by Jill Cooper
There wasn’t power behind her words, but a hint of desperation, like the twang of a guitar from an old country song. Dirk’s laughter came out as a snort. “Please, you couldn’t handle a nail file. We’re both safer if you never fire a gun.”
Up ahead, Jake and his father Jeff, along with the handful of other glistenings, took their spots in front of the motor pool doors. Metal grated and echoed through the base as they slowly slid open. Outside, the cold, autumn rain blew sideways toward them.
Jake held his arms to the side and Dirk knew that was it. His stomach tightened like thread pulled too tight, threatening to strangle him.
He revved his engine, the sound of the powerful engine calling out into the waiting storm. The others answered in suit like a wild mating call, ready to drive out and meet destiny head on. Massaging the steering wheel, Dirk smirked and drew a sharp breath to strengthen his resolve.
“It’s go time.”
“Oh, God.” Rebecca’s voice trembled and she squeezed her eyes shut, keeping her chin close to her chest. If ever there was a time to pray, Dirk mused it must be now.
Dirk didn’t mind the silence. He found it comforting, but it wouldn’t last long. He drove the Humvee out, blazing a trail for the others to follow right into the battle zone. The sound of bullets ripping through the air soon pierced his ears, but Dirk knew sounds were deceiving. It wasn’t the sound of bullets, but the piercing flap of glistening wings.
The dragons were coming.
****
Sparks and streams of smoke spilled from nostrils, as the dragons filling the sky scanned the ground below. Moonlight glistened against their wet scales and their wings churned the falling rain, adding to the fury of the storm raging about them. Through it all, sensitive draconian ears listened for the sounds of the humans and their cowardly allies. A light spilled out; into the storm as a cargo door slide wide, a beacon calling to the dragons and their fire. The accompanying smell was clear—human drenched in the sweat and fear.
The glistenings would eat well that night, even as the cold ravaged their bodies and the rain slicked their claws.
Perched high up on a tower, Johnson’s talons sunk deep into the concrete. His wings fluttered and his head reared back. He roared a battle call and his tail whipped the electrical lights free from their post. They dangled like tentacles toward the earth, sparking against the ground and the water with blue arcs of light.
The swarming glistenings return his call and spun like cyclones toward the earth returned his call. Travis joined them, diving toward the open door, readying the fire that burned within him, as he reveled in the power he felt with his legion of glistenings surrounding him. Hungering maws stretched forward and wings straight back, they dove toward the base; they would make quick lunch of the humans and turn the buildings that protected them into rubble.
The pits of their stomach burned and their mouths opened. Orange and red flame launched like all the infernos of hell were at their call. There would be no mercy as the building was coated with layers of living fire, but as they took a quick breath to regain their fuel, another flying beast emerged through the glowing embers of the charred structure.
A massive dragon that made the attacking glistenings look like ants, rolled through the smoke, his wings churned the air, buffeting the surrounding glistenings—his brothers and sisters. His scent was different. His was of a leader and held no fear or cowardice. Instead, it was resolute with resolve, and he smashed through the crowd like a bolder.
The monster’s neck snaked out and his massive jaws clamped around one of Travis’s smaller soldiers. The glistening was cut in two, and in a quick motion; the massive dragon swallowed both halves. In moments, two more of the attackers suffered the same fate. Then the great glistening released a sheet of flame that spread across the skies, killing a dozen more.
Those that didn’t die in the fire, spun away from the force of the wind resulting from the flame, even as they dodged the falling bodies of their brothers. A cry rang out amongst the attackers, a call from Johnson, warning their soldiers further back and elsewhere over the base.
Retreat. Fall back and regroup, then focus the attack on this beast.
But this great dragon wasn’t alone. Smaller, but still deadly beasts, launched from the compound into the sky. They broke off from the leader and charged for the stragglers as they made their escape. Mouths wide, teeth sharp, they met glistening necks with a rage and determination only found in cornered and starved animals.
