“What do you mean?” Mason stutters, backing away as the Wyrms close in behind Ray.
“I mean, that from now on, you will stay in Headquarters, until I find your friends,” he growls, his throat making an animal-like gargle.
“But we need them alive. They are not ready.” A Wyrm slithers in front of the angry man, meeting his dark gaze with no fear.
“They will not be killed,” Ray spits, pushing the grey creature out of the way to get into Rocky’s face. “They will just be locked up!”
Rocky doesn’t break eye contact with him until he backs away, flicking a hand at one of the Wyrms. The Wyrm slithers towards Mason and headbutts him in the stomach.
“Hey!” Mason snaps with a wheeze.
“Move!”
Reluctantly, the two of them trudge towards the Cindaraan Headquarters, their companions trailing behind them, defeated. With Ray in power, they can only obey him.
“Get the other ones!” Ray orders another Wyrm, who nods and shoots away into the grass.
Fear rises in Rocky’s chest at the thought of what Ray will do to them. The Wyrms still need them, but the blond man doesn’t seem to be under their influence.
“This is shit,” Mason sniffs, tears forming in his brown eyes.
“I know, but what can we do about it? There are Wyrms everywhere.”
“I dunno. I wish Draca would tell us something. Then at least we’d have some sort of goal.”
“I guess the goal at the moment is to stay alive.”
“Hopefully we can reach that.”
“Enough talking! Draca won’t save you,” one of the Wyrms hisses, hitting Rocky in the back. “You may think he cares for you, but he has an ulterior motive.”
“Probably better than your motive,” Mason retorts.
The rest of the walk to Headquarters is quiet. They pass many people looking miserable and defeated as they go about their day. The only one who seems to have benefitted from the Wyrms taking over is Ray. They have changed him. He can heal more quickly than before, but he seems to drift further and further away from sanity each day.
“We will wait here,” the Wyrm behind Mason hisses.
Not wanting to argue with the grey beasts any longer, the two boys keep their mouths shut. They must have stood out there for just over half an hour when another group of Wyrms slither over with Melia, Violet and Eryk trudging in front of them.
“Now what do we do?”
“We wait for our next order from Ray,” the Wyrm behind Violet hisses, this one larger than the others with thicker teeth.
This one is different. It’s scales are a swamp green, and it’s eyes are larger and darker than the other Wyrms’. It’s longer and bulkier than the other Wyrms with small spikes jutting out of its neck at different angles.
“But Thula, why are we taking orders from a human?”
Melia snorts at the mention of the name. “You assholes give each other names?”
The biggest Wyrm, Thula, eyes her up carefully. “My name means ‘peace’ in one of your human languages. It was given to me by the scientist who raised me. She believed that we could save the world.”
“She was clearly wrong.”
“No, she wasn’t. Wyrms can save the world from you human scum before you destroy it completely.”
“Then why don’t you do it, then?” Eryk bristles, though a break in his voice gives away his fear.
“You are not ready.”
“Pfft, you say that all the time!” Melia snaps. “I’m starting to think that you have no plan!”
Thula bares his needle-thin teeth at her and circles her menacingly. “We have a plan, you idiotic child. But why would we tell you?”
“Melia, stop antagonising them,” Rocky sighs.
Thula shoots him a surprised glance, but it disappears as quickly as it came. “At least one of your group has some common sense.”
“What about Sadie and Wes?” Violet murmurs, flinching as one of the unnamed Wyrms turns its gaze towards her.
“What about them?” the unnamed Wyrm hisses. “They are just like you.”
“Exactly. But they’re on Ray’s side. Are you going to eat them too?”
Thula throws its head back in a husky laugh. “Of course we are.”
“Do they know that?”
“They don’t need to know. Ray is willing to sacrifice them.”
“No! He wouldn’t let Sadie die for you!” Mason screams.
“Quiet!”
The Wyrm behind Mason whacks him with its tail, making the boy crumple to the ground. He lies on the floor wheezing and crying. Rocky rolls his eyes at the thought of his friend still caring for his ex-girlfriend. She betrayed them.
“Ah, here comes Ray now,” an unnamed Wyrm cackles.
The blond boy approaches them quickly, snorting when he spots Mason on the floor. “Take them downstairs. We’ll keep them there until they are ready for you.”
At the thought of this Thula’s eyes light up. “As you wish.”
Rocky hauls Mason to his feet before a Wyrm can hit him again, and the small group trudge down the stairs left of the entrance to Headquarters. The room downstairs is dark and smells of dust and gone-off food. Something squelches underneath Rocky’s foot, making him shiver and hold back a gag. Someone above turns the light on, which blinds him momentarily before he is able to open his eyes once more. Bile rises in his throat at seeing the body parts of various animals strewn around, some covered in flies and maggots. Blood stains on the floor lead towards a small hole in one of the walls, large enough for a Wyrm.
“You will stay here now,” Ray smirks, kicking a half-eaten mouse out of his way. “The Wyrms will look after you and your companions.”
Some of the Wyrms swivel their heads towards the dragons, who cower and press their ears on top of their heads in fear.
“You’re just going to leave us down here?” Melia snorts. “It’s disgusting!”
