Jesse stared at the frightened guards surrounding him as he descended to the ground. Actually it wasn’t just the guards that were scared, it was the citizens as well. Every face surrounding them was etched in fear. The only person who didn’t look scared was Rydar. Replacing the fear was concern and worry for Jesse. He took a step towards her but stopped as different scents started to hit him. She smelled like vanilla and flowers, very intoxicating. It was the same scent she had when he had seen her in his mind at night. He had missed her so much since he had been in prison, and this scent, was just making his missing of her worse. He wanted to hold her and kiss her. But then he caught the scent of blood and poison. He looked up and saw the guards still surrounding him.
“Should we attack?” asked one of the guards in a whisper. It came through like a yell to Jesse.
“Azrael owns your ass, so you better put it on the line.”
The demon guard stepped away from the rest and approached Jesse. He had a large sword in one hand and a pair of cuffs in the other. Rydar circled around to stand behind Jesse as he stepped forward as well. As soon as he was within arms reach Jesse hit him as hard as he could. The punch shattered the guards face mask and sent him flying back. Another guard got close and Jesse kicked him in the chest. He spun to avoid a falling blade and shoved the guard holding it. Two more guards tackled him and third tried to grab his legs.
Using strength he didn’t know he had, Jesse flipped the guard off his legs. Then he wrapped them around one of the other guards neck and flung him back into the crowd. With a now free hand he was able to beat the remaining guard until he was stopped moving. He pulled his arm free and jumped to his feet. Other guards moved in and Jesse made his way through them until he reached a clearing. He looked back to find Rydar but she was already gone.
Run baby, please.
Jesse couldn’t just leave her. He had worked so hard to finally find her.
Go now!
Damn her voice in his head. He still hadn’t decided if he was going crazy or not by hearing her when she wasn’t around. Before he could make up his mind, he was hit from behind by a large bar. He stumbled forward but whirled around and connected with a solid kick to the side of the guard’s head. The guard crumbled to the floor as Jesse tried to get back to a stable footing. Chains wrapped around his waist and held him in place. He turned back to see another wave of guards coming at him. Jesse roared again and pulled at the chains. With godly strength he ripped the guards holding the other ends from the ground and flung them behind him. He unwrapped the chain from his waist and wrapped it around his left arm. He lunged forward and hit one of them with his chained forearm. Another metal staff hit the back of his leg and caused him to buckle momentarily. He swiftly got back to his feet and kept fighting. After fighting off a few more guards, the sheer number of them donned on him. It was like a never ending army of these annoying little trolls. Even though his stamina had lasted a lot longer then normal, he wasn’t sure how much longer it would hold. His patience on the other hand was already gone.
I’m sorry baby.
He turned to run only to have a very large, hovering vehicle pull up in front of him. The logo on the side told Jesse that it belonged to the guards. It wasn’t going to let him get through without a fight.
Anger welled inside his stomach as he rammed his fist through the front of the vehicle. He screamed with rage and used all his strength to lift it higher up and flipped it over. The guards and citizens stared in awe at the wreckage sitting in front of him. Jesse himself was just as stunned as the rest of them. How did he have the strength to do that?
“Jesse!”
Jesse spun around and saw Rydar slide through the ring of guards and stop in front of him. She was riding on something that looked like a mix between a missile and a motorcycle. It was floating like the other vehicles, only it was floating a bit higher.
“We have to go,” she yelled extending her hand to him.
A rouge dagger flew through the air and stabbed her hand. She screamed in pain and ripped it out. Jesse pushed his way in front of her and took the controls of the bike.
“It’s just like a normal motorcycle with four times the power and speed. So be . . .”
Jesse cut her off by revving back on both handles and they shot forward. They ramped over the wrecked machine and flew through the air. Rydar screamed in fear as Jesse kept on the throttle. The second they landed, the bike jolted forward and exploded with speed.
