Chapter 7: Dragons

~~ September - Week 38 & Tychy Week 3 ~~

Work was progressing nicely, and the base was down.

The eight airlocks were in place, and the bottom 4m of perpendicular walls had gone up. The supports for the dome roof had been erected. They were waiting to be covered.

This dome didn’t have the same radius in its height to its base. It more closely resembled the top third of a ball after being cut-off. Unlike the dome on the ship, this dome appeared smokier, due to the intense light. The glass’s special properties were going to be very useful on this planet.

The team had seen several flying lizards over the past two weeks. But they tended to keep their distance from where the people were working. Ivan said that one of them that was over on the mountain range had been enormous. He even called it a Dragon.

He said it looked like one that he had seen in one of the old English movies they had watched, but it had a long neck, bigger back legs and a longer tail.

Back in Utopia, Ben had designed a multi-frequency device that humans couldn’t hear but drove the local bugs and even some of the other wildlife nuts. They had attached them around the fence and even around the camp.

It had proven just as effective here as they didn’t find any more cockroaches or scorpions in the camp. This was much to DT’s and several other people’s relief. They had noticed the small flying reptiles also steered clear of the fences, once Sean had installed the electric fences. The frequencies it emitted seemed to warn them away.

Lee had been with Sean when she suddenly looked up and started running. Sean didn’t hesitate and was soon right behind her. He had no idea what was going on, but he ran as fast she did.

Terry’s voice came over the general com, “Sean, there is something big near you guys, and it’s moving bloody fast.”

Then they heard the screams, and they ran faster.

Kim Mc Nee was up on the wall with Ivan when they heard a strange noise. Ivan turned in time to see the monster swoop down on them. He overbalanced and soon found he was hanging by his harness.

The claws on one of the massive feet had just missed him. But to his horror, he saw the huge claws on the other foot wrap around Kim, and she was jerked into the air. Her carabiner clip snapped, and she was gone.

Ivan screamed and screamed.

Sean and Lee were just in time to see the monster grab Kim and take off. Lee had her wand fully extended, and she threw it with all her might, like a javelin. Sean watched in amazement as it sailed up under the beast and went up through under its jaw and into its head.

It dropped like a stone.

They all watched as it crashed to the Earth just beyond the dome. They felt the tremor beneath them when it hit with a whopping thud. Lee was soon running again, and Sean was right behind her. Gary, Jim and Qu were running too. They had been tuned into the general comm.

Ed, Kim and Ivan were on a different channel as they were concentrating on getting the panels in place.

The group came up to the monstrous creature. It honestly did look like a mythical dragon. Its slender body was covered in iridescent green and cream scales. Its neck was at least 3m long with a big head with long jaws and plenty of teeth. Its tail was close to 5m, as was its body.

Its wingspan was close to 12m. It had two longer muscular back legs and long-clawed feet like a bird and slightly shorter thinner front legs with long claws on appendages similar fingers. The head was long with lots of very sharp teeth inside. The large black eyes were closed, and it wasn’t moving.

Lee headed straight for Kim. Sean and Jim had to help her lift the large membraned wing so she could get under it to Kim. Lee came back out a minute later. She had tears streaming down her cheeks. Sean hugged her to him and let her cry. Gary handed the now-retracted wand back to her.

Meanwhile, Ed, Iran and Zan were busy rescuing the distraught Ivan. The poor guy was in tears and trembling. He was mumbling about monstrous claws and bloody great fucking dragons, and he didn’t know how it has missed him. He was a mess and huddled into his brother’s arms once they got him down.

Qu, Jim and Sean had managed to roll the beast off Kim. They were shocked at her state. They soon concluded Lee couldn’t have saved her. One of the long thick claws had pierced her chest between the ribs. It was still in her. She would have been dead before Lee had downed the beast. They had the grizzly task of getting the claws out of her so they could get her back to the transporter.

The transporter landed five minutes later. Sean had everyone, but his Army team bundled back on the transporter. Lee refused to go to Sean’s distress. She kissed him and hugged him. Then she said she had to do this. Despite himself, Sean understood and reluctantly let her stay.

Ed volunteered as co-pilot so Terry could stay.

The team of eight loaded up two of the lingers.

They took enough gear for four days. Gary, Juanita, Qu and Minnie loaded into one. Sean, DT, Terry and Lee got into the other. They each had shock poles, pistols and stun grenades.

