Now it was all over, the child's body remembered to scream. And scream it did, at the top of its voice, waiting for her parents' warm, safe embrace. Steam poured from the car's radiator as it sat embedded in the wall of the house next to the shop. Carrots, potatoes and onions rolled around the pavement. Cracked eggs, a puddle of milk and broken glass covered the shop doorway. The jingle of the bell floated across the air as the shop owners raced out onto the street, narrowly avoiding the mess from the dropped shopping. The still screaming young girl raced into her parents' arms. Earth side-stepped them and dashed over to her husband. Pedestrians from all around came rushing over to join her.
Eyes closed, he looked as though he was fighting some sort of battle to remain conscious, if she was any judge. Aware of all those around her, she pleaded with him to wake up. But to no avail.
Kneeling over him, she cradled his head in her hands, able to feel exactly what he was doing. She had a sense of just how bad his wounds were: broken ribs, shattered pelvis, damage to his internal organs. Desperate to lend him her strength, she knew that it was too much of a risk given the gathered crowd. Already there was talk of an ambulance on the way, pretty much the last thing the two of them needed, given exactly how hard they'd tried to keep a low profile. More than a few minutes passed before a loud breath startled the crowd into moving back. Opening his eyes, and despite Earth's protestations, he sat up. A loud murmur whispered around the crowd.
"I should sit still if I were you," announced one onlooker. "There's an ambulance on the way."
Turning to his wife, they both shared the same thought. They had to get out of here, back to the safety of their cottage. With the damaged car hissing, spluttering and steaming away behind them, gingerly he rose to his feet. The gathered crowd were dumbstruck.
"I'm alright... really," he mumbled. "Just a few bruises, nothing too serious. Not enough to require an ambulance anyway. I think we'll just wander on back home. A couple of days' rest and I'm sure I'll be as good as new."
Nobody wanted to argue. So with his arm around Earth's shoulder, they turned as one and headed in the direction of their home. From out of nowhere, the shopkeepers stepped out in front of them.
"What you did was so brave. Thank you very much," said the girl's mother, clutching the young child close to her.
"You're welcome," replied Earth's husband, trying hard to force even the faintest semblance of a smile onto his face.
"If there's anything you ever need, just ask," declared the girl's father, handing them a bag full of all the things they'd just lost.
Earth and her husband nodded, before heading back up the street, turning the corner and disappearing off into the distance, eager to get back to their cottage.
They couldn't have known it at the time, but their good deed was about to cost them dear. In a house across the other side of the road, an old woman had seen everything. Regarded as a nosy neighbour by all of the insular community, it was something that didn't really bother her. She too kept herself to herself, not mixing with others unless she really had to. And her reason wasn't too far removed from that of Earth and her husband's reason. You see, she was a dragon, one that had been cast out for nothing more than a minor transgression, at least that's how she saw it. But having witnessed the events of the last ten minutes or so, she was sure that she'd been privy to something important, something the dragon world would want to know about... something that could be traded for the end of her exile. So she set about contacting the relevant dragons, with a view to bargaining for her return.
38
The Element Of Surprise
About ten minutes, that's how long it took to walk from Camelot Arcade to the nearest monorail station. It seemed a lot longer, probably because all the two of them had done was muck about. Tank constantly tried to trip Flash up (something that hadn't happened yet, despite his best efforts) while the ex-Crimson Guard kept knocking his meaty friend's rugby kit bag (something so big, you could probably have fitted a couple of small adults in it) off his shoulders. Childish didn't begin to describe it. But they were happy and their laughter echoed throughout the surrounding tunnels, streets, roads and paths that they crossed, much to the consternation of the dragons around them. On their way to the charity sports day in Salisbridge, with Tank due to play, Flash was keen and excited about watching and meeting up with Peter and Richie much later on, having some thrilling news to tell them all... at least it was thrilling to him, and he hoped it would be to them. It would ultimately mean that he'd get to see much more of the unconventional trio he was so proud to call his friends. Recently he'd decided, and it flew in the face of pretty much everything he believed in, to follow Tank's example and take up playing rugby. For some time now he'd marvelled at his friends' passion for their respective sports, finding it unfathomable at first. It made no sense at all. But the more time he spent in their company (something he enjoyed immensely) the more he felt compelled to join them. Deciding which sport to try hadn't been easy, but listening to Tank talk, animatedly, time and again about the coaching he did and the games he played in, narrowed down the difficult choice. So later on that night, in whatever setting they found themselves, he planned to announce his decision, in the hope that they would approve. Backslapping, hair ruffling and high jinks all continued, even on the monorail, with disapproving looks the order of the day from all the other commuters.
Mere minutes later they arrived, announced by the customary whoosh of the carriage doors. Joining the throng of dragons heading out onto the platform and wading up the stairs, both friends continued their antics. It was a shame really. If they'd been paying more attention to their surroundings, they might just have recognised the danger earlier, saving themselves a whole world of pain.
Reaching the top of the stairs, that's when he noticed it, but by then they were both being dragged across the plaza by the crowd of dragon passengers. It felt to him as though someone were scratching his brain... at first anyway. With everything that was going on, it was hard to make head or tail of the strange sensation. And then a feeling of total and utter dread washed over him, along with the sense of something very, very familiar. Instantly his body exploded into action, every nerve ending, every cell, ready and waiting to burst. Across the plaza in front of them, the crowd had stopped, some even backing away. Flash's mind had just worked out what he'd sensed... NAGAS!