This became my life for the next three months. Scavenging, hiding, and crying. I never saw another person. Never heard anyone call my name. I was forced to stay by the shack, hoping nothing could get to me. Even though my wounds had healed, I was still weak and helpless against the monsters. Although things started to change yet again.
Natural disasters faded along with the darkness. The sun could now be seen and the ground had gone still. The only thing that remained consistent was the active creatures roaming about. I had to rely on stealth and trickery in order to survive among them.
It felt hopeless, but I never gave up.
I reminded myself to keep going, hold on to life and my sanity. The shack offered just enough coverage to shield me from most monsters. I scavanaged what I could, raiding abandoned cars for any supplies. There were times I had to fight. When approaching a fire truck, I used the axe to fend off hellhounds, but still only so I could run away. Everyday could be good or bad, but always lonely. There was no sign of any humans in the area. I was too far from any outpost to ask for help. I had no vehicle, so reaching Dallas on foot would be a death sentence. I prayed to God everyday, begging for some help. Just as I thought it had fallen on deaf ears, then came the dragon.
"Oh god." I muttered.
She was beautiful, but powerful as well. She stood almost a hundred feet high, towering over the surrounding trees. Her body sleek and elegant her blue scales caught the sunlight. A golden undertone shined on her body, like it was the base of her creation. Her wings were large and flared when she about to fly or when she wanted to intimidate. Two curved horns peaked from her head just above golden piercings eyes that would follow anything that move. She was supported by four muscular legs and all four feet were tipped with razor sharp claws. Her tail was long and the end had sharpened spikes that would flare when she became aggressive.
Any creature who came too close was killed. She had no mercy, devouring every living thing within sight. Even monsters as terrifying as hellhounds, aswang, and wendigo were no match for this beast. It was difficult to skirt around the edges of her nest. She had laid seven eggs, each the size of an adult human. All of them had a blueish color with golden swirls on the surface. The dragon protected her nest with fierce determination. She never left, laying on top of the eggs like a chicken using her body as an incubator.
Monsters who came close were killed before I encountered them (which I didn't mind), harmless grazers were barbecued, even something as small as rabbits and birds were eaten. At first it seemed manageable, but then the eggs hatched. Seven baby dragons, miniature figures of their mother, roamed the area and explored the woods.
As they settled into their nursery, I noticed how the young dragons interacted with each other, how they run and feed and play together. Yet, as there was fun and games, there was also fierce competition and fighting for attention. I also realized how the mother would allow them to fight amongst themselves. Cleary she was about survival of the fittest. The last one to hatch was often the target of it's siblings. It was singled out by them and wouldn't get much help from its mother. All too often it missed its meals. It struggled to keep up with the others, training to be dragons like their mother. It probably would've died, but I didn't let that happen. Why? Well just cause I felt like it.
I shared scraps with it, but it favored other creatures. So I helped it hunt for nutrition. I cared for it's wounds when it got injured, I protected it from monsters who tried to attack. Every struggle and challenge it had, I faced on it's behalf.
I felt a bond form between us. Every time I helped it hunt. When I bandaged its wounds. When I looked into its eyes. It was like it felt me too. I wondered if this bond would pay off, or if the little one would eat me when it was stronger.
At first the mother would discourage her child from favoring me. She would growl and bare her teeth, like a wolf warning you to back off. Monster carcasses would be outside my shack. Trees would be burnt and knocked down when I was out. Despite her contempt she didn't kill me, nor did she actually burn down the shack I was living in. I always wondered if she was afraid too, or if she was putting me through some kind of test.
Eventually she ignored my presence and focused on her other offspring. The youngest would come to me when it should be with her. It relied on me instead of training with its mother. It stayed near the shack instead of the nest.
One day I woke up to an empty nest. With no sign of them, I figured the mother chose to find another location for her offspring. I thought that would be the end of it, until the youngest appeared. It circled the nest, calling for its family, but none of them answered.
A week later confirmed my suspicion. That the last dragon was left behind on purpose. With no sign of the mother returning, I took in the young dragon. It was willing to trust me as it's new companion and family. We even grew closer in the following days, living in the shack together and hunting for its food.
Then, two months after the mother's departure I heard a voice in my head. It was was soft and sweet and female in nature. It was asking me to be it's rider. I don't know how, but I knew it was coming from the dragon. She had reached out with her mind to begin a process. To bind us internally. It felt like a big deal when she explained that I would be the first of my time to make such a bond.
When I agreed to do so, she instructed me on how to perform a ritual. It felt like a plot on game of thrones, but again some how I knew it would work. First I gave her a name, Hestia, after the Greek goddess. Then I told her mine. I can now understand her and other dragons telepathically, at least that was what she said. Then she pressed her head against mine. This gave me her level of senses, including the sixth one. Last we used a piece of cloth and let our blood drop onto it, then we built a fire and burned it. This made the bond official.
Immediately I felt my strength and durability increased beyond humanly possible. I was capable of healing myself and others, with effort. Hestia even said I was immune to fire and could wield it as a weapon.
As the fire burned, The smoke started to wrap around my right arm. A burning sensation lingered from where it had settled. When it finally stopped, a distinct mark covered my entire arm. It depicted a woman and dragon side by side. With blue and gold flames swirling around them. It was the most beautiful mark I had ever seen. Hestia said it would represent our bond and allow others to know I was a dragon rider.
It was kind of scary to think that it was possible. To imagine the power we have together is almost unnerving. All of the hell could be escalated into the actual end of the world. Hestia was clear we never would go there, but even now I still didn't know what to do with this bond. Power like this made it clear I could survive now. Power like this also made it clear I could be a target as well.
Then again I would have Hestia with me. We could make it through the perils of this world. I even wondered if perhaps this is why her mother left. She knew we would be stronger together than alone. I can only speculate all of this, but it was better than worrying.
However, Hestia did mention something that even she couldn't understand. She said that her mother told her that their world and mine was now one and thus had become something new and would need great leaders to survive it. New lands and life would be discovered and Hestia must prepare for her part in it. One day the great evils of both worlds will banned together and it will be a war of the ages.
This means that their was another world and it had its own purpose and power to rule it. What caused the worlds to collide is now the question, but I can't help but feel that the answer will be far from here. Even now I'm reluctant to leave Texas, if I can even still call it that, but this is no longer about me. Hestia is my world now and if leaving is what it takes to insure our survival, then so be it.