Jesse James and the Dragon's Egg

And Then There Were Four

Jesse stood at the precipice. He stared down at the still swirling icy, dusty fog now filling the chasm. He could just make out the largest chunks of ice, but there was no motion to speak of, no sign of his friends. They were gone.

"Now what?!" He suddenly screamed. "Where is Jake?" He screamed out into the night. Tears streamed down his cheeks. He started throwing whatever he could find into the chasm. The little dragon watched.

"Why am I alone?" He was throwing chunks of ice, limbs, his phone, his pack, anything he could find. "What do I do now?" His brother was gone. His friends were gone. He had no one to help him and no map to get him back to his mom. He was lost. He was alone.

"Hey, dude. Look what I found wandering in the woods." Jesse nearly jumped out of his skin. Brad and a sobbing Jake wandered out of the snowy woods. The little boy ran to his brother and held on for dear life, and Jesse did the same.

"Brad!" Jesse was nearly giddy at the sight of his friend. "Where did you come from?" His own eyes swam in tears.

"Man, I got pitched like a hundred miles when that main section of bridge went." He said, picking at a tear in his jacket. "It was like a catapult!" He looked around. "Hey, where's everybody else?"

The grin disappeared from Jesse's face like it had never been there. When he had first seen Brad, he had allowed himself to believe, just for a second, that the others weren't gone. He couldn't say it, he just stared at his one remaining friend.

"Oh." Brad said, and then again, barely allowing the word to leave his lips, "oh."

He turned, quickly striding off toward the woods. "Hang tight, man. I've got a couple of horses over here."

Brad hoped that he'd turned in time. He hoped that Jesse hadn't seen the tears, hoped that he hadn't seen the look of grim determination that was now etched across his face.

When the boy returned, he had two glistening white horses, his face now mostly covered by the tall collar of his jacket. "Hey man, we gotta go."

The brothers were sitting at the edge of the cliff, staring off into the abyss. Jesse was holding his little brother close. Jake lay awake but in shock at his side. Al lay at his other side, watching Brad approach.

"Jesse?" Brad walked to his friend, gently placing a hand on his shoulder. "Jess?"

Jesse turned slowly and peered up at him, comprehension slowly returning to his eyes.

"Man, it's time to go." Brad said quietly.

"I lost the map." Jesse stared at his friend. It was all he could think to say.

"No worries, my friend." Brad spoke gently to his friend through a sad little smile. "The Brad will provide."

~

Brad had found a map in one of the packs on the horses. It wasn't quite as nice as the one the President had given him, but it was comprehensive and it worked.

The three boys went as quickly as they dared. Going down through the mountains, they left the once comforting site of Mattu Khan a smoldering specter, quietly disappearing into the past. They rode hard at first, pushing their mounts as far as their limited skills would let them dare. They rode in fear that the living horror that were the Shaddach might be right behind them.

The going was treacherous. The passages were steep. The footing was unsteady. But once out of the mountains, the terrain became much easier to navigate, and the boys made quick work of it.

They rode across a deep valley. Even in the dim pre-dawn light, the valley was a beautiful emerald-green. Lush with vegetation, it made for a peaceful ride for the boys. Peaceful and extraordinarily quiet. None of the boys had either energy or the inclination to relive the events of the past few hours.

Brad tried once, soon after entering the valley.

"They're probably okay, you know."

"I don't want to talk about it."

From then on, they rode in silence, without stopping, their mounts seemingly tireless as the miles melted away.

They rode through the valley, from the lush forest to an open plain, then back up a steep incline. It was a well-worn path leading them up into a beautiful, wide open highland. The rise was treacherous and rocky but tame compared to the terrain they were passing through. Steep, mean looking cliffs on either side of them promised certain death to anyone who dared their craggy faces.

Dim early morning had turned to day and, adrenaline long since used up, exhaustion finally bested the boys. They stopped and made a small camp at the edge of a stand of trees. It had turned into a clear beautiful day, but ahead of them a furious darkness was growing. A massive thunderhead stretched up into the atmosphere.

"We can nap here a few minutes, then ride some more. If we keep heading this direction and we're tight about it, we should be able to make King's before night." Brad said, studying the map. "Assuming those things don't catch us first."

They lay out blankets and used their packs for pillows. Jake and Al went instantly to sleep. The little dragon rested his head protectively on the boy's chest. Despite the exhaustion, Jesse and Brad found they couldn't sleep.

"It's not your fault you know." Brad said. The two boys were laying almost head to head, staring into the clear blue sky. They were both tracking a lone cloud as it wandered, blissfully unaware, overhead.

"What?"

"I said it's not your fault. None of this. I was wrong, back there at Hasenfeffer."

Jesse chuckled. "It's Yammoneffer, man."

"Whatever. I'm sorry."

Jesse said nothing then. The last few days, heck, the last few weeks, were just a blur. He lay there and studied the sky in silence. He found himself wishing he could fly. "It's okay, man." He finally said.

Brad too was studying the sky, making wishes of his own. The little cloud had disappeared in the distance. Brad took a breath to speak, then held it. Then took another. "What are you going to do when you get there?"

"I don't know, man." Jesse had been wondering the same thing.

"You know he's going to ask you for Al."

"Yeah." Jesse regarded the sleeping dragon. He had moved from Jake and was now curled up on Jesse's own chest. Jesse stroked his back and watched his little ribcage rise and fall with his breathing. "I know."