The afternoon sun shines over the bustling downtown area of San Jose. In the Plaza de César Chávez, the name for the island park, strolling down the walkway lined with the large puck-shaped banners are Johnny Gardreau and Drew Doughty.

“So, lemme get this straight—” Drew holds one finger in the air. “—the power player of the Ducks is Gibson.”

Johnny nods. “Yup.”

He holds up another finger. “Keller is the power player of the Yotes.”

Johnny narrows his eyes ahead. “Y...eah.”

He adds a third finger. “And Rask is the Bruins’ power player.”

Johnny nods with certainty. “Yup.”

He peers up. “Eichel, yeah, Eichel is the power player of the Sabres.” He holds up four fingers.

“Yeah!” Johnny exclaims.

He holds all five fingers in the air. “And the Flames’ power player is…”

As his voice fades off, their strides slow.

Drew makes a worried look. “...is…”

Johnny gazes up at him with concern as they come to a halt next to his red banner.

Drew scrunches his face. “...is…”

“You...don’t wanna say it,” he concludes with a shake of his head.

Drew throws his hands in the air. “No!” He whirls to him. “I don’t know who it is!”

He holds suspicion in his eyes. “Really?”

Drew shakes his head. “Nuh-uh, not at all!”

Johnny raises his eyebrows. “You wanna know who it is?”

“Yeah!” He holds his hands out from his sides and leans back. “I need to know ALL the power players!”

Johnny pats the top of the puck-shaped frame of his banner. “You sure?”

Drew gazes at him with excitement. “Absolutely!”

Suddenly, fire busts from the banner along with quaking, metal rock music, causing the two to stumble back with fright. A Harley-Davidson Hydra Glide equipped with a small trunk flies out from the flames with its owner riding on it. The motorcycle skids onto the walkway and makes a slick U-turn, leaving a trail of fire in its wake.

With fire crackling and licking at his feet and his motorcycle’s wheels, Matthew Tkachuk adjusts his sunglasses and runs his fingers through his golden, tight curls. He then reaches over to his motorcycle’s trunk and lifts its lid.

Drew drops his jaw at the sight of his mortal enemy. “ACK, YOU!” A scowl takes over his face; he wags a finger at him. “WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?!”

From the trunk, a Komodo dragon pops its head out, adorned with its own black motorcycle helmet. It climbs out of the trunk and drops onto the concrete ground before crawling over to Drew.

Matthew hops off his motorcycle, kicks out its stand, whips out a polishing rag, and begins wiping the frame of his vehicle.

Drew’s eyes widen as the Komodo’s dragon shadow grows over him, forcing him to crane his head up. The small helmet clatters onto the ground by his feet, which Matthew scoops up.

Staring back at Drew is a gigantic Komodo dragon with its flicking, long tongue. It then swings its large, scaly paw at him, swatting him up into the air.

“AAAHHH!!!” Drew screams as he soars across the skies of the city.


In a redwood forest, Patrik Laine sits on the ground, rubbing two sticks furiously over a pile of other sticks. Drew’s screams grow louder, causing him to peer up.

A small speck flies across the blue sky as its cries echo away.

Patrik shoots the scene a puzzled look with a squeak.


Back at the Plaza de César Chávez, the Komodo dragon shrinks into its usual size by the back wheel of the motorcycle. It climbs back into its trunk and blinks twice in adorableness. Matthew places its small motorcycle helmet back on and pats its head.

He then turns back to the smoking scene. Confusion comes across his face with furrowed eyebrows over his sunglasses.

“Wait a minute.” He rubs his stubble-covered chin. “I thought Doughty was just here. I guess my mind is playing tricks on me now.” He scratches his head. “Gosh, isn’t Doughty in my nightmares bad enough—”

“Your Komodo dragon just threw Doughty into the sky!” Johnny shrieks as him. He’s frozen in a panic.

Matthew raises his eyebrows. “Really? She did?” He turns to his pet and peers down at her. “Roxy, how many times did I tell you not to throw people without my permission?”

Roxy blinks at him. She then starts chewing on the cushion of the trunk.

He drops his eyebrows at her. “You’re already hungry again?” He reaches into the pocket of his leather jacket. “You just went through like ten packs of Hot Tamales!”

Nevertheless, Matthew pulls out a box of Hot Tamales and tosses it into the trunk.

The Komodo dragon snatches it into her jaws and whips her head side-to-side. The cardboard tears apart as the little red candies fly out in all directions. She then drops the shredded box and begins eating up the candies.

