Drake and the Fliers

by Allison Maruska

  If changing back was as easy as jumping, he would have figured it out by now.

  He trudged to the windows, where the sun shone on the carpet, and settled onto his belly. He closed his eyes and allowed the warmth to penetrate his scales and fill him, reminding him of when he drank hot chocolate on a cold day. The warmth took over, and an energy surrounded him.

  Startled, he opened his eyes and saw human hands, which quickly turned back into dragon claws.

  Warmth. The opposite of cold. Duh.

  He closed his eyes and again imagined a warm sensation radiating from his belly to his limbs. The energy returned; it was light, like the weightlessness he’d get at the top of a roller coaster hill, just before the car rushed down the steep slope. He focused on the feelings until they dissipated, then opened his eyes.

  His hands stayed human.

  “Yes!” He leapt to his feet, pumped his fist, and danced in triumph before he noticed something else he hadn’t expected: he was naked.

  No one was around to see him, but he ran to the interior office anyway. The clothes he’d worn last night lay in shreds on the couch and the floor.

  This was an interesting problem.

  He retrieved undamaged clothes from the desk and got dressed. Upon returning to the corner office, he snatched his jerky from the floor.

  ****

  A few nights later, Drake shifted back to his human form for the tenth time that day. Looking towards the late afternoon sun, he paced and ran a hand through his hair, gathering the courage to do what he needed to do.

  He had to fly. What use was a dragon that couldn’t fly?

  Plus, he wouldn’t find an answer to why this happened to him if he stayed in the office.

  He had spent hours the previous day figuring out how to quickly shift at will. This was the third night he’d shifted, and aside from hovering a few feet above the roof, he hadn’t yet left the building.

  Exhaling, he took a few steps back, ran, and leapt out the window.

  The wind blew hard against his face, and he closed his eyes to keep from panicking. The cool tingling moved from his core to his limbs, and a moment later, he flapped his wings and hovered over the ground.

  He looked at the street, then up to his floor. He laughed and whooped, his yell reverberating off the buildings and breaking the oppressive silence.

  His scales had changed from a black to a greenish blue color. What did that mean?

  Beating his wings, he lifted to his floor and surveyed his space from the outside before turning and flying to the park. He swooped over the aspen grove that sheltered Kelsey’s grave, as if she could see him. The herd of grazing deer looked up at him before scattering, but the giraffe near the trees didn’t move.

  The giraffe? He flew over the park again to make sure he wasn’t seeing things. The giraffe ran away from the park but stopped at another group of leafy trees next to a building.

  It must have escaped from the zoo, searching for food. What other wild animals roamed the former metropolis? He kept his eyes open for predators.

  Drake increased his speed. The buildings became a blur, and as he turned a corner, he yelled. A mass of red feathers blocked his path.

  The bird yelled at the same time Drake did, but it lifted in time to avoid a collision. Drake plummeted for a few seconds before he remembered to flap his wings. He took a breath to steady his heart and lifted himself to fly level with the bird.

  “A dragon,” the bird said in a male voice.

  “A Phoenix?”

  The bird looked just like the mythical one in comic books: his wingspan was at least as wide as Drake’s, and his bright red tail feathers stretched far behind him. The only thing missing was the fire.

  Drake looked past the bird. If it was part of Zeke’s group, the others would be close by. “Are you by yourself?”

  The Phoenix nodded. “How long have you been here?”

  “In Denver?”

  “No, as a dragon. I’ve been here for days, and I’ve never seen you before.”

  “This is the first time I’ve been outside.”

  The bird tilted his head. “Come with me.” He flew past Drake and descended to the street.

  Drake landed on all fours, and the harder-than-expected impact jarred him. He hadn’t landed before and apparently needed to practice.

  The bird shook out his feathers. “You just started shifting?”

  “Yeah. Why are you a bird?”

  “Why are you a dragon?”

  Drake shrugged his dragon shoulders.

