by Jade White
“That doesn’t really make me feel better,” I complained.
“I’m not the type to lie,” Shawn replied.
I began to dial Auntie’s cell. She didn’t answer so I left a message telling her not to come home for the next little while.
“So what’s next?” I asked.
“Pack a backpack and no more. Enough that you can live off, but little enough that you can run with it,” said Shawn. “Put Michael’s stuff in there too.”
I nodded and grabbed a backpack from the closet. I stuffed in necessities like toothbrushes, toothpaste, underwear, socks, a couple shirts, a pair of pants, clothes for Michael, my wallet, keys, and Michael’s favorite teddy bear since his train was far too big.
“Where are we going, though?” I asked, “We can’t run away without an idea of where to go.”
“Dublin,” Shawn answered.
“Dublin? Why Dublin?” I asked.
“We'll be safe there,” Shawn said.
“That does not answer my question, Shawn,” I said.
“It’s hard to explain, especially on such short notice. Just trust me!” he said.
“I don’t trust you,” I admitted.
Shawn sighed and put his head in his hands. “Don’t trust me, just believe that I have Michael’s and your well-being in mind,” Shawn said.
I looked at Michael and then back to Shawn. Shawn seemed to have this soft look on his face while he was entertaining Michael. I could believe that even if he felt nothing for his son, he felt something for this kid in the room now, that somehow in the last while he has bonded with Michael and grown a sort of affection for the kid.
“I believe you,” I said, “but I have veto power.”
“What?” Shawn said.
“I can veto any of your decisions if they seem dodgy to me,” I said.
“This is going to be difficult with you, isn’t it?” Shawn commented.
“Don’t be rude!” I laughed back.
I crossed my arms and looked out the window.
“Did you feel it again?” Shawn asked.
“Yeah,” I said.
That horrible feeling in my gut had returned and I could feel myself beginning to break out in a cold sweat. It was worse this time, as if whatever danger I had sensed before was getting closer to us.
“Rachel?” Shawn asked in concern.
I grabbed at my stomach and sighed. “It’s nothing, I just…” I began.
“Believe in your gut,” Shawn said.
“We need to leave. Now,” I said.
Shawn grabbed at my backpack and put the straps on his shoulders. “Let’s go,” he said as he held out his hand.
I took it and relishing in how callused yet soft it was.
“Rachel?” Shawn called out.
“Yes?” I said.
“You’re kind of holding my hand a bit too tight, it hurts,” he said.
I let my grip go slack. “Sorry the stress must be getting to me,” I said.
“It’s alright,” Shawn smiled. “I was also hoping we could leave at night so the trip would be faster but if it’s that dangerous right now then we should leave immediately.”
“Why night?” I asked.
“It’ll be easier to slip away, plus I could fly us to Dublin,” Shawn said.
“F-f-fly us?!” I exclaimed.
“I am a dragon, remember?” said Shawn.
I felt myself grow a little faint.
“Rachel?”
“I’m fine, I’m fine,” I repeated. “Michael?”
“Yes, Mommy?” Michael answered from his place on the floor with his train.
“We need to go,” I said.
“Again?” Michael asked.
“Again, otherwise the bad man might come for us,” I lied.
“Oh!” Michael exclaimed, “we need to go!”
“Yes, Michael, we need to go,” Shawn said.
“Is Shawn coming with us?” Michael asked.
“Yes, he is,” I said to Michael.
Michael got up and stood beside me. “I’m ready!” Michael exclaimed.
“No you’re not,” I laughed. “You need a jacket.”
I grabbed my son’s jacket from the closet and helped him slip it on. I grabbed my own and a large one for Shawn. I passed Shawn the large jacket.
“It was Auntie’s husband’s,” I said as I handed it over.
“Are you sure she won’t mind?” Shawn asked.
“She’s been meaning to get rid of his things for a long time. Besides, it’ll be of more use to you than in the closet,” I said.
“Thanks,” said Shawn.
We both slipped on our jackets and put on our shoes, Shawn helping Michael before putting on his own. Once we were all ready, we exited through the front door.
“Won’t they follow us from here?” I asked, feeling a chill.
“Yes, so we’ll have to lose them somehow,” Shawn explained.
“And how exactly are we going to do that?” I asked.
We walked down the driveway, me and Michael trailing behind Shawn. Shawn didn’t answer and just walked over to the first driveway with a car he could find.
“What are you doing?” I asked.
Michael held my hand and looked up at me and Shawn as we spoke. Shawn kneeled down next to the driver side of the car and transformed his hands into claws like I had seen before. He was fiddling with the lock.
“I’m going to steal this car,” Shawn said nonchalantly.
“What?” I exclaimed, “That’s illegal!”
“We’re going to need it more than whoever it belongs to,” he tried to reason with me.
“You think that you can just steal a car in broad daylight and get away with it?!” I said in surprise.
Done it before,” Shawn said with a smile.
“Michael, do not listen to him,” I said to my son.
Shawn was being a terrible influence on Michael, but I couldn’t really argue that we needed a car. There was no way we’d lose whoever had their eye on us by going on public transportation. I sighed and looked away.