Matthew picks up one of the candies and closes his hand over it.

Johnny eyes him with concern. “Aren’t you...aren’t you gonna get Doughty?”

He leans against the motorcycle and shakes his fist with a smug frown. “Ehhh, I’ll think about it while I take my scenic drive through California with Roxy here.”

Roxy stares up at him. Matthew looks down at her and stops his shaking. “What?”

She nudges his hand with her head. He opens it, revealing the lonely candy. She gobbles it.

“There,” Matthew states. “Happy?”

Roxy licks her lips then slips back into her trunk. She then closes her eyes and lays her head on the edge of the trunk with a content smile.

Matthew climbs back onto his motorcycle and kicks up the stand.

Johnny eyes him with uncertainty. “So you’re gonna get Doughty?”

Matthew whips up another pair of sunglasses and turns to him: “Trust me Johnny, with that nuisance out of your life—” He puts on the sunglasses over his other pair. “—you’ll thank me.”

He then blasts off across the park and makes a sharp turn onto the street.

Johnny stares at the fiery trial left behind, stunned.

---

The salty air whips through Matthew’s curly hair as he roars down the winding roads by the cliff. Down below is the blue ocean, crowded with cawing seagulls. Whizzing by him to the right are the towering redwood trees. Metal rock churns out from the speakers of his motorcycle, making him smile with content.

From behind him, Roxy pokes her head out from the trunk, freshly wake from her slumber. She gazes around before she narrows her eyes and growls at the passing redwoods.

The motorcycle swerves under Matthew.

“Whoa there!” He grips onto the handles and leans forward, stabilizing the vehicle.

He then peers at his side view mirror. He spots Roxy waddling across the street and into the forest.

His eyebrows shoot up. “Hey, Roxy! Roxy, where ya going?”

Matthew guides his motorcycle across the road and parks it by the edge of the forest. He hops off, kicks down the stand, and rushes into the forest.

He gazes at the red trunks, striding in their shadows. The leaves crack under his boots. He then peers ahead to the familiar sounds of gnawing and growling.

The Komodo dragon is at the foot of a tree, gnawing at it. She then pulls away and slashes its paws at the chipped wood.

Matthew steps up to her with a confused look. He places his hands on his hips. “What did that tree ever do to you?”

He gazes up, spotting the tree’s high-up branches. Sitting on one of them is Drew, who is clutching onto the thick trunk.

Matthew’s arms and expression drops. “Oh. “

Drew shoots him a scowl. “GET ME DOWN AND I’LL END YOU, TKACHUK!”

He crosses his arms. “Yeah, more the reason not to bring you down.”

Drew shakes his head with closed eyes before turning back to him. “GET ME DOWN OR I’LL END YOU!”

“What makes you think I can bring you down? I only have a motorcycle. You think I can just—” He vertically slices his hand up in the air. “—zoom up there and rescue you?”

“I GOT MEDIA DAY TO GO TO!”

Matthew places his hands on his hips again. “And I got a scenic drive to finish up.”

“JUST GET ME DOWN! YOU PUT ME UP HERE!!!”

Matthew shakes his head. “No, Roxy put you there, not me.”

“SO TAME THAT DERANGED DOG OF YOURS!”

Matthew raises his eyebrows at him. “Wow, I did not know you were that blind.”

Drew cranes his head back and yells, “AHHH, THIS IS WHY I DON’T LIKE YOU!!!”

“Yeah, the feeling’s mutual.” Matthew gazes around at the ground. “Well, I guess I’ll go now. It was fun talking to ya.”

He then whisks off.

Drew stretches his neck to the best of his ability to keep his eyes on him. “TKACHUK! TKACHUK, COME BACK AND BRING ME DOWN!”

At the foot of the tree, Roxy gives one last swipe at the shaven trunk.

The upper half of the tree leans over. Then with a snap, it plummets through the air with Drew holding onto the airborne trunk.

“AAAHHH!!!”

BOOF!

The ground shakes and dust explodes into the air as the tree crashes against the ground.

The Komodo dragon stares at her work. She then turns around and waddles down her owner’s trail.

The dust settles around the tree as its crash echoes off into the forest. Drew’s head then arises from the branches. His hair is disheveled, his eyes are rolling in their sockets, stars fly over his head.

“I still...don’t...like you…”

He then pushes himself out of the tangled branches and stumbles down the same direction Matthew and his pet walked in.


The End of “Chaos!”

Notes

Episode 3/15