Johnson’s wings carried him up higher, his legs angled ready to curl beneath him and take flight, when the head of the great dragon smashed into his soft underbelly. Johnson rolled through the air and only through frantic flailing of his wings, did he manage to stabilize himself enough to keep from dropping like a rock.
His red eyes narrowed and smoke streamed from his nostrils as the giant dragon circled, doing the same. His eyes might have been red, but Johnson recognized him. Only one form, was so large.
It was Jake. It had to be.
But he had been so resistant to fighting—to taking glistening form.
No more. It seemed like the rules had changed and Victor needed to be warned.
Behind Jake, Johnson was able to make out metal specks on the ground escaping. Their headlights lit the road as they raced through the night and he realized what this was. It was a diversion, a ruse.
Johnson’s head rose as the smell of burning ash filled his nostrils and he grunted a warning to the others, but he never finished. Jake’s body slammed into his and they rolled through the air. He snarled as their bodies intermingled and their wings tangled up against each other like hangers in a closet.
“You must stop this.” Jake’s voice pulsed all around him. “All of you must stop.”
Johnson felt the pull to listen—to obey—but he had to keep Victor’s teachings in mind. He had to remember how to resist Jake. Johnson bit down on Jake’s hind with his strong fangs. Only by sheer force of will, did he keep Jake as he howled and thrashed his body. Jake’s blood filled his mouth and it tasted sweeter than most humans did.
He was going to feast on the kid’s flesh. The largest, most majestic dragon was his!
Jake thrashed and with a strength Johnson could hardly believe, tore himself free. Johnson angled toward him with a shriek and Jake flew up to meet him, catching the smaller dragon in his claws. Each claw was razor sharp, sinking through Johnson’s tough hide, and into the muscles and organs beneath.
Johnson shrieked with pain and his tail whipped at Jake, desperate to free himself. The strikes pounded into the other dragon, but they didn’t slow him down as Jake tore at him. Johnson felt desperation as they hurled toward the earth.
They skidded across the pavement and talons and scaled throwing asphalt into the air around them. Rubble and debris flew up in their faces as they separated. Johnson was on his back and he swiped at Jake with his talons. In response, Jake turned and kicked Johnson, sending him flying through the air. He smashed through a communication tower, bricks crumbling. Debris was falling like meteors to the ground.
Johnson saw stars and didn’t know what hit him, as fangs plunged deep into his neck. He gurgled a cry for help that didn’t get far. Jake threw him back down to the ground and Johnson’s body twitched like a fish, sending a distress call to those nearby.
Jake dug his powerful paws onto Johnson’s belly, pinning him to the ground.
Jake’s head reared back and his wings opened. “I don’t want to do this. I don’t want to destroy my brothers.” The air pulsed and flashed blue around him.
Johnson wouldn’t follow him. Jake couldn’t extinguish the anger and pain in his chest. He lifted his head and growled back, hissing fire.
Jake’s fangs tore through the soft underbelly of Johnson. The dragon’s body trembled and shook with a spasm as his flesh was broken open.—Jake’s head buried deep inside as he fed, lapping up the blood.
Johnson’s wings fluttered manically and he called
out in pain to the others. His death needed to be avenged. Jake couldn’t be allowed to feed. He would become too strong and all too powerful.
How could they dare to oppose him well fed?
The power of the blood coursed through Jake’s body as Johnson lost his life. Jake’s eyes shone red and he sat back on his hind legs. His roar rose, rumbling through the storm, shaking the trees, and reverberating across the lake. Talons clenched, Jake took off to rejoin the battle, to fight alongside his father, and the other glistenings who followed him.
The humans had to be protected. If Victor’s followers wouldn’t convert, Jake had no choice but to kill them.
****
The compound was on fire.
The Humvees drove through smoldering ruins and out into the rain. Up ahead, dragons swarmed, seeking their next meal. Chase gripped the steering wheel tighter with his gloved fingers and leaned forward to peer through the windshield. The wipers were streaking across the glass in a squealing overture, the glass fogging up from the meeting of hot, and cold.