Sean had adapted four trank-guns to take larger tranks after seeing the crocodile. They had a range of a 500m with plenty of punch. He made sure there were two in each vehicle. Then they headed for the hills.

Terry had backtracked the signal to about where he believed the dragon had come from. As much as they didn’t wish to exterminate the local wildlife, the dragons were just to bloody dangerous to have so close to the new settlement. Lee was very quiet on the trip into the mountains.

With the lower gravity, they could get far better height in the linger to get over obstacles and found the going not too bad. They had progressed up the mountain about a klick when Lee said that they needed to stop soon.

She pointed to a large ledge, and they halted the lingers on it. It had a substantial overhang, and they were able to park the lingers under it leaving a clear area they could camp in behind them. They were not keen to camp out in the open.

The team bustled about and set up camp. It was getting dark, and this place was as good as another was. Over to their right about 20m, was a large cave entrance.

Sean came up to Lee, who was staring at the cave. “Hey, Lee,” said Sean. “You know that funny signal that Ria found. It’s coming from over there,” Sean pointed to the cave.

She nodded in reply. But she kept staring at the entrance to the cave. Sean patted her shoulder and went back to held setup. Lee wasn’t surprised. She had felt something pulling her in this direction for the last couple of days. She just wished the death of a friend wasn’t the reason for bringing her here.

She had heard what she determined was a voice in her head, for the last two nights that they had spent on the planet. But wasn’t able to understand the voice. She believed that humans were not the only sentient beings on this planet, after all.

She had hoped they’d have the central dome up before she dragged Sean off to help her find the owner of the voice. She wished fervently that Kyle were here with her.

The air shimmered in front of her and Kyle appeared. Fortunately, for Kyle, he was dressed. If she had called him in a couple of minutes, he wouldn’t have been as he was on the way to his apartment.

Kyle looked around and then back at Lee. “Oh, just bloody great Lee. Now, how the fuck do I get home?”

Lee giggled and hugged him fiercely. She even locked lips with him to his delight. He didn’t hesitate to kiss her back. Lee was in his heart whether she wanted to be or not. Lee grasped just how much she had missed him. This last three weeks had been the longest they had been parted since they had met.

Sean came back to check on Lee and found her standing on the ledge in Kyle’s arms. “What the hell? How the fuck did you get here?” he exclaimed at the sight of Kyle.

Kyle released Lee and smiled at Sean, “Hey man, I had nothing to do with it. She called, and apparently, I came.” Lee giggled at his comment.

Sean looked at Lee. She smiled that smile she kept for him, then came over and snuggled in his arms. “Sorry sweetie, but I need Kyle to help me with this one. I have a feeling he will be able to understand the dragons better than I can,” she told him.

“Dragons? What bloody dragons?” Kyle said, not sure that he wanted to get cuddly with dragons.

“We were attacked today by a dragon. Or at least that’s what it looked like. It was bloody huge. It took Kim and nearly got Ivan. Lee killed it with her wand. It was bloody awesome. She threw it like a javelin and got it under the jaw straight into its head,” Sean told Kyle excitedly.

Kyle looked between Lee and Sean. “You bought me here to kill bloody dragons? Are you insane, woman?” he squealed.

Lee shook her head. “No, Kyle, I need you to talk to them. We have to work out a way to live together. I almost understand them, but I think that I need you to bridge the gap. I think you will be able to understand what I can’t.”

Kyle looked at her, shrewdly, “Like the dolphins?”

Lee smiled at him, “Yes, once I linked with you when you were talking to them, I was able to understand them. Come sit here with me and look at that cave.”

Lee took his hand, and the three of them sat on the edge of the ledge. She linked hands with Sean as well and then linked minds with both of them. They looked at the cave. Lee asked the voice to talk to her.

‘Wizard, so you return. You abandon us here and then have the audacity to return after all this time,’ the voice said angrily. ‘What have you done to my brother, I no longer feel him, and he hasn’t returned?’

“I’m sorry, but he attacked my people. I can’t have this. May we approach your home and talk about this problem?”

‘As if I can stop you,’ the voice returned with vehemence.

‘I promise no harm will come to you and yours while we talk. But I will not tolerate my people being hurt or killed do you understand?” Lee said sternly.

‘Who are the others with you? I feel another wizard and someone else.’

