"DAD? WHAT THE—
I couldn't find a way to put into words of what I'd just seen.
He staggered toward the pickup and I closed my eyes. I would be scarred for the rest of my life after seeing him naked. My mind went crazy with words like "dragon," and "Dad," and "dragon" again—thoughts that would land me in the nuthouse if spoken out loud.
The zip of his army bag pierced the silence. I could hear him struggling to get into his pants. I pinched myself with shaky fingers.How did I not know any of this? Is this actually happening? No, it's a dream. I'm going to wake up soon and—
"You can open your eyes, Elena." His voice interrupted my string of thoughts and I knew I wasn't dreaming.
I opened my eyes and stared at him. "Dad, why didn't—"
"I didn't want you to find out this way. I'm so sorry." He cleaned the cuts on his face with another t-shirt. Our eyes met, and he looked at me with a clenched jaw. All traces of the copper beast were gone, not one scale in sight.
He held out his hand for mine, his other raised, as if to signal surrender. Trembling, I accepted and he helped me get out through the opening where the windshield should've been. My entire body shook now, and the cut on my head stung fiercely.
My hoody and jeans hooked and tore on pieces of broken glass as I placed my shoes on the crumpled bonnet, but my gaze didn't leave Dad as I climbed through the jagged gap. When I was free from the truck, I watched him pour clean water from a bottle onto a shirt that he pressed to my head.
"Ow!" I pulled away my head.
"Hold still," he said, and patted my forehead softly with the cool, wet shirt.
I ground my teeth. It felt as if someone had hit me with a baseball bat.
I didn't know what to say, and a horrible silence filled the air between us while he put a Band-Aid on my face.
"I need to make a call."
"Dad?" I grabbed his arm, and he turned back around to face me. "Are more dragons coming for us?��
"I don't know, Bear." He caressed my cheek gently with his thumb. He dialed a number and held the phone carefully to his ear. His eyes searched everywhere, his face illuminated by the soft glow of the phone. "Matt, Herbert here. We got attacked by dragons." Dad spoke fast and listened for a few seconds. He walked away from me, facing away from the truck. "No...I told you, not over the phone." He spoke softly. "We are stuck on Interstate Forty, just meet us and please hurry...I don't know if more are coming." Dad switched off the phone, returned it to the pocket of his pants then faced me again.
"Elena, I need to tell you something. Believe me when I say this wasn't how I planned on doing this." He sniffed hard and wiped his nose with his index finger and thumb. His eyes searched the horizon before they fell back onto mine. "I wanted to take you out for a nice dinner and maybe ease into things." The corner of his lips curved softly, and then the smile disappeared just as fast. "But..." He sighed, blinked a few times, and looked away. "Bear." His gaze found mine again with tears in his eyes. "I love you more than life itself, and I would never let anything happen to you. You need to understand that."
I nodded more than once, but struggled to wrap my head around the fact that my Dad could morph into a dragon.
He swallowed hard and lowered his gaze.
What is he not telling me?
A screech that pierced the darkness made both of us jump.
"Elena, just run," Dad hissed and pushed me gently in the direction I needed to follow. "As fast as you can. Matt is on his way, go, now!"
I heard the sound of ripping jeans, and when I looked back, a huge dragon stood in the place where my father had been seconds ago. I didn't even have time to say goodbye or "I love you." All I could do was what he asked, and I started to run.
Tears blurred my vision, and I wiped them away vigorously. Not that it helped; everything was pitch-dark and I couldn't see a thing in front of me. I fell down hard but got back up and kept running. I didn't look back as I silently prayed for the motel to come into sight. Another screech made me stumble again. This time fire lit up the entire road. I looked at the sky and saw the outline of the dragon, the one with the beautiful face. A shiver ran up my spine as I remembered the evil emanating from him.
Where is my father? I'm going to die. Don't give up, Elena. Get up! I kept running, while the dragon, lurking in the darkness, followed my trail. A predator that I could not see was stalking me, but each new shiver told me it was there.
I shrieked as something hard pressed into my rib cage. I hadn't even heard it coming. One moment my feet were touching the ground, the next, I was soaring through the air. Its talons pressed hard into my flesh. If it pressed any harder, it would snap me in two.
