The Stone Dragon

by H. M. Gooden

  Cat was stoked and packed Thursday morning before meeting Evelyn for school. Her parents had loaned her the car for the weekend after multiple warnings, reminders, and threats of murder if the girls screwed things up in any possible way. This included speeding tickets, damage to the car, and litter. Cat and Evelyn weren't particularly scared about driving, but planned on being careful because they knew if they brought the car back with even one burger wrapper in it, Cat's mother would probably follow through with her threats.

  But death threats from Mindy McLean aside, they were more excited about the trip than worried about anything going wrong. Cat and Evelyn somehow made it through the slog of the school day while wishing that study period was at the end of the afternoon so they could ghost early. They dashed out when the final bell sounded, the first car out of the parking lot instead of their usual last place departure.

  Cat took first shift driving and stopped to grab burgers on the way out of town. The drive was smooth on the interstate and they'd packed all their favourite music so that they could sing throughout the journey. It took them less time than expected, mostly because they only stopped once for gas and drinks, and they soon found themselves viewing the foggy skyline of San Francisco as they crossed the Golden Gate Bridge.

  It was magical, the little they could see through the fog. The bridge was lit up with the same soft golden glow that Cat always pictured whenever she thought of the city on postcards and in the pages of travel brochures. The sky was dark, so the city was a blur of nondescript lights and buildings which passed quickly as Evelyn gave Cat helpful directions to get to Vanessa's place.

  While still excited, both girls were pretty much done by the time they crossed the bridge and trying not to be cranky with each other. When they pulled up in front of a gracious old lady of a three story brownstone, they both wondered if they had the wrong address until the door flew open and Vanessa came bounding out.

  "Cat! Evelyn! OMG am I happy to see you guys! It's been so long! Grab your stuff and come in! I'm starving. Do you guys want pizza?"

  Vanessa gave her sister and Evelyn huge hugs.

  "Oh yeah, you can park on the street tonight and we can figure something out tomorrow before eight am. I may have to get a pass if you guys come out a lot. We'll see." She waved her hand airily in the direction of the car and walked up the stairs to the third floor.

  Cat and Evelyn followed the exuberant Vanessa into the house and were pleasantly surprised. It had been divided into three different apartments, each with a separate entrance, one for each floor. Vanessa had the top apartment, which overlooked a park surrounded by huge old trees. It had warm narrow strip hardwood floors, two bedrooms, a small kitchen and living area, and a decent sized bathroom.

  Cat looked out the large window in the living room then turned to look at her sister slightly suspiciously. "Nice. How'd you manage to score this place?"

  Vanessa grinned back cheekily. "Oh, you know. I buttered up the Craft services people on set and found out that one of them had a place they rented out that just-so-happened to be empty. They're giving me a bit of a break on rent. Normally this place is about two grand a month. There's no way I could have afforded this before the show picked up and my income increased otherwise..." said Vanessa, trailing off a bit, before adding cheerfully, "it's also possible that may have been my idea. And I may have used just a little bit of influence. But, the mission, right? We needed a place for headquarters after all."

  Evelyn laughed. "Way to take one for the team Vanessa. Truly, a good deed was done here."

  Cat shook her head at her sister's admission. "Well, it's not the worst thing you could've done, and it is a nice place, so I'll stay here without giving you a hard time. Well, not too much of a hard time." Cat gestured to her bag and Evelyn's. "Where do you want us to park our stuff?"

  Vanessa walked over to one of the bedrooms and opened the door. "This one will be for you guys. It's a bigger room and has two beds in it. It has a nice window overlooking the street too, if you want to practice your remote work, Cat." Vanessa had seen Cat practicing more than once from the house in Valleyview and knew how much she liked sitting at the bay window there.

  Cat and Evelyn stepped inside the room and looked around. Obviously the place had come already furnished, but considering that, it was absolutely perfect for a couple of girls to share. The colours were rich blues, purples, and teals, and the twin beds were separated by a nightstand. A small desk sat against one wall and a spacious bay window graced the other. A bookshelf sat beside the desk, empty except a scattering of books and a plant that looked almost dead.

