Tod and Marie delighted in the warmth of their intertwined fingers as they walked casually along the wooded path. Tod, a burly blond-headed Senior at Rosemont High, was going on about the game, as he always did when the Cougars won. “And when Julio did that end run then let go of the ball just before he got tackled, I thought that was the end of the game! I don’t even know how Bobby got to the thirty-yard line to catch it and run it to the end zone! Man, that was something! Tod looked toward the petite junior beside him. “Oh Marie, I’m sorry. I keep forgetting you don’t like football.”

     Marie looked up into Tod’s sea-blue eyes and smiled. “Aw sweetheart, you know I get excited seeing how excited you get about it. I love to hear you talk about it.”

     The young quarterback stopped and turned to face the girl. He combed his fingers through her ink black hair and felt his heart swell as he regarded her emerald eyes. “Baby, you’re the greatest,” he breathed as he leaned down and tenderly brushed his lips across hers.

     “Hey hey HEY!” Bobby shouted as he and Jen ran up from behind the couple. “None of that you two! Remember Tod, you’re in training!” The muscular halfback chuckled as he clapped Tod’s shoulder and playfully jostled him. “Good game bro! We couldn’t a done it without you.”

     Even at an even six feet, Tod had to look up to meet Bobby’s eyes. “Without you you mean!” Tod exclaimed. “The way you scooped the ball, and I never saw you run that fast! You won the game for the Cougars man!”

     “No no,” Bobby countered, “It really was Julio’s run toward the sideline, almost stepped out of bounds before he tossed that pigskin. That was a great move!”

     The football chatter was getting out of control and Jen stepped between the two boys, “Hey guys, the game is over and you’re with your girlfriends now?” The pretty blond cheerleader smiled that suggestive smile that had a very erogenous effect on every red-blooded male at Rosemont.

     The foursome laughed and turned to continue along the path. Before them was a fork, and Tod and the girls naturally turned toward the right. Bobby shouted after them, “Hey let’s take the other path!”

     “C’mon Bobby,” Jen argued, “You know that way isn’t safe. We’re going down the right path.

     ” The halfback shook his head. “No, we’re goin’ to the left this time. It takes us down along the pond and I wanna go for a swim.”

     “There’s no tree canopy on that path this time of year man. Wait till the summer and we’ll all be happy to go that way.” Tod knew Bobby could be stubborn but hoped his logic would convince him.

     Bobby shook his brunette locks, “Well I’m goin’ for a swim! Nobody coming?”

     “Bobby,” Jen’s expression shifted to a look of concern with a tinge of anger. “Everybody knows that the left path is avoided until the summer bloom. It’s just too open right now. Please can we just go home?”

     “Look, it’s a beautiful day. The sun is shining and it’s late enough in the year when nothing hardly ever happens.” Bobby was starting to get annoyed with his friends. “Now I stuck my trunks in my bag this morning and I want to go for a swim.”

     From the top of the hill where they were standing the students could see the pond below; the pristine water glimmered enticingly and for a moment Tod considered joining his friend, but thought better of it. “Look man, we’re really only about a week away from the summer bloom and then we can all have a good time at the pond. Can’t you just be patient for a week?”

     With a shrug, Bobby turned and started down the path. He stopped when he reached the edge of the clearing and cautiously looked to his left, his right and above. A gentle wind was coaxing the clouds toward the rocky hills to the west. “The coast is clear,” he announced as cleared the tree canopy and began running down the path. He stopped and turned back toward the group. “C’mon guys, I’m telling you nothing’s gonna hap…

     A sudden, ominous shadow swept over the halfback’s figure and Bobby looked up, a terrified glint in his eye. “Oh shit!” He gasped as he began sprinting back to the safety of the forest, but it was too late. Powerful claws grasped his shoulders, lifting him upward. Bobby screeched as monstrous batlike wings easily carried him away towards the rocky hills, a sick dark scarlet streaking down his green and white jersey. “HELP ME! GOD NO!” Bobby screamed in terror and agony, but the beast paid no heed to his cries as it bore him to its lair, while Tod, Marie and Jen looked on helplessly.

     One lost sneaker floating in a sticky red pool remained where Bobby stood a moment ago, and a crimson trail ran off toward the hills. “Was that a dragon?” Marie clung to Tod’s arm, a tear slipping down her cheek.

     “A manticore, I think,” Tod whispered uneasily. “I…I didn’t see scales, more like fur. And it looked like a it had the tail of a scorpion.” Bobby and the manticore were barely visible by now and Bobby’s shrieks were distant cries. “I guess that’s it for Bobby though.”

     The three students stood, transfixed by the violent assault, until Jen suddenly turned toward the couple with fury in her eyes. “That son-of-a-bitch! I told him to take the other path! That bastard! He was supposed to take me to the homecoming dance next weekend!”

     “Hey C’mon Jen,” Tod pleaded. You think you got it bad? We’re playing our biggest rivals this Thursday! We really coulda used Bobby’s help, he was our best running back. And now who’s gonna tell the coach?”

     “Jeez Tod,” Marie said as she buried her nose into his chest, “You guys and your football.”

The trio of teens shook their heads as they looked out once more towards the rocky hills, then turned and strode unhurriedly up the right path.