The flapping of its wings was loud and it reeked of sulfur. I started to cough uncontrollably as the strong smell crept into my lungs. My eyes started to burn, and it felt as if my head were going to explode.
My whole body shook when the dragon collided with something hard. The dragon's weight was thrown back, and his grip around my torso vanished.
I tumbled through the air. A vague vision of another dragon snapping at the red dragon came into view. The red dragon breathed fire that lit up the sky. The two dragons became smaller as I descended. My heart beat so fast. Then everything went black and all became silent.
* * *
DULL VOICES SPOKE quietly in the background. At first, I couldn't make out what was being said. It sounded hollow, as if they were speaking into a tin can. One question dwelled in my mind: Was Dad okay?
Sight returned in shadows, first the light, then a bit of gray. Four figures stood over me, but I couldn't tell whether they were male or female.
"Constance?" A man with a strong Asian accent spoke clearly.
"Not now, Master Longwei," a woman admonished in a British accent.
I tried to lift my hands from my sides. I couldn't move.
Why can't I move?
The British woman barked a breakdown of medical stuff to someone, and one of the figures disappeared.
"There's something else you need to know," a man who sounded vaguely American said to my right. "She has the mark. It's a dark one too."
Mark? What does that mean? Am I dangerous? Will I be okay?
My heart rate rose again, something heavy sat on my chest.
"But you said that her father was a dragon," the Asian man said, sounding confused.
"How is this possible, Matt?" the British woman asked.
"I don't know, Constance. I told you everything I know."
Matt? Where's my Dad?
The three figures lean over me. The British woman wore a long, white lab coat and had a stethoscope draped around her neck. She had the strangest silver glow in her hair, and she exuded confidence. The Asian man was short, middle-aged, and wore the ugliest Hawaiian shirt I had ever seen. The American, who I assumed was Matt, appeared to be in his fifties, with golden blond hair and a huge nose.
"You did well, Matt." The Asian man patted him on the shoulder
"I just wish that I'd gotten there sooner," Matt said with a darkness returning to his eyes. My heart beat faster.
The doctor turned her attention to me. "Do you know her name?"
"I think he said it was Eloise, or Elena. I think it is Elena," Matt said.
"Elena, can you hear me?" she asked, shining a light into my eyes. Dark spots danced across my sight.
I hate that.
The woman repeated my name. Each time she became more anxious.
The Asian man touched the woman's shoulder gently. "Constance?"
Her gaze snapped back to him. "No, Master Longwei," she said in a firm tone. "I'm not giving up. She's too young and she has barely lived. I will—"
"You can't save them, Constance. Their minds don't perceive our reality. She needs—"
"No! I won't give her the serum. Her mark is dark; we should try to get her back!" Her gaze fell on mine again. "Elena, please!" She had tears in her eyes as she pleaded with my immobile body. "Just blink once. It's all you have to do."
Blink, Elena, blink, the voice in my head demanded. I didn't want any serum, but I couldn't blink.
She waited a few seconds. "Elena!" she yelled.
The Asian gawked at her, stunned by the sudden outburst.
I finally blinked. I did it multiple times, afraid they hadn't seen.
A hysterical laugh mixed with relief escaped from the doctor's lips as she wiped the tears from her face with the back of her hand.
Matt took a deep breath.
"What can I do, Constance?" asked the Asian, I assumed was Master Long-something.
"Nothing at the moment, just let her rest. She's been through enough for one day."
* * *
MY EYES OPENED, and I found myself lying on a small bed in an infirmary. Each limb worked again, except my arms. They did their own crazy thing and moved without my control. My one hand clawed and pulled at the IV bulging from under my skin. Liquid squirted everywhere and the machine connected to the syringe made a crazy high-pitched sound.
The rest of the beds were empty and I pushed myself up straight while I desperately searched for Dad.
Haven't they found him?
"Everything is going to be okay." The doctor's voice came from right next to me. It made me jerk. I hadn't even seen her.
Our eyes met, and I ended up staring like an idiot. Her light gray eyes, with dark spots inside the irises, started to calm my nerves.
With warm hands she pressed gently against my jaw.
I felt the cold metal disk of her stethoscope on my back. Goosebumps blossomed everywhere on my skin, as she moved the metal disk around.