  Cat walked over to the plant and touched it. Concentrating, she allowed some of her healing fire to leak out and was gratified to see that the faint green and black aura of the plant changed, with the green becoming stronger as the black faded away completely. When she flipped back to regular vision she could see that the plant looked healthy again and was pleased with herself. Making a mental note to water the poor thing, Cat put her bag down on one of the beds.

  "So, what's the plan for the weekend?"

  Vanessa had returned, holding a piece of pizza in one hand and a napkin underneath. Catching her sister's curious glance, she smiled.

  "Oh, I ordered way before you guys got here. I was really hungry. It's in the kitchen if you want some. Ham and pineapple. But don't eat it all, I'm still hungry."

  Cat shook her head, always amazed by how territorial her sister was about food, even while offering to share.

  Evelyn threw her bag on the other bed and inclined her head towards the door. "I'm going to grab a piece and sit down at the table. We can discuss our plans for the weekend while we eat."

  Cat joined the other two with pizza, managing to salvage a lonely can of Pepsi from the back of the fridge. The house might have been lovely, but Vanessa didn't have much in the way of food.

  "I think first on the agenda should be getting a few groceries for the weekend. Vanessa, you have nothing to eat here!"

  Vanessa disagreed, wordlessly waving her half-eaten slice at her sister.

  "I mean more than just tonight's take-out. Like maybe some bread, cheese, and milk? A few staples?"

  Vanessa shrugged unconcernedly, swallowing. "Sure, we can get a few things from the store on the corner. Probably not a bad idea to pack some food for tomorrow. I was thinking we could walk down by the wharf and from there, we can go to some of the more touristy areas. From what Evelyn told us about the dreams, it sounds like they took place in old San Francisco, which was pretty much destroyed in 1906. Parts were rebuilt in the same place and style and a few of the original buildings are still there. Most of the damage wasn't from the earthquake though, but from the fires that followed afterward. So I think if we at least stick to the older areas, even if the buildings are different, we'll stand a better chance at you recognizing some of the landmarks.

  Evelyn and Cat agreed and Evelyn looked excited.

  “Hopefully I'll be able to match the location, but maybe I'll also get a sense of where the future battle is to go down. Maybe I'll get a vision while we're out!" Evelyn's eyes sparkled with happiness.

  Cat liked the way her friend looked now. Less serious and more alive. Some of the dark shadows that had been haunting Evelyn's eyes had cleared with her anticipation of seeing the city for the first time since summer. Even with Mr. Grayson's teachings, she'd still had to endure the horror of her dreams, without a way to do anything about them. Cat knew for certain that Evelyn hadn't divulged everything about the dreams to her, since she wasn't the kind of person who complained and didn’t like to burden others with something they couldn't help with.

  Vanessa nodded, but responded with a warning. "Just remember, if we're here, the dark man may be around somewhere nearby as well. We need to be ready at all times to defend ourselves and help each other, if needed."

  "I don't think this weekend will be the main event, but I'm prepared to have to fight someone or something. It seems to follow us wher
ever the three of us go anywhere, so we should be prepared," Cat agreed.

  The rest of the evening passed with the magic of laughter, pizza vanishing, and an old Sex and the City rerun. They went to bed in lighter spirits than they'd had for a long time. They were together and they were full.

  Life was good.

  CHAPTER SIX

  Morning arose with silky fog again and Cat was woken by the sound of birds outside her window chirping in the soft grey light. She stretched lazily before silently getting her runners and jogging clothes together. Evelyn stirred sleepily in bed, mumbled, then rolled back over. Cat tip-toed out. While she often enjoyed a good morning run, neither of the other girls would appreciate being woken up and asked to exercise with her after their night spent watching tv and talking until the wee hours.

