“Just a little further,” she whispered to herself.
She should have seen Rick’s Prius by now. She was sure she’d driven past the meeting place. Doubts started to creep into her thoughts again, but she pushed them down. To admit he wasn’t there was to recognize that he'd conned her. Rick was just late because of the storm. He’d be there when she came out of the woods after she parked the truck next to Station-17 and set the timer on the bomb in the back.
Suddenly, a giant black blur like the finger of a god streaked across the road in front of her. Trees exploded onto the road as it passed. Brigit cranked the wheel hard and slammed on the ill-maintained brakes of the bomb on wheels. The truck swerved and skidded. It hit something on the road just as a mighty gust of wind following the blur lifted the truck and threw it onto its side.
She screamed in panic, her heart racing as the truck slid on its side down the highway scattering sparks along behind it. The barrels on the floor of the truck shifted around.
Whump! Something heavy struck the back of her seat and pushed her forward against the steering wheel.
The van came to a halt in one piece. The windscreen was cracked, and only one headlight was glowing weakly into the storm. The engine had stalled, and the wipers were moving back and forth weakly. The rubber was gone, their bare metal arms were scraping across the glass; “SKREE, SKREE, SKREE.”
Brigit jumped as the barrels shifted with the loud bang of a rock hitting a hollow steel drum.
The rain thumped hard on the side of the vehicle with a vengeance as though it was trying to get to her. She took stock of her predicament and took three deep breaths to calm herself. She tried her seatbelt, but it was jammed. She tried to wiggle free, but she was pinned. She’d have to wait for Rick to come. She had time.
“Beep, beep, beep.”
The bomb’s countdown started.
The Revenge of Elkor
Elkor flew in great circles over the fields of equipment; the trailing storm creating a hurricane of turbulence in his wake. Lightning drawn to the tall metal drills pounded them mercilessly. Elkor flew low allowing his tail to drag along the ground; plowing great gashes in the forest and the fields like a child playing with a stick in the sand.
-----
As raindrops danced on the ground around her, El scrambled through slippery mud to her car and set off towards the fracking fields where the storm had settled. The wipers batted the rain back and forth furiously; clearing the windshield for only an instant as torrents of rain crashed down over the car. El drove as quickly as she could in the moonless night. She could barely make out the tree lines along the sides of the narrow highway as she sped towards the oil fields. She skidded onto the shoulder more than once; the rumbling sound of the rough gravel under one side or the other were the only real guide to where the asphalt ended.
A great white blur suddenly appeared across the road in front of her. El slammed on her brakes and skimmed over the flooded road; skipping like a stone over its slick surface. She slammed hard into the rolled truck pushing it off the road. She bounced across the highway and fought to keep the car from flipping over by cranking the steering wheel left and right as she struggled to maintain control.
The blue Subaru came to rest facing the direction that she’d come from. She said a little prayer and thanked her brother for the new brakes and tires. She pulled forward slowly to inspect the other vehicle, her car limped along as it rolled on its bent frame. The lone working headlight illuminated the truck as she approached. The heavy rain was blowing across the road
in torrents; her wipers were useless. El climbed out of the car and the onslaught of rain and wind plastered her hair and clothes to her already soaked skin beneath.
From a dozen paces away, she could see a face staring at her through the windshield. “Omigod!” she exclaimed and ran to the damaged truck.
“What are you doing out in this storm?” she exclaimed to the clearly terrified girl.
Her headlight filled the truck with light. As El crouched to see how to help she saw it: the barrels, the red LEDs, the wires.
“You stupid, stupid girl!” she shouted at the glass.
El climbed up on the passenger side of the truck and using all her strength she wrenched the door open. Falling rain flooded down on the trapped driver.
“I should leave you here, you stupid, stupid child!” shouted El as she gingerly climbed down into the wreckage.
“Don’t leave me!” pleaded Brigit as tears streamed down her face blended into the relentless rain that was falling from above.
“Just calm down. I won’t leave you. Can you move? Are you hurt?”
“Not hurt. But the seatbelt is stuck. You have to hurry, the bomb…” said Brigit urgently.
El tried the latch with no luck. She checked her pockets quickly. Everett’s folding knife from the camping gear was tucked neatly in the front of her jeans. She snapped it open and calmly cut the straps; freeing the trapped girl. El pushed the passenger door back open, the wind caught it and ripped it violently from the truck. She hauled Brigit through the opening and the two of them carefully climbed down from the wreck.
Suddenly, the ground shook from a huge boom, and a flash of lightening as the women fell into the ditch next to the truck. The mighty tail of the dragon raked along the ground throwing trees aside and clearing a furrow three cars wide as it
passed over with the fury of a passing train that took the truck with it. A moment later a fireball filled the sky; the blast so powerful that it knocked the women flat as the wave of heat barged its way through the deluge of rain.
As the magnificent beast flew overhead, El looked at the picture on her phone and then back at the passing shadow as it hurtled by. The image of Amanda and Sarah had changed to an image of the dragon with some words beside it. They made no sense, but she said them anyway.
“Mighty Elkor in the sky,
it’s time for you to say goodbye.”
