Chapter Nine St. George and the Dragon

As the girls marched to the creek, a loud off-tune moan drifted across the yard in their direction.

“The dragon!” yelped Carol.

Another loud off tune moan rumbled by.

“It can’t be. It’s not coming from the dragon’s den. It’s coming from over there,” said Olivia as she pointed to the chapel.

“Maybe it flew over there. They do have wings you know,” responded Kay.

“I know… but… but…,” Olivia continued in an uncertain quavering voice.

“But what?” asked Mary.

“I thought bad things couldn’t go into houses of worship. I thought they… they….” continued Olivia.

“Turned to dust?” said Mary.

“Yeah… or melted or something,” said Olivia.

“Yeah, melted,” said Carol.

“Myth. Pure Myth, with the exception of the vampire that can’t go out into daylight, can’t go into houses of worship and has to sleep in old stinky boxes of dirt,” she said authoritatively.

“What about Miss Ida, she goes in there all the time,” Kay said. The others nodded in agreement.

“What are we waiting for?“ Mary changed course and headed toward the Chapel.

The girls climbed the steps and entered the structure as quietly as they could. The duck followed like a prisoner being hauled off to the gallows. It was anything but quiet as it clucked, bleated and squawked.

The interior of the chapel was beautiful. It had nice hardwood floors. The pews were stained in mahogany with a great amount of gum stuck to the bottoms out of sight. Stacks of leaflets, hymnals, and bibles lined the seats. On each side of the shiny wood paneled walls, were five stained glass windows which depicted various scenes from the bible. Over the choir loft at the back of the church was a window of St. Peter. A large beat up old organ dominated the loft along with three short rows of pews.

At the front of the church behind the simple alter, was a large stained glass window depicting St. George and the Dragon. It was Miss Ida’s idea to exchange the old window showing a choir of joyous angels with this frightening vision that dominated the building. Fear was the key to a happy congregation she felt.

She also gave the Vicar suggestions for his sermons. All of her suggestions included phrases like ‘Fear of the Lord,” “Repent or be lost in the great fires of perdition,” and “Sinners, sinners, sinners, oh ye miserable sinners.”

He was hesitant to use her ideas and usually stuck to his old standbys of “Love thy neighbor,” and “Make a joyful noise unto the Lord.” That didn’t stop her from offering.

The only reason he allowed the stained glass window to be installed was that Miss Ida sent a petition around and she paid for the new window. The people she presented the petition to signed it just to get her out of their houses. She was not an easy person to say no to especially when she threatened to establish residence in your house.

On a sunny day like today, the windows sent beautiful colors that covered the interior of the chapel like a kaleidoscope. On special days the girls would sneak in and dance in the colorful light.

Another note screeched loudly into the air followed by what sounded like the flapping of wings. The girls turned, looked up and saw what looked like humps on a great dragons back. Kay started for the door, but Mary grabbed her before she could make her escape.

The dragon humps were in reality the heads of ten young girls standing against the railing of the loft. Their applause sounded like wings flapping. They stared at Herman who sat at the organ. They looked admiringly at him as they tried to make their eyes look as dreamy as possible. They clapped their hands not so much for his playing but for his looks.

Yes, Herman was skinny, but he was also quite handsome. He had gorgeous chiseled features, large blue eyes, and long dark hair that he had tied in a ponytail. He looked more like Gerald than Peter did. The girls often wondered where he really came from. Hmmm.

He flipped a series of switches trying to get the right sound out of the organ then hit another note. A series of applause followed. He repeated the process. The applause repeated.

Mary, Olivia, Kay, and Carol headed for the stairs to the choir loft. They approached carefully and quietly. They did not want to startle the dragon away. They mounted each step in anticipation of seeing the horrible man eating beast in broad daylight.

At this point the duck, tired and bored, plopped itself down on the bottom step. It dug it’s head down into the tufts of it’s chest feathers and quickly fell asleep.

Herman hit another loud discordant note on the organ. The girls applauded with vigor. He lifted his head and gave them all a wink. They all sighed, except for the tall girl on the end who fainted dead away.

It was this faint that Mary, Olivia, Kay and Carol witnessed. The poor girl. A victim of the dragon. One look from the beast and you’re dead. They quickly rethought their “capturing the dragon” idea. Quickly but quietly backed down the stairs, exited through the main entrance, and stood on the steps. They waited for someone to make a move. They all turned toward Kay.

Kay suddenly screamed and ran across the lawn and toward the house.

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