Richie bounded up across Tank's left wing, taking up a sitting position astride him, just behind his rippling, scaly neck. Not knowing what lay in store for them in the tunnels, it had been decided that he would fly at the front of the pack, with some of the more physically imposing dragons. Gee Tee and the humans hitching a lift with some of the other dragons, all of whom felt honour bound to take them given their heroics in rescuing them, all travelled in the centre of the small convoy, with the rest bringing up the rear, leaving a solitary few in Salisbridge to search the city for survivors and keep an eye out for any other threats.
Gripping the scales of her friend's neck tightly, Richie glanced over her shoulder at the most unusual group of beings to take up arms together since time had begun. As Tank flapped his powerful wings and leapt into the darkness, followed closely by the rest of the force, she wondered just what awaited them at the other end.
Her serious demeanour cracked just slightly as the darkness closed in around them. Just like the other humans, she couldn't see, couldn't access the so called dragon vision that assisted all the prehistoric shapes gliding all around her. But what had forced the tiniest smile across her face, in the midst of this most horrific crisis, was hearing Hook's hushed words, echoing in and around the tunnel they were all now trapped in.
"Are we there yet?"
50
Get Ready!
Threatening to wake up the city of discarded computer towers at the front of the shop, the loud trilling of the phone echoed all around. Tina, for that was her human name, darted in and around the metal giants, her delicate feet just managing to find little islands of wooden floor as she ran. Eventually reaching the tiny front desk, she hurdled a pile of boxes and reached for the phone. Not out of breath in the slightest, despite her exertions, very politely she announced,
"DJ Hillier computer repairs... how may I help you?"
A voice she recognised followed the briefest of pauses.
"It's nice to know you're still awake... Tina."
'It's Yoyo!' she thought, tidying away some spare computer parts behind the desk, stacking them into their appropriate cubby holes. 'He never uses the phone. How odd.'
"Nice to hear from you, boss. What can we do for you?"
"That SPECIAL order, the one I came to see you about... is it ready?"
Tina thought...
'SPECIAL ORDER! Of course... the suits and the mantra.'
"I believe it's just being finished off as we speak," she replied.
"I'm about an hour out. I need it all ready for when I get there," exclaimed Yoyo urgently. "Also, I might need some of the staff to accompany me on a little... OUTING!"
"Understood," uttered Tina, intrigued about the 'outing' part. We'll see you when you get here."
"See you soon," answered Yoyo, and then he was gone.
Placing the phone back in its holder, Tina raced back the way she'd come, this time leaping computer towers three at a time, sprinting for the secret entrance that led her back to her friends, who were right at this very moment below her, putting the finishing touches to the dragon suits that their mentor had requested. They'd be both nervous and excited when she told them about the phone call, she knew, just as she was. Instead of using the hidden set of stairs, she palmed open the secret locker that was tucked behind an old upright vacuum cleaner, and after pulling open the dented metal door, leapt into the darkness, grabbing a very shiny metal pole and sliding down two storeys in no time at all.
Landing with a thump in full view of everyone else, she stood up and brushed herself down, before explaining what had just happened. Nervous excitement rippled around the room for a few seconds at least. But it didn't last, with the group quickly getting back to work, their minds fully focused on completing their assigned tasks. What would happen next was any dragon's guess, and not worth worrying over without knowing what it was. It would, no doubt, be revealed very shortly indeed.
51
Reaching The End Of The Road
All she could hear was the swishing of wings as the thick, dusty air washed over her. The darkness was all consuming. Even looking down to where she knew her hands were gripping the scales around Tank's neck, she couldn't actually see them, despite knowing they were most certainly there. Having lost all track of time in the tunnel, she had no idea how far they'd travelled given that she also had no idea of their speed. But she was hoping they were nearly there, if for no other reason than to stop for a drink.
'This heat is soul destroying,' she thought, as sweat poured off every part of her lithe body. 'Still, at least they all seem to be enjoying it.' All around her the flying dragons occasionally roared in approval at how hot it was in the confined space of the tunnel, with some murmuring that they couldn't remember it being like this when the tunnels were actually in use, before the monorail came along. Most seemed to think it was because all the entrances to the tunnels had long since been sealed up, preventing the air from circulating properly.
Gradually, she could feel Tank and the other dragons start to slow. Leaning forward as far as she dared, she spoke in her friend's ear. It was the first time she'd felt able to do so, as for the most part she'd been concentrating on clinging on and after that, the swooshing of wings and the rushing of passing air had made it all but impossible.
"What's going on?" she shouted. It came across to Tank as more of a whisper.
"It would appear that we can go no further. The tunnel is well and truly blocked."
"Have we reached London do you think?" she called, just as Tank landed on the uneven ground.
"I would hazard a guess that we're pretty close to the outskirts," her friend replied, as others around her growled their agreement of his assessment.
By now, the entire group had landed all around them, the humans choosing to dismount their fabulous rides, all thanking the hulking prehistoric creatures who'd been honoured to carry them. With the pleasantries over, it was time for some light in the pitch black, provided of course by the master mantra maker. A mystical fountain of light welled up from the old dragon's hands, while all around him muted admiration from both humans and dragons alike shone out.
"I haven't seen him show off like this in years," whispered Tank in Richie's ear. "I think he might be smitten with the very graceful dragon who suggested the idea of using the tunnels."
Both looked on as the graceful dragon slipped around beside the master mantra maker, eager to learn about the mantra that had formed the exquisite well of light. In the meantime, the dragons who'd been at the front of the pack were examining the rock barricade that stretched across the tunnel before them, preventing the whole group from going any further.
Content to wait for their opinion, Richie stood next to Tank. All the humans came over to join them, breaking out some drinks which someone had thought ahead to pack. Richie was handed a small bottle of water by the diminutive Janice, which she downed in one go.
"That was a blast!" exclaimed Hook, having taken a long slurp of water, slapping Tank high on the thigh. Tank's huge scaly head twisted around, putting itself right in the rugby player's face. For a split second Hook looked mightily unsure of himself, that is until Tank broke out the biggest dragon smile in the world.
"No funfair ride in the world can beat riding on a dragon's back," he opined. All the humans nodded their agreement. Richie stood waiting, for once ignoring the good humoured banter. The dragons turned and came back, disappointment etched across their faces.