Sarah and the Steam Dragon

Thursday, October 4th 2046 AD

During the night, a message was sent to all the students and their parents. The Junior High School was to be closed all day, while an investigation was conducted by the Guard. No students were to attend the school grounds until further advice.

Sarah saw the message when she woke up. Her mother had already read the message and by the time Sarah got to the living room, her day’s activities of cleaning and homework were planned in detail. Of course, Carrie and Brent still had to go to school, as their schools were not affected.

With all the crying and yelling this resulted in, Sarah would rather have gone to school herself!

She got dressed in her usual clothes for around the house and spent the morning helping her mother tidy up, put clothes into the auto-washer and dirty dishes in the auto-scrubber. A robot cleaner was set loose on the floors and her mother declared the housework was done for now.

Sarah was allowed some free time before tackling homework sent through by her teachers. The students may not be in the classroom, but their datapads could receive lessons anywhere with a network signal. She sent a collection of text messages to her friends, making sure they were all OK, then checked the popular news sites.

There was only a small article she found online, talking about a spate of unusual illness causing lethargy in the students. Nothing at all about the Guards searching the school or the teachers being investigated.

Her phone pinged with a message from Achmed. He had found some interesting stuff online and sent it through to his friends in the Gang of Four. One of his big interests, being a Scanner, was computers and the network so he belonged to a number of online groups. These groups had all sorts of people who contributed to them, students and professionals in particular.

His favourite was the Nerdwork group, who reported on all the interesting and often hidden activities happening around Pan City and the rest of the Zone. They had stories about secret experiments, dangerous terrorists, unusual characters and the like, which they claimed were all true.

Achmed had found reports that a certain Junior High School was suspected to have links to a series of terror attacks that happened some weeks ago. Those attacks had worried the Governors of Pan City so much they had imposed curfews for nearly two whole weeks. Sarah had loved it at the time as her school was shut down and they all stayed home.

It had been a major disruption to the lives of everyone in the city and some businesses were only now recovering from the lockdown. If the group behind those last attacks were involved in what was happening at her school, that explained why the Guard were taking such an interest.

She sent a message to Achmed: “Do you think this is really what is happening at our school? Could it be some kind of terrorism?”

He sent back a quick reply: “It seems quite different to what happened before. There were explosions and gun battles according to the reports. This seems different but there may be a connection we don’t know about”

Sarah pondered it all. Mr Albright and Creepy Bob were scary yet she did not think they were the sort of bad guys to use guns and bombs. The Guard must have thought otherwise, to send so many armed Police and soldiers into a junior high school.

Sarah sent another text to Achmed: “Do you think Eric is involved in this somehow?” It hurt her to ask this question, as she really wanted to like Eric. If half of what he told her was true, he must have led a lonely life. He seemed to be enjoying his time with his new school companions, regardless of why he was there.

Achmed replied shortly: “I think he is a good guy, but I don’t trust him. He is Enhanced, so why is he at a school for Awakening kids like us?”

Sarah was shocked and sent back quickly: “How do you know he is Enhanced?”

The response was quick and obvious: “I am a Scanner. I can see the transmissions coming in and out of his head. He has a top grade computer processor in his skull, so he can never be Awakened”

So that secret of Eric’s was out. If Achmed knew, he would tell Lilly. Those two never kept secrets from each other. Unlike herself she realised with a feeling of guilt. She had been keeping big secrets all week from both of her best friends.

“Thanks, Achmed” she texted to him. “We’ll talk later”

Sarah spent the morning going over the homework her teachers had set them. It was no harder than usual yet she already missed Eric’s calm assistance. Around midday she closed her datapad with a heartfelt sigh. Maybe after a break she could start again, hopefully with more success than she had so far.

“I’m heading up to the roof garden” she told her mom and grabbed some snacks from the kitchen. Pausing to make sure she had her smartkey and phone, she ran out the door before her parent could think of some other chores for her to do.