The way forward was clear. The Humvee rocketed over a bump and Chase struggled to regain control of the vehicle. He glanced at Ginny. She seemed to be holding on, but was gripping her seatbelt with one hand and the armrest with the other.
“We’re okay.” Chase wished his voice felt the words, but he couldn’t. Not yet.
Ginny nodded, but she didn’t glance over at him, her features frozen.
Chase turned off the main road and onto the dirt track that they would take to the next meet up location, if they survived that long. Mud splattered up from the tires and the Humvee rocketed along the path surrounded by trees. Branches scratched at the windows, clawing at the metal. In the back, cane crying.
“Dammit,” he muttered to himself. The kids were scared, but he was scared too. He couldn’t take listening to it; the noise put him on edge. It set his nerves on fire.
Ginny turned. “It’s okay, kids, just some branches. We’re going exactly where we need to be. Just hold on a little bit longer.”
Chase cast her a look. More like a lot longer. If they managed to get out of the mountains, it was a long journey to get somewhere safe, unload, and hide. Next on their list? The sand dunes of the old America, now ravaged by nuclear war.
Once they cleared the terrain, there was no cover. There was nothing to hide them from the glistenings in the sky.
A little girl shrieked and Ginny turned back around. Her eyes widened and her feet pushed into the floor. “Look out!”
Coming out from the trees, the clearing was filled with red. Chase saw the fire-breathing dragon and quickly cranked the wheel to avoid the line of fire streaking through the bush. A trail of fire lit up in the air at the dragon’s mouth. It hovered above the clearing in place, a gentle flap of its wings and its giant, spike-laden tail just inches above the ground.
They were separated from the group, but Chase couldn’t think about that now. All he could do was think about survival.
Chase tucked his head down out of instinct as they drove beneath the dragon. The Humvee lurched to one side as he grabbed purchase of the steering wheel. They navigated through the trees and were spit out on a dangerous road around the cliffs. Only one side had a fence and the other was a sheer drop.
The air trembled with a growl and the Humvee shook. The flapping of mighty wings pulled Chase’s attention as he gazed into the rearview mirror. He pointed to the fifty-caliber machine gun sticking out of the opening in the roof. “Do your best. Get him off of us!”
Ginny didn’t bat an eye as she unhooked her seatbelt and lifted her torso into the night sky. Chase tried to keep the Humvee steady as she readied her shot.
Through the hatch, cold air and wind shot down, chilling Chase’s cheeks. He gritted his teeth as the shots thundered through the cabin. Chase’s ears rang and he’d never heard a sound more deafening than that.
“I clipped him!” Ginny screamed. “But he’s coming again. Drive faster!”
Chase didn’t need to be told twice.
He shifted into third gear and the tires tore through the mud as they advanced across the terrain. He took a sharp right when the road curved into a ‘S’. When Ginny squealed and nearly fell over, he gripped her thigh, barely considering what it was he was touching and struggled to keep her upright. His other hand worked the steering wheel hard to get them clear of the brush and straight under a train bridge.
No freight-trains would be by that day.
“We have to lose him before we get to the caves!” Ginny screamed and tucked back inside, just as a rolling fireball coasted along the top of the vehicle. Flames shot inside the hatch and singed her clothes.
“Son of a bitch!” Chase put his arm around her and pushed her down away from the tails of shooting smoke. He accelerated, but the wheels spun as all around them the trees and ground fell away.
All Chase could see was night sky.
The dragon had the Humvee in its claws. They were as good as dead if they didn’t get it to let them go.
Chase grabbed his P90 and Ginny gasped with surprise as he kicked his door open. “What are you doing?” she hissed.
But there was no time to explain or talk about what was for the best.
What was best right then, was getting rid of this damn glistening.
Chase lay on his back, his legs up in the air, head out of the open door, staring right up at the underbelly of a blue, shimmering beast. Beneath Chase’s head, the churning water of a ravine. If they got much higher, they’d never survive the fall.
