Saturday 2:15 p.m.
The place we landed in might as well have been a palace. White leather furniture. White marble fireplace. Thick white rug over gold marble floors. The only real color was from tasteful splashes of modern art, lamps, and what my family would call knick-knacks but in a fancy place like this, such tchotchkes were more likely referred to as "antique showpieces." Bronzes, golds, blues on shelves, and mantles caught my eyes and dazzled me. I wanted to run my fingertips over everything like when I'd first entered the treasure cave, but I resisted. Jess was my priority.
I crouched down next to her. "You OK?"
"Yeah, just a head rush." She put a hand to her forehead. "That was intense. How are you not dizzy seeing all that stuff go by?"
"Stuff?" I cocked my head, "girl, my eyes were open the whole time, but all I saw was nothing."
"Maybe it's a traveler thing." Jess shrugged, "you guys couldn't see all the cool visuals."
"So now they're cool?" I gave her a shoulder bump, "I thought they just made you dizzy?"
"They can be both cool and vomit-inducing," she grimaced and stood slowly, a small smirk on her face.
I laughed. So did she. We were alive and out of captivity.
"I hope you guys eat omelets cause that's all I can make, and I'm starving!" came Hector's voice from our left. We followed the sound to the kitchen, and I was awed. All the open space and shiny chrome and granite made me suddenly want to learn to cook. "Sweet Lord in heaven," cooed Jess as she looked around at the kitchen. I guessed she didn't notice the living room on account of collecting herself.
"We need to go find Sy. He's alone and scared. His dad is dead." I looked at the group around me. They were likely unmotivated to help, but I wasn't sure who else would be willing. I couldn't trust my dad anymore. My mom might've helped me—if I could find her.
I took a seat at the island, my feet dangling from the barstool, and I put my head down on the cool granite surface. I hadn't realized how tired I was.
"Girl, let's eat first. Nobody can think on an empty stomach. We'll find the idiot. I swear. He may not be my favorite person, but I'm not gonna leave him stranded."
"You mean it?" There may have been tears in my eyes.
"Of course I mean it!" Jess patted my shoulder. "He's a PITA but he's always been around, you know?"
"You already know I'm in. I volunteered a car for this adventure and I'm not loaning you a car unless I'm driving." Hector just shrugged.
"You're coming along?" My voice was somewhere between a thankful surprise and a scoff.
"Well yeah." Hector sounded offended, "This is the greatest adventure I've ever had. I'm not backing away from this shit."
I laid my head back on the counter. I sniffed one or two times, getting my emotions under control. I wasn't alone. Somebody was going to help me. Sure, I was fatherless now, but not alone. I should have probably helped them cook or whatever it was they were doing, but my legs hurt, and I felt like a zombie. I was being selfish, and I knew it. From my position face down, I heard Hector and Jess chatter about this and that. Things like "where's the bread?" and "the jelly is on the third shelf." or "pass me the shredded cheese."
I must have dozed off for a bit because when I woke up, there was a plate of food in front of me. The smell alone had me jerking upright. Nothing had ever smelled so good. "Thank you!" I looked up at the both of them, thankful from my very soul.
"You drooled on my counter," Hector informed me, "totally gross."
Welp. I guess those sweet feelings of thankfulness were wasted anyways.
I shoved eggs in my face like I had been raised by wolves. I was ravenous. I hadn't had breakfast that morning, so it was seriously hitting the spot.
"Mmmm." Jess moaned, rolling her head back in happiness.
"I know right?" I said, "These eggs are the best!"
Hector winked at me, "I'll cook breakfast for you any time chika."
If he was making some kind of innuendo, I refused to acknowledge it. He was forgiven because he could make good food. I shoved more eggs in my mouth before I could say anything rude and stoop to his level.
"You know what I don't like?" Jess asked.
"Whas' sat?" I asked around my fork.
