A couple of teenagers go to Griffin Park after Dark to drink beer where they meet a witch who tells them that the park turns into playground for monsters and dragons.
The teens laugh at the old crone who points out the full moon, and take their beer and weed into the dark forest where there was a wildfire. This patch of burnt wood called ‘Dragon Wood’ is where the tangle of trees resemble dragons and appear to breathe fire. The teens are drunk and high, and attempt to find their way back to their car.
Another group of teenagers hunting Pokemon, also wander into this part of the forest, They hear screams and come upon the first gang of drunk teens who are screaming and tripping on the crazy stuff they saw.
They encounter strange flying insects, get bit by mosquitoes, and one girl falls down after being swarmed by fire ants…she screams and screams but when anyone tries to help her, the fire ants attack. She dies.
Who is she?
Maria…
Call 911
no cell reception.
The group of now seven teenagers, stare at the lifeless body of Maria and watch as she appears to turn into fire and disappear….
Did you see that?
No, lets go…let’s go now.
They start running, following the guy with the car keys, and
watch as he is swallowed up by a tangle of trees that has come to life as a ghostly black dragon.
Whoa! Now there are six. The pokemon teens and the drunk stoner teens are shaking in their boots, whimpering, frozen, screaming…
He has the car keys!!!!
Then, the old witch appears again, only she is very young and beautiful now.
Children?
Who are you?
I’m Marilyn of the Wood…Dragon Wood…I’m a silver witch and l live here.
What happened to our friend – to Maria and to that guy, whatshisname?
Tony?
Yeah, Tony…what is going on Marilyn of Dragon Wood and who the fuck are you???
I’m the silver witch and I had nothing to do with their disappearance –
Did they die?
No, they are locked in Dragon Wood which is why I am warning you …you must leave now.
We are = where’s the road?
Wait, we can’t leave without our friends
They are not my friends, said Rob, the tall stoned one.
I’ll show you the way, said Marilyn, and she shines a light on a path heading north.
The kids follow her, helpless and scared.
Why are we going this way? Where’s the road? This park aint that big, where’s the road, lady?
You are not in Griffin Park anymore…you are in Dragon Wood, as if you step through a time portal, and I’m sorry, I tried to warn you off earlier, but you went through the electric fence.
What electric fence?
She shines a light on a spiderweb portal in front of her.
There are many of these in Dragon Wood, or Griffin Park…it is haunted..
Go through..
You’re not coming?
I live in Dragon Wood, I cannot leave…
Each kid jumps through the spider portal and is shocked electrically and when they reach the other side, bitten by spiders. The kids fall down, screaming in pain, and examinine their bug bites. The spiders are not venomous says Marilyn’s disembodied voice. They are just warning you off.
Wait! Marilyn???
Marilyn appears on the other side of the portal.
What about Maria and Tony, the guy with the car?
You will find them in the parking lot….I assure you..now go. The moon is full and you could accidentally cross back over. And, everything will be as it was… In Dragon Wood, none can enter, and none can leave…so do not – I repeat – do not cross back over…
Cross back over?
Marilyn fades away as does the spider web and the kids truck along the path to the parking lot, where indeed, Maria and Tony wait by the car.
They scream and hover around the two, who have no recollection of the event.
You don’t remember what happened?
What do you mean?
What happened to you – and you! You were swallowed by a huge firebreathing dragon in Dragon Wood and you were eaten alive and set on fire by red ants!
Seriously, dude,what are you smoking?
The teen, a baggy pants kid named Scott, is alarmed, and looks around at the other five who seem dazed. They have all forgotten what happened, snapped back into the current space time reality by the electric shock.
Only, Scott, seems to recall, and falls down, crumpling into a ball on the ground
I saw you….we all saw you….He almost starts crying.
Jeff and Diane are laughing at him, and Tyler says he lost his headphones and wants to go back and look for them.
NO! They all scream in unison
We cannot cross back over!
Cross back over where?
There is a long, stony silence.
Get in the car- Now.
Heh, you pokemon nerds, where are you parked? We will drive you to your car.
We walked.
Okay, where do you live? We will drive you home.
Scott gets into the car, last, and looks back on the Moonlit dark tangle wood behind them.
They drive away into the night.
#
Marilyn curls up in her nest to sleep.
Lady Marilyn of Dragon Wood
Marilyn slept like a rock in her bed of twig and down and awoke at first light. She resonated with the slumber of the fading stars and sang her morning song, a song of solemnity as she remembered her dream, her dream of ancient times, of ancient ones, long buried in the hiss of civilization.
She is the daughter of Merlin, the ancient druid, and she has lived for thousands of years, in the chambers of the gods, and in the woods of the dragons. Here in Dragon Wood, she is guardian of the wild forest that humans carelessly burned. Now, the creepy crawlies and many molecules of ancient life work steadily to repair the lush green forest. Soon, she will return to the chambers of the gods, the caves of the ancients where she will restore her own magic, after charging dragon wood with her powers of healing.
Sleep restores her and she stretches and yawns and greets the morning sun recalling her prayer of run like thunder, run like the sun, and to drive the day as she must, repairing the soul of the earth. She prays and meditates, and then she sings, hums, chants mantras to tune into the musical sphere, and then, to eat her fruit, bread and cheese.
She begins her day with magic, and spins a tale for the mountain, conjuring the spirit of the land. She sees Pegasus flying from the North, the winged horse orf the interplanetary dimension who opens the doors to the etheric world where she must go to perform her magic. The moon sinks into the sky and she cries a little for she loves the night, the dark, the death of day. She asks for the spirits of the dead to appear, and speaks to each guardian of the realm. Her mission is to heal the land, and the land is Hollywood, California, a place long contaminated by evil minds. To her, the land is Dragon Wood, land of sea and dragons. In the time of the Ancient Ones, it was known as Dragon Wold, a sacred wood, and now, Marilyn saw “GRIEF” in the sign of Griffin Park as it was a place that takes away one’s grief.
Rock of Vampyre 