Code Name: Draconis [Ace Draconis - ON HOLD; see my updated profile for info!]

Chapter 16: Welcome to the Jungle (Part 2)

Ace:

Silently I pad across the carpet to Clarissa's door.I slip a note under her door explaining that I got a call from work and I'd be away for a while.I also included the fact that I'd text her whenever possible to keep her updated.I lingered there a bit longer than I probably should, hesitant to knock on her door and see her before I left.But it was roughly 5am and she'd be asleep and I didn't want to wake her.

I turned to leave, bitterly telling myself that this was for the best; especially if I did end up having to run.If I ran, hopefully she'd be safe... The less she had to do with me the better.

I push open the double doors leading to the outside world, allowing the sun to hit my face and cause the green amulet I always have around my neck to glow.Pulling on my leather jacket against the cold, I shove my hands in my pockets and begin walking to the forest with my backpack slung across my shoulder.

* * *

I floated to the ground of the jungle two days later, grinning as Damian landed less gracefully, due to the parachute he was forced to take.I'm telling you, artificial flying sure has its limitations, especially since Damian could fly, but not at the altitude that they dropped us from without difficulty.

While aboard the giant airship, John had briefed us on the approximate whereabouts of the brown crystal.It was hidden somewhere in a spring at the heart of the jungle.Turns out, the jungle happened to be on an island, and you guessed it; it housed a lot of weird bugs and reptiles that were most likely poisonous.

As usual, I'd been equipped with special clothing for the terrain and the coordinates for the crystal had been programmed into the Z-Phone.I wore an earpiece to communicate with the crew.So far the immediate area looked calm and devoid of danger.I didn't even mind the humidity and bugs as much as I minded my "partner."I wouldn't admit to it, but if he got eaten by a snake or something it'd probably make my day.I started hiking through the underbrush without turning to see if he was following me.I continued hiking through the tall grass and looking around at the interesting shapes of the trees and the quiet sounds of the forest.The hum of insects was evident, and exotic birds seemed to peek out at me occasionally from the odd, vine draped, misshapen tree.

Truth be told, I kind of liked it here.It reminded me of the forest Borgos and I often trained in; no humans in sight, and therefore, no threat of being discovered.

"Would you wait up, Draconis?" Damian huffed, untangling himself from his parachute and hopping towards me.

I sighed. Well, it was almost peaceful.The rest of the day wasn't too bad.It did begin to get hotter towards the noon hour of the day, but I didn't mind.I drank lots of water and was careful to tread mainly under the path of tall trees which offered shade at a steady pace.Damian however, complained nearly every 10 minutes or so and occasionally muttered insults, directed at me no doubt.Finally, night descended upon us and the jungle cooled immensely.It was still humid, but I barely noticed it now that the peak sunlight time had passed.When I suggested to Damien that we set up camp in a tree around midnight, he surprisingly agreed.We flew halfway up a tall tree with vines and sat down on two branches a comfortable distance away from each other.I slung off my backpack and pulled out a piece of bread and apple from it.I secured my pack with a rope to the tree and slouched against it, absentmindedly polishing off the apple.I didn't even realize I'd began drifting off to sleep when an annoying "psst" pulled me from my potential slumber.

"The hell do you want, mate?" I grumbled.

Damian flew over, and settled on the branch next to mine.I groaned inwardly, "Look, if you want a bedtime story and someone to scout for monsters under your branch, forget it."

As predicted, he ignored me."You do realize you'll never be free even after they get their hands on all five crystals.You know that, right?"When I didn't answer, he grinned."So you haven't considered the possibility, have you?"

I shrugged nonchalantly, and tossed my apple core to the ground.Again, I didn't answer him which only seemed to make him smile in that irritating way again.The crew had no way of hearing this, since I had to contact them to hear me; sort of like a radio when you have to push a button for your voice to be heard.I'd stuffed my helmet into my pack, which was secured by a tree, so they wouldn't even see us.I'd radioed in previously to say we were calling it a night.

"They'll never let you go.I mean look at you, you're the real deal; a dragon.They'd be stupid to just "let you go" as soon as they're done with you.Even if they do, they'll still be watching you, documenting where your little girlfriend is and anyone else who has the misfortune of befriending you.They'll blackmail you until the day you die, Draconis."

I'll admit the thought had crossed my mind, but I didn't want to dwell on it, so I'd pushed it to the far corners of my brain in hopes that I wouldn't have to consider the possibility again.Would John hold his word?I didn't trust him, I never had.Especially since he had blackmailed me into going on this bloody crystal hunt.Yet, what was stopping him from calling in another "favour" later, even after all the crystals had been found?I wouldn't put it past him to "ask" for one if he needed it.

"They'll want to test things on you, of course," Damian continued, "I mean hell, they'll be extracting your DNA, using it on humans until they've created an army of hybrid soldiers.They'll subject you to all these scientific tests, maybe even try to put you to sleep while they cut open your chest and see what exactly makes that heart tick.Maybe they won't even wake you up after they have what they want.They can do that you know," he said levelly.

I shrugged, trying my best to mask the unease I was beginning to feel.

His eyes searched my green ones, and came to rest on the green amulet peeking out from under the collar of my shirt.He frowned, as if considering something and shook his head.Instead, he softly muttered "think about it" and flew back to his branch.

I waited until I heard him settle back on his original branch before pulling my emerald green amulet, the same colour of my eyes, from beneath the collar of my shirt.I stared at it for a long while, running my thumb across its shining surface like I had a hundred times before, thinking about what he'd said and just what exactly he'd seen in my amulet that caused him to pause.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Author's Note:

Thanks so much for your patience everyone!  Exams are occuring at the end of this month, so I probably won't be able to write until early February, but I'll do my best to keep at it!