Free Shattered by Mari Mancusi

clucked in mock disappointment.
    “I take it you’re not?”
    “Come on. No way is some pesky padlock going to keep me from fame, fortune, and a Ford Fiesta. Watch and learn, grasshopper.”
    Scarlet watched, eyebrows raised, as her friend pulled out a portable handsaw from her backpack, likely swiped from her father’s toolbox. “Will that break the lock?” she asked, a shred of hope rising within her.
    “Well, it’s no sonic screwdriver, but it should do the job,” Rebekah replied with a grin. She grabbed the lock and began sawing.
    “Remind me to text you next time I get locked out of the house,” Scarlet said with grudging admiration.
    But as her friend worked at the lock, her apprehension grew. What if she was wrong about all of this? What if they went through all this trouble to break and enter only to find nothing more than a rusty toolbox and a few dusty saddles inside?
    Then we’ll be right back where we started from, she told herself. Nothing lost, nothing gained.
    But if she was right…
    Promise me, Scarlet, promise me you’ll look after Mom.
    She squared her jaw. The dragon would be there. She had to be.
    “Ta-da!” Rebekah proclaimed a moment later as the lock cracked open. “It’s show time!”
    “Shhh…” Scarlet hissed, slapping her on the arm. “Can we at least vaguely attempt to be stealthy here?” There were no lights coming from the farmhouse, but still. You never knew who might be in earshot. And then there was the dragon itself, if it was indeed in the barn.
    “Sorry,” Rebekah whispered. “I just got excited. Who knew a life of crime could be so exhilarating?”
    Scarlet didn’t dignify her with an answer. Instead, she reached out, wrapping her hand around the door handle and slowly pulling it open. The rusty hinges groaned in protest, and for a moment the door refused to budge. But with Rebekah’s help, they finally managed to pry it open enough to slip through.
    “Ew!” Rebekah whispered as she stuck her head in—then quickly back out. “It’s like the freaking bog of eternal stench in there!” She pinched her wrinkled nose. “Someone seriously needs to change drago’s litter box.” She reached into her bag for her dad’s video camera. Pulling off the lens cap, she turned it on and switched it to night vision. The view screen illuminated an otherworldly green color as the inside of the barn came into focus.
    “Okay,” she whispered. “I’m rolling. Here be dragons—take one.” She slipped into the barn, panning the camera from left to right. Scarlet followed, her misgivings increasing by the second. It was so dark all she could focus on was the glow coming from the camera, a green circle bobbing in midair. She squinted at it, trying to see what—
    A pair of round eyes blinked back at her.
    “Oh my God! Oh my freaking God!” Rebekah shrieked, dropping the camera to the ground.
    “Shhh!” Scarlet hissed. “What are you—”
    She felt her friend push past her, diving for the door.
    “Get back here!” she cried, dashing after her. “What about your Ford Fiesta?”
    But Rebekah was already halfway to the tractor. By the time Scarlet got there, her friend was on her bike and ready to go. From the glow of her cell phone, Scarlet could see her face had turned pure white.
    “Forget it. It was a crazy idea,” Rebekah declared. “I’m going back to the game.”
    “You left your dad’s video camera in the barn.”
    “He can buy a new one. Did you see that thing, Scarlet? Did you see it?”
    “Yes, I saw it. That was kind of the whole point of coming here, remember?”
    “I thought you were joking,” Rebekah cried, sounding close to tears. “I thought we were just messing around. That it was going to turn out to be a mutated goat or something. But that thing…It’s real. It’s…” She shook her head angrily. “Get on your bike and let’s go.”
    Scarlet surprised herself by shaking her head. “No.”
    “Are you insane?”
    “We came here to