The missile bike rocketed down streets, through alleys, and past civilians as Jesse used reflexes he didn’t know he had to weave around them. It was like a video game in first person view. He struggled with the speed but couldn’t afford to slow down. The guards fell farther and farther behind, but one mistake would allow them to catch up.
“You need to slow down, we’re going the wrong way.”
“How can you tell?”
“Just stop and let me figure it out.”
A large vessel roughly the size of a hover carrier flew over head and released guards onto the roof tops.
“Nevermind, just go!” yelled Rydar.
Jesse gladly hit the gas and took off again. Leaving the threat filled streets behind them.
They flew through the rest of the city and over the canal where Jesse had surfaced. He steered clear of the prison and bee-lined for the forest. They made it there quickly and hid behind a wall of trees. As soon as they were actually stopped, Rydar fell to the ground and gasped for air. Jesse sat down next to her and made sure that she was okay. He felt like he should be having the same reaction but for some reason he had been able to keep the air in his longs. She hadn’t been so long. He looked at her hand and ripped off part of his pant leg.
”This is going to hurt,” he warned as he started tieing it around the wound.
She groaned in pain but handled it well. When Jesse was done, he sat down and leaned against a tree.
“Does it still hurt?”
“A little, but it’ll be okay. We aren’t too far from our house, Clarissa can look at it for me there.”
“Our?”
“Of course. Me, Seaver, and Clarissa have a house out here. We kept stuff around to make sure you would feel at home when you got out.”
Jesse could hear the obvious sadness welling in her voice, and tell she was struggling to hold back sobs. He turned to see her staring at him with tears in her eyes. The emotion finally returned to his body and he felt tears running down his cheeks now. All of his relief and happiness from seeing her again rushed to the front of his mind. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into his chest. They silently cried as they held each other again for the first time in five years.
A few hours passed before they talked again. Jesse had returned to his human form was just lost in holding her again. Feeling her in his arms for real, smelling her wonderful scent, and tasting her amazing lips. He had spend so many nights sitting up and thinking about this. Now that it was really happening, he couldn’t believe it. He thought that at any moment, he could wake up and be stuck in that cell. That thought sent chills down his spine.
“This isn’t a dream my love,” said Rydar, nuzzling into his neck.
“What?”
“This isn’t a dream. This is real life baby. You are here with me now.”
Jesse kissed her head, but then stopped.
“How did you know what I was thinking?”
“The ear rings you bought me silly. They gave us a bond unlike any other. I can hear your thoughts and feel your emotions. And with some trying, I can even fell pain for you.”
She got quiet, and Jesse could feel sadness filling her body. Her mind raced back to his torture in the chair. His heart sank as he felt her take his pain away. For four days , four agonizing days, she shouldered his pain so he wouldn’t have too. It was torture for her, and Seaver and Clarissa had to strap her down, and gag her to keep her from hurting herself and attracting attention. All for him.
“Baby I . . .”
Rydar put her hand to his lips.
“We should probably head home. It’s getting dark, the Blood Angel’s will be coming soon.”
“Why aren’t they coming now?”
“Azrael has a reputation to uphold. He can’t afford to break it. Clarissa can explain better.”
“Always connected. How is . . .”
“You should know better than anyone how that conversation went.”
“I’ll just have to ask her myself then.”
Together they got on the bike and took off deeper into the forest. Circling through trees and over rivers, they finally came to a stop at a house next to a large waterfall. The house looked like a regular one story, that was built into the cliff behind it. Jesse parked the missile bike in the opening next to it and followed Rydar inside.
The inside of the house looked a lot more modern than the outside. The floor and walls were made of metal with really nice furnishings. From the living room, Jesse could see the kitchen which was only separated by a half wall. After that was a flight of stairs leading down.
“This is the living room, kitchen, and dining room floor. Below this is the floor for ours, Clarissa’s, and Seaver’s rooms. After that is Clarrisa’s office and library. She’s there right now, why don’t you go down and see her while I start dinner.”
