Adventure of Dream David 1

The alley shudders as the pavement splits wide open. A crocodile the size of a bus erupts from the broken pipes, chrome-like scales flashing green and purple in the rain.

The fry cook yelps and drops the spatula, stumbling back toward the kitchen door. Jax slips hard in the grease, windmilling to keep upright.

Its jaws slam shut across the alley exit, teeth clenched like a gate. Steam and rain burst around its armored snout.

Dream David has a sliver of air above the crowding bodies, but the beast is already turning toward him, tail scraping sparks off the wet brick.

Dream David drops onto the crocodile’s skull just as it twists to bite. Rain explodes off its armored brow, and his roar punches straight into the open jaws.

The sound slams the beast sideways. Its bite misses the alley entirely, teeth scraping brick, while the broken pipes scream louder in the echo.

The crocodile recoils, stunned, but the blast costs Dream David his breath and leaves his wings jarred from the impact.

It whips its tail through the steam, smashing grease and rain across the pavement as Jax stumbles back from the spray.

From the kitchen door, the fry cook freezes with the box half-forgotten in their hands, staring at the giant shape filling the alley and waiting to see who it hits next.

Dream David drives the roar harder, holding the crocodile in place as steam and rain whip around its armored snout. The beast flinches, jaws working shut, and its tail strike loses force in the slick alley.

The sound costs Dream David, too, his throat raw and his wings trembling from the strain. The shattered pipes hiss louder, and the grease-slick pavement starts to slide under the crocodile's weight.

Jax plants himself by the wall, staring between the beast and the broken alley mouth, while the fry cook hugs the chicken box tighter and takes one involuntary step back into the doorway.

For a beat, the crocodile stays low and still, but its eyes track the covered drain under the steam, not Dream David. The alley has gone quiet enough to hear the pipes leak.

Dream David keeps the roar pinned on the crocodile, and the beast finally gives ground. Its armored head stays low, locked under the force of the sound, while its body slides an inch across the rain-slick pavement.

The strain bites back at once, his throat burning and his wings shuddering from the pressure. Steam blasts across the alley, turning the broken drain and cracked concrete into a white blur.

Jax flinches under the wall, staring at the crocodile’s frozen bulk, while the fry cook tightens their grip on the chicken box and edges the doorway shut behind them.

The crocodile’s eyes shift past Dream David toward the covered drain, and one foreclaw scrapes for purchase in the runoff. The alley is still his for the moment, but the beast is measuring the line to the kitchen.

Dream David keeps the sound locked on target. The crocodile’s armored shoulders sag, its foreclaw skidding in the runoff as it gives another forced inch toward the drain.

The strain punishes him, though, and the roar tears at his throat. One wing dips hard, shaking with the effort, while steam and rain slap the alley into a blinding white sheen.

The beast stops advancing. Its head stays low, but the line of attack breaks, and its claw lifts free of the pavement.

Jax eases out from the wall by a step, still staring at the crocodile. The fry cook keeps the box hugged tight and does not open the door any wider.

Dream David keeps the roar pinned on the crocodile. The beast yields, its armored body sliding back through the runoff and turning its head away from the kitchen door.

The strain bites at him anyway, his throat burning hard enough to shake the sound. Rain and steam hammer the alley, and the air turns sharp with the smell of wet metal and fried oil.

The crocodile backs off from the drain and lowers one shoulder, no longer lunging for the doorway. A strip of cracked pavement lies exposed between it and the kitchen.

Above the alley, the rain keeps falling through the steam. The crooked path to the door is open for the moment, but the crocodile’s eyes stay on the three of them.