"Should I take it home and run it through the blender? Want a milkshake? Tell me what I can get for you."
"Just hang out with me while this thing happens on television. Supposedly, the President is announcing something to the world. Has to do with Tesser and all the weird shit he stirred up across the world."
Alexis pulled the uncomfortable hospital chair over to the side of his bed and sat down. "Okay. Put it on and let the President wow us with his intellect, charm, and power."
Abe grinned. At least smiling doesn't hurt. Abe popped on the television and found a station he liked. It seemed like most were carrying the 'event.'
"Jesus. Look at that." Abe swallowed down a wave of pain as he adjusted his bed upright. On the screen was a wide-angle shot of the Lincoln Memorial. Where the steps should've been was a massive tiered stage and grandstand, filled with hundreds of suit-wearing politicians, dignitaries, religious figures, and government officials. It was a who's who of important people and served as one of the most impressive gatherings in remembered history. Security in the background looked incredibly heavy, as was to be expected. Men wearing head to toe black body armor and carrying military grade weaponry were standing every fifteen to twenty feet.
At the foot of the stage stood tens of thousands of people, all huddled together against the bitter chill in the autumn air. They carried signs that ran the gamut of human emotions on the current state of the world. "God Save Us!" "The End is Nigh!" "Peace and Love!" "Dragon for President, '16" "Impeach! Elect a troll. They have tusks!" "I blame the GMOs!" And so many more. Hundreds of signs were held high, some proudly, with something real to say, others sarcastically.
On the stage was the podium of the President, flanked as always by his two panes of teleprompter glass. The camera pushed in on the podium as a chorus of cheers and jeers greeted the President's arrival on the stage. He walked with confidence, waving to the crowd as he walked up to the podium and microphone. Once there, he let the noise linger for a minute before talking.
"Today marks a unique occasion in history. As we know, the world has changed in many ways these past few weeks, marked by the arrival of a creature out of myth and fiction. Fear has been with us. Uncertainty lingers in the air. Many of you are now calling the creature the Great Boston Dragon." A round of applause came from the crowd.
"Many of you have seen the news since then. You probably have heard of all the bad-looking things that are starting to appear in the dark. Monsters, some say. New animals, some say. And we all know that our world has always been filled with wonder and magic, but now, that magic is here in a very literal and real sense. Many of you are excited by the opportunities this has afforded our civilization, but many of you are also frightened of this new world, understandably. I am pleased and so proud to be here on this American stage as all of humanity stands united with our planet Earth as we step into a new age."
These don't seem like scared people to me. They seem excited.
The President waited for the cacophony to die down. "Many of you listening to this, watching this moment of history on the television, aren't from America, and you're probably thinking and wondering, 'why America?' I want to tell our allies all across this world that The United States was approached by a very special person recently, and that person is here to address the public. I'll be honest: at first, I was hesitant to be the host for this event. I thought it would be safer to do it somewhere remote, somewhere we could contain it away from population. But I said no to that. To be unafraid of change is to show courage, and in order to change, we need to embrace this new world we live in courageously. Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you America's, and the World's, newest friend, Tesser." The President stepped back from the podium and gestured to the side of the stage where he had stepped up himself just minutes before. A tall blonde man stepped onto the stage, and strode across it to the leader of the free world.
"Oh holy fuck, look at that. It's Tesser. Shaking hands with the President." Abe's heart monitor started to alarm he was so excited. Alexis took his hand into hers and the machine gave up its dismaying cry.
The golden-eyed, blonde man wore a sky blue button down shirt and slate gray slacks. He looked professional, but not political. With a thin shirt and slacks, he was underdressed against the cold wind of the day. His attire looked humble but intentional as he shook the President's hand firmly, thanking him away from the microphone. The President put a strong hand on Tesser's shoulder, showing firm positivity and holding him still in the moment as a hundred thousand camera flashes lit up. That image would be shared for years.