“Actually I’d really like to take a shower first."
“There’s bathrooms with showers in all rooms. Your hair clippers are in there too. Second door on the right."
She kissed Jesse on the cheek and skipped off into the kitchen. Jesse starred at her for a few seconds before walking down to the third floor. He ran his hand across his face, he forget about the beard.
He walked down the stairs and in their room. Walking into the bathroom he was stunned to see a really interesting looking shower. There were nozzle heads on the walls and the roof, and a bench type rock formation next to the wall. He didn’t see a handle or a knob to turn on the water, not even a button. All he saw was a weird looking slider by the wall with temperatures on it.
Set the temperature, then just step inside. It’ll turn on, on it’s own.
Thank you baby.
The mind communication will have to take some getting used to for him. He turned around to see a large mirror facing him. Even though it was a mirror, he still found it hard to believe that it was his reflection. His face was covered with dirty hair with dried blood crusted on it. With the beard and the long hair, the only part of his face that you could see, was his eye. The left one still had scars around it from where Azrael’s claws had dug into him. Carefully he took off the eyepatch that the doctors had given him. He opened his eye lids and was surprised to see a new eye had grown in. There was no iris and he couldn’t see out of it, but it was there. It moved like a normal eye, but it was just for show. He slid his hand up to it, but stopped as he noticed that his sight had fixed itself. For the past two years everything he had to adjusted to seeing without the eye, but now it was like he had both of them again. It made him feel off now. He closed it and decided it best to not open it again until he was used to having both of them.
He opened the cabinet under the sink and pulled out his old hair clippers. They had been with him since his early teens and still ran like new. He turned them on, then back off. For five years, he had been treated like a slave, but he never thought of himself as one. At least not until now he hadn’t.
“No. I am not a slave, I am a warrior.”
He took off his clothes and looked them over. The left leg was gone, and there was a large hole in the right knee of the pants and the sleeves were gone from the jacket. They were a symbol of his time in Azrael’s prison and torture. Yet, he couldn’t find himself wanting to throw them away. Instead he folded them and set them by the sink. He would wash them and put them aside for later.
Looking back in the mirror, Jesse turned the hair clippers back on. After about an hour had finally finished. He took the thickest part of the beard off and after asking Rydar for location, found the razors and shaved off the rest. His head hair had taken up the most time though. First he had to take scissors to it, then he had to take the clipper to it once. After the second round, he took the clippers to it again and shaved his hair into a mohawk. He cleaned his clippers then put them on their closest shaving setting. Back when he was younger he used to love to shave designs into the left side of his head. Now that he was a free man, he figured it was the best time of all. He shaved two lightning bolts and some other lines on his head, then set down the clippers. Now he looked like a free man. His own man, well except for the dirt. Quickly he jumped in the shower.
The hot water running down his body felt amazing. Back in the prison the only water that hit his body was when Azrael would spray him off with a hose. That was was freezing cold and stung like a million bees attacking him at once. He sat in the shower for a long while and just let the water wash over him. It felt like he was cutting thick layers of dirt off himself with every wave. He used the entire body of body wash and shampoo to finally get himself clean. Afterward, he stayed in the shower and brushed his teeth, using most of the bottle of tooth paste.
By the time he got out of the shower, the entire room was filled with steam. The shower floor looked like a mud pit, and the walls looked just as bad. He felt sorry for whoever was going to need to clean it. He dried himself off and walked back into the room. There were clothes sitting on the bed, neatly folded for him. They reminded him of a douchebag’s outfit. A white tank top, black skinny jeans, and a useless belt.
Do I have any other options?
No.
Damn.
Thinking about it, Rydar was wearing an outfit with the same kind of style. Tight black jeans and a black long sleeve shirt, with a dark blue overcoat that hung to the floor. It reminded him of the characters in the animes he used to watch.