“Then you should have picked your allegiance more wisely,” Ray counters.
“I don’t even like these guys!” Melia begs. “Please, let me join you!”
“I have enough on my side,” Ray snarls, stepping so close to Melia that she can smell his rank breath. “I do not need you.”
“Please!”
“Come on, we have matters to attend to.”
Melia screams as Ray leaves the room, the Wyrms cackling after him. She bangs on the door violently, screeching to be let out.
“Give it up!” Eryk snaps, picking a clean spot to sit down on. “He won’t come back for you.”
“This is all your fault!” Melia snarls, pointing a shaking finger at Rocky. “I was normal before I met you!”
“No you weren’t,” Rocky pats his companion as she growls at the scared girl. “As long as you have those markings they would have come for you.”
“They wouldn’t have known I had them if it weren’t for you!”
“Except they would have,” Mason steps between the two of them, trying to diffuse the situation. “They would have found you sooner or later. But that isn’t important right now. We should be sticking together, not bickering like children.”
Though Rocky is still furious with Melia, he agrees with his friend’s words with a curt nod. Melia, however, snorts and returns to banging on the door.
“Is she going to do that all the time?” Eryk sighs, clasping his hands over his ears.
“She’s scared,” Mason mutters.
“We all are. There’s no reason to be an asshole about it.”
Rocky settles down in the corner with Cerberus, stroking her cheek softly. Her usually playful amber eyes are now dull and full of pain, which makes anger boil up inside of him once again.
You will pay for this Ray, no matter what I have to do.
27
Chapter Twenty-Seven
After a night of peaceful sleep, the three of us went back to planning a safe way to reach the lab without getting caught. Braith knows the way because she�
��s been there before, but she has seen Wyrm patrols circling the route she took last time.
“Plus I only got to the canteen,” Braith muses. “Draca wouldn’t let me go any further.”
“Well, we’re going further now,” Marco sighs. “Let’s hope this is worth it.”
“It has to be worth it. There must be something there. Draca wants us to see something.”
[Although it is likely that the large orange dragon needs us to see something, I find it hard to believe that he wants us to. His tantrum the last time I saw him is enough to convince me of that.]
“So where are we going to go?” I ask.
“I think we should take the route that I took last time, but take out any of the Wyrms along the way.”
“How many do you think there are?”
“I’ve seen about ten on that route.”
“Ten?” Marco leans back in his chair, mouth agape. “The most that we have taken out is two at once, but ten? No way.”
“I’m sure we can do it!”
Marco shakes his head slowly. “No. There must be a better way.”
The beeping of a car horn makes us all jump. Braith pushes the two of us underneath the table, placing a finger on her lips. Confused, our companions rush to hide behind the sofas, while Drea disappears into a shadow in the corner. Several loud knocks on the door make me jump, and I’m surprised by how calm Braith is. After a minute or so the knocking stops and the noise of a car starting up can be heard before it screeches away.
With a soft sigh of relief, Braith says: “It’s okay, it’s clear now.”
The three of us climb back into our seats, our hearts racing wildly. We were so close to getting caught.
“Who was that?” Marco demands.
“A delivery guy,” Braith answers, pointing towards the door. Damayanti noses it open and drags a large, heavy-looking cardboard box inside. “I guess the scientists used to stay here every so often. He comes by and leaves food.”
“But why is he still coming? Everyone heard about the accident at the lab.”
Braith shrugs and makes a sharp icicle to slice open the box. “Who cares? We have food.”
“But doesn’t it concern you that this place is being treated as if someone still lives here? It’s too convenient. Don’t you think, Haze?”
“Braith, are you sure this place is abandoned?”
“Positive. I promise you, I scouted this place for days when Draca dropped me off. No-one came by.” She lifts packets of food out of the box and places them on the table, along with some fresh fruit and towels.
“I don’t like this,” Marco says.
“I think we need to move on as fast as possible,” I agree. “I still think someone is here.”
With a sigh, Braith starts to pack the food away in the cupboards. “Fine. Seeing as you two have ants in your pants we’ll set out in a few days. We may as well use the facilities here as long as we have them.”
* * *
Two days into staying at this place and I still don’t like it. The place is too perfect, with running water, electricity and food deliveries. Someone must still be here, otherwise this place wouldn’t be up and running after the lab went down. Someone has to pay for all of this or it wouldn’t be allowed to continue.
“Who wants veggie fajitas?” Braith calls out, chopping up peppers in the kitchen.
“Can we not have some meat?” Marco whines.
“No, it’s for the dragons. Humans can live without meat. Now, who wants kidney beans in theirs?”
Living here is like we don’t have any worries. But I know that one day we will have to face our problems again. The Wyrms won’t just fade away; we need to stop them. Even though Draca won’t tell us how. The large dragon has been ignoring us the past couple of days. He must really not want us to go to the lab, even though it was his idea in the first place.
“Hazy, fajita?” Braith clicks her fingers in front of my face to break me out of my thoughts.
“Uh, yeah, sure. Why not.”
“I’ll make yours extra special!” she giggles, clapping her hands excitedly.
“Why don’t I get an extra special one?” Marco teases.
