The day went normally, with me doing some gardening and planting my newly acquired seeds, mostly consisting of tomatoes and various leafy vegetables. I had never really gone for vegetables, and preferred meat over most things. However, when the technology disappeared, so did the low prices of meat. What was a normal everyday dish became a luxury as the price of meat skyrocketed, especially since the local wildlife kept stealing my chickens. I had given up on rearing those a long time ago.
The rest of the day consisted of getting random things done, including scraping some soot off the grill that I had built, doing some maintenance here and there, and finally getting round to measuring the windows to get some glass or at least some wood put in so that the rain would stop coming into the house. Measuring was too fine a term to be used, however, as my measurements consisted of knotted string, one for each window. It was now that I actually began to appreciate having units of measurement, but of course, it was too late for that...
Either way, with my first bit of the job done, I was at least able to get some decent sleep that night. The next day would be harrowing. It was not as if I wasn't scared. I was, but I had learnt to live with these things, especially with creatures large enough to squash you with nigh a second thought, flying around. I just hoped that things would go smoothly on the other end and there would be no loss of life.
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The next morning, the first thing I noticed was that this time, the dragon had taken a larger form and curled itself around me while I slept. It was quite comfortable and warm, actually, but untangling myself from the reptilian coils and lengths of the creature was quite a chore.
Of course, my flurry of activity woke the dragon itself, and it did the job for me by getting off the slightly sagging bed and waiting at the table. It seemed especially jumpy, eyeing the knife warily as I chopped tomatoes and some lettuce to make a sandwich for breakfast. It even eyeballed the hot water as I poured it into my cup to make tea.
"What's your problem." I remarked, not bothering to make it sound like a question.
The dragon snorted and continued watching me intently. "I'm worried. You'll be taking a big risk later. Much bigger than I'd like you to take."
I shrugged. "So?"
"I'm disturbed by how calm you are. I only know of two kinds of people who are like that: Those who are soon to die, or.... They're experienced enough to be used to it and know what they're doing. It seems to be more of the former, unless you're hiding something more from me..." The dragon replied, staring at me intently. I could feel it rummaging through my virtual mind, trying to see if I had buried anything. Of course, since I was in control of what it saw, it found nothing. The creature was scared, and it got worse as it watchd me remain calm and munch on my sandwich.
"Keep your scales on, lizard. At most, we pack up and go home if they threaten us. Nothing will happen." I replied, while filling up my bottle and shoving some extra sandwiches into a small leather bag, to eat later. "Besides, I'll be fine. Trust me."
"I trust you, but I still fear for your safety. If you don't leave when the time comes, I'll take you home myself, even if it means knocking you out." The dragon replied with a huff, as it followed me out the door.
"Won't come to that. I have enough brains to know when to back down." I retorted, while standing outside the door. "Well? Aren't you going to make yourself bigger? I can't be seen riding a winged alligator."
The dragon shot me an insulted look before taking its form. Of course, it couldn't tell that I was actually distracting it from the whole thing, to stave off its fear...
At least that worked to some extent as the dragon seemed to calm down, while it lifted me up and placed me on its back, before taking off with a mighty jump and a flap of its enormous wings.
As the countryside raced by below, I couldn't help but wonder what would be in store for the two of us, not only in the near future, but also in the long term. It was already evident that the dragon himself was not going to leave, and against my own wishes, I was getting fond of him, at least to some small extent anyway. It seemed that I may end up living two lives, with the dragon and the resistance. I highly doubted that I would get a positive response from the dragon if I let him find out who I really was too. I would probably end up in irons within the hour, despite what the dragon said about being different.
The creatures were telepathic, and sent messages to each other faster than the fastest fibre optic systems of the old world. Their telepathic networks put our internet to shame to say the least. If a message needed to be sent, the other end would have already received it once the thought was composed, or that was what was told to us by the dragons anyway, and I had seen them do it often enough not to dispute the claim. Now, I had even experienced it myself with this dragon and the 'bond' thing... It was extremely useful, of course, but also posed a huge risk, like connecting a military computer to the internet, it opened up everything to the net....
Midway through my thoughts, the dragon broke in, saying that we were nearing the area. I looked down to see the same plains that covered the area, but smack in the middle was this enormous wooden structure, like a warehouse, those huge ones found at commercial shipping docks, but a hundred times bigger, made of wood and with practically no windows. The wood itself was a soft brown, glowing slightly in the morning sun. The roof was made of the same material, and sloped at a low angle to one side, presumably to let the rain slide off. At least they had good architects...
