Handlers of Dragons

by Kim Cormack

  “Um...Yah...Partially that,” Zach responded as he dodged the line of questioning. He got up and started to gather up their newly acquired toiletries. He tossed a t-shirt at Grey and added, “Go have a shower. There’s a toothbrush for you in the bathroom, we have a flight to catch.” Grey wandered away mumbling about how he was going to smell like booze for a week.

  They left him alone for a few minutes and when it sounded like he was out of the shower Kayn knocked on the door and said, “We’ll meet you at the rental car.”

  “Sounds good,” Grey replied from the other side of the door.

  They waited until they were a distance from the motel room before they started gossiping. Zach whispered, “I don’t think he remembers why he was so upset.”

  “I don’t think so,” Kayn whispered as Lexy appeared and silenced their chatter.

  As Lexy strolled past, she asked, “How upset is he on a scale of say...one to ten?”

  Kayn fought to stop the grin as it curved up each side of her mouth by pressing her lips together. They’d both had the same question.

  Zach came to her aid by quickly replying, “He doesn’t appear to remember last night. He’s more worried that you’re angry at him.”

  Lexy smiled as she walked back to the room. As they watched her leave, they both simultaneously realised, they’d have no idea which vehicle was theirs. Kayn looked at Zach and said, “I think we should leave them alone to sort this out. I say we just go out to the parking lot and try to guess which car it is.”

  “I’ll race you there!” Zach laughed as he took off.

  He was going to make her run. She wasn’t feeling motivated enough to run. Oh, hell. Kayn sprinted after him. There was no way he’d be able to beat her in a race. Kevin had never been able to beat her either. She slowed her roll choosing to let him win. He began dancing around raucously cheering as he reached the parking lot. For a split second her mind travelled back in time and it was Kevin instead of Zach dancing around obnoxiously. She leaned up against one of the cars to take in the glorious splendour of the testosterone show. A sound with a pitch that made her senses shriek shattered her nerves. Kayn squeezed her eyes shut, covered her ears and screamed Zach’s name.

  He was instantly at her side, “What’s wrong?”

  “Don’t you hear that?” She called out over the agonizing racket. Her brain felt like it was about to split in two.

  “What noise?” Zach questioned loudly.

  “I can’t hear you!” Kayn screamed.

  He yelled, “What noise?”

  The racket abruptly ceased. With every nerve ending in her body frayed, Kayn gasped as her heart stopped wildly palpitating. She panted, “What ever that was...That was not cool.” Even though the sound had ceased to incapacitate her she felt uneasy as she spun around and took in the nearly empty dusty parking lot. “I don’t like this Zach. Somethings coming,” Kayn warned.

  Lexy and Grey came sprinting towards them as Grey hollered, “Get in the car!”

  Kayn heard a double beep as he unlocked the car she was leaning against as he ran. They hopped in and sped away from the lot. Grey’s foot was flush with the floor. The car lurched as they peeled onto the main road tossing them all to one side. What was this?

  “Go! Go! Go!” Lexy yelled, while frantically smacking Grey’s arm.

  Zach hollered, “What’s happening? I don’t understand what we’re doing?”

  Grey was driving like they were being chased. Kayn felt the urgency of the situation but didn’t know why they’d reacted like this.

  Lexy shouted, “Go! Go! We have to be out of range!”

  Kayn spun around to look out the back window. There was nothing there? They appeared to be all alone tearing down an isolated road. There was a rumbling of a planes engine overhead. Kayn watched it soaring over the hotel. What was this? Something dropped from the planes cargo hold and descended from the sky.

  “Go! Go! We’re not far enough away!” Lexy hollered frantically.

  They were spitting up gravel going as fast as the car could go. Suddenly, there was a deafening thunder.

  Grey yelled, “Seatbelts! Now!”

  Kayn spun around as a massive explosion rocked the ground. A wall of wind, earth and fire came surging after the vehicle.

  “Brace yourselves!” Lexy yelled as the cloud of dust, debris and fire pursued them.

  A millisecond before it hit, Zach whispered, “Shit!”