Begrudgingly Jesse put the outfit on and walked back to the stairs. He followed them down into a room with walls filled to the ceiling with books. It looked as though they had hollowed out the cavern walls around the room to make the shelves, then they went a robbed a library. He glanced around at the selection and was surprised at the variety of different books. There was science, mythology, journals, alchemy, universe study, even a few meditation books. A large portion of the books had to do with dragons and the study of them. An interesting selection, he wondered if Clarissa had known about him all along.
As he circled around the library he found himself staring at rough looking book that had no name on it. He pulled it from the shelf and glanced it over. Something about this book seemed so familiar, like he had seen it before. There was no title, or anything on it, no distinct market. It was shiny black, with flap over cover. The pages were gold trimmed and kind of thin. He unbuttoned the front clasps and opened it.
“Were you going to keep me waiting?” asked Clarissa, appearing beside him.
Jesse jumped and dropped the book.
“Holy shit Clarissa. You scared the hell out of me.”
She bent over and picked the book up off the ground, purposely revealing more skin than she should have.
“An interesting journal selection. Didn’t take you much for one to enjoy stuff like this.”
“I didn’t know it was a journal. It just seemed so famliar.”
“Of course it did. Now then, shall we go to my office. There is a lot we need to talk about I’m sure.”
She turned and lead the way into a small room at the opposing end of the library. Inside was a round desk sitting in the middle of the room. It was littered with books, random pictures, and papers with random writing on it. Jesse picked up one of the papers. only for Clarissa to rip it out of his hand.
“So where do you want to begin?” she asked clearing off the desk.
“Are you still as connected as you were?”
“Oh lovely Just because I’m in hiding, doesn’t mean I don’t still have my sources.” she said with a smile.
“Is my family still alive?”
Her smile faded and she looked away from him.
“I don’t know. After the invasion, your brothers disappeared. We lost your father over the wall a few years ago.”
Jesse’s buried his face in his hands and fought the tears welling in his eyes. He sank into a chair and sighed heavily. Five years in a jail cell and his family had vanished while he was gone. Not like they had always been around for him physically anyway, but at least they were there. Now he had no idea if they were alive or dead and had no way of finding out.
“Your mom . . .”
“I said family,” snapped Jesse. He ran his hands through his hair and let out another sigh, “So what happened to this place? Where are we anyway?”
“This is California, or as it’s been renamed, Dagon City.”
“City? I thought California was a state?”
“It was, but not anymore. Now it’s a safe haven for humans.”
Jesse stared at her blankly.
“Let’s start from the beginning,” said Clarissa leaning back in her chair.
“A few weeks after what is referred to as the Bloody Rapture. Blood Angels had securely wiped out every major army in every major country. They had taken the human population down by half and everyday it just got lower. No one knew what to do, and the people were in panic. Were-humans revealed themselves to fight off the new threat, but all they succeeded in doing was scaring humans even more. The world became divided into three populations and no one was safe. You had neighbor against neighbor out of fear of them being a were-human. It was a really fucking mess. I was actually kind of impressed, or at least I would have been had I not been stuck with my father.”
“Anyway, with the government out of options and the military all but erased, Azrael stepped into the spotlight, but not as the leader of the Blood Angels, but as their enemy. He emerged from some bunker in South America with his army of ‘Guardian Angels’ or ‘Guards’ for short. With their armor made of Bloodlead, a metal that cannot be pierced by any bullet, never rusts, and can’t be shattered. However it is light enough to feel like nothing’s on you and is pliable enough to bend without breaking. Azrael himself founded the metal and created the armor. The neurobiotics involved with the helmet and it’s connection to the armor makes it the perfect fusion of old and new school warfare. On top of their use of old hand to hand combat weapons like swords, axes, and other weapons of the sort.”
“Why not give them ray guns or regular guns?”
“No use. Blood Angels won’t die from shot wounds, even being shot in the heart, it’s not permanent enough. Instead the weapons given to the guards are given a electricity cells that way when they do stab one of them, the surge causes a mini explosion destroying the brain and heart. Come to think of it Azrael brought a lot of technological advancement to humanity. Flying cars, medication for all diseases, robotic body part replacement . . .”