A surge of energy passed through El as she lay there on the ground. The sound of whale song filled her mind as she recalled faded dreams from her childhood. She felt the magic implant the thought into the dragon’s mind.
Elkor shrieked in triumph sending shock waves out that El would later discover damaged listening equipment and radios everywhere within a thousand kilometers. He flew straight up into the sky, did a giant loop and flew straight towards the rift between this world and his.
El looked over at the pathetic drenched girl, her matted hair, her dirty clothes. She was trembling like a stray dog, uncertain, lost, confused. El considered what would happen to her, jail was a certainty and with the new terrorism laws she might get twenty years. All for what, being gullible, listening to the convincing rants of a man she knew could coax a turtle out of its shell.
She tried to picture her daughters now. “Dammit, what was she doing? She needed to go home and devote herself to being a better parent.”
Brigit looked at her hopefully, her predicament dawned on her and she started to cry.
“RUN!” screamed El. “RUN HOME!”
Brigit looked confused.
“You heard me! Before the cops get here, RUN!”
The girl turned and fled into the woods.
-----
The sonic booms of the great beast overhead as it crossed the barrier drew everyone’s attention.
“She’s done it,” said Amanda as Elkor came into view.
Quickly she opened the book and looked at the rift. It was a simple spell. There was a picture of her with one hand on the ground and one hand in the air. On the other page, there was a single word.
Amanda knelt down and touched the ground. She held up the other hand towards the rift and said the single word, “Heal.”
She felt the full power of Tarsinia flowing from the land through her. A bright yellow beam of light spread out from her fingers. She heard the song and instinctively knew what to do. She drew it along the edge of the rift and pictured Percy closing her wound wi
th stitches and the sides came together. When the gap was finally closed, the song receded and Amanda collapsed to the ground unconscious.
Back on the Farm
Amanda woke later to the sound of the vacuum cleaner humming. She was in her mother’s bed at the farm. She stared up at the cedar strip ceiling and wondered if her whole adventure had been a terrible dream. El poked her head in and immediately came rushing over to the bed she grabbed her daughter in a fierce embrace, sobbing uncontrollably.
“Mom, get a grip,” said Amanda pushing her mother away.
“You’re awake, he promised you’d wake up, and you did,” said El through her tears.
“What are you talking about?”
“Everett, he said there was nothing he could do and that time would heal you.”
“You mean it wasn’t a dream?”
“No, not even a little.”
“How long was I asleep?” asked Amanda as a white cat climbed up on the bed and wandered around curiously as cats are known to do before finding a suitable warm spot to snuggle into.
Sarah shrieked with glee as she leaped onto the bed to hug her sister. “You’re awake!”
“Duh,” said her sister.
“Is Amanda coming to school with me next week?” asked Sarah.
“What day is it?” asked Amanda urgently.
El braced herself and said, “the twenty-fifth, of August.”
“I’ve been asleep for almost two months?” Amanda sat straight up.
“Like sleeping beauty,” chirped in Sarah.
“Easy,” said El. “Are you hungry?”
“Starving.”
“Let me bring you something.” said her mother.
“I feel fine,” replied Amanda as she proceeded to climb out of bed and wander down to the kitchen with the others. The little white cat followed along, purring.
“Where’s Uncle Everett?”
“Over there,” replied her mother casually.
“What’s been going on?” insisted Amanda.
“Everything’s back to normal,” said El as she placed a bowl of cereal with some milk in front of her daughter.
“That’s cryptically vague,” said Amanda.
“Are you sure you’re up to it?”
“Mom, I’ve been asleep for two months. The last thing I remember is yellow rays coming out of my fingers,” she said more firmly than she intended.
“Ok,” her mother placed a stack of newspapers in front of her. “You’ll want to read these.”
“Newspapers, you hate papers.”
“Ya well, since I kinda work for one of them now, I suppose I can make a slight compromise.” she pointed to the headline.
“Royal Oil: An Expose on Corruption. by El Applewood.”
“Mom?”
“It’s a good job. I’m their new environmental correspondent. There will be some travel, but I’ll mostly be here,” she paused “at home.”
“Here, home?!” said Amanda.
“Someone has to watch over the bridge while your uncle is in Tarsinia. If that’s ok?” said El cautiously.
“Totally!” Amanda hugged her mom.
She turned back her bowl. The little white cat had climbed up onto the table and was drinking her milk.
“Hey!” said Amanda.
“Jasper!” admonished Sarah with a mild giggle.
“Jasper?”
“He can’t go back. The other dragons don’t like him after
what he did.”
She reached for the cat, and her sleeve slid up. There was a faint pink scar down her arm. Amanda pulled up her sleeve and saw that the scar went all the way up past her elbow.
“What happened?” asked Amanda softly.
“Jade did it after you collapsed. She and Esmeralda tried to eat us.”
“Omigosh! Is Percy ok?”
“He fought them off. He stabbed Esmeralda right in the butt.” she laughed.
“Tell me everything.”
Percy the Hero
The girls wandered out onto the porch overlooking the orchard where it had all started before chasing Otto across the bridge into Tarsinia. Amanda held a steaming cup of coffee with both hands as she watched Jasper romp on the grass hunting moths and other small flying insects. Summer was fading and the morning was cool; the bench was damp with dew.
