Aces in the Sky

It's the day it all comes to score... A day for Furia to prove herself once again. Kansas's Selections is right at hand and only one option is to take to get victorious... Give it all.

Aces in the Sky

 

One day, just a week before the Selections, I was finishing a training session. This session included everything that I would go through in the Selections. When I landed, David unstrapped himself from the saddle and jumped off by my side. He walked in front of me and said…

 

-Alright, Furia. You have done amazing and I think it’s impossible for you to be any more ready for the Selections. There’s only one thing for me to show you before you are completely set.

 

David then proceeded to take off the training saddle, and saddled me with a regular saddle. Then we, along with Icy, Dani and Mantra, headed towards Dani’s country house. When we arrived and everyone landed, Dani guided us to the back of the house. With David’s help, Dani got out of his shed some kind of structure covered with a blanket. Then, David said…

 

-This, Furia, is what you’ll be wearing in the competitions.

 

Then, with a swift movement, he took the blanket off and I just stared… On a model of a dragon’s chest, there was a black second-skin-kind-of-saddle with dark red and yellow flames, and, as it wasn’t enough, with dark golden twisted letters, it read: “Wings of Liberty”. On the side was a human suit with the same color pattern, but different in the way it was wore. It wasn’t second skin, more like a combat uniform. It was a full set that included long pants, a long sleeved top, like a jacket, and goggles.

 

David walked to my side and said…

 

-What do you think?

 

David, this… It’s amazing… I…

 

In the meanwhile, Dani said…

 

-This is a specialized custom made sports saddle, unique of its kind; without mentioning the lightest and most comfortable around, and provides light protection. The suit for the human provides protection against air friction.

 

David… but… I’m not even a racer…

 

David then walked to the human top of the suit and turned it. It read “Rebel Rider” on the back with the same letter type and color of the ones on the saddle. Then he said…

 

-This has nothing to do with racing; it’s a gift from mine and Icy’s part, and it’s completely yours and Patrick’s. I have the same uniform for myself for the Selections, just that it says “Bowman” on the back.

 

Geez, David… It’s awesome, thanks. Let’s give it a try!

 

-Knew you would say that, but sorry, no one can see this before the competitions. Not even the rider’s suit, the reason I’ll send Patrick’s to your home in the day of the first competition. The saddle, since it’s yours, you can take it with you from then on.

 

Why can no one see this?

 

-This is still a young sport; not all the racers can afford gear of this caliber, sometimes not even when sponsored. And since it’s just a week before the Selections, everybody is just thinking on how to improve their equipment.

 

I’m just wondering why the organizers of the Selections didn’t just pick you to represent Kansas in the National Selections. I mean… Your name was important in Racing before the Dragon Era and is as well in actuality along with Icy’s.

 

Icy was who answered me…

 

Is just for the other known racers to have a shot and to be fair and s**t like that. And actually, the organizers already knew we were going to win… until my incident happened. They allowed David to still participate with you in my place so we can make it up to the World Cup. They count on us for Kansas to represent the United States in the World Cup.

 

Afterwards they just put back the saddle in the shed as David said… “We’ll give the  suit to Patrick and have your saddle cleaned for you after the party we’ll have after the Selections”.

 

I gave David the names of who I wanted to accompany me in the events. We could only choose two persons and dragons each. Of course, I chose Elvis, Pyro and Patrick. David chose his wife, her dragon Aeria, Dani and Mantra, while Icy would fill up the gap in my group.

 

Then I flew back to Texas to have lunch there and rest until the day of the competitions. Arriving at Lubbock, I managed to feel Patrick’s mind and he was the one to greet me first…

 

Hey, Furia!

 

Patrick! Sup!

 

Just one week before the competitions. Sure wasn’t expecting you. How are you doing?

 

Well now you know it, actually I’m going to spend the rest of the week here. I’m doing great. That first prize is gonna be mine for sure!

