I Dream of Dragons

6. Exodus

"Good night! And let me know if anything happens." The message read.

"Sure. I will tell you everything tomorrow." Ailysia replied. She set the phone down, and an amusing thought crossed her mind. Pedra texted in full sentences, with punctuations! Until now, the only one Ailysia knew who did that was herself. Even her grandmother, who just learned texting a couple of years ago, had quickly picked up the shortcuts and dropped the periods.

What were the odds? Ailysia thought. To think that she could meet someone who accepted her so easily, who was similar to her in such quirky ways, and with whom she clicked immediately—and none of it would have happened if she hadn't found the courage to say hello. She wondered what other interests she and Pedra might share. Was Pedra's belief in magic based on real life experience? She should definitely ask her about it.

And before long, her mind was wandering off, thinking about witches and folklore and if she should bring a sandwich for Pedra tomorrow in return for the brownie, or would it be better to just accept the brownie as a gift and not as a favor to repay—until a glance at the clock told her it was 9pm.

She felt a little guilty spending so much time daydreaming. She should be sleeping and finding out the truth! So she lied down on the bed and pulled the blanket over, closed her eyes, and shoved the unnecessary thoughts away.

Sleep overcame her easily, quickly, before she was ready for it.

********

The panel on the wall flickered into life before her, a glowing veil that pulsed with invitation. This time, she didn't hesitate. She stepped forward, pushing through the veil, and felt nothing on contact except an icy draft ghosting across her skin, vanishing faster than a blink.

As soon as she landed on solid ground, the ruckus of voices and movements startled her. She was in the middle of foot traffic, with many people jostling past. Someone bumped into her, which led her to step on someone else's foot, and the string of angry complaints, loud and shrill like a car horn, made her jump. She stared up at the person she stepped on, and three clusters of eyes stared back at her. The eyes glowed dark-red, each rotating independently, while the person—alien—issued angry protests through a proboscis-like mouthpiece.

"Yes, right, sorry." Ailysia stammered, trying to back off. But there was no place to go. Bodies and limbs and even tails blocked her every which way. Finally, she ducked under what looked like a crystal mammoth, narrowly avoiding being crushed by its feet, and ran away from the crowd.

Fortunately, the affronted alien didn't chase her. Ailysia breathed a sigh of relief, and looked around, trying to figure out where she was.

The square she was standing in was bustling with foot traffic, alien creatures large and small all moving in a hurry. Everyone seemed to be carrying luggage; some even dragged carts behind them loaded with bags. And it seemed to be a tense time. Everywhere she looked, arguments were breaking out as tempers flared.

She followed the crowd to a large crystal dome. The grand entrance to the dome was blocked, with many aliens in red robes standing guard. Anyone who approached the dome was corralled into a line, and forced to wait. Occasionally, two red-robed guards would walk down the line, pick someone, usually a small creature, and escort them into the dome. And those who were not picked would howl in rage.

Ailysia had no idea what was going on. Why were they all so eager to get to the dome? She wanted to go inside and find out. But it wouldn't be easy sneaking past the guards.

Just then, two horned and scaly creatures, each over twenty feet tall and walking on four stout legs, came lumbering through the crowd. They towed a huge cart between them, and threw their weight around carelessly, shoving smaller creatures aside. An ugly protest ensued, culminating in dozens of small aliens piling onto the cart, jumping up and down, until the cart fell apart.