As the dragon banked to come in for landing, I saw the entrance was almost a faceless wooden facade, with only an enormous door smack in the middle, big enough for a full grown dragon to enter. The doors looked to be reinforced, but as we neared the warehouse, I saw that the crossbar was merely wood. A car with sufficient velocity or weight could punch right through the thing, assuming that they used wood of a believable thickness. In front of the entrance lay the two guards that I had been briefed about. One was blue with white horns and spikes, while the other was brown with yellow horns and spikes.
Upon noticing that we were approaching, the brown called out a challenge. "Who approaches? Do you not know that this area is under guard?"
I felt Fenek prod my mind, asking, <What do I tell them? If we say the wrong thing, we'll be turned away...>
<Tell them that you're on rider bussiness, that you agreed to show me the warehouse and have to make good on the promise.> I replied, while I retreated to the back of my own mind, preparing my arguments.
The dragon shouted down, saying, "I promised my rider that I'll show him this place, and I must keep my word."
"Then it is done. He has seen the place. Now, leave!" came the reply.
Fenek seemed ready to comply, until I told him mentally, <Okay, here, things get serious. Just follow my lead and act serious. I'm going to do something that will hurt. Act as if it's real. Just play along.>
I glared down at the dragons below. "I havent seen the interior. I want to see that. For all I know, it's empty!"
The brown returned my glare. "Entry is forbidden. Leave. Now."
Fenek complied, without waiting for my input. I glared at him, and started to shout as loudly as I could. "Okay, you know what? Deal's off. Put me down. Now. I'm going home and you're going back to your lair or cave thing. This rider thing is off. You can't even fulfill your own damned promises!"
Fenek shot me a look of sorrow and surprise. I wondered if it was genuine... "Come now, be reasonable! I told you that they wouldn't let us in!"
"Fuck off!" I snapped, and stood up on his back. "If you don't have the balls to argue with them, I will. Alone. You can go and sulk in your damned cave. ALONE! Now, put me down!"
"NO!" The dragon roared, twisting to see what I was doing. He seemed genuinely alarmed, and his eyes were as wide as dinner plates.
Then, out of nowhere, I heard another voice bellow over, "Stop! Land, and we'll discuss this. Perhaps we can come to an arrangement."
I whirled around to see that the blue had fallen in behind us, matching our speed. He then wheeled around lazily, adding, "Follow me. We'll land in front of the storage building. We can talk there."
Fenek nodded and followed, while I sat back down. I felt his mind prod mine, and I could tell that the dragon was extremely alarmed and hurt. He hadn't gotten my hint. <Don't leave.... I thought we talked about this...>
Despite everything, the hurt in his tone tugged at my emotions, and I apologised. <Sorry... It was an act. I did try to drop a hint, but it didn't register on your end...>
Fenek seemed immensely relieved by this, and relaxed. <That is good news. Now I know.>
<Good. Keep up the act, Fenek. This may actually get us into the building.> I replied, shrugging, while Fenek landed next to the blue, and placed me onto the ground. A brief glance around told me that we had landed right in front of the entrance, with the blue lying comfortably against the doors. <Alright here we go.>
I glared at Fenek. "You asshat. You were the one who told me that you could get in and show me my stuff! Lesson one of life, dumbass, don't make promises that you can't keep!"
The blue snorted, while Fenek simply looked wretched. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the brown walk over, while far off in the distance, I spied a few figures creeping towards the building, and a momentary flash of light. The resistance had arrived, and they were moving in. First objective complete.
"Why is your rider so upset over these posessions?" The blue asked, while looking me over.
The question was targeted at Fenek, who just gave a confused look. "I know not. But he says that some things are important."
The blue then turned his attention to me. "Explain yourself, then. Why do you chose to cause your companion so much distress over those things?"
I huffed. "I want to access my computer to print out some old family photos. They have sentimental value, plus this dragon here doesn't believe that I used to like dragons before the war, so I have a thing or two to print for him also, but what I'm really after are the photos."
Of course, this was a damned flimsy excuse, but it was the best I had. Meanwhile, the brown came and joined the blue in lying against the door, both their scales glittering in the sun. Fenek sat on his haunches behind me, his immense shadow providing me with shade. I would have liked to have eyes on the back of the building, but given the size of the building, that was presently impossible...
Meanwhile, the brown snorted. "That cannot be done. Even if we let you in, there is no electricity inside, and your 'computer' needs that to be usable, does it not?"
"Mine's a laptop." i replied pointedly.
The blue shot me a look that read 'class one idiot'. "It still needs electricity. We aren't fools, human."