On the rooftop she raced between the planters to where she had left food for Stanley yesterday. There was no sign of it except for a few crumbs, so she hoped it had been her dragon and not some sneaky rodents.

She parked herself on a recycled plastic bench and opened her bag of snacks, the salty aroma of potato chips wafting into her nostrils. Crushing a handful into her mouth, she checked her phone for any messages.

Carmody and Lilly had both sent hellos, Achmed had sent them all a picture of him playing with his pet parrot (it was trying to eat his ear) and Miss Abrams had sent a message to ask if she was alright. Her teacher had heard about the encounter with Angelina before the other girl had left with her parents.

Sarah sent Miss Abrams a quick message to say she was OK and not to worry. She put her phone down and ate another handful of potato chips. Her mom would have a fit when she found out she was eating snacks just before lunch, but that was future Sarah’s problem. Sarah right now was enjoying her snack and grabbed some more.

Sarah glimpsed a dark shape crossing the sky and she stood up to see it better, shading her eyes against the noon sun. It was too small to be an airship or helijet, too big to be a Guard using a flight pack. Certainly not a bird she thought.

“Stanley!” she shouted as loud as she could, waving her arms in the air and jumping onto the bench. “Over here!” she called out in her strongest voice.

The dark shape veered in her direction and soon resolved itself into a white, blue and black dart that raced through the sky. As he approached the rooftop he lifted high over the safety fence then landed nimbly on his four clawed feet. A puff of steam whistled from his nostrils as he settled down, curling his tail around his legs.

“Sarah Evermore!” he greeted her with delight. “I am so glad to have found you at last. Why are you not at the school?”

“They closed it down for today. The Guard are searching the buildings and will interrogate Mr Albright and the janitor” she told him.

“Hmm” he pondered, “These Guard, they are the human soldiers that all smell the same?”

“Yes, I suppose you could say that” Sarah replied. “They are clones, which means they are all identical”

“And will they subdue your teacher and the Emissary?” he asked. “Will they be strong enough?”

“I guess so” Sarah said. She certainly hoped so. “Anyway, where have you been? I have been looking for you for ages. You need to stay away from the school. I think the Guard are searching for you as well”

Stanley looked a little embarrassed. “I have been trying to find Black Rock in your world. It was common in our old Realm, even the Avalon Realm had some buried that we could dig up and use”

“Black Rock? You mentioned that before so what is it?”

“I think in your world the closest thing would be coal” the dragon answered thoughtfully.

“Coal? That stuff they used to dig up and burn to make electricity? I don’t think anyone uses that anymore”

“That is what I am discovering” he agreed dejectedly. “I can smell there is Black Rock buried in the earth, but none of it is where I can reach it”

“Why is it so important? Can’t you just keep eating other food?” she asked.

“The Dracoris Vapora need Black Rock to make our strongest, hottest steam. If I hope to defeat the Emissary, I need Black Rock. Even a single piece would be enough”

Sarah was at a loss. She knew what coal was and they studied in History class how the threat of pollution had driven the world’s most powerful nations to seek other methods of generating electricity. Which was why she was pretty certain there would be no chunks of coal lying around Pan City for Stanley to eat.

“Well for now, how about some potato chips?” she suggested and offered the bag towards Stanley.

“Why, thank you Sarah” he replied and took the chips, bag and all, in his mouth and crunched them up happily. “Mmm, salty” he announced with a smile.

“So you were looking for me at the school?” asked Sarah once the dragon finished chewing. “Did you see anyone there?”

Stanley fished a piece of plastic bag from between his teeth with a claw, examined it closely, then swallowed it down. He really could eat just about anything.

“Hmm, lots of those humans in blue and the Guard soldiers” said the dragon thoughtfully. “Oh, and that new friend of yours, the boy with blonde hair”

“Eric? He was at the school today?”

“Yes. I was watching from the roof as he was ordering those soldiers about”

Sarah came to a decision. She had to know what Eric was really up to. Why he was at her school.