  She was thinking the same thing as the heat of the debris surged through the shell of the vehicle scorching their flesh, followed by agonizing cries and the inability to breathe as the wreckage began tumbling down the highway. When the dust had settled what was left of the car was still upright. There was a humming pitch in her ears as she reached for Zach. He wasn’t there. “Crap,” Kayn moaned as she saw the bloody interior and smashed windshield.

  Lexy cricked her neck while groaning, “That’s why Grey yelled, seatbelts.”

  “Did his body hit either of you?” Kayn asked as she began tugging on the door, trying to get out. The frame was compromised. Window it is.

  Lexy answered, “Just Grey. I’ve got him. Look for Zach.”

  Kayn climbed out of the window and when she attempted to stand her legs wouldn’t hold her. She crumpled onto the dusty gravel road. Shit, her legs hurt. Her mind was still fighting its way through the inconvenient after effects of mortal shock. It was Dragon time. She sucked it up from deep within and got up. This time she stood with no problem. Her legs had already healed. Cool. Where was Zach’s body? It wasn’t on the road up ahead as she’d assumed it would be. She spun around searching the landscape for her Handler. He didn’t appear to be anywhere. Was she still out cold? Had she imagined this? She saw Lexy healing Grey and knew it was real. Where was he? She called out to the others, “I can’t find Zach? Did anyone see where his body went?”

  Grey strolled over and said, “Those assholes never give us enough warning. He went through the window with the pressure of the explosion. I’m not sure where we were when it hit. I’m still a little out of it. Lexy’s probably going to need a minute to heal.” He took her hand and gave it a casual swing as he suggested, “Shall we go look for Zach’s body?”

  Kayn couldn’t help it as she grinned. With death only, a semi-permanent state these moments were far too comical. “We shall,” she replied as they both comically skipped down the road.

  Lexy hollered, “You guys are weirdos!”

  They both started laughing and slowed their skip to a walk. Perhaps, skipping down a deserted highway in search of a body was a bit much. The building they’d spent the night in was smouldering in the distance. Kayn paused as she yanked on Grey’s arm and enquired, “Won’t there be army people and police showing up?”

  “Obviously,” Grey replied. “We should hustle our butts. Our new ride will be here soon. They’ll call. Hopefully Lexy still has the cell. It might have been thrown out during the accident.”

  “New ride?” Kayn questioned.

  Grey clarified, “Sent by the Aries group. They’ll get us to our flight on time. Theoretically it’s our flight. It won’t leave until we get there.” He grinned and declared, “Oh, you two are in for a treat.”

  “What do you mean?” Kayn asked.

  “It’s best we find Zach first before we worry about anything else,” Grey said.

  He pointed to something in the distance and Kayn followed the circle of buzzards in the air. “Found him. There’s probably a hill. That’s why we couldn’t see him.”

  She hated those things. Buzzards were creepy birds. To her they symbolized death. The demise of someone or something. They sprinted towards the area below the swarming scavengers. Hill...That was funny now as they looked over the edge of a cliff with roaring waves below. Zach’s body was on a ledge about ten feet down. This was inconvenient.

  Kayn called out, “Zach! You still alive?” His body twitched in response.

  Grey yelled, “Buddy, that had to suck!”


  “You Assholes,” Zach groaned.

  “There look, he’s fine. He still has his wits about him,” Grey commented. He peered over the ledge and hollered, “Can you climb up here?”

  “Bite me.” Zach groaned.

  They were both gazing over the edge trying to figure out how they were going to get him when Lexy appeared and commented, “The integrity of the ledge doesn’t look strong enough for one of us to jump down there.”

