Dragon Spirit- Will to Act

by Cory Reynolds

  “It’s too late, remember what I said! Remember that you’re like your mother,” were her dad's last words before his face relaxed and his shoulders slumped. It was like all the fight had gone out of him.

  “Fight it! You have to fight it!” she screamed, but her dad just stood there. This was wrong. They were supposed to be there for her, not for him. Desperate to bring him back to her, she shoved her dad hard on the shoulder. He stumbled forward for a second like he was half asleep, but then he stopped and turned back to look at her. The expression on his face was completely foreign, like he wasn’t her dad anymore. Shocked, she stepped back as he turned to face her. They had complete control of him.

  She felt paralyzed. If they had control of her dad, how could she leave? Everything was happening too fast. The ring of adze were still approaching and her dad was stepping towards her like a rabid dog, ready to pounce. For the first time since she was a little girl, fear gripped her. Then somewhere from deep inside of her, like her survival instincts had found a voice, she heard a command.

  Run!

  She decided to obey. She turned and took off for the black bag. One of the adze was directly in her path, so she veered around it. She had been waiting for them to grab control of her mind, and then she felt it.

  'Stop running, join us.' Like a soft massaging of spices into a piece of meat, it came as a gentle suggestion for her to slow down and relax. She wasn't going to stop for anything.

  She raced between two adze and reached the duffel bag, dropping the practice sword as she grabbed the bag by the handles. Now that she had the sword, she still had no idea what to do. They had her dad. Would shedding her blood and forfeiting free him? Or would he be stuck as their slave forever?

  She didn’t feel the massaging of her mind anymore and looked behind her as she ran. The adze were still pursuing her at a quick walk, but her dad had begun to chase after her at a run. She needed an exit, and she saw it. Just down the block, there was a Greyhound bus beginning to pull away from the curb. She didn’t care where it was going, she had to get on it.

  She tried to run faster, waving her free hand, but it quickly sped away down the street. It was too far away for her to yell, and she couldn’t run any faster. She had lost it.

  She looked back and saw that her dad was still coming. He wasn’t moving as fast as her, but the look in his eyes sent a chill down her spine. Another wave of panic hit her when she couldn’t see the adze anywhere, but then she saw the lightning bugs blinking behind her dad. They had changed forms again.

  She flinched to the right when a car came to a screeching halt at the curb next to her. She recognized the car right away. It was Sadie.

  “Hey Dork, where are you running to?” asked Sadie through the open car window. Morgan grabbed the car door and jumped into the empty passenger seat.

  “Go! Go!” yelled Morgan, and Sadie drove away. Morgan turned around in her seat to watch her dad getting smaller in the distance as they drove away.

  “Why were you running so fast?” asked Sadie.

  “Did you see my dad running behind me?”

  “No, I just saw you running like you were getting chased by the devil. Should I pick him up also?”

  “No, keep going. What are you doing here?”

  “You said that you were at the park, and I thought that you could use a cheerleader for the test.”

  “For the test?”

  “Yeah, did I miss it?”

  “No, your timing was perfect.” It was probably better that Sadie hadn’t seen her dad, there would be less to explain. Besides her white knight, Sadie, she was all alone now. She was going to have to figure out a way to free her father, even if it meant killing all of the adze.

  CHAPTER TEN

  SO WHAT'S UP with this new school, Morgan?” Sadie asked as she drove. This wasn't the time or the place. Or was it? In a stroke of brilliant luck, her best friend had shown up just in time. She had to trust somebody, and she didn't have anyone else now that her dad was being controlled. Except for just one other person.

  “Hold on, I've got a call to make,” said Morgan.

  “Well, where are we going?”

  “I don't know, just drive.” Morgan found the number that The Tutor had sent her, and pressed the call button. It only rang once.

  "Hello, did you make a decision? Or did you already make a mess on the ground?"

  "They have my dad." There was a pause on the other end of the line.

  "That's unfortunate. I’d had hopes that you would change your mind and talk him into coming back with you. Sort of a two-for-one deal. A happy family reunion?"

  "Can you help me? I need to set my dad free."

  "I can understand why you may feel guilty, but the only way that you can set him free is by killing the adze. Do you have a plan yet?"

  "No, not yet. I was hoping that you could help me with that."

  "Sorry, but that's completely out of the question. Even if I did know how you could defeat more than a dozen adze, I still wouldn’t be allowed to tell. You're on your own for this one, kid."

  "Who are you calling kid? You seem pretty young for a tutor. How old are you anyway?" She was getting desperate. If she made him mad, he might tell her something useful by accident.

  "That's still not any of your business. You've got about 20 hours to either win or forfeit."

  "You didn't say anything about a time limit."

  "I’m overseeing this trial, so it’s my rules. I hope that you take after your mom. It wouldn't hurt you to ask yourself what she would do in this situation." Morgan ended the call and tossed her phone on the dash of the car. She wanted to throw it out the window. No, she wanted to drive over it with the car. That guy made her so angry

  "Who was that? Your boy, Brian?"

  "No, that was The Tutor."

  "The Tutor for what?" She would have to be more careful about what she said. Even if Sadie was her best friend, she was still the town gossip queen.