He didn’t think about it—couldn’t.
All he could hear was the rapid fire of his own heart.
He fired at the beast and the bullets penetrated its soft under belly. The Humvee rocked side to side, but the dragon still rose up higher.
Chase fired again and when the Humvee began to drop, he threw himself back inside the vehicle and slammed the door shut. He grabbed the steering wheel with his arms and hunkered over it, so when they hit the ground, he hoped it wouldn’t be too bad.
They landed hard. Water splattered up and pebbles rained on the windshield. The steering wheel slammed into Chase’s chest and he lost the ability to breathe. He learned long ago how to take a hit, but that one knocked the wind clear out of him. He groaned and leaned his head back on the seat.
The back was quiet—too quiet.
He rolled his head to the side and saw Ginny still. Her head was back and there was a trail of blood on her forehead.
Had Chase gotten her killed?
“Ginny?” he whispered and touched her hand.
She snorted awake and her eyes opened. They were light, but dazed.
Chase stroked her cheek. “Don’t move just yet.” He unsnapped his seatbelt and did his best not to scream as he kicked the door open. Broken rib or two, but nothing major. At least he hoped not. God, he hoped not.
He headed out into the ravine. The cold water made its way into his boot and his toes went frigid. Face down in the water beneath a small tree was a glistening in human form. Chase kicked him with his foot and he rolled over. There was blood coming from his gut where he had been shot.
Chase readied his gun and took aim. “We have kids in the back, you sick freak.” His words came out in a cold puff of air.
“And you didn’t treat us like that?” He groaned and grabbed his side. His head was twisting back and forth from the pain.
“I didn’t do nothing to you. I was just trying to find my own way.” Chase’s eyes narrowed and he placed his P90 against the man’s head and finished off the clip. “Prick.”
His chest heaved for air and he forced himself to take deep breaths, willing his racing heart to slow, but the adrenaline still surged. They had to get to the caves if they were going to stay safe. Chase limped back to the vehicle. For the most part the kids were okay. Scared and bruised. He saw signs of a broken arm, but they were alive and not glistening food.
Ginny was awake and sitting up. Chase handed her a
bottle of water. “Drink up. Hydration will make it a bit better.”
She sipped it and watched him as he tried to get the Humvee started. For whatever reason it wouldn’t roll over. “I thought we were goners.”
“We still might be.” Chase gritted his teeth and tried again. The engine whirred, but wouldn’t come to full life. “Any sign of the others?” His voice was strained and fear was creeping into his heart.
It was cold. He had a dozen kids with him who might not be able to make it far on foot, and if they didn’t, spending the night outside . . .
Ginny strained her neck. “Not yet. I’m not even sure where we are.”
“Off course.” Chase couldn’t look at her when she said it. He promised to keep her safe and now they were the ones who were lost.
“What do we do?” Ginny’s voice was soft.
“Get moving; on foot. The kids need somewhere to lay low tonight. Tomorrow, I’ll come back and try to fix this pile of shit.” Chase sighed and leaned his head back.
If there was a tomorrow.
Ginny put a hand on his shoulder. “You can do it. I know you can.”
So much, pressure, that a part of Chase wanted to scream. “Let’s get the kids up and moving before they start to fall asleep. We have to find somewhere we can hide and get them warm soon as possible.”
Ginny nodded and stepped out of the vehicle to open the rear doors. Chase watched the way she held onto the vehicle and lightly swayed. “Ginny? You all right?” His eyes intensified on her.
“Just dizzy. I’ll be fine once we get started.” It was forced, but at least that gave Chase hope. If Ginny were feeling well enough to pretend to be all right, maybe they’d be okay.
Maybe.
****
Rain down poured from the sky. Wet leaves slapped at them and the muddy trail sucked at their boots. It was made worse by the crying children. Some wailed, while others just moaned. The cold was getting to them all. Chase’s fingers were tingling and when Ginny sighed, Chase could see her breath.
