Dragon Blood

Chapter 52

Rhia's screams echoed and reverberated against the clear walls. The muzzle of leather and chains did little to quiet her. The crate shook with the force of her slamming her body and head against it to avoid the long poles being fed through the specialized holes in the corners of the box. She hadn't been able to avoid them all. Her skin stung where they'd thrust the needles into her and where they had inevitably snapped off.

Her head was getting fuzzy, but she wasn't sure if it was from whatever was in the syringes, or from how many times she had struck her head against the walls of her confines. Every inch of her either throbbed in a dull ache or flared in a sharp, white hot pain.

She refused to pass out. She refused to give them any advantage. She forced her eyes open and found one of the bastard scientists. He was panting and leaning heavily against his pole. Seeing his exhaustion made her stand taller and puff out her chest in defiance. She felt as big as any of the dragonkin, even though she was barely a fraction of their size. While her tail added length and her wings added bulk, her body wasn't much bigger than a Labrador.

She fought against the muzzle to roar again and the other 'scientists' flinched. "Jesus fucking Christ!" Someone yelled from the massive vault door. "Would you shut that thing up?! We're trying to work!"

"We're trying!" shouted another. "She won't go down!"

"Just gas her for crying out loud!"

"We can't. We're not allowed to take her out of the vault."

Rhia took advantage of their distraction to test her bonds again. There was some give to the ones around her jaws, confirming her suspicion that the acid in her saliva was eating away at the leather and chains. There were rust spots on the cuffs around her ankles, which meant she could melt those too once her mouth was free.

She didn't know why her fire had been replaced with acid, but she wasn't about to complain when it was working. She also didn't know if it would even help her in the long run. But if she could get out of these, it meant they had to open the door again to tie her back up, which would give her another chance to fight.

Freedom was the only thing on her mind. She couldn't focus on her fear, or being a dragon, or anything else. She had to get out. Then, and only then, could she try to come to terms with all the bullshit her life had turned into.

"Alright!" The shout brought her back to the situation at hand. The scientist that spoke was giving her an uncomfortable, hesitant look. "We have to be fast. If Zenith or the Colonel find out, we might as well put a gun to our own heads."

The Colonel. That's what they were calling Richard. He was an authority here. He was the first person Rhia was going to kill if she had the chance. He'd known about everything. Worse... he made her believe that she had been abandoned. That she hadn't been wanted. Like she didn't have a real father. She knew nothing about Nekros. Or Phoenix. Or any of the dragons other than the limited things she had been told. But she wanted to believe... she did believe that he would never have left her side if he had a choice.

The crate started to move, each of the scientists either pushing the back wall or pulling from the front. She started to fight her restraints again, flexing her jaws and using her tongue to push more of her acidic saliva out the corner of her mouth to drip onto the bonds. When she was pushed out into the main area, she froze for a moment of pure shock.

Dragonkin in their humanoid forms looked down from their suspended cages and their jaws dropped in shock and disbelief. The ones who were struggling against their own captors went very still to watch her roll past. The only ones who didn't stop were the scientists and one dragonkin still screaming. A little boy, no older than five or six. He was strapped to a table and the sight of it made Rhia see red. She slammed her body against the wall as hard as she could with the limited movement she had. The people around her shouted warnings as the container tipped dangerously onto two wheels before creaking back.