Weekend Write-In Book 3

Discovery: Freedom

Prompt: Bet                

Craig woke to the sound of two helicopters flying low overhead. Quickly he got dressed and made it outside at Site C just as the first detonations were going off. Before the area could quiet down again a new sound emerged.

The only way Craig would be able to describe it later was, "The sound of T-Rex roaring from Jurassic Park but coming from a volcano."

The ground shook as the ice broke around the dragon and propelled outward. The helicopters swerved to miss the debris and got lucky. They kept their target locked but didn't fire again.

The hesitation made Craig think, "I bet Gabriel is hoping for more than one of those things."

The Apache's retreated as the dragon emerged from the ground. It shook snow and ice from its back and extended its wings, stretching them out for the first time in thousands of years. Another roar came from the opening, announcing a second dragon waiting underneath.

"Here we go," Craig muttered to himself.

A new string of missiles were fired towards the white dragon. The impact enveloped the beast in fire so large that even Craig couldn't see the beast any longer. The sound wave from the detonations struck him a moment later, knocking him on his rear.

He'd barely gotten back up when the dragon jumped through the column of smoke and clamped its jaws on an Apache. The earth moved when it landed on all fours, knocking Craig on his butt once again. The small explosion of the helicopter did little to deter the dragon from smashing it to pieces. The second Apache was already firing more missiles at it while it banked hard, trying to get a tactical advantage over the dragon.

With the pilot's concentration on the dragon's head he didn't see the tail came up from behind. The Apache landed in an explosion between Craig and the dragon. Through the heat and smoke, Craig saw the dragon looked up from the wreckage and glare at him.

The beast roared again and took flight, heading north towards Argentina. A stream of smaller dragons followed, leaving their ice prisons behind. Craig could do nothing but watch in amazement.

After the last dragon was out of sight Craig began to move. Too terrified to think straight he fumbled his clothes around looking for the phone. It started ringing causing Craig to pause, thinking who it could be.

"What the hell just happened?" Gabriel screamed.

"Your guys pissed it off after setting it free," Craig answered casually, not wanting to argue with the man.

"Did they kill it? I lost my video feed," Gabriel asked, calming down some.

"No, it flew off towards South America with a couple dozen followers."

"The world will need their weapons now more than ever," Gabriel reasoned, "Craig, I'll be needing you. You'll be busy for the next couple months."

"You know we won't survive this, right?" Craig asked.

"Probably not, but we'll live like kings until the end."