 

Can’t wait to see that happening!

 

Check out the saddle I’ll be wearing that day… I then remembered the saddle for Patrick to see it and the suit that was going to be his after the competitions.

 

Woah! That sure looks badass!

 

I arrived at the house and landed in front of it. I shook myself and asked Patrick…

 

Have you had lunch already?

 

No. Preparing it right now though, why?

 

I’ll wait for you and then hunt something to eat together.

 

Alright.

 

I lay on the ground and fold my wings closed and continued chatting with Pat…

 

So, how’s the training with Elvis? Have you mastered any weapons?

 

I’ve mastered clubs, swords, bold throwables, sharp throwables, heavy throwables and shields, all with one and both hands. I even know how to heal. He even told me about a weapon I used to be pretty good at… The Chain Blade… I learned in a day how to make it and I’m almost mastering wielding it. It’s like… it’s so easy… and weird as f**k because I’ve never had a fight in my life.

 

I arched back my neck and raised my head from the ground as I said…

 

It took you five months to learn all that. Maybe it’s true… maybe you’ll remember everything at some point! Have you had any flashbacks? Or strange dreams? Anything?

 

No… Sorry.

 

I dropped back to the ground saying with a sigh… Don’t worry about it.

 

Patrick came out of the house carrying a small bag and left it on the porch, starting to head to the back of the house…

 

Where are you going to?

 

Going to get your saddle…

 

Oh no. Don’t get it… I’m too tired to do any flying today; I barely have energy to hunt, if not less.

 

Well then… Patrick picked his bag and walked towards me as I started to stand up and turn to the direction we would walk towards. He was by my right side when he patted my arm and continued saying… We’ll get to fly before the Selections, right?

 

Of course, Pat. You’ll even have a taste of my training. There are these daily exercises that I have to do to keep my nerves and muscles sharp. You’ll be my rider when I do them.

 

Sweet then!

 

We then found the herds and I made my kill, then Patrick and I just ate and talked. We then got under a big tree for some shadow and took a nap right on place. By the night, Elvis and Pyro came by to train Patrick. Elvis and Patrick sparred in front of the house; the area lit by lamps and surrounded by darkness while Pyro and I watched. Our riders exchanged blows with edgeless swords or suddenly generated a new weapon to surprise one another. Suddenly, Patrick dissipated the knives in his hands and generated The Chain Blade with his right hand. He held his fighting stance for a moment, his elbow bent back, placing the dark red smoky blade next to his head as the chain hung from the handle and connected back to his hand, the source of the Energy. Suddenly Patrick whipped the weapon at Elvis, sent the blade behind himself and made it fly in a wide arch to then land the hit on Elvis’s shield. He then made the blade spin and a new attack was born and was heading at Elvis’s side. Elvis jumped away from the hit and charged at Patrick, who generated a sword to engage on his incoming opponent.

 

It was the same as to see my Patrick fight back in the day… the same ability and fighting style, same selection of weapons… What else did he need to remember to come back whole?

 

During the rest of the week I did my two hour long routines with Patrick and roamed around. It passed too fast if I have to say it. All of a sudden, early one morning, Patrick and I found ourselves flying to Kansas, accompanied by Elvis and Pyro.

 

The Kansas Selections for the United States National Dragon Sports Cup were hosted in the Memorial football stadium as a meeting point and headquarters. There would be a team of over twenty camera men covering every angle of the action while filming us on their dragons. Every camera was going to be carefully looked on by ten judges and two of the most important sports radio commenters: Joey Flesher and Nick Brinkley.

 

When I arrived, I saw David, Icy, Mantra and Dani, and dived towards them. Elvis, Patrick, Pyro and I greeted them, and not a single second passed before the racers started getting me ready with the new saddle. It took longer to be set up, but hell it was comfortable. David was already wearing his suit, along with the other dragons and riders that were warming up. The camera men were setting up their equipment and the technicians were making sure all connections were correctly set with the camera room and the signal worked properly with the cameras and the monitors. The camera room was a carp in a corner of the field filed with monitors linked to each camera and chairs for the judges and radio commenters. It also worked as headquarters for the organizers of the event to be and survey everything.