“Is he ok?” asked Amanda softly.
“Percy? Ya, he’s fine,” replied Sarah.
Silence.
“You like him, don’t you?” continued Sarah.
Amanda said nothing but revealed her feelings with a blush.
“Tell me…” pleaded the older girl.
Sarah laughed. “Okay,” and she recounted the rest of her adventure.
“You fainted,” said Sarah as an introduction to the story.
Percy tried to wake you. He shook you gently. Then he splashed water on your face. But you were totally out. I suggested that he try to kiss you to break the spell,” giggled her little sister.
“And? Did he kiss me?” replied Amanda; anticipation in her voice.
“Gawd, you DO like him,” she gently mocked her big sister. “No, he didn’t kiss you. He said a gentleman would never impose himself on a helpless lady by stealing a kiss.”
“Of course, he would say something like that.”
“You seem disappointed,” said El. She’d slipped out onto the porch to join them.
“Mom!” shrieked Amanda.
“Sorry, go on,” she prompted.
“May I?” asked Sarah sarcastically.
When they both nodded, she continued.
“Suddenly, Jasper came crashing through the bushes with Jade and Esmeralda right behind him!” Sarah emphasized her words by pouncing off the bench; mimicking the dragons.
Amanda tensed, and a bit of coffee splashed out of her cup.
“Percy was amazing. He fought and jabbed and dodged around,” shouted Sarah. She’d grabbed a stick and was acting out the battle, herself playing Percy.
“But there were two of them, and they knocked him down, so I grabbed a big stick and started whacking one of them on the head. One of them, I don’t know who scratched me then and knocked me down. I thought I was going to die, but Jasper bit her on the tail and wouldn’t let go. She was whipping him around screaming, but he held on tight.”
Jasper climbed up on the bench and sat up proudly, allowing Amanda to scratch his head.
“But Percy was down. He was pinned on his back. The dragon had his sword hand trapped beneath her claw. I thought he was done. Then this horse leaped over the bushes all kicky and bitey.”
“Lightning?” asked Amanda.
“Ya. Anyways, Percy rolled out from under the dragon and jumped up on to the horse’s back. You should have seen them. It was better than any CGI I’ve ever seen.” She was galloping around waving her stick like a sword. Amanda and El were enthralled with her acting now.
“But the dragon was still pretty fierce. It clawed him on the shoulder. It was all bloody, but he kept fighting. Then the dragon lunged, and Percy ducked, and he stabbed her right in the butt. It must have been a good one because both of the dragons cried out so loud that I had to cover my ears.” Sarah paused for effect. “Then he stabbed her again really hard right in the thigh. The tip of his sword broke off, and she screamed even louder.”
“Then they flew off.” She bowed.
“That’s it?”
“No, just that part. Then he tore up his cape and made a bandage for my arm and one for his shoulder.”
“He wears a cape?” asked El with a smirk.
“It’s the height of fashion over there,” replied Amanda defensively.
“If you say so,” replied her mother; trying to suppress her smile.
“We couldn’t just leave you there, so he made one of those stretcher things that he could drag behind the horse. Like the ones the aboriginals used.”
“A travois,” added El.
“If you say so. How am I supposed to know wh
at they’re called? I’m only eight.” retorted Sarah.
“Just go on,” pleaded Amanda.
“Then we got to the cobblestone highway and walked all day and into the night until we reached a town. There was an inn called the Red Pig.”
“Percy thought they set robbers on us,” interjected Amanda.
“Robbers!” exclaimed El.
“Later mom. I want to know what happened to Percy.” There was a pause, and she hastily added, “…and Sarah.”
“Once the innkeeper recognized who we were, he treated us like we were total VIP’s.”
“And…”
“I’m getting there. I’m getting there don’t rush me. Geez,” complained Sarah.
“A lady gave me new clothes like the ones you got and I was put in their nicest room. It only had a bed with a mattress of straw stuffed into a rough cotton sack and no inside toilet. But it was better than a pile of leaves in a cave.”
“Enough with the Yelp review of hotel accommodations in Tarsinia. What about Percy?!”
Impishly Sarah smiled. She was deliberately milking her sister’s interest in Percy now. She decided to play out the story a little longer for the sheer pleasure of seeing her sister agonize.
“So, I was fast asleep in the scratchy little bed when I was woken up by a giant bell going, “BONG!”, “BONG!”, “BONG!” I looked out the window, and saw Percy in the middle of the square pulling on a rope with his one good arm and people rushing out of their homes to see what the emergency was.”
Sarah climbed up on the bench between her mom and sister. “I’m thirsty. Can I go get a drink?”
“UUUUGGHH!” exclaimed Amanda.
They trooped into the kitchen for lemonade and sat at the table where El put a plate of cookies out for them.
“I didn’t want to leave you all by yourself, so I opened the window so I could talk to him. He said that he heard war horns in the distance and was going to get Melissa or someone to help.”
“Probably he meant the militia,” corrected El.
“Like I said, Melissa.” she shook her head and looked sternly at her mother.
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