“Stanley, can you fly me to the school? I want to see what they are doing there”

The dragon looked at her for a moment. “You don’t just want to see Eric?” he teased.

“Don’t be silly” she huffed. “He is scary and horrible. I just want to find out what he is up to”

“Very well, Sarah Evermore” Stanley said. He held out his arms to her and she clambered into them, tucked tight against his warm chest.

The dragon kicked off the rooftop and rose swiftly into the air, the wind of their passage plastering Sarah’s clothes against her body. The girl whooped and hollered in delight as flying was lots of fun.

“Are you in distress?” asked a concerned Stanley, craning his neck downwards to look into her flushed face. Sarah nodded a vigorous “No” and they soared on.

As they quickly neared the school, Stanley slowed their approach and both of them looked over the grounds from a couple of hundred meters in the air. Two squat blue vehicles crouched in the school parking lot, big machines with six wheels that carried Guard soldiers about the City. They had small turrets on their roofs, studded with sensors and cameras plus a long barrelled machine gun.

Standing close to the vehicles were four of the Guard soldiers and a pair of Police Auxiliaries, being given orders by a familiar looking boy with blonde hair. He finished telling them what he wanted and they strode briskly into the main school building.

Eric stood calmly and watched them go, then lifted his head to the sky. Sarah saw him scan across the rooftops and nearby sky, his eyes passing over her and the dragon without pausing. She released a hastily held breath – he had been unable to see her while Stanley gripped her close!

“Let’s land on the main roof” she suggested and Stanley flew over to an open space she pointed out. He landed with a soft thump and lowered her gently to her feet, making sure that Sarah kept contact with one hand on Stanley’s foreleg.

“Don’t forget, if we get separated you will become visible” he reminded her. Like two friends holding hands, Stanley and Sarah walked to the roof edge and looked into the main courtyard. Eric was walking slowly towards the main building now, his eyes still roaming across the upper levels.

“I really think he is searching for you, Stanley” she told the dragon. “I wonder if he knows about the Emissary?”

Stanley watched Eric until he was out of sight, disappearing into the main entrance below them.

“He may think I am the Emissary. We arrived close together from the same world”

“I guess so” agreed Sarah. “Let’s have a snoop around inside while we are here. If no-one can see us it will be our best chance while the school is empty”

She led the dragon to a door set in a sheltered porch. A keypad and smartkey scanner were set into the wall next to the door. “Here’s hoping they have not suspended Creepy Bob’s access” she muttered and quickly typed in his four digit code. With a satisfying ‘ping’ the door unlocked, so Sarah could not resist a quick air punch and “Hell yeah!”

Holding hands like grade schoolers, Sarah and Stanley crept inside the building. They were at the top of a smaller set of stairs that ran all the way to the ground floor, one of three sets in the main school building. It was eerie to be in here with the school so empty. Automatic lights flickered on to illuminate the stairs that disappeared downwards, yet the silence was unnerving.

Even on Testing days, the school was full of the two other Years, NOMAs and teachers, making noise and moving about the building. Today it was silent, only the faint sounds of their footsteps reaching her ears.

As they descended the steps as carefully as they could, Sarah thought of something else that had been bothering her.

“Stanley, even if you can’t be seen by regular people, and they automatically avoid touching you, how can they not hear you speak to me? Your voice is quite deep and loud at times”

The dragon gave a chuckle, steam puffing from his mouth as he grinned.

“I don’t actually speak aloud” he said matter of factly. “None of the Dracoris do. We speak mind to mind, like the ability your Awakened call Telepathy”

Sarah stopped in surprise and looked at Stanley. “Pardon?” she said.

“Look at my mouth as I speak to you now” laughed Stanley. “Do you see my lips or jaw moving at all?’ Sarah stared hard and realised with a dawning sense of wonder that he had always been like that. She had taken it for granted that his voice was heard by her ears, not directly in her head.