  The bird straightened a feather on his wing. “I don’t know much of anything. I started shifting a few weeks ago, but I’m from Oregon. The virus hit us earlier.”

  “What does the virus have to do with this?”

  “I think it infected everyone.” He walked to a grocery store with shattered windows. “But instead of killing us, it gave us this gift.”

  “Gift? You think it’s a gift?”

  The bird glanced back before ducking and climbing through the window. “You think it isn’t?” He entered the store; bits of glass crunched under his feet, but he seemed unfazed. “We either die or become some cool flying thing. I’ll take the flying, thank you.”

  Drake hadn’t considered his ability to change as an alternative to death. “Why are you in Denver?”

  “I was looking for other survivors. I’d seen a few but never got close enough to talk to anyone.” He scanned the shelves. “Not much left, is there?”

  “Not really. I’m not the only one in the city. I have some stuff where I’m staying.” Drake left the store and lifted off the ground.

  “Hold on, I stashed a bag. I need to get it before we shift back.” The bird took off and flew to the top of a skyscraper, grabbing a backpack with his talons.

  Good thing. Seeing a stranger naked would make for an awkward first meeting.

  Drake led the bird to his floor and squeezed through the door of the interior office before shifting. He got dressed and poked his head into the corner office. A skinny, tall guy with shiny black hair and wearing jeans and a green T-shirt was tying a pair of Vans.

  The guy looked up and approached Drake, holding out a hand. “I’m Preston.”

  “Drake.” Preston had to be Kelsey’s age, but he was obviously among the immune. “How old are you?”

  “Nineteen. How old are you?”

  “Sixteen.”

  Preston nodded and surveyed the space. “Why an office tower?”

  Drake walked to the closet and grabbed two bottles of water. “It’s easy to hide. Most of the looters died before they made it here, and no one stuck around the office to die, so there aren’t any bodies.” He tossed a bottle to Preston. “And it looks like the zoo animals escaped. I don’t think a lion can jump this high.” He laughed.

  “They didn’t escape. I let them out. That’s the other reason I came to Denver.” Preston opened the bottle and took a swig.

  “You did? Why?”

  “It’s not right to leave them locked up and starving.” He sighed. “Some were already dead when I got there.” He shook his head and faced Drake. “Can I stay here with you for a while? I haven’t talked to anyone in months.”

  Drake had talked to the thugs three nights ago, but they didn’t count. “Yeah, I know what you mean.”

  Chapter Three

  Drake used the corner of Kelsey’s iPhone to draw pictures in the dirt that covered the carpet. A cold wind blew rain through the windows, followed by a large, red bird.

  Preston landed behind a desk, shifted, and shook the water from his hair with his hands. “I think the storm followed me here.”

  “I noticed. Where’d you go this time?” Drake added the last lines to his bridge drawing, a reminder of home. He squinted before running his palm over it, removing any evidence of its existence.

  “St. Louis, Chicago, and D.C., stopping at a few places in between.”

  Preston had disappeared for longer spans of time during the p
ast few months. This trip lasted two weeks, and Drake had wondered if Preston planned to return. “Visiting more zoos?”

  “That’s the idea.” Preston finished dressing, walked to the closet, and grabbed a bottle of water. He scowled as he opened it. “The virus moved east, so those zoos haven’t been abandoned as long. But several of the animals had already starved.” He glared outside. “It would’ve been nice for someone to let them out before everyone died. The animals didn’t do anything to deserve that.” He sipped his water. “I think I’ve gotten to most of them.”

  “Don’t you worry about releasing a bunch of predators?”

  Preston shook his head. “They deserve a chance too, just like the herbivores.”

  Freeing the zoo animals had been Preston’s personal mission, and it must have been personal, because he never asked Drake to help. He’d sneak out early, before Drake woke up. And when he returned he was somber, mourning the animals that died. Drake wouldn’t be able to count the number of creatures Preston saved, but Preston seemed to focus on the ones he couldn’t help.