“Clarissa. Back to the story.”
Clarissa shot him with a cross look then sighed again.
“Right. Anyway, with his army of Guards, Azrael cleared out California of all Were-humans and Blood Angels. After that he had the walls you’ve seen built around it. The walls stand at over three hundred miles high, and one mile thick. He brought in every living human he could and sealed the walls. There is no gate, no exit. Communication with the outside world is not only impossible but also forbidden as part of Azrael’s laws. Laws that include: no leaving the city, no going out after midnight, no possession of weapons unless your a Guard, and no harboring of fugitives.”
“Strict laws.”
“Ya, well he has his reasons. After midnight, he lets his Blood Angels come out and feed, and obviously weapons would put a damper on their feeding frenzy. We are basically self replenishing food source for himself and his army.”
At that Clarissa got up and walked around the room. She looked around at all the posters and writings on the wall, then back at Jesse. Jesse was leaning back in the chair, soaking in all the information. The world had definitely become a different place since his imprisonment. More advanced but also more depressing.
As he looked around the room, he caught sight of a map of the city. Even the state was different. It was divided into three sections and each one had a label. Upscale, Regulars, and Wanting.
“Explain the cities layout to me?” asked Jesse.
“The northern section one giant city, and the living place of Azrael, his guards, and those that make the most money. Hence the name Upscale. The middle part is the run down buildings that were left behind after Upscale was built. It’s for those that make enough money to live good housing and can barely afford clothing and food. Hence why most people have to make their own clothes, we call them Regulars. And finally we have Wanting. The lower and broken part of the city. This place was the first settlement for Azrael and his human pets, but after an earthquake threatened to sink half of Dagon, Azrael built causeways and tunnels to diverge the water to Wanting, submerging it. Most people became homeless, but some built stilts to rise their homes and pathways to get around it. These people can afford nothing and have to struggle to survive. This forest is located just east of that and is the only place to see living plants and real animals. Your prison is located between Upscale and the Regulars.”
She pointed out a star rest on a line drawn between the two. Jesse followed the path he had taken that lead him right to the heart of Regulars. Then he traced his escape route to this home.
Clarissa walked up behind Jesse and wrapped her arms around his waist. She kissed the back of his neck, he felt fangs tickle the back of his neck. Jesse pulled away and turned around. Clarissa had already turned around as well and was marching away from him.
“So do you have any idea what they were doing to me in there? Or what exactly I am?”
“As far as what they were doing to you, I have no idea. Rose would probably know that though.”
“Oh, hey I’m glad that Rose is . . .”
“Another time Romeo. As far as what you are, well I actually know that one, but it’s hard to explain. For all intents and purposes you are a Draco-human.”
“Draco-human?”
“You are a dragon and a human.”
“So a were-dragon?”
“No. A were-human has two entirely different DNA strands. One of human and one of animal, that only mix when they transform. You have one DNA strand, and it is the perfect combination between the two. Oddly enough though, certain parts of your DNA code recede when you become human then come forward when your change. It gives you the advantage over were-humans of any kind. You can turn your enhanced senses off and on at will, and can strengthen and weaken them the same way. They even run deeper then physical enhancements but again only Rose would know how deep.”
“I’m assuming shes’s the one that told you all of this?”
“Yup. We need to find her though, that way she can tell you the rest.”
“Okay, so where is she?”
“Somewhere in Upscale.”
Clarissa said it quickly and then turned away from Jesse. She walked back over to the map and pointed at a small black dot not too far away from where Azrael’s castle was marked.
“So she lives down the street from Azrael. Great, so we’ll just waltz on over and then maybe we can stop by his place for tea and cookies,” said Jesse sarcastically.
“Instead, we’ll just walk over there like we aren’t fugitives and act cool.”