“Your mouth didn’t move at all” she said. She reached over and using two hands clamped his jaws tightly shut. “Go on, say something now!”

“Let go of my head!” Stanley said quite clearly. Sarah dropped her hands away in shock and for a moment the world around her blurred slightly. Stanley reached out quickly and took her hand once again and things righted themselves.

“Don’t forget you must keep touching me for the Obscuration to hide you as well” he admonished her.

“Yeah, sorry” she apologised. “Is this my special ability? Am I a Telepath of some kind?”

“I don’t know how the Awakened abilities of humans work” replied Stanley “It may be a form of Telepathy. I recall an ancient legend my Mother told me once from the old days, long before our Clan was seduced into darkness. She said that Dracoris of all kinds used to meet with humans and could speak with special ones, people known as Dracoris Familia. I suppose you would say Dragon Family or Dragon Friend, but I would call them a Dragon Speaker.

They were rare among humans and were the only ones who could see us without special magic and speak to us mind to mind. Perhaps you are descended from such a person, far back in time”

Stanley looked at his human friend and a toothy smile spread across his face.

“Maybe you aren’t a NOMA, Sarah? Maybe you were a Dragon Speaker all along, but until you actually met a dragon, how would anyone know?”

“Thanks Stanley” she replied. “It’s Okay if I am just a NOMA, as long as I have friends like you”

They went down more stairs, passing two floors of classrooms and laboratories. Stanley paused and sniffed the air deeply at one point, concentrating hard.

“What is it?” asked Sarah, looking anxiously about.

“Nothing” Stanley said after a few moments. “I thought I smelled something, but it is gone now. No matter, let’s move on”

They had reached the first floor landing that lead to many of her classrooms. In particular the Physics room that Mr Albright taught in. Sarah paused at the door that lead to the hallway beyond. She doubted there would be anything incriminating there still, especially after the Guard had searched. Regardless, she still wanted to check for herself and see if Stanley could scent anything.

She pushed the door open with her free hand and pulled Stanley along behind her. He was very long but at least he could fit though human sized doors. The two of them were halfway along the hall when the door to the Physics classroom slid open and Eric stepped out, followed by two tall Guard soldiers.

“Eep” Sarah said quietly to herself and stood completely still. Eric turned and looked in their direction down the hallway, his ear cocked to some sound. Without a word he gestured to the two Guards and they raised their rifles and stalked down towards the girl and dragon.

Her heart was beating wildly in her chest and she gripped Stanley’s foreleg with all her strength. The two clones walked either side of Sarah and Stanley, one of them even moving sideways unconsciously to avoid running into the dragon.

At the end of the hallway, one opened the stairway door and looked up and down, while the other covered them with their rifle.

“All clear, sir” they reported back and returned to Eric’s side.

“Very well” Eric said. “It looks like the school is clear. I will let the School Board know they can re-open tomorrow. We just need to keep our two suspects in custody for another twenty four hours. Hopefully by then they should break and reveal what they have been doing here”

With his Guards flanking him, Eric marched off towards the main staircase and was soon out of sight.

“Phew!” Sarah went and leaned back into Stanley. “That boy is more terrifying than any adult” she said. They gave Eric a bit more time to leave the area, then went to the classroom he had left.

Sarah opened the door and stepped in, Stanley close on her heels. It was never a happy place for her in this class and now it felt even more oppressive. It was like a dark feeling of despair was hanging over this room, infecting everyone who had to study here.

“This room feels bad” Sarah said “More than usual”

“You are right, Sarah Evermore” Stanley agreed. “There is a spell at work here. Something made by the Emissary”

“What is it?” the girl wondered, moving further into the room. “Why couldn’t Eric feel this?”

A dark cloud started to boil up from the floor, strange markings in black appearing at their feet, covering half the tiles.

“Because it was not intended to trap him!” shouted Stanley in sudden alarm, “It was for us!”

