I never believed in
heroes.
They were the things of fiction, men in tights, men of
steel.
Like the knights that litter the world of fairy tails, they
couldn't exist.
There were no damsels to save, no dragons to
fight, no reason for their valiant deeds.
That's what I thought at
the time. All that changed when the meteor hit.
"Good
morning folks, traffic on the QEW moving north bound is looking a
little backed up this morning due to a brief flood along..."
I
knock my hand lazily into my alarm clock, searching for the button
that world bring sleep back, hoping to return to that bizarre land of
adventure, not wishing to return to the light. Finally I find it,
returning my dimly lit room to silence, but it no longer matters.
I
stretch out across my bed stifling the yawn that wishes to make it's
escape. Quietly I get up and prepare for school, slipping on my
dragon T-shirt and a pare of worn blue jeans. As I leave I turn to
lock the door, but I decide there isn't any point. No one will bother
breaking in.
"Hey Short-stack, hurry up." Joshua's voice
calls out. "We're gonna be late."
Joshua is my best
friend, I always hang out with him. The problem is he is really tall,
so people don't notice my brown hair or my blue eyes when they see
me, nope; I'm just the short stack. I race after him eager to get on
our way, after all, before we go to school we're going to meet the
Dragons.
The Dragons were an underground group that was
rumored to still mess around with the town, the government called
them vandals; we called them artists. They waited until the night
fell to paint the town a million different colours. The minders were
always getting tips on their whereabouts; the adults all
thought of their masterpieces as felonies; but the Dragons always
disappeared before the minders got there. Recently my best friend
Joshua found one of them out and was told to meet them today. They
also told him to bring anyone looking for a bit of fun to tag along,
a lucky break for me.
"Hey,
did you hear the news?" asked Joshua.
"I hate the news;
you know that. Nothing new ever
happens."
The world
was at peace; the fighting in Afghanistan had cleared a year ago.
After that, the rest of the world was too scared to fight back. The
soldiers were all declared heroes; the last of their kind. They
quickly faded from memory. After all you can't have a hero if the
world is peaceful.
"True, but still." Joshua was always
like that, even when we were kids. He would always ask the dumbest
questions, then follow up with his actual question.
"The
weather has taken a nasty turn these past few days don't you think?"
He says.
"Yeah,
the floods and typhoons popping up everywhere, and that freak forest
fire at high park."
"Mmmhmm,
only one of the turrets was left standing. It's like the end of the
world." His voice is quiet when he says this and it leaves a gap
between us. I look up at the clear blue sky almost expecting it to
fall on us, that's how bad the weather was these days.
"What kind of tattoo
do you think I should get?" Joshua asks, his tone much more
cheery.
"What? You know those aren't allowed anymore." I
say taken aback.
"Exactly." He said, a wicked grin
spreading across his face.
"How about a dragon." A voice
overhead replies.
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