  She slipped out of the apartment, quietly locking the door behind her with the spare key Vanessa had given her. In consideration of the fog and the unfamiliar ground, Cat kept to the sidewalks, mentally noting the street signs so that she could find her way back. She breathed in the fresh fall air, enjoying the solitude of her run for almost an hour before reluctantly turning around to return to the apartment. She felt a prickle on the back of her neck as she passed a small park entrance off to the left of the sidewalk and stopped. It felt important, but not ominous.

  Cat looked down the pathway but couldn't see past the first few feet due to the thick fog. She hesitated, then decided to return later with Evelyn and Vanessa. They really needed to stick together and exploring in a thick fog was a little too slasher-movie to appeal to Cat. Later felt like soon enough to explore the strange feeling. She continued another block to the apartment, letting herself back in as silently as she'd left, only to find Vanessa in the kitchen rummaging through the cupboards.

  "Hey, there crazy-Cat. Enjoying the fog?"

  Cat took off her shoes, shutting the door behind her.

  "It was nice, quiet and hard to see, but nice. I like having the world to myself. Got any food in there?"

  Cat pointed her chin to where Vanessa was searching, but her sister held up empty hands instead of food.

  "Not really. Maybe I'll go to the store now. Any requests?"

  Cat shook her head. "Whatever is fine with me. I'm going to have a shower, but I'll tell Evelyn where you went when I see her. Hurry back though, I'm starving," Cat said, then remembered the feeling she'd experienced near the entrance to the park. "Also, I felt a little tingle when I walked by the park. I want to check it out before we do anything else, okay?"

  Vanessa nodded, grabbed her purse and waved. "Be back in twenty. I'll just grab a few things for today. Try to be ready when I get home so that we can cover some ground today."

  CAT DRIED OFF, FEELING alive and clean after her shower, then dressed in her clothes before returning to the room she shared with Evelyn, gently knocking on the door before entering.

  "Hey, are you awake yet? Vanessa's picking up breakfast, then she wants to jet."

  Evelyn sat up in bed and stretched with a groan. "Yes, I'm up. Just tired from yesterday. Give me a minute. I'll be right there."

  Cat gave Evelyn her privacy, going out to the living room and watching the sun come up fully through the fog from the large window. It was a beautiful view and Cat was jealous again of Vanessa's glamorous post-high school life.

  It took awhile, but by the time Vanessa returned with food and Evelyn was awake and ready, the fog had completely dissipated. It left behind a somewhat dreary day, but at least no rain for a change, which Vanessa proclaimed to be a miracle.

  The girls packed a few sandwiches and a water bottle each, then Cat led them to where she'd felt the tingle during her run.

  "See, it was right here, but it was foggy then. And I really didn't want to meet anyone, or anything, alone."

  Evelyn concentrated, closing her eyes and standing still at the entrance to the path. Cat thought she looked like a statue as she used her mind to search for anything that felt unusual.

  "There's definitely something here. I can't tell what, but it doesn't feel evil. More, I don't know, sad, maybe?" Evelyn's tone rose in a question, as if she was doubting what she felt. "But I agree with you, Cat. It feels like we need to find out what and where it is."

  Vanessa considered her words carefully, before asking the question. "Where what is? Is it a person? A thing?"

  Evelyn shook her head. "I can't tell," she said. "I just know that we need to go in here and we need to find something."

  Cat nodded. "Okay then, let's go."

  The girls entered an ordinary looking path that opened into a nice green space. There were some planters with flowers, a play area for children, and a pretty pagoda over a little man-made water feature, surrounded with what looked like Asian animal statues. At least, Cat assumed they were Asian. They had the snarling faces she associated with Chinatown in every city she'd ever visited. There was no one else in the park, which wasn't surprising due to the time of day and time of year, but the girls all felt as though they weren't alone. Cat had that same prickle on her neck, the one that told her someone or something was there watching them. They walked around the periphery of the park before coming back to the small bridge.

  Cat stopped and touched one of the statues.

  "Evelyn, have you ever seen anything like this in your dreams? I don't know what I'm sensing, but this doesn't feel like a regular statue. It almost seems to have a bit of a glow to it. Can you see it?"