“Listen, dude. We’re both into the same woman. I’m gonna win.”
“Win? She’s my girlfriend! I’ve already won!” Marco wraps his arm around my back, making me flinch. “Oh, sorry, Haze. You okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine,” I grimace, sliding out of his grip.
“I wish they’d deliver us painkillers or somethin’,” Braith sighs. “You can’t wander around in pain all the time.”
“I’m getting better, honest,” I lie through gritted teeth.
The two of them swap an unconvinced glance but say nothing more. The smell of Braith’s fajitas makes my mouth water, so I’m able to forget about my back and focus on my stomach. The door suddenly swings open, making us all jump. Damayanti trots in, carrying a dead rabbit in her mouth.
“How many times have I told you not do that?” Braith scolds playfully. “One day I will shit myself!”
Damayanti rolls her eyes and drops her catch on the table, nosing it towards Braith.
“Looks like she wants to borrow your cooking skills,” I tease, making the black and white dragon nod enthusiastically.
“No, I’m not cooking that! Get it off the table!”
The rest of the dragons come in a few minutes after Braith’s fajitas have finished cooking, each holding a small catch of their own. My companion puffs out his chest proudly when everyone sees his pheasant. The black dragon goes to shut the door with his tail, but accidentally knocks a lamp over by the door.
“Oh, Aqueous!” Braith rolls her eyes. “You’re so- Oh.”
“Oh?” I ask, shoving one last mouthful of fajita in my mouth before turning round.
On the floor the lamp is shattered into hundreds of pieces. But the thing that makes my stomach drop is the sight of the small black microphone that was wrapped around the lampshade.
For a few seconds no-one says anything. Then Braith slowly backs away. “Okay, let’s get out of here, quick,” she mutters under her breath, covering her mouth with a hand.
With a sharp nod, Marco grabs our pre-packed backpacks and we slowly skirt around the microphone towards the door. My boyfriend tugs on the handle, but the door doesn’t budge.
“Come on, Marky,” Braith tuts. “This is embarrassing.”
“It won’t open!” He drops the backpacks and tries pulling with both hands, but the door remains closed.
“Try a window,” I suggest.
Braith tries to open the one closest to her, but it stays locked in place. “Shit! Drea, smash it!”
With a swing of her clubbed tail, Drea attempts to break the window, but her tail bounces off like a rubber ball, stunning everyone.
“This ain’t good,” Braith breathes.
The lights in the house slowly dim until they go out, replaced by a red light coming from the ceiling. The dragons bark angrily, swivelling around on the spot to try to find anyone who might have snuck in.
“Now what?” Braith breathes, grabbing my arm and squeezing it.
“I don’t know,” I admit. “We don’t know who has done this.”
“There must be a way out somewhere!” Marco hisses. “If someone can get in, we can get out.”
Drea growls in agreement, scanning the cabin distrustfully.
“Try smashing the door,” Braith stutters.
The white dragon nods and swings at the door with her clubbed tail, but it barely makes a dent in the tough wood.
“What the hell? Who has fortified this place?” Braith hisses.
“I dunno, but they clearly want us.” I look around for any sign of someone being in the building, but it seems as if it has been shut down from the outside.
“So what do we do? Wait for them to come?”
“Seems like the only thing we can do at the moment,” Marco says, kicking the door in frustration.
&nb
sp; “Then we’ll wait. They’ve locked us in so they want us for something.” I sit down at the table once more, taking another bite of my fajita.
For a moment the two of them stand still before returning to the table to finish eating, their eyes darting around the room fearfully.
After a few minutes of silence, the television flickers on by itself. At first there is nothing but a black screen, but eventually an image of nine young children with their backs to the cameras appears. Each of them has a coloured band around their wrists. They cry out as a man comes to each of them and injects different coloured substances in their arms.
“What the…?” Braith mutters.
The television flickers off again. The three of us glance at each other in fear and confusion.
“What was that about?” Marco gulps.
“I have no idea. Do you think that was deliberate?”
“Deliberate?” Braith asks.
“Maybe they wanted us to see that, for some reason. I dunno. It looked like some sort of experiment.”
“Hopefully they won’t leave us waiting around too long to find out.” Braith snuggles deeper into the sofa, her companion resting her head on her lap.
We all must have dozed off because when we next wake up it’s night-time. There is still no sign of anyone coming for us.
“Ugh, what is all this?” Braith jumps out of her seat to pace around the room. “Why are they keeping us waiting? To torture us?”
“Maybe they’re stuck in traffic,” Marco jokes half-heartedly.
“They obviously knew we would come here, so they want us for something,” Braith thinks out loud, circling the sofas. “They would have shown themselves to me last time when Draca took me if that was the case.”
“But how did they know you would come back?” I stand up to catch her by the arm before she walks into the table.
With a sheepish laugh, she says: “I may have talked out loud to myself to substitute for human interaction. I said I wanted to bring you all here, although I guess three is enough for this person.”
“But that still doesn’t answer why they want us.”
My friend shrugs. “I hope that their reasons are friendly. We’ve been through enough shit to last us a lifetime, don’t ya think?”
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