 

The people were settling themselves down on the terraces while the time to start the Selections came closer every second. So did Elvis, Patrick, Pyro, Mantra and Dani and got to where David’s wife and her dragon were, at the borders of the field.

 

David checked the saddle for any last minute tweak to make for the rest of the while before the Kansas Selections started. We then received the signal that everything was about to start, so every racer stood by their dragon, everyone aligned with the center line of the field that would serve as general purpose line.

 

Looking forward with arched up necks, the dragons stood by the side of their riders while the national anthem was chanted and afterwards a little bio was said about each of the five riders and dragons. The pack of competitors was formed by Rolland Prescott & Sabre “Sky’s Edge”: Like David, Rolland was a racer even before finding his dragon. Hershel McGriff & Valkyrie “Hell’s Hound”: Like me, they were amateurs, but their ability with fire, born out of just playing with it, made them serious competitors. Amy Northrop & Daemon "Fear Slayer": Amy was a stunt pilot and became a stunt rider once she was able to ride Daemon. Kelly Stinson & Berserk "Easy Fighter": Kelly was a wrestler before finding her dragon, and when she found Berserk; she challenged her wrestler-friends’ dragons to fight him. When dragons began to be part of small events like competitions, this people participated with their dragons until there were proper sport competitions. Racing, Fire-breathing, wrestling, stunt riding… they didn’t need to change their focus; they just evolved it with their dragons. And then there were David and me…

 

I was a Texan warrior among Kansan racers… be it because of family business, inspiration, career selection, talent; all these speedsters had something in common: a reason to be here, a focus, a discipline, a goal… while I just happened to be here passing by thanks to some technicalities and the fact that none of the racers objected to this. They probably think I’ll be an easy pick just because I wasn’t an athlete; yet I can’t afford to take being underestimated as an advantage since they’ll give what they’ve got against the other sport veterans. Looks like an opportunity to give ’em a good show.

 

And the Selections for the Kansas’s representative in the National Cup of the USA’s Dragon Sports had officially begun. Suddenly, some dudes approached us and handed a folder to each rider and attached a device to each dragon’s saddle. Then the main organizer stepped in front of us and said…

 

-The Selections will begin with the Racing Course. Inside those folders are pictures and reference guides to each checkpoint of the racetrack and their order. They form a circuit in which whoever is the first to complete two laps is the winner. To complete each checkpoint you have to pass within ten meters from them in any direction. The rules are simple: No flame throwing, there’s a competition for that. No contact of any kind against racers; and no Vital Energy. Failure to comply with these rules will mean instant and total disqualification not only from the event but from the Selections as well. You have fifteen minutes to study the checkpoints. Now get ready to make Kansas proud.

 

David opened the folder and together we studied the checkpoints. I had flown over Kansas enough to recognize all of them and their order was easy, except for a couple of tricky curves, of course, those are never missed. Later we were given a signal to get ready; David climbed onto the saddle and strapped himself up, put on his goggles and leaned forward when the countdown started from five.

 

You’ve been here before Furia… I thought for myself… your abilities have been tested before… remember your training… Wings slightly open, crouched position as if to strike a prey on land, neck completely leaned forward and head straight. Respiration calmed and fluently synchronized to the countdown to take off right after an inhalation. On the count of one, at the instant I hear a powerful gunshot, lunge forward while opening wings upward. That way the body has some energy and movement by the time wings are fully open and ready to stroke downwards. Elevation is quick and effortless thanks to the boost given by the first steps. Right away, stretch legs and arms backwards to prevent them from hanging, affecting the aerodynamic. Flawless take off.