  Evelyn approached the statue, kneeling down. It was an ordinary looking dragon statue, stylized with a snarl the way Cat had seen Chinese lions at the entrance to Chinatown, but was a beautiful azure colour instead of the usual white marble stone. Evelyn closed her eyes, concentrating again. Cat and Vanessa waited, watching Evelyn focus for a few minutes before she staggered back from her half-crouched position. Vanessa caught her, keeping her from falling over onto the ground.

  "Woah, careful! Are you okay? What did you see?"

  Vanessa let go of Evelyn, who'd managed to right herself without injury but still looked wobbly.

  "It was so strong. I felt a cool wave wash over me, like I was in the water. There was a girl, who looked like she was about our age. She's very pretty, with long straight black hair and dark blue almond shaped eyes."

  Evelyn paused for breath and Cat could tell it was taking a lot out of her to describe it to them.

  "As I watched her, she looked terrified, then everything went dark." Evelyn turned to look sadly at Cat. "She was scared, Cat. I can't tell what happened to her, but this statue had something to do with it."

  Evelyn looked drawn and tired again, which Cat hated to see. She edged closer to the statue and as Evelyn had, she concentrated directly on it. Flipping into her aura vision, Cat could see a faint blue glow coming from the statue, but this time, she focused on trying to draw it out. Adding her hands to touch the statue while she concentrated, she felt the warmth of fire rising in her chest, spreading down her arms and into the statue. When she felt as though she was almost on fire from the inside out, Cat gave one last thrust of power into her hands, collapsing into Vanessa's waiting air stream, which gently propped her up while lowering her to the ground. Exhausted, Cat looked up at her sister. "Thanks, Vanessa," Cat started, but stopped when she saw her sister's expression change from one of neutrality to surprise.

  Turning around, she looked at the place Vanessa was staring and was glad she was already sitting down. Where only a moment before she'd seen a Chinese dragon, there was now a very wet and shocked appearing girl instead.

  Cat and the others remained motionless while the pretty teenager with the straight black hair and almond shaped blue eyes, exactly as Evelyn had described, looked around wildly like a trapped animal, before calming slightly at the tranquility of the empty park around her.

  Her breathing slowed and she took a deep breath.

  "Wo zai nali?" she said, looking at the girls with her hands outstretched beseechingly, then shook her head a little in frustration.
She spoke again, this time in halting English and in a voice that sounded almost rusty from disuse.

  "Where am I?"

  Evelyn stepped forward, as always, the smooth CEO of every group.

  "My name's Evelyn, and this is Vanessa and Cat. We're visiting here in San Francisco. Where are you from? What's your name? What happened to you?"

  Cat gently touched Evelyn's arm, getting her to pause her barrage of questions, then addressed the girl.

  "Take your time. This must be overwhelming for you. You're safe now. If you want, we can bring you back to our house and we can talk in private. If you don't want to come with us though, that's okay too."

  The girl stood up from the crouched position where she'd been standing as a dragon and slowly stretched out her back and neck. Cat noticed her clothing was very long and modest, with a skirt almost to her ankles as well as a long sleeved shirt that had been tucked in. She continued to watch the girls, but took her time before speaking again.

  "My name is Mai Ling. I am from San Francisco. I do not recognize this place. The last thing I remember seeing was a horrible, evil man who laughed at me. Then I knew nothing until now."

  The girls watched as the new addition to their world stopped talking and began to cry softly into her hands. As they watched, they were stunned to see droplets pouring out of the girl's hands onto the ground. Slowly at first, then with puddles forming at her feet, within seconds Mai was standing in a small lake, with rivulets running past her into the nearby stream.

  Vanessa put her hands out, startled. "Woah, girl. Just a minute! Calm down, it's not that bad. Please stop crying, otherwise I think we may all drown."

  Mai looked up from her hands and the girls watched as her face turned red. She appeared stricken with shame and fear.