Amy was excited. It was Saturday, and she could spend all day with her new friend, Mara. She skipped down the stairs into the kitchen, hoping to grab a quick bite to eat and find a treat to bring for Mara. She was surprised to find several men dressed in hunting gear.
"You better be right about this, kid, " said one of the men, as he handed John a large wad of cash.
"It's true, I promise. She is in the cave in the park, right by the pond. You can't miss it," said John.
Amy looked at her brother with tears in her eyes. "John, how could you? You promised, " she said sadly.
John lowered his head in shame. "You'll understand when you are older. We need this money. And it's just an animal."
Amy plopped down at the kitchen table and pouted. "She's not just an animal. She is my friend. Hey, what's this? " said Amy, pointing to the large wooden box on the kitchen table.
"I don't know. Something I found in the cave. I thought it might be valuable, and I could sell it or something. I haven't got a chance to examine it yet, " said John, distracted by the questions being shouted to him by the hunters in the next room.
One of the hunters came back into the kitchen. "Okay, kid. You are coming with us. If this thing ain't there, you are gonna be sorry, " he said.
"Wait, wait, " said John, as he was dragged outside. John was pulled into a truck, and a herd of vehicles raced towards the park.
Amy went back inside the house. She had to warn her friend. But she was too young to drive, and there was no way she could beat them to the cave on foot. She thought about saddling one of the horses, but even a horse could not outrun a car.
She saw the box on the table and got an idea. Maybe it belonged to Mara, and had a magic mirror or something she could use to communicate with her. Like in Beauty in the Beast. She opened the box, and was disappointed to find a bunch of vials. She looked through the vials, hoping to find something of use, and found the instructions for the vials written on a sheet of paper. After reading the instructions, she got a new idea. She quickly looked through the seemingly endless shelves, and found the one labeled "Mythological". Scanning this shelf, she found the vial she wanted - "Gryphon".
She could become a gryphon herself and fly over there to warn her friend about the hunters. When she pulled the vial out, a second vial fell out and rolled to her feet. She picked it up and examined the label - "Dragon".
Hmm. Maybe I should try different vial. A dragon could probably fly even faster, and a big mean dragon could also scare the hunters away, she thought. Dragons and gryphons are friends, aren't they?
Amy looked at the two vials in her hands, and weighed her options.