No response.
“Jagger, is that you?”
A moment later, Jagger appeared in the doorway, wrapped in a towel. “Raiya, they have running water here. Honest to God running water! The shower was luxurious. You should try it out!”
“Trying to tell me something?” Raiya asked in an accusing tone as she crossed her arms.
Jagger shrugged, “Just that there’s an awesome shower in the next room.”
Raiya rolled her eyes, “Fine, get out of my way.”
She jumped out of bed and went into the alcove. There was no curtain, but the shower was recessed into the wall enough that the view from the door would be obscured. She quickly disrobed, hung her new clothes on a white hook that protruded from the orange wall on the left and turned the nob to make the water flow.
………………….
Jagger quickly dried off as he listened to the water turn back on and then looked at his clothes. The jeans were stained, not badly, but would still need to be cleaned soon. His shirt was in better shape. It was black, so any stains wouldn’t show as easily. He put his pants on and then threw the shirt over his head as the water turned off.
As the shirt dropped over his head, he got a clear view of Raiya stepping out of the shower. Her clothes were under her left arm while she used the other towel that was left in the stall to dry her hair. The green scales flowing down the sides of her neck continued all the way down to her ankles. They converged right at her waist and completely covered everything below it.
His eyes widened and he quickly turned away, “Whoa!”
Raiya stopped in her tracks, “What?”
“You’re naked.”
“Yeah, so? Isn’t that how you wash?”
Jagger stuttered as he spoke, “Well yeah, but…”
“What, you don’t like girls?”
Jagger turned back around and glared at her, “No, it’s just… ah, never mind!”
Raiya sighed and wrapped herself in the towel, “First of all, you’ve already seen me. Secondly, if we’re going to be partners, you’re going to need to get used to this. We’re not always going to have the opportunity to clean and when we do, there may not be placed to run and hide when we get undressed.”
“Got it.”
“So, is that going to be a problem?”
“No.”
“Good.”
Raiya dropped the towel and got dressed as Jagger looked out into the main complex. The fire had long since died down and was little more than embers. Mason was no longer there, nor was Eric. There were a few people walking around, but none of them paid him any mind as they went about their work.
Raiya stepped out next to him as she finished adjusting her shirt, “Spying on our hosts now? Naughty…”
“Hosts that brought us here against our will… better safe than sorry.”
“Good morning.” Came a familiar voice from around the corner.
Raiya turned to see Eric staring at them, “Are you ready to go?”
Jagger nodded, “Sure.”
“All right then, please follow me.”
Eric led Jagger and Raiya outside. Their jeep had been weighed down in the back with a few changes of clothes, some tools, and a bag of food that was on the back-passenger seat. It looked like they would have enough provisions for a long trip.
Mason was standing next to the old truck, “It’s been a long time since I’ve seen one of these…”
He touched the faded blue stripes over the orange circle and nodded, “1989 Islander Edition Jeep Wrangler... with a custom winch on the front. You should have seen these in their prime.”
He smiled as he turned to Jagger, “So… where are you off to?”
Jagger looked at Raiya for an answer. She shrugged and turned to Mason, “Unfortunately I don’t really know. I tracked the dragon to Massachusetts and then the path went cold. It’s like he disappeared. I wandered around for weeks before I ran into Jagger. I figured we’d head southwest.”
“Why south?” Mason asked.
“The dragon that attacked New Framingham went that way.”
“Hm... A sound plan indeed… however I would advise a different path.”
“Oh?”
Mason handed them a small paper. On it was a map with written directions, “I would go to Fort Charleston, if I were you.”
Jagger slouched against the jeep, “Charleston… are you out of your mind?”
Raiya looked at Jagger inquisitively as he continued, “The last bastion of the United States Military force… are you kidding me? What in God’s name would we gain from going there?”
“Knowledge.” Mason replied.
“Wait, I’m confused…” Raiya interrupted. “What is Charleston?”
Jagger turned to her, “Fort Charleston is not part of the Western Coalition. After the fall of Washington and the Norfolk Navy yard, the United States withdrew its forces to Charleston. The Eastern U.S. forces vowed to hold the city no matter what. They fortified it, kept their navy nearby, and openly defied the President’s order to retreat.”
“And they’re still there?” Raiya asked in shock.
“Yeah… After the president and joint chiefs of staff were killed, they became emboldened. The fools dug their heels in and referred to themselves as the Last Bastion of the United States. They still fly the flag, still have their remaining citizens abide by U.S. law, and no matter how badly they get beaten by dragon attacks, they stubbornly refuse to retreat.”
“So, they’re zealous fools with a martyr complex… great…”
“Some might call them patriots.” Mason said in a scolding tone. “They’ve kept much of the dragons preoccupied in the west.”
“At the cost of how many lives?” Jagger shot back. “I respect their ideals… but they’ve been attacked so many times that their city has been repeatedly reduced to rubble and their people are destitute. There is no logical reason for them not to join the Coalitions. Instead they’d rather just waste resources.”
Mason huffed as he spoke, “Regardless of your feelings, they are the ones who cured Dragon’s Bane and then shared their findings with the coalitions. They’ve also developed most of the new defenses we now use.”