After saying his two cents to the new friend of the world, the President let go of Tesser, and the man in dragon form walked up to the podium. He was smiling, handsome and charming; he quickly and easily eclipsed the charisma the President had. He adjusted the microphone upwards.
"Hello, World. As the President said, my name is Tesser. It's a pleasure to be able to address so many of you in this way. I'm not accustomed to all this, so please bear with me as I stumble through this speech."
People were going hysterical cheering and Abe knew they had no idea why. If Tesser wanted to be elected President of Everything right then, he'd win in a landslide.
"The world has changed for what I know to be the better. You see, I come from a time when what you see as new and frightening is old and common. I see a world that has lost touch with its sense of wonder, filled with people who do nothing but wake, work, and sleep. There are too few fireside stories told and too few days spent lost in the warm summer sun. Too few fairy tales and too many school shootings."
Tesser had to pause. He was drowned out by raucous applause again. When it died down, he continued.
"This may alarm you. It may also scare you, but the world has been sculpted over time by a race of creatures that have stayed out of your memory for too long, and I come here today before you all to apologize for our lack of presence. On behalf of the seven dragons of Earth, and all that we hold precious and dear on this big blue world filled with magic and life and laughter, I say, I am sorry for the lack of effort we have put into making your world a better place."
The people lost their minds again. Some of the audience had expressions of shock on their faces. Disbelief was scattered in, but most were roaring with approval and admiration for the statements Tesser had made. So many people craved a change. Abe and Alexis watched it all, but after a minute Alexis turned to Abe.
"What is he saying? On behalf of the dragons? He's apologizing for them? Like he's a messenger? Is he part of some ancient conspiracy or something?" Alexis was confused.
Abe sighed softly. "Alexis, he is a dragon. He's Tesser, the dragon of life. The same one who rescued me the night of the attack."
Alexis stared at him. "Fuck you."
"Really. He's a dragon, Alexis. The real fucking deal."
Tesser spoke again, and the couple fell silent. "The other night the city of Boston was taken by surprise by an entity that has forced its way across the Veil, invading Earth from a realm beyond reason, beyond hope, and polluted by evil. The Bible has referred to this entity as Legion. Some of you saw the end of the battle against Legion that night. You saw a dragon fight that battle."
Murmurs of fright came from the crowd.
"Legion is a daemon. What we have grown to call a 'Veil-Born.' An alien to this reality that must be sent back before he opens a rift wide enough to let loose a flood of pure, unadulterated evil that cannot be stopped."
Now the crowd was in a barely restrained panic.
"But I assure you, fellow residents of Earth, there exists a force that eclipses even that of Legion's. A force for good and kindness greater than the force for evil Legion represents. I am Tesser. I am the tender of your flock, and you are my charge in this life. You are all my children, and like the vengeful father I am, there shall be no rest for Legion, no hole deep enough to hide in, no mountain too high for me to climb in my quest to rid this world of him. Legion is not welcome he
re, and let this serve as his eviction notice."
The crowd was going insane with energy. The politicians and gathered people of importance in the grandstand were all standing now, emphatically clapping their hands, even though Abe could see they weren't quite sure what the hell Tesser's deal was.
Tesser walked away from the podium and onto a wide area of the stage set off to the side. How did I not notice that the podium was off center like that before? It's like there's enough space for him to…
Tesser undid the top button of his shirt, and somehow spoke loud enough for the crowd and the nearby microphones to hear. Even through the television Abe could feel his voice resonating somehow. It's like he's right here in the room with us.
"I will take the fight against all that threatens humanity and the creatures of this world we call home together," Tesser said as his shirt opened up. That image would be on posters and shirts the next day. "I cannot do it alone. I will need you to help me. Many of you must step into the breach to protect one another from the things that have forgotten that they need to fear me. That they need to fear all the dragons. But rest assured my people," Tesser shrugged his shirt off, and let it drop to the floor of the stage. "I am Tesser, and I am YOUR Dragon."