“Turning a blind eye?” Shawn asked.
“Oh shut it,” I replied in a sour tone.
“Shut it! Shut it!” Michael chanted.
“You’re such a bad influence on your son,” Shawn remarked.
I gave him a death glare. Shawn laughed. Finally, the car door lock clicked and Shawn was able to open it. He then unlocked the doors from the inside and motioned for us to get into the car. I got into the back with Michael, not wanting to sit in the front passenger seat without him. Shawn then leaned way back and began to hotwire the car.
“Quite knowledgeable in this, I see,” I commented.
“Have to be in my line of work,” he replied.
“You never told me what you do,” I said only just realizing this.
“I’m an assassin,” Shawn said.
I burst out in laughter, tears building up in my eyes from it.
“What’s so funny?” Shawn asked.
“You, you are so funny,” I laughed, “there’s no way you-“
Shawn looked at me seriously, his golden eyes burning into my retinas.
“You-“ I said.
“Yes?” Shawn answered.
“Nothing…” I trailed off.
He wasn’t lying, I could tell. Shawn was a man who killed for a living. The truth started sinking in. I thought about his claws when he partially shifted. I wondered how many throats they’ve cut through, how many necks he’s broken. I should consider him dangerous then, but it didn’t feel like that. It just felt like Shawn. Felt like the man I fell in love with five years ago.
I fell in love with him? I guess that is true, but I really didn’t want to admit it for all these years, and now that he’s turned up and shoved his way into my life like this I… I’m not sure how I feel at all. I feel at ease with him, my gut says that he has no ulterior motives, and Auntie said to listen to my gut. I felt like I could believe in him,
maybe not trust, but believe enough that I would run away to Dublin with him for the safety of my child.
“Aha!” Shawn exclaimed as the engine roared to life.
“Took long enough,” I complained.
Shawn pouted as he looked back at me. “I’m trying my best, alright?” he said.
“Well get good,” I laughed.
Shawn put the car into drive and began to back out of the driveway. As we drove I felt that horrible feeling in my stomach start to wane.
“I think we’re getting farther from whatever was giving me that feeling,” I said.
“That’s good,” Shawn replied.
It was starting to get dark and I could tell Michael was beginning to nod off. I put my arm around his shoulder and leaned him onto my side.
“It’s okay to sleep,” I said.
Michael simply nodded and nuzzled into me. I smiled softly and began to pet his hair gently, lulling him to sleep. It was starting to get dark outside and I couldn’t help but feel that gut wrenching worry again.
“I don’t think we’re safe yet,” I whispered, hoping that Shawn would hear me.
“I know,” he replied, “We’ll keep going as far as we can in the car, but I don’t know how long I’ll be able to stay awake, the drive is about eight hours.”
“We can switch at some point,” I said.
“You won’t know the way,” Shawn commented.
“That’s true,” I agreed.
“You can sleep,” Shawn said. “It’s getting late.”
I considered it for a moment.
“Wake me if anything changes,” I said.
Shawn nodded.
I began to get comfortable in the back seat, trying not to jostle Michael around too much. I leaned my head against the window, using my arm as a pillow against it. I sighed and closed my eyes. This situation was turning out worse and worse as each day went by. First my career is gone because of my agent, then my place at Auntie’s is gone because of a newfound Shawn in my life. He had yet to prove himself trustworthy but I couldn’t write off the feelings I was having in my gut about the danger that was coming close to us. If anything, I could tell that Shawn meant us no harm, if he had, then it would have been done already.
Shawn could have easily kidnapped Michael from me. He had the chance to do so while I was asleep last night, but he didn’t. That told me that he cared about what I thought about the entire situation. It meant that I had a say in what was to happen in the near future. I would do anything I could to protect Michael, like being in a car with his father after five years of silence. I was willing to give up my career to take care of my child, and I hoped that meant something. I hoped that it would go the distance and keep Michael out of trouble and danger.
I sighed through my nose and let my forehead touch the cold glass of the window for a moment. I felt Michael snore lightly against my side and felt a moment of pride that he was still safe. There was a lot to take in, and I had to believe it after what Shawn had shown me. It was hard to trust him but I had to try, after all whom else could I trust?
***
“Shawn”
I heard Rachel’s breathing start to even out; she must have fallen asleep. I continued to drive as the sun dipped into the horizon. Soon I would have to wake the two of them up in order to fly the rest of the way, but I wanted them to enjoy at least a little peace while they still could.
I looked into the rear view mirror to see their faces completely relaxed. Michael was snoring into Rachel’s side while Rachel leaned against the window with her arm as a buffer. I sighed and continued to drive.
An hour later I pulled to the side of an abandoned farm house. As the car’s engine stopped running, Rachel awoke.
“Where are we?” she asked.
“Not far from Dublin now, but we need to fly from here,” I answered.
It was dark outside, completely pitch black with night.
“Shouldn’t you sleep?” Rachel asked.
“I can go without sleep for days, Rachel, don’t worry,” I said.
“That doesn’t mean you should,” she retorted.
I scoffed. “There isn’t much choice right now. We should get somewhere safe soon,” I said.
“Fine,” she said.
