Charlie Mack, owner of the local bar/restaurant urges Steve to kill the dragon after he sees with horror the rash on his own chest. A couple days later, his car is found on the side of the highway, smashed up with the entire roof peeled off. Harold Bly is perplexed by Charlie's death at the hands of the dragon, as he apparently never commanded it, but seizes the opportunity to take control of the tavern and mercantile, consolidating his ownership of the town. Steve, meanwhile, confronts the dragon in its supposed lair. His shotgun and rifle prove to be ineffective at killing the dragon, and he barely makes it out with his life when the dragon abandons its attempts to kill him, apparently with the desire to finish him off at its own timing.