The Created

Chapter 49: Weak Point

AMBER

My fingers grasp fruitlessly in the air for the book as I watch it fly through the haze to the ground. I lose my grip on the dragon's back and start to slide off. Paxton grabs my waist just in time and holds me tight.

Cat curses as she struggles to pull the reins back. The beast lurches, but it's too big and cumbersome to make such a tight turn, and it's far too distracted, preferring to stomp around and roar at its opponents.

"You've got to be kidding me!" Cat wails.

I follow her gaze to see Killoran snatching the book from the ground. She turns the beast on him as he pulls a handgun from his coat. I watch as Cat pounds the soft spot on the dragon's neck, which we've learned makes it involuntarily spit fire. The creature gags before spewing out a stream of molten material from its stomach.

Killoran throws himself to the side as he fires off the gun, and goes tumbling across the floor, the book clutched tightly to his chest.

"Ah!" Paxton screams as the bullet grazes his cheek. He places his hand over the wound and I start slipping again. I grab on to Cat, who grabs onto the reins tighter. The beast roars and lurches up.

The dragon settles back onto the ground. Paxton helps pull me back up.

"He's getting away!" Paxton says, pointing to Killoran as he disappears into the depths of the facility.

"Where could he be going now?" I say.

"KYE!" Cat screams out, making me jump.

Kye turns on his mount to look over his shoulder but doesn't try to respond. He points with his free hand toward the open window of the Lookout. A bullet whizzes past Kye, causing him to withdraw his hand. He flattens onto the beast. Cat nods and yanks the reins to the right.

"Always aim for the weak point!" she yells back at me. I have no idea what that means.

The beast leaves the ground, flapping upwards. We're headed straight for the facility wall. Cat whips the straps. A roar. Cat tucks her head and I do the same. A scream escapes my lips. A loud CRASH sends the front half of the dragon inside the Lookout. It thrashes violently, pushing occasional spurts of flame into the hallway. The rest of its body smashes the metal scaffolding, ripping it down as the enormous back claws search for a foothold. Finding none, the walls begin to break and crumble apart.

I look down and see a few of the prisoners through the holes in the wall. They look terrified. Who wouldn't be?

"Go! Run!" I try screaming at them. But I don't know what I expect; there's a dragon in their way.

Then, a boy jumps from his third story room.

"Oh my—"

The dragon's tail hits the boy in the side on the way down. He hits the ground with a gruesome cracking noise.

Paxton curses. I cover my eyes. But when I look back the boy is dragging himself with one arm across the floor, headed for the huge holes the dragons have created in the outer walls.

"We have to help them!" I yell.

"We will!" Cat says, climbing off the beast and into the Lookout. "Just not right now!"

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CAT

I swerve and duck through the room, avoiding the swinging head of the beast. I jump into the hallway, protecting my body with the doors, and turn to make sure Paxton and Amber are coming. Amber dismounts just in time for the dragon to break free from the hold of the building and slide backwards, flying up again.

The Lookout floor gives way and Amber plummets into the room below. A girl underneath the bed screams and scurries further against the wall.

"Amber!" I yell down.

She raises her head to look at me as she hobbles to her feet.

"I'm okay," she says, and then vomits onto the floor next to her.

"Amber, do you know how to disable the automatic locks on the doors?"

Amber gives me a thumbs up while she covers her mouth.

"There's a control room on the east end," Paxton says. "I remember from her map. She can figure it out there."

Amber points at him as if to say "Exactly".

"Okay," I say. "Go do that ASAP."

"Got it," Amber chokes out.

Paxton grimaces.

"She'll be fine," I assure him and myself. "We need to go."

The girl under the bed pokes out, looking up at us with saucers for eyes. Suddenly, there's a lot more at stake.

Paxton and I run through the halls, trying every door and keeping an eye out for Killoran. As we round a corner, I collide with someone. We both tumble to the ground.

"Kye!" Paxton says cheerfully, then lunges forward and grabs him angrily by the shirt collar. "KYE!"

"Paxton, please!" Kye turns his face away, bracing.

I grab Paxton's arm. "Put him down, Paxton!"

"How could you do that to us?" Paxton demands, releasing his shirt. "We aren't ready for this!" The building shakes violently. "We were supposed to be in this together!"

"I'll apologize later, Paxton," Kye says with very little worry in his voice. He turns to me. "We need to find Connor."

"He could be anywhere!"

"We saw the room on the TV. Look for any doors that are metal. The bedroom doors are wood."

He starts sprinting down the hall toward a staircase. I struggle to keep up. I'm so happy to see him alive and in one piece, but he hardly noticed me. It's like he's forgotten that he threw me into a ring of fire not two hours ago. Not an inkling of apology was in his eyes when he spoke to me. And I know that he only cares for Connor in this moment.

And my heart aches.