30 Day Image Prompt Competition - August

Day 18 Prompt 2 - The Eggs

Jake watched as Folson was led away by two officers, shaking his head as he surveyed the scene around him. Small cages stood on tables, the hatchlings inside watching the occupants with eyes dulled by sedatives. On a table in the corner, the body of a hatchling lay spread out, its chest cut open and the organs so valued by black market connoisseurs removed and packed into special containers. He felt sickened at the sight of the wasted life.

“Captain? We’ve found something else, in the back room.” One of the young detectives stood in the doorway.

Wondering what other horrors awaited discovery in the back room, Jake followed the detective and entered the small, windowless room. Large clear containers sat on tables, all devoid of contents except the end one. Lying on a special foam base lay three grey mottled eggs. A digital screen on the front of the base recorded the temperature, humidity and pressure inside the container.

“I managed to access his tablet,” he detective continued as he handed a computer tablet to Jake. “It details all the transactions he’s made regarding the hatchlings. The eggs were going to a private breeder once hatched whilst the hatchlings …” His voice trailed off and Jake knew what fate had been planned for the young hatchlings and it wasn’t a good one.

“Thanks, Tommy. I want you to catalogue everything here and make a thorough record of it all. If we do this right, not only should Folson end up in prison for a long time but we should also get his business associates.”

Tommy smiled and went over to a group of investigators and began supervising them in the immense task of cataloguing and recording the evidence. There was so much information to hand that it was going to be a very long job but one that would, hopefully, make their task of shutting Folson down much easier. However, before they could do that there were several hatchlings and the eggs to take care of. He retrieved his cell from his jacket and punched out a familiar number.

“Dad, I’ve got a case I could do with your help on, if you’ve got some time?”

“Sure, son. Give me 20 minutes and I’ll come over.”

Jake gave his father the address of Folson’s unit before returning to study the eggs. The bottom of the incubator had little rollers hidden in the foam base to gently rotate the eggs at regular intervals. The lid of the incubator contained another foam insert that would lower over the eggs to mimic the heat and feel of a female sitting on the eggs. It was sophisticated and expensive equipment – expensive enough to imply that Folson was very serious about what he was doing in the unit. The information on the tablet showed that Folson received thousands of gold credits for each of his organ transactions and even more for the eggs.


“Is that what I think it is?”

Jake turned and greeted his father as he walked over to the table where the dead hatchling still lay. He was just covering the pitiful body up when his father arrived. “Yeah, Toby reckons he was only a few days old. All of his organs were removed, probably while he was still alive.”

Duncan McCallister’s jaw hardened as he looked down at the body of the hatchling, no bigger than a large dog. He had spent much of his adult life hunting down hunters to dealt in the organ business, trying to shut them down. Every success he made, though, was always diminished when he came across situations like this.

“How many hatchlings are there?” he asked, turning away from the body to look at the cages.

“Four, all still heavily sedated. He used stylenos to keep them quiet.”

“They’ll be subdued for hours. Do you have a record of when they were medicated?”

Jake handed over the information they had retrieved from the tablet relating to the hatchlings. He couldn’t let his father have the tablet because there was too much evidence on it still. “We’ve also got three viable eggs that he stole two days ago.”

“Two days? I take it they’re in an incubator?” At Jake’s nod Duncan continued his musing. “If it is only two days then the queen’s scent will still be on them and she should reclaim them but you need to return them immediately. They have a far better chance of a successful hatching with their parent than in an incubator.”

“I’d better get myself some transport, then.” Jake gave his father a rueful smile. As soon as he had read up on the eggs he had known they needed to return to their nesting ground. It was not a journey he was looking forward to but for the sake of the eggs he would do it.

“I’ll arrange for transport for the hatchlings. With luck we should be able to rehabilitate them and release them back into the wild.” Duncan gave his son a reassuring pat on the shoulder before going to check on the hatchlings. He knew that returning to the nesting ground was not something Jake wanted to do. Too many bad memories lingered around that area, not to mention the people that lived on the island. However, Jake was the only person suitable for this job and he knew it.


Jake placed the tray containing the three eggs onto the bone covered floor. He had seen the queen circling high in the sky and knew this was her nesting ground. The bones of large and small herbivores littered the floor from the kills she had made and consumed. He had no desire for his bones to become part of the carpeting but he did want to ensure that she accepted the eggs.

A waft of air told him she was descending and he heard her trumpeting call as she landed on the plateau. She was an impressive specimen, built to survive in this rocky part of the island. Great golden wings spread out from her body, catching the air flow. He could see the scaly spars stretching along the wings, the framework for the leathery membrane that carried them aloft.

He watched as she landed on the plateau, her armoured head raising as she scented the air. From the warning growl she emitted he knew she had sensed him but, rather than rushing him she seemed hesitant in approaching. He guessed she could sense the eggs lying a few feet in front of him. The golden wings spread wide, the twin claws at the tips gripping the rocky surface as she began to approach.

She stopped just before the eggs and reared on her hind feet. The wing claws supported her upper body whilst her forelimbs were held in readiness for a strike out. She growled again, the sound thundering around him reminding him of a very angry cat. He held himself still, knowing that to move would endanger the safety of the eggs.

She inched closer, a magnificent being of power and fury that made her kind the prize in many an illegal collection. Jake’s father had spent much of his life protecting the dragons on this island. Carefully reintroducing them to the wild after a virus had almost killed all of the dragons. Hunters had been deterred, severe punishments created for those who attempted to steal or kill the dragons.

Folson would soon be sampling those punishments, he thought as he watched the dragon lower her head to sniff at the eggs. Her growl changed to a rumbling purr as she recognised her scent upon them. With a final hiss and a growl towards Jake she slowly lowered herself onto the eggs, drawing the claw tipped wings around her body. Golden eyes stared at him, waiting for him to make his move.

“Easy there,” he whispered. “You and your babies are safe now.”

They queen stared back at him before she lowered her head on her powerful forearms and closed her eyes. Jake took advantage of her slumber to make his way back down the side of the mountain. His mission was over, the eggs were safe having been accepted by the queen dragon. Soon they would hatch and a new generation of dragons would soar around the island.

For a second he was sad as memories of a time when he had spent his days amongst the dragons swamped him. He had never wanted to leave the island but tragedy had struck leaving him no choice but to leave everything he had known and loved behind. He was grateful that his return was brief but a part of him wished it was for longer.

“You will return,” the voice in his head said, causing him to stumble on the loose rocks as he looked around. He knew there would be no one there for dragon’s did not need to see you to communicate with you. “You will be back to take your place here.”

He shook his head. “My time here is done,” he replied, his voice harsh with emotion.

“Your time is just beginning, Jake McCallister,” countered the voice before Jake sensed it’s presence leaving him with a hollow feeling inside him and an increasing sense of dread.