Tesser crouched low with a smile so joyous, and so pure that Abe couldn't help but let slip a squeal of delight. Alexis laughed. Then, as sudden as a mongoose's strike, he propelled his body into the air, and shifted form into what he truly was.
Nearly every television station in the world watched live.
Tesser's massive golden form elongated from his human form, bursting all of his remaining clothing as he transformed into his full dragon body in just seconds. Before he could fall into the crowd, his sail-like wings flapped powerfully once, and he took off up and over the assembly, taking flight down the length of the Reflecting Pool, heading straight towards the gray spire of the Washington Monument. Cameras spun on their mounts to track his tremendous first public flight, catching the awed faces of those present. The water below him formed overlapping ripples as the air cascaded down from his flight. His tail swung back and forth as he ascended up to the peak of the Washington spire, where he circled once, and then perched impossibly, all four massive clawed hands gripping the stone gingerly, keeping him suddenly still like a gargoyle.
Tesser launched another stream of white-hot flames from deep within his throat across the sky above, lighting up the already bright day. The flames evaporated in the air, and the dragon let loose a triumphant roar, announcing to all he was present and was the new guardian and leader of the world.
Tesser propelled his body into the air with his legs and a flap of his wings, and he took higher and higher to the sky.
Abe hadn’t lost his childlike glee from the showing. He looked over to Alexis, and she too had a smile that couldn't be explained. "I told you. He's a dragon. He's our dragon."
From outside the room, Abe and Alexis suddenly heard a stern voice, "Sir, Sergeant, you need to return to your room." Then the door burst in.
The cop, the same cop that had brought Abe to this very hospital the night of Tesser's first appearance came in. He was leaning hard on an IV stand, using it as one might use a tall walking stick, and was clearly straining against a good amount of pain.
He was shot at least once too. What he's doing here?
"You're Abe, right? Tesser's friend?"
Tesser's friend? Man. That has such a different meaning right now. Two minutes ago it meant something entirely different. "Yeah. You're the cop that saved my life right? Spooner?"
The wounded cop shuffled over as two uniformed policemen followed him in, exchanging looks of dismay and irritation. Neither wanted to be the one to put hands on the "Dragon Cop."
Spoon made it to a second uncomfortable hospital chair and collapsed, exhausted. He caught his breath and then waved the two policemen away dismissively. They shrugged and left the room.
"Yeah, I'm Spoon. Nice to meet you. You know this gunshot wound didn't hurt until they dug the damn bullet out of me. Now I can barely fucking walk."
"Thank you for saving Abe's life, officer. We owe you a huge debt of gratitude," Alexis said, getting up and moving over to him. She kissed his cheek.
"It's not ‘officer.' I'm a detective. Detective Spooner. I'd normally say no biggie, but I busted ass to get rid of the officer title, so I feel entitled to it," Spoon said, forcing a grin through his pain.
Alexis made a sympathetic face. "Okay, Detective. You earned that for sure. Thank you."
"Yeah, man, thank you," Abe said.
"You're welcome. So, kid. We need to talk."
Abe shrugged. "About what?"
"Well, the world was a fucked up place before the two of us got shot to shit, and with all that happened that night, and with the stunt our mutual friend just pulled for all the world to see, I get the distinct feeling we're gonna need to work together to figure out what all needs to happen before he rips the world in half looking for that Legion thing."
Abe's mind raced. "Sergeant, he's probably not even all that pissed about the daemons. He's got other problems."
"Say what?"
"Unlike my good rap friend Jay-Z, Tesser has 99 problems, and one of them is his girlfriend. She's pregnant, and those daemons snatched her up. And if you think we're in trouble with him angry, he was already pissed about one of the other six dragons being missing. If we don't get this figured out, there could be wrath and ruin on a scale that makes the worst stories in The Bible look like a coloring book."
I didn’t think he could get any paler.