‘They are my family,’ Lee told the voice.

‘Yes, you three may approach,’ the voice said in a resigned voice. As much as she hated living here, she hated being controlled by the wizards. She had hoped they were gone for good but knew that they had an annoying habit of coming back to plague her people.

‘We will be over soon,’ Lee said and broke the connection.

Sean looked at Kyle and Lee. Man, this was the weirdest day of his life. The three made their way back to the others. To say the team were surprised to see Kyle is an understatement. “Hi guys, I hope someone’s got the coffee on,” he said as sauntered into their midst.

Gary looked at him and said, “Just couldn’t let us have all the fun, could you?” Kyle laughed, and they hugged and back slapped each other.

Lee said, “I’m famished.”

Sean looked at her. Her glow was noticeably fainter than normal. She must have used up a lot of energy to get Kyle here, he thought. He went and grabbed her, a couple of the high-energy bars that they always had on hand and gave them to her.

He checked Kyle and handed him a couple as well. He watched them devour them. He wasn’t even sure they touched the sides as they were gone in seconds. “Juanita, I think we need to feed these two before we go talk to the dragons,” he said.

They told the team what was going on while Minnie and Juanita rustled up some food. Fortunately, Juanita always packed enough food for at least two extra days. They were going to need it; the way Kyle and Lee ate. Sean watched the pair.

In some ways, he was sad that he wasn’t enough for Lee. He knew in her heart she loved him, but she loved Kyle just as much. They had a bond that was forged by their blood, friendship and their unique abilities. All he could be thankful for was that right now she wanted and needed him too.

He knew the day on the beach that things between them were more serious than either wished to admit. He hadn’t told them that when they came together, their glows were blinding and that they had merged into one. He didn’t think Tony saw what happened.

He was overjoyed when Lee got off Kyle and sat on his cock. It was her way of telling him that for now, she only needed him in her bed. He could only hope that she felt that way for a lot longer yet. He didn’t think he would give her up without a fight.

Kyle looked at Lee and then put his hand on Lee’s stomach and closed his eyes. He smiled. Then he looked at Sean. “Your daughter is amazing, come here,” he gestured to Sean. Sean sat on his knees in front of Lee. Her baby belly was now more apparent.

He placed his hand on her stomach and Kyle put his hand over his. He felt a warm, loving feeling engulf him. It sent his heart racing. His daughter loved him. Tears streamed down his cheeks.

He pulled Lee into his arms and hugged her tight as he composed himself. Lee linked with him, ‘We both love you, very much, my hunky.’ He kissed her with all the love in his heart. Lee happily kissed him back.

Kyle looked at the couple. As much as he loved Lee, he was happy because she was. ‘All was as it should be,’ he thought.

‘Wizard we felt something strange happen there is a new energy. Can you explain it?’ Kyle heard in his head.

‘I believe Lee’s daughter has become self-aware, she is still in the womb, but she just connected with her father,’ Kyle said. Not sure himself what just happened. He couldn’t wait to get back to Debora to see if his son had also awoken.

‘Who is this, Lee?’ the voice asked, confused.

‘She is the new Lord Wizard. I’m her cousin Kyle, and I only recently became the Gold Wizard. We only recently came from the planet the Keltria people left over seventeen hundred years ago. We found some of the wizard’s boxes and two opened for us. We are now bound to the Keltrian people’ he explained. ‘By the way to whom am I speaking with?’ he asked.

‘You may call me Aronha, Gold Wizard Kyle. How long has the wizard who brought us here been gone?’ she asked.

‘We understand that the old wizards died within a few short years of settling on Utopia, this planets sister. There have not been any other wizards until we came as far as we know,’ Lee answered.

Kyle hadn’t realised she had heard the conversation. But obviously, since they had linked, she could now understand the dragons.

‘Which wizard brought you to this planet?’ asked Sean. Surprising both Lee and Kyle that he was also able to hear and understand them. He grinned at them.

It wasn’t every day you got one up on a wizard. He could only guess that his daughter had done something when she linked with him. He felt different too.

‘Lord Wizard Jahn bought us here to guard his treasures. He said he would be back, but he never came,’ Aronha said. ‘I suppose that they are now Lord Wizard Lee’s treasures. We can only hope she can break the spell, which ties us to this Island. My brood has grown, and food is becoming scarce.’