by Maia Starr
“Look at that out there. It is beautiful here,” Jex said as we stood on top of the one-hundred-foot-high fence.
“Yes, it is. Mountains to the south and what is to the west?” I asked the human engineer named Marcus.
“There is a very big lake in that direction. It is very beautiful. I wish the village was built closer to it. It is about ten miles to the west. Those of us that are more adventurous have risked taking a truck out there every now and then in the middle of the summer when the heat is unbearable in order to go swimming. It is crystal clear water and very refreshing,” he said.
“That sounds tempting,” Azlo said looking at me.
“You know that we can't,” I said. “Vanessa said that the humans would be frightened seeing us in dragon form,” I said.
“Come on. We are not in the village; we are on the fence. The only one that will see us shift is Marcus here, and he is not going to be frightened, right, Marcus?” Jex said.
“No, as long as I get some warning,” he said taking a step back.
“My king, I am going to lose my mind if I do not stretch my wings. We have been cooped up here and before we arrived we were cooped up on a ship. We have had very little flying time. I think we could fly to the lake swim and be back in an hour. We need this,” Azlo said.
"All right. You are right. I have not been good to you. And now that I feel very strong, I would like to stretch my wings as well,” I said.
My soldiers let out hoots and hollers in celebration. Marcus stepped away from us. Then the three of us shifted into dragon form. It did feel good. I stretched my emerald wings and then I ran and jumped off the one-hundred-foot fence and took flight. Azlo and Jex followed. We flew in the direction of the lake. I flew up high directly into the sky. Then I flew straight down, diving. Then I stopped myself a couple of feet above the ground. I grazed along the tall grass. I could say that I've had my full strength back and I felt very strong. Being with Vanessa was a gift in more ways than one. She had brought life back to me.
We were wild as we flew recklessly over the isolated land. It was a very beautiful part of Earth, and we were enjoying it like wild creatures. We were laughing and shouting at each other. Then we finally came across the lake. I landed on the bank. It was absolutely beautiful. There was a tall granite cliff on one side, and the water was so clear it almost didn't look like there was water there at all. I pulled off my boots and weapons and then pulled off my trousers. Jex and Azlo did the same. Then we were completely naked. I flew over the lake and then dove into the water. It was very cold, and it felt amazing. Because our bodies were always burning with heat, it felt especially refreshing. I dove all the way to the bottom of the lake, swimming and spreading my wings as though I was flying in the water. I could feel splashing near me, and I knew that it was Jex and Azlo.
They were having a great time, and they did deserve this. They deserved some fun after being tied up in the village for so long not able to do any flying. I surfaced on the water and floated on my back with my emerald wings spread out under me, creating a raft. I let the sun hit me even though it was low on the horizon. It felt good. The clouds were big and beautiful. I could hear Jex and Azlo playing around. We should have been doing this every day, I thought, but then again, my weakness would not have allowed it.
“We should probably check on our ship on the way back,” I said
“Yes, my king. We will remember to do that on return. I am sure that it is still hidden within the trees considering the humans do not leave beyond the wall very much,” Azlo said.
I flew from the lake into the sky. It felt good to fly naked. I flew around the lake in a circle, spiraling down towards the water, and then dove into the water once more. I played like this over and over, enjoying this new euphoria that I felt and being healthy again. But at that moment, I thought about Vanessa. I wished that she was here playing in the water with me. If she would allow me, I would bring her here one day. Now that I was strong enough I could fly with her in my arms and bring her here. I knew that she would enjoy it. Any sign of Clenok cyborgs, we could just fly away back to the village. It was a good advantage to have over the humans.
We stayed at the lake longer than an hour. We were just enjoying it so much that we did not want to leave. But I noticed the sun growing lower and lower.
“We should get back; we still need to check on the ship,” I said. I moved to the bank of the lake and sat down on a rock, giving my body time to dry off. It didn't take very long, less than two minutes to be completely dry because the heat inside of my body made the water evaporate immediately. It was an advantage to being a dragon.
A couple of minutes later, we were dressed and flying toward the ship’s hiding spot. Just as we had thought, it was still there. There were no signs that anyone had come close to it.
“Let's turn on these systems and check in with General Razook,” I said.
“Roger that,” Jex said.
They turned the ship on as I looked through the communication log that came up to see if any transmissions had been sent to us.
“Sir, I am not getting a connection. I think that we may be too far away, especially with those mountains in between us. We could fly the ship into range if you like,” he said.
“No, that is fine. We can wait. I want to tell General Razook and the army the good news about the cure, but I want to make sure that it is indeed a cure. I want to give it another day to see if the symptoms do not come back,” I said.