"Yes, I didn't say that it doesn't. Mine has a battery. Fully charged as of whenever it was taken. It should hold some charge still." I replied, telling an outright lie. There was absoultely no chance that a laptop battery could hold out for so long and still hold a charge...Still, it was a shot in the dark. From the way the dragons mentioned the word 'electricity', it didn't really take a genius to know that they didn't quite know what it was.
"Fair enough, but why did you come here? There are many storehouses in the area. Why did you come to this one?" came the reply from the brown, laced with a healthy dose of suspicion...
This was where Fenek broke in. "I suggested this place."
I chimed in to add, "Had to start somewhere, and rumour is that this place holds this kind of stuff, so I may stand a chance of finding my computer."
I received a skeptical look from both of the guards. The blue spoke, eyeballing me. "There are many things inside. It will take you months to finish looking, and we'll have to put up with you rummaging inside the whole time, not to mention feeding you two. That is unacceptable, and I'm sure our friend inside won't agree either."
I raised an eyebrow, while Fenek's surprise leaked into my mind. Neither of us knew that there was an additional person inside, let alone a dragon. "Friend inside?" I asked, feigning curiosity. My people inside were in serious trouble.
The brown snorted. "Yes. We cannot stand watch the entire day, so the three of us take turns. Else, both of us won't be able to rest."
I nodded. "Makes sense. Now, back to the topic. Fenek here offered to use magic to find the laptop for me. That should cut the time to maybe an hour at worst, and maybe a few more minutes to print." I deliberately left out the fact that a printer actually needed a power source.
"That seems more reasonable." came the reply from the brown. In the background, I could have sworn that I heard gunfire, but it was hard to be sure. The soundproofing must have been good, or there was magic at work, or I could have just been imagining things.
However, before I could reply, the early afternoon sounds of nature were drowned out by the unmistakable 'Brakakaka' sound of a general purpose machine gun firing, along with the roar of an engine, followed by the roar of a dragon.
Within the next few seconds, the front door exploded outwards, spraying splinters everywhere. I dived for cover instinctively, losing my control, and showing my entire mind to Fenek, who warbled in surprise at the sudden burst of activity...
As the splinters and chunks of wood rained down around me, I saw that the first thing that flew through the door was a green dragon, his scaly hide spotted with dark red blots of blood, some still oozing blood. However, it could be seen that the creature was already dead, for its head hung at an impossible angle, probably broken from the impact of whatever rammed it with enough force to bash through a door with two other dragons leaning on it.
As the dead dragon came through, it rammed into the brown, catching it totally by surprise, and catapulting it several metres forward, while the blue stared in stunned silence. Fenek finally seemed to gather his wits and scrambled out of the way as I glimpsed something else coming through, accompanied with the now much louder sound of gunfire.
A bumper, headlamp, wheel, door. My mind couldn't quite comprehend what I was seeing, however, what hit home was the number plate on the vehicle. 97886MID. The last three letters. It was a singaporean military vehicle. A five ton truck, as used by the majority of the armed forces. The top hatch had been popped, and Victor was standing there, holding what looked distinctly like a kalashnikov, spraying bullets at the blue, shouting maniacally, "Taste the human spirit!" The back and side panels had been put down and the tarp rolled up, and on each side was a general purpose machine gun, each manned by someone from the resistance, and pumping out bullets, into the dragons.
One of them noticed me, and threw over a kalashnikov, already loaded. Out of habit, I picked up the weapon and cocked it, firing at the brown, who was trying to get away, panic written all over his snout.
"That's a NO!" I screamed, and emptied the magazine into the dragon, aiming for the eye. I missed, but Victor's shot hit the mark, blasting through the creature's eye, and bringing forth a spray of blood and brains, as the creature gave one final roar and collapsed onto the ground, limp. The same could be said for the blue as I stumbled over, still somewhat dazed at this sudden turn in events. I was handed a newly loaded magazine, and I reloaded, looking at the scene of gore around me. Previously glittering scaly hides were now a deep red, still glittering, but due to blood, rather than polish... All three dragons were dead.
I went to the driver's side, and spied Ren Jie inside. "Dude, what the fuck?! I thought this was a quiet op?"
"Long story. We got seen and had to fight. They had crates of AKs and a few tonners, among other things. This one still had the key inside, and the tarp was already up, so we prepped quietly, before ramming the green one. It was that or be ripped to bits, bro. It was on to us, sniffing everywhere!"
I nodded. "I see..."