  Drake stood and brushed the dirt from his pants. “It’s gonna start getting colder. We should go somewhere warm.”

  “Good idea. The others have been leaving.”

  “Are they flying south for the winter?” Drake laughed and removed some snacks from the desk. “Here.” He tossed a bag of animal crackers to Preston and opened a can of expired barbecue Pringles.

  Preston popped a cracker into his mouth and shook his head. “They’re going west.”

  “West? Why?” Drake shoved a handful of crisps into his mouth.

  He shrugged. “They didn’t stop long enough for me to ask.”

  West would be towards home, the place Drake had grown up, the last place he’d lived before the virus attacked and wiped out his family along with most of humanity.

  He had to see it again. Plus, he’d made a promise to Kelsey the night she died.

  Find the others. Figure out why you survived. Promise me.

  Drake swallowed the guilt that had been mounting for months. He couldn’t keep using Zeke and the thugs as an excuse to not find anyone; Preston was proof there were still good people in the world, and their chances of surviving the winter would be greater if they joined a group. “Let’s follow them.”

  “I didn’t think you wanted to be around other survivors.” Preston crumpled the snack wrapper and tossed it on the floor behind him.

  Drake set the can on the desk and pocketed Kelsey’s phone before approaching the window. “There aren’t many of us left. Maybe we should join forces.”

  “Join forces? Against what?”

  “I don’t know. How about loneliness?” He eyed Preston up and down. “I mean, you’re cute and all, but…”

  Preston laughed and hit Drake on the chest with the back of his hand. “All right. West it is. Meet you outside.”

  Drake returned to the interior office and packed his clothes into a backpack. He remembered to remove the hair tie this time, thankful he wouldn’t have to go searching for it after his dragon form flung it from his body. He waited a few minutes to give Preston time to get outside, then walked to the corner office.

  He hadn’t flown with a bag before. Preston would shift and grab his before leaving the building, but that seemed boring.

  Drake smiled and tossed his backpack outside. He lunged through the window, shifted, and caught the strap in his claw a few feet above the ground.

  “Good catch.” Preston hovered above Drake. The rain rolled off his fiery red feathers.

  Drake beat his wings and flew up to his floor, looking inside one last time. He sighed and followed Preston towards the mountains. His scales had turned cobalt blue.

  He hadn’t seen them that color. Maybe it stood for hope. He barely recognized the feeling.

  ****

  Drake and Preston found food, water, and clean clothes in Salt Lake City. After spending the night, they continued their flight west. The sun warmed Drake’s scales.

  “How far do you want to go?” Drake asked. They couldn’t be too far from California. His nerves gathered in his stomach when he imagined seeing the Golden Gate Bridge again.

  Preston flapped his wings to catch up. “If we don’t find anyone by the time we reach the ocean, we’ll pick a new direction. We’re bound to see someone eventually.”

  When they finally reached the coast that afternoon, there weren’t any bridges. The forested land didn’t look right. They were too far north.

  “Can we fly south for a while?” Drake asked.

  “I guess. What for?”

  “I want to see my house.” His pulse quickened when he said the words.

  “Are you sure? It probably looks nothing like how you remember it.”

  He banked to the left. “Yeah. I’m sure.”

  The ghost of the city came into view. The bridges stood empty, though the Golden Gate’s towers poked through the fog blanketing the bay. Drake imagined cars driving across it, and for a moment, believed they were really there.

  Drake led Preston to a residential area, hid between some houses, and shifted to human form. He joined Preston on the street a few minutes later.

  Stray dogs – likely former pets – wandered the streets, barking at Drake and at each other. Preston slowly approached a chocolate lab, holding his hand in front of him. The dog sniffed him, and he patted her head. Preston crouched next to the lab, laughing as he let her lick his face.

  The guy sure had a way with animals.