Rachel gently shook Michael’s shoulder. “Michael,” she whispered. “Michael, wake up.”
“Yes Mommy?” Michael yawned.
“We need to go,” Rachel said.
“Go where?” Michael asked.
“Shawn’s going to take us where we need to go,” she explained.
“Okay,” Michael said quietly.
He was really sleepy. We all stepped out of the car and to the side of the barn.
“This is going to be interesting but we’ll make it work,” I said.
“Yeah,” Rachel agreed.
I took off all my clothes and faced away from Rachel and Michael. Rachel held Michael in her arms as he was still half asleep, but I could feel her attentive eyes on me. I began to shift at a leisurely pace, feeling the scales emerge from my skin and my flesh heat up beyond regular human temperatures. I felt fire in my belly and extra appendages grow from my spine.
“Rachel”
He began to shift as I watched. Michael was still half-asleep but the sight in front of me kept me fully awake. Scales began to surface onto Shawn’s naked form. His bones elongated and grew, wings emerged from his back and a tail from his spine. He grew and grew in form, large and powerful. His scales were a beautiful red, and I imagined they’d reflect light beautifully had it been day. His dragon form was large and powerful; he looked deadly with his long claws and powerful jaw filled with the teeth of a carnivore.
As he turned around, Shawn’s eyes met mine, they were still the same golden color and very familiar, but the pupil was a different shape. When he blinked, I saw there were two sets of eyelids.
“No human has seen me like this,” Shawn’s familiar voice spoke from the open dragon’s mouth.
It was weird because the dragon did not speak, he simply opened his mouth and the sounds came forward, his mouth didn’t pronounce it at all.
I stood and looked onward with my jaw to the floor.
“Mommy?” Michael called out.
I looked down at my son in my arms. He turned around and saw Shawn, his eyes opening wide.
“Mommy! Look, it’s a dragon!” he shouted.
“That’s Shawn,” I said to Michael.
Michael looked at the dragon for a moment and the dragon looked back. “Is it?” Michael questioned.
“Yes,” Shawn answered.
Michael opened his mouth then closed it in wonder. “I’ve never seen a dragon,” Michael said.
“Neither have I, darling,” I said.
Michael smiled hugely up at me.
“Okay, so how are we going to do this?” I asked Shawn.
“Well you and Michael are going to ride me, but you’ll have to hold on tight. I’ll be flying slowly so you don’t fall off,” Shawn said.
I looked up at his dragon form and sighed. “This is going to be difficult, isn’t it?” I said more to myself than Shawn.
Me and Michael climbed on top of Shawn, above his shoulders and onto his neck. We wrapped a bunch of cloth around Shawn’s neck so that we had something to grab onto. I had the backpack on my back while Michael sat in front of me so I could make sure he didn’t fall off. I leaned forward and caged him in my arms and grabbed the fabric tight.
“Ready?” Shawn called out.
“Ready!” Michael and I answered.
“Hold on tight!” Shawn said.
Shawn’s wings began to flap and his legs and arms began to run forward. Then he jumped high into the air and his wings caught us, gliding on the air and flapping to bring us higher. We couldn’t go too high since me and Michael couldn’t breathe in the higher atmospheres but we could fly low and get away with it.
I gripped the cloth tight and hugged Michael into my torso. The amount of wind po
unding at us was scary and I was concerned that we might fall off. After a few minutes though, I noticed that the wind was getting weaker and we were gliding more than flying now. I opened my eyes and looked around us. We were below the clouds, but still very high up (I praised the fact that I wasn’t afraid of heights just then). Michael excitedly pointed out everything we passed.
“Mommy, look at that building! Look at the stars! Look at the moon! Look! Look! Look!”
Soon I felt my heartbeat come to a more manageable bpm and I sighed. The world looked so small underneath us and it was amazing. The landscape and sky was so breathtaking from up this high.
“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” I said.
“Yeah!” Michael agreed.
We both looked on in wonder around us. There were even a lot of stars out right now and minimal cloud cover. It was the perfect night to be flying. I felt breathless as I looked up at the moon. It shined brightly in the night and bathed us in its pale light.
“Are we really going to lose them like this?” I yelled over at Shawn.
“We are harder to track flying than in a car, but we can only fly at night,” Shawn explained, his voice carrying over the wind.
We flew for a couple hours before dawn broke. We were on the outskirts of Dublin by then, but Shawn led us in the opposite direction.
“Where are you going? The city’s over there!” I said.
Shawn transformed back and grabbed his old clothes from the backpack on my back. “We aren’t exactly going to Dublin,” Shawn said.
“The where are we going?” I asked while carrying Michael in my arms, he had fallen asleep.
“Sub-Dublin,” Shawn smiled.
“What?” I asked confused.
“You will see,” Shawn said, “now follow me.”
We walked for around twenty minutes before coming along a large abandoned building. Shawn opened the door with ease and let me and Michael inside.
Inside the building was musty and old. It smelled of mildew and mold.
“Yuck,” I said, “we are not sleeping here.”
“We aren’t,” Shawn said, “but this is where we lose our tails.”
Shawn stomped on the floor a couple times.
