Sure enough Mrs. Thunder from down under was waiting for us, hands on hips and a glare to make even Medusa shiver. She tapped her foot and her tiny forest dragon tapped it's little paw. "About time you came!" she yelled even though we were literally three minutes late. "You two have to work on the goat pen- I don't want to see a single smudge in there. Merman scrub the water buckets." She said in her sassy tone.
I was about to point out that she had to clean the goat pen but Merman gave me a look and I shut my mouth. Making another enemy today wouldn't be the best idea.
Sullenly I grabbed a muck rake and Merman wheeled over the wheelbarrow. I set Caedmon down to tussle with the other hatchlings which were playing in the middle of one of the stalls. He looked around hesitantly, patting the hay with a hesitant paw. He must have decided he didn't like it because he turned around and got on his hind legs, stretching his paws out towards me for me to pick him up. I could feel myself cracking against that pleading gaze. "No buddy," I said sternly, pushing him over towards Larissa who seemed just as lost as he was, floundering on the hay with her little flippers. "Go play." And before he could give me the puppy look I backed up and closed the door.
"Get to work you bum!" Rihanna's rough voice screamed in my ear, making me jump before she shoved me over to the goat pen. "Ok ok I'm going stop pushing me!" I groaned, twisting my body to get out of her grip before hopping inside the goat pen with my muck rake.... Just to be met with the business end of the General's billy goat. I squealed, hopping to the other side of the pen to evade those wicked horns before swinging around with the rake swung in front of me like a jouster's lance. "Back off, vile creature!" I demanded, waving the sharp prongs around.
I could just imagine the goat narrowing his eyes as it pawed at the hay like a bull from Spain. And I knew it was on.
I stood tall like a matador. "Òlay!" I yelled before it charged, lowering it's horns to nail me in the groin.
"Not today!" I barked, jumping to the side and smacking it's rump with the rake. The only thing I needed now was to get it outside the little goat door and block it so I could do my work in peace. I bit my tongue. How was I going to do this?
The goat wasn't waiting for me to make up my mind. It shook it's horns and charged at me again. When I lowered my take it feinted and dashed to the right to pummel into my legs. I barely blocked his blow with the stick part of the rake, gritting my teeth as it pressed it's weight against me. This thing was strong! I was losing ground, the hay sliding under my thick combat boots.
Suddenly I made up my mind. I jumped to the side, relieving the pressure. Propelled by it's own momentum, the billy goat stumbled outside his goat door, just clipping me with those awful horns before I slammed the little door shut. I turned around, triumphant in my victory just to find a group of girls with greyish blue eyes watching me, laughing behind their hands. When I glared at them they drifted off with their cleaning supplies, whispering to each other.
I had a feeling it wasn't about how much of a sexy beast I was.
I patted down my jeans stiffly before getting to work as fast as I could. I could see Rihanna headed my way and I didn't want her to see my wheelbarrow empty.
As I worked I could feel a headache coming on, making me feel a little numb. They warned me about these but it didn't make it any more fun.
Finally when I was done dumping the wheelbarrow and refilling I headed off to find Merman who was just finishing his last water bucket. When I approached I found he had set Larissa inside the water bucket to let her get her scales wet and splash around. He laughed as her finned tail sent water spraying all over his shirt.
"Hey Merman," I greeted, wiping my forehead with the back of my hand. "What's up next?"
He patted Larissa's head. "We have a small break before we had off to do the lawn work..."
Just before he could finish the sentence we clapped our hands over our ears as a small dragon from the rafters started squealing. I wanted to scream at the creature to shut up but surprisingly Merman looked worried. "Dang man- that's the alarm! He's here! Run back quickly or we'll be super late!"
We were out in the woods by the barn so it would take a little while to jog back. Most the other kids were already gone. Merman quickly turned off the water and I nabbed Caedmon before together we raced through the woods like ninjas, dodging tree roots and rocks, our heavy combat boots sending dust flying.
And still the tiny dragon yelled from his perch.
As I tromped onwards I could see and hear the trees rustling, swaying foreboding as if a storm was approaching.The wind was so strong I brushed shoulders with a tree before staggering onwards. My black hair obscured my vision as my gaze drifted to the sky. It looked blue and innocent to my eyes, strangely enough. "What is that? Helicopter?" I yelled over the loud whooshing noise.
He just laughed. "You're going to love this!"
Love what? So many thoughts rang through my head. Jeez with a wind like that it must be a dozen helicopters! Caedmon clung to my shirt like a tick, his purple eyes tightly shut. Finally I broke free of the forest and made it to the front lawn, where everyone was already standing at attention.
WHOOSH.
The wind slapped me in the back so hard I fell over like a Domino, face planting into the mud so suddenly I nearly lost my breath. "Man down!" I wheezed as Caedmon ripped my shirt with little claws as he tumbled off my shoulder onto the grass.
Suddenly I felt my shirt press tighter to my chest as if it was shrinking around me or my chest muscles had improved a whole lot. Somehow I doubted the latter.