  They walked to the front of a house that was a shell of the one Drake remembered: looters and vandals had broken every window, kicked in the door, and left the garage half open. He approached the front door but stopped on the path a few feet before reaching the porch, staring at the entrance.

  Before the virus hit, his mom would sit in the chair on the front porch, drinking tea and reading on her tablet. Or Kelsey would run out the door to her car, off to a friend’s house. Or his dad would tend the garden, fighting the never-ending battle against the weeds.

  Preston’s voice brought Drake back to reality. “We don’t have to do this. We won’t find anyone here.”

  “I know. I need to see it.” Drake continued to the door.

  A musty smell met him as he entered. Many of his family’s belongings were gone. The couch and carpet in the living room harbored black mold. Drake coughed.

  He walked to the dining room, the place he’d been when he learned the virus had reached his family. He’d sat in the chair that now lay on its side. Setting it upright, he remembered the phone call.

  That was your father. Ten people with the virus showed up at the hospital last night. He can’t leave.

  He’d left the city with his mother and sister that day, bound for his grandparents’ house in Denver, hoping to escape the virus.

  Drake shook his head at how ridiculous the idea seemed now. No one could escape the virus. A month after they’d arrived in Denver, his grandparents were dead. Two weeks later, his mom. A month after that, Kelsey died, leaving him alone in the decrepit city.

  Preston stood in the kitchen with the dog standing behind him, and Drake passed him to walk down the hall leading to the bedrooms.

  His room was in better shape than the living room, likely due to the smaller window that allowed less weather to intrude. The electronics were gone, but his closet still contained clothes, and his bed had the same sheets as the last time he’d slept in it. Preston lingered in the doorway, watching him.

  Drake moved to Kelsey’s room, but he didn’t make it farther than the door. He pulled her phone from his pocket. “She wasn’t much older than you. I thought we would both survive.” He squeezed the phone. “Don’t…” His voice cracked, and he cleared his throat. “Don’t you wonder why your brother died?”

  “No. I try not to ask those questions.”

  Drake glanced back at Preston. “But he was twelve. I’m sure others that young–”

  “I don’t ask, okay?”
Preston focused on the wall and pursed his lips. “It’s in the past. There’s no point in dwelling on it.” He turned and stormed to the front of the house, and the dog followed close behind.

  Drake entered Kelsey’s room, placed her phone on her desk, and stared at it.

  She’d always carried the thing, even after the cell networks collapsed and it became useless. He thought she’d done it to feel connected to her old life. After she died, he’d kept it to feel connected to her.

  He put his fingers on the case. “I’m gonna do it. I’ll find the others. But I need to leave you here.” Leaving the phone in place, he scanned the room, turned, and walked outside.

  Chapter Four

  Warm air rushed over Drake’s scales as he and Preston flew high over California, heading towards Los Angeles. They figured survivors would seek shelter in existing buildings, as they had done in Denver. It didn’t take long to discover why Los Angeles sat empty.

  What was once a developed city had become a collection of charred building shells, freestanding walls, and piles of burned debris. Drake landed between the remains of a truck and a car. Preston perched on the frame of the truck.

  “Now what?” Drake approached half a wall that had been attached to a building. “What happened here?”

  “Ruptured gas line, probably. We can try another city. Want to go to San Diego?”

  Drake glanced back at Preston, who was straightening his feathers. “Were others there before? I’m sure you visited that zoo.”

  “I did. No one was there, but that was months ago.”

  Drake sighed. Any city felt like a random choice. “How about Vegas? It’s warm, at least.”

  Preston bobbed his head. “Sure. It’s worth a shot.” He lifted off, flying east.

  Drake followed, hoping they wouldn’t have to spend weeks exploring abandoned cities before they found anyone.

  After a few uneventful hours, Drake sensed motion ahead of them. He beat his wings, increasing his speed, then slowed when he reached a giant black bat. It had to be a shape shifter. There weren’t any regular bats that were as big as a grown man.

  The bat faced him. “You got a problem?” he asked with a solid Boston accent.