Six Percent

Something Wrong {Shadeye}

Blake lay unconscious on the ground, steam and smoke rolling off him. His hands were still on fire, making the grass go black around him.

"Blake," I gasp, out of breath, and sliding on my knees over to him. I kneel beside him and touch his back, only to reel my hand away. He was scorching. Jeremy comes up beside me in the form of a tiger, but quickly becomes human once he stopped by his brother.

There were corpses everywhere, and it smelled really gross. But I barely paid any attention to that.

"Can we cool him off?" I ask, "Hell, he's burning me."

"Where's Evelyn?" Jeremy suggests, "She knows how to pull water from air, doesn't she?"

"I-I don't know, I didn't see her—"

A blast of flames from above, and I tug Jeremy away from Blake. Some kid leaps down from the bare trees— how did I not see him? He snarls at me like a rabid creature, crouching on the forest floor in front of Blake, guarding him like a dog.

"Touch 'im, ya die." He hisses. I recognized that voice- from the woods. He set fire to the trees and nearly killed Jaydelyn. He had red hair, a very bright, fire truck kind of red, with darker red streaks on either side of his head. His eyes were silver, like Evelyn's, and he had strange purple markings around his eyes. On his neck were scales, matching that shade of purple, and behind him flicked a long red scaled tail with, again, purple feathers.

"Wh-what the hell—" Jeremy stutters, and I gasp, "He's dragonsick!"

"R-Rhaed?" Jeremy slowly gets up, and I stand beside him. As we rise, so does the redhead, showing off his sharp teeth as he continues to snarl at us.

"Rhaed—" Jeremy murmurs, "Rhaed, you know me."

Wait- Rhaed? Didn't Jeremy mention him earlier today? This was him? The guy who set the trees on fire? The guy who was supposedly 'dead'.

"I dunno anybody," Rhaed growls, "so long the're wi'the COE progr'm."

"I-I'm not!" Jeremy raises his hands, as if in surrender, "Rhaed, they were going after Blake. I came here to save him—"

"Tha'doesn' seem very much like ya," Rhaed tips his head, slowly losing his scowl, "Savin' people was neve' y're specialty."

Jeremy looks hurt. That was right. Jeremy was the only one who came back. So he left them behind? Could he have saved them? Protected Rhaed? Jeremy starts to apologize, but Rhaed makes a sharp whistling noise, cutting him off.

Behind him, the ground shook, and I look over his shoulder in time to see a huge creature bounding up to him. It- it looked like—

"No," I mouthe, "no, nonononono!" I back up, nearly tripping over my own feet. It was those- those things! The Gonons! I turn to run, but suddenly I've got a hand on my throat and an arm around my chest. Rhaed snickers by my ear and murmurs, "I dunno who ya're, but you an' y're lil' buddies are comin' with us."

"U-us?"

"WHAT THE F—" I hear Jeremy start, but his voice is cut off once again, and I can't turn and see what's happening. I can only see on either side of me as several large creatures bound forward, heading in the direction of the battlefield. Some look like wolves, others like deer, and the rest actually looked like full on dragons, right out a book. They came in so many different colors and sizes- either large, or gigantic.

A couple of them circled us, and Rhaed orders them, "Go afte' th'masked ones. Bring th'othe's home."

They disperse, and join the other creatures as they bounded out of the forest. One of the wolves with several antlers and severed wings came towards me as Rhaed walks away, and I'm snatched up into its jaws. I'm afraid to move, thinking I'll onlh end up cutting myself on its fangs while it takes me deeper into the forest. I feel like I'm caught in a kid-friendly bear trap. As we pass Blake, a bird-looking thing ticks him into its talons, and carefully takes off into the sky. I can't see where Rhaed or Jeremy has gone, but I'm more worried for myself than anything. Jeremy said that as we get farther and farther away from COE, the chips in our necks would activate an start killing us, right? I didn't really want that to happen.