“Yes, they will be glad to hear the news about the human female DNA bonding with our own. It is a miracle,” Jex said.
“Turn off the ship and let us get back to the perimeter fence. Once we are there, we will shift back out of dragon form and return it to the village,” I said.
“Understood,” Azlo said. We went through the protocol of shutting down the ship and arranged the tree brush around it to hide it again.
We went back to the village and landed in the same area where we were before. Only something was different. The humans were frantically running around.
"Marcus, what is it?” I asked.
“A cyborg army of five hundred has been spotted by one of our scouts. We are going into code red,” he said.
“Shit,” I said.
“My thoughts exactly,” Marcus said.
“I want the exact coordinates of this army,” I said.
“Coming right up,” Marcus said as he walked into the tower to write something down.
“Azlo, I want you to get back to the base camp and gather the army. I want them inside this village as soon as possible. Copy the coordinates,” I said.
“Roger that.”
“Jex, I want you to go to these coordinates and check out this cyborg army. Do not get in firing range of them. Stay out of sight and off the radar. I just want more information. Gather whatever you can and then return here. Make it quick,” I said.
Within seconds, they flew off the perimeter fence and went into action. I knew that I had to find Vanessa.
“Marcus, I will return. I will help to coordinate the defense. But I must do something first,” I said, and then I flew off the fence into the village, staying low among the trees. I flew directly to the house that Vanessa called home right at that moment she was walking down the street away from the house. I landed directly in front of her. She jumped back.
“I am sorry. I did not mean to frighten you. It is just me,” I said.
“Where have you been?” she asked.
“It is a long story. I just heard the news about the cyborg army,” I said. She gave me an angry look and continued to walk in the direction that she was headed toward the forest.
“How convenient that you disappeared when we are close to an invasion,” she said.
“I don't know what you mean by that. I am sick of your suspicions, human female,” I said walking alongside her.
“What are you going to do now? Where is this fictional army?” she said.
“I sent Azlo to go
get the army,” I said. She stopped walking and looked at me.
“Of course. You want your Veruka to come here in order to mate with the human females. That makes sense. What is your strategy? Wait until all the human men have been killed by the Clenok cyborgs and then kill the Clenok cyborgs? I can't believe you,” she said walking away.
“No, that is not it at all. Where is all of this coming from? The army is coming to fight and nothing more,” I said. New
“Whatever. If you will excuse me, I have a job to do. Make yourself useful and go prepare for this invasion where you can,” she said.
“No, I should protect you. Where are you going? You can't head to the wall. You should take refuge in the center of the village far from the invasion,” I said.
“No. I am not a coward. I am to set up a medical tent along the wall in this direction so that if anyone gets hurt, I am already there. There are four medical points set up. Others are doing their job, and so should I. So should you,” she said.
“Fine, I will go,” I said.
I turned and flew away back to the perimeter fence. If I stayed any longer, I would be shouting at her. She was frustrating. She was fiery. She was everything that I dreamed of.
“I have returned; tell me the news,” I said to Marcus. Then he walked me through the procedures that they had planned. I told him which direction my army would be coming from but that it would be in the sky and they would know about the electrical fences because Azlo would tell them. We spoke for a long time making up a plan. He was very smart and was good with strategy. I trusted him because he had been standing on this wall for years. He knew what it could do. He knew what it looked like when Clenok cyborgs came up to the wall.
I looked in the direction that Vanessa would be stationed. I wanted to go to her, but she did not want me around. It was fine. I was needed here. If I was successful in defending the village, then I would be successful in protecting her as well. I only wished I could see the look on her face when she saw the army. Since she did not believe that such an army existed, I would get some satisfaction out of her seeing it for the first time. Of course, she would make the excuse that their sole purpose was to have sex with human females. She just would not let up. She wouldn't let me win.
“What is that?” Marcus said pointing to the sky.
“That is my soldier Jex. He is returning from his scout,” I said.
“You are so fast when you fly, it is like a blur,” he said.
“Yes, it is. It is a great advantage. We do simple movements, but it comes out at great speeds. We are fortunate. Jex will have more news of the cyborg army,” I said.
Within seconds, Jex landed on the perimeter fence next to me.
“What news?”
“There is a cyborg army, about five hundred of them. I saw one keddle, and only one. This is good news. If we can take out the keddle, then we can take out the entire army. They do not seem to be moving. They are sedentary. In fact, it seemed like they were waiting for something. I didn't even see any of them scanning the skies or the area. But I did not wait around long. I got in and got out, just as you asked. So that is good news,” he said.
“Yes, that is good news. They are not moving; that buys us some time. But what are they waiting for? I have a feeling that I am not going to like the answer. When you give machines that are intelligent the way they are extra time then they are able to compute better tactics,” I said.
