Emma, Taibul, Angela and Sam stood, mouths hanging open, in the shadowed entrance to the alleyway which they'd been taking cover in. They could all barely believe what had happened. It had looked like Richie was a goner. Flash's throw had seemed impossible. All breaking into smiles simultaneously, they rushed to join the others, keen to know the extent of the lacrosse player's injuries.
All around the bazaar, the battle was coming to an end. Prisoners who'd been freed, residents of the underground ancient city, were putting an end to the remaining guards who'd turned their world so unexpectedly upside down. No mercy was shown, with the residents doubling, sometimes even trebling up on the, by now, terrified guards. Some begged for mercy, some put up a fight. Either way, it made no difference. They all died, some quicker than others, but all in the most brutal fashion.
47
Oh, For Some Rubber Gloves
Groggy but not too badly harmed, Richie pushed herself up on to her feet. Wobbling a little unsteadily as she did so, she tried to grasp exactly what had happened. Flash was the first to skid to a halt in front of her, a look of concern etched across his face.
"You okay?" he asked.
"Uhhh... yeah, I, uhhh, think so," she replied.
"That was about as close as it ever gets. Don't do that to me again... EVER!" Flash declared.
Throwing him her best grin, the one reserved for winning people over and giving her an edge, Richie stated,
"Can't promise that I'm afraid. How about promising not to make a habit of it?"
"Deal," he replied, leaning forward and embracing the lacrosse captain softly.
Janice arrived next, having stopped to pick up the laminium dagger that Richie had dropped as she'd fallen. Approaching Richie, Flash and the unmoving dragon, the young blonde rolled the dagger over in her hands. It certainly looked pretty, all the jewels shining brightly in the light, and it felt... solid, well made. But she figured there was more to it than that, and was sure that Richie should have it back at the earliest opportunity. Offering it out in front of her, to her bedraggled 'friend', she didn't know what kind of response to expect, but was almost knocked out when the young lacrosse player leaned in, kissed her on both cheeks and thanked her profusely. The biggest grin in the entire dragon domain spread rapidly across her beautiful face.
And with that, the others arrived: Hook, followed by Taibul, Emma, Angela and Sam, as well as some of the other dragons who'd been freed by Janice's heroics. Hook gave Richie a congratulatory pat on the back, which caused her to turn and give him the 'look'. Laughing, he told her that he'd seen her in a worse state on a lacrosse pitch. Smiling, she agreed. And then abruptly the tone turned more serious. One of the freed dragons plodded forward. The others stepped out of the way to let him through.
"Are you the one responsible for all this?" he boomed in a very deep voice.
"Well..." started Richie. It was only then that she remembered the old shopkeeper. Turning in the direction of where she'd last seen him, there amongst the wreckage of the market, his body was just visible on the ground. Others around her followed her gaze, most of them letting out little gasps. About to take off in that direction, Flash put his hand out in front of her.
"I'll go," he announced, and taking Janice and the others with him, sprinted off in the direction of the master mantra maker.
Turning around to face the dragon that had spoken to her, she pushed all thoughts of the mighty Gee Tee out of her mind.
"So, are you the one?" enquired the dragon once again.
Other freed dragons had congregated around them both, all wanting an answer to the question. Feeling as though she were under a giant microscope, that's how much scrutiny she was under, in true Richie style, she puffed out her chest and very brashly stated,
"I am."
Along with all the others, the big dragon in front of her gave her answer careful consideration as the moments ticked by.
As Flash knelt down by the old dragon's head, the skin on his own back, or distinct lack of it to be precise, sent waves of agony rippling throughout his beaten body. Gently, and with more than a little trepidation, he opened first the master mantra maker's left eye, and then his right.
'They look fine,' he thought on examination. But Gee Tee continued to remain unconscious. Throughout, the human friends circled the huge dragon form, eager to help in any way they could. By no means a novice in this area, Flash's Crimson Guard training had included developing a full medical skill set, both for humans and dragons alike. But try as he might, he just couldn't find anything wrong. The old dragon was breathing, he could hear it, and the natural dragon smell of methane on his breath was almost overpowering, and that was to a dragon, albeit one stuck in human guise. His heart was beating, his circulation was fine and nothing was obstructing or blocking his airways. All things being equal, he should be standing up in front of them. Flash didn't know what to do. And then it hit him, much later than it really should have. TANK!
'Oh God,' he thought, turning around to see his friend still hanging up, over two hundred yards away. 'Why on earth haven't I got him down already?' Ordering the others to stay with Gee Tee, Flash, assisted by dragon power, sprinted off in Tank's direction.
Sweat dribbled down her back as she stared intently at the big dragon in front of her, mind filled with questions. What if they didn't know who she was? What if they were more concerned with how many dragon laws she'd broken, than with the fact that she'd rescued them? What if their battle rage still clouded their minds? Could she talk her way out of this? So many questions, and nothing in the way of an answer forthcoming from the dragons around her.
Reaching the metal monstrosity, Flash bounded straight up the side of it in two mantra enhanced leaps. Once at the top, he realised he should have brought Richie's dagger with him to cut the rope from which Tank swung. Silently, he cursed to himself... 'schoolboy error'. With no other option, he did something that he'd only ever done a handful of times in this particular form. Searching deep down in the core of his body, he found the tiny little spark that he was looking for. Just for a moment, he'd been afraid that he wouldn't find it, that it didn't exist, that it was somehow missing from this shell that he found himself inhabiting. But he recognised it and on doing so, pulled it upwards through his stomach and up into his throat. Feeling the familiar acidic tang precede what he needed, he leaned forward so that his head was almost touching the rope that held the binders to the structure, and then opened his mouth as wide as it would go. A small flame, blue and orange in colour, burst forth from between his lips, pretty much like you'd get from a Bunsen burner. Immediately, Tank started to fall. Flash leapt, somersaulting backwards, tucking his legs into his body, all the time ignoring the devastating pain that assaulted him. Before he hit the floor, he dived forward, catching in his outstretched arms the bulk of Tank's broken frame. Surprised at how much the strapping rugby player weighed, he supposed he shouldn't have been. Having caught him, he gently laid him on the cobbles, and started running through all the checks he'd done only a short time before with Gee Tee. After a while, it became clear things weren't looking good.
The rather fierce expression on the dragon that had asked Richie the question suddenly melted away as he offered out his hand to the talented lacrosse star.
"We all owe you our thanks, little one. And yes, we know exactly who you are. Thank you."