 

 

 

-There they go! And as surprising as it looks, Furia “Wings of Liberty” and David Bowman got a very good start, now at the head of the pack.

 

-That’s right, Nick, merely trained to race and she’s taking the curves with an amazing fluency.

 

 

-And they make the first lap. Furia has kept the first place the whole lap, though not with great advantage. How do you think this will develop Joey?

 

-This is the last lap, Nick. This is where surprises come to life.

 

 

-Careful, careful!!… And Furia lost the lead right after the last curve! Such an incredible maneuver by Rolland Prescott and Sabre “Sky’s Edge”, my friends!! The racers give out everything in the last sprint… aaaaaand… they cross the finish line!!

 

-That’s the conclusion of the Race Course, everyone… Rolland Prescott and Sabre “Sky’s Edge” earn the first Victory of the Selections, followed closely by David Bowman and Furia “Wings of Liberty” and then the rest of the pack. The racers will now have a fifteen minutes rest to recover and get ready for the next event. Take the time to comment this amazing race while we are back with more action. See you all later, your servers Joey Flesher.

 

-And Nick Brinkley.

 

I was panting when I landed. Damn it! That Sabre is fast; I didn’t even see him. Gotta concentrate and try harder if I want David to represent Kansas. I felt David unstrapping himself and jumping down from the saddle as he said…

 

-Wow, nice flying there Furia. Didn’t think Rolland and Sabre were so fast in the long term, but that won’t work for them in the next event. Catch yourself some breath.

 

Rolland and Sabre then received medals for being Kansas’s best racers. Later they approached us, and the rider said…

 

-That was impressive, nice racing back there for a newbie, Furia “Wings of Liberty”.

 

Thanks. You guys are very fast, didn’t expected you so close.

 

To what Sabre answered…   Don’t even mention it. Good luck for the next event.

 

Then I said…   Good luck to you as well, you’ll need it this time.

 

Rolland just smiled carelessly and said…  -See you later, David.

 

-Later, Rolland.

 

You’ll get’em next time, Furia!… Patrick told me as he cheered up, clapping his hands and screaming.

 

I spent the time like David taught me: walking around and flexing my wings every few seconds; we couldn’t afford to have cold muscles for the next event. Never took my eyes from the gigantic balloons they sent to the air with people hanging from them in baskets, they were tied together by a long rope and I began to figure out which was going to be the next event. Suddenly they called all the competitors back to the line.

 

 

-Welcome back to the Kansas Selections, everyone; this is Nick Brinkley, commenting the action with my partner Joey Flesher. Tell us Joey, what’s going on right now?

 

-Thank you, Nick. The racers are going back to the line for the next event: The Speed Air Climber. Rolland Prescott & Sabre “Sky’s Edge” earned the first Victory in the Race Course by a head, which makes me expect a very intense performance by the rest to try to catch up.

 

-Let’s talk a bit about that Victory, Joey; by the end of the second and last lap, David Bowman and Furia “Wings of Liberty” had the lead. It was after the last curve that Rolland and Sabre did a very risky dive and flew underneath David and Furia. It was amazing!

 

-Indeed it was Nick; it reminded me of the time when David Bowman and his dragon, Icy “Speed Demon”, almost killed themselves in order to win a competition.

 

-You know how they say, Joey: No pain, no gain.

 

-Now back to the actual event, The Speed Air Climber is about to start.

 

 

 

We were all again aligned and ready to start the next event. The main organizer stepped in front of us and said…

 

-The next competition is The Speed Air Climber. In this event, the Victory is earned by the dragon who bites off and takes the rope between the balloons above. Same rules and same consequences. Good luck.

 

David strapped himself to the saddle and we waited for the countdown to start. When it did, I waited for the count of three and straightened myself up, standing on my hind legs; opened my wings just halfway and when the gun was fired, I opened my wings upwards and jumped along with a powerful wing stroke. Again… a perfect take off.