“Let us hope that you are wrong and that Azlo and General Razook get here with the army before the Clenok cyborgs do,” he said.
Chapter 14
Dr. Vanessa Lopez
I didn't know why he made me so angry. I knew that it did not feel good to be used. I think that was what was getting to me the most. It was because I thought he had sex with me because he desired me and wanted me. Not because he needed to do it in order to survive. Could I trust him? Was it true that he really didn't know that having sex with me would save him? I wanted to believe it. But my cynical side would not allow me to. It was as if I could hear Dr. Douglas’s words in my head.
I was so deep in thought that I didn't even hear the noise above me. I was looking around for the tent that I needed to set up. I took off my backpack and sat down my toolbox. I should have had Karik come with me just to set this up and then get rid of him. But I wasn't thinking at the time. I was only angry at him for using me, and I did not want to see his beautiful face. If I spent any time with him, I would forgive him eventually. It was easier to stay mad at him. Anger was a defense against having to come to terms with my feelings. It was better that way.
Suddenly I was lifted off the ground. I thought it was Karik. I looked up and let out a terrifying scream. It was not Karik at all. It was a drone. I had only seen one in a long time ago when there was an attack on the military base. There weren't very many of them in the cyborg army. I had heard that each army only had one of them. For some reason, the technology was hard for them, and humans easily shot them down. But we did not have very many weapons, and I knew that the arsenal was only being emptied right now. I doubted that there were many set up on the perimeter. But even so, they could not shoot it with me in its grasp. I would fall to my death. I screamed louder and louder, hoping to get anyone's attention. The drone was flying me toward the wall. It went higher and higher and soon I was going over it. I could not see any lights because the village was dark. I was terrified that it was going to drop me in the electrical fences. Why had it picked me up?
“Let me go!” I shouted. But it was no use. You couldn't talk to a drone. You couldn't negotiate with it. I was so high that if it did drop me, I would die. I had no choice but to let it take me wherever it was taking me.
“Karik! Karik!” I shouted knowing that he was the only one that could rescue me. I didn't know where in the village he was other than on the fence somewhere. But would he be able to hear me anyway? Maybe he had some sort of super hearing. He could fly. That meant he could save me. But I screamed over and over again as the drone took me farther into the darkness of the night. I noticed there were no flashing lights on the drone; it was staying secret. It had managed to sneak into the village. It had managed to abduct me. I couldn't believe it.
“Where are you taking me?” I said knowing that there was no point in asking but it was just making myself feel better to keep talking. I screamed over and over again, hoping that anyone would hear me, but I was so far from the village. Maybe this army that Karik spoke of was real and was on its way. Maybe it would hear me and rescue me.
Suddenly I was high over the mountain range. Shit. I knew where it was taking me. It was taking me to the cyborg camp that the scout said was camping on the other side of the mountain. But why? I had not heard of Clenok cyborgs abducting humans. This was a new trick. My scientist side was very fascinated to know why. But the human in me was terrified. The Clenok cyborgs wanted nothing more than to get rid of all humans. They wanted to drive us to extinction. So whatever it was they wanted me for wouldn't be for long. They were going to kill me. That was going to be my fate no matter what. I wished that I had brought the drive with me with the virus on it. Since I was going into the camp anyway, this could be my shot. At least my life would not have been wasted for nothing.
I looked down, and suddenly we were over the cyborg camp. I couldn't believe it. There were Clenok cyborgs as far as I could see. It seemed like at least five hundred of them or more. I was trembling. Then I saw something that I had never seen before: the keddle. reminded me of a very large silver Airstream trailer. It was moving about. I grew more frightened as the drone flew me directly toward the keddle. I didn't bother screaming anymore. I knew my fate. All I could do was look around and absorb everything that I could. I was somewhere that no human had ever been before: a cyborg camp.
The drone set me down on my feet next to the keddle. Two Clenok cyborgs came toward me. Their eyes were glowing red. Their silver machine bodies walked toward me. The sound of metal and electrical circuits as they wal
ked toward me was frightening.
The heads of the Clenok cyborgs were slick silver metal. They almost looked like human weredragons with eyes, nose, and mouth. It was very strange to look at this close. The torso of the cyborg was full of different lights, flashing. There were lots of wires exposed. The legs were skinny metal, almost like human bones. There were all kinds of guns draped all over it.
One cyborg grabbed my arm and pulled me back toward the keddle. I just obeyed. I didn't bother to fight; they would just kill me. I faced the keddle as I was pulled toward it. Suddenly it opened up. I was shocked. Inside there were lots of computer components. It would have been fascinating, if I wasn't about to die.