Sure enough I found myself being lifted from the grass. "Thanks man, but easy on the shirt," I mumbled, thinking it was Merman giving me a hand. But something felt weird. Why was I being lifted so high! Why was Caedmon looking like I was ascending to heaven?
"It's Godzilla that got me, isn't it," I whispered to Caedmon who was staring up at me in shock.
The hatchling bobbed his head. Twice.
"Oh no..." I twisted my head slowly, my heart pounding in fear of what I might see.
I admit, I almost peed my pants at this beastie.
A huge, battle scarred crocodilian snout was taking up my vision. His large, serrated scales were all the size of my hand and the color of Christmas trees. His eyes, a metallic yellow swirled slowly as he gazed at me. But it was not his pretty scales nor his crazy eyes that caught my attention. It was his enormous saber-like teeth which jutted from his jaw straight towards me before twisting backwards wickedly. Each of them had to be ten feet long.
A shiver ran down my spine, like that a rabbit might make when trapped by a fox. "Uh... I'm very dangerous to eat!" I yelled, struggling a bit in his grasp before stopping, realizing a thirty foot drop to the ground wasn't going to help me. "I have... Uh... Toe jam!" Toe jam? That's the first thing I come up with? I got to think better than that! "Uh... I have gas too! And... Lice!" I scratched my head and made a loud farting noise with my mouth.
He narrowed his large reptilian eye and gave a low growl. This wasn't working. Time for plan B.
"HHEEEELP! HELPPP! PLEEAASE IM GONNA GET EATEEEN!" I screamed before opening one eye to see if someone was rushing to help me.
Everyone stood in their ranks- still. Eyes wide. Staring. Not moving. NOT HELPING ME. Oh great. I'm going to die.
"Just get it over with." I said, cold sweat beading on my forehead. I could feel my clothes starting to slowly rip under his huge talons...
"This is the sort of recruits you got for us?" The most high pitched, whiny voice almost blew out my eardrums and I clapped my hands over my ears before I lost my hearing. What could possibly sound that horrible?
But then my eyes widened as the huge creature's jaw moved as he continued to speak. "Blithering, crybaby, useless, worm crawlers?"
Somehow, the Mickey Mouse voice on helium was just too much for me to take and suddenly the huge creature didn't seem quite so frightening. I snorted behind my hand.
"What are you laughing at?!" The spines on the beasts's neck rose to their full fifteen feet and rattled angrily like a rattlesnake.
I shut up quick.
"Do you know who I am?" The whiny voice continued and I clapped a hand over my mouth to stop from laughing. Don't you hate it when you want to laugh at the worst moments? Well believe me, it's worse when your life depends on it.
"I am the General Rubius and I demand your utmost respect, soldier!" He trumpeted, tossing me to the ground like a rag doll, sending me rolling in the grass before I found myself face up staring into the eyes of a very angry General Sunglasses. I could tell by that face I was in huge trouble.
"I want him to be punished for his behavior," the wyvern said. Now that I got a look at him I could see why everyone was shivering in fear. He was enormous, his big head swinging as he spoke, beady eyes daring anyone to laugh at his stupid voice. His wings, which also served as his front paws shuffled around on the ground, the wingtips curving out of the way to hang above his hips like a pterodactyl's. His hind legs had the largest, most fearsome talons I have ever seen, each probably twenty feet long, and his big spaded tail ended in a spiky club. This thing was a walking tank.
"Woah." I breathed, not even listening as I slowly got to my feet, watching the muscles on the huge creature bulge under his scales as he moved and walked. I could basically breathe his power...
Suddenly his wings shot over his muzzle before pulling back to reveal a tall Native American looking man with dark skin covered in tribal tats and glossy black hair that slid over the collar of his green suit like Raven's feathers. Several ear rings crawled up his ears and his stern, chiseled face seemed to be carved out of wood.
"Where is the light dragon and the shadow dragon and their respective Riders?" His shrieking voice made even General Sunglasses shiver.
"The light dragon boy has been... Wounded but the shadow dragon..." He pushed me from behind, making me stagger back forwards, eyes wide.
His metallic green eyes fastened on me and his face twisted into a sour expression like he had just licked a cat hairball. "This?" He gestured to me. "Surely you jest."
General sunglasses adjusted his tie nervously. "No- no sir."
I gaped. This- this dragon could shift into a man? Was I seeing things? Could this really be possible!?
In a few loping strides the dragon man had impossibly enough crossed the whole field and grabbed my wrist painfully before squeezing my nonexistent biceps, thighs, and poking a finger painfully on my stomach.
"Hey!" I mumbled, stepping back.
Suddenly he lashed out like a tiger and I could see his hand swinging to deal a nasty knock to the side of my neck. Before I could think clearly, I ducked and the hand sailed over my head.
He looked surprised and his eyes swirled faster before he stepped back and nodded. "Landin I expect to have him more conditioned by the time I come back. And more respectful. Then I will take him."
"Take me? Where?" I demanded impulsively.
He shot me such a piercing glare that I shut up. "I want him to be ready in three weeks." Then he pressed a silver badge, just like the one that I had tried to steal from a man while breaking into the government facility only weeks earlier, onto my shirt.