The dark cloud shaped itself into a winged form, pitch black and spike covered like a nightmare version of her dragon. It was big, bigger than Stanley, its long serpent neck and head touching the ceiling, huge wings spreading out wide.

“It is a Shade, a creation of pure evil” Stanley warned his friend. “Stay behind me!”

Sarah dashed behind the dragon, cowering in terror as the black beast lashed at Stanley with talons of ebon darkness. Stanley blocked the blow with his own long claws and struck back at the Shade.

Like passing a knife through smoke his claws rippled the darkness but had no effect. A return strike from the Shade got past his defence and opened a long shallow gash down his side. Stanley yelled in pain, his cry reverberating in Sarah’s head as well as shaking the classroom windows. Not everything he uttered was by mind speak she realised.

The Shade seemed to grow even bigger as Stanley’s blood trickled from his wound. Could it somehow drain power from Stanley that way?

“Stanley!” she cried, “How can we defeat this monster?”

Even as she spoke, the Shade struck out again and again, Stanley barely blocking the blows with his own claws.

“I need to draw out my remaining Vapora” he wheezed. He pushed her backwards to try and save her from the dark beast.

“No!” Sarah said. “This thing is too dangerous. We need to escape!”

Stanley blocked more blows, his own attacks having no effect on the Shade. Slowly and surely it drove the Steam dragon into the hallway, Sarah keeping touch with Stanley’s side.

“I must use my remaining Vapora!” Stanley insisted.

“No, this was a trap. We need to get away!” Sarah shouted.

“If I run I lose my honour!” Stanley shouted, raking his claws futilely across the Shade. It seemed to grow even bigger, filling the hallway, blocking out the light.

“Stanley, I know how you feel” she cried, tears forming in her eyes, “But sometimes you can’t fight the bully. Sometimes you have to run”

The Steam dragon paused, his front claws raised defiantly to the Shade. The creature seemed to wait, daring him to attack once more. With sudden speed, Stanley turned and grabbed Sarah in his forelegs and leaped into the air.

There was little space to fly, but to Stanley that did not matter. He was like an arrow shot from a bow, a long bolt aiming straight at the hallway windows. He cradled Sarah protectively and shattered the glass windows, soaring out into the midday sun.

Sarah heard a scream of anger as the Shade reared back from the sunlight. She had a brief glimpse of Guards and Police in the school courtyard looking upwards then they were gone, far out over roads and parks. Stanley was faltering, his breathing more laboured.

“Can you make it back to my tower?” she asked with fear in her voice. Blood was spattering his heaving sides, bright red smears on his blue scales.

“Yes, I can make it” Stanley assured her. They flew through the bright sky but Sarah was not elated this time. Her friend was hurt and she was not sure how to help him.

The tower appeared before them and Stanley flew with agonising slowness to the roof garden. He barely got over the safety fence before landing heavily in one of the flower beds. Sarah toppled to one side, scraping her hands and knees, narrowly avoiding hitting her head on another concrete planter box.

Stanley was lying outstretched, his breath coming in gasps. Sarah staggered to her feet and went to him, touching her hand to his head.

“Stanley, what can I do?” she sobbed. The gash in his side had stopped bleeding yet it was still red and raw, the wounded flesh parted like a ripped paper bag.

“I need fuel for my burner, something high in energy” he wheezed. “With that my body can heal the damage, rekindle my belly furnace”

Sarah was at a loss. She had no coal or any such fuel. Everything she knew of in this modern city ran on electricity. Nobody used gas or oil or even petrol like in the old days. Then a bolt of inspiration hit her.

“Hold on Stanley, I have to get something from my home” she said. With that she ran to the elevators and hurriedly summoned it to her. It felt like it took forever to arrive and she rushed inside, pushing the button for her floor.

An interminable ride later, listening to some ancient piece of music over scratchy speakers, and she got to her apartment door. Now came the sneaky part of her desperate mission. She keyed the door open as quietly as she could and tip-toed into the living room.