Jagger lowered his eyes, “That’s true… I guess.”
“So why do we want do go there exactly?” Raiya asked.
Mason smiled as he looked at her, “You openly defied a dragon lord and survived the encounter. Aren’t you curious as to why?”
“No.”
“You’re lying.” Mason said in an almost amused tone.
“Think so…?”
“I do. If you want to defeat that dragon… what flows through your veins might hold the answer. If you knew what abilities you truly possessed, but had not yet tapped into, it’s possible you may gain a significant advantage. It’s worth investigating.”
“Not interested.”
Jagger bit his lower lip and let his teeth scrape against the skin before he spoke up, “Raiya… I think he’s right.”
“Do you?” She asked in an accusing whisper.
“We need every advantage we can get. Going up against that beast as we are would be stupid. Figuring out your abilities and why you have a… reptilian complexion might help.”
Her yellow eyes flared as she gazed into his. He felt a chill run down his spine as he smiled nervously, “Maybe?”
Mason’s eyes darted between them as he spoke, “The doctor that cured the Dragon’s Bane lives there. He’s a skilled scientist specializing in microbiology and genetics.”
“Wait… are you talking about Dr. Ian Castillo?” Jagger asked.
“Yes.”
“I’d heard he was a madman with some… questionable ideas about genetics and purity.”
“Ideas?” Raiya asked.
“Yeah…” Jagger replied hesitantly. “He was initially investigated by a medical ethics committee before the dragon attacks for his experiments. He believed that he could… breed the perfect human
being. His hope was to essentially breed a human that would be impervious to illness. At least that’s what people were told…”
“But it wasn’t the truth?”
“Not entirely. His research also had military applications. He was quickly found to be in violation of the Geneva Conventions and his research was shut down.”
Mason nodded, “I know he’s… not the most orthodox person out there, but he’s probably your best chance.”
Jagger looked back into Raiya’s eyes, “Maybe?”
She held her gaze for a few moments before shaking her head, “Whatever, let’s just go then.”
Jagger turned and beckoned her into the jeep, “All right, let’s go. –Thanks for the supplies and shelter. It made all the difference, Mason.”
“No problem.” Mason replied.
At that moment, Eric came to life, “Father…”
Mason looked at him for a moment, before turning back to Jagger. His eyes seemed desperate to hide a feeling of agony as he spoke, “I have one last favor to ask…”
Jagger looked at him oddly, “Okay?”
“Would you take my son with you?”
“What?”
Eric stepped forward, “I’ve been hunting wyverns since I was able to walk. I know how to fight and take care of myself.”
Mason sighed, “He’s young and impetuous, but you may find him useful. He wants to get out and see the world.”
“No…” Raiya replied.
Jagger nodded, “Yeah I’m afraid I have to agree. It’s going to be a long trip. Chances are we’re probably not going to come back from this in one piece.”
“I figured you’d say that.” Mason replied in a sly tone. “Since he really wants to do this… I’m prepared to offer you something in exchange for taking him.”
“I can’t wait to hear this…” Raiya said in her normal whisper.
Mason picked up a small pack that was sitting on front of the jeep. It was large and almost a perfect square. He opened it and showed it to Jagger.
“Z cell Power cartridges?” Jagger asked as his eyes lit up.
“I noticed your car’s power cell was running low.” Mason replied. “We replaced it with a fresh one and here are three more for you… provided you take him along.”
Jagger eyed them suspiciously, “Why would you give us something this valuable?”
“We have no use for them. Our weapons are as conventional as they come. We extracted these from a convoy that came under attack some time ago. Figured we’d use them to barter at some point.”
Raiya and Jagger exchanged glances for a few moments. Both were waiting for the other to say something. When it didn’t happen, Raiya closed her eyes and turned away. The look on her face was one of defeat.
Jagger took that as permission for him to make the decision. He took the pack and turned to Eric, “Say goodbye and mount up.”
“Already done.” Eric said as he jumped into the passenger seat of the jeep. “Let’s get going.”
Jagger got behind the wheel and looked over at Raiya as she stood next to the passenger’s side and glared at Eric emotionlessly, “You’re in my seat…”
Eric’s eyes went wide and he immediately jumped into the backseat like a scolded little boy, “Sorry!”
Raiya didn’t respond and simply moved to reclaim her seat. The moment she was comfortable, she leaned over to Jagger, “If we’re going to pick up a new passenger every time we stop somewhere, then you’ll need a bigger car.”
“I know…” Jagger replied.
Eric leaned forward from the back, “So we’re heading south?”
“Sit back and be quiet…” Raiya replied.
Jagger smirked as the car pulled away, “This should be fun.”
Mason could be seen waving as he shrank in the rear-view mirror. Raiya unfolded the map and carefully looked over the directions, “Okay… if I’m reading this right… we should head due south… Does this road… I-95 south still exist?”
“Some of it…” Jagger replied. “It’s been years since I tried to take it. There are long stretches that were blasted by dragon fire, tank wheels, and weapons. Still there should be enough for us to figure out where we’re going.”