"Where's your dragon? you want us to deal with it too?" Came the reply.
I shook my head. "No. Don't kill him... He's different somehow. I'll settle it. Since we have the truck, load up all the ammo and supplies that we can get. Guns, fuel, food, whatever. Do it fast, and disappear. This whole thing just exploded. We should blow the place if we can. Destroy the bodies, though how is beyond me. Just set charges."
"Yes sergeant!" Came the reply, as the rest, still evidently riding on an adrenelin high, clambered down and began. The engine was promptly shut off and the loading began with due haste...
Meanwhile, I turned to find Fenek cowering off to one side, out of sight of the others. Still holding the rifle, I walked over.
The dragon shrank away as I apporached, growling, his volume increasing when he noticed the rifle in my hand. Noticing his reaction, I put the weapon down off to one side. In his eyes, I could see the cold fire of betrayal, anger and fear, all battling it out for domination. I had not planned for this...
However, the next thing I knew, I was pinned to the ground, under a massive foreclaw, while the dragon lowered his head to eye level. "You hid so much from me."
I nodded slowly. "That I did."
Fenek hissed, eyeing the rifle, still lying off to my left warily. "You deceived me, used me to get what you wanted."
I was half expecting someone to come running and proceed to riddle him with holes, but no one came. I settled for nodding slowly, knowing that my life was now truly in the dragon's clawed hands.
Fenek glared at me, obviously wanting more than a nod. "Explain yourself!"
My mouth worked, but I was at a loss for words. I genuinely felt bad for what I did in retrospect, especially since I knew what I was putting the two of us into, although I hadn't anticipated this turn of events... I didn't know where to start and how to start. I didn't want to make it seem like I didn't care at all, because that, although once true, was no longer a fact... In the end, I ended up staying silent.
The dragon growled. "If you will not answer that, then answer me this: Who are you? You are evidently not who I thought you were."
That I could answer, and since the dragon had already seen the full extent of my thoughts, there was no longer anything to hide. I replied with my voice grave, and my tone neutral... "Second sergeant Keane Tan, 39th battalion Singapore Combat Engineers, Singapore Armed Forces."
Fenek snarled. I could tell that he had blocked off his mind, and his thoughts were out of reach. However, his anger radiated from him in sickening waves, announcing to the whole world that he was furious... "So everything was a lie."
"No." I replied, "I haven't lied to you about my background, and about what I did. I was still an engineer under the uniform. I used to get into arguments alot, like just now....."
The dragon eased off my chest a little, letting me breath easier.""Did you even listen when I spoke with you?"
"Yes." I replied, trying to get out... I could tell that he was cooling down. "I did. Why else would I throw away my only defense against you? I could have shot you there and then, but I didn't. that's something...right?"
The dragon nodded slowly. "You still owe me an explanation. A very lenghty one."
"That I do."I replied dryly, with a sigh.
The dragon then snorted and let me up. "But you speak the truth now. I can tell. You're still my rider either way. This was not what I had in mind when they said that great things would be in store for us, but I cannot argue with fate. If we are destined to be freedom fighters, then so be it. I never liked the elders anyway."
I smirked as I picked up the rifle. "You know, I like you more everyday, Fenek."
The dragon snorted, but looked considerably happier. "That's good, especially since you're finally calling me by name."
I nodded. "Now, I need to help in loading up. The others are setting charges, so stay clear of the storehouse. If you can magic up some sort of invisibility spell or something for the way back, it would be good... That is, if you want to betray your species and help us."
The dragon glared, and for a moment, I thought he was going to step on me again. However, he simply nodded. "That can be done. I don't think the guards managed to send for help, but all of you should hurry. I have already casted and extended the spell, so everything looks normal for now. Why do you think no one came while I was speaking with you?"
I nodded, noting that most of the charges were already set. "Good. Can you drag the bodies into the warehouse?"
"Yes, but what for?" came the puzzled reply. "They are definitely dead."
"We're going to blow this whole place. It will cover the bodies and stuff, and justify the loud sounds just now. An explosion because of faulty ammunition and grenades. Nothing to see." I replied, and the dragon nodded before getting to work, much to the surprise of the other members of the resistance.
I shouted over to them, "It's fine. He's helping." before running into the warehouse and helping with the loading up. We carried mostly crates and crates of 7.62mm ammo for the AKs and the machineguns, along with as much fuel as we could find for the vehicle and the generators back at the station...
However, with the help from Fenek, who also helped to load up the boxes by taking a smaller form, rearing up on his hind legs and carrying things too. I was slightly suspicious since he jumped ship so quickly, but it was hard to doubt him. His mind was open, but then again, he could have been using the same trick that I used, and I would never know...