"The fact that we literally know nothing about anything. I mean, in regards to the people who want the heart. What do they want with it? I want to save Sy and all but if we give them the heart, what are they gonna do with it? Will they even give Sy back? Like do we demand proof he's alive and well? I've seen a lot of kidnapping movies and it's not like we can go to the cops. From what I saw at the station when I almost zapped there, they have more problems than they can handle. I mean, what can we even do?"
"We need intel. That's what you want, right?" said Hector looking at Jess.
"Yeah, but where do we get that?"
"She knows somebody who might know" Hector looked at me.
"I do?" I had stopped chewing to look at them with saucer shaped eyes.
"Yeah," Hector told me, "that kid who first told you about this at the Walmart. Gary or whatever."
"Gabe,'' I corrected.
"Yeah. Him." Hector shrugged, biting into his eggs.
"It's a risk." I sighed heavily.
"Everything's a risk," Hector replied. "and it's only one idea."
There was a long silence.
My brain rushed with thoughts. Sy was abducted. His dad was dead. We were so in over our heads. And what was it Gabe had said to me? Something right along those lines? "When you get in over your head, call me." Something clicked in my brain. It was time to make that call. I fished around in my pocket and found the paper all wadded up in a ball. Jess and Hector watched me as I phoned him and let it ring. No answer. I left a voice mail.
"Um, hi. This is Raina. We met earlier. You tried to warn me about some stuff, and... well, I didn't listen. Do you think maybe you could call me back? I have some questions, a lot of questions, actually... and I could use some help. Thanks." I hung up with a sigh.
"What do we do now?" I looked to the faces of Jess and even Hector. This was how low I had sunk. I was ready to take advice from pretty much anybody if it meant figuring out what to do about Sy.
"I'mma go get a gym bag," said Hector.
Jess and I looked at him because...what?
"You said before you wanted to put it in a bag as soon as possible and we are gonna need something to carry it in when we leave," was all he said in response to our dumbfounded expression, before he disappeared.
"I guess we're gonna go scope out the address on Field Avenue." Jess crunched her toast and smiled grimly.
By the time we had finished eating our food, the Dragon's heart was stuffed into a ratty old gym bag, and we had a plan that sounded more like a ridiculous caper than an actual rescue mission, but it was the best we could come up with. And Hector was very excited that it involved walkie-talkies. Why he had walkie-talkies, I didn't ask. But he had them, we were using them, and suddenly he was a ninja James Bond. This was more than a game to me. Something I reminded him of repeatedly as we went over the plan one more time.
"I don't want anybody getting hurt." I was emphatic.
"We're magic." Hector patted my shoulder like I was stupid. I brushed his hand away.
"This is not a game," I repeated, slower this time.
"Please quit saying that. We know it's dangerous." He sighed like I was the biggest nag in the world.
"If we want to find out what's going on with Sy, this is the best we could come up with." Jess reminded me.
And it was true. We had wasted valuable time arguing about it. We had to do something or risk either walking into some kind of trap and dying trying to save Sy or just letting Sy die. This was so far beyond me. I started to grow rather impatient for the call back from Gabe.
I took a deep breath. "You're right." I nodded. "Of course."
"The plan is we drive by the house. I look for a good spot to zap in. I have a walkie talkie. You guys park somewhere down the road. I relay what I see. If there is trouble, I zap out immediately."
"I'm just worried about you so close to the house," I whined. Having not been in the mood to have two friends kidnapped in one afternoon.
"That's why you and I will try and park close enough for me to read the minds of whoever is in the house. As a fail-safe," Hector interjected.
I sighed again. "You can't read dragon minds."
" No. But who's to say a human isn't in there?"
I rubbed my temples.
"And you're our last line of defense. If people get too close, you tell them to leave us alone."
I wished Jess and Hector would leave me alone but I kept my mouth shut.
"Yes. Fine." Even though I was pretty sure it wouldn't work, I agreed. The two of them had embraced their magic and it was like they were in some club. "We have magic and we love it club" whereas I was over here by myself in the "I'm a half breed freak and a monster and I don't trust any of this." club. But I could play along. I was used to feeling different. So much of life was about smiling and going along to get along. They seemed to know what they were doing so fine. This is what we would do.