  "He's supposed to be helping me with the entrance exam for the school, but so far he's been a waste of time."

  "You didn't sound very happy. Did he tell you how old he is?"

  "No."

  "Is he cute?"

  "You would think so until five seconds after you met him."

  "Cute and a bad boy? And he gave you his number? What's his name?"

  "He wouldn't tell me, stop asking questions."

  "How mysterious!" This was so classic Sadie. If she wasn't careful, the whole school would be talking about her date with the mysterious tutor that never happened.

  "He's not interested in dating and neither am I. Listen, I've got a real problem. I need a place to think."

  "Like the library?"

  "No." The boat wasn't an option anymore either. Even if she could figure out how to fill the gas tank, she didn't trust the boat to not die in the middle of the lake. It had done it to her dad plenty of times. They drove past the ice rink.

  "We could go skating," That was actually a good idea. Even if it was frozen water, it was still water.

  "Yeah, let's go to the rink." Sadie was still her white knight.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  MORGAN, can you explain why you're skating around with a sword?" It wasn't a bad question, but she wasn't going to tell Sadie that her dad had told her to keep it with her at all times.

  "It's good to practice without some of your natural advantages. Here on the ice, I can't rely on balance," said Morgan as she half-skated, half-shuffled around the ice skating rink.

  "Well, you're definitely at a disadvantage here. You suck on those skates," said Sadie as Morgan almost fell to the floor during a quick turn that Morgan hadn't even intended.

  There were only a couple of other people at the rink, girls practicing after school. She didn't plan to stick around for long but just in case the adze made it there first, then there would be minimal casualties. No, that wouldn’t work. Those girls could be used against her. This was all so ridiculous. She hoped that sh
e didn’t become the joke of the town after what she was about to do. Raising her sword in front of her, she veered over towards one of the other girls.

  "Morgan, what are you doing?" asked Sadie.

  "Okay, practice is over," said Morgan to the girl that looked about her same age. She tried to sound authoritative by using her, “tough girl,” voice that she used at kickboxing. Talking like that always made Brian smile. She wished he was here. The girl just skated past her. Morgan said it a little louder this time, “Practice is over.”

  "No way. I have reservations every day at this time," said one of the girls. The other girl was still ignoring her. Why did everything have to be so difficult? She didn't have time to play around. She looked to the admission office and saw no one at the window. Like her dad had done on the soccer field, it was time to dial things up a notch.

  She put her fingers to her mouth and gave her loudest whistle. It echoed throughout the large building.

  "Anyone not off the ice in thirty seconds will get this sword across her bare butt!" She yelled as loud as possible, almost turning it into a scream. The two girls gave her the biggest death-looks that she had ever seen, but they both exited the ice at the far end of the rink.

  "Yea, and leave your lunch money too!" added Sadie. "I didn't know you had that in you Morgan."

  "You too Sadie. You had better go also." Sadie's face turned confused.

  "I thought we were going to talk about this problem."

  "Yes, but I can't involve you. It's too complicated." Sadie would just be a liability here. Even Brian wouldn't be any help here unless he happened to have a sword with a blade laced with silver. Sadie crossed her arms and pouted as she skated up close to give Morgan a hug.

  "Hey, we're best buds, right? You can tell me whatever it is. I told you all my secrets a long time ago." Morgan rolled her eyes as she tried to turn the sword blade away from Sadie during their awkward embrace.

  "Okay, but you're going to think that I'm nuts."

  "You mean confirm."

  "Whatever. So this tutor, he's more of a recruiter for some sort of secret school."

  "What school is it?"

  "Didn't I, say that it's secret? They won't even tell me what it's called. All I know is that the entrance exam is some kind of test where I have to fight someone."

  "Oh, is this a martial arts school? You’re dropping out of high school to become a fighter? That's crazy Morgan!"

  "No, it's not like that. I have to fight these weird women that have taken my dad hostage." At first Morgan thought that she was doing an okay job of explaining it, but then all the excitement drained from Sadie's face and was replaced with complete skepticism. There was no way that Morgan was going to tell her that the women she had to fight were actually monsters.

  "Okay Morgan, you don't have to make stuff up."

  "I'm not. I have to fight a bunch of weird women to release my dad."

  "And this is how you get into the fight school?"

  "It's not a fight school, but yes. It's a stupid test that my dad knew about forever ago, but didn't tell me about."

  "That sounds like a pretty good story, Morgan. So why don't you just tell them that you're not interested?"

  "Because they would still have my dad."

  "Right, because they kidnapped your dad and he's being held hostage? So it's blackmail too?" Sadie turned and began skating away from her. Morgan tried to follow, but couldn't keep up.

  "I told you it was complicated. Why do you think that I didn't want to tell you?" Sadie kept skating.

  "Sorry, you're going to have to do a better job than that if you want me to believe you." Why hadn't she just listened to her instincts and threatened Sadie to leave with the other girls? At least then she wouldn't feel so stupid.

  "Fine!" yelled Morgan and she began to walk-skate toward the gate to exit the ice. Sadie circled around to cut her off.