 

 

 

-Wow! When it comes to take offs, no one compares to Furia “Wings of Liberty”, again at the head of the pack. And it doesn’t look like she’s going to give away that position.

 

-On the other hand, Valkyrie “Hell’s Hound” and Berserk “Easy Fighter” are quickly left behind. The only ones up to Furia’s challenge right now are Daemon “Fear Slayer” and Sabre “Sky’s Edge”.

 

-And it keeps getting worse for both of them, Joey, all three of the heads are beginning to feel the effects of flying in a straight line upwards, past half way to the rope and they are struggling with each wing stroke. They have no chance to catch up with Furia with so little energy left.

 

-That’s right, Nick. Furia is now just a couple of meters from the rope aaaand she takes the rope with her Victory!! Marked since the beginning by her spectacular take off!

 

-Way to get a Victory, isn’t it? Flawless, clean, perfect.

 

 

 

Gliding back to the stadium with the rope still in my mouth, I could feel David cheering on my back, patting me and screaming. When I finally landed, David unstrapped himself and jumped down, patted my neck and got in front of me while saying…

 

-That was an awesome take off, Furia!! You’ll definitely leave your mark in the Dragon Sports!

 

I could hear Patrick, Icy, Pyro, Elvis, Dani, Mantra, David’s wife and her dragon cheering up like crazy, roaring, exhaling fire and screaming and clapping. Their cheers muffled by the gone-crazy crowd… except Patrick, who yelled straight into my brain. I dropped the rope to the ground and looked around. It had been a long time since I was cheered at like this. I opened my wings with this feeling of pride; it remembered me of when The Dragon Society and I won the war against “The Government”. My first ever great accomplishment by the side of… Patrick. I sighed and told myself… How I wish you were here, Pat. F**k, I miss you.

 

A moment later, some dudes approached us and gave us both a medal that had carved the logo of the Dragon Sports. Mine was bigger than David’s and said… “Kansas’s best Dragon Speed Air Climber”, while David’s said “Kansas’s best Rider Speed Air Climber”. Suddenly, a thought that crossed my mind almost made me chuckle while the medal was being handed to David.

 

I’m from Texas…

 

 

 

-Alright! We are back again to the action! Your commenters for the occasion: Nick Brinkley and Joey Flesher.

 

-The competitors are back in the line and ready for the next competition: The Top Flyer. This competition is all on the rider. The competitors have to discover which of them can get to the highest altitude without any kind of device that would assist them in the matter.

 

 

 

When the countdown started, David patted my back and said…

 

-Eh, Furia…

 

I turned my head a little, just enough to see him…

 

-Finally one on me, huh?

 

Then the countdown reached cero, making us, all the competitors, take off calmly and to make a wide spiral upwards. Now it’s up to you, David…

 

 

 

-Again, Kelly Stinson, and Hershel McGriff are the first ones out of competition. I guess they will shine in tomorrow’s events.

 

-I guess too, Joey. Now it’s all up to Rolland Prescott, David Bowman and Amy Northrop.

 

 

 

I was slowly flying up, keeping an eye in the other competitors. As long as David doesn’t give me the signal, I’ll continue going up. I just hope he’s not unconscious or something.  Then I saw Sabre and Rolland diving off. Alright! We’ve got this, David!!  But suddenly, I felt my back being hit repeatedly. Oh f**k!!  Then I quickly dived straight down. Hang on, David!!  When I landed, the emergency unit rushed at us while David unstrapped himself and dropped to the ground like a ragdoll.

 

David received oxygen along with Rolland. They totally exceeded their limits and got to a dangerously high altitude.

 

 

 

-And Amy Northrop and Daemon “Fear Slayer” get the gold as Kansas’s Top Flyers! This competition is officially filled up with the best of the best!! Almost everyone is tied to a single Victory so far and there’s just one event left for today…The Flame Throwing Event!

