Suddenly, a large explosion of sound and water pushed me backwards.  I nearly lost what precious air I had in my lungs as I back peddled to avoid capture.  Once again the beast nearly had me.  The huge head swung around in the water, searching for its quarry, thrashing in the water.  Its movements made it harder to swim, so I kicked myself back to the surface, narrowly avoiding another attack.  Huge waves burst over me and in the wake I could feel myself being pulled back under.  Now the lake wasn’t going to give me up as easily.

The dragon struck out again, the jaws grazing my legs.  The scales were hard, flat and smooth.  I toppled over in the water.  I couldn’t see which way was up.  Bubbles and froth obscured what little vision I had.  The gray clouds that now covered the sky blended with the water of the lake. 

Again and again the beast’s head shot forward.  Each time the force of the blow would throw me into a nightmare of shadow and light, water and sky.   I gulped for air when I could, and choked on the water that filled my lungs. 

Tumbling over the dragon’s back once more, my hand latched on to something that felt oddly like a rope.  I held on tightly.   The rope pulled me this way, and that way, moving in time with the dragon’s search for me.  

Angered by its loss, the dragon lurched out of the water into the late evening sky.  My arm was nearly ripped from it socket as we emerged from the water.  I gasped, filling my burning lungs with great gulps of sweet, life-giving air. 

Higher and higher we flew.  My hand slipped dangerously on the rope.   Pain tore through my hand, up into my arm, and screamed through my damaged shoulder. With every movement of the dragon’s wings my body bounced against the beast’s back.  The golden scales, large as dinner plates, were too slippery to gain purchase. 

Reaching up with great difficulty, I managed to grab the rope with my other hand and pulled myself, hand over hand, toward the dragon’s neck.  My muscles strained with the fight against the deadly pull of gravity and the wind beating against my face.   

After what seemed like hours but could only have been a couple of minutes, the dragon flipped head to tail, and for a moment I free floated through the air, before being jerked back down toward the earth.  We plummeted with incredible speed downward, the earth rising rapidly to meet us. 

When I was sure that we were going to enter the lake again, the dragon suddenly leveled out and flew low over the water toward the far shore, surprisingly to where I intended to go before the attack.  I saw my chance.  Providence was finally on my side.  Here was my opportunity, and I had to act quickly as the shore was fast approaching. 

Watching the dusk blackened waters race below us, I waited until the last possible moment, and then, I let the rope slip through my fingers.  I slid off the dragon’s back and fell heavily into the water.  I nearly passed out when my back hit the water made hard by the speed we had been traveling, but I held on and as I sank beneath the waves the beast flew away out of sight. 

Surfacing at last, I swam with the remainder of my strength through the cold rippling waves lingering from our recent battle.  Crawling the last few steps onto the shore, I collapsed under a rocky overhang and felt the heaviness of exhaustion fall upon me, and despite the pain of my injuries, my eyes closed, and I slipped for a time into the welcoming arms of oblivion.