Chapter Forty-Three
Alec Fitzgerald
Alec was sweating. He'd just finished watching the on-air reveal of the dragon that had escaped Mr. Host's snatch attempt, and now threatened to throw his entire world into chaos.
Everything is going to come apart. The world knows now that dragons are out there, and they're going to realize that they are intelligent and have souls, and then they're going to start looking for them. What happens if they find them? And what the fuck do I do about my staff? Everyone here at Amethyst knows now that the fucking dragon we've got knocked out downstairs is live and kicking and would want to wake up if it could. And let's not forget that there are just seven of these damned things in existence, so it's not like we can hide behind the idea, “well, it's just one dragon out of many”. One peep out of any of these people and we're exposed. Fitzgerald Industries is shitcanned. What the fuck am I going to do? We're doing so much good work here. Saving lives.
The troubled executive's phone rang. He picked it up. "Alec here."
"We need to discuss a plan. Are you free?"
It was Mr. Host. "Yes. Come up to my office." Alec hung up the phone before Mr. Host could say anything else. The minutes long wait for the otherworldly security man felt eternal to Alec. He couldn't decide which was worse, meeting with an angry Mr. Host or dealing with the fallout of the revelations handed out to the world just minutes before on television. It didn't help that Alec knew deep down inside that the Legion creature Tesser spoke of was most likely something Mr. Host had control over. Alec shuddered at the thought. Mr. Host entered the room and caught Alec's gaze with impassive, soulless eyes. He strode over and sat down in a chair. They were silent for a few too many awkward seconds.
"What do we do? I thought we could keep everything quiet so long as everyone was scared of the other dragon, but now they know he's a good guy. What's our biggest problem right now? Is it Tesser finding us?" Alec blurted.
Mr. Host stared at Alec like a hawk looking down on field mouse. Alec shrank down, suddenly afraid. "In a way, yes. The purple dragon's presence here must be kept absolutely secret. We must ensure that no employees here speak about it. We must pay bonuses immediately. We must ensure that they are told that this dragon was found brain dead and that we are keeping it intact as we are for medical reasons. They must be made complicit, Alec. Willing. We must convince them that what we are doing is righteous and g
ood. Do you understand?"
"Yeah. What do you think is a fair bonus to pay? Five grand each?"
"For the lower level employees with minimal knowledge, yes. Twice that for middle level or informed employees, and four times that for those with extensive knowledge."
"That's a lot of money, Mr. Host."
"It is nothing weighed against the potential loss of your entire business empire, Alec. An occasional and temporary financial setback is inevitable when you deal with the stakes that we play with. Celebrate that you have the fiscal power to purchase your way out of this situation peacefully, rather through violent means." Mr. Host smiled.
God, that's creepy as fuck. "What do we do if people ask tough questions? What if they refuse to stay quiet?"
"You're a smart man, Alec Fitzgerald. You are your father's son. You will say the right things because you're intelligent and charismatic, and they will love you for the truth you give them. And should they refuse to cooperate with this plan, then I will speak to them and convince them with a more archaic means of diplomacy."
"You're going to threaten them, aren't you?"
"Everyone has something to lose, Mr. Fitzgerald. Exercising leverage over someone simply requires the knowledge of what they do not wish to lose. You'd be surprised how quickly the staunchest opponent of an idea can be swayed when they stand to lose something precious. I would point you towards the example of Matilde resting peacefully below us."
"I don’t know if I like that idea," Alec said, thinking of a series of terrible scenarios where his hard working employees were terrified by the strange and evil seeming man sitting in front of him. Assuming he could even be called a man.
"I don't think what you like matters right now, Alec. There is only what must be done for the greater good. You are doing amazing things to advance humanity here. Sometimes those with a lack of vision must be brought to heel to see the future. Let me handle the less pleasant aspects. You do what you do best."
"I guess that'll work. When do we do this?"
Tesser: A Dragon Among Us (A Reemergence Novel) Page 24