  Before they had a chance to figure out a plan the buzzards descended upon Zach. As he swatted them away, he rolled off and plummeted into the thunderous rolling waves below. Kayn took a few steps back, sprinted to the edge and leapt off after him. She managed to slow her decent and she hit with the same force as diving from the ledge of a pool. She surfaced in the churning white caps and then allowed herself to sink below the surface to avoid being thrown against the rocks. Kayn opened her eyes in the confusion of the swirling water and swam towards her Handler’s body. She really hadn’t thought this out. She yanked him below the surface hoping it would be easier to swim away beneath the waves. Her head was pounding. The tide was too strong. If she didn’t go up to the surface, she was going to be down for the count. They bobbed up long enough for Kayn to inhale some oxygen. She tugged her Handler back under. If they could make it around the rocks they’d be all good, twenty more feet out to sea and she might be able to hold her ground long enough to devise a plan. Bubbles and swirling water was all she could see beneath the surface. She had a searing headache and knew what that meant. Her brain was oxygen deprived. She was forced to come up for air with the worst possible timing as a massive wave pummelled them into the rocks. Pain surged through her being as the wave retreated, sucking them away. That was going to leave a mark. Kayn persevered through the agony of what she suspected were broken ribs as she fought with everything she had to tow Zach away from the rocks before the next wave. Over the thundering waves she heard Grey and Lexy yelling but she couldn’t make out what they were saying. Kayn inhaled and knew she was in trouble when she couldn’t get much air. A broken rib must have punctured her lung. She dove, towing his limp body with her. He wasn’t helping at all. He must be dead. She felt the cold resolution of the Dragon within as she fought against the current, knowing she couldn’t let his body go. She bobbed to the surface still in the same place. This wasn’t working. The heat of her healing ability was struggling to repair her injury but if she lost consciousness their bodies could be lost. She wasn’t going to be able to keep this up. Kayn sunk into the deep once more, bringing his corpse along for the ride. There had to be a way out of this. She needed time to figure it out. Amid the swirling confusion an idea sparked. She forced her oxygen deprived brain to concentrate as she looked below instead of to either side or above. There it was... a visible steady flow of current going into a space between the rocks. They surfaced and she managed to inhale a touch of air before purposely submerging them once more with a destination in mind. Her pounding headache had been replaced by the instinct to sleep. She didn’t have long. Kayn shoved Zach’s body into the current travelling beneath the rock. They were sucked through by the force of the water and as she’d hoped, they surfaced in an underground cavern. Kayn opted to float for a minute, taking small shallow breaths, conserving energy as she healed. It was the craziest feeling, floating in the darkness. It reminded her of the room she’d become trapped in during the Testing where the wicked things were held. The heat in her chest dulled and she took a long deep breath. After an unrestricted dose of oxygen, her problem-solving skills sprang to life. She needed light. Kayn tugged off her fingerless glove expecting her strobing Ankh symbol to light up the cavern. Why wasn’t it flashing? Zach had been deceased for a while. Maybe it times out? She was about to bite into her skin to set off her symbol when a thought leapt to mind...Blood draws sharks. They’d probably both been bleeding since they smoked the rocks. She had to get them out of the water. There better be dry land in here. While treading water, she ripped material from Zach’s shirt and tore it in half. She didn’t want him to slip beneath the surface while she was messing around. Once Kayn had him secured, she bit her hand hard enough to break the skin and set off her symbol. She kept her oozing hand out of the water as she got a two second glimpse of the underground cavern. There was dry rock ahead. Her stomach clenched warning her of danger. She swam with all her mite and yarded Zach up onto the rock with her. Her symbol flashed again giving her a clear view of a few fins circling the pool. They were safe on dry land. Relief, washed over her. She giggled while lying on the stone ledge. Well, this rescue attempt had backfired rather epically. She would be a horrible superhero. She was exhausted. Her eyes grew heavy. Sleep...Sleep. She closed her eyes for only a second.

  Chapter 12

  Sharks Versus Cannibals

  KEVIN’S VOICE WAS SAYING, ‘Wake up! Wake up Kayn! You have to get up!’

  Was she wet? Kayn groggily opened her eyes in the dark. For a second, she forgot where she was. Oh yes...they were trapped inside of a cliff by sharks. Water splashed on her and suddenly she was wide awake.

  She heard Kevin’s voice again, ‘The water is rising. Get up!’