 

 

 

No surprise on this one… Hershel McGriff & Valkyrie “Hell’s Hound” with their supernatural inferno abilities. The only team that didn’t get a Victory today was Kelly Stinson & Berserk "Easy Fighter". Then the competitions for the day ended and the competitors took off in different directions with their groups.

 

In the next day, we were all gathered once again in the Stadium and the crowd was expectative for the next competitions. Today we would participate in the Combat Aces Events. These were the Dogfight Event, the Dragon Wrestling Event and the Rider’s Arts Event; and for the end of the day… the Free Style Presentation.

 

This day of competition had no surprises at all… I mean… Kelly Stinson won the Rider’s Arts Event with her life of fighting experience, not even David was a match for her. And Berserk won the Dragon Wrestling Event… Just because I gave it up in exchange of keeping my fangs and claws naturally sharp, of course. I won the Dogfight Event, putting David and I in a two Victory tie with Kelly and Berserk. Then there was the Free Style Presentation… it went to s**t. Amy and Daemon’s presentation was the winner; it was amazing! Though I personally liked more Hershel McGriff & Valkyrie’s “Umbrella of Fire”; they went up to a high altitude and then Hershel dropped to a free fall while Valkyrie dived towards him. Then Valkyrie exhaled fire at Hershel while he shielded himself with Vital Energy, making the flames spread laterally and cover a big part of the Stadium’s aerial space with fire. It was mesmerizing… And then we were all done for the day.

 

Tomorrow was the last day of the Selections, and everything was going to be defined in the last and only event of that day… The Endurance Course.

 

 

 

-This is the last event every one… all the results of the other events have led to this… Two competing teams… Hershel McGriff and Valkyrie “Hell’s Hound”, and Rolland Prescott and Sabre “Sky’s Edge”… were eliminated… The last event everyone: a triple tie breaker to discover who will be competing in Kansas’s name in the National Cup. The three teams that had made it this far: Kelly Stinson and Berserk “Easy Fighter”, David Bowman and Furia “Wings of Liberty”, and Amy Northrop and Daemon “Fear Slayer”… they have the speed, the agility, the strength… you name it, everyone! They have it!! But there can only be one winner!! Let’s brace ourselves, everyone, because this is going to be transcendental!!

 

 

 

Are you ready for this?    Said Icy when David and Dani were about to finish saddling me up.

 

F**k yeah I am!    I nodded, letting out a puff of black smoke from my nostrils.

 

Then David said…

 

-Alright, everything is set… I still can’t believe we are this far.

 

To what Dani answered…

 

-Believe it Dave… you and Furia are going to make history today.

 

-Yeah.  -David said as he went to brofist with Dani.

 

Then I heard Patrick’s voice in my mind…

 

Last competition, Furia!! This is the last one! After this, the gold is yours!!!

 

David and I then headed towards the center line. David stood next to me and we waited for the event to start. After the presentations and anthems and s**t… again, a folder was handed to David, but instead of multiple pictures and references, there was just one picture.

 

Then David climbed up to the saddle and strapped himself. A couple of minutes later, the gunshot was fired and the three dragons took off. Alike the other competitions, this event required no rush, all the contrary, the most calm yet steady pace a dragon could fly.

 

The picture got us to a station, where a judge was waiting for us. He gave us instructions about a challenge that we had to complete before getting the next picture to the next station. The challenges involved flying around a designated building a certain number of times, getting to a designated altitude. There were some challenges that were for the rider, like defeating a certain number of opponents in a Vital Energy combat, or hit a target that was very far away a certain number of times.

 

Every challenge was made to take its toll against both rider and dragon, to take as much energy possible from every competitor. At noon, David had completed seven challenges, and I was just finishing my third when the folder was being handed to us.

 

Finally!!

 

I roared to the sky when I found out the picture in the folder wasn’t another station; instead, it was the stadium. David rushed onto my saddle, staggering with whatever energy he had left as he exclaimed…

 

-This is it, Furia! It’s all or nothing!!

