Mix up

Colt reigned in his horse to stop, raising a hand to gesture for his partner to do the same. "You hear that?" he asked quietly.

The two paused for a long moment, listening and waiting. Colt wasn't sure what it was that he had heard, but he was certain that there had been something. Something that shouldn't have been there, and sounded unlike anything he had ever heard. It wasn't just a whistling in the trees. It had been quiet, far in the distance - but it had been low and rumbling, like the sound itself was attempting to move the earth.

"Think you're losing it, Colt," Ray muttered under his breath. "Come on, we got places to-"

But he was cut off as the noise came again, this time louder and closer, sending the vibrations through their chests and spines, raising the hairs on the back of their necks. The trees shook and scattered their leaves, and in the distance, at the top of the hill range, they saw a shadow appear. They were a day's travel from the hills, and to be able to see whatever it was was coming up and over meant that it had to be massive.

"Still think I'm losing it, Ray?" Colt's rifle was already off of his back, trained on the shadow that had appeared. Ray pulled out his pocket telescope, trying to get a good look at the form of what had appeared, but it was too far away to make anything out. But Colt did not lower his rifle.

"Colt, you can barely shoot someone from ten feet away. Even if a bullet could travel that far - which I'll remind you, it can't - the hell makes you think you could hit that thing?" Colt didn't say a word, frozen on his horse, the butt of his rifle pressed firmly into the square of his shoulder. "It's way too far out, anyway. We're better off just continuing on. By the time it gets here, it'll be nightfall."

But before Ray could speak any further, the shadow moved. It launched into the air like a bird taking flight, and grew at an alarming rate. The next roar came at them like a tidal wave, sending their horses reeling, and nearly rupturing their ear drums.

Colt hit the ground hard and rolled, whipping the rifle back into position. But the shadow was growing larger at an alarming rate. The beast was massive, with beating wings and massive claws, and its scales began to shine in the sunlight as it approached. As it grew close, and they saw its true mass, Colt pulled the trigger. The explosion of the fire was painful on their already weakened ears, and the bullet struck the beast directly in the chest. It cracked the scale it struck, but the beast barely moved.

And then it lifted its head and spewed forth a burst of flame, and Colt and Ray ran.