However, there was a more pressing concern, which was to blow the building and get out of the area, with the truck in tow. The issue of stealth had already been taken care of, when Fenek showed how he could make the whole lot of us invisible, and cover the tracks of the truck to boot, along with the roaring of the engine...
We hurriedly loaded up, with me being the last as I lighted the fuse, Fenek in tow, as I clambered up the truck, then proceeded to give the dragon, now the size of a rather large dog, a boost up into the vehicle.
The engine whined, as the starter engine turned over several times, before the engine came roaring to life, it's gears clanking with a familiar ringing sound that I used to hear everyday in my camp... The dragon seemed fascinated by it, but stayed safely on my lap, his claws digging into my skin as the truck lurched forward, and began to accelerate as Ren Jie put it into a higher gear. We had put the side and tail boards back up, so we had seats, though the entire floor was stacked high with assorted boxes. The engine revved with a mighty roar as the Ren Jie pushed the engine, trying to put as as far from the barn as he could before the whole thing exploded.
"I do not like this..." Fenek remarked, his claws coming close to drawing blood.
"Relax. The truck is safe. It's like a cart, but bigger, faster and louder." I replied, and couldn't say more when I saw the whole warehouse go up in a large orange-red fireball, sending wood flying everywhere once again. They had overdone the explosives, but at least, that would mean that nothing would remain...
Fenek started at the loud sound, and skittered into my shirt, much to the amusement of the rest. He only peeked out a minute later, looking somewhat shaken.
"This, Fenek is a taste of human technology. Welcome to the modern era." I replied with a chuckle, and petted him on the head.
The dragon loosed a reluctant croon, before settling down in my lap. "I don't like that either. Tell your friend that we must make haste. My spell will only hold as long as my energy reserves last... I hope your hideout is not far?"
I Nodded, and sent the message along, while remarking, "It isn't. You've been there before."
Fenek shot me a curious look, before settling down in my lap. I could tell that he was a tad uncomfortable, especially when the truck went over a stone or into a pothole. It didn't help that Ren Jie was gunning the already loud engine, and going at at least 100km/h. Through the back, I saw the grassland race by as the truck sped its way down the dirty road, miraculously leaving behind no trail or dust cloud thanks to Fenek's magic. However, I could tell that the dragon was tiring, and fast.
Fenek's scales seemed to lose their lustre at some point, as he looked more and more exhasuted, and looked as if he was going to faint.
Thankfully, we screeched into a covered spot just in front of the station entrance as the dragon flopped limply in my lap, eyes half open.
Ren Jie killed the engine and jumped out of the cab, then let the tailboard down. I handed Fenek down, who was still about the size of a large dog, and in no sense light. He was laid down off to one side as we began to unload.
Victor refused to hand me anything, and pointed me to the dragon. "He's yours. Take care of him. we can manage here."
I nodded, and went over to look over the now quiet Fenek, who seemed to have passed out. He was lying sprawled on the ground, with his limbs, including wings, all over the place. His mouth hung open, and his tongue flopped on the grass limply. He was dead to the world, but at least not totally dead. He still had a pulse. The dragon had been serious when he had said that he would do anything for me... What I had asked was a tall order, and he knew his limits. He had known that he would have passed out...
I gently cradled the dragon and brought him into the station, laying him just outside the circle of harsh light cast by the floodlights, while I went off and found some food. Canned meat and a bottle of water, both from the old world. I drank the water gratefully, and dripped a little on the dragon's tongue, earning me an unconscious lick from the creature. He moved a little in his sleep, curling up and dozing quietly, while I sat next to him and fiddled with a kalashnikov. Ren Jie offered a ride home on his bicycle, which I accepted. It was agreed that we would all disperse for the week, and gather again to discuss the next step exactly seven days later.
Outside, the truck had already been camouflaged, with camouflage netting set up, and the reflective surfaces covered, along with some foilage thrown around for a good measure. If anyone walked by, and looked closely enough, it would be seen, but from the air, it was nearly invisible... They had not forgotten their army training...
In the end, I took Ren Jie's bike home, while he walked, insisting that I needed it more than he did. He agreed to come by later for dinner to get it back.
Placing the dragon into the basket and letting him snooze, I cycled back, feeling the cool evening air on my face. It had been a crazy day.... Very crazy. Nearly impossible, in fact. Yet I was told before: desperate people can do crazy things and pull off impossible tasks, and desperate we were...