 

He quickly strapped on and at the second I felt him patting my back, telling me he was ready, I got ready to take off right when Kelly and Berserk were arriving to complete their last challenge. My wings failed to take me from the ground the first time I tried to take off, and I looked at Amy and Daemon, who slowly got further away.

 

This isn’t over! So I’m not over either!!

 

On the second try, I managed to take off. On the way to the stadium, I pushed myself as hard as I could to continue closing on Amy and Daemon. I was panting, my throat burned more than after exhaling fire, and I desperately needed to drink some water. It was almost impossible for me to keep my head straight forward, and my legs were just hanging from my body. I could feel every single inch of my composition just hanging from my wings. My eyes were barely open as each wing stroke was just so f*****g painful and Amy and Daemon were still a full body ahead of David and me.

 

At last, the stadium began to appear down in the landscape. I could imagine our friends, exited and expectative… Come on Furia… don’t faint… don’t faint… you can complete this at least… you can do this… a second place is not that bad…

 

And suddenly I felt a tickle in my mind…

 

Come on Furia!! You can win!! Don’t give up just yet!! You can do it!!!

 

My eyes were forced shut in shame as my lips lifted and I could feel the cold wind on my fangs…

 

Patrick, I… It even hurts too much… I can’t push harder… I…

 

Come on , Furia!! I didn’t come to Kansas to see you get a second place! You’ve got to win!! Hurry up, Furia!! Win!!!

 

Patrick’s cheers were getting in my nerves I opened up my eyes a bit and saw I had lost altitude and Daemon was a body and a half further ahead. I didn’t want to let Patrick down… not like this… not when he was cheering for me so heartedly.

 

I can’t Patrick… I just…   But suddenly, he interrupted me…

 

You can’t my a*s, Furia!! What’s wrong with you!!? You have gone through harder, Furia!! What would I say if I ever heard you saying something like that!!?

 

That deeply hit my inners… I couldn’t hold myself from feeling ashamed at that moment. I’d have never let my rider hear such things from me. Giving up… how come I’m opting for giving up another time? Would it be that I’m getting used to it? To give up? Patrick would be so disappointed of me, if he heard me saying such things. No… No more giving up.

 

We were just a couple of miles from the stadium, if I don’t win, I’ll disappoint Patrick… then I thought for myself…

 

I’m not going to disappoint my rider… not another f*****g single time!!

 

Then I powered my wing strokes with whatever energy I had left. I used even my very hate to push myself closer and closer to Amy and Daemon. My sharp fangs were visible and I stabbed the wind with my wings and killer eyes.

 

The finish line began to be clear, the crowd was gone crazy with screams and claps. I was just a head behind Amy and Daemon when I closed my eyes and just flew forward… I sped with all I had… There was silence… no wind… no screams… no nothing… just every wing stroke after wing stroke… until I heard the gunshot and the crowd screamed even harder and louder. I opened my eyes and landed in the first clearing in front of me. I collapsed on the soft grass and breathed deeply while seeing mine and David’s friends closing on us. And suddenly, David strapped down from the saddle and ran up to my face, next to my left eye, even earlier than Patrick, who made his way through the people that carried the trophy and a collar with a huge medallion. Euphoric, the racer yelled…

 

-We did it, Furia!! We did it!! We won!!! We…!!

 

David didn’t even enjoy the victory before blood sprayed at my eye. I closed my eyes with a grunt and shook my head while standing up. The screams of panic born along with the roaring of many kinds of firearms while I opened my eyes and saw David collapse to the ground with a smoky spear coming out of his chest.

 

I quickly thought of Patrick and reached towards his mind…

 

Patrick, get down!! Someone is attacking everyone!!

 

What’s going on!!?

 

Just get down and stay with Elvis!! I’ll look for you!!