"Breathe," she ordered, authority filling her voice.
I took a deep breath. The question of my father's fate scorched the tip of my tongue as I struggled to take another breath. Tears lurked in the corners of my eyes as different scenarios played around The stethoscope went back around her neck when she finished.
"Where's...my dad?"
The corners of her mouth dropped and her eyes became soft.
I knew with what had happened last night that the chances of him being alive were slim. "Is he...dead?" It scarcely came out as my chest contracted with barely contained emotion.
She nodded.
"No," I said in a soft whisper, and a tear rolled down my cheek and landed on the white linens of my bed. My throat closed up, and I struggled to breathe. She carefully helped me dangle my bare feet over the edge of the bed then placed an oxygen mask over my face. Air filled my lungs once more as she ordered me to take deep breaths.
An image of Dad in our last moments before that dragon came back played in my mind. He had wanted to tell me something, but had never gotten the chance.
A shattering pain went through my heart, breaking it into a million pieces. I couldn't hold back the tears anymore, and I let them run angrily across my flushed face.
"Sweetheart?" The doctor cupped my face in her hands and crouched in front of me. She pressed me tightly against her chest, and her arms curled around my shoulders, while she waited for me to calm down. It was only when my sobs turned into heaves that she spoke again. "My name is Constance. You came to us two days ago. Do you remember?"
Two days ago? I nodded as my teeth dented the inside of my mouth. My jaw muscles tightened. "How did he die?"
"The dragons killed him," Constance said.
I bit hard on my lip as I tried to force back more tears.
She told me about Matt catching me right before I hit the ground. Matt must have been the other dragon that collided with the red one. He was part of the FBI and one of his co-workers who worked with him on the scene had gone to look for any survivors, but they had found none.
She told me how every dragon was registered, except for us. Her explanation raised more questions than it gave answers—questions I couldn't answer.
She poured a glass of water. "Elena, why were the dragons after your father?"
"I don't know. I didn't even know he was a dragon!" I said as I took the glass from her hand.
"When did you find out?" she asked.
"The night on Interstate Forty." It sounded like the title of a bad love song.
The conversation in the pickup before the accident suddenly jumped into my head.
"Where am I?" I asked.
"You're inside Paegeia. It's a world—"
"I know about Paegeia." I didn't know what to make of it.
"He told you about our world?"
I nodded as deeply as my bruised neck would allow.
"Then I'm sure that you know that no human can leave after going past the Wall."
I sighed. The stories were foggy. 'The Bermuda Triangle' were the only words that occupied my mind. I struggled to remember more details. Tears welled up in my eyes again. I succumbed, buried my face in my palms, and sobbed.
She held me close against her chest and murmured words of comfort into my hair. When my crying reduced to dry heaves yet again, Constance spoke cautiously. "I'm sorry to ask you this, Elena, but did your father ever mention the mark of the Dragonians?"
I snapped up my head and stared at her. "The what?"
"Your mark is of true significance on this side," she continued. "One as dark as yours, well, let's just say that dragon children don't bear something that special."
I remembered them speaking about the mark earlier, but I still didn't know what it meant for me. I shook my head.
Everything twirled inside my mind, making me dizzy. Touching my cheeks, and sliding my hands to the back of my neck, I leaned against the pillow. I stared at the ceiling, watching a fan spin really fast until it blurred out, into nothing.
Dad's gone. I'll never see him again. "I shouldn't have left him that night." I spoke to the ceiling until I broke down again. I didn't even say goodbye.
"Don't blame yourself, Elena," Constance said, offering me only comfort; no words could erase the pain and guilt.
She caressed my arm and waited patiently for me to finish processing.
"Wait, if Dad was a dragon, am I—" I said in a panic, attempting to push myself back up to a sitting position.
"No." She giggled, and helped me back down onto the bed. Sorry, Constance mouthed and took a deep breath. "You would've known by now if you were a dragon." She pulled the blankets back over me. "I think that's enough for one night, don't you?"
I glanced at the clock on the wall. The arms showed three o'clock, and by the silence, I guessed it was a.m.
I nodded slowly, positioning my head back onto the soft pillow. Our conversation had ended.