They were talking about me as if I were a bird getting ready to be plucked! I didn't like this...
"Yes sir," general Wolverine said curtly.
The Indian dragon dude gave me a quick nod, dismissing me and I scurried back to my rank, numb, as the Indian started picking out some recruits from every element; a zap, a fire, wyvern.. All of them he tested their strength and defense. I watched numbly. What did this all mean? What if he was just testing our muscles because he wanted to eat us like that nursery rhyme Hansel and Gretel? I shivered as I picked up a mewling Caedmon who snuggled into my chest.
Finally he dismissed us and I headed back slowly, head down and my eyes glowing a bright violet in thought.
Suddenly footsteps flurried beside me and I whirled around, expecting full well to find a mob of angry people trying to knock my block off.
Instead it was Song, Dustin, And Merman who were all pink with surpressed laughter and with a huge grin on their faces... Except Dustin who looked a bit angry.
Song: "Congrats Justin. You were chosen! You should feel so proud of-"
Merman laughs and added. "You are one cool cat! I can't believe you had the nerve to laugh to Stonehenge!"
"Stonehenge?" I echoed, confused.
"Only the most powerful dragon in the whole US Drakon Force!" Dustin said in a biting tone.
"Hey we know he's your idol but give it a break! Justin didn't know!" Song said in her gentle way, flashing a smile at me.
"Yeah... Didn't," I mumbled. Wow.. So that was the general who was coming for inspection. I hadn't ever thought he would be a... Dragon. While I was mulling it over the others had been talking excitedly around me like flies buzzing around a carcass.
"... In all the best ranks, have lots of money.." Merman was saying.
"Be in all the best missions," Song said in a breathy whisper. "My old boyfriend was trained by Stonehenge. He got to help find the terrorist who blew up that mall in Columbia."
"Wow.." Came their collective gasps.
"I heard he's the best teacher you can ever have. Good job, shadow boy," Dustin said. It sounded nice enough but I could sense his words were laced in bitterness and I could tell he was lamenting that he didn't get picked.
"I might get picked," Merman said, oblivious of Dustin's mood. His white teeth shone brightly as he grinned. It was almost blinding. "He said he hadn't seen a dragoness like Larissa for twenty years! It's between me and this Calvary- fourth year girl who has a whale of a water dragon." He rolled his eyes.
"Wait wait-" I stopped, forcing the others to eventually trudge to a stop with me. "Where am I going with this guy? Why was I picked?"
"I don't know- ask him," Dustin said. "General Killprettywoman- his Rider is a specialized trainer. It's big leagues, Justin."
"Kill... Pretty woman?" I echoed with a laugh.
"Native American last name. Don't mock it," Dustin bristled somewhat.
"Alright alright but it's funny.." I mumbled.
"That's why we call him Stonehenge. Old as time with a face like stone," Merman snorted, elbowing me.
I shook my head, trying to absorb all this as I walked into mess hall.
Little did I know, today was about to get a whole lot messier.
All during lunch I was the talk of the town. I had managed to insult Stonehenge and not only make it out alive- but become promoted! While most people walked over to clap my back or congratulate me, I could see the group I had ratted out about cage fighting glare at me from their tables like they wished I would drown in my chili.
I just smirked at them, flashing my badge so it shone in the eye of a particular Fire who was giving me such a dirty face I thought his pimples were going to explode.
The Fire growled and looked down.
I grinned and sat back in my chair like a Caesar, delicately feeding sausages to my proud little pet dragon, who looked down at everyone from his perch on top of my head.
But the glory I was relishing in wasn't about to last long.
As I was heading through the halls towards the training room, a Zap standing by the bathroom called out to me. "Hey.. Justin. Congrats!" His golden eyes gleamed as he beamed at me.
Finally these guys warmed up to me! I stopped. "Thanks man- what's up?"
"Oh nothing much. But hey, I need your opinion. My dragon's eyes are looking a bit funny," he drawled, trailing a hand through his hair. He looked like a model, with his dark hair and twinkling eyes. His toned muscles bulged as he raised his hands to his head. This is the kind of person that could back you up out of a fight.
But his question just caught me off guard and was so weird and random. He didn't really expect me to know much of anything about dragons after all that happened, did he? "Really? I- uh- I wouldn't know," I said awkwardly.
He waved a hand. "Just look!" He said as he pushed a small golden dragon towards me with a sly smile.
"Uh- alright," I said, lowering my gaze to meet the small dragons.
As soon as I made eye contact the pupils dilated so much that they were a slit and I could see the liquid gold swirling faster and faster, like a sea, churning and frothing. "Wow..." I whispered, leaning closer as I saw brief streaks of yellow color the eye like a zig zag of lightning. "It's like the ocean..." I could barely feel Caedmon's paw as he slapped my cheek. But I didn't care. And before I knew it, I was lost. Lost in those swirling, twirling, golden sea in those amazing eyes.
Little did I know, the crafty little guy had me under his spell.