There was no sign of her mother being home yet which gave Sarah a huge sense of relief. In the living room was an old wooden cabinet that had been in her father’s family for generations he said. The wood was a rich brown, well worn but oiled every year with care. It was not locked, however Sarah and her siblings were told in no uncertain terms they were never allowed to open its doors.

Today was not the day to listen to her parents! She boldly pulled the wooden doors open to reveal her parent’s liquor stash. Bottles of flavoured liqueurs that her mom liked alongside her dad’s favourite – imported Scotch. Liquid fire in your belly was how he once described it to her, so it had to be just the thing to help Stanley.

The bottle was big and nearly full, since her dad had only bought it last week. She grabbed it and quickly closed the cabinet, turning to run back to the elevators. Then Sarah heard a noise that terrified her to the very bottom of her toes. The door lock opened as her mother used her smart key to gain entry.

Quick as a flash, Sarah ran to the entryway closet that stored their raincoats and umbrellas. She got inside just as her mother walked past, carrying bags of shopping.

“Sarah sweetie, I’m home” she called out, heading into the kitchen. “Sarah? Where are you? I brought lunch home!”

Using all her stealth skills gained in years of stalking her older brother, Sarah eased open the closet door, keeping the bottle tucked under her shirt. She crept the short distance to the apartment door and gently turned the handle to open it. It swung open without a sound and Sarah grinned to herself as she stepped into the corridor.

“Where are you going, Sarah?” demanded her mother from the living room. “And what have you got under your shirt?”

Like a startled deer, Sarah turned and gave her mother one brief look of pure terror, then ran! The years of evading bullies and her older brother had made her into one of the fastest short distance sprinters in her class. All she needed was a little motivation.

“Young lady get back here right now!” her mom’s voice carried to her from the apartment. “You have homework to do!”

Sarah dashed to the elevator in record time, mashing the Up button with all her might. It was arriving at the same time as her mom came around the corner from the direction of their apartment.

“Sarah Evermore!” her mom said angrily. “Where are you going?”

Then Sarah got in the elevator and pushed the top floor button, accidentally showing the bottle of Scotch she had tried to keep hidden. Her mom shrieked in horror at her daughter and rushed forwards. The last sight Sarah had was her mom scrabbling frantically at the elevator doors as they closed.

During the ride to the roof, Sarah took her phone out of her pocket and calmly turned it off. She was going to be in more trouble than she had ever been in before, she knew that. Right now though she needed to help Stanley. If she succeeded in that, she would gladly accept whatever her parents did as punishment.

At the rooftop, she hurried back to where Stanley still lay in the flower bed. He looked worse and when she reached him, his eyes were closed and he would not answer her. She touched his scaled head and the warmth he always had was fading.

Sarah unscrewed the cap from the bottle, then balancing it in one hand she tilted up the dragon’s head.

“Stanley, open your mouth” she pleaded to him. He did not respond and she felt fresh tears start to leak from her eyes.

“Stanley, please, I need you to open your mouth. I have fuel for your burner”

A single eye fluttered open and focussed on her.

“Sarah?” he said weakly in her mind. “Did you find some Black Rock?”

“Actually, I think it’s called Black Douglas” she said “But my dad reckons it will put a fire in your belly”

Stanley lifted his head and opened his jaws wide. Sarah stepped in close and tilted the bottle into his mouth, the rich aroma of the alcohol blending with the scent of flowers. The dragon gagged for a moment and some Scotch spluttered over Sarah, then he gulped and gulped and drank the rest down.

He sighed as the liquor hit his stomach and lowered his head.

“Thank you Sarah” he mumbled and seemed to fall asleep. Sarah sat down on the edge of the planter box and laid her head alongside his, one arm curled protectively around his neck.

“Please get better” she said and held him as tightly as she dared. Time passed and she soon fell asleep, her breathing matching the steady in and out of the dragon’s.