there until this form is killed. Then I have to repeat the whole thing in another five hundred years."

"So, you didn't even try to fight the knight?"

"Not really. It wouldn't matter anyway. I can't fight true love."

"I am confused now. We seem to be the ones cursed, not you."

"Very perceptive. The town is cursed, and I am that curse. But it could be much less painful for all of us. But noooo...." Dragon sighed. "It's the same story every time - you people don't change. It only takes one person. One! Somebody who really loves the girl, who can overcome the fear and fight the dragon. No need for armor, swords, guns - love is the best weapon there is. And this person would save not only you but all the other girls, too. But it looks like the brave knights are hard to come by. The only difference between now and then is that five hundred years ago they wouldn't venture into the forest at all; now they send helicopters and divers."

"There is no one righteous, not even one .... Where have I heard this before?"

"That's your mythology; I am not very familiar with it. Listen, if I were you, I'd try to think about people who love you. Anyone will do, but strong men are probably braver. Try to influence them from here. Use your willpower. I've heard there are people who can do that. Maybe you're one of them but don't know that."
"I doubt it. But I'll try."

"Good. Can you make a salad? What are you staring at? I like salad. And fruit. I don't eat people. Ufff.... Your stupid tales...."

***

The Police Chief insisted on interrogating Greg Opposs personally. Who else would benefit from turning the dragon legend into a nightmare? Already this year's festival was a failure. After the girls' disappearance, the schools cancelled all the performances and hired grievance counselors. The stories about the strange happenings in Grontsel filled the front pages of the local newspapers. The tourist business was way down; the citizens were unhappy. Days came and went with no new leads and no trace of the missing girls turning up. The FBI joined the investigation, but to no avail.

The police searched Greg's home, tapped his phone and went through his computer files. Despite the fact that they found nothing connecting him to either of the girls, the people started talking. Wasn't he the one who screamed on every corner that it was silly, if not suicidal, for the town to live off one legend and that it had to offer people something besides the dragon tales? Didn't Mr. Opposs promise unspecified bad outcomes from the one-trick-pony economy and suggest diversifying the school writing contest topics? Wasn't he the one who said nasty things about Peter Zaslav during the election debates?

People crossed the street as soon as they saw Greg. The children at school no longer wanted to play with the Opposs kids. Greg's electronics store took a serious hit, too - the citizens of Grontsel preferred traveling to a neighboring town rather than buying anything from him. For the first time in his life Greg Opposs seriously considered moving to another state. However, he knew how hard it would be to sell his business.

Without saying anything to their parents and afraid to admit believing in "those silly superstitions" even to themselves, the girls of Grontsel rushed to lose their virginity. It barely mattered how or with whom they did it. Many parents sent their young daughters elsewhere, suggesting it was about time to visit the grandparents.

The first of August was drawing closer and closer. The Chief of Police repeatedly asked people not to panic and promised to catch the "sick maniac" who was behind all this. Fathers and brothers of young women bought dozens of guns from the local weapons store and swore to stand guard in front of their daughters and sisters' doors and windows all night.

Despite his personal loss, Peter Zaslav went to work every day, talked to people on the streets, gave interviews, shook hands, and worked hard on bringing more tourists into the town. He was the most respected and admired person in Grontsel in these days of grief and fear. The mayor told everyone who would listen that he trusted Mr. Reiches completely and was confident the police did everything in their power to find Annie. People lit candles and put flowers in front of the photographs of the missing girls. The local church was filled with those praying for the safe return of Annie, Nancy, and Ellen.

***

Annie could never tell the time in the cave. Dragon appeared out of nowhere and brought her food and books. With a blink, he turned on the soft artificial light that allowed her to read and cook. He even brought a portable DVD player with a few latest movie releases. Dragon (she grew accustomed to calling him that) refused to answer any questions about time, but always told her she still had some. He also rejected any attempts to discuss her fate. Other than that, he was very nice, polite, and not without a sense of humor.

Annie found it futile to argue with him - Dragon could silence her with one spark of his eyes. Instead, they spent a lot of time discussing the changes that happened in the world over the past five hundred years. He also taught Annie how to cook his favorite dishes. After a meal and a chat, he shut off the light with a tired wave of his wing and went to bed. She followed. To her amazement, she found it very easy to fall asleep in the cave and was usually out within a few minutes. When she woke up, Dragon was no longer around.

The cave had no exit. Annie saw nothing but bare walls around her, yet the room could easily turn into a kitchen or a living room. The bed moved into the wall, and a stove or a sofa with an end table appeared in its place. Out of boredom, she experimented with things around her. She hugged a pillow from her bed and walked around the cave waiting for it to vanish. It didn't. Neither did spoons or books, as long as she held them in her hands. Only the things attached to the walls moved back into them. Annie could not control what she didn't hold.

Over time, she realized that while Dragon could control her moods, he held no physical power over her. She asked him about it.