"Let's go." I stood up. Might as well get this out of the way.
Hector led us out to the garage and straight to a bright red Dodge challenger.
"Uh. No." I at least had sense to know you didn't take a red car on a stakeout and I told him so.
"Buzzkill," he muttered under his breath as he led us over to what I could only assume was one of his parent's vehicles. A sedate looking Mercedes sedan. He grabbed keys from a box on the wall, clicked open the doors for us and we all piled in. "I'll take backseat since I'll be zapping," Jess announced, "You got any gum in here? My breath smells like cheese."
Hector checked the middle console but came up empty. "If there was any it would be the nicotine kind anyway. This is my mom's car."
"Hmmmp." Jess leaned back in a pout, and we were on our way. The fracking rescue rangers.
The address was actually not that far from Hector's house. We followed down tree-lined streets with large homes set back from the road. They all boasted lush, well-manicured lawns and stately exteriors. I'd always loved the look of those two-story mansions from picture books of the old south but knew I'd never want to live in one because, well... stairs. Give me my little flat ranch house any day. I sometimes wondered how people without bum feet saw the world but then almost immediately dismissed the thought. Let them have their fancy architecture. I had ramps for most things, and elevators were a modern marvel. Who needed places that weren't made for me anyways? I shook off a vague gloomy feeling before it could blossom into something I didn't need right now because we were passing the house.
"Azaleas!" Jess called out.
"The what now?" That girl confused me to no end sometimes.
"The azalea bushes! They're huge! I can zap into them for cover."
"Um..." I had questions, but Jess was having none of it.
"You got your walkie talkie?" Hector asked.
She held it up and shook it at us.
"Great, carry on." And just like that, she was gone.
"She didn't even wait for us to stop the car," I wailed.
"Your girl's got skills." Hector nodded as he continued to drive.
"Well, for God's sake, stop somewhere! Pull over or something!" I didn't want to get too far away.
"Fine." Hector eased the car over to the side of the road once we were past the house in question, parking it just between two other homes. The way the houses were spaced and the way we were pulled off to the side by the drainage ditch, either homeowner could assume we were parked to visit the other. Though we probably did look a bit sus. Still, it would have to do.
"Jess." I pushed the button and whispered into the walkie talkie, "can you hear me?"
"Yeah." I heard a bit of static and a whisper back, "This azalea bush sucks."
"Turn the car around," I whispered to Hector, "I need to see what's going on. We should find a way to face the house."
"I think that's a terrible idea, but alright."
"Hector made a U-turn and parked the car across the street from the address on Field Street, not directly across, but at the neighbors one house down. At least we were facing the house.
I immediately cringed. The large azalea bush beneath a big oak was moving unnaturally when there was no wind to move it.
"Quit moving!" I hissed into the walkie talkie
"I got a branch all up in my shirt!" came the equally hushed and angry reply. "You try being still with leaves ticking your back."
"You need to leaf her alone," Hector deadpanned
"I cannot believe you just went there."
Hector burst out laughing.
Before I could reply to him, a deafening roar filled the quiet street.
The azalea bush stopped wiggling. Hector and I froze.
From behind the house, came galloping a large red dragon, his scales glistening like rubies in the sun. He was larger than a Clydesdale but smaller than an Elephant. There were black, backward twisting horns on his head that were almost antler-like. His body was slightly elongated though not snake like, more like a skink; thick and muscular. His teeth were glinting in his open mouth, making him look, for all the world, like death incarnate.
"Holy shit!" Hector's hand moved to the ignition of the car.
Thinking of Jess in the azalea bush, I grabbed his hand, "Don't you dare!"
He looked at me with saucer-like eyes, then back toward the beast. "It's gonna eat her if she doesn't zap! Then it's gonna eat this car with us in it!"
