If You Asked Me To (UWOC)

Four

I said I'd never let nobody get too close to me, darlin'

I said I needed, needed to be free

*******

"Basil? Where are you?" It's one of the bonded dragonets.

"Hey, Tom. I'm at my burrow."

"Can you come to the front meadow?"

"Sure. On my way."

I wonder what's going on. He would rarely want to talk to me.

Upon arriving at the meadow, I found about a dozen dragonets entering simultaneously and going into a circle around two bonded dragonets. He must have called a meeting of some sort. This is unusual.

"Thank you all for coming." Tom's mate, Serena says. "We have a bit of a situation. Tessa's handler, Soranto, is ill with whatever this virus is going around. He will be okay eventually, but Tasha asks if any dragonets have medical experience. Whatever this virus is, they believe the humans may have known about it as their body chemistry is similar enough to the Kymari. We need to help solve this. I know all of you were in the medical field in some way and may have some ideas. We need to brainstorm."

If Tasha is involved, her daughter's handler must have been hit hard. Tessa loves Soranto and his family, so I do not doubt she is beside herself.

"How can we help if we can't talk to them to get symptoms and walk them through a diagnosis?" One of the others spoke up. It was a good point.

"The Kymari are green and ten feet tall. We don't even know if they have the same muscle structure or internal organs as humans. How are we to help them?" Another chimed in.

"We are confident that Elder Dairno knows that we are aware. If we have ideas, he will listen and maybe assign a doctor or scientist who we can help, who will keep our secret."  

The response to that was abject fear of talking to any Kymari. I could feel it through the mindlink as well as in their minds. None of them would speak with a Kymari willingly.

"Please listen to me. If we can not find a way to help them, they will abandon this world! We will be moved to another world! They will leave you all behind! I know none of you want to go back to living in the wild, and this city will become that once there is no Kymari to patrol and protect the walls." Tom stated.

Damn. We won't survive in the wild again. We have gotten used to our easy life, and the new generations have never lived in the wild. They would not know how to handle themselves against the harsh predators out there. There is no choice.

"I'll do it," I said. "Find someone I can talk to, and we will find it."

There was a stunned silence from the dragonets as they all stared at me.

"You were a research doctor, right?" Tom asked me.

"Something like that. I had just graduated from school, but I still remember everything I learned thanks to the Blood Memories. If it were taught in school, I would have some knowledge of it."

My heart started to pound, and my anxiety was higher than I remember it being in many years. However, I would not allow the children born here to become food for the wild animals now being kept behind those walls. I owe the other dragonets this much.

"Thank you. If anyone else would like to contribute, let Basil know. He can be the go-between if you are too scared to talk to the Kymari. You can converse through the link and give him your thoughts. I will speak with my handler and find someone we can trust. I'll keep you informed." He said the last bit to just me.

I nodded and left for the pond. I needed to be alone with my thoughts, but I could sense the dragonets that followed me. They were concerned about the Kymari leaving and thankful that I had volunteered. I could read their thoughts, and they were all the same.

"Basil? Why did you do that? Aren't you afraid of the Kymari?" The younger boy asked.

Yes. I am. But not for the reason he is. How do I work with them without them realizing that I was a human at one time? How do I use science without hurting anyone? How do I explain how I know so much about human anatomy? The list goes on.

"I am afraid. But I refuse to let anyone live back in the wild. You were raised here. You don't know what it's like out there, and I don't want you ever to find out." His mother was a doctor, and he had her memories. A fox had killed her before the Kymari removed them from the park, as they did with all animals that were a threat to us.

"Thank you, Basil. I want to help, but I can't get over my fear. I want to share some ideas with you of what it could be," said a female dragonet. She was in a residency program to become a general surgeon. She would probably have some good ideas.

"Can we talk after the Morning Song tomorrow? I'll meet you here, okay?" I knew they could sense my desire to be left alone right now. I didn't try to hide it in the link.

"Let's go." She said to the others. "See you later." She told me.

I didn't respond. I just walked into the pond and dove down into the fresh, clean water.