Life Support #wattys2015

Chapter 17: Isaac

Isaac couldn't believe Mary actually did that. He leaned over the edge of the cliff and saw two bodies, intertwined, broken and battered at the bottom, shards of crystal littering their bodies like flower petals. Isaac let out a long, shaky breath, unsure of what to do. The dark cave left him little light to see, but he had to keep moving in the direction of the cave's mouth.

The island shook violently, and he heard screams—eerily human, though he knew they couldn't be, because humans could never scream for long or so loudly—and he ducked his head, heart pounding and hands shaking. He crawled towards the exit of the cave, though he was thrown against the side of the tunnel, hitting the wall hard. He gasped and held the crystal-lined surface, supporting himself for a moment, as large bats flew from the roof of the cave, swooping low enough that he feared one would become entangled in his hair.

He let the bats guide him—they must've been trying to escape, too—and continued crawling, though he was thrown like a rag doll.

When he reached the edge of the tunnel, he cursed loudly.

The island was plummeting towards the ground. Clouds flew past at astonishing speeds, shards of ice shattering against the bottom of the island. He cursed again, looking everywhere, hoping to see something that would help him.

The island was high in the air, so he had some time. He cursed again and looked at the rough wall of the island near him. He was screwed. He would die here, all alone, worse than Fai and Mary (at least they died together). He shook his head—he needed to clear out the panic. His breathing quickened with the attempt, and his heart raced inside his chest. He was useless.

He edged out of the cave, his fingers clutching the rough rock there. In the blinding sunlight, he saw that the bats weren't bats at all—rather very small dragons, all bursting out of the island with a speed that took Isaac's breath away. If they were that panicked, that eager to escape, what did that say about his chances of survival?

Isaac shook the thought from his head. If he started thinking like that, he would never escape the island, and where would he be then? Dead, like Mary and Fai?

The wall was rough and hard to climb, but somehow, through the magic of adrenaline, instinct to survive, and luck, he made it to the top of the island. He panted and grunted, hauling himself over the edge, and took a moment to lie on his back and catch his breath.

The clouds retreated as the island fell further. Isaac continued to move, his heart still racing, his body dripping sweat. What else could he do? The sound of screams grew louder, and he moved towards the noise, if only to get into the middle of the island so that he had a smaller chance of getting crushed by something else.

The tree was there, but its limbs were reaching around the throat of an adult dragon—he recognized it as Fai's. He moved forward to save the poor creature, but he realized that it wasn't fighting back—if it was, it would've escaped easily. It howled with agony, and Isaac's heart clenched when he realized that it wasn't screaming out of any physical pain (nothing could hurt a dragon), but instead out of emotional pain—it grieved the death of Fai.

Isaac closed his eyes and screamed, "Will you help me?"

The dragon paused its mournful song for only a moment, glancing at him, then continued even louder. Isaac shook his head and moved towards it, wishing he still had a knife or something to help the poor creature. Instead, he asked, "Don't you want to save Fai's ideas? If you help me, I can save the world."

It was a desperate plea—one he couldn't hope to live up to—but the dragon perked up and appraised him with its golden eyes, seeming to judge his character. It then became silent, opened its mouth, and tore the branches from its scales with its sword-like teeth. Isaac closed his eyes for a moment—it almost looked like the dragon tried to kill itself, and he remembered with a pang that Mary had killed herself twice. He opened his eyes when he felt a warmth against his forehead, seeing the dragon with its eyes closed similarly to his, its forehead pressed against his.