I gulped. I had seen all the Jurassic Parks. I closed my eyes for just a second to pray to the Lord so that he would message Jess so that she would zap the heck out of there and we could all run for our lives. I mean, not like I could use the walkie-talkie. I'd give her away. As my eyes were closed, however, in addition to another heart-thumping roar, I heard human voices in the mix shouting. There, in the front yard, were three men yelling at a dragon.
"They've got to be dragons, too," Hector informed me. "I can't read anybody's mind."
At that exact moment, Jess zapped into the back seat, hair and shirt covered in leaves and one azalea bloom sticking triumphantly to her shoulder.
"We do not belong here." Was her only assessment. "Drive!"
"Not yet!" I was terrified by what I saw, yes, but more was to be learned here. They had told us to come to this address, but something told me they hadn't wanted us to arrive to this.
A second later, Gabe, came running out the front door.
"He's here!" Jess hissed in my ear from the back seat, "He's with the kidnappers?!"
Outside the chaos grew, the dragon made a strange sound in his throat, a kind of ululation, and kicked at one of the yelling men.
I strained to hear what they were saying.
"Roll down your window," I demanded.
"I hate you." Hector complied. He rolled down the driver's side rear window, too, so both windows facing the fracas were open, and we now had the best shot of hearing. I shot him a quick grin. I hadn't asked him to do that. Maybe he was just griping to be griping.
"Dad!" I could hear Gabe, or rather Dragon boy shouting to the red Dragon
The beast snorted at the boy.
"Stop it, or they'll take you down! You can't be like this in public!"
The beast rumbled and rolled his massive head at a man who got too close.
"Quit your nonsense Jack and listen to the boy. Change back!" screamed a man who was forced to stumble backward. Did he ever look mad!
The dragon roared again. His head thrown back in what looked like reckless abandon. He flapped his massive wings a few times and seemed as though he were about to take flight. My entire body got goosebumps. I held my breath.
Then from nowhere, one of the men shot what looked like a laser beam of light from his hand, and though the dragon continued to flap his wings, he went nowhere.
"Hold him, Mark!"
The other man said something that sounded like, "What do you think I'm doing, Phil?" or it might have been "Bill."
Phill or Bill pulled out some odd-looking metal device from his pocket. He spun it like a fidget spinner between his fingers, then let it go where it continued to spin in the air. He said something we could not hear, and the dragon dropped like a sack of potatoes.
"Oh my God! Is he dead?" Jess held two hands to her mouth to cover her shock and revulsion. These men just killed one of their own. What in the actual hell?
The third man who had disappeared for a moment, returned huffing and puffing, lugging a large metal, dragon-sized collar, complete with chain dragging behind.
"Help me will you!" he bellowed breathily.
Bill or Phil just stood there with the floating fidget spinner, but the other guy rushed over.
"We need to leave." Hector turned to me with wide eyes, "we've been spotted!"
Sure enough, I looked up, and Gabe was staring right at our car. In fact, I could have sworn his eyes were staring right into mine. I swallowed hard.
Flames of hot panic rushed through me. "Hit the gas, Hector!" I was terrified. Who knew if Gabe was going to rat us out? Who knew what would happen then? But as Hector was pulling out of there as calmly as he was able, I looked down when I heard a "ding" from my phone. Then another. Dings were flying in one after the other in a somewhat rushed manner.
I opened them. They were all text messages from Gabe.
GABE: Hello Raina.
GABE: I got your message.
GABE: Was preoccupied as you can imagine.
GABE: The red dragon is my father. I was trying to save him from those men.
GABE: I failed.
GABE: I'll explain everything. Meet me Main Beach in a half hour.
GABE: I suppose you could bring your friends.
My mouth went dry. "Guys, that was Gabe. He wants to meet at Main Beach in half an hour."
Suddenly the car erupted in shouts of protest about how we couldn't trust him and questions about what he was doing there. My head was pounding.
"Can we just stop and get a drink or something?" I asked hopelessly. I wasn't sure I wanted to meet Gabe anyway. I thought about texting him back to go copulate with himself . But decided to wait on that. Who knew? Right now, I needed a soda.