  "Okay, okay, I don't believe you, but I'll still be your friend even if you are crazy." Morgan shoved Sadie out of the way. She was getting out of here.

  "I've got enough to worry about, so stay out of my way if you're not going to help."

  "I'll help, really. Let's go back out on the ice and finish talking about this. Maybe we can come up with some ideas together," said Sadie as she pulled Morgan's arm. Morgan yanked it free and continued towards the lockers. She was done talking to Sadie and she knew that the adze had to be getting closer. She was beginning to feel like a rat caught in a big trap. She had to get out.

  "I promise to not pick on you again, Morgan. Just come back out and skate." Morgan ignored her and sat down to yank off her skates and slip on her shoes. It was fine if Sadie wanted to stay. Better than fine since Sadie would stay safe. It would just be Morgan and her mom's sword. She left the skates laying on the floor as she walked out the exit door into the dark parking lot.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  MORGAN STOMPED from the parking lot to the sidewalk. She wished that she had worn boots so that she didn't feel like a pansy when she stomped. A second later, Sadie followed her out of the rink.

  "Morgan, come back. We can go somewhere else and talk."

  "Go away, Sadie." Seriously, she needed to get rid of her so that Sadie didn't become another slave to the adze.

  "I want to help you save your dad." She stopped her stomping and turned around. That was the most meaningful thing that Sadie had ever said to her. She didn't want to involve Sadie, or anyone else, but she didn't know how she could do this on her own. She began to walk back towards the parking lot but stopped short. There were blinking lights down the street. It was the fireflies. Just like before, her survival instincts gave direction in her head.

  Get to the car!

  Morgan began to walk and then run back towards the ice rink. She looked around for more but saw none. They were all together, blinking randomly as they came down the sidewalk towards them.

  "The car!"

  "What?" asked Sadie. As Morgan got closer, she could a figure leading the group of fireflies, and it wasn't a cloaked woman. It was her dad. If they didn’t hurry, Sadie would be just like him. She didn't have any idea what they might make her dad do to them.

  "Don't ask questions, just get in the car!" said Morgan as she grabbed Sadie's arm and pulled her along. Sadie unlocked the doors to the car and they both jumped inside.

  "Drive!" said Morgan as she craned her neck around to watch for her dad in the parking lot. Sadie backed the car out of the parking spot and stopped to put the car into drive. That’s when they saw Morgan's dad in the headlights. His eyes were crazed like an angry animal. He ran up to the front of the car and slammed both of his fists down on the hood. Sadie jumped in her seat.

  "What is your dad doing?"

  "I don't know, go backward!" Sadie turned to look as she backed the car through the parking lot and out into the middle of the street. Another car was coming, but Sadie shifted to drive and tore down the street before they were hit. For the second time today, Morgan turned to look at her dad out the back window as they drove away. This time Morgan felt more terror than anger. What would her dad have done if they hadn't made it to the car? Or even worse, what if the adze had taken control of Sadie? She needed to figure out a way to end this.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  THEY WERE DRIVING REALLY FAST.

  "You're going 50."

  "Right," said Sadie and began to slow the car down closer to the 30 miles per hour speed limit. Morgan panicked for a second until she saw her mother's sword laying against the car seat. She mentally began to slow her heavy breathing. She needed to keep a level head, or one of these close-calls would end up too close.

  "What was your dad doing?"

  "I told you, he's being held hostage."

  "Yea, but I thought that meant in handcuffs with a blindfold. Why did he hit my parents car?"

  "Well, he's possessed or something." That quieted Sadie down. Neither of them spoke for a minute until Morgan broke the silence.

  "What do
we do now?"

  "Why are you asking me? This is your thing, I'm just the driver. Listen, did you see the look on your dad's face? It was like he was a different person."

  "I know."

  "So what are we doing now?"

  "They've taken my dad hostage. I have to figure out a way to get him back."

  "With the help of the police, right?"

  "I don't know."

  "What do you mean? I can't understand how anyone could make him act that way. Where were his captors?" That was a question that Morgan didn't want to answer. A part of Morgan told her that she needed to accept the loss of her dad, but she knew it was the fear talking. Fear was a manifestation of the unknown, but it wasn't reality. She wouldn't let it become reality. She wouldn't let fear manipulate her decisions, and she wouldn't lie to her friend.

  "Did you see the fireflies?" Morgan asked.

  "No, what fireflies?"

  "They were behind my dad, controlling him." That look of extreme skepticism returned to Sadie's face mixed with exasperation.

  "Come on Morgan, don't joke about it."

  "I'm not." She knew that she couldn't stop now. She had to talk through this. "I don't understand any of this either, I just learned about it today. The last thing that my dad told me was to remember that I'm like my mother, but I don't know what that means."

  "I thought you said that you never met your mom."

  "Exactly, so I don't know why it matters."

  "Is that all that he said?"

  "I can't remember, everything happened so fast." It felt like there was more, probably much more, but they had been taken by surprise by the adze and she had already forgotten most of what he had told her. The last thing that she remembered was feeling like he was still treating her like she was a little girl again and talking about having the spirit of a dragon. What had he said about her mom?