  Her back was damp. Oh no. There was only about a millimetre of water under her but that’s all she needed to know. The water had risen in the cavern. Oh no. If there were still sharks in here, this was going to suck. Kayn felt around in the darkness for her Handler. She nudged Zach’s stiff corpse. Rigor mortis was setting in. How long had she been asleep? That lucky bastard was probably enjoying a Pina Colada in the in-between on a gorgeous sandy beach, safe as a new born baby in his mother’s arms. Kayn needed the visual to see what she was dealing with. How much time did she have? She bit herself and her symbol only flashed a few times before the wound healed. Yes, the tide was filling the cavern. It wouldn’t be long before the rock they were on would be submerged and there were at least three sharks circling. Awesome! Could this day get any better? She heard Kevin’s voice once again in her mind, ‘You can get to higher ground. Look again.’ She bit into her freshly healed hand. This time when Kayn looked up, she saw a clear escape route. This guiding her thing might work out. She had to wake Zach up. She didn’t have much time. She placed her hands against his lifeless chest and willed the healing ability to the surface. At first it didn’t work. She concentrated...Come on! Work damn it! Please work! Kayn shivered as the heat travelled down her arms into the chest of her deceased Handler. She pulled her hands away, feeling faint. Zach started coughing. Oh, thank God. With no time for pleasantries, she gave him instructions, “We have to climb up the side of the rocks to the left. I’m too weak to bite myself and heal again for light from my symbol. I only get a few flashes before I’m healed. You went off a cliff into the ocean, the waves were to strong to swim against, so I managed to get us into an underground cavern.”

  “Why don’t we just swim back out?” he questioned.

  “Sharks,” she answered. “Also, the tide is filling up the cavern and the rock we’re on is almost submerged.”

  “Of course it is,” Zach replied.

  Kayn heard the tension in her Handler’s voice even though it was too dark to see his expression. He made a muffled sound and light began flashing from the symbol branded on his palm. With each strobe, they had a momentary glance at what they were dealing with. There were half a dozen shark fins circling the underground pool, waiting for the tide to rise so they could devour their snacks. It flashed again and the wall could be easily seen but scaling it would prove to be more difficult than she’d anticipated. It was a steep upwards climb with an opening to what appeared to be a cave at the top. Ironically, she’d been in this situation before minus the sharks. It could be done but they might only be buying themselves a little more time. They were submerged in darkness once again. It flashed. She got up beside Zach and said, “We’d better start climbing. It would be extremely inconvenient if you heal before we reach the top. We’ll climb at each flash, pause and wait for the next. Zach went first
, climbing up each groove in the stone, grasping each spot with his hands. She was following him but the light was much dimmer from her vantage point, she began grabbing for each groove just as his foot moved upwards to the next. Up, they travelled until Zach disappeared over the top. The cavern lit up as he reached over the side to help her. They remained seated at the mouth of the cave as they regained their bearings.

  Zach got up and helped Kayn to her feet. They peered over the ledge at the growing school of sharks below. She should have tried to swim out when there were only three.

  Her Handler’s hand lit up the cave like a flashlight as he announced, “Let’s see if there’s a way out.”

  They stepped into the cave and immediately saw that they were not the first people to choose dry land over a battle in the deep. The walls of the cave had primitive looking carvings and as they ventured further into the darkness with each strobe of Zach’s hand they saw a rather disturbing sight. There were bones. Kayn picked up a large perfect bone. It looked like something you’d see a dog in a comic strip carrying around.

  Zach cleared his throat. Kayn glanced back at him as he said, “That’s a femur.”

  “From what kind of animal?” she replied.

  “A human. These are human remains,” Zach clarified as he crouched down and shone his light at a semi-crushed skull. He added, “On the bright side it doesn’t look like this cave will fill up with water.”

  “Oh, what a relief,” Kayn responded emotionlessly as she knelt down and picked up the skull. “What else can you tell me about it? Is this something you learned in school?”

  “The school of life I guess...It’s a woman’s skull,” he clarified as they sorted through the uncomfortably large assortment of human remains. He picked up a small one and whispered, “This one belonged to an infant. It’s possible we’ve stumbled across someone or something’s trophy case. Maybe, we should keep moving. There must be another way out.”

  She wanted to ask him if he knew how old the bones were. She had a lot of questions that would prove to be pointless as they continued their journey into the layer of the depraved cave dwelling being. The glow of Zach’s Ankh symbol only lit up ten feet ahead and it felt like they’d been walking for hours when they came upon a fork in the cavern.