Raiya tapped on several points on the map. It looked like she was counting something. Her eyes narrowed as she moved the map closer to her face, “Jagger… that’s almost a thousand miles away. Can we even make it that far?”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean won’t we run out of gas?”
A faint chuckle came from the back seat, “Gas? What decade are you living in?”
“Come again?” Raiya said as she raised her claws.
Eric sat back defensively, “What I mean is… cars don’t use fossil fuels anymore. After dragons began attacking our sources of fuel, we had to find alternatives.”
“And those are?”
Jagger pointed to his bolt gun, “They’re essentially larger versions of the cartridges used to power our bolt guns. Most cars have had their engines converted to burn on hydrogen. The old radiators were pulled out and replaced with a special device that collects moisture from the air and converts it into fuel.”
“Let me guess… the cartridge powers that device?” Raiya asked.
Jagger nodded, “Yeah that’s right, and they last for roughly ten thousand miles.”
“Nice I guess.”
“Yeah, they power almost everything these days. That’s why we couldn’t refuse Mason’s offer.”
“I figured…”
Jagger turned his attention to their new passenger as Raiya fell silent in the back, “So Eric, what’s your story?”
Eric looked up with a confused expression, “My story?”
“Yeah. You’re tagging along with us, so we might as well get to know each other.”
“Fair enough.” Eric replied. “Where to begin… well I was born in Montreal before it got attacked. My mother died a few years ago. My father pretty much took charge and moved us all as far away as possible. We thought we’d be safe with the Western Coalition, but even they took a beating.”
“So, what have you been doing since?”
Eric shrugged, “A little of this… a little of that… Mostly just trying to stay alive. Nothing too bad, you know?”
Okay… he’s hiding something. Jagger said to himself.
WREEEEEEE!
Eric’s eyes went wide, “Wyvern!”
“I don’t think so.” Jagger replied.
Raiya’s eyes scanned the sky. She remained completely emotionless as she searched for the dragon, “It sounds… bigger…”
The jeep moved past a grove of burnt trees into an open field. A large black beast appeared from behind the trees and closed on them. Jagger’s eyes widened, “That’s a beta class!”
Eric looked at him oddly, “Beta?”
Raiya nodded, “It’s a younger adult dragon. This could be bad…”
No sooner had she spoken when two wyverns appeared out of the trees and flew in behind it. Eric turned around and watched the dragon as it quickly gained on them. His neck slowly began bobbing in sync with the wings as the dragon got closer, “Slow down.”
“What?” Jagger called back.
“I said slow down, let it get closer!”
“You’re insane!”
Eric leaned back and placed his hand on Jagger’s shoulder, “Trust me!”
“You better know what the hell you’re doing!” Jagger yelled as he took his foot off the gas.
Raiya eyed the needle on the odometer as it quickly dropped, “You guys are crazy…”
The jeep began to slow to a crawl, allowing the dragon to get in close. Eric resumed moving in sync with the dragon and waited, “Just a little more… a little more…”
He waited until the dragon was so close that they could feel its hot breath. It was almost nipping at the bumper when Eric smiled, “Gotcha!”
Eric jumped from the back of the jeep and landed on the dragon’s nec
k. Using impressive agility, he quickly wrapped his arms around the beast’s neck and scurried around so that he was facing forward. The dragon broke away from the jeep and attempted to buck Eric loose. The two wyverns flew in close, attempting to aid their leader.
Jagger jammed on the breaks and grabbed the bolt gun, “We’ve got to help him!”
Raiya grabbed the dagger from her belt and jumped out of the passenger’s side. She had barely waited for the jeep to stop before she began running back towards the dragons.
Jagger watched as Eric fought through the violent jolts as the dragon began an uncontrollable descent. Before it could land, he reached behind his back and grabbed a pair of daggers off his belt. Using all his strength, he plunged the foot-long blades into the dragon’s eyes.
The mighty lizard let out an agonized scream as it hit the ground. There was a loud thud that was followed by a cloud of dirt and ash. Half blinded, Eric stepped off the dragon’s neck and retrieved his blades.
As the dust settled, he swung the blades around and stabbed them into the dragon’s skull, “Die you fuck!”
Eric once again drew back his daggers as a shadow passed over him. A wyvern loomed above him with its front claws out, diving for a kill shot, “Shit…”
Eric raised his blades out in front of him. If they connected, he likely wouldn’t survive. Just as the wyvern was coming in for the kill, three white and blue bolts struck its black hide. Its body gyrated as sparks fled the scales.
Raiya darted out in front of him and drove her blade into the wyvern’s chest. The force of the impact sent the wyvern flying backwards before it crashed on the ground. Raiya landed on top of it and pressed her dagger even deeper until blood spattered everywhere.
She withdrew her blade and smiled as she turned to look at Jagger. Bolts flew from his gun, shocking the wyvern as they struck. It let out a mournful cry as it fell to the ground. Jagger dropped the rifle and removed his 1911 from the holster.
The stunned wyvern looked up at him with malice in its eye, “My death means nothing… your kind shall fall!”
Jagger pointed the pistol at the wyvern’s eye.
BOOM!
ERRREAAAAAAK!
Drakin: The Story of Raiya Page 9