“But what if something goes wrong, I don’t know how to turn this off and on. I’m still new and being a Draco-human.”
“Come on lovely. I’ve trained other were-humans how to control it. I can teach you as well.”
She pushed a bookshelf to the side to reveal a small door behind it. Opening it, she lead Jesse through a dark hallway to a room completely encased in metal. A room she had obviously built in preparation for his coming. If nothing else, she was great at planning ahead.
He walked around the room and ran his hands along the walls. They were reinforced and covered in ancient symbols Jesse had seen once in one of Clarissa’s text books. Jesse walked to the center of the room and stood in front of Clarissa.
“It’s simple. You stay here and meditate. You have to find the dragon within yourself.”
She turned and walked back to the door. Jesse watched as she shut the door and locked it. The door was like a smaller version of a vault door, but just as strong. He stayed standing for a few more seconds, then sat down. He took off his shirt and closed his eyes.
His breathing slowed and his put his heart at a steady pace. The room faded away and he was left in darkness. It was like he was floating in space. There was no concept of time or placement for him. There was a light filling the room, but Jesse couldn’t tell from where. He opened his eyes and looked around but there was nothing around him. Suddenly he realized that it was coming from himself. It was silver and burning brighter with every passing second. The light filled the room and left Jesse blinded.
It was the middle of a clearing in a forest. The floor was littered with autumn leaves and in the cent was a single tree stump. Off in the distance Jesse could hear running water, and saw a formation of rocks that made a make shirt waterfall. The trees were spread apart but the forest looked to continue on for years. The sky was sunny and clear of but a few clouds. He could smell the water and the familiar smell of dirt and bark. The suns rays warmed his skin and stung his eyes a little as he looked towards it. A small breeze of wind rushed across his body and rustled the leaves. It was paradise.
Jesse heard a twig snap and turned slowly to see a creature standing at the edge of the forest behind him. It’s entire body was covered in dull silver scales that looked like metal. The creature came forward into the sunlight and revealed it’s full self to him. The head looked like that of a snakes with horns on top that reminded Jesse of emerald green prisms with rounded edges. It’s eyes were dark green with small black pupils. There were strange symbols and markings on it’s body the only one of which that Jesse recognized was the one on the chest. It was a red crescent moon with a red diamond in the center and three lines descending from the bottom..
With another step forward the creature, the dragon, turned and circled him, walking on all fours. It’s torso was long and muscular, but its arms were lanky and slender, reminding Jesse of a mix between a wolf and a lizard. There were two flaps on the back that looked to be made of bone and jolted slightly with every step. From the tip of the nose to the beginning of it’s tail, it was as long and wide as large semi-truck and as tall as a one story house. The tail was the same size of as the body, only skinnier and ending in a club like shape with three blue jewels embedded at the end. It’s feet had three long fingers, two on front and one on the back. They looked to be about half the size of Jesse, with the ends looking like razor sharp needles. It was a truly beautiful creature.
Suddenly Jesse came to the realization that the dragon had been getting closer with every circle and was now only an arm’s length away. It stopped in front of him and lowered it’s head so it was eye level with him. Opening it’s mouth, it revealed rows of fangs on top and bottom and let out a roar/hiss that would cause anyone else to cringe. Jesse, however, was enthralled with this creature. The dragon stood on it’s hind legs and let out a another roaring hiss. The flaps on it’s back opened and wings appeared out of no where. They looked to be made of a pure rainbow light, but as they flapped a few times, Jesse felt the wind they created. They didn’t look like typical dragon wings, instead they looked like elongated trapezoids, with strange symbols that matched the ones on it’s body. The dragon folded it’s wings behind it and returned to eye level with him. The diamond on it’s chest emanated light and the dragon stood up to reveal the symbol again. Jesse looked down and saw that a smaller version of the same diamond had emerged from his wrist. Slowly he reached up and touched the jewel on the dragons chest. Again the light disappeared in a flash of silver light.