 

I then looked for Patrick, Elvis and Pyro and found the second one shielding off a spear, pushing Patrick behind him and the last one fighting off a black dragon. The people ran mindlessly and screamed as some crazy riders rained bullets from the back of their dragons in a melody of chaos and death. Many bullets tried to pierce my scales, but they were not strong enough to hurt me.

 

Elvis was fighting off a very muscular guy, exchanging attacks with Vital Energy weapons. Though the muscular guy’s attacks were strong and powerful, he was slower than Elvis, yet he had no trouble at blocking Elvis’s attacks. Pyro as well was putting his life on the line by fighting another dragon. Exhaling fire at each other and clashing at some point after impressive aerial maneuvers in the purpose of tearing the other one apart. Another attacker, this one seemed to be like a foreigner or something, joined the fight a moment later and attacked Patrick so furiously the tails of smoke coming from the weapons seemed one as attacks went and came, none of them giving an inch of advantage to the other one. And there was Dani, defending David’s wife from two riders, yet he was failing at blocking the bandits’ attacks properly. Mantra and David’s wife’s dragon fought Dani’s opponents’ dragons in an apparently fair fight, but it wasn’t anywhere near being that.

 

Patrick kept his dexterity, so he’ll be ok. I got to help Dani; he’s not going to win like that… I thought. But before I could take any action, a rain of fire fell upon me. I weakly jumped to the side and came out of the inferno as I heard Patrick’s voice in my mind…

 

Furia, are you hurt!?

 

S**t! Not too much yet; I can still fight. Now keep it to yourself, Patrick, and don’t die!

 

Don’t you die either!

 

I turned my head and looked at my wings… just the very movement stung deeply into my exposed burnt nerves. Then I heard a thump in front of me and I turned my head back; just to see this much bigger than me soft blue dragon, still exhaling smoke through between his fangs. He looked straight at my eyes and stepped forward.

 

I showed my fangs too and hissed loudly, when telling him…

 

Do you know who you are messing with!?

 

A tired dragon.

 

Saying no more, the dragon arched up his neck and quickly threw forward his head as he exhaled more fire at me. I countered with fire as well, but just after a second my breath died and his fire then had no obstacles in its way to reach me. The unstoppable blaze reached my face and I closed my eyes with a grunt… I turned around and took off, but was too slow to prevent him from burning black all the right side of my face, neck and shoulder, even my wing. I didn’t manage to make a single wing stroke before the membrane of my right wing broke. Making me crash land near twenty meters away.

 

Even though dragon scales are hard and don’t get affected by fire, they do get hot… as if a human would try to protect himself from fire with chainmail directly over its skin. The pain made me let out a squeal as I tried to get myself up from the ground. But, at the moment I was finally up… grunting on every move, with my right eye closed… then a great weight fell onto me and made me collapse to the ground once again. The strange force pressed me to the ground and bit my neck.

 

I tried to claw at something, anything would have served me, but I just managed to claw at the ground and roar in a desperate effort to free myself from my end.

 

Furia!!! hang on!! I’m coming to help you!!!

 

Patrick, no!! Keep yourself alive!! You won’t heal me if you die!!!

 

Slowly and gradually the pressure grew until my scales gave in. The pain grew deeper and deeper with every centimeter my enemy’s fangs cut into my flesh. The tastes of blood born and made me cough, but couldn’t do even that.

 

Suddenly the weight was taken off me and I quickly looked at my side, just to see Pyro engaging the enemy dragon. But before they would start a proper fight, there was a lone loud roar and the dragon flew away along with the whole band of attackers and merged with the coming and going dragons of the city before the reinforcements arrived.

 

My strengths drained from me with every heartbeat and my sights lost focus by the second. Everything slowly turned blurry and the sounds were muffled and impossible to understand. As I slowly collapsed to the ground, unable to do a thing to stop the torrent of blood that splashed on the ground, darkness took place… my mind drifted to infinity… and the last thing I remembered was telling Patrick… I won, Patrick… you saw me, right? I won…