Dragon shrugged. "I've never had it. I can fly, and take you up with me, but that's pure physical strength. I can fight, too, but I have to fight like a man - I know no magic tricks."

"So, aside from flying, physically you are just a weird-looking guy."

'Oh no." Dragon smiled. "I have complete power over things. I can lift this table up just by looking at it. I can make it disappear or move it to another place. And remember, I can be invisible. Well, frankly, I have little control over that one once I take a virgin and bring her here. But at other times I can choose to be invisible when I want to."

"What about the time when you have a virgin here?"

"We are both invisible, whether we like it or not. Except, you know...."

"The ones who love your captives can see you."

"Yes. They can always see me, even in the dark."

Annie looked at Dragon and saw in his eyes that she was running out of time. She sighed and continued cutting up the tomatoes. She wasn't afraid.

After all, if nobody loved a woman enough to even attempt to save her, what was the value of her life? Why live? For what? For whom? Mom always adored Jeff, her firstborn, her smart and handsome pride and joy. She also smothered the baby of the family, PJ, with enough love for five kids. Annie, on the other hand, was the easy and self-sufficient child - and an almost invisible one. Dad.... Dad loved his work above everything else. Well, that's not fair, he loved his kids, too, especially his sons. In fact, for Jeff he'd probably run into the Devil's pit, never mind the forest. Who would run here for her? PJ was too young and couldn't even leave the house on his own, never mind kill this strange creature. Jeff always found her a nuisance. Plus, Jeff was the kind of guy who cared only about himself. Funny how everyone loved this charismatic egotist to pieces.

Annie stopped what she was doing.

Could this be the key? Maybe everybody loved Jeff so much precisely because he knew how to love himself? Why couldn't she ever do it? She always found so many shortcomings in herself and waited for others to validate her worth; she always waited for her knight in shining armor.

She looked at Dragon. He was lying on the sofa reading a comic book about Batman and chuckling to himself. He felt her gaze and looked up.

"What?"

"No, nothing. I'm just tired."

"Well, finish that salad and let's eat soon. Would you like me to make something special for dinner tonight?"

"Yes. Can I have some steak? It just occurred to me that I shouldn't worry about my diet too much at this point. I want a huge t-bone steak. And some chocolate cake for dessert."

Annie lay in her bed and peered into the darkness. The cave was pitch-black; her eyes could never get used to it. She was very sleepy and had to keep herself awake by cutting the backs of her hands with the steak knife she hid in her sleeve after the dinner.

She turned her head. Dragon was sleeping a few feet away, his chest rising with each breath, the dark green wings fluttering lightly on exhalation. I can see him, she thought. I can always see him.

Her lids were getting heavy. Something about the air in this cave was making her docile and sleepy. Annie made another cut on her hand. She had to act. She jumped off the bed, went over to Dragon and quickly cut his throat. Her hands didn't shake. Just like a tomato, she thought.

***

On the morning of August 2nd, Peter Zaslav called the Police Chief.

"Well? I know yesterday was quiet. Anything happen overnight?"

"And good morning to you, Peter. As far as I can tell, no one is missing. We have men dispatched everywhere, and nobody reported any trouble. Maybe we scared that son of a bitch. Listen, I've got to go. I'll have a more detailed update for you later, but for now we are in the clear."

Later in the day, the mayor's secretary paged him. Several business and community leaders had called, wondering if the mayor had any plans to cancel or postpone today's meeting.

He didn't.

"Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. I would like to start by expressing my sincere gratitude to all of you for the incredible outpouring of support during this terrible month. My family had yet another chance to realize what a great community we have here in Grontsel. Thank you. I am happy to inform you that, so far today, the police reported no trouble. It is possible that our fears were unfounded, or maybe we scared this criminal off. Either way, we have to keep our vigilance. I am confident that our excellent police department will do everything possible to solve this heinous crime. And I do hope to see my daughter unharmed sooner rather than later. I know I can count on your support, as I always have. Having said that, I propose we move to the task at hand. We are gathered here to start planning the next year's "The Princess And The Dragon" festival. It is crucial to our community that we revive it and bring back the tourists. Let's get rollin'."

***

Annie made sure Dragon was no longer breathing, wiped his blood off her face and walked out. She did not doubt for a second that she'd find the exit right where she expected.

It was still dark outside. Annie walked through the forest clutching the bloody knife to her chest. She finally realized she no longer needed it and threw it away. After two hours, she reached the road she knew led to Grontsel. Annie heard a car coming and hid behind a tree, suddenly becoming aware of blood smears all over her face and body and of multiple cuts on her hands. The driver was going in the opposite direction anyway, and wouldn't be able to give her a lift. Annie didn't want to cause a scene.

A large truck came around the bend. Annie thought she recognized the guy at the wheel. Wasn't he the chap who ran against her father in the previous election? He had the whole family in that truck, too - must be moving out of town. Annie sighed and started walking toward Grontsel, wondering whether she was going in the right direction and fighting a strange desire to turn around and follow that truck.